All tagged Perfection

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.

Facing Temptation, and becoming perfect in the Hands of God

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Temptation, Faithfulness

Are there people who seek to undermine our faith in Jesus Christ, or who wish to destroy our belief in God? Do we feel less than competent when it comes to defending scripture in a scholarly setting, or standing up to ridicule? Well, whatever comes against us will be defeated, and God’s power within us will prevail because His hand is upon us. No matter our shortcomings, He has filled every crack and chink in our armor from within using the knowledge of His Holy Spirit, and has provided us a sword for our defense hammered out in the forge of His Word.

A Father’s Welcome: No Sin too Great for the Cleansing Blood of Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Forgiveness

Have either we, our households, or our communities strayed from the will and service of God? Well, just as God warned Moses that there would be punishment for such behavior, so it is for us today. However, before we begin crying, and tearing at our clothes in distress, know that God promises us that if we return to Him He will not only forgive, and accept us back, but give His name to dwell here among us.

George Washington Carver, and Our Transformation in the Character of Christ

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Transformation, Perfection

Is your faith consuming you like a living fire? Is the old person who first heard the call of the spirit still the same one you are today, or is the corruption of sin, that was once a part of you, being burned away so that you are transformed into the pure image of the Lord? Perhaps your transformation is such that you don’t recognize it as occurring until one day you see your reflection and are amazed at who you have become.

Suffering, Barefoot Boys, and Our Perfection in Tribulation

Richard Forbes
Christian, Perfection, Suffering, Daily Devotion, Mercy

Do you suffer and not understand why God allows it to happen? Do you experience misery in your life, or see it in others, and ask God in prayer to remove this from you, or from those you intercede for in prayer? Well, as men it is natural for us to wince and withdraw from pain, but as faithful creatures it brings us to perfection in our faith, obedience, and prayers for the suffering and afflicted. How perfect are you being made? How perfect are your prayers?

Love, the “Perfect” within us, and all Creation

Richard Forbes
Relationship, Perfection, Daily Devotion, Christian, Love

The human view of knowing is based almost totally on our minds, as evidenced by the fact that we judge the worth of each other based on intelligence and intellectual achievement, but although God places value in that as well, He founds His judgement of our relationship with Him on what happens in our hearts. Do you love God? This is the greatest commandment! This is the greatest of our emotions, and is not an intellectual pursuit that we can control and dictate. It is the greatest commandment Indeed!

Imperfect and Monstrous Fathers, and the Perfection of Abba God the Father

Richard Forbes
Abba, Christian, Imperfect Fathers, God the Father, Daily Devotion

Are you the child of an imperfect father? Well, here is some news for you... all men are flawed, and we as children are flawed as well. However, God is perfect and beyond blemish... He is perfection in every way. Yes, He is Abba, the perfect Father, and in so being will never abandon you, or do any of those things that abusive, or otherwise imperfect human fathers do. No matter how bad your earthly father is, and I know that some are monsters... God the Father is good, and can rescue you from all abuse and calamity.

Preparing for the Olympics of Righteousness, and the Vision of Hubble

Richard Forbes
Forgiveness, Sin, Grace, Christian, Perfection, Daily Devotion

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t recognize myself to be a sinner. If this is not a humbling realization then I am not in the presence of God, and Jesus. Are you conscious of your sinful nature as well? Do you too work daily to live a life free of sin only to pray repetitively for forgiveness? Then like millions before us you are on the road to perfection.

A Lesson in Trimming Bushes... the Vision and Will of God

Richard Forbes
Obedience, Christian, Trust, Daily Devotion, Will of God, Relationship

When you are serving God do you seek to further perfect what He has given you to do? If He tells you to build a neighborhood church do you build a parsonage as well? We hear the voice of God, we hear what He would have us do, and then presume we know what comes next. Have you been guilty of this? Did it seem innocent as you placed words in the mouth of God?

Perfection in Discipline; Lessons in Our Suffering

Richard Forbes
Suffering, Goodness, Christian, Daily Devotion, Discipline, Grace, God

Are you in the midst of some trauma in your life? Are you looking to God and asking “Why Lord? Aren’t I your child?” Of course the answer to this question is that He loves you too much not to discipline, or teach, you. The storms in the life of a Christian are meant to teach and perfect us, but they sure feel like pure punishment don’t they? Yet, amidst the hardships and discipline, never lose sight of the fact that you are indeed a child of God.