Richard Ellis Talks

Kids are often overlooked when it comes to investing our time and efforts, however Jesus taught that they are the greatest investment. Children will grow to carry on the values that are instilled in them, and if we take the time now to invest in them then we are also investing in the future.

Too often we find ourselves in a spiritual rut where we stay immature and childish rather than taking on the responsibility of growing up. We need to get to a point where we can raise new Christians to become spiritually mature, but we cannot do that unless we are growing as well.

It is possible to be a Christian and backslide into sins from your past that you intentionally choose over following Jesus. There are also Christians who get deceived along the way and get off the path. Wherever you find yourself, if it is away from Him all you have to do is turn back and He welcomes you and heals you from all your sin.

We can be quick to judge other people who claim to be Christians and do not act accordingly. Rather than being judgmental of them, or even of ourselves, we need to understand that God's work in our lives takes time. Once we become Christians there is nothing we can do to reverse that and we need to take hope in His promise to complete the work He has begun in us.

Throughout Scripture God has designated a certain order to things. Before we can receive much from Him, we must give up all that we cling to. It is in this order that we find all that He has promised because we are doing things in the way that He designed them to be done.

We live in sin when we live our lives apart from God. That sin separates us from Him forever, unless we accept the forgiveness that is offered to us because of Christ's death and resurrection. We do not have to face God in the end based on our own works, but we can be assured salvation through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

There will always be times for goodbyes, and we need to make sure that when we leave somewhere that we leave on good terms because it may be the last time we see certain people until eternity in Heaven. For Christians, we can cling to the promise that we will see our fellow Christians again, even after they leave this earth, in heaven.

We must be careful who we spend our time around, knowing that negative whining and complaining will quickly rub off on us. God is serious about showing gratitude in all things, and in order to reflect Him well to the world we must take Him at His word and walk in obedience and thankfulness.

It is alright to become a Christian and remain needy and make messes for a time, just as a new baby starts off needy and messy. But at some point the messes need to be fewer and there must be some independence so that growth is happening. We need to get to a place spiritually where we can step out and make disciples of other people, helping them along in the process of growth.

Sometimes it seems easier to hold onto our illnesses, whether it be physical sickness or emotional baggage, rather than give it up and be made well. Jesus has offered us healing and all we have to do is accept it and obey what He tells us to do.

God, who made all things and holds all things together, made a way for us to be in right standing and relationship with Him by sending His Son to die on our behalf. We must submit our lives to Him, bowing our knees and acknowledge Him as Almighty God and Father.

The first and most important relationship that we need to seek reconciliation for is our relationship with God. He made it possible through His Son, and because of that we can be made right with Him and He can begin changing us inside. The more He fills us then the more His work in us overflows outside of us and changes the world around us.

When we are born again spiritually, our citizenship in Heaven is secured and this earth is merely a place we are visiting until we are called home. We must make the most of our time here, but keep our minds and focus on what is to come eternally.

Jesus modeled for us what it looks like to be a servant leader by washing the feet of His disciples, not just teaching about it. Rather than seeking after a high standing reputation or position up the ladder, we must seek to serve others regardless of our position and let God appoint us wherever He wants to place us to be used by Him.

When we truly live our lives surrendered to God, the Holy Spirit will impress on our hearts at times to give to others. Rather than holding onto everything we have, we need to obey and sow what God has given us and see the bountiful blessing that comes from that. He will supply all of our needs as we take part in the amazing fun of giving.

There are circumstances in our lives that we wonder why God is putting us through such difficulties, but we must understand that He may be using those times to humble and test us in preparation for how He wants to use us. When we face those moments, it is essential to keep our eyes on Him and pass the tests because when we pours us out after being shaken, He can use us in much greater ways than if we had not been shaken in the first place.

When we choose to follow Christ we must count the cost and willingly stretch, giving up everything for His sake, and following wherever He leads us. We can trust that God will provide for all of our needs, but at the same time understand that following Him may leave some marks through which He will be glorified.

God's grace covers all of our sin, but we must not take advantage of that so that we can sin all we want. We are called to live lives of obedience to Him, and having faith in Him is the first step to pleasing Him. When we live our lives to please God then when we see Him face to face in the end He will say, “Well done.”

We all begin our lives under the law of sin, meaning that there is no escape from nature taking its course and that we will sin. Jesus made the way of escape through His death and resurrection so that we no longer have to live under the law of sin but rather live in freedom. When we choose to live in freedom, He changes our hearts and changes the world through us.

The Bible teaches us to remain connected to Jesus, as He lives in us through the Holy Spirit, in order so that our lives will bear His fruit. As He continually works in us, His fruits such as love, joy and patience begin to grow and others get a taste and want what we have.

A bummer lamb is a lamb that was rejected by its mother and is taken care of from birth by the Shepherd with tender loving care. Just as that lamb builds a special bond with the Shepherd, we respond to Jesus' love for us by following Him closely and knowing His voice. He has constructed His Church to do this for the lost, and our job here on earth is to seek those that are lost and bring them to Christ.

As Christians, we are children of God and therefore we need to set an example for everyone around us of what it looks like to obey our Heavenly Father. There are always others watching how we live, especially children, and many will imitate us. We must instruct them to honor God in the way they live by living it out in our own lives.

Just like the Israelites in the Bible had seen God provide for them in miraculous ways over and over and still they turned from Him, we can easily get caught up in making idols for ourselves out of the things in this world no matter how much God has proven Himself to us. No matter how wild we may get wrapped up in our sin, the wildest thing is that He will always accept us back.

There are circumstances in our lives that can affect how we receive God's Word, but despite our circumstances we can always choose to receive it the way He wants us to. When we hear God's Word we need to allow it to take root in our hearts so that it can change us and we can begin to bear fruit and multiply the impact it has onto others.

It is easy to slip into believing what the world tells us about our sin, that it's not bad and it doesn't hurt us. The Scripture gives us God's standard that does not change and tells us that sin is sin, and the more we sin the more He will discipline us because He loves us. We need to see our sin how He sees it, turn from it and obey Him.

We all deserve to be squashed like bugs because of the sins that we have committed, yet God has chosen to show us mercy and grace because of His love for us. When we humble ourselves and come to Him begging for mercy, we receive it and can then give it to others.

Too often we pick and choose what we want to relinquish control over in our lives but we don't give God everything. He doesn't want to share His rule over our lives, He wants us to completely surrender and let Him call all the shots.

The Bible teaches us that we only live once on this earth and that Jesus came to pay the price for us to live again with Him in Heaven. He promised that He would be coming back to take with Him all who are saved, but if He does not come back in our lifetime our earthly bodies will die. After that death, no matter how we die, the only way of living again with Him in Heaven is to be saved by His blood.

When we hold onto sin in our lives, we dirty our hearts more and more. God cannot live amongst sin and therefore brings us through fiery circumstances for the purpose of refining us and cleaning us up. When He searches our hearts and reveals sin in our lives, we need to immediately repent and turn away from the sin and towards God.

As Christians, we are called to use our time on earth wisely, doing the things God has called us to do and realizing that the stuff here on earth is just stuff and we can't take it with us. God has called us to run a race, and so let us run that race to the best of our ability, investing all that we've got and bringing others alongside us as we run.

All the things we have are given to us by God, and sometimes He calls us to give something away to someone else. When we trust Him and obey His call, He continues to provide for all that we need.

Rather than focusing on the things we don't like about a church, we need to step in and serve where God has called us to serve and do our part. When our focus shifts to serving and obeying God, the problems will work themselves out rather than if we sit in our discontentment and complain.

Though many people believe that the good things they do can outweigh the bad things they've done, the only way that a person can be reconciled to God is through Jesus Christ. He died to pay the price that we all owe because of our sin, and if we believe in Him and accept His forgiveness then we can stand before God debt free.

Just as people who work for a certain company represent that company, we, as Christians, represent Christ to everyone we meet. When we interact with someone, we need to make sure that we are always offering a sales pitch, showing them what it means to follow Christ and extending the invitation to them.

God is always at work and wants to use us to accomplish what He wants done. If we make ourselves available to Him so that if at any moment He calls us we respond, we become a more useful tool for His work. As servants of God we are all called to be available, prepared and useful for Him.

Just as a man and woman are able to reproduce physically as God designed it out of intimacy, we are to spiritually reproduce disciples as we grow in intimacy in relationship with God. He works in us to help us grow and mature so that we can seek out others to be reborn and help them in the growing process.

The Bible tells us that we will face suffering and persecution merely for living godly lives, but that our relationship with God is more valuable than avoiding that suffering. Everyone suffers, but the difference between the world and us is that we have the power of God in us and His presence surrounding us at all times.

As Christians, God makes us a new creation, transforming our minds to be yielded to His ways that are opposite the world's way. Oftentimes, we choose to remain living like chickens even though He has given us wings like eagles. We must change our thinking to live the way He intended for us to live and change the world around us.

The Bible warns us many times about watching the words that come out of our mouths because it indicates what is in our hearts. If the words that we speak are not God-pleasing, Jesus-loving words then we should be asking ourselves where our heart is at and get right with God.

Worry and anxiety are things we all feel when faced with a difficult circumstance. When we find ourselves worrying about things, we are not able to trust God in the situation at the same time. We need to go to Him in prayer, release our anxiety, rejoice in His faithfulness and trust Him to take care of the situation.

The Bible says that God has specifically placed those in authority in their positions for His plans and purpose. We must trust that He knows what He's doing, and follow His lead on when and where we need to take a stand.

Discipline is a necessary thing for a parent to inflict on their children so that their children can grow to live in obedience. In the same way, our Heavenly Father disciplines His children so that we can learn obedience to Him and live the life He intends for us to live.

God designed His Church, His children to function in such a way where we link arms with one another and help each other in our Christian journey. While we can worship God alone anytime, we cannot be a working member of His family without actually being involved and living life together.

Alcohol is something that many have used to ruin their lives, but alcohol itself is not a sin. When we choose to do something, whether drink alcohol or any other thing, we need to make sure that we are doing it for the glory of God. Rather than getting drunk with alcohol, the Bible instructs us to get drunk in the Spirit and let Him lead us and guide us in the things He wants us to do.

Since the Church is made up of human beings it is inevitable to be messy because sin is involved. We need to understand for ourselves and for others that change is a process and God works on His people in His own timing and we must extend grace while He works.

God wants a relationship with us more than He wants to give us whatever we ask for. Rather than letting our prayers be all about asking for whatever we want, we must first seek a relationship with Him and then He will change our hearts to ask for what lines up with His will for us.

It's never wrong to ask God for something, whether it be a way to make our lives easier or a way to avoid suffering that is coming. But when we choose to ignore the answer He gives us because we don't like it, we set ourselves up for more suffering in the long run. We must first be willing to say “Yes” to God in anything He asks, and that is when we will learn to be content with Him when His answer is “No.”

There are many examples in the New Testament where the apostles were persecuted for preaching the Gospel, yet they responded by rejoicing in the Lord and He blessed them for it. When we follow their example, we may not receive the blessing here on earth but He gives us peace to endure the suffering and promises to bless us in Heaven.

When we find ourselves in difficult circumstances we need to call out to God and ask for His help, then keep our eyes open to recognize how He chooses to help us. We never need to fix ourselves before approaching God because only He can fix us anyway.

The Bible tells us that Jesus took on our sin so as to heal us from it, but that doesn't mean we won't face suffering in this life. It is better that we suffer for obeying Him than for choosing sin.

There are many women who have lost a child, either by their own sin of choosing to give up that life or by other causes. Though it should not be the reasoning for becoming a Christian so as to see a child who has passed from this world to be with God, there is hope for mothers who follow Christ that they will once again be reunited with their children who have gone to be with the Lord.