Richard Ellis Talks Richard Ellis

If there's one thing human beings are good at, it's making excuses. But at some point, we have to leave our excuses at the foot of the cross if we're going to choose to follow Jesus -- and we have to stop excusing ourselves from being obedient in what He's calling us to do.

The bad news: Because of sin, we're all broken. The good news: Because of Jesus, we can all be healed from our brokenness. God longs to repair our broken hearts because He loves us, and when we repent, He heals our scars and gives us a fresh start.

It's true that God offers us grace and mercy when we sin. But it's equally true that we can avoid the consequences of our sin and disobedience if we just do what He tells us to do in the first place! If we know that God's called us to do something and we choose not to do it anyway, we're not just being unwise -- we're living in sin.

God promises to meet all our needs -- not just the "big" things! Often, He shows up in simple, small ways as a reminder to us that He cares about even the little details of our lives. Instead of spending so much time worrying about how to store up wealth and resources to take care of ourselves, what if we rested in the knowledge that God will take care of all of our needs?

The wages of sin is death. Because sin is inevitable for each one of us, we deserve that death -- yet because of Christ's sacrifice, it's death that's saved us and given us eternal life. The blood of Christ is the only thing that can make us clean, and it's only by being covered in His blood that we can find forgiveness for our sins.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we go from stumbling around in the darkness to living in the light. Like a baby sees the light of day for the first time when they open their eyes at birth, God reveals His light to us by opening our eyes when we're born again spiritually. And when His Spirit draws us out of the darkness, we then become His light in the world.