All in God’s Glory

Diversity, the Transformed Church, and the Glory of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Diversity , Glory of God , God’s Glory

By our faith in Jesus Christ, and His desire that we take His gospel, and the Word of God, into all of the world, we have become the glory of God. We, as the varied and amazing Church, have become an example before all of heaven of the immense diversity and creativity of our Heavenly Father. So now in this present age it is meant for us to come together in all our many colors, and various fabrics, to become the beautiful tapestry of God’s design which bears the perfect image of Jesus Christ... His Son.

Are we reflecting God’s Glory?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , God’s Glory

We are meant to glorify God, but so often we don’t see ourselves as being very successful at it. However, that should remain our great desire, and ambition. Do we try to compensate for our feeling of failure by doing physical things in the world to make us appear glorious? If we strive to please God by boasting glory before others then we have lost sight of what He wants of us. Our actions aren’t meant to be for our own glory... but His alone. If we yield ourselves completely to His will, and do everything in our lives for His glory, then truly we have come to know God.

God’s Will, God’s Glory, and our Humility

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Will, God’s Glory

Did you preach a wonderful sermon this week, or do something amazing for your church? Have you been given accolades for your teaching ability, or praised for a miracle that God performed following your intercession in prayer? Perhaps you were recognized for years of service to your congregation, and puffed out your chest in satisfaction. Well, If we claim the glory for any of these things publicly, or even privately in the depths of our heart, then whose will were we serving if not our own? Our service to God should be performed by humbly Seeking and doing God’s will, then stepping back and yielding all glory to Him.

Praying for the Glory of God in the face of Calamity

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Glory

All that we do every day should be done for the glory of God. When we are set upon by our enemies, and we call upon God for help, it shouldn’t be to satisfy our own selfish reasons but to free us so that we might better do His will. We should summon His aid so that He can demonstrate His might, and His love for us before all the world. Our testimony regarding deliverance, provision, and His love, should always be given to glorify our Heavenly Father alone. 

The Name of Jesus covers the Great and the Small Alike

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Following Jesus, God’s Glory

We pray, and then conclude that prayer by saying “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen” and we are comfortable in this because we are told specifically to ask in His name, but do we live out our lives in His name? When we do all of the small things that seem to have little to do with our faith, do we do every one of them through Jesus for the glory of God? Each tiny detail of our lives should be performed in such manner and should represent the “unceasing” nature of our faith, in this way, even our almost imperceptible sin should not pass without our notice, and contrition.

Who is the Real “I” in our Life of Faith?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Glory

Do we give God honor, worship, and glory for all that is our life? The opportunities that come to us, the food on our table, the children we beget, and the loves we experience in all of their splendor? It is so easy to say “I did this!”, or to accept the glory when someone says of us “Here is a man who has done amazing things!” We do this every day, and if you listen to yourself as you speak you will be led to acknowledge that “I” is your favorite word... it is the most used word of all mankind.

Arrogance, and the Veil between Man and God

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Glory

The first thing we are told to do in prayer is to confirm that God, our Holy Father, is hallowed. It isn’t by accident that Jesus taught us to pray this way, it is an affirmation of our submission to God, and an acknowledgement of His glory. One of the hardest things for us as humans to do is to give up our pride in self, our claim to glory, and to cast our crowns at the feet of anything... even God. Our arrogance is the thread that holds together the veil between ourselves, and God.

The Song, the Conversation, and the Touchdown Dance of Glory

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Glory

What have we done entirely of ourselves? What have we done that we can claim wholly as ours? Not a single thing can be accomplished that God has not facilitated it, so to Him we owe the glory. Our very next breath, the strength in our arms, the power of our thoughts, the circumstances, and the successes of every venture, they are all of Him, by Him, and through Him. In this regard we should yield all glory to God. Does this cause our pride to fidget, and squirm within us?

Stealing Glory from Before the Throne God

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Glory, God’s Strength

Do we march through life with our heads held high; prideful in our own accomplishments? How about in our spiritual life? Are we arrogant, and proud in all that God, and His Son Jesus have done for us, and claim it as our own success? It is so easy to return from one of life’s many battlefields, and accept not only the credit for having won that war, but to receive the accolades for the victory... when in truth, it was God’s strong right arm that had defeated the enemy that confronted us, and the sacrifice of Jesus that gives us life.

Facing Our Fear in the High Places, and God’s Lesson of Humility

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Fear, Humility, God’s Glory

There are times in our lives when we accomplish great things, and when we do, we tend to take full credit for them... but should we claim them, any of them, and take even the slightest bit of glory for them? As we visit the high places of life, are we worthy of any glory at all? All glory is God’s alone, and when we don’t realize that He shows us a bit of Himself, and humbles us.

Of Prayer, Drinking Straws, and the Glory of God

Richard Forbes
Prayer, God’s Glory, Christian, Daily Devotion

Who do you glorify in your prayers? Is your aim to glorify God, or is it to bring glory upon yourself? This is especially a danger when we are interceding in prayer for others because it is easy for them to attribute the success of a prayer to the intercessor, and thus assign the glory there incorrectly. In the secret privacy of our prayer closets this same issue arises, however it has to do with the motive behind our prayers... who do we glorify, and who do we allow others to glorify as we pray?

Unanswered Prayer can lead us to Question our Faith

Richard Forbes
Daily Devotion, Christian, Prayer, God’s Glory, Seeking, God’s Will, Answered

Jesus said that whatever we asked in His name He would do, so why is it that you are praying and He isn’t doing what you are asking of Him? This is a common question asked about prayer, and one that causes many pastors to begin making excuses for Jesus and God. The inability to understand prayer based on one verse of scripture, taken out of context, leads to the downfall of many.

Casting a Shadow on God the Father

Richard Forbes
God’s Glory, Christian, Daily Devotion

Giving God the glory for those things He does through us can be a difficult thing to accomplish, and has been the undoing of many... including pastors. It seems the more gifts we have been given, and especially the more our natural gifts are, the harder it becomes for us to reflect the fullness of light back to its rightful star. You see, no matter how brightly a planet shines in the night sky, it is never truly the origin of the light... and likewise, no matter how great God’s will is manifest in us... we are just His reflection.