Richard Ellis Talks

God's love was so clearly displayed when He sent His Son, Jesus, to be the Savior of this world. He loved us enough, even in our sinful state, to make the greatest sacrifice of all on our behalf. He doesn't want anyone to be condemned to hell, but we have to choose to receive the gift He's offered: salvation through Christ alone.

The story of the birth of Jesus is filled not only with THE wise men of the nativity story, but with other wise people who submitted to God's call on their lives. True wisdom comes when a person responds to God's leading with obedience. Only by following Him do we become "wise guys" in the best sense of the word.

If being a Christian were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you? When we surrender our lives to Christ, we're born again with the Holy Spirit inside us -- and that's a heart transformation that everyone around us should be able to see!

The difference between Jesus and any earthly king is that Jesus never grew up to become a king -- He was born the King of Kings! We can't accept the gift of salvation that He gave His life to pay for without submitting ourselves in reverence to Him. When we choose to make Him the King of our lives, we're also choosing to let Him rule our every decision, every day until the day He calls us home to Him.

When it comes to questioning the Bible, the Christmas story is one of the most popular examples for why it "can't" be legitimate. Skeptics who challenge Scripture are nothing new, but when we have our doubts, it's important for us to research and study God's Word ourselves instead of throwing out the whole Bible just because we don't understand every single thing it says. At some point, we have to come to a place of choosing to believe not only what Scripture tells us about Jesus, but what it tells us about the salvation He offers us.

Did you know that the Pharisees of Jesus' day could have figured out who He was, simply by asking where He was born? But they didn't take the time to ask important questions, and often, neither do we. It's tempting to ignore parts of the Bible that we don't understand, but if we seek God whole-heartedly, He promises to reveal Himself to us through His Word.

Of all the gifts we receive at Christmas, the greatest is the gift of Jesus Christ. Through Him, God has offered us salvation from our sin. And if we accept His offer, we not only receive the present of His Son -- we receive the gift of being in His presence forever.

The God who's given us the very breath we breathe in this physical life is also the God who's given us the opportunity to have eternal life with Him. But His offer of redemption isn't meant for us to keep to ourselves -- it's meant for us to turn around and give away to others. Are we going to be selfish with our salvation, or are we going to "regift" it and pass it on?

When it comes to picking people who will become part of His Kingdom, God doesn't choose the ones who would seem logical in the eyes of the world. The "in crowd" is simply made up of those who hear His Word and respond in obedience.

If you or someone you know is struggling so much in this life that you wish you'd never been born, the best thing you can do is be born again. Through all of our struggles and suffering, the only hope we can cling to is in God Almighty. He sees the whole picture, He knows the whole story, and He has good plans for each and every person who puts their trust in Him.