Richard Ellis Talks

In Christ, we have all the power and strength needed to withstand temptation -- but often, we don't even realize it. With the help of godly people to teach us about God's power within us, we can begin to win the battle over sin. All we have to do is seek the Lord's protection and He'll provide the "Son" block that we need.

Father's Day can bring up tough emotions for a lot of people. No matter what kind of earthly father you have, your Heavenly Father has promised to always love you and keep you as His own. There's nothing you can do to make Him love you less -- and once you're adopted into His family, there's nothing that can undo it!

True manhood comes when God is at the center, and we find our identity in Him. Our greatest example of a man is Jesus Himself. He modeled what it means to be an obedient Son, an effective leader, and a wise teacher. He demonstrated strength, but also patience, kindness and care -- and as men, one of the best ways we can strive to emulate Christ is to mentor and be mentored by other godly men.

When you find yourself in need of comfort, where do you turn? God promises to bring us comfort when we bring our sorrows and brokenness to Him. As we worship the Lord in the midst of our trials, He's faithful to relieve our heavy burdens.

The devil is always working to lull us into a spiritual "sleep", where we become desensitized to things that should bother us. Instead of lazily hitting the snooze button, we need to wake up and let God work in us -- and one of the best ways we can do that is to start each day with prayer.

It's our job to share the Gospel with those we meet -- but it's the Holy Spirit's job to convict them on what they hear. No one will be convinced of the truth of the Gospel without the work of the Holy Spirit in his or her own heart and life. We've got to trust that God will work in His time according to His purpose to convict them of their need for redemption through Jesus Christ.

Have you ever stopped -- really stopped -- to marvel at the fact that God chose you? He chose you to be adopted into His family, before the world was ever created, and there's nothing you can do to change His love for you! The sacrifice He made by sending His Son to die on the cross was a bittersweet moment, because all the pain He endured was worth it to Him in order to have us as a part of His family.

Too often, we find ourselves clinging to what we have instead of letting go so that God can fill us with so much more. But when we loosen our vise grip, He is faithful to bless us -- often exceedingly more than we could ask or imagine. The greatest evidence of His blessing is the grace and mercy He's offered us through the gift of His Son.

The more we realize our value in God's eyes, the more we grow in appreciation of Him. We did nothing to earn it, yet He freely gave it. He values us more than we could fathom, and the inheritance He's promised us in Heaven is greater than any reward we could imagine.

Creation reflects the grace and the glory of God. He didn't create just what was necessary; He created what was beautiful, simply for its beauty. In the same way, He takes care of us, not only in our immediate needs, but by graciously blessing us over and above what we could even ask or imagine.