Richard Ellis Talks

On Wall Street, "insider trading" is a bad thing. But when it comes to our relationship with the Lord, the best trade we can ever make is to trade in our lives for the will of God! When we let His light shine through us, God's Spirit living inside you and me is what attracts other people to Him.

In the words of the late Billy Graham, "My home is in heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." No matter what trials we face on this earth, we can take comfort in knowing we have a Savior who's gone ahead of us to prepare our eternal home. But He's left us a job to do here while we wait: spread the Gospel, and disciple other followers to go and do the same.  

In the words of the late Billy Graham, "My home is in heaven. I'm just traveling through this world." No matter what trials we face on this earth, we can take comfort in knowing we have a Savior who's gone ahead of us to prepare our eternal home. But He's left us a job to do here while we wait: spread the Gospel, and disciple other followers to go and do the same.  

When it comes to being a Christian, the standards set for us are humanly unattainable, but supernaturally achievable! Jesus commands us - His followers - to love our enemies, care for widows and orphans, submit to authority, and the list goes on. But the only way that we can live and love as God's called us to, is to let Jesus live in us and love through us!

When it comes to being a Christian, the standards set for us are humanly unattainable, but supernaturally achievable! Jesus commands us - His followers - to love our enemies, care for widows and orphans, submit to authority, and the list goes on. But the only way that we can live and love as God's called us to, is to let Jesus live in us and love through us!

We've all experienced a dropped call or two on our cellphone. When the connection's weak, the communication fails. In the same way, we might feel like God doesn't always answer our prayers, but often that's because our sin is causing a weak connection that keeps us from hearing His voice. When we repent of our sin, the signal strength is restored and the lines of communication are opened again.  

We've all experienced a dropped call or two on our cellphone. When the connection's weak, the communication fails. In the same way, we might feel like God doesn't always answer our prayers, but often that's because our sin is causing a weak connection that keeps us from hearing His voice. When we repent of our sin, the signal strength is restored and the lines of communication are opened again.  

When we harbor sin in our lives, we tend to hide from God and from others. In order to experience the true freedom and healing that God offers through His forgiveness and mercy, it's critical that we first confess our sins to Him. Not only that, but when we admit our sin to other believers, they can hold us accountable for our actions and help us to find healing in Christ.

When we harbor sin in our lives, we tend to hide from God and from others. In order to experience the true freedom and healing that God offers through His forgiveness and mercy, it's critical that we first confess our sins to Him. Not only that, but when we admit our sin to other believers, they can hold us accountable for our actions and help us to find healing in Christ.

You can tell if the load you're carrying is too heavy by whether you feel exhausted or rested while carrying it! While there are a lot of "good" responsibilities, tasks, or efforts we can take on, they're not all necessarily things God's calling us to do. When He gives us a task that's truly from Him, we should feel rested instead of exhausted while we're carrying it out, because He’ll give us all we need to accomplish His will.

You can tell if the load you're carrying is too heavy by whether you feel exhausted or rested while carrying it! While there are a lot of "good" responsibilities, tasks, or efforts we can take on, they're not all necessarily things God's calling us to do. When He gives us a task that's truly from Him, we should feel rested instead of exhausted while we're carrying it out, because He’ll give us all we need to accomplish His will.

We face a real enemy in the devil and his demons. Their whole purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. Knowing that, we have a responsibility to look out for those who are broken -- not so we can fix them, but so we can lead them to the only One who's capable of fixing their brokenness!

We face a real enemy in the devil and his demons. Their whole purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. Knowing that, we have a responsibility to look out for those who are broken -- not so we can fix them, but so we can lead them to the only One who's capable of fixing their brokenness!

"If churches had dipsticks, what kind of reading would we get if God pulled our dipstick today?" Much like the dipstick allows us to check the quality and level of the oil in a car, God checks the spiritual health of His church and His children. When we fail to connect with God and with other believers on a deeper level, and we instead stick to a surface-level faith, our dipstick reading will reveal that we've chosen to do things our way -- even at great cost to our spiritual health.  

"If churches had dipsticks, what kind of reading would we get if God pulled our dipstick today?" Much like the dipstick allows us to check the quality and level of the oil in a car, God checks the spiritual health of His church and His children. When we fail to connect with God and with other believers on a deeper level, and we instead stick to a surface-level faith, our dipstick reading will reveal that we've chosen to do things our way -- even at great cost to our spiritual health.