God’s Calling, and Who Kicks the Boots of our Fear

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

Has God asked us to do something hard? Did we answer “Yes Father”, and now we find ourselves at that place He has called us to? If so, we are close now, we are facing reality, and quite possibly the terror of it. This is the moment of truth, and in it we could also be facing our deepest fears. This is the time when we must pray as though we were kneeling in Gethsemane where we are facing our own desires, and doubts. When God reveals the fullness of what He has asked of us and we have found that the nobleness of saying “Yes Lord” has worn off, we will find ourselves face to face with the reality of God’s will and our fears, and doubts too. It is in such moments when we realize fully that we cannot face what God has asked of us alone… but that even so, His will must be done.

Family, and our Holy Purpose

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional

As a believer we are set apart for God’s use, but what about our spouse, and our children? Does God have a plan for them, and does it involve us? Well, whenever something is made holy, God has a purpose and a plan for it. This is true of us as well, and especially includes our role as it pertains to an unbelieving spouse... and our children. The holiness with which we are painted, paints our families with the same color so that we will all be covered by it, and so it is that we bring the hope of our faith into our household. Salvation enters boldly with us through the front door.

When Evil Attacks, and being Held Safe in the Truth of God

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Combating Evil

How do we maintain our faith once we have it? How do we hold firm in the face of false prophets, temptation, evil, or the antichrist? Do we have to return to school like a nurse, or some other licensed professional, and receive so many additional hours of spiritual training each year? The answer is no because within us we already have the knowledge we need, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit who teaches us how to apply God’s Word, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to everything in our lives.

Jesus the Transformer, and Seeing the Face of God

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Seeing God

Do you realize that Jesus provides the life force that powers your soul, that he takes the spiritual current that flows from God, and transforms it into just the right wattage, and amperage for the spiritual motor that drives us? Certainly, there have been those people that God has interacted with directly, but His current far exceeds our limited mortal capacity. Jesus on the other hand provides for us all day long, every day, without overpowering our spiritual senses. He is the transformer that adjusts the power of God to supply our spiritual engines... our daily lives.

Our imperfect lives, and God’s perfect plan for us

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, God’s Plan

We get married, and if we are so blessed we have children. From the moment we decide to bring each of these new lives into the world we begin to make plans for them; we want the best for them. It is the same with God, and He has a plan for each of our lives; a plan made long before we were born... or even conceived. These plans, both ours and God’s, can only be accomplished if the child gives all their effort as they strive to know and do their parent’s will. Are you a fully engaged participant in God’s plan for you?

The Holy Spirit; He’s not a Reward

Richard Forbes
Christian, Curing a Broken Heart, Daily Devotional, Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit comes to us in two installments, the first is the one that leads us to God through Jesus, and the second comes at some point after our initial conversion. There is no mandatory waiting period so you might receive both almost simultaneously. Do you have both inoculations, the initial injection, and then the booster? Did you even know what you felt was the Holy Spirit, or did you think it was just a yearning for the Lord God that you felt, but couldn’t fully describe? By praying we are led to the fullness of the Holy Spirit; yet he is not a reward for righteousness, but rather a helpmate for our spirituality... especially in times of greatest need.

Faith in God and Finding Answers to the Unfathomable

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Understanding Life

Do we really know what tomorrow will bring us? We think that we can predict it based on the events of today, but in fact we cannot. Life is fluid and ever changing, and many things are understood only by God Himself. So how does not knowing what tomorrow will bring make us feel, do we feel less human or do we feel more so in our unknowing? Does not being able to fully understand the world or something in it turn us towards God, or cause us to feel more alone and insignificant?

Who, or What, Have We Placed on the Throne of our Lives?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Our Throne

Is there something in your life that keeps getting in the way of your faith in God? Is there something that distracts you during your day when you are trying to pray without ceasing, or which keeps you from studying God’s Word? Does your love for money stop you from donating to a food pantry, or perhaps occupies all of your time and prohibits you from burying the dead, or visiting the sick? Jesus asks us to identify these distractions that are coming before God, and remove them, just as he did when He advised the wealthy young ruler.

Jesus, our Champion in Intercession

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Intercession of Jesus

Have you given yourself to Jesus Christ so that he might intercede for you in all that you do? Have you become His, just as much as you have become God’s? To be a child of God through Jesus Christ is more than giving yourself over physically, or mentally, but to also do so spiritually as well... our spirit becomes His, and He then goes to the Father in prayer for us in our entirety... not just when we ask directly for His intercession but in everything that makes up our lives.

The Eternal Blood Drive

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Blood of Life

Have you ever donated blood? Have you gone down to the Red Cross and given because they said that they were running low and that people might die without it? Well, when you did this you probably did so because yes, you thought it would help someone, and no, it wouldn’t harm you in any way to give. Likely, you didn’t know the names of the people who received your donation and who lived because you shared your blood with them... but Jesus knew every name because they had been written in the book of life when he gave His blood for us.

Wresting the Church from the Hands of Man

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, God and His Word

What do we do when we recognize that we have been wrong in a biblical practice or belief? Perhaps we find that we have made a liturgical practice out of something we have considered to be the Word of God that was actually of man, and not of God after all. What should we do? How should we face this and admit our failure or address something we find to be a material heresy? Are we brave enough to face our mistake before God and man or are we doomed to a life of spiritual suffering in false worship? Friends, in such cases we must gather bravely in contrition as a church and pray for God’s forgiveness.

Servant, or Slave; How far must we go in humility?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Slave

How humble do we allow ourselves to be before God? Do we maintain our freedom of self at all cost, do we sell ourselves as a servant who works for a price, or, are we totally owned as a slave and kept by our master? How far are we willing to go into our servitude? How far will we allow our humility to take us as we humble ourselves at the feet of the Lord? Now let’s ask ourselves this... how completely are we prepared to humble ourselves before one another? Are we totally free and independent, a servant, or are we truly a slave to those around us.

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