Richard Ellis Talks

In the same way that employees of a company represent their company, we, as followers of Christ, represent Christ to everyone we meet. We've been commissioned to share the redeeming message of the Gospel -- but often, we're reluctant to do so. In every interaction, our job is to share what it means to follow Jesus and offer an invitation for others to join us in the journey.

Point #1: God is always at work. Point #2: God wants to partner with US to accomplish His mission! But in order to be part of this awesome privilege, we have to make ourselves available to Him as "human resources", ready to respond the moment He calls us. And when we're willing to drop what we're doing to respond to Him, we become more useful tools for the work of His Kingdom.

Even Jesus, the Son of God, asked the Lord the night before He died to take His cup and let it pass from Him. The reality of living in this broken world is that there are times when we face suffering and pain so great that we wish God would just take it all away. Sometimes He does, but other times it's His plan for us to face those struggles in order for us to draw closer to Him. No matter the situation or the outcome, He promises to walk with us and never leave us alone.

All throughout the New Testament, we read examples of the apostles being persecuted because they preached the Gospel. Yet they chose to respond by rejoicing in the Lord, and He blessed them for it. When we follow their example of finding joy even in the midst of our struggles, we're able to thank God for all that He's done and continues to do for us. And while we may not receive the fullness of His blessing here on earth, He'll give us peace to endure the suffering in the meantime, and promises of what awaits us in Heaven one day.

We all face tough times when we feel like we're under too much pressure. And in those moments, we have a tendency to reach for the "safety valve", the tool that keeps us from boiling over or exploding altogether. Our safety valve can either be a temporary pleasure that leads us to sin, or it cause us to run back to God -- and we need to make sure we choose the latter, because He promises to bring us through to the other side.

When we become Christians, we don't just become children of God -- we become members of His family. God designed the Church to function in such a way that we wouldn't walk this journey alone. It's true that we can worship God any time, any place, without anybody else around, but we can't be contributing members of His family without actually getting involved with one another and doing life together.

Scripture tells us that God has specifically placed those in authority in their positions according to His plans and His purpose. And while it might sound crazy to us that someone we don't agree with could possibly be ordained by the Lord and His will, we're called to trust that He's in control -- and to submit to that authority while still standing firm for the glory of God.

There are a lot of things in this world that aren't sinful in and of themselves -- they're sinful when they're abused. Alcohol itself isn't a sin, for example, but many people have used it to ruin their lives. When we use something or do something in this life, it's important to hold it up against biblical teaching and the conviction of the Holy Spirit to make we're doing it for the glory of God -- and when we do that, we can rest in the confidence that we've obeyed His commands.

The Church is made up of human beings. That means the Church will inevitably be messy, because people are messy! Before we lose patience with other people, let's take a look in the mirror and ask ourselves how many times God's lost patience with us. When we understand that change is a process, we can extend grace to ourselves and to others knowing God works on His people in His own time.

Scripture tells us that Jesus took on our sin so He could heal us from it. But that doesn't mean we won't still be scarred in the spiritual battles of this world. The fight against evil is a war, not a game, and we're going to face suffering in this life, but it's better that we suffer for obeying Jesus than suffer for choosing to walk in sin.