Richard Ellis Talks

Our lives are marked by millstones and milestones. Millstones are the times of tragedy, trial, and tough circumstances; milestones are the monumental moments that we celebrate. Part of the job of the Church is to help us turn our millstones into milestones so we can help others do the same -- that's the process of discipleship.

God sometimes tests us with the things He's entrusted to us, in order to make sure that we hold Him at a higher priority than we hold that with which He's blessed us. We might be called to sacrifice things we'd rather cling tightly to, but we've got to be willing to trust Him and to know that His way is always best.

In tough times, it's easy for us to assume the devil's at work around us. But how often do we stop to think our difficult circumstances are actually God at work in us? Sometimes, the only way He can help us to grow is to develop and refine us from the inside out.

Jesus isn't a "do what I say, not what I do" kind of Teacher. He never instructs us without showing us a perfect example through His own actions, including when it comes to spending time daily with the Father. We shouldn't live Sunday to Sunday expecting one hour of church to sustain us; our prayers should be a constant dialogue with the Lord, and His Word should be filling us each and every day.

 

Have you ever done something because you were motivated out of guilt? God doesn't want that from us -- He wants our hearts to be motivated out of our love for Him. When we do things out of obligation, we only end up burned out and resentful, but when we serve out of a genuine heart of love and gratitude for Him, then we'll be in it for the long haul and we'll do it with an attitude of joy.

If you've ever faced the harsh reality of your dreams not unfolding the way you planned, know this: you're not alone. Those seasons are often accompanied by disappointment, loss, and grief, and it can feel like God is standing by silently. But His "no", and His delay in our lives, don't mean He's abandoned us -- in fact, it's just the opposite. "I will never leave you or forsake you" rings true for all of us, but we have to trust Him in the process.

If we're not careful, the sheer wonder of our salvation can fade from the forefront of our minds. But the fact remains: Jesus was willing to take on hell itself for our sake. That's why we've got to be passionate about sharing the Gospel with others, to the point that we're willing to do whatever it takes and sacrifice whatever is required for them to be saved, too.

 

If we truly believed God to be all-powerful, we'd have zero issues trusting Him in any situation or circumstance. Yet the same God who created the universe is the same God who holds all the power to make anything happen in our lives. He's made it possible to raise us from spiritual death to spiritual life; to bring us into His family; and to make us His children.

As Christians, we should look different from the rest of the world -- because we're called to be in the world, not of the world. That means being aware of what we put into our minds and hearts through what we see and hear, and what we let come out of our mouths. But no matter how much we try to see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil, our efforts alone can't save us -- only Jesus can.

Many of the Holocaust's concentration camps were located near cities, and the people who lived in those cities turned a blind eye and did nothing as lives were lost, because they were afraid of the repercussions for speaking up. Today, millions of children continue to lose their lives to abortion, and we find ourselves turning a blind eye and doing nothing. But God calls us to fight for the lives of the innocent and the voiceless -- and that includes the unborn.