All tagged faith

The Two Lane Road of Thought and Practice

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional

Prayer and living make up a two-lane road. When we pray, we know enough to listen for God to answer, but that conversation isn’t the two-lane road we will speak of today... instead we will consider the impact our life is having on our faith, and prayers. How we pray influences how we live, and how we live has an incredible effect on how we pray. Can you have a terrible fight with someone, and then pray a sweet prayer over them? What we do in life each day also sets the tone for our relationship with the Lord.

Resolving Conflict: Society, Worldly Politics, and Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Conflict

Are you a wanderer in Christ? By that I mean, did you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, go down in the waters and spirit of baptism and then walk off into a spiritual desert? Well, if you did then it is time to come back from where you have been and rejoin the household, and the kingdom, of God. Like our savior, we are not meant to remain alone in the desert... are your 40 days up?

Wonderful and Certain is our wait for the Lord

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Waiting on God

The conflicts and troubles in which we are most uncertain will all be won by our Lord because He is great beyond measure. How patient and faithful are we in His victory? Are we waiting in total confidence for Him to act? When those around us are challenging our patience in God we can be tempted to take matters into our own hands, and to abandon our assurance in His promise. However, in such times I look to scripture and hold tight to it… you should too.

The Mighty Wind, the Gentle Whisper, Our Protection in the Storm

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional, Faith

How often do we view the strife and tumult of our daily lives as an encumbrance to our abiding in Jesus Christ and God when we should not view it this way at all? In the vineyard the wind blows, the leaves rustle loud, and the sound of the storm grows intense, but at the root, the vine never moves, even as the rain continues on unabated. Every storm provides rain that is drawn into us as strength from the wet ground, and what, on the surface, might appear to be a raging flood becomes the watering can of our faith.

Faith in My Wrinkles, Trust Despite My Illness 

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Aging Faith

When we are young, we have a certain amount of confidence in our bodies and lean more on their ability to perform well and heal themselves, but as we age our faith in them wanes, and our trust shifts more and more towards God’s ability to heal us. When we are sick and have access to a doctor we find that our confidence is more inclined to be in the practice of medicine, but when no doctor is available, then our cry goes out to God. The challenge for the young is to have the faith of the old and the suffering of a patient in the hospital who prays the prayer of a poor and desperate soul. Do we find that our hope and faith in God reflects the strength of each age we have experienced… of the span of life?

Are we Spiritual Rocks, or just Slurry and Mud?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Denying our Faith

We hear the story of Peter denying Jesus three times before the cock crowed, and we think to ourselves that this man was weak of character, but do we ever look at our own lives and count our own denials? Denying can be blatant like in the case of Peter, or it can be subtle. Do you speak out when the subject of faith comes up in a group, or do you deny Jesus with your silence? When you are at a social event and someone belittles Christ do you defend Him or walk away... thus denying who He is? How about the witness you didn’t give someone when the opportunity arose, and you were afraid? Denial comes in many forms… can we overcome it by humbling ourselves and becoming strong like Jesus?

Holiness; Removing the Rocks from the Fields of Our Faith

Richard Forbes
Daily Devotional, Preparing for Faith

How pure are our lives? Are we cleansed and holy, or still allowing something(s) to tarnish our relationship with God? Is His will paramount in our life, or are we still at the center of our universe? Where are we in the process of holiness? Perhaps we think we are basically doing well and that our faith is flourishing, and yet things keep popping up in our day-to-day lives that cause us to stumble. So, we repent, ask forgiveness, and begin again. If I am describing you today, well, you are not alone in your struggle and labor.

Strength in Weakness; Boldness amidst our Humility

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Thorns and Prayer

How strong are we bodily, and how strong is our faith? Does the strength of our physical bodies reflect the power of our faith? To answer this let’s consider the words of the apostle Paul. Perhaps we are battling an illness, or a deformity that cripples us, and our prayers for this to be healed or removed are seemingly falling on deaf ears. When our bodies suffer and become frail this can actually become the time of our greatest dependence on God, and as such an aid in reaching the height of our faith.

Princes, Principalities, and the Harbinger of Mercy

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Faith in the Rain

As Christians do we fret over the condition of our country and this world? Do we wring our hands and cry out, “Lord! Lord! look at what is being done and the harm that is occurring to your people!”? Well, if we do this, then we must stop! Ours is to trust in Him who created all things, and to leave princes and principalities to their vices because it was He who established and will deal with them. We are like the grass that covers the earth. We may brown with the drought, but we should have faith in the promised rain. The trees will wither and die, but the green grass of Christ returns with the renewing rain, and as for the dark clouds and lightning on the horizon? Why they are merely the harbingers of God’s coming promise and mercy.

Lent: Finding Treasure in the Wilderness with Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Refining Faith

Do we concern ourselves too much with the state of the world around us? Do we judge our faith, not on the righteousness that we come to know, but on the impact we perceive we are having on the society and church we live in? If we do that, then we are setting ourselves up for depression, and for viewing ourselves as being deficient... failures. So, what are we to do? How can we avoid this pitfall? We are to become like Jesus.

Ash Wednesday; Are We Living for or in Jesus Christ?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Abiding in Christ

Do we stand at the foot of the hill and listen to Jesus teach? Do we watch Him enter Jerusalem and celebrate the fact that we know Him? Are we in the upper room and marvel at His foot washing and His words surrounding the bread and the wine? Well, all of these things are amazing and wonderful but in each case we are a bystander, yet when we are filled with the Holy Spirit then suddenly the life of Jesus moves from before your eyes to a place deep within us. We cease being watchers, and perhaps marginally practicing Christians, and become one with Christ.

No Throne can Seat Two Kings: Pride and Humility

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Prideful

Do we let our pride get in the way of our faith? Do we take pleasure in the praise of others when the glory for all we do is truly God’s? Or perhaps we value the praise of men over that of the Lord Himself. The simplest lack of humility is a sure sign of a prideful nature, and it is the primary ingredient in every major lack of faithfulness. Our pride is a tool of Satan and with it he  seeks to place who we are and what we do before God. Is this who we are? Are we proud men and women, or humble before the Lord our God?

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