Richard Ellis Talks

God has picked you to be His child -- a prince or a princess in His Kingdom! He equips you with what you need in order to accomplish His purpose for your life. He chose you because He wants you -- so rest in that truth today.

There's a story in Scripture about a man who was born blind. God ultimately used his difficult circumstances to be glorified by revealing Himself through Jesus' restoration of the man's sight. God can use the struggles that you and I face for His purpose, too -- and in response, we have to be willing to take a stand and proclaim His goodness in all things.

Matthew 12:34 tells us, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks", and that's especially true when it comes to how we pray. The closer we are to someone, the more comfortable we are having honest conversations with them. The question is: how comfortable are we with God?

There's a constant war going on within each of us, with both sides vying for our attention; on one side is the Holy Spirit, and on the other side is our own flesh. The flesh goes along with any temptation that comes our way, and tries to convince us that it's something we need. The Holy Spirit, however, gives us the strength to resist temptation, and to strive for a holy life -- the only kind worth living.

The enemy uses every single opportunity this world presents to pull our attention away from God and distract us with our own selfish desires -- and sometimes, it doesn't take much for him to succeed. We have to always on guard not to let ourselves become content here at the cost of living for the Lord, and to keep our focus on heaven.

Matthew 7:14 tells us, "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Most people will journey through this life choosing the broad and easy path that's based on serving themselves and their desires. But only the narrow path leads to Christ and the fullness of life that He offers.

The Old Testament is filled with laws, rituals, traditions, and sacrifices that God commanded His people to obey then, but that often make little sense to us now. Yet those very commands formed the path that would ultimately lead to Jesus -- to His life, His death, and His resurrection, all so that we could be saved.

This one's for the ladies: Have you ever found yourself wishing you could find the "right" kind of man? Men are naturally attracted to physical beauty, but the right kind of man will be able to overlook sexual temptation and hold out for a beauty of far greater value that can only exist when a woman allows God to refine her on the inside. What would it look like to spend more time beautifying the heart than the body?

The story of Rahab shows us a woman who seemed like a "nobody" -- yet her faith in God (and His promise through a couple of spies) saved her and her entire family. Rahab's testimony is a reminder that God can use any one of us, regardless of our background, to reach others and extend His promise of salvation to all who are willing to believe.

We can get so wrapped up in our own struggles and successes that we overlook those who are dying spiritually all around us. But what if we prayed for eyes to see those who need to be cared for, and compassion that moves us to do something about it?