Richard Ellis Talks

The story of Ruth is a beautiful illustration of what it means to truly trust and obey God. Ruth's loyalty to Naomi and obedience to the Lord set in motion a series of events that would one day culminate in Joseph -- Jesus' earthly father -- being born into their family line. No matter how crazy it may seem, we're always better off for trusting God, even if we don't know what that will entail.

The devil's only purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. We can never let our guard down, but have to always be on alert for his schemes. In order to fight the enemy, we have to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus each and every day; it's in our obedience to Him that we find abundant life.

History reveals time and time again that there are consequences for our disobedience to God. Continually making the choice to do the right thing often isn't easy, but it's always right, and our choice to obey will pay off in the end.

Do you remember how the Flintstones would get in their "car" -- and then have to use their own manpower to make it move? Too often, we try to live a "Flintstones" kind of spiritual life; we believe we can do things in our own power instead of relying on the power of God. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside us as believers, and we have the ability to tap into it at any time.

The Christian life is about doing the work of God together with the people of God. We're all members of His family, joined together to bring glory to Him in this life. Being part of the Church isn't just about what we get out of it, but what we bring to it. And learning to love those we don't always like or agree with -- believers and nonbelievers alike -- can only be done through Christ.

 

Everything we have has been given to us by God; it was never ours to begin with. Yet we clutch it in our fists as though it belongs to us, and in doing so, we love our "stuff" more than we love Him. When we give our lives to Christ, we're also giving the things that we own, to be used for His purpose and for His glory.

Clutching to our plans and our lives with clenched fists is a sure way to lose everything in the end. The only foolproof way to win is to lose ourselves to God -- and that means offering ourselves up with open hands, letting go and surrendering in obedience to Him.

Hebrews 12:1 instructs us to run with endurance the race that's set before us as Christians. The question is: are we running it with tenacity, or are we just coasting along? If we want to do the former, we have to let go of the baggage that's weighing us down and run with determination and perseverance -- even when it gets hard.

At Christmas, we wrap gifts and place them under a tree to be received. But have you ever considered that the Gospel tells of the greatest gift of all being placed under a different kind of tree to be received by any who would choose to accept it? Salvation was bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus -- freely given by God to be received by us at the foot of the cross.

Sometimes, life socks us in the gut. In those moments, the world is watching to see how we'll react. Our lives ought to show that our trust and faith in God keep us standing, even in the most painful circumstances.