Today I want to be extremely practical. I want to encourage you to take three actions that will bless your life immensely.

First, don’t gossip and gloat when someone goes ahead and blatantly sins. We dare not secretly get a kick out of seeing someone else fail. Since temptations are common to us all, Scripture calls us to walk humbly in the fear of the Lord.

Second, make a radical decision to be holy as God is holy. Pray to God about your areas of weakness. I did this early on in my ministry. I told God, point by point, how I behave in certain situations. I was embarrassed and recognized that God already knew how I acted, but it did me good to tell Him. Then I took Galatians 2:20 and reaffirmed with God my resolution to be crucified with Jesus Christ. I made a radical decision to be holy under every circumstance, without exception.

Third, begin an accountability group with one or more of your Christian friends. Let them know about your areas of weakness—you don’t have to share in great detail. Ask them to hold you up in prayer before God as well as to hold you responsible for your actions. For many years I met each Wednesday with a group of respected, godly leaders in my city and discovered great benefits to my personal life.

Why wait? Pursue God’s rich blessings on your life today. 

This is Luis Palau.

I thank God for His divine walls of protection around us, but that’s not to say that you and I won’t ever be tempted to climb over them. For this reason we must beware of two seemingly innocent mistakes that make us vulnerable to Satan’s attacks. Those costly, deadly mistakes are first carelessness and second opportunity. However it happens, carelessness creeps in, and that’s when Satan strikes. The opportunity arises, we climb over God’s divine walls of protection, and we fall headlong into sin.

But we don’t have to go that route. First Corinthians 10:13 promises, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

God certainly doesn’t want us to panic, to be fearful that we’ll be the next to fall. Jude 1:24 reminds us that the Lord “is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.”

Are we staying in God’s Word? Are we walking by the Spirit? Are we obeying Jesus Christ? “If you do these things,” 2 Peter 1:10 says, “you will never fall.” Let’s not go around cringing, frightened we’re going to fall. If we are walking and growing in Jesus Christ, the Scriptures say we will never fall—and that’s a promise!

This is Luis Palau.

To keep us safe in His hand, God has established three strong walls of protection around us. The first strong wall of protection is the Word of God, the Bible, including His moral laws. The second wall of protection is the Body of Christ, especially our local church. The third wall of protection is the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is ever sensitive to sin in our lives.

That said, we can’t just sit around, hoping that God will protect us, when temptation comes our way. As John Wesley recognized during the Great Awakening, it is as Christians grow in grace and go on to maturity that they are kept from falling. Wesley warned Christians that “to stand still is to be in danger of slipping back.”

I especially like what Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:3. There he writes: “[The Lord’s] divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." Did you hear that? “All power” has been given to us through Jesus Christ, and His power enables us to live a godly life.

Do you want more of God’s power at work in and through you? If so, keep short accounts with God. Confess your sins daily, thank the Lord for His forgiveness, and then atrust Him to work anew in your heart. Then get ready to be amazed.

This is Luis Palau.

“He knew so much about the Bible. He had such a great ministry. How could this happen to him?” We often hear this when a Christian leader falls because of money, sex, or pride.

The unasked question is left hanging in the air: “Since this happened to such a person, what about me? Am I going to fall, too?” Many years ago I used to answer, “We’re all vulnerable. It could happen to anyone,” echoing what others have said in the past. Then I realized that such thinking leads to fatalism, smacks of false humility, and flies in the face of Scripture.

“We’re all vulnerable” isn’t true...if we’re staying in God’s Word, if we’re walking by the Spirit, if we’re obeying Jesus Christ. “If you do these things,” 2 Peter 1:10 says, “you will never fall.” Peter isn’t using flowery language. He isn’t simply trying to make us feel better. These words are from the Bible. God Himself tells us, “If you do these things, you will never fall.” What a wonderful promise! With His indwelling power, we can overcome.

God doesn’t want us to shipwreck our faith, shatter our home, or disgrace our church. Instead, He has given us His indwelling, blessed Holy Spirit and designed the Christian life so that we’ll succeed. What a great God we love and serve!

This is Luis Palau.

To suggest that evangelism makes no contribution to solving the world’s problems ignores history. Evangelism always has social implications, because it takes place in a social context.

Celebrated Russian author Leo Tolstoy described his experience with Jesus Christ this way: “For 35 years of my life I was…a nihilist—not a revolutionary socialist, but a man who believed in nothing. Five years ago faith came to me…and my whole life underwent a sudden transformation. What I had once wished for I wished for no longer, and I began to desire what I had never desired before.”

The Gospel can change a society because it first changes individuals, who begin to change their families, who change neighborhoods, communities, and then cities. Yes, this quiet revolution is slower than many people are willing to accept, but it is very powerful.

Like the apostle Paul, "I am not ashamed of the gospel."  Why? "Because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” [Romans 1:16 NIV]. I cannot imagine anything that helps people more than introducing them to Jesus Christ. Evangelism saves people not only from dying without Christ, but also from living without Him. What could be better? 

This is Andrew Palau.

Someone I know has always said, “Your talents and resources are God’s gift to you. What you do with those gifts is your gift to God.”

This saying reminds me of a story about my dad and his friend, Mr. Rogers—who was an executive for an international oil company. The two of them used to travel to villages in Argentina and preach the Good News Gospel. They were both using their resources to further the kingdom of God. Many people were saved and new churches were formed in the towns they visited! A few years ago I learned that my dad would then build houses for those left in charge of the church, and chapels for those churches. He was an excellent builder, and he used that talent to bless others.

When God blesses us with talents, it is a great gift for the church, our families and those less fortunate. In Proverbs 10:22 it says, “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth”. This may not mean financial wealth—but a wealth in wisdom, or a unique ability. When we use the things we have to bless others, we are showing others what the kingdom of God looks like!

Can I encourage you to use all the talents you have to help spread the Good News and the love of God? In this way, you will reach others with the generosity of Jesus, which in the end means eternal life.

This is Luis Palau.

I visit many churches, and am always touched when I hear prayers for intercession. An intercession is a prayer on behalf of another person, and you know, it is highly effective to pray for others.  And very thrilling! A woman once told me that she felt called of God to intercessory prayers, and I asked her immediately to pray for me every day. There is nobody who is above or outside of the need for prayer.

We all have our part to play in the army of God. Intercessors are a vital necessity. In the Army or Navy you have your Special Forces units—like the Navy Seals. Their missions are rarely made known to the world. I see intercessors as Christ’s “Navy Seals”. They have prayer missions that we rarely know about. But when we get to heaven, oh boy, will there be some awesome stories we’ll hear! In the book of Ephesians it says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

My friend, as we go about our day let’s not discount the role of praying for our brothers and sisters and neighbors. Is there someone in your life whom you can be praying for? Do it!  Do it now, why not?  It’s a very exciting experience. 

This is Luis Palau.

Missionaries to foreign nations seem to have all the adventures when it comes to reaching the world. But we can find opportunities right in our own neighborhoods. My wife, Pat, found an opportunity in our own neighborhood through a women’s book club. At first all the women were a bit nervous when they found out she was the wife of an evangelist. They never chose any of her book suggestions. It took a long time, but eventually one of the women came to know the Lord. Following this, the women in the group began to open up to my wife. We even had a women’s lunch at our city-wide festival and all of those women from the book club came.

In the Bible it says, “run the race with perseverance, the race marked out for us.” In this case, my wife’s race was slow to start and her book club required lots of patience and perseverance. Nothing ever happens in our timing—but in God’s timing it was perfect!  As we look for the tasks Christ is calling us to, let’s not overlook those opportunities closest to us. Even in our own families things can take a long time. But let’s never give up hope. Persevere for those in your neighborhood as you reach your world.

This is Luis Palau.

When I started as an evangelist my role model was Billy Graham. I would listen to his radio messages every chance I had. I even copied how he presented the Good News. Eventually I developed my own style. But years later I confessed to Mr. Graham that I had used his notes and outlines in my own evangelism when starting out. Was he annoyed? Most certainly not! He told me he had probably developed his own preaching style by emulating people before him.

It’s okay to imitate teachers of the Bible as we begin to reach our world provided they are true to scripture, of course. This is exactly how Jesus taught and equipped his own disciples. The disciples traveled with him for three years and Jesus sent them out two by two to do what he had modeled for them. They learned through imitating. The Apostle Paul says, “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.”

As the Lord puts a mission on our hearts to pursue let’s not get discouraged by not knowing where to start. Instead let’s search for those who have gone before us and glean from them. Perhaps you could even help serve their mission, become their apprentice. Then as you seek to walk out on your own, use this wisdom to reach the people in the world around you. That’s what I did.

This is Luis Palau.

If you watch futurist movies, you know one of humanity’s greatest fears is someone figuring out what you and I think about. Yet, what we think about defines almost everything else about us. So, why the deep fear? And, how do we overcome it?

We find the answer in the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verse 8. It says: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” [NIV].

This verse’s eight key words perfectly describe the Lord and His Word and they fill its pages from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. Those eight words – true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy – describe all the heroes of faith. Best of all? They can describe you and me.

Many of my biblical heroes are women, both ideal and real. Ideal women like Wisdom and the Virtuous Woman. Real women like Ruth and Rebekah.

Like the beloved apostle Paul, let’s actively choose to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. If so, what we say and do will eventually reveal our Christ-like character to a watching world.

This is Andrew Palau.