All tagged calling

From Whence Does My Help Come

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Succeeding in the Call

Today is Good Friday, and as we approach Easter Sunday let’s look at what God called Jesus to do and ask ourselves if we could answer that same call to suffering. In fact, this is a very important question today because we have in fact been called to Calvary with Christ. Have we ever considered this during Holy week before? Perhaps we haven’t because we feel that we are too weak to accomplish such a task, but like Jesus we receive help when asked to do the hard things. Let’s consider this today.

Answering the Call

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God’s Call

When God calls us He usually does this suddenly, and typically without any preannouncement. Will we be ready to answer Him at a moment's notice, or will we need to prepare ourselves and make life adjustments before answering His call? Will we instantly reply, "Here I am!" when He calls, or will we need to think about it? I find it interesting that most of the great prophets and leaders in the Bible answered instantly when God called them. In most cases there was no hesitation and no consideration as to why they were being called. There might have been some trepidation and uncertainty like there was in the case of Moses when he felt his ability to speak would be an encumbrance, but for the most part there was an instant positive response.

Staying True to God’s Call, and Its Timing

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Our Precise Calling

How many times have we taken what God has asked us to do for Him and after starting to do that thing, made it into what we thought it should be? Perhaps the Lord told us to "Feed this man" and we dutifully did that, but then transformed our call into feeding, clothing, bringing him into our home... well you get the picture. We lost sight of the original vision, the very thing that God had asked us to do.  We took what He asked us to do and attempted to improve upon His vision... His will.

Answering God’s Call; Large and Small

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God Calling

This morning we are contemplating how God calls us in our lives. These are mission(s) of faithfulness and service that God asks us to pursue and we are meant to be committed to. By obeying Him in this way we are wonderfully, and firmly within His will and desire. It is also true that the importance of a calling isn’t necessarily predicated on size, scope, or difficulty. Although many callings do stretch us beyond our comfort zones and capabilities, while some appear very small, and others are deemed to be more important by the world, they are all meant to glorify God. Like so many things involving God the large things are often small, and the small things are actually quite large.

Calling and Preparing Us According to His Vision

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Preparing for the Calling

I am exploring a thought today that I read in my devotional this morning regarding the time between the Lord calling us to service and that moment when we are actually beginning to accomplish what He has asked us to do. As I thought about what has occurred in my own life when He has called me, my sense of discovery was especially aroused by these interesting and instructional words written by Pastor Oswald Chambers regarding God’s preparing us to do what He has asked of us...

Service, the Call, and the Nature of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Serving God’s Call

Have you ever struggled to understand your service to God and others as it compares to the call of God itself? This morning I am contemplating these two wonderful aspects of our faith… faithful service, and God’s calling for us. You might interpret our service as being works so here are two scripture references that together link our faith and works together, one from Paul (Ephesians 2:8-9) and the other from James (James 2:26). These two passages complement each other and explain how they go hand in hand. But let’s explore what this has to do with God calling us.

Choosing God’s Will, and Enduring the Suffering Which Follows

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Suffering in our Calling

I struggled with my devotional reading this morning. The bulk of it dealt with the fact that when we answer God's call in our lives then we, or other people around us, could suffer. Have you ever considered this? Perhaps you are new to the faith and are still of the belief that answering God’s call is all about us and is always an easy choice; that any suffering it involves is ours, and ours alone. This is a false assumption.

Are You Becalmed on a Spiritual Sea?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Space Between Callings

My devotional reading for today had to do with those times between callings and it blessed me by helping me to wait patiently for God's voice. What do we do during these quiet times of our faith, the times between callings and other spiritual experiences? Sailors of tall ships and other sailing vessels call these hours and days when the wind isn't blowing as being "becalmed." When they find themselves sitting motionless, they make busy about the ship preparing for the next leg of their voyage while they wait for a breeze and hopefully a steady wind to fill their sails once more. We should do the same in our spiritual voyages. This is a time to mend the sails in preparation for the coming breeze… not to take up oars ourselves.

The Mystery of a Higher Calling

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Higher Calling

The calling, what is it? Why does the Lord ask some to deliver His word and the Gospel to the world in a greater, or higher, way than is usual among believers? Pastors, prophets, and missionaries have felt this urging since Jesus first called His apostles. The calling in them is unquenchable and the need to preach the gospel, prophesy, or reach out to those who have not heard the good news can't be resisted.

A Message for the Called

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Pastoral Calling

There are many pastors who read my thoughts each morning, and today's message is a word for you. I know that many of you are mighty in prayer and that God blesses you in this effort. I also know that you pray in all matters of the church regarding its edification and advancement, but this is a word of encouragement for those who are slow to enter their prayer closets, or find prayer time to be a struggle. Paul was sitting in prison when he wrote to the Ephesians, but in chapter three he went on to describe his calling to them. It is the same calling that ministers of the gospel receive today...

Did not our Hearts Burn?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Anointing in the Church

We can hear a pastor preach a sermon and it thrills our hearts, but we can hear the very same message delivered by another minister and it falls flat within us; why is that so? Haven’t we all experienced such a spiritual phenomenon? When we attempt to understand why this happens, what do we blame the rise and fall of that particular message to be? Was it the condition our own faith in that particular moment, or was it the Holy Spirit moving, or not moving, over the Pastor as he spoke?

Our Calling; a Divine Appointment

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Callings and Annointing

Today's message is one of those intangible truths... the calling... the anointing that consecrates a man and his mission. How many earnest men have we known that lacked being anointed? Seriousness and purpose in our human lives does not insure that we are doing God's will. An anointing is that spark which reveals the fire of God; it is the flame in the bush that doesn't consume it. The anointing is the finger of God that writes upon the fleshiness of our hearts those things that He would have us do and say. It is the divine aspect of our lives.

Fingers in the Soil, and Weeding God’s Garden

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, God’s True Calling

When the Lord gives us a specific calling, or mission that He wants us to accomplish, how do we know it, and how do we know when it is complete? Have you ever left spiritual business unfinished because you took your eyes off of the Lord? Whether it is praying for someone each day, being a loving spouse, serving in a far off land, or simply mowing the yard of a sick neighbor; when does God call us, and when does removing us from that call become His desire? Do we hear God calling us to something different or is what we are feeling the result of our own lack of determination, or dedication?

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