Richard Ellis Talks
1,302 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 days ago - ★★★★★ - 335 ratingsThe daily podcast with Richard Ellis. Follow / Like him @TalkWithRichard
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Episodes
Millstones To Milestones
November 06, 2023 05:00Our 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.
Moriah Carry
November 04, 2023 05:00God 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.
Inside Job
November 03, 2023 05:00In 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.
The Daily Planet
November 02, 2023 05:00Jesus 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.
First Love
November 01, 2023 05:00Have 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.
Boo Hoo
October 31, 2023 05:00If 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.
I’ll Be Damned
October 30, 2023 05:00If 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.
Super Power
October 28, 2023 05:00If 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.
Three Monkeys
October 27, 2023 05:00As 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.
Hollow Cost
October 26, 2023 05:00Many 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.
The Rest Of The Story
October 25, 2023 05:00We can get as much or as little physical rest as we choose, but ultimately, it won't matter if we don't give our souls rest, too. And the only way we can do that is by coming to Jesus. He offers us spiritual rest -- the opportunity to shed our weariness and our burdens, and trade them for His peace.
All You Got
October 24, 2023 05:00Are we giving God all that we've got, or are we withholding ourselves from Him? Jesus gave His very life -- all that He had -- so that we could be saved. Now, He asks us to do the same. We get the opportunity to be a living sacrifice for Him, and that requires yielding our lives entirely to His will in order to bring about our greatest good and His greatest glory.
Maytag
October 23, 2023 05:00Who lives inside us is of far greater significance than what we look like on the outside. When we choose to follow Jesus, He cleans us up from the inside out. Our relationship with Him and the life transformation He wants to complete in us matters more than simply trying to follow all the rules and modifying our behavior for the sake of religion.
Lord Of The Rings
October 21, 2023 05:00Marriage is designed by God. More than that, marriage is a picture of His love for humanity. But for our marriages to display His Lordship to the world, we first have to let Him be Lord of our lives individually.
Sheep Dip
October 20, 2023 05:00When it comes to our spiritual development, baptism is the "A" in our "ABCs": it comes first before anything else can fall into place. Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? And if so, have you taken the first step of obedience by being baptized?
Furnished, All Bills Paid
October 19, 2023 05:00God promises to provide for our needs -- but that doesn't always look the way we'd expect. There are things in this life that we want to hold on to, that we don't want to surrender to the Lord. He calls us to release our grip on those things and trust Him to provide everything we need.
Joy Ride
October 18, 2023 05:00Your worst day with God will always be better than your best day without Him. Living in obedience to Him -- even when it involves suffering -- is better than living for ourselves knowing it'll only end in pain. God rewards our faithfulness with a fullness of joy that can't be found anywhere else, and it's contagious to the people around us.
Shook
October 17, 2023 05:00Sometimes, God works in miraculous ways that leave us "shook". But more often, we overlook the greatest miracle He's already performed: bringing each of us from spiritual death to life. Scripture tells us very clearly that there will come a day when we'll bow before Him. Are we going to spend our time from now until that day wishing He'd perform miracles the way we want Him to, or marveling at the miracle it will be to experience eternal life with Him?
Saucer Sippin’
October 16, 2023 05:00How full is your spiritual cup? Is it half-full? Three-quarters? Or maybe running on empty? Living for the Lord comes with a promise: He will supply us, not with "just enough", but with more than enough. Out of God's goodness pours an overflowing abundance of His riches, mercy, and grace. As we surrender our lives, we make room for His Spirit to fill us with more of Him.
The Fast Lane
October 14, 2023 05:00Prayer should be a regular part of our regimen to seek the Lord and His mighty power. But fasting is the greatest ammunition we can use in our pursuit of life change. The next time you feel like you've hit a wall when it comes to getting answers from God, seek Him through fasting -- and then be prepared to watch Him work in mighty ways.
Body Parts
October 13, 2023 05:00Scripture explains that God's Church is the Body of Christ. In the Body of Christ, Christ Himself is the head. And because we're one body, when we remain connected not only to Jesus but to one another, there's no limit to what God can do through us.
Sit, Stay, Heal
October 12, 2023 05:00God requires obedience from us -- not the second time, or the third time, but the first time He asks. And when He tells us to do something and we disobey, there will be consequences. His discipline isn't about punishment -- it's about Him loving us enough to let us face the results of our choices.
So You Think You Can Do Better
October 11, 2023 05:00If you were to take a survey about your life, how would you rate it: Poor, Fair, Good, or Great? Sometimes it's hard not to wonder if we could do better. The story of the prodigal son is all about one person's decision to leave home and do things his way because he believed he could do better on his own than in the safety and protection of his father's house. And it's a picture of how merciful God is to us; even when we decide to stray far from Him, He's always watching and waiting with open...
Potpourri
October 10, 2023 05:00One thing different religions have in common is their basis in tradition. Some religious rituals even falsely promise a route into heaven. But no building, tradition, or person other than Jesus Christ can save us from sin and give us eternal life. The only way to salvation is through Christ alone.
War And Peace
October 09, 2023 05:00There's a difference between being at peace with God when we become saved, and having peace from God that comes from a genuine relationship with Him. When we choose to follow our own desires over obeying His will, we declare war on Him when He wants us to bring peace. It's when we live a life of obedience to Him and extend forgiveness towards others that we experience the peace that comes only from Him.
Know It All
October 07, 2023 05:00Do you know about God, or do you know God? We have a world of "information" at our disposal, but sometimes, it's more important that we just take time to be quiet and listen. God knows every detail about each one of us. He doesn't just want us to know about Him -- He wants us to know Him in a deeply intimate way through a deeply personal relationship with Him.
Crickets
October 06, 2023 05:00Have you ever felt like you called out to God and He just...didn't answer? In some cases, it might seem like He's silent -- like He's all but abandoned you. But remember, He sacrificed His only Son on the cross for us, all so that we could be brought into His family, and He's promised to never forsake us. Sometimes, He doesn't answer us immediately because it's in and through the waiting that our relationship with Him can grow.
Watchulookinat
October 05, 2023 05:00Have you ever successfully counted the stars in the sky? How about the grains of sand on the earth? Or what about the number of hairs on your head? The answer is "no"...but the Bible tells us that God counts them all. When we consider our problems, challenges, difficulties and disappointments in comparison to His power and love, we can find comfort in knowing that He didn't just create us -- He sees each of us for who we are.
Blood Bath
October 04, 2023 05:00The devil likes to remind us of our past -- but God wants to remind us of our future. We all have a background of sin, but when we accept Christ's sacrifice on our behalf, we're pronounced "not guilty". The blood of the Lamb has washed us clean in God's eyes. Let's live like we've been set free -- because we have!
Getting Fired
October 03, 2023 05:00God allows difficulties in our lives -- not because He doesn't love us, but because He does love us. Those trials are there to test us and teach us, and when we walk through them, we have the opportunity to grow closer to God. In tough circumstances where it feels like we're walking through fire, we're actually being refined to become more like Christ and better able to make a Kingdom impact in the lives of other people.
Got The T-Shirt
October 02, 2023 05:00Jesus' death was sufficient to save us once and for all. We don't have to identify ourselves by the sin we've committed, and live our lives by our transgressions. He offers us a clean slate when we accept His free gift of salvation -- a gift that was made possible only by His death on the cross, and that has the power to change us for eternity.
Out Of The Closet
September 30, 2023 05:00Jesus doesn't just tell us the importance of spending time alone with God -- He shows us the importance of spending time alone with God. When we're with Him in the secret place, He empowers us and strengthens us. We can't have power in our life "out of the closet" unless we're spending time "in the closet" with Him.
Haul Ash
September 29, 2023 05:00When Jesus walked this earth, He stood up at one point and spoke the prophecy of Isaiah. He declared that He was the One who had come to fulfill the promise: delivering hope to the poor, healing to the brokenhearted, and joy to those in mourning. No matter how damaged our lives may appear, He promises to bring beauty out of any pile of ash when we surrender it to Him.
Flying Fish
September 28, 2023 05:00God always provides us a way of escape. But often we miss it because we're too busy looking around at all of the temptations from which He's trying to save us! Scripture tells us to flee from sin and run toward righteousness before our lives are destroyed.
Really?
September 27, 2023 05:00God wants to use you and me to do great things for His Kingdom. Often, the obstacle preventing that from happening is...you and me. We question His ability to fulfill His promises. What if we spent less time asking whether He's able to do what He says, and more time stepping out in obedience and allowing Him to do it?
Souloscopy
September 26, 2023 05:00We might think we're fooling God when we try to hide our sin, but He's already seen it within us. He's gracious to search us, and if we ask Him, He'll reveal our struggles to us. It's better to go through a "souloscopy" than to struggle with symptoms of problems that He can easily fix while ignoring the problems themselves.
Sabotage
September 25, 2023 05:00In earthly terms, "sabotage" is a tactic used to destroy something that's of value to the other side. In spiritual terms, it's not much different -- but it comes at a much higher cost. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He opposes God's plans for us and constantly tries to sabotage God's promises to provide us with a hope and a future. We have a choice: whose words are we going to believe?
Global Warning
September 23, 2023 05:00We've become desensitized to abortion and the death toll it creates because we live in a culture that not only accepts it, but also celebrates it. Our society values the protection of the environment more than the protection of human life. While it's important that we care for the earth, our priority needs to be saving people -- body and soul.
Full House
September 22, 2023 05:00Scripture tells the story of a man who invited many people to a party, but they all made excuses why they couldn't come. So instead, he had his servant go out into the streets and the alleys and invite the poor, the blind, the crippled and the lame. God invites everyone to His party in Heaven -- and He uses us to hand out the invitations, even to people we may not like.
NPC
September 21, 2023 05:00The gaming world is filled with non-player characters, or "NPCs" that fill space and have no interaction with the player or the outcome of the game. Here's the good news: Christians aren't NPCs! We can -- and should -- live our faith journey as active participants. In God's world, everyone matters and is important, regardless of skill, qualification, or past failure. In fact, it's only through His strength and power that we're able to win in the game called "Life".
Hand Me Down
September 20, 2023 05:00It's possible that you've lived your entire life knowing religious tradition, without ever knowing Christ Himself. Rituals aren't the same thing as relationship, and it's important for us to sift through the traditions we hold and figure out what we need to hold onto as "non-negotiable". The only way to discern the difference is by studying what comes from Scripture and what doesn't. And in order to grow in our relationship with God, we have to be willing to let go of some things and hold fa...
Go Fish
September 19, 2023 05:00Jesus told His disciples that if they followed Him, He would make them fishers of men. If you and I follow Jesus, we'd better do so with the expectation that we, like the disciples, will also be fishing for men, because of the work that God's doing in us!
Unspeakable
September 18, 2023 05:00You may have endured unspeakable hardships, or done unspeakable things, that make you believe you can't experience joy in this life. But no matter your past, God offers unspeakable joy, blessing, and promise, in this life and for eternity. Through Jesus, we're offered abundant hope that lasts not for a moment or a lifetime, but for all time; the only thing standing in our way is our unwillingness to surrender to Him.
Fire Proof
September 16, 2023 05:00There's a day coming when we'll see Jesus face-to-face -- and when we do, we'll be asked to give an account of how we spent our time here. We have one life that we can either build with temporary pleasure or with eternal treasure in mind. It's up to us whether we want to present the Lord with a life that was lived for Him.
RSVP
September 15, 2023 05:00Jesus took upon Himself all the transgressions of human history. He died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice God required for the atonement of your sin and mine. Because of Him, we're made clean and righteous in the Father's eyes. But to receive this free gift, we first have to respond. Are you going to accept or decline His invitation?
Fire In The Hole
September 14, 2023 05:00Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three seemingly ordinary guys in the Old Testament who refused to bow down and worship the king of Babylon, and they were thrown into a blazing fire as a result. But they trusted that God would deliver them -- so why do we struggle to trust Him in far less dire circumstances? Regardless of the "fire" we face, God always has a plan: either He'll deliver us from it or He'll deliver us in it.
Nice Try
September 13, 2023 05:00We'll never achieve perfection in this life -- but perfection isn't the point. The point is that we strive to obey God, and that we keep trying even when we fail. The more we persevere in our obedience to Him, the deeper both our faith in Him and our relationship with Him grow.
Tit For Tat
September 12, 2023 05:00Before Jesus, justice came in the form of "an eye for an eye" and "a tooth for a tooth". But Jesus turned justice upside down when He instead told His followers to love their enemies; do good to those who persecute them; give more than what is asked; go further than the extra mile; and love their neighbor as themselves. What He requires of us goes against our very nature most of the time -- and it requires us to surrender to God and allow Him to extend mercy, love, and forgiveness through us.
After Life
September 09, 2023 05:00There is a place called Heaven, and there is a place called Hell, and the decisions we make in this life will determine where we spend our eternal life. Choosing to follow Jesus -- or reject Him -- is the single most consequential decision any of us can ever make, because that choice directs our eternity. We all face the same destiny of death in this life, but the only way to have life beyond this one is by choosing to give ourselves to Christ.
Why Not Me?
September 08, 2023 05:00The Bible tells us that God will provide us with a way of escape from every temptation we face. But have you ever noticed that it's easier to take Him up on that "exit route" for some sins than it is for others? We've all got our weaknesses, and if we're not careful we can find ourselves getting discouraged about our struggles instead of celebrating the Lord's triumphs in our lives. Through Him and Him alone, we've been made victors over sin.