Richard Ellis Talks

From the Garden of Eden to the Cross of Calvary, trees have played a central role in our salvation story. Only when we go to the foot of the tree where Jesus took our sin upon Himself will we find salvation in Him. The word "bole" literally means the trunk of a tree -- and the biggest "super bole" we'll ever see is the redemption that comes from the tree of life found only in Christ.

God has a purpose for our lives -- and the enemy spends every second of every day working hard to keep us from accomplishing that purpose. Like a roaring lion, he's always on the prowl. It's essential for us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus if we want to avoid falling into the devil's traps.

It's possible to have righteous anger against something without wishing harm on another person. In Scripture, we read about how Jesus stood up for His Father's house when He became angry about injustice. As Christians, we're called to stand up for what's right and what's just -- but we can do it without malicious intent towards people and can instead focus our energy on fighting for change.

You'll never be truly hands-on in the Church until you hand on what God's given you to others. A major component of spiritual maturity involves making disciples and passing down what we've learned to newer Christians. As we grow in our faith, we teach others to do the same, and we grow the Church in the process.

When trouble and temptation come our direction, and the only way we see out is through consequences that we know will bring us pain, God provides us with an escape route and a way back to Him. Drawing near to the Lord, surrounding ourselves with other Christians who will keep us accountable, and remembering that God's mercy is eternal are all weapons in which we can find strength for the battle against the enemy.

We're all being played -- the only thing we have to decide is whether we're being played by the devil or "played" by God. When we take the bait the enemy lays out for us, we fall into his traps and suffer the consequences. But when we yield our lives to God, He can use us to do amazing things that we could have never done on our own.

The Lord's forgiveness doesn't happen in a vacuum -- nor does it leave us the same way that we were before. Salvation changes us, cleanses us, and makes us worthy of a relationship with the living God. When we experience the depths of His mercy and grace, we can't help but tell other people that it's available for them, too.

Staying close to God and distancing ourselves from God are both choices that we make. But sometimes, the shame, guilt, and hopelessness that stem from our actions and their consequences are specifically designed by the enemy to keep us from feeling like we can draw near to God. As believers, we can call on Him, knowing He cares for us, and He'll answer in times of trouble -- and no matter how far we stray from Him, we're never too far to come back home.

Many people chase after riches on earth, but those riches last only for a moment in the grand scheme of eternity. Our focus as followers of Jesus needs to be on storing up riches in Heaven by spreading the Gospel and influencing people for Christ. When we put Him first, God promises to take care of us in all circumstances.

The Lord desires a close walk with each of us. But we need to be careful not to disregard the sanctity of our relationship with a holy God. If we don't respect Him and obey what He calls us to do, we risk our hearts becoming hardened -- and we're no good to His mission with a hard heart.