Richard Ellis Talks

We all face situations in our daily lives that can grind on us and often seem unbearable for much longer. While it is important that we pray with persistence in asking God to change the situation, we also need to be open to allowing Him to change us. Our peace comes from faith in Him regardless of our circumstances.

We all have capacity to screw our lives up by living in sin and doing whatever we want to do. We will keep cycling back to the same consequences until we finally yield and say “uncle” to Jesus, repenting of our sin and turning away from it to follow Him.

When we become Christians, God has designed a warning system by placing His Holy Spirit inside of us to tell us when we are about to make a mistake. We need to listen to His warnings, stop what we’re doing, and obey Him so that we can avoid the dangerous consequences of sin.

There are plenty of stories in the Bible of God using sinners to accomplish amazing things for His glory. No matter what has happened in our lives, by our own doing or someone else’s, God can always take us and use us if we would just give ourselves to Him.

God is in the cleaning business, graciously cleaning up our messy lives to make us suitable to His work. When we repent of our sins and allow Him to wash us clean, He uses us to reach out to others and lovingly help them get cleaned.

We too often waste time when issues arise in relationships by avoiding what we know we need to do. When it comes to our relationship with God, we must respond to Him immediately by repenting our sin and living in obedience.

No matter how good we act, our goodness will still be seen as filthy rags to God because we are poisoned by sin from the start. When we trade in our filthiness to accept the forgiveness and grace offered to us because of Christ’s death, we become God’s children and inherit His riches.

Because of Jesus’ ultimate victory over sin and death on the cross, we are God’s children and therefore we are already winners. Though we still face momentary battles that knock us down, we can take heart in the fact that the war has been won and we are on the winning side.

There are many Christians who may be doing all the right things for awhile but then slip back into old sin habits. We need to be watchful for these brothers and sisters to help pick them up when they fall, knowing that there may be a time coming when we will need that kind of help. God promises blessing to those who obey Him to the end.

Although our obedience to God is not what saves us, it is what determines the awards that God has promised in Heaven. The Apostle Paul encouraged all believers to live the godly life that we are called to in obedience, enduring through suffering and trials for Christ’s sake because it will all be worth it in the end.

In a world where it is accepted to choose any lifestyle, especially those that go against Scripture, we must hold onto the truth and be bold enough to speak it. The Bible is clear that we are all born in sin, but we can choose to either give into that sin or to follow Christ who can transform our lives from the inside out.

Jesus tells us that we can be assured of God’s provision in our life by looking at the birds of the air and seeing that they are cared for because God cares even more for us. Bird poop is evidence that a bird has been fed, so may we always be reminded to trust God, knowing that He is the Alpha and Omega and knows our situation even greater than we do and He will always provide what we need.

This world is full of sorrow and pain, and we don’t always understand why God allows the things He does. Rather than giving up on Him, we have the opportunity to know Him deeper as He empathizes with our grief and comforts us through the pain. We can trust that He is in control and that if He is allowing something painful to happen then He has a purpose for it.

The Bible is filled with stories of people experiencing injustice, and yet how God can use their experiences for His good and glory. When we see things in the world that are unjust, we need to follow His lead and speak up when necessary, but ultimately leave vengeance in His hands.

The way that God designed His family is to work together in unity as a team. When we work together, we accomplish the seemingly impossible tasks that He has called us to. It is essential that if we decide to follow Jesus that we participate in His team.

The Gospel is simple, but the world tries to complicate too many things, obscuring where we came from and the purpose of our lives. If we believe in God and call out to Him, He promises to give us the faith to believe and be saved through the death and resurrection of His Son. God picked everyone who would pick Him, and when we turn to Him, He answers us.

We all have sins that we struggle with and find nearly impossible to quit. We have the strength through Christ to break any addiction, and He promises to fill us with joy when we obey. The longer we continue to disobey God, the greater the pain that comes with God’s loving discipline.

It is okay to have questions and doubts, but we need to make sure that we are seeking God’s truth for answers and believe them when He gives them to us. There is no other religion like Christianity where Jesus, God Himself, died for us to make a way so that we could spend eternity with Him.

Anyone can read words on a page, but the words in Scripture do not make a difference until the Holy Spirit reveals the truth in a life-changing way. Rather than just reading the words, we need to ask God to help those words jump off the page and infiltrate our lives so that we begin to understand the depths of His love and the change it makes in our lives is noticeable to others.

There is a difference between memorizing different facts about God and Scripture and actually meditating on the truth we find in Scripture so that it makes a difference in our lives. When we read the Bible we need to chew on the things that it says, thinking deeply and praying about how we can apply it.

Our loving Heavenly Father rejoices over His kids as we listen to Him and obey what He teaches us. No matter how long we’ve been living however we want to live, we can return to Him and He will sing with joy because of how much He loves us.

Kids are often overlooked when it comes to investing our time and efforts, however Jesus taught that they are the greatest investment. Children will grow to carry on the values that are instilled in them, and if we take the time now to invest in them then we are also investing in the future.

Too often we find ourselves in a spiritual rut where we stay immature and childish rather than taking on the responsibility of growing up. We need to get to a point where we can raise new Christians to become spiritually mature, but we cannot do that unless we are growing as well.

It is possible to be a Christian and backslide into sins from your past that you intentionally choose over following Jesus. There are also Christians who get deceived along the way and get off the path. Wherever you find yourself, if it is away from Him all you have to do is turn back and He welcomes you and heals you from all your sin.

We can be quick to judge other people who claim to be Christians and do not act accordingly. Rather than being judgmental of them, or even of ourselves, we need to understand that God’s work in our lives takes time. Once we become Christians there is nothing we can do to reverse that and we need to take hope in His promise to complete the work He has begun in us.

Throughout Scripture God has designated a certain order to things. Before we can receive much from Him, we must give up all that we cling to. It is in this order that we find all that He has promised because we are doing things in the way that He designed them to be done.

We live in sin when we live our lives apart from God. That sin separates us from Him forever, unless we accept the forgiveness that is offered to us because of Christ’s death and resurrection. We do not have to face God in the end based on our own works, but we can be assured salvation through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

There will always be times for goodbyes, and we need to make sure that when we leave somewhere that we leave on good terms because it may be the last time we see certain people until eternity in Heaven. For Christians, we can cling to the promise that we will see our fellow Christians again, even after they leave this earth, in heaven.

We must be careful who we spend our time around, knowing that negative whining and complaining will quickly rub off on us. God is serious about showing gratitude in all things, and in order to reflect Him well to the world we must take Him at His word and walk in obedience and thankfulness.

It is alright to become a Christian and remain needy and make messes for a time, just as a new baby starts off needy and messy. But at some point the messes need to be fewer and there must be some independence so that growth is happening. We need to get to a place spiritually where we can step out and make disciples of other people, helping them along in the process of growth.

Sometimes it seems easier to hold onto our illnesses, whether it be physical sickness or emotional baggage, rather than give it up and be made well. Jesus has offered us healing and all we have to do is accept it and obey what He tells us to do.

God, who made all things and holds all things together, made a way for us to be in right standing and relationship with Him by sending His Son to die on our behalf. We must submit our lives to Him, bowing our knees and acknowledge Him as Almighty God and Father.

The first and most important relationship that we need to seek reconciliation for is our relationship with God. He made it possible through His Son, and because of that we can be made right with Him and He can begin changing us inside. The more He fills us then the more His work in us overflows outside of us and changes the world around us.

When we are born again spiritually, our citizenship in Heaven is secured and this earth is merely a place we are visiting until we are called home. We must make the most of our time here, but keep our minds and focus on what is to come eternally.

Jesus modeled for us what it looks like to be a servant leader by washing the feet of His disciples, not just teaching about it. Rather than seeking after a high standing reputation or position up the ladder, we must seek to serve others regardless of our position and let God appoint us wherever He wants to place us to be used by Him.

When we truly live our lives surrendered to God, the Holy Spirit will impress on our hearts at times to give to others. Rather than holding onto everything we have, we need to obey and sow what God has given us and see the bountiful blessing that comes from that. He will supply all of our needs as we take part in the amazing fun of giving.

There are circumstances in our lives that we wonder why God is putting us through such difficulties, but we must understand that He may be using those times to humble and test us in preparation for how He wants to use us. When we face those moments, it is essential to keep our eyes on Him and pass the tests because when we pours us out after being shaken, He can use us in much greater ways than if we had not been shaken in the first place.

When we choose to follow Christ we must count the cost and willingly stretch, giving up everything for His sake, and following wherever He leads us. We can trust that God will provide for all of our needs, but at the same time understand that following Him may leave some marks through which He will be glorified.

God’s grace covers all of our sin, but we must not take advantage of that so that we can sin all we want. We are called to live lives of obedience to Him, and having faith in Him is the first step to pleasing Him. When we live our lives to please God then when we see Him face to face in the end He will say, “Well done.”

We all begin our lives under the law of sin, meaning that there is no escape from nature taking its course and that we will sin. Jesus made the way of escape through His death and resurrection so that we no longer have to live under the law of sin but rather live in freedom. When we choose to live in freedom, He changes our hearts and changes the world through us.