Calling on God, and Our Maturing Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Calling on God

How often do we call on the name of the Lord to save us in our moments of trouble, or from our various hardships? How often do we call on His name when we are hungry, or in bodily distress? How often do we call out to Him to save others, or perform miracles to encourage their belief? Do we not trust in His Word, and His promised answer, do we doubt He will manifest Himself always? If we do believe, then why do we hesitate to reach out to Him for certain help, and salvation? We need no priest or intercession because He tells us that everyone who calls on His name will be saved… and yet, do we cry out to Him? Do we hear Him calling us near?

Living Lives of Prayer, not just praying in our Lives

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Lives of Prayer

We can easily get in the habit of doing things for ourselves, and only praying about the others that we think we can’t do alone, but is that really what the Lord expects of us? There are many small pebbles in life that we should be able to easily step over, and yet they often trip us up, or cause us to slip and fall. Sadly, they could have been avoided, but once we are on the ground it is too late to step round them, and we are left to deal with the consequences of the tumble. So we should raise all things up to God in constant prayer, and seek His council while offering thanksgiving for everything in life… the large and small alike. There is no substitute for prayer in our lives.

Praying, and then Praying Again, in Expectation

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional ,

When was the last time we prayed for something and it did not happen? We asked the Lord if this was His will, and then we simply stopped praying when our prayer was met with silence. Sometimes we need to be more like Elijah when he asked for the rain to come again. When we tell this story it is easy to tell it like James did, by overlooking the fervency and frequency of Elijah’s prayer, and that he sent his servant to look towards the sea seven separate times. The first six times… “nothing”, and then on the seventh, a small cloud the size of a man’s hand. How will our story of prayer be told… will it be said that we went once and “nothing”, or, that on the seventh time it rained? What is our nature when we pray?

Eternal Rest and the Wrath of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Wrath

What happens to us when we stray from God, and we place all manner of gods above Him? What happens when money becomes our god and the focus of our lives, or our sexual desires desecrate our bodies which are the temple of God, and what happens when any number of things turn us away from obeying God’s Word? Well, we are made to see how vile, and ruthless, these carnal gods truly are, and how much our souls suffer under them, until at last we return to prayer, and call out in the name of Jesus for God to place His hand back on us, and deliver us.

Meeting Jesus - the Circumstances, and our Reactions

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Jesus Face to Face

What will our reaction be when we see Jesus face to face? Will we fall to our knees because we are unworthy? Will we fall to our knees and praise Him? Will we kiss his face, or maybe we will wash his feet with our tears? Any of these might happen, but there is always the possibility that we will be so overcome with emotion that we will faint, or that we might not recognize Him at first. How do you think you will react, and will it be in shame, tears, joy, or utter disbelief that He has come to you at last?

Cheerfully Giving God’s Bounty

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Gifts, Sins, Peacemakers , Finding God, Separate, Giving

When we give, whether it be tithes, gifts, or to sustain another, the act of giving in love increases the worth of what we have given. On the other hand, when we receive a gift from someone, we shouldn’t revel in what it has done in our lives, but for the fruit it produces in the life of the giver. In this way, we might help someone in need, or benefit the church with our offering, but the real value comes in how it increases our own faith, and the spiritual warmth we realize from this simple act, because we are giving God’s bounty… not ours.

Conviction, and our Faith in Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Convicted in Faith

Having a conviction is to have a firmly held belief in something. Is this how we describe our belief in Jesus Christ? Is this how we confessed it to be on the day we first accepted Him as our Lord and Savior? On that day did what we were unable to see become alive to us? Well it is Eastertide, that time between Easter and Pentecost, and what better time to reaffirm our core belief, and conviction, in Jesus Christ.

Jesus, the calm within life’s storms

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Jesus Calms our Lives

Sometimes we feel like we are surrounded by trouble and that everywhere we turn there is a problem brewing, an enemy preparing to harm us, or some form of suffering that has befallen us, and in such times it is easy to fall into despair by believing that there is nowhere safe for us to turn, and that there is no waiting rescue. However, as believers in God, and Jesus Christ we do have relief, and there is a calm at the center of every storm we find ourselves in… let me tell you about that calm. Let me tell you about Jesus.

Walking confidently through the traps and trials of Life.

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Firm in Faith

As men and women of faith we know that the path that leads us through the world is filled with traps and snares, but we are not deterred because our God knows the way, and He sees every obstacle as we approach it. We reach out to Him as we pray in the Spirit, and call on the name of Jesus for His intercession; yet still, the journey wears on us, and our spirits are prone to faint. In such times when we are weary, or are walking carefully, realizing that there are hidden traps ahead, our God knows the way. He sees the enemy setting his snares, and leads through them.

Worldly Faith, and our Greater Faith in God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Greater Faith in God

Does our faith make us righteous? When we are doing the hard things in life are we able to lean on God with sufficient trust, knowing that He is not only more than capable of doing what He has promised, but will do it? When we believe with this much strength in the Lord then there is no room left for doubting Him, or for us to claim or reassign a shred of His glory as He is working.

On what do we concentrate our Prayers?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Praying for Strength

We often pray for strength, but are we simply asking for physical strength that is of this world, or for Spiritual strength that is eternal, and lifts us up through Jesus Christ into the presence of God? We pray a great deal for the things that God has created, but let’s think back on our prayers and weigh them on a scale, placing the spiritual on one side and the earthly on the other… this will determine where our treasure is, and our hearts desire. This will show us what we actually worship… what we value most.

Facing the Uncertainties, and Trials of Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Trials

What do we do when we are faced with certain calamity, or we are required to make a decision in a situation that has no obvious answer? Well, the solution is not to cower in fear, or throw up our hands in surrender, no, like in all things that require us to exceed our ability, we are to turn to God for His strength, rescue, provision, or an answer. We are to seek Him, and then stand firm. Times like this require that we wait on the Lord our God to take action, speak wisdom to us, or show us an escape. In such situations we will surely see the hand of God in a powerful way.

Praying in the Name of Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , In the Name of Jesus

In our prayers today, are we asking God to do something for us? Are we asking Him to heal someone, to take care of a personal situation in our family, provide us with a better job, for more money, or any one of a million other daily needs? Well if these are righteous requests that are within God’s will, and we ask Him in the name of Jesus, He will act upon them. The question becomes this… are we committed to our belief in Him when He says He will do these things for us, do we trust Him enough to put whatever it is in His hands, and only do what He asks us to do? Are we within His will in what we have asked? Are we praying as Jesus?

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