Our Compassion to Forgive

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Compassion

Today our devotional study has to do with compassion. I was reading E.M. Bounds' thoughts and had to read these words several times "It is no sin to feel the pain and realize the darkness on the path into which God leads us. It is only human to cry out against the pain and desolation of the hour." Compassion is a gift to those who pray; it helps us feel the pains and remorse of those who we pray for, and it makes us aware of the basic nature of human kind as we pray for the return of Christ. It is encouraging to know that Jesus is not without compassion. He felt all of the emotion that we feel and yet He was without sin.

God Hears and Answers Our Prayers

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God Answers

Specific answers to prayer was the topic of the devotional message I read this morning. Pastor E.M. Bounds said this regarding the subject: "God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, are both strongly committed by the truth of the Word and by the integrity of their character to answer prayer." In both the Old and New Testaments we are assured and reassured that our prayers will be heard and answered, and in Psalms we have more prayers than in any other book in the bible. Specifically there are 72 prayers included in it; and there are also instructions regarding how we should pray them, and reassurance that they will be answered.

Does God Give Himself by Halves? Do we?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, What God Gives

"God Gives Nothing by Halves" was the title of my devotional reading this morning yet among Christians there are many who feel confident that while giving Him half of themselves they still deserve all of Him. There is a scripture we quote all of the time and when we do, we rejoice, but few actually carry through with what Jesus actually asks of us as he quotes the first commandment, and repeats one word three times... that word is “ALL”.

Making God’s Promise Real through Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, God’s Promises

It is true that people do pray more when they are in trouble, and they are also inclined to criticize God in the midst of great trouble, but in God's eyes our lives here are just a portion of the journey... When many are lost to calamity we have a tendency to think they are gone because this life is all we know, but in God it is not the end... Evil never triumphs, the journey is not complete. We already know the end of the story, and God is victorious and dries the tears of the martyred saints. Jesus has already risen and the promise of His return is real… He will return to claim His bride, and the dead in Christ will rise to meet Him. Are we ready?

Miracles, and Praying for the Impossible

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Impossible Answers?

05/24/2024

What do we do when the impossible prayer is answered? How do we react when we pray for a miracle and we actually get it? This is the subject of our devotional this morning, and my example has to do with the coming Christ... The promised Messiah. Jesus Christ was promised, but before he could arrive another would have to be born and prepare the world for his coming... That forerunner would be John the Baptist, and his birth would be miraculous, but even after his parents had prayed continuously for a child, and when faced with this miracle, his father doubted the coming miracle because the answer was outside the natural norm.

Man, the Desert, and a Choice

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Choosing God

I have been thinking about some thoughts presented by Pastor E.M. Bounds' in his devotional message this morning. I have been contemplating a couple of statements he made that I found quite thought provoking and revealing; the first is "The end of trouble is always good to God." And the second was "Trouble proves a blessing or a curse, depending on how it is received and treated by us." These fit nicely with a conclusion I reached a long time ago. I came to the realization that man is the source of trouble in creation. Let me explain my thoughts...

The Catalyst in Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Beginning with Prayer

This morning my devotional reading spoke of the effect that prayer has on our hearts and, through our hearts, and it dealt with our fervent nature that seeks God. E.M. Bounds wrote that "Prayer in times of trouble tends to bring the spirit into perfect submission to the will of God, and delivers from everything like a rebellious heart or a critical spirit.... Prayer so prepares the heart that it softens under the disciplining hand of God." The Lord uses trouble in our lives as a tool to discipline and instruct us, but prayer is the catalyst that brings us into submission and knowledge.

Witnessing God in Every Good Thing and Trouble

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God in our Troubles

Seeing God in every good thing about us is a gift, but being able to see Him in our troubles is truly a blessing. When we see God in our distress it calms the spirit and reassures us because we grow in our absolute faith in His goodness. E.M. Bounds expounded on this by saying that if we can find God in our troubles that "we are warranted in taking them to God in prayer and seeking to get the greatest spiritual benefits out of them." So many of us only see our problems in a negative light, and miss the fact that they too benefit us.

Troublemakers, Prayers, and Giving Grace

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Loving Everyone

The troublemakers in our lives... E.M. Bounds spoke to this subject in his devotional this morning. He began by saying "Some troubles are human in origin. They arise from secondary causes. They originate with other people, but we are the sufferers." This is true, many of our day to day problems are caused by those around us. In life we will run across those who do us harm; some out of meanness, and others while trying to advance themselves at all cost. I have had my fair share of bullies in my life that were so full of anger that it was hard to see a glint of good in them, and I have also fallen victim to those whose great desire to advance themselves have hurt innocent people in the process. So how do we deal with this fact? Do we ask God to curse them, or perhaps to destroy them? Well Jesus tells us something much different... we are to love them.

Trouble, and Our Worry Wart Personas

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Worries in Life

What kind of trouble is bothering us? Today let’s acknowledge that we suffer from all types of trouble, but the 900 pound gorilla in the room is WORRY! In my devotional reading this morning the author categorized troubles for us like this:

"Some troubles only exist in the mind. Some are anticipated troubles that never come. Others are past troubles, and it is foolish to worry over them. Present troubles are the only ones requiring attention and demand prayer. Some troubles are self-originated; we are their authors. Some of these originate involuntarily; some arise from our ignorance; some come from our carelessness." – E.M. Bounds

Bounds has given us a very good description of the troubles that we either perceive or experience in our lives, but of all of these, the only ones that we should actively deal with and bring before the Lord are the real and present troubles. The rest aren't troubles at all but are baseless WORRIES! Which of these have we fallen victim to in our lives today?

Prayer Brings Comfort, and More

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Prayer Comforts

"Prayer Brings Comfort" is more than just the title for this morning's devotional message, it is a declaration of the benefit that speaking with God brings. My morning reading in E.M. Bounds puts it this way... "Prayer in times of trouble brings comfort, help, hope, and blessings that, while not making the trouble disappear, enables the saint to handle it better and to submit to the will of God." If we are not careful in prayer we will simply dwell on finding relief from troubles, and miss the greater benefits. Prayer is indeed a time of seeking God's intervention and help in our distresses, but our prayers go beyond removing the discomfort, they have a deeper purpose. Prayer also reaffirms our belief, reinforces our humility before God, and communicates His will to us. Prayer does more than asking for help, it teaches us from whence that help comes.

Prayer, Salvation, and the Instant We Believed

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Instant Belief

Where do we turn when we feel we are in trouble? What do we do that brings us comfort? Our natural inclination should be to pray. Prayer in times of trouble is more than something we are instructed to do; it should be our natural destination in response to any crisis. Prayer is our lifeboat when life’s miseries and issues begin to toss us about. Praying is not something we need to earn, or seek out, no, we are invited, not ordered nor rewarded, with prayer, and we are asked by God Himself to call out to Him in this way. If we do this then we will receive comfort, deliverance, and salvation from whatever is troubling us, and by allowing the Lord our God to do this for us it will bring Him glory.

Trouble and Divine Providence

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God’s Use of Trouble

Let’s quickly define "divine providence" in our lives today as it relates to the “trouble” we experience. The concept of “divine providence” has different, and broader, meanings to various denominations and religions but is generally the same in the fact that it is regarded to mean that God is in control of creation. So without going too much further into the differences between what people believe, let’s agree to agree on this focused idea. Now onto the word, and focus of our study today, “trouble”. E.M. Bounds wrote that "trouble naturally belongs to God's moral government and is one of His invaluable agents in governing the world.” He wrote this while expounding on the subject of "trouble”, which in and of its self is a very interesting concept. I was thrilled with the scripture reference he chose to use today...

Praying Against Temptation

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Prayer and Temptation

This morning I would like for us to concentrate on praying against Temptation. My morning reading touched on this topic today when Pastor E.M. Bounds said: "Temptation is really evil arising from the Devil or born in the human nature.", and as I thought on it I realized that Jesus spoke specifically to temptation when he gave us the Lord's Prayer. He didn't talk about Trouble or Trials, yet He certainly dealt with Evil and Temptation specifically.

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