Have you ever watched one of those personal makeover shows? The host of the show usually takes a frumpy participant with no style sense, and gives them a complete makeover. Then, the newly-styled participant reveals him- or herself to their family. The reactions are hilarious.

When we become a Christian and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, our soul gets a makeover! The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, everything has become new.” Unlike the TV show, our change begins inside. We start to view the world differently. As we grow in our relationship with Christ, our entire lives change.

Do you need a makeover? Are you tired of living by the world’s lousy standards? Do you want to feel renewed, revived, and empowered with the truth and peace of Jesus Christ? If so, pray with me right now: O Lord Jesus, I want to be a new person. I want to leave the old things behind.  I want You to come into my heart, change me, make me Yours. Forgive me my sins. I trust You, I believe You, and I will serve You. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

This is Luis Palau.

A pastor friend told a story about a young man he knows named Jake. When Jake was in high school, he had a wild reputation. He hosted parties when his parents were out of town, skipped class, and spent his weekends making unwise choices. Then, because of a persistent church youth leader, Jake opened his heart to hearing the Good News. His entire life changed, from the inside out.

Jake used his popularity at school to share the Good News with a bunch of his friends. He invited people to youth group, and started hosting Bible studies. Jake didn’t just “talk the talk” though; he truly lived out his faith. He stopped partying and began living for Jesus.

Fast forward several years and today, Jake is married and is, himself, a youth leader. He shares his story of redemption to encourage kids. As Jake put it, “My story shows that God can redeem anybody. God can make any life new again.” Ephesians 1:7 in the Bible says, “In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…” Share God’s story of redemption with someone in your life, today.

This is Luis Palau.

Years ago, I heard a story about a middle-aged man named Josh who passed away unexpectedly. When his mailman came to Josh’s door after his passing, Josh’s widow told the mailman the sad news, and to her surprise, the mailman began to weep. The mailman said, “Your husband was the only person who asked how I was doing. He made conversation with me all the time. He made me feel valued. And he shared with me the Good News.”

The truth is, not all of us will become powerful city leaders or have a huge social media following. Maybe you are a stay-at-home mom, or an employee at a large company. Maybe, like Josh, you work from home, and don’t have much interaction with other people. It can be tempting to feel insignificant as we go about our daily lives. But remember that God chose you. God can use you exactly where you are to reach people around you.

John 15:16 in the Bible says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit…” Take confidence in knowing that you were specially chosen by God. Look for ways to spread His Good News exactly where you are.

This is Luis Palau.

Lana was a broken woman when she got invited to an evangelistic festival I was speaking at. She had spent several years working in a dark industry, where she had been taken advantage of. When she talked with one of our festival counselors, she confessed that she didn’t believe she deserved anything better. When Lana heard the truth about Jesus Christ, her entire worldview shifted. She realized that God had created her with great worth. She was of value to God. Lana’s life was changed, but there are so many others like her who live in darkness because they don’t believe they are worthy of the light.

So often, people settle for less, when God offers so much more. This is why I share the Good News. I share the Good News Gospel because it tells the truth about people: and the truth is that God values people. All people! Every single person on this earth is of significance to God. The Bible says everything God created is “good." Psalm 139:13 says He knit you together in your mother’s womb. 

Remind someone in your life that they are valued by God. They are worthy of His love and forgiveness. And if they open their heart, He will change their life.

This is Luis Palau.

Years ago, my wife and I made the decision to adopt our sweet daughter Sadie. Sadie is now 9 years old, but I’ll never forget how she touched my heart when she was just a little baby. My wife and I went to Ethiopia to adopt Sadie, and I still remember walking into the room to see her for the first time. She was open and vulnerable to the harshness of life. But when I entered the room and picked her up in my arms, Sadie became mine. This is what God did for me, when I accepted Him into my heart as my personal Savior. God does this for everyone who opens their heart to Him. He says to us, “You are mine.” He offers us new life, peace, and security under His mighty hand.

The world is full of spiritual orphans, who do not yet know the truth of Jesus. And that is where you come in. As you share the Good News and tell others your testimony, more and more people have a chance to become children of God. Can you imagine how amazing it will be in Heaven someday, as one big family in Christ?

Begin by praying for the people you know who don’t yet know Jesus.  Keeping all this in mind will encourage you and make you bold in sharing your faith.

This is Andrew Palau.

A few weeks after starting classes at Cal Poly, Jonathan asked his dad, my friend David, to fly down and spend a few days with him. One evening Jonathan asked if he could invite three or four of his new friends to go out for pizza with them. A Hindu student named Abhi and two other friends readily said yes.

After the pizzas were ordered, David turned to Abhi and asked, “So, what do you think about Christianity?” Abhi railed on and on about Christianity’s faults. Instead of correcting Abhi’s factual errors and misperceptions, David encouraged Abhi to keep talking. Then David started asking Jonathan’s other two friends what they thought about what Abhi was saying. It turned out the other students were shy but fairly strong Christians.

In the end, David didn’t address one of Abhi’s issues. Finally, Abhi started admitting he really didn’t know that much about Christianity, and he started asking questions. In response, David called it a night, encouraging Abhi to consider reading the Jesus story with any one of his three Christian friends. “Why call it a night?” you might ask. In this case, before anyone gave Abhi the “right” answers, he needed to start finding them in God’s Word while reading the Gospels and falling in love with the Savior personally. 

This is Luis Palau.

After graduating from high school, Shawna moved to Canada to attend Trinity Western University. Trinity had many English-language learners from China. Shawna applied to serve as a Resident Assistant, and that next autumn met some of her Chinese roommate’s friends.

These Chinese students weren’t atheists, per se. They simply had never heard of God, the Bible, or Jesus Christ. They knew nothing about Christianity.Instead of teaching them a new vocabulary of Christian words, Shawna focused on fun and friendship. A few weeks after the start of the new school year, one of the Chinese girls asked her, “Would you teach me how to pray?” Shawna said yes and, after a few tries over several days, her friend started to get the hang of praying.  

Then Shawna’s friend asked a wonderful question. She asked, “Who hears my prayers?” Only then did Shawna begin to tell her the most basic and important facts about God.

Intuitively, led by the Holy Spirit, Shawna focused on her friend’s felt need--learning to pray--as the door through which she could come to learn about God, the Bible, and the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ.

How might God use you to share the Good News today? Don’t miss the opportunities He brings your way.

This is Luis Palau.

How good of a Christian do you have to be to lovingly point your neighbor to Jesus? Or, to put it another way, can you help lead someone to Jesus Christ on your worst day?

It was just another day for a mom with small children playing in the back yard. Renée managed to calmly put a naughty young child in a time out. Then to cool off she walked back into the house and closed the sturdy wooden back door a little too aggressively. Who doesn’t slam a door from time to time, right? Only this particular wooden door had a very old window that promptly broke into pieces. After getting over her initial embarrassment, Renée immediately thought of her new neighbor friend, Karen, whose husband, Ed, did home repairs.

Karen and Renée had become friends a few months earlier and had even started doing a Bible study together. Ed, however, was wary of people he didn’t know. Yet when asked, Ed was more than happy to come right over to fix the window. Once he got there, he relaxed, met the kids and teased them, and discovered they were actually quite a friendly family too. Out of a humbling, “worst day” experience came a “best neighbors” friendship, and a chance to share about Jesus Christ.  

The reality? On our worst days, we can go to our neighbors in weakness, ask them to serve us, and know that God has tremendous good in store for them and for us. 

This is Luis Palau.

When it comes to reaching out to your neighbors, what’s your objective or goal? Do you aspire to be a “nice, loving Christian neighbor”? While “loving Christian” is essential, “nice” definitely is not a big enough word for what God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit had in mind for the 1st and 21st centuries.

Never give in to the lie that you can “nice” someone to faith in Jesus Christ. “Nice” is never enough. Besides, I live in Portland, Oregon, where almost everybody is nice. The truth is, some neighbors can “out-nice” me any given day of the week. The same may be true where you live.

Instead of trying to be just “nice,” focus on loving God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. Then, listen to your Maker inspire you with fresh opportunities and creative ways to love your neighbor as yourself. The reality is, sometimes trying to be “nice” stunts our imagination. It actually prevents us from befriending others and then explaining how they too can fall in love with Jesus.

After all, in their heart of hearts, almost every neighbor of ours wants to know God, even if they have no idea that God is the One that they’re looking for. Let’s help them connect the dots with the Holy Spirit’s leading and guiding and lead them to Jesus Christ. 

This is Luis Palau.

Have you ever wondered what you are doing with your life? I mean, what’s the purpose behind getting up and going to work every day? I had these thoughts when I was in my early twenties. I had graduated from college and moved to Boston to pursue a career in the corporate world. By worldly standards, I was doing well. I had a good job, friendships with a lot of people, and I was always invited to social gatherings on the weekends. But I had walked away from God years earlier, and I felt an emptiness that could not be filled – no matter how busy I made myself.

I spent years spinning my wheels – discontent, but too prideful to run back to Jesus. Until finally, I was invited to one of my dad’s evangelistic outreaches and my heart was softened towards the Lord.

What I ultimately came to realize was that nothing would ever satisfy me in the way God could. No job promotion or salary would be as significant as a relationship with the real and living God. The Bible says in John 14:6 that “Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” And it’s true! Only Jesus will bring you true peace, significance, and value. Maybe you’re stuck like I once was. If so, trust me when I say that all you need to do is turn and run to Jesus.    

This is Andrew Palau.