Israel, the Prodigal Son, and Us

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Returning to God

Our Father doesn’t like to lose a single soul, not even those that turn their backs on Him to worship other gods. If we have turned away, and our god has become money He will take it from us. If our god has become our beauty He will strip us of our youthful looks and fine clothes, and if our possessions have become our gods, He will cause them to break, wither, and vanish. He doesn’t do these things because He hates us, no, He does them to bring us back to Him… because He loves us. Have we become like these who once loved Him, but who have now turned our backs on Him as a people, country, or a person? Have we made the gifts of the world our idols and gods? Are we pursuing earthly loves, and left our One True God behind, alone? Well He still desires to have us return to Him, and will lead us into a desert place where there is nothing left to worship, or love, but Him. There, in that desolate place, He will woo us, bless us, and love us, as if we had never spurned Him, or turned away.

Questions that lead to Questions that lead to Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Questions

Do we stand a faithful watch as we wait for the Lord to reveal Himself to us, or to hear what He has to say once He does? When our waiting is rewarded, and God speaks, will He call us to task for something in our lives, or faith, and do we wonder what it will be, or how we will answer Him? As we look at our lives, and the practice of our faith, we would like to think that we are obeying Him in everything we do, and are righteous in all aspects of our lives, but are we serving the Lord as we should? Are we wise enough to even know? When He speaks, and we hear His voice, He will ask us a question that causes us to search for an answer, and as we do so, we will realize a fault, or shortcoming in ourselves that has gone unnoticed, or find wisdom that has previously been hidden from us. Are we watching, and listening as we should? Are we wanting to hear Him tell us a truth, or to ask us a question that will lead us to it?

Our Tongues, and the danger they hold on their tips

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Words, and Tongues

As Christians we struggle mightily to control our tongues, and keep our language not only wholesome, but focused on righteous revelations that will help us, and those around us who might not know our Father yet. What we say in a moment of anger, or by revealing some sinful thought as it races through our mind, can undo in a split second what the Lord has spent years preparing within a soul that He has been leading to receive His Son Jesus, and ultimately Himself. To avoid such evil outbursts and not to become a setback to another’s faith, we must continuously wrestle with that worldly voice within us that remains ever vigilant within us, and seeks any small opening, or chink in our armor, into which it can slip its vile sword. Our guard must always be up, and our minds focused on what is righteous, peaceful, and good. Are we doing this today, and every day? Is our armor perfectly fitted, and are we continuously manning the wall in defense of our righteousness?

God, Love, and the Foundation of Help

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Help

We might be a person who never wants help, or someone one who is reluctant to seek help; then again, maybe we are one of those who readily asks for help, or goes straightway for help at the slightest hint of trouble. As God’s children we all have different personalities, so He deals with each of us individually. God wants us to come to Him for help, He gave us Jesus and were are told that whatever we asked for in His name he would do for us, and the Lord also tells us to help one another. So whatever our personality, we are provided a readymade avenue of help that is comfortable for each of us… but the foundation of all these begins and ends in Him. How do we seek and give help in our lives today? In what way has God transformed, or influenced us in this regard?

Do we procrastinate in our Faith?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Procrastinating

I don’t know about you but sometimes I am a procrastinator. This morning I proved once again that this is true. Although I typically rise before my phone’s alarm sounds at 3 AM, today I slept until it was ringing, and then I hit the snooze button… not once, but twice. So by delaying I started my morning prayers, my time spent in scripture, devotional reading, and more importantly, I was late when it came to seeking inspiration, and then writing what the Holy Spirit would put on my mind for us to share today. However, as I started my morning with the Lord it dawned on me that this was no accident. But had served His purposes. I was to write about answering God without hesitation, and how He always answers us at the perfect moment… not early, not late, but exactly at the right time. Although we are occasionally inclined to put things off, or as it was for me today, to oversleep; our Father is never late, and fulfills His promises, and does what He says… perfectly every time.

Being Still, and Remaining Quiet before God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Be Still and Silent

A quiet and still spirit, and a self at peace, these are commonly recognized as precursors to hearing God’s voice. Elijah knew it, Job knew it, Eliphaz the Temanite knew it, and the sons of Korah who wrote the 46th psalm knew it too. These are just a few men mentioned in God’s Holy Word who knew how to listen for Him to speak; they understood that if we seek God, and can still ourselves, we will begin to hear His voice.

Trust, and Faith, in the Presence of Giants and Fear

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Giants

When the Lord gives us something it always requires that we trust in Him before we can possess it. When He gave Canaan to the Israelites it was no different. The Lord told Moses to send out men to explore Canaan, the land that He had given them, but when they reported back they had a mixed report. The land was indeed bountiful, but it was well defended, and was also inhabited by giants. How many times has God told us to do something, go somewhere, or take possession of a gift He has extended us, but something intimidating stood in our way… we found that giants stood between us, and the promised blessing of the Lord? How did we react? Did our faith give us the strength to go forward, or did it fail us? Did we find ourselves turning back in fear? Is our trust in God strong enough to accept His blessings?

Faithfully Facing the World, Together and Alone.

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Trouble and Faith

What do we do when the articles of our faith go missing from within our churches? What do we seek when the Arc of our faith can no longer be found in the houses of worship where we once experienced God’s presence, and forgiveness? If every church, cathedral, temple, and house of worship, were demolished, where would we turn to find God? We should do what so many of us did during the COVID 19 pandemic, and what so many others have done under extreme persecution, we open His Word in our hearts, and seek God in our quiet places by retreating into our own temples to worship Him… into the temples of our bodies, and the safe havens of our homes. In these, the personal sanctuaries of our faith, and belief, we find God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. In these places our spirituality remains safe, and is secure from its enemies. The door to heaven remains open.

Do our Inequities Alter God’s Faithfulness?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Faithfulness

Today let’s think about a question that many have considered in the past, and is raised Biblically for us in the book of Romans. Our question today is this… Does God cease to be faithful just because we do? When we waver in our faith, or lose hope in a prayer, does this nullify God’s promises, or make His truth any less true? Does our lack of faithfulness change Him in any way?

Baptized into the Death of Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Baptism into Death

Death is not a topic that we as people like to dwell on, but it is one of the central themes to us as Christians. It goes hand in hand with resurrection. We symbolically recognize this in our baptism by being immersed, or dying to our old selves, and it concludes with our being raised up out of the baptismal water, resurrected, to live as new creations. Without Jesus suffering, bleeding, and carrying our sin into death, then rising again righteous and glorified from the grave, what hope would we have of salvation and eternity? How would our sin have been absolved? The Angels sang in celebration at His birth, and all of heaven and earth stood still at the moment of His death, but we are not privy to what transpired in heaven at the moment of His resurrection; it remains a mystery to us now, just as it did then, and all we hear on this subject is divine silence. We do know that our sin died, and we weren’t made one with Him.

Trials, Endurance, Character, and hope that becomes Salvation

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Hope of Salvation

People face many trials in their lives, and as Christians we are not exempt from them. It is common for new Christians to think that because we experience a deep seated hope in salvation that this implies that our hardships in life will vanish, but to the surprise of many we find that they do not, and are a necessary part of a robust faith. Suffering through trials increases the endurance of our faith, which in turn strengthens our character, and this leads us to an amazing hope, and at last, a confidence in our salvation through Jesus Christ. When we suffer, and we do so in Jesus, something amazing happens… our faith, and walk with Him becomes stronger, and sweeter. The confidence, and hope, we have of salvation wells up in us, and God’s will for us in Christ, extends beyond our earlier hope into reality.

Acknowledging God’s Holiness

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Holiness

Are we brazen enough to think that we can command regarding His promises, or to tell Him to do the things we want Him to do? Are we like insolent children who don’t ask but attempt to demand their fathers to do this, or to give them that? The God of all creation, and more, is not ours to order about, but to obey. His promises are just that… HIS promises. The love that God shows us is not an obligation but a gift, and more than that… it is to be returned in kind. We are meant to ask so that we should receive, and to love just as we are loved. Are we approaching God in this manner? Are we humble, and filled with awe in His presence? Or, are we insolent, and demanding like spoiled children? Do we approach him as the almighty I Am that He is, and do we acknowledge His Holiness?

Unwavering Faith in Our Every Step

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Unwavering Faith

Have we ever stepped out in faith, and then somewhere along the way let doubt overcome us? Have we had a moment like Peter did in which he started walking across the water in obedience to Jesus, but let what was happening around him, the wind and the waves, undermine his faith? Perhaps our moment was different, maybe we were called to answer a mission need in a foreign country, but some danger in that country caused us not to go. Or just maybe it was a small still voice telling us to talk to someone about the Lord, and at the last minute we feared that they might have an adverse reaction, and turned away. How strong is our faith today, and are we still walking on the water?

The Angel that Strengthened Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Love

When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, that the cup be taken from Him, and His prayer was so fervent that His sweat fell like blood, an Angel was sent to strengthen Him, and for years I read this to mean that the Angel strengthened His faith, and gave Him the physical determination to obey God’s Will, but then it dawned on me that I was wrong. Jesus had perfect faith, belief, and never wavered in obeying God’s will. What I now envision the Angel bringing Jesus was the strength of God’s love. I see an Angel holding Him in a loving embrace, and covering Him with His Father’s love. When sin and death passed away and the world was transformed, Jesus endured all of the suffering, and took on the world’s sin, not by some miraculous degree of physical fortitude, but through the power of love. Do we look to God’s love when we face the hard things in our lives? Do we feel the loving embrace of our Father as unseen Angels hold us close?

Knowing and Doing the Will of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Will

We are meant to do the will of God, but do we know what that is, and if not, how do we come to know it? We can’t discern the entire will of God on our own, because it is too deep and broad for us, but He will show it to us in bits and pieces as His Holy Spirit guides us day by day in understanding, and obedience. We come to know it through prayer, studying His Word, and listening for His voice. We will know it is His will, not ours, by testing what we hear in this way.

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