All in Christian

Worry is the Epidemic Evil of Mankind

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Peace

My devotional reading this morning began with an incredibly insightful statement. Pastor E. M. Bounds began by writing "Worry is the epidemic evil of mankind. Everybody is influenced by worry.", and as I thought about this observation, I came to the conclusion that He was so right. We do worry about many things in our lives... even everyday things. It made me think of my mother who was the consummate worrier. I would often tease her by saying that if she didn’t have something of her own to worry about, she would borrow someone else’s troubles and worry about those. I am making worry sound trivial, but it isn’t. Let’s visit this subject today.

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?

Leaving Home to Follow Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Following Jesus

Placing our relationship with Jesus above all others in our life; is this something that we are willing, or able, to do? Could you walk away from home and family if Jesus asked you to follow Him, and said “I will make you fishers of men."? You might do so if you had nothing there to live for, but what if you had a wonderful family, a life filled with happiness and wealth? What if you were living in complete contentment… would you still leave it all behind and go?

Are we sandals for the faithful, or dust shaken to the ground?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Right Minded Faithfulness

Do we attend church on the Sabboth out of a sense of duty, and go to other church functions to be entertained, or to socialize with friends? Church, like all of our faith, should be much more than a pastime, or a religious country club, it should be where we go for spiritual sustenance, and to gain strength through our study and fellowship with other believers. Yet even though many begin their church life to learn about, and worship God and Jesus Christ, over time they fall into the trap of routine behavior, and socializing. What is the direction our motivation is moving in today?

The Answer to the World’s Problems... God’s Perfect Love

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Perfect Love

God is love and he loves us perfectly. When we accept this fact then we can understand our true relationship with Him, and He will reside in the deepest recesses of our heart and soul. How can we say we know God if we don’t know His love, and how can we say that we are created in His image, and not have His love within us? To believe in God is to believe in love... who is it that abides in us today?

Our Urgent Days of Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Urgent Faith

We read the scripture and pause on words like peace, rest, walk, and eternity, partially because these make us feel relaxed in our hectic lives, but in reality our faith, and witnessing to others is urgent. Jesus is returning, and when He does the time for decisions and action will be over... instantly! Do you want to be caught between prayers, waiting for a better time to profess your faith, or having lost a soul by putting off a gospel conversation until it was too late?

Blind the eyes of the Sinner; Open the eyes of the Righteous

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Forgiving Big Sins

We are all sinners; you, me, all of us, but God sent His Son Jesus to cure this disease in us... to overcome the sin that plagues us. Yet you respond to me by saying: “You don’t understand, I have done terrible things, my sins are black as coal, I am unforgivable.” Well my friend, I am glad to hear you say that because it tells me that you realize the tragic power of sin in your life, but trust me when I say that you are not the worst of us, and even if you were, Jesus is greater than the sin in you. Every sinner has echoed your words... even the Apostle Paul.

Sinful behavior, and the hole it leaves in us

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Lying and Cheating

When we achieve something without doing the work or abiding by the rules then we find that there is a hollow place in us where satisfaction, joy, and great peace should reside. It is the same in our faith, and the practice of our religion. Vying for a position of faith, or to be a board member, without being honest in our faith, or by seeking votes by subterfuge, leaves us wanting; we might be called a deacon, or be voted onto the board, but how are we left feeling as we stand before God? Men can’t see our heart, but God can, and He sees an emptiness there.

Following the Call of our Almighty God!

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Almighty God

Our God is more than just strong, He is all powerful, and nothing is beyond His ability; nothing physically, spiritually, or mentally, is too great for Him to accomplish. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent... all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere. If He weren’t loving, good, merciful, and just, He would strike terror in every man, but in fact His goodness pervades all things... even our hearts when we are yet in sin. He sees enough good in us, that He reaches out to us through His Son Jesus to redeem us. He has made us in His image, and in our most decrepit state there is a touch of His goodness remaining within us; a glimmer of His hope, love, and goodness smolders there, enough that He will save us if we will open ourselves to Him.

God’s Will, and the Joy in Obedient Suffering

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Suffering

Are we sorrowful today, and is the joy we once felt diminished, as our happiness is draining from us? Have we been brought low and find ourselves on our knees before God crying out for the relief that only He can provide? If this is true, and we are on our knees before Him, then we should view the trials which have brought us such pain to be joy, and our posture before Him an indication that our faith has been successfully tested.

Silence in Heaven

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Silence

We always picture Heaven as a place filled with praise, the continuous sound of worship, and the smell of incense, but on occasion it is also silent, being filled with the Holy Silence of God. Sometimes silence comes with prayer, and everything becomes still except the smoke of our prayers themselves as they rise before God. Yes, what we pray as words on earth become much more in the spirit world... they become incense, and fill bowls made of gold, and spoken words become silent feelings.

Practicing Righteousness in Secret, and Delivering the Gospel boldly without Contradiction

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Secret Righteousness , Personal Relationship

We are told to go into every nation delivering the good news of Jesus Christ, but at the same time we are warned not to practice our righteousness before others; does this sound like a contradiction to you? How should we go about telling people of God, and Jesus without presenting ourselves as righteous? The answer is twofold, and rather simple... don’t make the message you are teaching, or preaching, appear to be about yourself, and secondly, conduct your personal life of faith in secret.

Honoring Christ, the Lamb, all day, and Everyday

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Blessing and Honoring Jesus, Blessing and Honoring Jesus

In the time of Jesus, lambs being readied for sacrifice in the temple were wrapped in swaddling cloth at birth, and protected from harm during their lives so that they would be unblemished, and perfect sacrifices. These were special among all the lambs, and prepared for the sole purpose of atoning for sin. Jesus became such a Lamb for us, and He took on our sin; giving His blood that we would be purified and redeemed. So how do we look upon this man, our Lamb, in the aftermath of His sacrifice? Do we bless and honor Him in all we do? Do we place Him high above us with His Father, and hold Him in great esteem?

Barefoot in our Quiet Places, Secret Places; the Holy Places

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Secret Places , Holy Places

We spoke yesterday about seeking out quiet places to pray, and this is important if we are to be alone with God, and hear His voice as it speaks to us, but there is one more ingredient that we touched on briefly... a secret place. If we are highly sought out, and can’t find solitude otherwise we need to find a secret, or unknown, place where we will not be disturbed as we pray, a place where we can listen to God, and He can speak openly with us. Jesus wandered into the wilderness in the early morning hours to places that others were not privy to, and met God there.

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