Richard Ellis Talks

We can buy the bull that the world is selling, or we can build our lives on the truth of the Bible. The devil will always offer us deals that seem good in the moment, but they come with heavy consequences. When we surround ourselves with the wisdom and promises of God's Word, we're better able to avoid the enemy's traps and live according to the Lord's instruction.

Our purpose in life is to give God our best and do anything for ourselves after -- but too often we get that backwards and do everything for ourselves first while giving God what's left over. Career, money, fame or material possessions will never bring us true joy, but when we're obedient to God and put His call on our lives first, He utilizes us for His work and blesses us in the process.

We have a tendency to point fingers at certain sins more than others, like when people have sex outside of marriage or abuse drugs and alcohol. But what about gluttony? Scripture is clear that the struggle with food is as much a sin as any other -- and like any sinful behavior, it requires repentance to God and accountability to others to keep from falling back into our old patterns.

If you've ever prayed, "God, I thank You that at least I'm not like *insert someone else's name here*", then here's the good news: you're not alone! We have a tendency to compare our actions with other people's in order to look better or less sinful than we really are. The truth is this: we ALL fall short of God's standard. Instead of trying to minimize our own sin, we need to accept that we're sinners, too, and repent so He can work in and through us.

The next time you think God can't use you because of your past mistakes, just open the Bible! Scripture is filled with examples of people who messed up time and again. But God still had a plan and purpose for their lives, and He has one for us too, if only we're willing to listen.

What does it look like to pray with persistence? Scripture tells the story of a widow who continued to ask an unsympathetic judge for retribution on someone who wronged her. Eventually, the judge gave in -- all because the widow refused to stop asking! God wants us to come to Him with this same level of unwavering resolve. When we ask for something, let's believe in faith that He will provide and refuse to relent until He answers.

Did you know that our lives are always producing fruit? But the type of fruit we produce depends on how deeply rooted we are in Christ. When we're connected to Him, we produce the good fruits like love, joy, and peace -- and when others see what we have, they want the same life transformation we've experienced.

Scripture assures us that no amount of effort on our part can cause God to love us any more or any less. He offers us complete remission from the debt our sin has caused, free of charge. But in order for His gift of forgiveness to be of any use to us, we first have to accept it -- and when we do, we find ourselves better able to forgive others, in turn.

When it comes to doing the right thing, we have to first be WILLING to do the right thing. We're incapable in and of ourselves of always choosing to do what's right. But God walks with us through the process of making us willing, and as He works in us, He follows through with the doing.

God wants to speak TO us, but He also wants to speak THROUGH us! And if God prompts us to speak, then He'll give us the words to say. We're called to reach others by sharing the power of the Gospel and its impact in our lives, but in order to do so, we have to let Him use us the way He sees fit.