Richard Ellis Talks

Rather than living to please ourselves, God has called us to please Him. Too often we question what He asks of us, or simply choose to ignore Him and please ourselves. The only pleasure we will find in life is when we live to please Him.

We may or may not have every reason to complain about the difficulties we face, but regardless of our circumstances we need to choose to trust God and not complain about what’s going on. We can pray and ask Him to change things, but ultimately our joy comes from Him and so we need not complain.

Sin keeps us leaning towards testing the rules and breaking the laws. The laws were put in place to reveal our sin to us, but Jesus died so that we do not have to live under the weight of the law in our own strength. When we live in relationship with Him and follow in the steps of the Spirit, we no longer consistently check off the list of rules but instead find ourselves living freely within the boundaries God set for us.

Too many people stand in their pride and defiance to turn to God and submit their lives to Him. The truth is that everyone will ultimately submit to God, but we must not wait until eternity to do so. When we submit our lives to Him here on earth He is able to live out His good plan and purpose for us.

As Christians, the best way we can live out our lives is every day starting out asking God to use us and listen for His voice. He will lead our every step, and when we follow Him we can see Him work in and through us to change the world.

Rather than trying to act like Jesus, we need to let Him live in and through us, acknowledging Him as our Lord, not just our Savior. Jesus comes to live inside of us when we become Christians, but more than a ticket to Heaven, it’s about letting Him be more and more Himself in our lives.

We tend to want to go to a church that is full of people who look right and know how to act right. Jesus came to seek the lost, and if we are going to follow Him that means we are going to encounter lost people whose lives are a mess. Rather than shy away from the mess of this world, we can introduce them to the Savior who came to offer hope and salvation.

The most important thing in life is not to do a bunch of good, even religious things, but rather it is to spend time building our relationship with Jesus. Life can get plenty busy and we can be easily distracted, but we must make sure to stop what we’re doing to sit at Jesus’ feet and just listen to what He might have to say to us.

The Bible is very clear about how God’s people are supposed to give financially to His Church, as well as how that money is to be used. When we give begrudgingly, God is not pleased with our money. It is when we give cheerfully because we love Him that He is pleased with our gift and promises to always take care of all of our needs.

Many days we may not feel like we have the energy or the desire to witness to others and share the Gospel with people we encounter. Regardless of how our lives may be going in the moment or the season we’re in, God has called us all to be ready to be put in the game when He prompts us to speak up.