Fri, 09 Oct 2026 18:13:13 -0700WeeblyFri, 09 Oct 2026 14:18:30 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/beatitudes-those-who-mourn-intimacy-with-christ-richard-waffordMatthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
 
 
The world and the people in it can, at times, drag you down into depression and bring you to tears with their carnal attitudes. People can be hard to deal with, yet you're still commanded to love them. Other times, a loved one is sick or passes away. In times like these, the Holy Spirit comforts us, encouraging us and bringing a smile or laughter just when we need it most. Then the Holy Spirit gives you eternal hope that one day God will permanently wipe away every tear and cause you to forget all your past pains and struggles. A brand-new day of bliss is on the horizon. Keep looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Blessed be the name of the Lord! ~ Richard
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford]]>Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:33:03 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/poor-in-spirit-intimacy-with-christ-richard-waffordMatthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
 
 
Jesus teaches us how a believer should live before God. The purpose of the Law of Moses was to reveal our spiritual poverty before God and our inability to redeem ourselves or pay the wages of our sins. The first step toward God as a believer is to come before Him with a spirit of poverty. Destitute of any goodness to offer God, all that is left for us is to bring ourselves before Him. To experience God personally is to come to Him with the mindset of an innocent child, with pure faith and unwavering trust that Yahweh will care for us. The only thing of great value on the face of the earth is you; everything else is just worthless trinkets to God. You have always been and always will be His greatest treasure. So, being poor in spirit and coming to Him empty-handed to give yourself to Him brings Him great joy. ~ Richard
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford]]>Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:34:44 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/a-humble-human-a-powerful-god-intimacy-with-christ-richard-wafford“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6)
Do you want to keep living your life, seeing what you can do and where you fail, or humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and see what God can do? You are commanded to humble yourself before the throne of God. God answers prayers; God brings things to pass; God slays giants and removes mountains. You must become small and insignificant before God so God can work great and mighty things through you.
 
If Moses hadn’t humbled himself, he would never have seen the Red Sea part. If Elijah hadn’t humbled himself, he would never have seen fire fall from Heaven. If Peter hadn’t humbled himself, he would never have preached a message that won three thousand souls in a single day. The world considers humility foolish, and this philosophy has crept into the church. Humble yourself before the Lord, then step back and watch God move. ~ Richard
 
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford]]>Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:27:01 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/lovingly-confronting-others-intimacy-with-christ-richard-wafford“You shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him.” (Leviticus 19:17)
 
It is a biblical mandate to redirect a person’s life from sin to a new path in Christ. Otherwise, you become a partaker in or an accessory to their sins. The next verse says, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18). Loving your neighbor as yourself means not taking vengeance, bearing a grudge, or allowing your neighbor to go down a destructive path of sin. Christians should lovingly and compassionately rebuke their neighbor and provide solid biblical direction that leads to abundant life. Otherwise, God will lay the guilt of the person you did not warn back on you (Ezek. 33:1-11). If we, as Christians, do not lovingly, with a humble heart of compassion, give someone biblical direction for their life, God will confront them when it is too late to repent. ~ Richard 
 
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford
 

]]>Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:52:32 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/watchman-for-the-house-of-god-intimacy-with-christ-richard-wafford“So, you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore, you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me” (Ezekiel 33:7).
 
God has assigned each of us as a watchman for one another, to warn a child of God when they head down a treacherous path of sin and to warn the unbeliever of the wrath of God to come. You are to speak the truth boldly, always, wherever you go, and not be ashamed of God’s truth. To truly love someone is to speak of the hell, fire, and brimstone that are to come. To speak of the great rewards in Heaven waiting for them when they invest in the lives of others. To speak the hope and promises of God to the discouraged, weak, and depressed. You are a light on the hillside, shining and driving away the darkness so others can see the straight and narrow path that leads to God. ~ Richard
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford]]>Sat, 03 Oct 2026 16:21:11 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/marriage-vs-satan-intimacy-with-christ-richard-wafford“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Ephesians 5:31).
 
I don’t know who said it, but it’s me against the world. It’s not true unless you are an unbeliever, in which case it’s true for you. God has said, “I will fight your battles,” and “Stand still and know that I am God.” It will never be you against the world because the world must go through the God of Heaven first. In a marriage, a husband and wife are one flesh; therefore, they face life’s challenges together through Jesus Christ. You win together; you lose together. Never allow Satan to place a wedge between what God has joined together. Fight it with every ounce of strength you have. Fight for the unity that God said no one will separate. 
~ Richard
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford

]]>Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:20:35 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/a-man-of-integrity-intimacy-with-christ-richard-wafford“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7).
 
A man of integrity keeps God’s Word in his mind and heart and prioritizes God’s will over his own. He puts his spouse and others before himself. He is persistent in walking in the Lord’s ways. He cannot be enticed, tempted, or lured by the world’s attractions. He is a man of honor who becomes valuable when God alone sits on the throne of his heart. He honors his wife as a weaker vessel, showing her patience, love, and understanding as he gently leads her to place her faith ahead of her emotions, giving her biblical anchors of truth to live by. He becomes her intercessory prayer warrior. A husband is to be a man of integrity before he finds his wife, so he can readily lead her. A husband and wife are not enemy combatants but fellow heirs together of the grace of Life, facing life’s challenges hand in hand. God says, “That your prayers may not be hindered.” ~ Richard
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford]]>Thu, 01 Oct 2026 16:02:08 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/being-a-woman-of-worth-intimacy-with-christ-richard-waffordProverbs 18:22: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord.”
 
A man and a woman must prepare themselves for the day they become husband and wife. We are to build our character in humility of heart, in the fear and love of the Lord. A husband should already have found a wife of worth, and a wife should already have found a husband of worth. Rarely does this happen; we often try to train a partner after we are already married. Instead of partners who are servants of the Lord, they become carnal partners fighting against each other.
 
The passage above speaks of a man who finds a wife of worth and a good person. It’s all about being a woman of character. A virtuous woman isn’t born that way, nor is it by accident; she becomes virtuous by choosing to put God first, her man second, and both above the world’s attractions. Then and only then does “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” 
 
Some husbands marry a girlfriend who is still a girlfriend, who loves the flirtations of the world, but a wife whose sole purpose and love is for her man becomes a woman of worth. You’re not a wife when I marry you; you are a wife when I find you already one. ~ Richard
 
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford]]>Wed, 30 Sep 2026 16:28:21 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/september-30th-2026Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
 
The unbeliever does not struggle against the world; he wants the world, and the world wants him. Together, they are content in their present state of sin. The one who comes to Christ is sick of the direction his life is heading. When he hears the Word of the Lord and realizes that his condition is far worse than he had thought, he knows his sins will send him to hell for all eternity. He wants to experience this new life in Christ, so he turns his life and his sins completely over to God. By faith in the works of Christ, he is given a new heart and Spirit.
You might think this is the end of the struggle, but he learns that he must pursue God every day to keep his hunger and thirst for more of Him alive, or he will be pulled back into the world that once controlled him. People get stuck in the middle, torn between the world and God's loving, gentle pull. The truth is that you can have as much of God and the world as you want; you must make a decisive choice for the one worth forsaking the other. ~ Richard 
 
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford]]>Tue, 29 Sep 2026 14:55:30 GMThttps://www.intimacywithchrist.com/devotional-center/true-love-intimacy-with-christ-richard-waffordSong of Solomon 7:10: “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.”
 
How far would you go for someone you love? Would there be anything too small or too big you wouldn’t do for the object of your love? Come Hell or high water, you would go to the ends of the earth and back. You wouldn’t allow anything in the world to drive a wedge between the two of you. 
 
Then why is it such a big deal if Jesus tells you to be morally upright, honest, loving, and caring toward others? Loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself is easy enough when true love is present. You wouldn’t allow anything to drive a wedge between the two of you, especially the stranger of sin! ~ Richard
 
Copyright 2026. All Rights Reserved © Richard W. Wafford]]>