Richard Ellis Talks

As Christians, we have two options for this life: we can chase God and His calling for us, or we can chase the temporary pleasures of the world. It's so easy to get distracted from our mission here -- but at the end of the day, this is only our temporary home, and it's our responsibility to fulfill our purpose until He calls us to our true home to be with Him for eternity.

The air we breathe, the things we own, the people we know, the unique gifts and talents we possess... everything we have comes from God, and to live obediently means being willing to give it all back to Him. He wants to use us as part of His plan to reach a broken and fallen world -- but we have to first offer ourselves and all that He's given us to be part of that plan and purpose.

Before the world ever began, God knew there would need to be a plan for redemption, and He incorporated that plan into every aspect of His masterful handiwork. Because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we're offered the gift of salvation at no cost to us -- all we have to do is receive it.

The Bible describes all the requirements for the Messiah to be a perfect sacrifice, without which He could have never fulfilled the stipulations of our sin debt. He had to be born of a virgin; grow from birth in fully human form, yet without sin; and He had to die as the spotless Lamb who could take our sins to the cross and the grave.

You and I didn't get to be there when Jesus walked the earth -- but we have God's truth as evidence that He came. Even more evidence of His impact is the change that takes place within us when we choose to follow Him. When God transforms our lives, that's evidence to the world that He's real and the Gospel story is true.

God's given each and every one of us amazing gifts, talents, and abilities -- and they're best used when they glorify Him. The greatest gift that's ever been given is Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. All we have to do is receive it.

If you or someone you know is struggling so much in this life that you wish you'd never been born, the best thing you can do is be born again. Through all of our struggles and suffering, the only hope we can cling to is in God Almighty. He sees the whole picture, He knows the whole story, and He has good plans for each and every person who puts their trust in Him.

Salvation goes beyond a "get-out-of-jail-free" card and a ticket to Heaven. It involves living a life of peace and joy through Jesus while still here on earth. So often we accept Christ and then continue living in our own power, trying to fix our own sin, when in reality, God empowers us through His Spirit to overcome that sin if we're just willing to submit our lives to Him.

Jesus' entire life -- from conception to the cross -- was a fulfillment of prophecies that had been spoken of the Messiah all along. At some point, we have to come to a place of choosing whether or not to believe that He is who He says He is, and who the prophecies said He would be. One day, we'll each stand before His throne and answer for the choice that we make.

 

Our God is so powerful that all He had to do was speak, and the entire universe was formed. At the very beginning of time, God designed Jesus' birth to be revealed in the stars when He created the heavens and the earth -- and when He sent His Son to this world, He ordained that a star would proclaim that very birth.