All tagged lessons

The Catalyst in Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Beginning with Prayer

This morning my devotional reading spoke of the effect that prayer has on our hearts and, through our hearts, and it dealt with our fervent nature that seeks God. E.M. Bounds wrote that "Prayer in times of trouble tends to bring the spirit into perfect submission to the will of God, and delivers from everything like a rebellious heart or a critical spirit.... Prayer so prepares the heart that it softens under the disciplining hand of God." The Lord uses trouble in our lives as a tool to discipline and instruct us, but prayer is the catalyst that brings us into submission and knowledge.

Our Personal Teachers and Tutors in Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Lessons of Faith

Our Lord does not want us to wander lost through life. He calls us to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ, and guides us with His Holy Spirit. No matter where we are in life He is there watching over us. Our Father teaches us as we follow Jesus, and gives us understanding through His Spirit. So, with all God’s love, and His personal instruction, education, and guidance, what is our excuse for wandering lost, not understanding who He is, or feeling alone?

No lesson is learned without facing the problem

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Lessons of Faith

We face the greatest lessons of Christ, and our Heavenly Father in the hard, and tempting moments of our lives. We learn the commandments and how to obey them when we come face to face with the temptation to disobey them. A man in the desert alone is not tempted to commit adultery, just as a child who is given his fill of candy isn’t prone to steal it. It is only when David stood on his roof and saw Bathsheba that he was made to face his desire to commit adultery, and it is when a child stands penniless before the candy counter that the thought of stealing crosses his mind. What were, or are, the circumstances that have led each one of us to learn such hard lessons regarding one of God’s commandments?

Trials, Choices, and our Lessons of Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Trials and Faith

When we face trials in our lives God will teach us lessons in faith through them, and the hardships we encounter will be of varying degrees, but every once in a while we will face one that is so overwhelming, and so devastating, that it shakes our faith to its very core, and those are the storms that break loose the loose debris of our self-imposed religion. These are the disasters that leave us with only the cornerstone of Jesus, and the solid foundational stones of God standing. It is in such times, when we think all is lost, that we will find our belief is still intact beneath the rubble, and that the things of God which are firm, and never changing have not only survived, but have become more deeply imbedded in us. Each of us will go through minor tremors, and fires of varying degrees, but when that magnitude 10 quake comes, or the fierce fires rage, what will we find standing when their dust has settled?

Fear, Faith, and an Eternity without the Fear

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Lessons in Fear

Fear, or being afraid, is a frequent subject in the Bible, and we hear this word mentioned often, but in both scripture, and our lives, there is something special about experiencing fear. These times of fright, uncertainty, deep dread, and even terror, always seem to precede amazing moments, or acts of spiritual increase. In our own lives the times of fear that cause us to cringe, and quake, go hand in hand with our being humbled before God, the abandonment of self, an immersion in prayer, and profound lessons in how we are to trust God more completely. If we succeed in receiving the lessons that are taught through fear we will find that they culminate in significant increases in our faith, and spirituality. No one would ever wish for a life filled with fearful occurrences, but we certainly need them.

Lessons of Faith learned through Suffering and Affliction

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Lessons of Affliction

We suffer through the afflictions of a life in this world, and we pray for God to release us from them, but do we learn anything from the effort? Do we not only see the hardship, and thank the Lord for helping us, but also recognize the lessons of faith that He has taught us? Our suffering is only the beginning of a profound instruction, are we looking for it and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to us?

Do you find yourself searching for faith in the darkness?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Lessons of Faith

Even in the midst of our greatest laments the Lord is with us in the fullness of His love. We might feel inclined to believe that we have been abandoned, but His love never ceases, never comes to an end, and refreshes us each day as His radiance shines bright upon us. There are times when His cloak is made to cast a shadow over us so that our spirit might shine on it’s own from the darkness, and what was once unnoticed in the brilliance of His presence is allowed to strengthen and shine forth from the night.

The Hardest Lessons bring our greatest Change

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Difficult Lessons

Our hardest, and most painful lessons in life are generally the ones that change us most completely, and can remake us at a very basic level. It is easy to teach someone how to do a certain thing, like to make up their bed when they get out of it, or brush their teeth each day, but to teach them to be a different person... not be afraid of heights, or to love God more intensely, requires a much deeper experience, and that often involves suffering, and affliction.