All tagged spirit

Spiritual Compassion vs Moral Compassion

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Spirit Compassion

The subject of my devotional reading this morning was spiritual compassion, and the scriptural reference used to lead into this topic was Psalm 112:4. This Psalm begins by speaking about the characteristics of a man that fears the Lord and upholds His commandments. The psalmist lists things like prosperity, righteousness and fearlessness, and then builds to the apex of the message which is compassion. At this point the Psalm goes on to define a "good man" and each illustration given centers on compassion. Compassion is the true message of Psalm 112, and goes hand in hand with righteousness.

Experiencing the Spiritual and Physical in our Lives

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Dichotomy of Man

Experiencing religion, and the dichotomy of man, will be our topic of study today. We will explore who we are, and those moments of religious experience that are so important and life changing for us. Moments like our new birth in Christ, baptism, communion, Christening, marriage, foot washing, receiving the Holy Spirit, and all the other experiences of faith that form our lives, as well as our faith, and worship.

Prayer and the Holy Anointing

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Annointing

Today we will be studying Holy Anointing within the church and its relationship to prayer. We will also consider the conditional nature of this gift and prayer's role in maintaining its freshness. Here is a quick rundown on anointing before we discuss these topics... There are different types of anointing; there is the simple practice of applying oil, or some other substance, to a person or thing, there is the common practice of anointing someone's head or feet as a sign of respect, there is an Ecclesiastical anointing of the sick, and then there is the Holy Anointing such as the one that priests and pastors receive, and which also carries with it the Hebrew translation of the word Messiah or “anointed”.

The Language of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Spiritual Language

Molding our souls into the image of God through prayer is the topic for this morning's devotional thought. Pastor E.M. Bounds says this of prayer... "It has everything to do with enriching, broadening, and maturing the soul's experience of God." He stresses this point further by writing this about the Christian... "Therefore, if he does not pray, he is not of the household of faith." Second Corinthians chapter 4 is a wonderful source for studying the change that is occurring within us as we mature as Christians. A verse which summarizes this conversion is verse 16...

The Seed of a Fervent Spirit

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Fervently

A fervent spirit is the precursor to fervent prayer, but it isn't something we can conjure up, it is a gift. Pastor E.M. Bounds describes it like this... "Fervency has its seat in the heart, not the brain or intellect of the mind. Fervency is the pulse and movement of the emotional nature." And he goes on to say that "we can ask God to plant it in our hearts. Then it is ours to nourish and cherish." The apostle Paul speaks of a fervent spirit as well…

Spiritual Fire, and Dying Embers

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Spiritual Fire

Seeking after those things which are of God like a starving man seeks food is, as my morning devotional reading puts it, "the proof of a renewed heart and the evidence of a stirring spiritual life." It goes on to say that this unquenchable thirst drives prayer. We will find that today's scripture reading is a blessing among blessings. It comes from The Sermon on the Mount, and specifically the beatitudes and speaks to us about thirsting for righteousness.

Praying For Our Body, Mind, Soul, and Strength

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Pray For All We Are

This morning we will study a subject that often perplexes those who are spiritual. My devotional reading today addressed the question "why is it important to pray for my bodily health and worldly matters?" E.M. Bounds reasoned that these things, albeit lower than the spiritual, have much to do with our religion. He went on to say that worldly matters, and our health, affect how we think and this makes them subjects of prayer. Through the years I have prayed for healing many times; not just my own healing but also that of others. Although I can't remember an instance in the Bible where Jesus prayed for His own healing, He healed the bodies of others so there is precedent for this.

Fear, Trembling, and the “Ah Ha!” Moments of Faith

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Receiving God’s Word

Do we depend solely on our own intellect to search out the wisdom of God? Do we study and ponder His Word ourselves in search of truth there, or do we use our intelligence like a shovel to feed our spirit God’s Word, while it works hand in hand with His Holy Spirit to seek and sift through it for those things that are of great spiritual value? When we depend upon our intellect alone it brings us very few of those wonderful revelations that we recognize as being of Him, but when our spirit is engaged with the Holy Spirit, it mines the most fantastic treasure for us from the glorious depths of God, and we encounter those wonderful “Ah Ha” moments of faith.

Marriage, Lazarus, and Faith in Times of Miracles!

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Marriage and One Flesh

How deep is our faith in Jesus Christ? Have we believed all our lives that Jesus is the Son of God, and yet never been intimate with Him? Have we walked down the aisle weeping and confessing that He is the Lord of our lives, and then continued along with the reins of our lives held tight in our hands? Maybe we spend a lot of time trying to make ourselves righteous by doing those things Jesus taught, but do them without ever having met our living Savior. In faith, true faith, we are meant to allow Him to transform us by making us righteous, and holy.

Preparing Ourselves for Prayer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Preparing for Prayer

“How is my prayer life?” This is something that each one of us should ask ourselves from time to time, and it should cause us to adjust our prayer regime according to God’s response. Searching for the answer to this question should be more than personal introspection. When we pose this question we should be asking that God also speak to us regarding the health of our prayer life because it is He with whom we are speaking.

Famished in the Presence of Plenty

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Nourishing Prayer

How is your life in Christ? Before you answer this question answer another... "How often do you pray?" We think that our life with Jesus is robust because of the works, and the other things we do, and yet we have not humbled ourselves before our Heavenly Father in prayer as He taught us to do. We think that we are like Him as we go through the motions of religion, and yet our relationship with God is starving.

Our Heart, and Understanding Scripture

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Understanding Scripture

Today let's contemplate one of the longer sentences in the Bible. It gives us instruction on how to conduct ourselves as Christians and ministers of the gospel, and if we ever have a question regarding good spiritual behavior then we can probably find it listed in this sentence. But, what would it take to live out these attributes to the pleasure of God, and Jesus Christ? How much guidance and understanding from every source available to us, and especially from the Holy Spirit, will be required before we can achieve this level of sanctity?

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