Reaching Your World with Luis Palau

Did you know Jesus traveled not only to Egypt as a young boy, but to three other countries during His public ministry? What’s more, Jesus met with people from many, many nations. They included Jewish people from a wide assortment of nations traveling to Jerusalem for the sacred feasts. They included Greeks, Romans, and others who had converted to Judaism. And they included officials, soldiers, and others serving Rome. In other words, Jesus didn’t just know and minister to Jewish people. He ministered to a Roman centurion (and all who knew him), to a Syrophoenician woman (and many in her town), to two Gadarene demoniacs (and many in that region), and to many Samaritans of all ages (in the town of Sychar). What’s more, right before His ascension back to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, [pause] and to the ends of the earth,” Acts 1:8 [NLT]. I’m so thankful for that last part. We are included in it. Let’s do all we can to spread the Good News of Jesus in our world. This is Andrew Palau.

Recently, as I was reading the Bible, I was struck by something about the early followers of Jesus. When Jesus called the disciples, they dropped everything and followed Him. Similarly, after Jesus appeared to the disciples shortly after His resurrection, they immediately began going out and sharing the good news everywhere. In both of these cases, they didn’t say, “I’ve met Jesus, but before I can really follow Him, I have to go to seminary. Or I have to read all of these books.” No! They had an encounter with Jesus. That was all they needed in order to start telling everyone about the gospel of Christ. There is no waiting period when you become a Christ follower. As Jesus said in Acts chapter 1, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” As soon as the Holy Spirit is in us, as soon as we start to follow Jesus, we are witnesses of Christ. If you are a new follower of Christ, or a young follower of Christ, you can start sharing His love now. Sure, it is important that you continue to learn more and more about God by reading the Bible, worshipping, and going to church. But your story is the most important part of your witness, and you already know that. Start sharing it with those around you, and see the difference you can make in reaching your world. This is Luis Palau.

People have said to me before, “Luis, I could never be an evangelist. I’m too shy.” Maybe this sounds likes you. God makes us all different. Some of us are loud talkers, and others are quiet. Some are quick to speak, and others are more cautious. Some of us like to mingle in a crowd, and others would like to be in the back of the room, serving the cake. That’s wonderful! God’s kingdom needs all sorts of people. But just because some of Christ’s followers don’t talk much doesn’t mean that they are not meant to evangelize; that is, share the Good News of Jesus Christ. We share God’s love in many more ways than just our words. In fact, our words will mean little if we do not back them up with the testimony of how we live our lives and treat other people. First John says, “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” This isn’t saying that talk is bad. It’s just saying that actions speak as loud as words, especially if we are the type of people to use action to communicate more often than we do words. So, if you’re quiet and shy, God still needs you to spread His Good News. You can do this by serving the people in your world, and loving those who need His love. Then, when someone asks why you are different, God will give you the words and courage to share the gospel with both your words and your deeds. This is Luis Palau.

My father set a great example for me by sharing God’s love anywhere he could: on street corners, at work, with friends and strangers alike. I inherited his caring for people and his passion for proclaiming the Good News of God, whether that is in my living room or on a stage in front of thousands of people. There is nothing like the energy of being around so many people, talking about the love of God. God called me personally to be an evangelist. He made me a person who loves to travel and gets energy from talking to people. Not everyone is built like me, but those who are often are pastors and teachers, and worship leaders. We are often the ones who get excited about evangelism, sharing our stories with anyone who will listen. We are all called to be witnesses. First Peter says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Sometimes it is easy for us to do the first part — tell our story — but hard for us to remember to do it with gentleness and respect. We sometimes become overbearing and overexcited, and we forget that God’s love doesn’t need to be pushed on people. It just needs to be presented to them. God, the Holy Spirit, lives in you and me. He will work in the listeners and they will realize how much they need Christ in their lives. This is Luis Palau.

I loved taking my kids, and then my grandkids, to the playground at the local park. But I couldn’t help but notice all of the different kids and their personalities. Some kids would go up to anyone and play with them. A stranger was just a friend they’d never met before. Other kids preferred following the more rambunctious kids. They would go down the big slide, but they liked to see someone else do it first. And then there were the kids happily playing by themselves in the sand, making designs and singing to themselves. They would stop singing anytime someone else came near them. A playground is just a miniature version of adult social situations. We can see the same personalities in any workplace or coffee shop. God has made us all different. He’s done that for a reason! We can’t all be leaders; otherwise, who would follow? We can’t all be followers, either. God has given us special gifts that we can and should use for His glory to build His kingdom. As it says in Romans, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” We need to be the people God has created us to be, to the best of our ability, in order to bring others to Christ. All of us! Leaders and followers, bold and shy, new believers and older disciples: we all need to find ways to reach our world by spreading the Good News Gospel to those around us. This is Luis Palau.

In His parable about the prodigal son, Jesus describes a rebellious son and a loving father. You can read this amazing, life-changing parable in Luke 15, particularly verses 11 to 24. So, what does the Lord’s parable tell us? First off, the prodigal’s father can’t wait to see his son. Day after day he watches the road, and when his son finally appears the father can’t even wait for him to get to the house – he runs out to meet him. He can’t wait to throw his arms around the young man and hug him. The father can’t wait to bless his son with radical forgiveness. In fact, he interrupts his son, who doesn’t even get to finish apologizing. The prodigal is welcomed, loved, and transformed. In his father’s words, “This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” The father can’t wait to start celebrating. Notice what’s missing in the father’s responses. What’s missing are the harsh words, angry tones, and deep-felt heart damage created when radical forgiveness is nowhere to be seen. Indeed, the Lord’s radical forgiveness of us makes it obvious that you and I can extend instant, full, unconditional mercy and grace to those we know and love who wound or hurt us. Is there someone in your life to whom you can you show the Lord’s radical forgiveness today? This is Andrew Palau.

I’ve had many people ask me through the years, “Luis, does God really love me?” Sometimes, people tell me about the trouble they’ve been in, or the ways they have messed up their lives. They say, “how could He love me?” but I assure them—and I assure you now, yes, Jesus loves you. More than you know. And there is nothing you could ever do to stop Him from loving you. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Before we were even born, God had sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for your and my sins on the cross. By doing so, He gave us the opportunity to have eternal life. This amazing gift comes to you and me because of His wonderful grace toward us. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works…” So wherever you are today, with whatever past you have, know that God loves you. Christ died for you. And He wants a relationship with you. If you haven’t prayed yet to receive Jesus into your heart, I invite you to do so now. If you’re already walking with the Lord, invite someone in your life to meet Jesus today. This is Luis Palau.

When my father died, my mother took over our family business in an effort to take care of her six children. At one point, someone purposely swindled her out of a lot of money in a business deal, causing my family very serious and deep financial pain, and poverty. The person responsible for putting us in this position never, ever came to apologize, but even so, my mother forgave him. As kids, we learned a big lesson from her. In life, sometimes people hurt us and they don’t get around to saying sorry. Sometimes, they don’t apologize because they don’t realize they hurt us. At other times, they don’t apologize because they don’t think they were wrong, or they aren’t remorseful, or they just don’t care. In any case, when we are hurt by someone, we have the choice to hold onto anger towards that person, or offer forgiveness and grace. The Bible says in Matthew 5:43-48, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” This week, consider who God might be calling you to forgive. And even if no apology has been made, forgive them. Our heavenly Father loves that! This is Luis Palau.

I know a man named Stephen who was treated poorly by someone at work. He was deeply hurt, and soon, his hurt turned into anger. When the person apologized to Stephen, he had two choices: Stephen could remain angry, bitter, and resentful or he could forgive. In life, we will all come to this point at some time, where we must choose to either show forgiveness and grace, or act out our anger and resentment. Stephen ultimately chose to forgive. As Stephen later said, “Forgiving others, even when it’s not easy, is showing God’s love.” And I couldn’t agree more! It’s relatively easy to love people who are good to us, but anyone can do that. We have to rely on God to forgive and love people who have wronged us. The Bible says in 1 John 4:19-21, “We love because He first loved us…whoever loves God must also love his brother.” This week, consider loving others the way God loves. Maybe this means showing forgiveness and grace to someone in your life. Maybe it means offering up to the Lord, through confession, our feelings of bitterness. In any case, I encourage you to love others by showing forgiveness. This is Luis Palau.

Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”. In the New Testament, Jesus repeats this command and even points it out as the most important commandment of all—along with loving your neighbor as yourself.So, how do we actually show our love for God? Is it by telling Him “I love you”? Is it by singing praises to Him? These are certainly good things, but they only scratch the surface. We demonstrate our love for God first, by gratefully receiving Jesus into our hearts first of all, and walking with Him. And just as you want to please someone you love, like a spouse or parent, we do our best to love God by following His commands. This doesn’t mean we have to be legalistic, and it doesn’t mean we’ll be perfect. But by trusting and obeying God our Father, we show Him our love is genuine and true. This week, consider showing God you love Him by demonstrating His love for others, His kindness, His gentleness, and His faithfulness, and His words. Others will see your life and wonder what’s different about you, and that will be a wonderful opportunity for you to share Jesus Christ with them. This is Luis Palau.