Tilling the Righteousness of God into our Garden of Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Faith

By our fallen nature we are not born righteous, but as we look up towards the righteousness of God in Heaven, our faith begins to grow from the good ground He tends within us. The question becomes this, do we seek God and the righteousness that He provides us to be turned, both night and day, into the soil for our hearts, or are we satisfied with spreading our seed across the world and accepting whatever might struggle to rise up from the depleted soil left by our sinfulness? Which of these is our delight, and in which garden is the seed of our faith planted?

Is God Before Us, And Jesus Our Focus?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God First

When we rise up in the morning and set about doing whatever it is that we will do that day, what is the first thing that crosses the threshold of our home as we step into the world? When we are preparing to go on a journey, a pilgrimage, or even a short trip, who goes before us to prepare the way, or who do we depend on to guide us? When the Israelites traveled they were preceded by the Ark of the Covenant, and were led by a pillar of smoke during the day, and fire at night. In other words, God went before them and led them always. Can we say the same?

Seeing God in the Land of the Living

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Seeing God

We suffer the ailments and troubles of the world, but we will overcome them in this place with the help of our Lord God. He is good, and He will show us the vastness of His goodness if we are willing to wait upon Him. Do we believe? Do we believe with all our heart so that we can know without a doubt that He is with us, and that we will see His goodness here in the land of the living? David believed in this way, and his faith encourages us to do the same.

Pride, and the lost humility of a self-ingratiating Christian.

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Pride in Faith

Prideful Christians, we have all known one or two in our lives, and Heaven forbid we are one. We see in them a holier than thou attitude where we should find the distinct humility of Christ. Our boasting should never be in our own faith, and belief, but in Christ, and He crucified. Too often we see the palm fronds lying on the ground, and the fine colt on which Christ rode into Jerusalem. We hear the cheers, and forget the jeers, and neglect the sting of the whip. In the midst of our pride we forget that the cross was His true glory. We forget what it means to pick up our own cross and follow Him into the spit of the crowd, and that only by suffering as He did can we boast in Him. Does our faith make us proud, or does it point to our own Cross on Calvary?

Friends of Jesus, and God, Forevermore

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Friends with Jesus

What kind of friend do we have in Jesus? Is He one of those friends whose mouth is filled with honey, and who tells us only those things He knows we want to hear, or is He the kind of friend who delivers the hard truths to us? Is Jesus someone we trust with our darkest sun because He will keep it to Himself, and give us a hand as we struggle to overcome it, or is He a fair weather friend who only stands by us when we make Him look good? Well, Jesus is the truest of friends who counsels us, listens to our troubles, and helps… He has done this even when it cost Him His life… but if we reverse these questions, and ask what kind of friend we are to Him, what do we say? Are we His true friends? Do we give Him our lives in exchange for his friendship?

The Strength of the Meek, and Power in Humility

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Meek and Humble

Are we heartbroken today, or do we see ourselves as content, and satisfied with our lives, and who we are? Has our rebellious spirit been broken, or is it strong and self-determined? Do we approach God overcome by our contrition, and desiring His forgiveness, or are we convinced that we are worthy in ourselves, and without sin? Before we can be of use to God our old self must be broken and bridled, and our will made subservient to His. How do we stand before the Lord? Are we humble and obedient, or self-assured, unteachable, and defiant? Are we meek, or are we arrogant and proud in our demeanor?

Miracles, Lives Restored, and the purposes of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Miracles of Life

Have you ever been rescued by the Lord when you were on the verge of death? Sometimes it might be by a subtle working of circumstances, sometimes by sending a person, or Heavenly Angel, to do the job, like God did for Peter, but then there are other occasions when either He, or Jesus, show up personally to perform a miraculous rescue. Yet, in all of these amazing moments it is clearly the hand of God at work, and He has a message, or plan for us in those moments. Was your life ever spared? Did you know immediately why? Were you perplexed for a time regarding why you were rescued before at last His purpose was revealed to you? Are you still asking yourself why? Miracles happen, and none more intense than when our lives are saved in this way… by a miracle.

Overcoming the World of Doubt, Fear, and Anxiousness

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Anxiousness

One of the most frequently observed character flaws that one observes in Christians is anxiousness. It seems that as hard as we might try to suppress it we find it bubbling right back up. So what can we do when things around us begin to make us anxious? We know that God is there to help us, so why do we worry, fret, and become anxious? Yet we do, and quite often it isn’t just the big things in our lives that cause this, but the small and trivial ones too. So we turn to scripture for hope, and find three ways to combat this… prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. In this way we ask God that His will be done, and to take away whatever is making us anxious.

Rejoice, and Exult in the Lord Thy God Always

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Rejoicing in Refuge

God is our refuge not merely because we trust in Him, but because we rejoice in Him. We aren’t meant to simply be deliberate in our service of the Lord, no, we are meant to be exuberant, joyful, and triumphant towards Him, and in everything He does for us. How can we serve our Heavenly Father, or even our earthly one, out of love if there is no joy or emotion exhibited towards them as we do so? In everything we are to be thankful to God, and in our thanks there should be love, and we should exult in Him. Do we rejoice in our God when He has provided us with refuge, and stood guard over us against all enemies, and every worldly harm?

Our Victory over Death, and the Blessing of Forgetfulness

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Death

We go through hard times in our lives, and then become all too familiar with death, but for Christians there are two things that miraculously occur in death, the first is that we, or our loved ones who have passed away, are assured of rising up again in Christ, and the second is that our memories of life with them, or our friend’s and family’s remembrances of their life with us, become rich and wonderful as most of the hardships we encountered together in life are either cast off as insignificant, or become treasured moments for us. This is unfathomable or misunderstood in the world, but not to the believer. While the unbeliever finds no peace in death, and little comfort in their memories, we are comforted by God, and the moments of triumphant joy in our faith in Christ lifts us up.

Do Not Fret, and the Reading of Psalm 37

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Fretting

Psalm 37 speaks a great deal about fretting, or worrying to the point of becoming anxious, and also about how the wicked will be overcome by the faith of the righteous through the strength of God. It is good to read this Psalm from time to time because it reassures us of God’s greater plan for us, and how He will keep His promises to us. This chapter inoculates us with hope when the evil and wicked in the world troubles us, or seeks to destroy us. We are told in this Psalm of many ways that God is our strength, and our savior, as we stand against the world.

Sharing from our Hearts

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional ,

As Christians we believe in God, and have faith in Jesus Christ His Son. We also work at behaving as Jesus did in our own lives, we love our neighbors, feed the hungry, visit the sick, and many other things that we have learned through the study of the gospels, but there might be one lesson that is particularly hard for us… sharing what we have. As hard as this might be for some of us to do it is something that is pleasing to God. When the occasion presents itself to do good, do we also share what we have been given.

Heartbreak, God’s Will, and Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Heartbreak and Prayer

Once we pray about something in our lives are we at peace with it, or do we continue to fret and feel anxious regarding it? Do we offload our burden in prayer, or continue to carry it? Once prayed for, do we trust that God will work this thing for our good, or do we remain anxious and pursuing our own will in whatever we have asked of Him? Are we able to pray as Jesus did then release our desire into God’s hands, and say “not my will but yours be done.”

Must we Shout, or go Toe to Toe over our Faith?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Fighting for Faith

It is hard to stand silent when we are being disparaged by someone. We are tempted to confront those who do this to us, and yet we have two examples of this happening in scripture that we should use as our guides when this occurs to us. The most obvious is Jesus as he stood accused before the chief priests, and again before Pilot. Even unto death He did not quarrel or defend Himself. The second was King David as Shemei, a relative of Saul, cursed him in front of all his men. This man chased after David and derided him, while throwing stones and dust at him, but David did not retaliate. All of us have been in such situations, and I ask that we each reflect on how we behaved.

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