All tagged Understanding

Sins wrapped in gold are sins nonetheless

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Hidden Sin

We are so naive when it comes to sin. We think that we can easily recognize it, when in fact our greatest sins are often those we lift up to ourselves, and others, as being our most magnificent accomplishments of faith. Things like the pride we take in a healing prayer when in fact it was God’s hand that did the work, and our feeling of self righteousness was merely an attempt to steal his glory... even when we outwardly praised Him. So many sins come encrusted in the sweetness of sugar, or a shining gold plate, when in fact it is sour bread, or crude metal underneath.

Finding Joy, and Relationship, in Reading the Word of Life

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, God’s Word

We read the Bible, and study God’s Word, but is doing so a joy? Reading the Bible can be a daunting task because, depending on the translation, the language can be challenging, the meaning behind certain passages (such as parables and stories) can be difficult to interpret, and quite honestly there are lists, and long genealogies, in the Bible that put many readers off. Let’s be truthful... reading the Bible is not as entertaining as reading “The Arabian Nights”, or “Aesop’s Fables”, but no other book can have such an impact on who we are, thrill us with its revelations, or save our souls. The joy comes when we open our hearts, minds, and souls, to God through His Word.

Mobs, and the Dilemma in Loving our Enemy

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Loving, Commandment

How do we approach a poverty of faith? How do we claim God’s grace as it flows from Christ, when we are suffering from a loss inside our individual souls? These are issues swirling within something that I call “the dilemma of the enemy.” This is the mystery found in loving someone, or something, that by all rights should be our enemy. It occurs between us, and people, peoples, races, and nations, and yet when boiled down to its essence is particular to a man’s singular soul alone. Peoples, or groups, don’t have the ability to hate others, this larger manifestation comes from a single person giving in to hatred, and spreading that hate to another, and another, and another.

Chaos, Uncertainty, and trusting in God to routinely provide Miracles

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Understanding God, Miracles

In the chaotic moments of life do we panic, or do we begin leaning on our faith for God‘s miraculous rescue and relief? In those times that are so dire, out of the ordinary, and perhaps cause us to experience great fear, do we attempt to save ourselves, run away, or do we call out for Jesus? The truth is... When we find ourselves in those dark times and we are struggling, or shaking in fear, we typically do one of three things, we either look inward for our own solution, give up, or lean on our faith, but sometimes the situation is more complicated than we realize, and we do all three!

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.

Does Satan Force Us to Sin?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Facing Our Sin

How is it that we fall into sinful behavior? Are we outwitted by Satan, or do our own base desires draw us into the unrighteous behavior we blame solely on the dark one? Are we tricked, or do we simply ignore our own part in this disobedient, and damning behavior? If we are honest with ourselves we will admit that Satan might tempt us, but more times than not, the desire to sin is ours alone. Satan simply knows our ways better than we know his.

Conscience, and the Holy Spirit, our Bridge Between Body and Soul

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Conscience, Holy Spirit

What strives to keep us from sinning when we are tempted to our very limits? What haunts us day and night, and pursues us relentlessly to repent, and seek forgiveness for even the smallest of sins? It is the Holy Spirit, coupled with our conscience, and together they serve as the causeway that joins our spiritual selves with our physical selves; together they work to reconcile them. Do you have a nagging sin that causes you to toss and turn at night, or a guilt from long ago that convicts you when your mind tries to find peace? This is the burden that comes from a handshake between our faith, and our conscience which resides within our mind, and leads us to contrition. 

Scripture; how do we study it, and what do we gain?

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Learning, Understanding Scripture

When we have begun our study of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and the Word of God, have we committed ourselves to obeying and following what we find there by loving them deeply, or do we pursue these things as a matter of curiosity? Are we wanting to have a command of scripture, or to allow it to have command over us? Our motivation in learning determines what we gain by it. So how do we search the Word, and sift through the Gospel? Do we simply gain intellectually, or by a motivation founded in love do we gain eternity?

The Forever Nature of our Quest for God, and Jesus Christ

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotion, Understanding God

Jesus isn’t just a pearl of great value for which we can sell everything in order to possess Him, no, we can hold a pearl in the palm of our hand. Jesus Christ is so much more, He is the glorious peace that never ends, the everlasting moment of ecstasy in which we lose ourselves forever, the joy of God that is without an end, and He is a bottomless well of living water that quenches our eternal thirst. Yes, He is all of these things and so much more. He is the only prize for which our entire life should be deemed worthy of sacrifice... just as God the Father, in His great love, felt we were worth the sacrifice of Christ.

The Truth Behind Hidden Secrets and God

Richard Forbes
Christian, Secrets from God, Daily Devotion

Do you open yourself up to God? Do you allow Him free access to not only your actions and superficial thinking, but to those thoughts that you believe to be personal and secret? Do you interact with God by revealing every intimate confidence to Him? When we lift ourselves up to Him we are changing the relationship we experience together; not on His part, but on ours. At the moment we lift ourselves up to Him we are acknowledging our trust in Him, and giving everything we are to Him freely.

The Man that God sent to Redeem Us

Richard Forbes
Christian, Christ Divine, Daily Devotion, Christ the Man

From the house of David comes the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. He wasn’t made new from the dust as a more perfect model of man, no, and he didn’t come from heaven as a perfected being... He was every bit a man, and yet God as well. He knows what we feel, and the troubles that face us; after all, He was tempted as we are and faced each of our human trials. This makes Jesus our perfect comforter, and lamb of sacrifice... He was chosen from the people.

Holy Spirit - Before the Power comes the Love

Richard Forbes
Power, Daily Devotion, Christian, Holy Spirit, Love

Do you exercise the same Holy Spirit that filled Jesus? Have you acknowledged this truth that comes when He enters you at conversion, or do you read of the miracles and amazing things that were done by the apostles and wish you could accomplish such things? Now is the time to claim the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and then to go about the business of the Father’s will. It all starts in love...

Answered Prayers; Who’s Will be Done?

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

Are you waiting on the answer to a prayer today? Have you been praying for something for quite a while, and though you believe it is within the will of God it remains unanswered? Perhaps you have been feeling out of sorts and just want to feel better, but you don’t really know how to say what is wrong with you, or know what to ask for. If so... then you are not the first to wait, or the only one who didn’t know what to ask for.

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