Richard Ellis Talks

The words "were" and "are" describe two very different points in time. The former is in the past; the latter is in the present. As we follow God, we come to know that we were one thing before He redeemed us, but thanks to His transforming love, we are made new in His grace and His mercy.

God often orchestrates the battles we face in such a way that we can't possibly win without His help. Why? Because it's in and through these battles that He gets the glory. Scripture tells us that we're to march on the gates of hell to pull people out if we need to -- but we can't do that without Him.

Darkness is the product of an absence of light -- and it's what we experience when we try to live in isolation as Christians. Two of the best questions we can ask to ensure we're walking in God's light are: 1) Have I asked Him to cleanse me of my sins? and 2) Am I in regular fellowship with other believers?

We're all in the middle of a spiritual battle. The question is: are you fighting in it, or are you a prisoner of war? It's critical for us to listen to God's commanding orders -- and one of the first directives He gives us as believers is to be baptized.

Have you ever faced rejection? If you answered "yes", you're far from alone. But here's the really, really Good News: God chose you before the foundation of the world -- and the sacrifice He made in order to have you was the death of His only Son. He loves us enough to have paid the ultimate price, but we still have to make the choice to choose Him back.

The trials we face in life not only serve as a testimony of God's faithfulness to us, if we allow them to -- they also serve as a testimony of our faith in God Himself. The Lord uses the difficulties we face to produce a certain character in us that can only come from Him. And when other people see how He's developing and refining us through challenging situations, it glorifies and honors Him.

The Church is many things -- including the Bride of Christ. Jesus loves His Bride so much that He died for her, and the entire Bible is a letter from God in which He pours out His love for us. We have a choice: to go head-to-head with Him and fight Him for control of our lives, or let Him be the head of His Church and submit to His will for us.

Scripture tells us that God loves us because of who we are -- His children, precious in His sight -- not because of what we do. Once we can accept that He loves us unconditionally and wholeheartedly, everything changes. We stop focusing on doing in order to define our being, and suddenly, our very being determines our doing.

During wartime, a battle cross often marks the place of a soldier's death. It may not mean much to strangers, but it symbolizes a great loss to those that knew the person who died. Jesus died on a cross to win a battle for us -- but it only means something if we're in relationship with Him. And until we have that relationship with the Lord, we'll never be able to experience true love and intimacy in relationships with other people.

 

We look in the rearview mirror when we're driving in order to see what's behind us. But when we decide to give our lives to Christ, there's no need for us to look back. Following Jesus requires us to jump all in; even if we stumble along the way, we can still keep moving forward in pursuit of His calling on our lives.