All tagged obedience

Obedience, Righteousness, and Grace

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Grace and Prayer

This morning I have been studying John 14 and reading a devotional that was based on John 14:14. I have always loved this verse and that Jesus says he will do anything for us... After all, who wouldn’t love a verse that promises us everything? And, all we have to do is keep his commandments… Whoops, wait a minute! How can we, with all our human frailty, be expected to do that? Is He asking the impossible of us? At first blush it appears that He is, but as Paul Harvey used to say… "Now for the rest of the story."

Obedience and Love

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Love or Obedience

Let’s consider the topic of "obeying God out of love" this morning. Love is a powerful emotion and leads us to our greatest heights. But unfortunately, when spurned, it has also causes some of our greatest pains, and failures as well. Fortunately, God never rejects our love or fails to recognize our obedience to His Word that flows from it. He rewards us, just as those of us who are in love do with one another; each longing to fulfill the other's desires, even if doing so comes at the expense of our own comfort or desire.

Loving Obedience

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Obedience in Love

Jesus talks about keeping (being obedient to) His commandments in the book of John. He isn't talking about an obedience based on fear, but an obedience founded in love and a desire to follow Him. When we obey the biblical commandments out of love and not duty, Jesus will manifest Himself in us, and we will experience the love of God; a love like none other.

Shared Thoughts on Yesterday’s Devotional

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Obedience and Shared Faith

Do we share our thoughts on faith and prayer with others? I have a very dear friend (Chuck Savage) who, years ago, received the very first devotional message I ever wrote. As a matter of fact he was the inspiration for them as we read “The Power of Prayer” by E. M. Bounds together. We were friends, and had been communicating regularly and praying together long before that, but in 2016 I found myself writing a devotional message to him that he shared with his family and friends. Since then I have written years of daily devotionals and the Lord has shared them openly with the world, but as you know, this year I have been rewriting that first year’s messages, and sharing them with this now wider audience of readers. It is important that we share our journey of faith with one another, because it is tantamount to sharing the gospel as it lives itself out in our own modern day lives.

The Favor of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Favor of God

Do we search for God with all our heart, and in so doing are we seeking Him by His terms, or is our motivation to achieve our own self-gratification, or glory? As we pray and call His name are we continuously obeying His beckoning voice that tells us to “come”, or are we asking Him to come to where we are, and asking Him for favors on our own terms?

Would You Lay Down on the Altar?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Sympathy or Obedience

Do you think that Jesus gave His life for us out of sympathy for our plight alone? Do you think He saw our sin and set about to relieve us of it because of empathy or simply out of mercy? No, Jesus gave His life out of obedience to the Father, and He agreed to pay a price without knowing how much it was. The life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus came out of absolute obedience to God. By saying this I am not inferring that He didn’t have compassion or love for us; I am simply saying His first and foremost motivation was to obey God, and to do His will. Jesus was here at the Father’s bidding. There is no place that this is more evident than in the Garden of Gethsemane

Loving, Walking, and Feeding the Sheep… A Question of Love

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Love

This morning I am asking myself the same question that the resurrected Jesus asked Peter... “Do you love me?” And, in so doing, I think about what love truly is. Then I measure the depths of my love once more when asked yet again… “Do you love me?” Finally, I explore what Jesus desires of me as He asks one final time... “Do you love me?” Am I committed to worship, obey, and follow what He expects of me when I answer Him? How about with the same type of love He asked Peter if he had?

The Details of Our Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Details of Obedience

This morning I am sifting through my life and identifying those things which God has asked of me that remain undone. For the most part I have done the big things, but what about those details that didn't seem too significant or relevant to the big picture... did I gloss over them and leave them undone? I was reading my morning devotional and Oswald Chambers struck me square between the eyes when he recalled the story of King Asa. This king brought Israel back to God in a powerful way, he even took the title of queen mother from his own mother because she was found to have an image of Asherah (that he also took and destroyed). But in all his obedience to God, he left one task undone...

The Order of Life, death, and Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Order of Prayer

When we pray where do we begin? Do we begin with those things that are near to us, or those which are near to God? When Jesus taught His disciples to pray He started by calling on God as He identified Him as our Father, then who He is, Hallowed (or Holy), and thirdly where He lives, in heaven. Then, after reaching out to God, He instructs us to pray for the world by asking that God’s kingdom and will come to us. Only then does Jesus teach us to mention our own needs. Is this how we pray when we enter into our personal time of prayer? Do we begin with those greater things of God before we ask for the lesser things that are about us?

Obediently receiving the Word “No!” when we want to hear “Go!”

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , God Says Stop

There were times when Paul was prepared to go into a place, and the Holy Spirit stopped him, and directed him elsewhere. There was a need for him where he wanted to go, but it was not God’s will. Has there ever been a time when a similar opportunity presented itself in your life, and yet the Spirit stopped you? Within the will of God there are many roads, but all of them are not ours to travel. How ready are we to change our plans, and go in a different direction, when the Spirit speaks to us? Are we argumentative when our will to act is overruled by God’s will for us to stand down?

God’s Will; do we do more than obey it?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Doing God’s Will

When the Lord our God gives us a bitter cup, and tells us to drink, what is our response? When we are told to face the death of a loved one, or perhaps our own death, do we walk dutifully into it, or do we resist it with all our might? What was Abraham’s response when he was asked to sacrifice his only son Isaac; did he hesitate to obey? In similar fashion, Jesus didn’t want to die, but more than that, He didn’t want to disobey the will of His Father. So He healed the ear that Peter had cut from the soldier’s head as he tried to rescue Jesus, and then our savior told him to put up his sword. Jesus didn’t just obey, but he helped to facilitate God’s will. Do we do this when we come to know God’s will for us? Is it in us to not only obey, but to contribute to God’s will for us?

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