Richard Ellis Talks

When we're in the middle of tough times, it's easy for us to fall into the mindset that nobody cares about us or what we're going through. But the Bible tells us that God cares for us, provides for us, meets all of our needs and wants us to be in a personal relationship with Him. He did everything by sending His Son to die for us, just to show that He cares -- it's up to us to believe that He means what He says.

Sometimes we don't really understand how prayer works -- and that's okay, as long as we understand that prayer does work! We need to keep an open prayer line with the Lord 24/7, so that when He directs us to pray, we do it. The Bible commands us to pray without ceasing, so let's always be attentive to the Holy Spirit's prompting, whether it's for ourselves or other people.

As Christians, we, the sheep, are all followers of Jesus, our Shepherd. When we're involved with a family of believers and submit to the leadership within the Church, it allows us to be protected from the wolves of this world. The enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, but there's safety in numbers as the Body of Christ.

There's a reason why money is one of the most talked-about topics in all of Scripture. It's because even though all that we've been given belongs to God, we have a tendency to think it's ours to keep and do with what we please. Obedience means giving our "first fruits" to the Church -- but it also means allowing Him to direct us in how we use the rest of it!

The world sees us from the outside and judges us based on what we look like and where our talents measure up or fall short. Meanwhile, Jesus is concerned with what's inside -- with the status of our heart, and whether we've allowed Him to enter it and live through us. When we let Him in, we become part of God's family, and we'll never again be on the outside of what matters most!

Have you ever considered the fact that God puts us in certain places and among certain people precisely so that He can use us to have Kingdom impact in the here and now? We don't have to look far to wonder who He's calling us to minister to. When we make ourselves available to Him, He changes the world around us, through us!

Jesus is alive today. Can somebody give an "Amen"?! His tomb is famous because it's empty. It's because of His resurrection that we have the opportunity to become spiritually alive -- and to be used by Him to reach other people, too.

When we decide to follow Jesus, He offers us a clean slate and a fresh start. But when we continue to live in sinful ways, sooner or later, God can say, "Enough already!" and leave us to suffer our own consequences. Before we get to that point, let's turn to Him and repent, knowing it's not in our sin that we find what we need but that He alone provides us more than enough.

When it comes to searching out the things that fulfill us, we have a tendency to look everywhere and at everybody except the only One who can satisfy us. When we start seeking God instead of everything else, our life starts to make more sense as we sit in the midst of His presence -- and the fulfillment we experience will carry us through every trial we face.

It's okay for us to be "baby Christians" for a while when we're new believers! But at some point, we're expected to step up and take responsibility -- both for the way we live and the way we lead. When it comes to our relationships, godly men should be standing up as leaders in their families and in their church, and godly women should be seeking these kinds of godly men.