Richard Ellis Talks

After accepting God's free gift of salvation through Christ, rather than just trying to "act like Jesus", let's invite Him to guide us, acknowledging Him as our Lord, not just our Savior. More than simply a ticket to Heaven, it’s about letting Him be more and more Himself in our lives!

The laws (10 Commandments) were put in place to reveal our sin to us, but Jesus died to complete the law, so that we no longer have to live under the weight of the law in our own strength. When we live in relationship with Christ and follow in the steps of the Spirit, we find ourselves living freely within the boundaries God set for us!

Here's the difference between happiness and joy: Happiness is based on circumstances going our way, resulting in an outward mood dynamic, and joy is based on resting in the truth that God will never leave us or turn His back on us! Even when we're in the middle of trials, hardships, those "valley days" of life, we can trust that God has our best interest in hand, and therefore there's never room for whining!

Disobedience to God has a domino effect. Not only does it directly hurt our relationship with our Lord, our Creator, our Provider, but it also separates us from His blessings that could benefit our legacy. Yes, suffering is a part of everyone's life. But let's view those seasons as opportunities to grow closer to God in faith and dependance, rather than growing distant and closed off from Him!

We’ve heard the phrase, “the dash between the dates” - the time between the date we’re born and the date we die. So, what impact will we have for God during that “dash” that’ll lead others to God’s hope? For every believer, it starts with discipleship - are we sharing Christ with others, then helping them to grow in their faith? That’s a legacy that will never die! 

When Jesus invites us to ask for anything, it’s a common out-of-context part of Scripture. It’s not meant to open up a “Heavenly wish list” for material possessions, but rather a challenge to ask God for whatever it is that He wants to give to us. When God gives us something, He usually changes us at the same time, so let’s be ready for Him to use our lives however He pleases!

Jesus left every believer with the power of the Holy Spirit, commanding us to make disciples of others, as we go about our lives following Him. This is a job that can't be done by a few people, it'll take every Christ follower working hard to spread the message of the Gospel, and we only have this life to do it!

It's okay to have hobbies, to have fun, to take time to enjoy the gifts that God's given us. But when we get our priorities mixed up, and put temporary things above our calling as believers - to share God's good news with others - then we need to adjust our lives. After all, He's promised to reward us in heaven when we fight for Him, never give up, and finish well!

Life can get plenty busy, and we can be easily distracted. The most important thing in the life of the believer is to spend time building our relationship with Jesus. So let's be sure that our top priority is to "sit at Jesus’ feet" (through prayer and study of the Word) and listen to what He might have to say to us.

It's clear in God's Word about how His people are to support the Church and its work financially, both through our "first fruits" (our tithe) and then additional offerings as the Spirit leads. What's just as clear in that action is our attitude in which it's given! When we give begrudgingly, God's not pleased with our money. It's when we give cheerfully - because we love Him - that He's pleased with our gift, and promises to take care of all of our needs.

We often long for things out of the ordinary, yet the Christian life is meant to be lived on an everyday basis. As Christ followers, we're actually promised in Scripture that there'll be times of trials and struggles. But when life is pressing hard on us, our hope is that God has promised that we'll never be crushed!

We didn’t get to be there when Jesus walked the earth, but we have God’s truth in Scripture (and historical evidence!) to believe that He came. Another evidence of Jesus is the change that takes place when we believe in Him. So even though we won't Him face to face until we die or He comes back, we can see His work in our lives, and in others!

There's nothing that we have that wasn't given to us by God, even the air we breathe. It's His desire that each and every Christ follower would commit to letting Him use us as part of His plan to reach the world with the Gospel. So let's first be willing to give ourselves back to Him as a living sacrifice!

God offers humankind a completely free grace-gift that He paid for with His Son, Jesus Christ. All we have to do is believe and receive it. Once we have this, His greatest gift, and truly understand the price that was paid for our eternal salvation, we're compelled to respond in worship!

We often say that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas. However, in God's "big picture", Jesus came to earth for us, so we're the true reason for the season! He offers us the grace-gift of eternal life, and all we have to do is accept it, and let Him come live in us and through us.