All tagged Jesus

Jesus Christ, the Treasure in our Field... and our Life

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Our Treasure, Christ

Is Jesus Christ like a treasure that you have discovered in your life, and did you give up everything else you once valued so that in overwhelming joy you could abide with Him? No? Well, once you have uncovered Jesus, and witnessed the value of His righteousness, holiness, and grace, there is nothing you own that you wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice for Him. Perhaps you have merely discovered the locked chest, but have never opened it to see the actual treasure inside, and then covered it back up. Are you afraid of what opening that chest will awaken in you, or of what it will require of you?

Are we asking the Right Questions of God; or any Questions?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Asking, God

Are you in the middle of a situation that perplexes you? Are you overwhelmed by adversity and don’t know what to do next? Sometimes we find life to be more than we can handle, or circumstances to be new to us, and in such times we are uncertain what our next step should be. In times like these we should seek the presence of God, and the intercession of Jesus; then obey As they instruct us. The apostle Paul found himself in just such a confusing circumstance as he travelled to Damascus.

Faith, Imagination, and the Holy Word of God

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Faith, Word of God

There is a difference between faith, and imagination. Both dwell in our minds, but faith springs from trusting the Word of God, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, whereas imagination is founded on fantasy, and the concoctions of our own mind. Some who say “I am a Christian“ are guilty of folding the two into one way of worshiping as they seek what is easy or pleasing to them in God’s will, while imagining the hardships and suffering to be useless, and not of the Lord.

Finding Peace, and Joy, in our Faith Alone

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Contentment, Faithfulness

How content are we in our spiritual lives? Are we satisfied with what the Lord provides us, or do we approach our faith like we do our earthly labor; driven by dissatisfaction, and an unending need for more? If we climb mountains isn’t there always another peak to summit, or if we are a fisherman isn’t there one more cast of our net to make? Yet as believers, we should be happy with where God is taking us, and content with His daily provision... our lives should be lived peacefully each day in the presence of God.

God, the Source of all Truth

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Truth, Faith

When we first hear God calling us to follow Jesus Christ, or later as Christians to do His will, and we ignore Him... do we think that He just goes away and that this is the end of it? Sometimes we attempt to treat God as if He were one of our fantasies, and if we ignore Him then He will vanish, but nothing could be further from the truth. Even in our faithlessness, our disobedience, or when we turn our back on Him... He is there, and He remains God. 

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?

Conscription, Pilgrimage, and the Propitiation of Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Provision

When was the last time that someone took the blame for something you did? Better yet, when was the last time you took the blame for an offense that someone else committed? For this to occur in either way it involves love. The person who stands in propitiation for someone must at the very least like them enough to take the punishment, but as the offense, or sin, increases in its distaste, then the love must increase as well.  

Where are the Modern Day Tables of the Money Changers set up?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, The Church

Are we ready to live, and defend, our faith with zeal? If a group who calls themselves believers wants to come into our place of worship, set up a table, and use it for what we know to be a sinful activity, would we stand idly by as they did so? Jesus was a man who had a zeal for God and His house, and when He turned over the tables of the money changers in the Temple, His disciples witnessed this. But, where do we worship today, and where are the tables that should be offending us being set up?

Knowing the Will of God

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

Does God’s will for you seem like a total mystery to you that can’t be resolved, or understood? Do you pray for Him to reveal it to you, but hear only silence? Well, the will of God for you is not meant to remain a mystery, it is as certain as the blood of Christ, as complete as our forgiveness from sin, and we have no part in determining it... It is totally in support of God’s purpose and is made known to us through His grace which flows through Jesus Christ; facilitated by the Holy Spirit.

Quenching our Thirst, and Running through Faith to God

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Seeking God

Do you seek God, and follow after Jesus Christ like a runner who sweats and remains nearly out of breath as he runs to stay up with the others in a race, or do you simply run because you must? There are many things that motivate us to seek after God, so ask yourself what it is about finding Him that keeps you running when you are nearly out of breath, seeking when your legs grow weak, and Following after Him when most would faint, or give up from sheer exhaustion. The Church of Christ is full of runners, but what motivates each of them to run?

The Futility of Man, and the Faithful Trust we have in God’s Deliverance

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Trusting God

In whom do we trust when we rise to face each morning? In whom do we entrust the safety of our souls when we close our eyes each night? Who Is it that walks with us every step of our day? The world would have us believe that men can lead us, and watch over us, yet there is no strength in their arms, nor wisdom they can employ that we don’t possess ourselves, and we are not enough. God, and Jesus Christ are our true hope, and our certain salvation; in them we find perfect trust, and from them comes our safety, sure passage through life, and every blessing.

Faulty Memories, Lost Faith, and God’s Faithful Calling

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Calling

Have you been drawn, or called, to Jesus Christ? Perhaps you thought it was your Idea, and effort, that brought you to Him, or that it was the culmination of a happy set of circumstances that led you to know Him? Well friend, God is deliberate regarding our faith, and He calls to us for specific reasons, and to glorify Himself through us. For Him to have drawn you to Jesus He had a plan for you, and knew you fit perfectly into His will. How are you responding to His urging, or upholding your end of the promise you once made to Him?

Joy, and the Day I First Believed

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Seeking Jesus

How was it for you on the day you first believed? Did you even think it was possible to feel such joy, or that the Son of God could love you in this way? Did you come to Jesus with your heart burdened by sin, hoping only for a glimpse of Him, and leave that place filled with the Holy Spirit, and dancing on air? People might have grumbled when they saw your sins washed away, or were made jealous by the joy you received, but Jesus came to save those who need Him most, like the rich tax collector Zacchaeus... like you!

Truth, and the Word of God

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

Are we inclined to believe what men say the truth of God is, and find ourselves unable to fully accept the glory that is Christ, and those things which are spoken by God Himself? Do we lean upon the understanding of others while using the Word of God only where it is convenient for us to do so, and where it justifies what men say, and what they do; not placing God’s Word in its rightful place as the rule by which all men are judged? If this is true about us then we have established ourselves to be gods, and in our minds have subjugated the one true God... we have sinned.

Walking the Via Dolorosa with Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Good Friday

Today is Good Friday... a day when Christians pray, fast, and mourn the crucifixion of Jesus in their reflection, and tears. This is the day in which we commemorate the passion of Christ in all of its horror, mercy, sadness, and grace. Today we see Him tried, mocked, beaten, forced to carry His cross through the streets of Jerusalem, and then nailed to it. Here, on Calvary, He asked forgiveness for His persecutors, even as He was dying, and drawing His final breaths. Here He suffered to fulfill prophesy, and the Will of God. Are these the focus of our thoughts, and prayers, today? Do you, like Pilot, find no guilt in Him?

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