Richard Ellis Talks

Thanks to Christ's death on the cross, we're spoiled rotten in the sense that we no longer have to make a sacrifice to atone for our sin. But often, we take that gift for granted, instead of recognizing the need for us to repent. When we do so genuinely and wholeheartedly, God is gracious to make us clean. There will still be consequences for our disobedience, but they're given not out of punishment, but out of His love for us.

There's a saying that goes, "God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called." And it really is true! Time after time throughout Scripture, we see God take ordinary people and use them to accomplish extraordinary things. We don't have to be capable -- we just have to be available to Him.

Our culture not only normalizes sin -- it celebrates sin. But truth is truth, whether culture agrees with it or not, and we can always trust that truth will be found in Scripture. When we follow Christ, His heart for the lost should become our heart, too. May we be compelled to tell them the truth -- not because we hate them for their sin, but because we love them enough to share God's hope, grace, and mercy.

Our time here will end in one of two ways: either Jesus will return, or we will die. That's why it's critical for us to make the choice today to give our lives to Him, and to do what we can to make sure those around us have the same opportunity to spend eternity in Heaven. When the people we love die before us, if they've put their hope and trust in Jesus, we can grieve with hope knowing we'll see them again.

Without God, we're just dead souls in living bodies. But when we receive the gift of salvation that Jesus so freely offers us out of His goodness and His grace, we're brought to life and become living souls in living bodies! And while we can't do anything to earn it, we can do everything in our power to share the good news of the Gospel with the lost and hurting world around us.

If we've been trying to live our own way and do our own thing, it's time to give Jesus a second look and consider what He offers us. When we take a step back and evaluate our choices, we're able to see more clearly that life doesn't turn out as well when we take charge as it does when we surrender to God. The story of the prodigal son reminds us that the Father is always inviting us to return to Him -- and when we do, He's waiting to welcome us with open arms.

Do you know why God didn't put eyes in the back of our heads? Because that's not the direction He wants us to go! After we've gone through the stages of regret, reset, and restore, it's time for us to resume the work that God's called us to do. No matter what we've done or what's happened to us in the past, we can't allow it to hold us back from moving forward in the purpose God's called us to and the work He's left us on this earth to complete.

Feeling remorse over our sin is important -- but it's still only a first step. When our regret leads us to repentance, God is able to reset our lives and begin the process of restoring us. He forgives us, wipes our slate clean, and then uses our story to bring others hope for the same outcome in their own lives.

 

As the old saying goes, "a complaining tongue reveals an ungrateful heart." We can bemoan the fact that life isn't always fair -- and sometimes, it's just plain unjust -- and allow our circumstances to get the best of us. Or, we can choose to believe that our Heavenly Father loves to bless us as His children, and trust that He has a plan and a purpose to use our situation for His glory and His good.

Scripture is filled with real stories of real people, just like you and me -- and many of those stories illustrate the high cost of disobeying the Lord. While we're all susceptible to making mistakes, we can avoid many of the pitfalls we read about in the Bible when we're grounded in relationship with God and with His Word.