Richard Ellis Talks

You don't shower or do laundry once and call it good for the rest of your life (ahhh, but wouldn't that be nice?!). In the same way that it's necessary to wash our bodies and our clothes on a regular basis in order to make them clean, it's critical for us to wash ourselves spiritually by spending time in God's Word. Through Christ's blood, we can be washed white as snow, but it's up to us to keep up on our daily "hygiene".

The Bible tells us that God's specifically placed those in authority in their positions according to His purpose. It's not our job to question His plans -- but it is our job to trust that He's ultimately in control, and to follow His lead on when and where we need to take a stand for Him.

God's perfect standard requires that a sacrifice be made to atone for our sin. Where that sacrifice was once a literal lamb, Jesus came to serve as the proverbial Lamb who paid the price for the sin of the entire world. We can choose to continue carrying our own guilt and shame, knowing we can never repay the debt that we owe, or we can accept the gift of freedom that Jesus offered us when He took our sin to the cross.

It's not wrong to feel angry over injustice -- but we often make the mistake of spreading that anger around us instead of looking in the mirror and asking how we ourselves can contribute to meaningful change. If we really believe that Jesus sets us free, then we should be free to love, to forgive, and to live as family with one another, regardless of our differences.

Scripture is clear: God's love for us in absolute, unwavering, and eternal. So why are we not easily convinced? When we start believing what the Bible tells us about His love, and stop second-guessing the gift that He's given us in His Son, our whole lives change and we experience the joy that comes from living free from sin and condemnation.

This life is fleeting, and we only live it once. That's why it's so important for us to take our one shot seriously, instead of getting caught up in the distractions of a temporary world. When we yield to God's purpose and plan, He can use us to grow His Kingdom.

The posture of our heart is revealed when we approach God with either clenched fists or empty hands. When we choose to follow Jesus, we admit that we have nothing to give, and we ask Him to fill us with His Spirit. From that day forward, it's our choice: we can either hold everything He gives us tightly in our grasp, or we can release it back to Him and watch as He opens the floodgates of blessing in our lives.

We all know someone who has the "gift" of speaking without a filter (hint: if you don't know that person, check the mirror -- it might be you!). The words that come out of our mouths are a direct reflection of what's in our hearts. That's why the Bible warns us time and again to be careful what we say, and how we say it. If the words we speak aren't God-pleasing and Jesus-loving, it's time for us to step back, do a heart check, and get right with the Lord.

You won't find a single verse in the Bible that encourages us to segregate ourselves within God's family. But you will find an abundance of Scripture that instructs us to love each other fully, regardless of our differences, because what unites us is Who we belong to. We're all children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, and how we model our relationships within the Church will reflect to the outside world what it means to love and follow Jesus.

Did you know that your greatest weapon against hardship and trial is...worship? Most often, the difficult circumstances that we think are our enemy are really just masking a spiritual enemy. The devil seeks to steal, kill, and destroy -- but when we worship God, He fights on our behalf, and we don't have to fight those battles alone.