On the Cross with Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, On The Cross

We are about to enter into Holy Week, and during this week we live and are crucified with Christ during His final days. We follow Him through the joy of His arrival in Jerusalem, eat the last supper with Him, suffer through His anguish at Gethsemane, experience the capture, trial, and scourging of our Lord, and then we join Him on the cross for His crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension. Yes, over the course of this week we will have been crucified with Jesus... not in the physical sense of dying, but spiritually. Our crucifixion is such that our old selves die and our new lives in Christ come alive. Paul explains this to the Galatians in this scripture:

Seeing Jesus On Easter Day

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Seeing Jesus

Have you seen Jesus? I am not talking about the spiritual feeling that comes over us when we first believe, or as we live out our lives of faith, but in a physical one-on-one encounter with the risen Lord. When this occurs, it will change our lives forever; this is much different from the moment we first believed in faith. Pastor Oswald Chambers wrote of our seeing Jesus sometime after being saved. He understood what even a glimpse of Him in this way can do to one's spiritual and physical life.

Will We Glow Like Jesus?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional,

I am lost in thought this morning regarding a certain gift that was given us from the cross. We all know that Jesus suffered, died, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven, to release us from sin and death, but there is more. Through our faith and relationship with Him we too will be resurrected and receive a glorified body just as He did. Are we ready to glow with the same heavenly light that Jesus did while He was talking with Elijah and Moses in the scripture we discussed yesterday? Can we even fathom that?

Why the Silence?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Obedient Silence

This morning, I read about Jesus, as He allowed Peter, James, and John to see Him speak with Elijah and Moses on the mountain before the passion, and as He was transfigured right before their eyes. What a remarkable event, even His clothing glowed... yet He commanded them not to tell anyone of this until He had risen from the dead... why the silence?

Calvary, the Cross, and There Was No Murder

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Calvary and Murder

As Easter approaches and we are resting in the shadow of the cross my thoughts are on Jesus, and the final days of His life. I am contemplating the cross and what that momentous event in human history meant to mankind as Jesus hung from it. I am thinking about what it means to me personally, and what it means to the world as a whole. Contrary to what an unbeliever might think, Jesus was not a victim that day, and the cross was not imposed upon Him. Jesus, the lamb of God, came to this world to perform a job that wasn’t cut short by a murderous crowd at a place called Golgotha. No, He came to fulfill prophesy, deliver a message, take on our sins, and then to give up His life to conquer death for us. We, on the other hand, were graced with three years of His ministry during which He would show us beyond any shadow of a doubt that He was indeed the Son of God. Those years taught us lessons regarding a New Covenant that we could not have learned otherwise.

Remember Whose Child You Are

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Whose Child Am I?

Today let’s contemplate that time when our faith finally moves into its maturity, and we leave the childlike care of our Lord. Let’s focus on leaving the spiritual nursery, which is our earthly church, and how we will begin to test our spiritual wings within the world. Are we ready for what lies ahead? Is our faith strong enough to become real and not just a theory or vapor? This time of maturing came for the disciples of Christ, and when it did, Jesus told them that they would be scattered. The moment of truth had come.

Does God's Word Touch Others While We Work?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Working For God

I am a writer and I write many things, but my morning devotional message is the first thing I write each day. Then there are the scriptural references I leave behind in nearly every other thing I write. For the most part they are hidden there to subtly implant a thought of Jesus, and God's heart song in the unsuspecting subconscious of a lost soul until at last their faith reveals these holy gems to them. Do you include the Word of God in your day-to-day work? Do you leave the Lord's mark on all those who see you at work, or within a subtle message that someone will find, and which will touch their heart in the fullness of God’s time?

Are We Blinded by Our Religion?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Blinded to Faith

This morning I am contemplating those things of faith to which we have become blinded by our religion or liturgical practices. I recall the words of Jesus regarding Jerusalem and ask myself if this could happen to us as well. Could our religion become a hindrance to us? Are we building liturgical or religious walls between those who are seeking redemption, salvation, and a relationship with our Lord?

Our Fascination in Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Focus on Jesus

What is the focus of our life? Is there something or someone that fascinates us beyond anyone, or anything we have ever known? Are we infatuated with the things of this world, or do our thoughts center on God and Jesus? Do we find our attention to be fixed on the divine, or on the physical world around us? The question I am hoping we will pose to ourselves today is this… Are we predominantly spiritual beings who are passing through a physical place, or physical creatures living out our lives in the world? Our answer will ultimately determine whether we are fascinated with Jesus or fixed on earthly things.

Intercession, God, and Jesus Christ

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Intercession and Us

Are we making intercession for others? Do we even know how to pray in such a manner? I worry about this often as I watch us attempt to pray for one another. Are our hearts in worship as we lift up prayers for those in need? Is there anyone even attempting such prayer? There have been times throughout biblical history when there has been no true intercession. One of them is recorded in Isaiah, and we can read of it in this verse...

Preparing for Visits from God and Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Visits from Jesus

On the 24th of this month I wrote of encountering Jesus in front of a jewelry store. It was an unexpected encounter that taught me a great deal about myself and my faith. Today I would like to explore those sudden and unexpected appearances of Jesus in our lives a bit further. It is true that we don't know the date and time of the return of Jesus as predicted in Revelation, but much like Saul, we do occasionally receive chance encounters with Him today during our everyday lives.

Experience the Wonderful

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Wonderful Obedience

Today we are exploring our obedience to Jesus without questioning His instruction. We will be looking at how we should obey Him without the need to weigh His guidance against our own desires. Sometimes we receive a Word from God and it isn't something easy or perhaps it is something we think is dangerous or would put us in a precarious position financially or possibly even spiritually... so we question His motive or our understanding. This doubt is not a modern phenomenon but goes back to the earliest times of faith.

Load More