The Clouds, or, Las Nubes de Nuestra Fe

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Jesus the Vine

The bible draws so many comparisons between plants, trees, and our faith or works. Knowing this makes today's scripture reading all the more special as we look at Jesus not as the branches, but as the vine. The vine consists of the trunk and its root, and although we consider the branches to be the most beautiful part of a plant, and the root to be unsightly, it is the root and trunk from which all new branches grow, and from these comes the nourishment that produces the fruit. Jesus is the vine.

Getting Back on the Horse of Our Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Increasing in Faith

As I thought about how we sometimes come face to face with our doubts, or suffer from a dwindling faith, I looked back on my own life as a Christian and could see how I had experienced moments like this too. Then I would come to the point where I realized that moving about and doing works doesn’t insure that I am devoted to my faith in God and Jesus. Over the years I have watched as people professed their faith, began frantically working in the church, and for church causes, then suddenly disappeared from the pews. They had missed the most important part of their conversion... that we can't earn it... it is a gift, and a free gift at that.

Prayers on Fire

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Intense Prayer

On this very morning in 2016 I was sitting in the common area of Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee waiting for my wife to complete physical therapy on her leg. She was rehabbing after knee replacement, and I was enjoying having this time alone in the waiting room which allowed me to contemplate my prayers and devotional reading from earlier in the day. Pastor E.M. Bounds had written that prayer should be aflame and it struck me as being truth. Here in the southern United States we would say, with quite a strong accent, "don't pray no milk toast prayer!" Truly, a prayer without emotion, or intense devotion, demonstrates very little sincerity and passion.

Passion and Devotion in our Easter Season

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Passionate Worship

This morning I was moved by the Spirit into a time of passion and devotion that led me into a special time of prayer. Passionate prayer brings us close to God and allows us to feel his power and glory like nothing else. Every hair on our body stands up when this happens, sometimes we cry, sometimes we laugh, and sometimes we simply can’t speak at all or just moan in prayer. If there are some among us who need an example of passionate worship we can turn to Revelation 4 where we find an illustration of passionate worship and praise. Do you worship, praise, and pray passionately to the Lord?

The Aroma of Religion

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Devotion on Holy Days

This coming Sunday being Palm Sunday makes today’s lesson all the more pertinent. There are three Sunday's when people attend church who don't typically come, and this is one of them. This is not a time to judge them, or look down our noses on them in pious condemnation of their faith, but to rejoice in their presence there with us, and embrace them. This is the time to open our hearts to them, and to smell the aroma of their religion and God as they are drawn back to the Church to seek, believe, and worship. May they fill the church pews, and the scent of their devotion waft over us on these holy days. They are the temple just as we, who might come to church every Sunday, are the temple… beware lest we destroy God’s Temple and destroy ourselves.

Faith, Works, and Pudding

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Faith vs Works

Faith and works have long been hot topics of discussion in the Church. The question is which is most important the religious works we do, or the faith we hold dear, and can we really have one without the other. Do you have them both in your life? Do you perform good works, the kind that any moral person can perform, but don’t believe in Jesus, or have faith in God? Or, do you believe and have faith in Jesus, but never demonstrate that in your works? Do you keep your faith, but are reluctant to live it outwardly?

Make the Small and Common Things Sacred

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Small Things

My personal devotional reading this morning dealt with making all of the common things in our lives sacred. Pastor E.M. Bounds wrote that "It puts God not just in our praying and church-going, but in every aspect of life. The spirit of devotion makes the common things of earth sacred, and the little things great." Someone holding our hand as they pray for us, and telling us that we are going to be alright becomes priceless. A gentle touch conveys our love and caring even as the few words we speak in prayer comforts others. Touch; it seems such a small thing and yet is mentioned repeatedly in scripture. A common thing made holy by our devotion.

The Day after a Miracle

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, After the Miracle

God performed miracles throughout the Bible, and He used various men of God and His Son Jesus to perform many of them, just as He uses men and women of faith to perform them today, but after the intense rush of faith, and the awe of that amazing moment has passed, what do we do the next day? Do we walk on, and simply let the fire of that moment die down, go to ash, and be forgotten, or is there more? Do we thank God in the moment, then recover the next day from the spiritual aftermath and hangover of it; that is left by the water that was turned to wine, or the words that God has spoken to us? Or is there “something” more?

The Machinery of Religion, and Ann’s 2016 Knee Surgery

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Machinery of Religion

My devotional reading on this day in 2016 was regarding the machinery of religion. E.M. Bounds used his daily lesson to speak of the heartlessness with which the machinery of our religion and church often operates. I, on the other hand, would like to speak today about the occasions when that machinery purifies itself in the word of God, and the blood of Jesus Christ; and how thus, having becoming pure and undefiled, it works wonderfully well. In this righteous state of faithfulness the product of our machine is love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Our Praying Hearts

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Heartfelt Prayer

Sometimes when we are in a battle against the hardships of life we can become so involved in the struggle, and desperately calling upon the Lord in prayer, that even though we are saying the words, our depth of devotion and loving heart is absent from them. My devotional reading this morning warned against this, and today we will turn to a verse in Isaiah 29 to understand this further.

God Cares, and is Always True

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God Cares

This morning our devotional message is one of great promise... God cares for us. He answers our prayers, shoulders our burdens, heals us, comforts us, provides for us, and is always true to His Word. We are living in a pessimistic time when men and women, even in the highest of offices, don’t seem to know the truth. Yet we are asked to put our trust in them saying things like “He/she is the lesser of two evils.” Isn’t it wonderful to be able to turn to God and Jesus Christ knowing that in them there is no compromise, and that their Word is always true?

Do Not Grow Weary in Your Prayers

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Weary in Prayer

Do you begin to pray fervently with power, but as your prayers continue do you find that your strength is waning? Praying is not only a spiritual exercise, but is also mentally, and physically demanding as well. God sent Jesus an angel to strengthen Him while He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, and He will send us help too. There are sweet prayers that we find rather easy to pray, and we can sing and whisper them, but there are also those that are like raging storms within us that we must shout in order to be heard above the gale, and that demand a great deal of effort to pray. Regardless of the nature of our prayers today, let’s not grow weary as we offer them. Have you ever had such an occurrence in your life?

Praying for Worldly Matters, Lighter Loads, and fewer Distractions

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Lighten Loads

I received a text message one day regarding the precarious position a close friend was in at work, and the stress this was bringing to him and his family. Hearing that his job was in danger I immediately began praying for God to intercede in his struggle. I prayed for my friend often over the coming days and then added an additional prayer for peace and prosperity to my ongoing requests regarding the safety of his job. I wasn’t praying that he would become wealthy, no, I was praying that the Lord would sustain him and take away this distraction to his faith.

Praying For Our Body, Mind, Soul, and Strength

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Pray For All We Are

This morning we will study a subject that often perplexes those who are spiritual. My devotional reading today addressed the question "why is it important to pray for my bodily health and worldly matters?" E.M. Bounds reasoned that these things, albeit lower than the spiritual, have much to do with our religion. He went on to say that worldly matters, and our health, affect how we think and this makes them subjects of prayer. Through the years I have prayed for healing many times; not just my own healing but also that of others. Although I can't remember an instance in the Bible where Jesus prayed for His own healing, He healed the bodies of others so there is precedent for this.

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