Richard Ellis Talks

God literally worked out the impossible in order for Mary, a virgin, to conceive and give birth to His own Son. So why do we doubt that He can work out the seemingly "impossible" things in our own lives? When His Spirit lives within us and we walk in obedience, He fills us with the power to accomplish His plan and purpose.

God told four different people about His plan to send His Son to this earth in order to save all those who believe in Him from their sins. And in doing that, He gave hope to humanity. Because we have the Holy Spirit living inside us, we now have the responsibility and the privilege of telling the world what He's done for us and for them.

Mary was chosen to carry the Son of God, to give birth to the Savior who would come in the flesh to save us from our sins. She trusted God's promises, and because she allowed the Holy Spirit to work through her, He fulfilled them. As Christians, the same Holy Spirit dwells in each of us -- and when we trust God for His promises, it impacts not only our own lives, but the world around us.

God answered Zechariah and Elizabeth's prayers to have a baby -- but He did it within His perfect timing. He had a plan for that baby far beyond what anybody could see: John the Baptist would grow up to pave the way for God's own Son. Our prayers might seem repetitive, and it might even feel like they're falling on deaf ears. But God not only hears, He answers, and our only job is to wait on Him and trust Him in the process.

When we're disconnected from God, we're prone to spiritual attack. We have to connect with Him on a daily basis in order to prevent attacks on our hearts by the enemy. To do that, it's crucial to remain in God's Word and to be in regular fellowship with other believers.

When we invite Jesus into our lives, the transformation that happens within us should be reflected to the world outside us as we become instruments of His workmanship. Everywhere we go, there should be a noticeable difference between the light that's in us and a world that lives in darkness -- and we're not meant to keep that light to ourselves.

God used John the Baptist for the sole purpose of preparing people for the coming of Jesus. When we're fulfilling our purpose in life -- not seeking our 15 minutes of fame, but looking for ways to direct others' attention to Him -- we won't receive the glory for our actions, but He will.

In this world, it's hard to wrap our brains around the fact that God is good in the midst of so much bad. We struggle to reconcile the immense suffering we face with what we hear and read about a loving and almighty God. But that same God who loved us enough to send His Son to die for us will not abandon us to suffer needlessly -- we just have to trust in His plan.

The easiest and most accurate way to find out what your heart is truly devoted to is to look at your finances and see where they're going. God promises to take care of us in all of our needs, but we have to trust Him and let Him be Lord over our whole lives, including our money and the ways we use it.

We look to everything this world has to offer -- including food -- to fill us. And if we're not careful, trying to fill ourselves with too much of anything can turn to an act of sin. We overindulge out of a desire to fill the emptiness we feel inside, but Jesus is the only One who can do that. When we allow Him in, change starts happening from the inside out.

When you point a finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at you. We're often guilty of pointing fingers at others for their "obvious" sins while hiding sins that nobody likes to talk about because they make us uncomfortable. Gluttony is addressed specifically in the Bible as a sin, but we forget this when we sit down at a table full of food. Some of us need to spend less time judging others and more time seeking accountability from someone we trust to help us clean out our own cupboards.

It's not your job to figure out how or if God's going to come through for you. And it's not my job to figure out how or if God's going to come through for me! It's our job to do what He tells us to do -- period. Whatever's holding us back from stepping out in obedience and surrender to Him has to be put aside if we're going to build our faith and watch Him work in our lives.

Have you ever found yourself in a job where you were just passing time? Maybe that's the season or the workplace that you find yourself in right now. It's tempting in that situation to be lazy -- but we're called to do everything for the glory of God. Christians should be known as the hardest-working people in the workplace, because we're working for the Lord, not for the approval of men.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we're branded with a "rebirth mark" that appears like a bullseye to the devil. He comes after us with temptations he knows we'll fall for. And while temptation may be inevitable, Scripture tells us that if we submit to God and resist the devil, he'll flee from us.

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control. These are the fruits of the Spirit, and should be the natural byproduct of every follower of Jesus. Tasted any lately?