Richard Ellis Talks

The Bible tells us that this life is like a vapor. In fact, according to God's time, we're on this earth for mere minutes in the grand scheme of eternity. It's important for us to realize that time is slipping away, not so that we can live in fear of dying, but so that we can utilize what time we have left by following His will and living to glorify Him.

You probably haven't thought much about the donkey and the colt that Jesus needed to ride on when He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. But what if the man who owned them had been unwilling to give them when he heard the Lord needed them? We need to always be prepared and willing to give God whatever He asks, whenever He asks -- even if it means giving ourselves -- to be used for His glory.

God's Spirit takes up residence inside of us when we accept His salvation and submit our lives to Him. And when He's running the show, that means we no longer get to live the way we did before we chose to follow Him -- the way the world encourages us to live. He's the "landLord" now, and it's our responsibility to submit ourselves to live under His authority and for His glory.

Men and women alike are subject to temptation; none of us are immune. In those moments when we feel swayed to give in to the allure of what the world has to offer, it's important to focus on what God has given us at home and be the husband or wife we need to be for our spouse.

Single men and women who are seeking a relationship should be seeking Christ first, because when they do that, they'll find someone who has Christ living in them. Without Him, we have no defense against sinful things, but when He lives in us, we're no longer "only human".

In the same way that it delights a parent when their child obeys and desires to do things for them, God is delighted when we obey and serve Him. When we live our lives to please the Lord, we'll be amazed by the ways He uses us to touch others -- and the ways He rewards us all the while.

Jesus was the fulfillment of the sacrifice needed to satisfy the punishment for all of our sin; it's His blood that washes us clean. He paid the price for our salvation not so that we could continue to be weighted down by the past, but so that we'd be free to run the race before us with our eyes fixed on the eternal prize that awaits us.

The Apostle Paul writes about singleness being a gift from God, because it allows the individual to serve Him wholeheartedly. But he also addresses those who are gifted with marriage, and instructs them to give God their whole lives. If someone who loves and follows and serves the Lord is going to get married, it's important that the person they're marrying loves and follows and serves Him, too.

We're naturally drawn to sin, and the more we sin, the more our lives spiral out of control. But when we submit ourselves to God's reign and rule, He grows the fruit of His Spirit in us, and it gives us the power to control the sinful tendencies of our flesh.

 

We can listen to sermons all day long, or read our Bibles from cover to cover. But if we never actually respond in obedience to what we're being told, it will eventually cease to have any impact on us spiritually. If we're ever unsure of the response we should have when reading Scripture, we can ask God to give us ears to truly hear what it says -- and then act accordingly.