Richard Ellis Talks

As a believer, if we claim to know God and have Him living in and through us, but we’re not producing fruit, then something's wrong. He doesn't want us to live as a "spiritual vegetable", doing nothing for Him. So sometimes, He'll allow us to be... well... "fertilized" by things in life in order to help us grow, change, and ultimately bear fruit for Him!

Our past pain can be like the proverbial "can of worms". When we keep these times of hurt and suffering hidden away and stuffed down, they'll ultimately "spoil the can". However, Jesus wants to free us, then He wants to use those worms - in the form of sharing how God healed us from our past - to go fishing for other hurting people! When we allow God to use our pain to reach others, His purpose gets fulfilled in our lives.

Real relationship comes through getting to know each other, so how do we really know that He is God? By being still before Him (Psalm 46:10, which is also our Verse Of The Week!). As Christ followers, it's easy to get in the habit of just "doing" for Him, sometimes IN PLACE OF just being with Him. Let's be sure our top priority is always spending time with God, and then our "doing" is a direct result of our relationship with Him!

God's given us His Word so that we may take in His truth, apply it to our own lives, and then share it with others. But when we're not getting filled by God continually through reading Scripture, our spirits get in a place of deficit, and we're vulnerable to attack. So when we find ourselves spiritually "in the red", let's get back to being "well read"!

Part of our responsibility as Christians, is to look out for one another and help those who are wounded in our flock. When we help the wounded, they become well and can then help others. The result is then a body of believers that's filled with well and healthy people, and nothing can stop them from reaching the world for Jesus!

When we're mindful of the great lengths of God's forgiveness for us, we find ourselves going to great lengths in loving others all the more. So let's break down the walls that we’ve hidden behind, to experience holy intimacy with one another in a way that lets go of hatred, animosity, insecurities and indifference.

"Can you hear me now?" is a question that's a litmus test for both sides of our relationship with God! The power of a two-way relationship is that by us "hearing" Him, we discover His desire for our lives. And by us fervently seeking Him, we make sure that He "hears" us sharing the things on our heart as we align our will to His.

Being a Christ follower is an "all in" lifestyle! Simply lurking around, choosing which portion of His truths and teachings to follow and which to disregard, is what the Bible calls "lukewarm". So even though - from the outside in - it may seem that we're giving up things to follow Jesus, we're actually receiving an abundant life of purpose, hope, and mission!

Doubt is a natural human response, even when it comes to spiritual things (remember the disciple Thomas?). However, faith and trust can overcome our doubt, enabling us to fully surrender to God. So when doubts arise, acknowledge them for what they are, place them at the foot of the cross, and move forward in faith!

We all make mistakes. That's what makes us human! But that's also where God's wisdom comes into play. Not only can His wisdom help us to learn how not to repeat mistakes, but - better yet - it can help us to avoid making mistakes to begin with! That's the huge difference between being smart and being wise: God's involvement!

There's that old phrase: "We've never seen a hearse pulling a u-haul!" The stuff that we accumulate in this life isn't taken with us to Heaven, so why do we spend so much time, energy, and resources acquiring it all? Especially when the Bible encourages us to "not be anxious about anything, but rather to give thanks in everything", trusting that God will provide for our every need?

Sure, we all still struggle with certain sins. But as a believer's relationship with God matures, the likelihood to fall prey to that sin hopefully becomes less and less. Getting involved in a church family can help us receive support from others to "scoop up" our messes, so eventually we can begin helping other new believers with their sin struggles.

As Christ followers, at some time (usually several times!) we're all in a spiritual battle. However, because we're God's children (through Christ), He's provided us with spiritual armor, weapons and a plan to make us victorious over sin and the devil!

As Christians, it's our calling to be a light in this dark world. That doesn't happen at church, that happens at home, in the neighborhood, at work, at school... Let's make sure that God's love and hope are witnessed in our words and (more importantly) our actions, living life as His vessels!

If we begin to know God for who He really is, we can't help but to bow before Him in worship, "wowed" by all He's done!