It was the height of the Cold War, and Brother Andrew was stopped at the Eastern European Marxist border. He watched as each car in front of him was searched. Everything was taken out of the cars and checked. This would be a problem for Brother Andrew, because there were Bibles in his car he was smuggling into that nation.

Brother Andrew, a citizen of The Netherlands, was known as “God’s Smuggler” because he smuggled Bibles into Communist countries. Communism outlawed religion, so Bibles were also off-limits. But Brother Andrew felt called to bring God’s Word to people living behind the Iron Curtain. This was a huge risk, for if he were caught, he would likely be put in prison for a long time.

At the checkpoint, Brother Andrew decided to take a risk. He put all of the Bibles he was smuggling across the border in the front seat, in plain view of the guards. When it was Andrew’s turn to be checked, the guard barely looked at him and waved him through. His check took barely 30 seconds!

The Bible says that God will “guard our going out and our coming in” (Psalm 121:8): whether that is across borders or just across the street. If God calls us to take risks in His name, He will protect us. We need to be bold in reaching our world for Jesus, just as Brother Andrew was.

This is Luis Palau.