Birthdays - Alpha, Omega, and Just Enough Eternity to Know God

Richard Forbes
Understanding God , Christian , Daily Devotional , Birthdays and Faith

Birthdays are excellent times to look back on the lives we have lived thus far, and to take stock of what we have gathered to ourselves, the wonders we have seen, the blessings received, and the good moments we have experienced, but the richest memories are those that are branded into our thick hides, the ones that came from suffering, and God’s deliverance. Each time the Lord rescues us we find that our faith in Him has leapt forward, and each moment spent crying on the shoulder of Jesus brings us that much closer to Him. Only by weathering these trying times of tribulation do we find peace, abundance, and hope in tomorrow. Nowhere is God’s love, goodness, and grace more abundantly obvious than in those times when we need Him most.

Schoolyard Bullies, and Waiting on the Lord

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Spiritual Dew , Waiting on God

In these times of constant change, and intense spiritual warfare, it is easy to become disheartened, and if we aren’t courageous, and don’t trust enough to wait upon the Lord, we can become spiritually wounded. We see Satan’s minions taking control of governments, killing the innocent, and his warlords brutalizing entire countries, and we call out for Jesus to come now. Yet in all of this we must endure, persevere in our faith, and wait in absolute trust. In these times of our greatest earthly suffering, and despondence, we are told to lean on God, and wait in Him. Are we able to do so without fainting? Is God our strong tower?

Abraham Taught by God’s Will, Knowledge, and Mercy.

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God Teaches Abraham

When Abraham negotiated with God and asked Him to spare Sodom and Gomorrah even if there were only ten righteous people there, and God agreed, was He changing His mind, or revealing to Abraham that He already knew how debase these cities were from the very beginning? When God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac did He change His mind at the last moment, and realize the error of His ways? Did he have a change of heart, or was His mercy already decided before Abraham took Isaac to Mount Moriah… even before the foundation of the earth?

Walking in the Furnaces of Life and Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , In The Furnaces with Jesus

It’s one thing for us to feel that we are in a fiery furnace like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, but we should not only survive such experiences in our lives, but walk around within them. Even more, we should never feel alone there because Jesus is with us. There are some among us who are suffering the heat of a physical or spiritual furnace right now. But, are we consumed by it, giving into it, or walking around within it talking to Jesus about what it means to truly suffer?

Do We Piddle at our Faith and Calling?

Richard Forbes
Dedicated to our Faith

Are we piddlers? It’s one thing to be this way in our everyday lives, but quite something else to be known as a piddler when it comes to our faithfulness to God, and belief in Jesus Christ. A piddler is a person who wastes their time in trivial pursuits, while avoiding the more important things. They miss the mark by wasting their time on piddley pursuits while ignoring what really needs to be done. Is this how we are known to the saints in our church when it comes to religion, or to God regarding our faith? Has He called us to do certain things for Him, but we busy ourselves with unrelated pursuits and never seem to get around to obeying Him… to doing His will?

Pray without Doubt, and Glorify God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Glorifying God in Prayer

We have learned to never stop praying, but are we sorrowful in our prayers? Our troubles often prompt us to come to the Lord broken, with great despair, and our needs hanging around our necks like heavy weights. But, although these are things we can’t solve for ourselves, they are nothing that our Lord God can’t easily solve, or lift from us. When we are praying before God there is no need to lament. We should rejoice to be in His presence, and we should be filled with joy and thanksgiving because as Christians our God defends us, and provides for us. What is our mood when we pray?

God Corrects His Beloved Children

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Discipline

Have we ever been through times when our sins became so intense that we cried out in pain from within the midst of them, and sobbed as we asked for God’s forgiveness and mercy? Perhaps an addiction was destroying our body, or ruining our marriage; maybe we stole or lied about something, and when found out, our transgressions brought great shame on us, or we lost our job as a result of them. The consequences of sin can be severe as God disciplines us for them. Are any of us being disciplined now? If we are, take heart for God loves you… and will bless you in your correction.

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?

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