Being Strengthened IN Suffering Life’s Trials

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Life’s Trials

We want to live easy happy lives, but trouble always seems to find us. In the midst of them we cry out to the Lord for relief, and to have mercy on us, but these are the very times that strengthen us most, and prepare us for what lies ahead in our service to God. David would not have been the king that he was had he not first faced Goliath, been pursued by King Saul, or lusted for Bathsheba, and faced the repercussions of that sin. All of the hard things in our lives temper us, and by going through them we are made stronger. We are not made stronger BY our distress, but IN it.

Blaming God for our Worldly Troubles

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Blaming God

How do we look to God in our times of trouble? Do we pray to Him for help, and faithfully continue in those prayers for His deliverance in spite of our suffering, or do we blame Him for allowing such a predicament to have befallen us? Do we believe that He is there with us, and stand firm in the courage that His promise provides us, or do we fall prey to a feeling of abandonment, and quake with fear? Let’s ask ourselves this question again… How do we look to God in our times of trouble?

Snow Globes, and the Heavenly Scene of our Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Taking God for Granted

It is important that we not let our faith become routine, or mundane. When everything is good, and the challenges are few it is easy to slip into that place where we take God for granted, and where what once was exciting has become normal. We never want to lose our sense of awe, or sight of the glory, that we find in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. When waking up each morning to the newness of God we don’t want to feel like it is just another day!

Like all things, we are God’s Creation

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Creations of God

We tend to think that just because we can identify the process by which we are conceived, and born, that we are the makers of our children, but this is far from the truth. What pregnant woman ever says that today she shall form the baby’s lungs, or it’s tongue, within her body? What father decides to give his future son his eyes, or his daughter her sweet disposition? When, in the few minutes of sexual pleasure in which his essence is transferred, did he consciously decide this? We are simply the donors of parts, and the eggshells, but we like to take credit for God’s handiwork that occurs within it. Why then do we claim ownership, and not give the Lord the full credit and glory for the miracle that has formed us? Don’t we see the maker’s mark in all things?

Jude’s Encouragement, and Warning

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , The Second Coming

As we read the book of Jude we are reminded of what will occur within the world, and the Church, in the final days. We are told about fallen angels, and the presence of false teachers. Further, we are reminded of what awaits them when our Lord Jesus Christ returns to judge. But in Jude there is hope, and encouragement for all those who come to, or continue to follow, our Lord Jesus. Today we see the scoffers in the world, and we feel the heat of an approaching fire… but we are also assured of the glorious eternity that awaits those who remain firm in their faith, and glorify God, and our Lord Jesus.

The Heart of God’s Will beneath the Skin we see

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s True Will

Sometimes Jesus gives us tasks in life, and we struggle mightily to accomplish them, but do we really understand what our efforts are meant to teach us? We might think that it is about feeding hungry people, but then come to realize that it is more about loving them, or, He might ask us to row a boat across a lake against a strong wind when the real purpose of the effort is to show us who He is when we see Him walking by us on the water. We each need to look at what we are struggling to accomplish in our faith, and find the true lesson within it.

Friendship and the Sharp Ring of Iron upon Iron

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Iron sharpens Iron

As we pursue our faith we find that there are two basic types of people we can associate ourselves with; there are those who make us stronger in our belief, and those who dull our righteousness, or lead us into temptation… thus causing our faith to falter. So who do we surround ourselves with? Who do we call our friends, and are they like whet stones that sharpen us in righteousness, and faith to a fine edge, or hard rocks that we are swung against, and who dull us? Who is it that we call friend, and who calls us their friend?

Do we wrestle with God, and His Miracles?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Denying Miracles

Not being satisfied that God breathes life into us in our mother’s womb, mankind struggles to know how He makes life happen so that we might somehow consider ourselves to be more, and God to be less. Yet, for all our searching, and striving to be Him, we have been unable to put life into a single creature, much less ourselves. The nearest we have come is to manipulate God’s building blocks, but even so the life within them is His. As believers, are we satisfied with what God has physically made us to be, and are we willing partners in our spirituality; helping to make righteous the intangible character that He desires to perfect within us?

Our Faith that lifts us above the Possible

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Believing in the Impossible

We think that we know what our bodies are capable of doing, but do we really? What we actually know is what our physical bodies can do by themselves, and without the help of our faith in God. Jesus died on the cross, and by all the laws of nature that should have been the end, but it wasn’t; He rose from the grave. Peter walked on the water when Jesus called to him, but we all know that it is impossible for a man to do that… or is it? As long as Peter trusted in his faith he did the physically impossible, but when his faith ceased to make walking on the water real… he sank. What do we believe our bodies are capable of? Can we rise from the dead, walk on water, or perhaps enter a room by passing through its walls? Do we see our bodies, and Jesus, through the spiritual eyes of our faith, or are we limited to the physical eyes of Thomas?

Remaining in the World, and going to the Sea in Boats

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Remaining in the World

We go about our daily lives, and they are full of trials and tribulations. We look out at the world and think that if we could somehow separate ourselves from it we would grow stronger in our faith, when in fact the opposite is true; we grow stronger in the midst of our trials, and see the face of Jesus most clearly from the summit of our suffering. We see the foul deeds of the world clearest in the darkest and deepest parts of the world, because it is here that God’s light shines brightest to illuminate them, and His salvation reaches out the furthest to redeem us from them.

Questioning as Children, or Praying as Mature Believers

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Repetitive Prayer

As Christians we would like to think of ourselves as being mature in our faith, but sometimes we behave more like children by repeatedly asking the Lord “Why?”. When we don’t like what He has asked us to do, or don’t understand His reasoning, then we begin to ask “Why?” over and over again. If someone were to ask us whether we are trusting and obedient when God speaks to us, we would say yes, but our constant questioning of Him indicates otherwise. Do we behave in this manner?

Witnessing to the Abominable Sinner

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Abominable Sins

As men and women called by God, and sent by Jesus to spread the good news of His Gospel, it is more than disappointing that out of fear we are reluctant to carry this treasure of life to those who need it most. We will readily face hardship and even death to preach the good news from a hillside, but we shy away from engaging directly with those whose sin is repugnant to us, or we feel is an abomination to God. We fear their sin will taint us in some way, bring criticism upon us, or defile us, so by our fear we leave them untouched, and God’s gift undelivered, dooming the most needy to face a sinner’s death. When we look at ourselves, is this who we see?

Praying expectantly in the fullness of our needs and desires

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Praying in Full

When we are in need of something miraculous to occur, or we want something that is so far above us that we believe it is just too great, or much, to ask for, do we temper our prayers, and ask God for what we believe is actually doable? Do we ask God for a lesser thing because we think it is possible for Him, and that He might be capable of providing it? Perhaps we believe we are unworthy, or that our true desire is presumptuous in nature, and so we weigh our prayer requests against who we think He is, and how much we believe He loves us, but this is only an indication of our lesser faith, and not how God wants us to come to Him, or ask of Him.

Waiting, Patience, Faith, and the virtues of a country life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Patience and Waiting

Modern day people who live in small towns and villages often leave them to make new homes in the larger cities; they find the allure of high paying jobs, the vibrance of city life, and all the activities that are immediately available to them there to be exciting and enticing, but the greatest draw is in the fact that they can have all these things “right now”. People of faith are often drawn to the worldly life for all the same reasons… we have become a “right now” society, and waiting on anything, even God, has become unacceptable to modern man. Waiting on God is like watching paint dry to many in today’s world, and yet waiting is certain, peaceful, and can calm us if we will trust in the Lord.

Knowing God, Experiencing Jesus, and Receiving the Holy Spirit

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Hearing God

In talking with some believers they say that although they believe in God, He never seems to reveal Himself to them in the way that others claim to, that they don’t feel they are experiencing Jesus fully, or that as hard as they pray they just don’t feel like they have received the Holy Spirit. This frustrates them, and they ask… what am I doing wrong? How can I experience the fullness of Jesus? What must I do to hear God speaking to me, or to receive the Holy Spirit? My answer can be different depending on the person, but it always contains one observation… stop looking for God in the world, and start looking for the world in God.

Load More