Richard Ellis Talks

Neglect and regret go hand in hand -- when we neglect to do something we know we should do, we often regret the consequences of our decision. And the worst thing we could ever neglect is God's invitation for salvation, because that choice comes with an eternal regret. When God stirs our hearts to do something, obedience is the only answer that will allow us to live without regret as a result.

We can define friendship as a lot of different things, but Scripture instructs us this way: "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15). When non-believers look at the friendships among believers, this is what they ought to see! As Christians, all of our relationships need to be grounded in the kind of love that invites others in -- the kind of love that Jesus first showed us.

Nobody knows when Jesus is coming back. But we know that He is coming back one day, and our job is to spread the Gospel as far and wide as we can in the meantime. God will equip us with what we need to fulfill that purpose -- we just have to be obedient while we await Christ's return.

Sin exposes our nakedness. That's why Jesus took on our sinful nature with His sacrifice -- He put on mankind, lived among us, and hung exposed on the cross, all so He could act as a covering for us and we could be forgiven for our sins. When we clothe ourselves in Christ instead of seeking out the temporary pleasures of this world that only cover us for a fleeting moment, we find the peace our souls long for.

God wants our lives to bear spiritual fruit -- but that process isn't always easy, nor is it painless. There's a purpose for the fruit that grows on trees and there's a purpose for the fruit of the Spirit that grows in us, but in order for Him to fulfill that purpose in us, we have to remain connected to Him in every aspect of life, even when it's painful.

The purpose of pruning is to remove unhealthy branches and foster healthy new growth in their place. In the same way, God prunes the unhealthy "branches" of our lives so that we can produce healthy fruit for His Kingdom. Scripture tells us that when we remain connected to God, we'll bear much of that kind of fruit, and when others see it, they can't help but see His glory, too.

The armies of the Old Testament waited for God's leading before they went into battle. So why do we often seem to think we can go into the fight without Him? When we wait on God, He fights our battles for us and we become conquerors in Him. When we follow His lead, there's nothing we can't overcome!

When we become Christians, God's Spirit takes up residence inside us, and we're empowered to share the Good News with those around us. The Holy Spirit prompts us to reach out to others and spread the Gospel to the world, but in order to do that, we first need to have His power turned on in our lives.

Adam was the first man to come into the world, and he screwed everything up when he introduced sin into humanity. That's why Jesus came and paid the price to offer us a second birth -- a chance to be born again so that when we die physically, we don't have to die spiritually too.

Have you ever thought of life as being like TiVo? God knows all that's ever happened and all that's still to come. He's outside of time, and He's already seen ahead to the final ending in the story. The Bible warns us about the end times and it's our duty to share those warnings with others, but it also assures us that we don't need to live in fear when we put our trust in Jesus.