Richard Ellis Talks

Sin weighs us down and keeps us from living the life that God intended for us. But when Jesus paid the price for our salvation, He washed us clean from our past and freed us from the burden of our sin. As children of the King, we're now free to run the race before us with our eyes fixed on the ultimate prize: eternal life in Heaven with our Father.

As long as we try to maintain control of our own lives, they're going to keep spinning out of control. As broken people, we're naturally drawn to sin, which leads to an uncontrolled way of life. The only way to "get a grip" is to live under God's reign and rule. He grows the fruit of His Spirit in us and gives us the power to harness our sinful nature.

We can read our Bibles from cover to cover and listen to all the sermons in the world. But unless and until we respond in obedience, it won't have any real impact on our lives or on others. When we find ourselves struggling with how to understand what God's Word is telling us to do, we can ask Him to first help us hear what He's saying to us -- and then help us to obey in doing it.

Our culture promotes the idea of making our lives a "buffet", where we pick and choose the things we do want, and toss out the things we don't. But when it comes to our spiritual lives, rather than being "pickers and choosers", we need to be "lifers" and commit to the things God calls us to fight for -- no matter the cost. That includes the decision to commit ourselves to a certain church, to commit ourselves to a certain group of people, and to commit ourselves to following Him.

In today's culture, one of the most dangerous places to be in this world is in the womb. Increasingly high abortion rates tell us that life before birth has been devalued in our society, but if we believe what the Bible says, a person is a person whether they're still in the womb or outside of it. Even if we've made a mistake before, God offers forgiveness and restoration from our past and the opportunity to be both recipients and ministers of restoration.

The first steps of a believer's journey are confessing Jesus as Lord, repenting of our sins, and accepting God's forgiveness. But when that's all said and done, there's another step to take: we have to be willing to power forward into the abundant life He's called us to! When we let go of the past and hold onto the future He's promised us, our lives change for the better -- and other people notice.

 

When we receive God's gift of salvation, a natural desire to serve Him comes with it. But after a while, if we're not careful, we can get tired of "working for God". When that happens, it's because we're doing it out of our own strength, which is why we get worn down. But when we let Him work in us and through us, we experience the rest He offers us from our own weariness.

Scripture teaches us the importance of listening to the Spirit and following what He tells us do, when He tells us to do it. And that means when He says, "Stop", we should stop! We all struggle with different sins, and the Spirit works on each of us in different ways and different times, but when we listen and obey, it'll benefit us in the end.

Christ's death on the cross doesn't just allow us a way into heaven when we die -- it also gives us the power to live the way God wants us to on earth. When we die to sin, the things we used to struggle with no longer have control over us. Yielding to our own desires will lead to sin and suffering, but yielding to the Spirit will lead to righteousness.

No one can "purchase" salvation. It's not something that can be bought for a price, because it was already paid for when Jesus died on the cross. Now He offers it freely to each of us. We're still going to make mistakes even after we accept His gift, but because of His grace, we can be forgiven and continue to follow Him.