Dr. Jim Richards

In the original language of the Bible, the psalmist tells us God is chasing us… not to hurt us, not because He’s angry, but to draw us into an intimate heart-to-heart relationship where we are protected, provided for, given direction and most important: deeply and personally connected to Him. Mercy isn’t just getting by with something; it’s not just getting better than we deserve. Mercy is an expr...

There is one particular sin the Bible indicates may be the one from which you can’t recover. I’m not saying it cannot be forgiven; I’m saying it is so devastating to the heart that we cannot recover. The Bible says the reason Job was able to be recovered is because he did not commit this particular sin. Job didn’t let himself become so overwhelmed by his painful circumstances that he gave up hope...

When you’re standing at a crossroads there are so many factors that flood your mind telling you which way to go. God wants to help you make the decision that will ensure your life is filled with peace and the promises of God. But life is often so complicated that we can’t weigh out all the factors. As hard as we try we often fail to make the best decision. Wisdom comes from the mouth of God. Wisdo...

More than anything else Jesus came to reveal God’s true character and nature. Everything He did was exactly what the Father would have done; everything He said was exactly what the Father would have said; every person He healed is what the Father would have done! Jesus made it possible to cut through all the religious perversion of God’s nature and see God in the flesh!   Join me this week for The...

God asked the question, whose report will you believe? There are two reports about the nature, character, and true identity of God: there is God’s report and everyone else’s! God’s power manifests in our life based on what we believe about Him. Faith is more about what we believe about God than it is what we believe about what God will do. When we know His character and nature we know, without a d...

One of God’s names indicates that He is self-revealing. In other words no one can accurately show us God other than God Himself. Thankfully He has given us specific ways we can see Him as He is! One of the most unique ways God has chosen to reveal His true nature and character is through His names. All of God’s names reveal His loving, nurturing, caring passion for mankind. When you know God’s nam...

Jesus was the perfect model of God and the perfect model of a man yielded to God. When we look at His life and believe God’s account of who He is we can do the things He did and even more (Jn. 14:12)! Jesus’ secret to moving in the power of God was rooted in being one with God; i.e. the same character, the same nature, the same truth, and the same actions. In order to become one with God we must c...

Seeing God as He really is ends all problems with faith, peace, and relationship. The prophet Isaiah said that the failure to see God as He is causes people to blaspheme His name continually. People blame God for things because of what religion has taught them. But at some point we must decide if we will believe God’s revelation of Himself or religion’s deception! God is good and only good; when w...

What would change if you thought someone was angry with you and then found out they stood up for you and even protected you when others meant to hurt you? The first thing that might change is the way you felt about that person. Not only did you find out they weren’t mad at you; you found out that they cared enough to fight for you! This is what happens when people discover how God really feels abo...

The Bible warns of reaching a place where we are past feeling, sensing, and hearing the voice and presence of God in our heart. When that happens we think God isn’t speaking to us or leading us; it seems that He is never protecting us. Religion wants you to believe God has left you. But the truth is, any time we can’t sense or recognize God speaking and ministering to us in our heart we have reach...

When the Bible says, “God so loved the world,” that is not the same type of love He expresses to those who love Him back. The Bible speaks of a relationship with God where He shares His secrets; He shows us things to come; He reveals His ways, and so much more! That’s not the relationship He has with everyone. It is the relationship He offers to everyone, but that is not the relationship everyone...

Anything we talk about but don’t actually experience soon becomes boring and uninteresting. In fact, something happens to us psychologically after we have talked about something for a time but not really experienced it; we convince ourselves that we actually tried it and it wasn’t that great! Many people talk about the love of God for years and then find themselves disillusioned, empty, and search...

In a world filled with terrorism, and political and corporate corruption, Young people are giving themselves away sexually, women are spending millions on plastic surgery, men are body building and buying expensive cars, everyone wants to wear the latest, hottest clothes. Why? Everyone is trying to attract attention in hopes of finding love. Only God’s love can fill the deep void and hunger we hav...

In years gone by there was a total emphasis on our need to love God. Religion attempted to force us into feelings of love as if they could be worked up through some religious manipulation of our emotions. In recent years a new brand of religion has totally ignored the need for us to love God and put all the emphasis on God loving us. Both of these religious extremes ignore the fact that in a relat...

Religion has created a sterile, non-feeling concept of God. The result is people tend to attempt to relate to God legally, through doctrine, instead of relationally. All God has ever wanted from mankind is a relationship. Nearly every word that describes our connection to God is either in the form of family or relationship in general. The Bible portrays a kind, loving God that has the capability o...

So many events in the Bible have been translated to make God seem to be a hard taskmaster: quick to judge and punish, but slow to forgive and restore. This is just not true! The truth is God is slow to anger! Ps. 145:8-9 says it best, The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. 9 The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. We are the o...

When we came to Jesus we wanted more than church attendance and a bunch of rules. We wanted a relationship with the Almighty God; we wanted to know Him and His power; we wanted to be connected to Divine purpose! It’s amazing how all that passion and expectation can slowly diminish over the years. But it doesn’t have to decrease; in fact, it should increase as we walk with God. For most of us, reli...

There is a reason we call what Jesus did at the cross a finished work: it is because His part is finished. There isn’t one thing God needs to do, beyond what Jesus has already done, to provide us with all that pertains to life and godliness! Religion tells us we must wait to find out God’s will. But Jesus has already established God’s will. So no matter how it seems, we are never waiting on God! F...

The two events that shape nearly everything else we believe about God are: the creation of the universe, and the creation of man! Until we know, grasp, and believe all the factors of God’s nature that are inherent in these two major events we will have questions and conflicts about God’s character and nature! Join me this week and discover why these two events are so crucial to your faith!

One of the ways to know exactly what God will and will not do is to know the terms of the covenant! Our covenant is a binding contract between God and Jesus that clearly establishes our benefits, rights, and privileges. Mixing the Old and New Covenants may be one of the greatest causes for a lack of confidence in God! Join me this week and I’ll help you become steadfast in the New Covenant, sealed...

Unshakable faith doesn’t come by simply memorizing and quoting a lot of scriptures. Unshakable faith comes when we first discover who God really is: what His character is, what we can count on Him to do and not do. The person who knows the answers to these questions will never be moved! Religion tries to make God unknowable and contradictory. But nothing is further from the truth! One of Jesus’ pr...

Wavering is the place of torment where one minute you’re feeling that God has the answer for you and you’ll trust Him; then in the next minute you’re looking at the crisis and feel like you’ll be swallowed alive! This shifting back and forth is tormenting. Join me this week, and I’ll show you how to put an end to wavering!

In the Old Testament God told the children of Israel they weren’t getting blessed as good as He wanted them to be. He said He would have given them honey from the rock, but they only believed for water! (Ps 81:16) That is the state of every believer on earth today. None of us are experiencing life as good as God is offering! Like the children of Israel, we put limits on God. He is always offering...

One of the most miserable places to be is in the gap between the promise of God and its manifestation - that place where it seems like God’s promises are not true. You know they’re true, but you just seem stuck in that horrible gap! This is where most people give up their faith in the promises of God. Join me this week and I will show you how to break out of that gap, where nothing is happening, a...

Have you ever felt condemned because someone said you didn’t have enough faith? Nearly everyone has felt that. But what’s worse is when you’re facing a challenge and you can’t get the breakthrough you need, then you start believing you don’t have enough faith. Since you had enough faith to get born again, you have enough faith for anything! Faith is a gift! You don’t need more faith; you simply ne...