Richard Ellis Talks

When we are lit about Jesus and what He’s done in our lives, others see the change in us and want the same for themselves. Once we get lit by first becoming a Christian, we can stay lit by remaining in His Word and following Him.

When we become Christians, Jesus lives inside of us and all of His power is, therefore, in us. God may call us out to do simple acts of obedience, but when we live in disobedience we are not only effecting ourselves but others around us as well. We need to live in obedience to God so that He can use us as a lifeboat for others.

There are times when we do not want Jesus to come in and work on certain parts of us, but what we need to realize is that Jesus has purpose in His work in our lives, even in discipline. Rather than continuing in out own ways, which are not working for us, we need to let Him into our hearts so that He can work on us and show us His way for our lives.

The Bible is full of relatable stories of broken relationships and messed up people. When we stop focusing on how other people have hurt us and start focusing on how God wants to change us, we start to change and see the ripple effects around us.

Jesus taught that we are to look around for those who need to be spoken for in the midst of their struggles, then step in and advocate for them. He modeled this in the ultimate way when we needed a Savior and He stepped in to take on our sin upon Himself, and He continues to step in for us as He intercedes to the Father on our behalf.

God can use anyone and everyone, no matter how intelligent or ignorant we are and no matter what sins lie in the past. When we feel Him calling us to Himself, we need to let go of our own insecurities or pride and accept His unconditional grace, love and forgiveness. When we live in obedience to Him, it’s amazing what He can do in and through us.

The best witness for the world to see is the family of God living at peace with one another. When a situation arises and we get hurt or hurt someone else, we need to not let time tick away but rather go to the other person and make things right with them.

Just as Jesus followed His Father’s direction to the Olive Garden and then the cross, leading to His death and resurrection, we must be willing to give up our own lives, take up our cross of suffering and follow Him. The only way our lives will work well is if we give up control and let Him have it all.

There may be times when God tells us to do something, but He may also tell us that we need to wait on Him to do it. When God’s power is present in our lives because we are waiting on Him, it is evident to everyone around us. When we try to do something in our own power we will always fail, so it is better to wait on God for His leadership, guidance and power.

Sometimes it’s the most religious people who question the truth, rather than the unreligious atheists, because they are too caught up in their traditions that they fail to see the light. We need to evaluate ourselves and make sure that we are not too caught up in our own ways and playing the devil’s advocate to what God may be trying to show us.

Giving thanks is something that does not happen as often as it should. As we look at our lives, we need to make a point to thank the people around us who deserve our gratitude, and we need to thank God for all the blessings He gives.

The world is full of things that we think may be good for us, but instead they come with consequence in the long run. God gives us instructions in His Word to follow that keep us on a path that truly is good for us. When we choose to submit our lives to Him, we find fulfillment in obeying Him and staying on the right path.

While becoming a Christian gets us a ticket into Heaven, it’s about so much more than that. Jesus offers us freedom from sin in our lives that continually drags us down and brings consequence. When we apply Scripture to our lives we can live in that freedom.

The Bible clearly states that we are slaves, but the master is up to us. We can choose to be slaves to sin, allowing the devil to run our lives, or we can be slaves to God and live in obedience. Even when we disobey God, His grace is still extended to us and sometimes that comes through consequence.

There are people in this world that have no idea that there is a spiritual battle going on for their soul and they live wickedly, allowing the devil to win. We must put on the armor of God and fight for them, telling them passionately about God’s love and His offer for salvation.

Just because we are Christians doesn’t mean we are saved from facing any kind of storm in our lives. However, when we stand firm in Christ we become weathered to face those storms and not crumble under them.

We all face situations in our daily lives that can grind on us and often seem unbearable for much longer. While it is important that we pray with persistence in asking God to change the situation, we also need to be open to allowing Him to change us. Our peace comes from faith in Him regardless of our circumstances.

We all have capacity to screw our lives up by living in sin and doing whatever we want to do. We will keep cycling back to the same consequences until we finally yield and say “uncle” to Jesus, repenting of our sin and turning away from it to follow Him.

When we become Christians, God has designed a warning system by placing His Holy Spirit inside of us to tell us when we are about to make a mistake. We need to listen to His warnings, stop what we’re doing, and obey Him so that we can avoid the dangerous consequences of sin.

There are plenty of stories in the Bible of God using sinners to accomplish amazing things for His glory. No matter what has happened in our lives, by our own doing or someone else’s, God can always take us and use us if we would just give ourselves to Him.