All in God’s Love

The Angel that Strengthened Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Love

When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, that the cup be taken from Him, and His prayer was so fervent that His sweat fell like blood, an Angel was sent to strengthen Him, and for years I read this to mean that the Angel strengthened His faith, and gave Him the physical determination to obey God’s Will, but then it dawned on me that I was wrong. Jesus had perfect faith, belief, and never wavered in obeying God’s will. What I now envision the Angel bringing Jesus was the strength of God’s love. I see an Angel holding Him in a loving embrace, and covering Him with His Father’s love. When sin and death passed away and the world was transformed, Jesus endured all of the suffering, and took on the world’s sin, not by some miraculous degree of physical fortitude, but through the power of love. Do we look to God’s love when we face the hard things in our lives? Do we feel the loving embrace of our Father as unseen Angels hold us close?

God’s Love, and how we are made holy

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Love

The apostle Paul loved the Thessalonian church and encouraged its members to love others just as he and his disciples loved them, but there is more to the love he describes to them than fondness and emotion. Paul says that if they love one another, and others, as he does them, then their hearts will be made blameless, and holy when Jesus returns to claim his Church. So how are we doing in this regard? Are we allowing the Lord to grow us in love, and make us blameless in it for others? Will God see us this way in judgement when Jesus returns to claim His Bride? We ask all of this to ask the larger question… Does our love make us holy?

Breathing, Acting, and sometimes suffering in the Love of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Love

When the love of God has been given us as a gift of the Spirit it is never a burden, but a joy to wake up to every morning, and a pleasure that fills our entire day. We are told to keep His commandments, and to obey the commandments of Jesus, but neither of these are unpleasant, nor difficult, if our heart is in the right place. In this way His love takes control of our every breath and action, and we are renewed by it with every new dawn. Our dread is overcome, and we are never alone.

Do we understand what love is?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God’s Love

As we study and dig into God’s Word we often stumble upon truths that seem to be hidden in the most interesting, and often obscure, places. Today, as I was reading Romans 5, in support of my morning devotional, I found just such a treasure… a pearl of great value that had escaped me previously. Romans 5 begins with a discussion of faith, but tucked into the fifth verse we receive a revelation regarding God’s love. This verse reveals to us the source of His love in us. So, if we are struggling with love in our lives, and wrestling with how to obey the commandments dealing with it, then this is our help… are we loving as we should?

Relieving stress, and finding Peace through joint prayers of Love

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Prayer , God’s Love

Are we feeling anxious today? Do we fret over the challenges which this particular day will bring as it unfolds before us? If so, what is the solution that we will employ, and feel inclined to pursue? Our God is mighty indeed, but he has no greater might, nor presents us with any more profound mercy, than that of His love, because all else is made real, perfected, and witnessed through its application. Are we simply applying our own taste of love to the personal pilgrim’s journey of faith that we find ourselves on? Have we chosen to apply God’s love as a random mortar between the stones of our belief.. and sometimes disbelief?

Finding Joy, and Perfection, in our Affliction

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Suffering, God’s Love

Do we think of ourselves as a worthy treasure to be presented to God? Are we inclined to consider that we are like gold, silver, or fine jewels that He is eager to have refined, cut, or molded, and placed in His treasure chest, to be displayed with pride? Well, God does value us, and he does refine us, but not as we might think, He doesn’t purify us simply by education, works, or charm school, but in the furnace of our affliction. The spiritual worthiness that He sees in us is like a faint line of gold in a predominately dark stone... and we must be crushed into submission before it can be released, and purified.

Life, Death, and Loving One Another; God’s gift of Love

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Love, Grace

There is nothing more certain in our lives than the love of God for us in Christ Jesus. Even in our earthly death we remain with Him, and His love remains with us. Though we mourn, and suffer the death of our loved ones, God does not, because they remain in Him, and He in them through His Son Jesus, and the unfathomable depth of His Love for us. Isn’t it wonderful to consider the perfection of Christ, and the love of God? Doesn’t this sooth, and bring comfort to our mourning?

God’s Word, or your Smart Phone... Choose.

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Word, God’s Love

Do you trust in the Word of God? Do you believe in it as the rock that you can stand atop forever? From your perch there are you able to see all that He has created, and marvel in amazement at His magnificence, truth, goodness, and love? Do you feel the conviction, dread the wrath, hear the hammer fall on Calvary, and thrill in the grace flowing forth from the risen Christ? This is what the Bible declares to us, and this is our taste of relationship... of God Himself.

Loving your Brother, and the Soup of Sacrifice and God’s Perfect Love

Richard Forbes
God’s Love, Daily Devotion, Sacrifice, Christian

What is the litmus test for our faith in God? Is there one thing that we can use when looking at someone which will tell us the truth about their faith, and reveal the status of their relationship with our Heavenly Father? The answer is yes, and that test is for the presence of their love... a love for each of their brothers. If someone were to dip a test strip into you how would they find you; positive, or negative for love?