Richard Ellis Talks

No matter what comes AT us, if Jesus is IN us then nothing will never be able to destroy us. Sometimes God uses our suffering for His glory. He can magnify all circumstances, including our struggles, to reach people we may have never come across otherwise -- and if we allow Him to work through us, He'll sustain us in the process.

Scripture makes it clear that God values commitment from His children. That's why obedience to Him isn't a "one-and-done" act, it's a daily pursuit! The same goes for our prayers; He invites us to ask Him for anything according to His will and to continue to ask until He answers our request.

We've all been guilty at some point of pretending to be someone we're not. We often put on a facade for the rest of the world to see, but when we let Christ manifest Himself through us, we don't have to pretend to be anyone, because we allow ourselves to become His image-bearers. In every situation, Jesus was led by the Spirit, and we too also have to be Spirit-led so that in every step we take, we're portraying the image of Christ to others.

Have you ever considered that when someone else prays for God to send them help, His answer to that prayer might be...you? He wants to use us to reach other people with the Gospel and the love of Christ, but we have to listen for His voice and obey when He calls. Following Jesus means being willing to do whatever it takes to help others -- before it's too late.

The Bible is clear that we're slaves no matter what -- but it's up to us who the Master will be. We can choose to be slaves to sin and allow the devil to run our lives, or we can be slaves to God and to righteousness. And even when we disobey Him, He still extends His grace to us.

There are people in this world who have no idea that there's a spiritual battle going on for their soul. But the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and when people live wickedly, the enemy wins. It's our job as Christians to put on the armor of God and fight for them by sharing Christ's love and His offer of salvation.

There's a difference between being a committed follower of Christ and being a ticketholder of salvation! God offers the latter to all who believe in Him and accept His free gift of eternal life with Him. But beyond that, Jesus offers us the chance to take up our own cross and follow Him -- and while that road is far less traveled, it's also far more rewarding.

Ask yourself two questions: What type of person are you when life gets difficult, and who do you run to in those tough times? We each face difficulties in life, and we each have a choice on how we're going to handle those challenges. Even during the storms, we can trust God in the meantime and allow ourselves to be filled with His peace and joy to sustain us.

Just like Jesus picked His disciples to walk with Him during His earthly ministry, Scripture tells us that God has chosen us for the privilege of being in relationship with Him. We can choose to stay rooted in our past and find reasons why He shouldn't pick us. Or, we can accept His love for us and choose to move forward in a life of obedience to Him!

Whatever we fill ourselves with is what will be poured out of us to the world in turn. When we fill our hearts with the truth of God's Scripture, He presents us with opportunities to speak to others about Him. Our words make a difference when they have His power behind them -- and that difference has the ability to make an eternal impact on someone else's life.