Richard Ellis Talks

The Old Testament's filled with stories about the Lord commanding His people to do things that don't necessarily make sense to us today. Yet in the end, all of God's commands culminated in Jesus dying for us so that two thousand years later, we can all be saved. Even though we might not get why God did what He did in Scripture, we've got to trust that His plans are always perfect and that everything He did was for a purpose and a reason.

There's a saying that "true beauty" is found when you look into a woman's eyes, and see Jesus in her heart! Men are naturally attracted to sex, but the right kind of man will be able to look past temptation and hold out for true beauty. The best way for a woman to attract the kind of man who values her in all the right ways is to stop focusing on external appearances, and instead allow God to give her an internal makeover -- the kind that will last for eternity!

There's a saying that "true beauty" is found when you look into a woman's eyes, and see Jesus in her heart! Men are naturally attracted to sex, but the right kind of man will be able to look past temptation and hold out for true beauty. The best way for a woman to attract the kind of man who values her in all the right ways is to stop focusing on external appearances, and instead allow God to give her an internal makeover -- the kind that will last for eternity!

Rahab was a woman who seemed like a nobody -- until God stepped in. Through her faith in the Lord, and God's use of a couple of spies who ultimately saved her and her whole family, Rahab became a beautiful example of how God can use someone if only they have faith and are willing to be an instrument for His glory. And like Rahab, God can use any of us too, no matter our background, if we only let Him!

Rahab was a woman who seemed like a nobody -- until God stepped in. Through her faith in the Lord, and God's use of a couple of spies who ultimately saved her and her whole family, Rahab became a beautiful example of how God can use someone if only they have faith and are willing to be an instrument for His glory. And like Rahab, God can use any of us too, no matter our background, if we only let Him!

Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in living out our own lives that we overlook those who are dying (spiritually) around us. Part of surrendering our lives to God involves allowing Him to break our hearts for the things that break His. When we see someone who's withering away spiritually, let's not allow ourselves to look away, but instead, let's have compassion on them in such a way that it moves us to do something about it!

Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in living out our own lives that we overlook those who are dying (spiritually) around us. Part of surrendering our lives to God involves allowing Him to break our hearts for the things that break His. When we see someone who's withering away spiritually, let's not allow ourselves to look away, but instead, let's have compassion on them in such a way that it moves us to do something about it!

Not everybody who hears the Gospel believes it, but that doesn't make it any less true. Every single one of us will end up in eternity, but the question is: will we spend it in heaven or hell? It's our job as believers to share the Good News -- but it's God's job to open the eyes and ears of those we share it with so that they might also believe!

Not everybody who hears the Gospel believes it, but that doesn't make it any less true. Every single one of us will end up in eternity, but the question is: will we spend it in heaven or hell? It's our job as believers to share the Good News -- but it's God's job to open the eyes and ears of those we share it with so that they might also believe!

The tricky thing about sin is that we never control it -- it always controls us. Sometimes, we find ourselves so tangled up in sin that the resulting consequences just keep piling up, stacking up one on top of the other like pancakes. The Bible says that we're dead to sin, but knowing God forgives us in no excuse to continue sinning as much as we want. Instead, we've got to acknowledge that there are consequences to our sin and that the only remedy is to repent and live in obedience and faithfulness to God.

The tricky thing about sin is that we never control it -- it always controls us. Sometimes, we find ourselves so tangled up in sin that the resulting consequences just keep piling up, stacking up one on top of the other like pancakes. The Bible says that we're dead to sin, but knowing God forgives us in no excuse to continue sinning as much as we want. Instead, we've got to acknowledge that there are consequences to our sin and that the only remedy is to repent and live in obedience and faithfulness to God.

When a witness is summoned to give testimony in a trial, they're asked to provide an honest account to the court of what they saw and experienced during the event in question. As followers of Christ, we're all summoned to be witnesses and share testimony with others of what God's done in our lives. The Bible tells us point-blank: if we're not reaching out to others and witnessing to them, we're not following Christ as closely as we should be.

When a witness is summoned to give testimony in a trial, they're asked to provide an honest account to the court of what they saw and experienced during the event in question. As followers of Christ, we're all summoned to be witnesses and share testimony with others of what God's done in our lives. The Bible tells us point-blank: if we're not reaching out to others and witnessing to them, we're not following Christ as closely as we should be.

When we're born again as new believers, it's understandable that we'd be "infant Christians" for a while as we learn for the very first time about who God is and what it looks like to have a relationship with Him. But at some point, we're all expected to grow from our infancy into spiritual maturity. And one of the marks of maturity is that we come to realize it's not all about us. A key part of spiritual development is service, and as we participate in serving the Body of Christ -- the Church -- we're not just growing ourselves, but we're growing the Body, too.

When we're born again as new believers, it's understandable that we'd be "infant Christians" for a while as we learn for the very first time about who God is and what it looks like to have a relationship with Him. But at some point, we're all expected to grow from our infancy into spiritual maturity. And one of the marks of maturity is that we come to realize it's not all about us. A key part of spiritual development is service, and as we participate in serving the Body of Christ -- the Church -- we're not just growing ourselves, but we're growing the Body, too.