Often, on this program, I talk about sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. And you know, there’s no better time to remember what the Good News really means, than at Christmas. You’ve heard me talk a lot about the “Good News,” but do you fully understand it yourself? I want to share with you what I mean when I say the “Good News” so that you can confidently share it with others this Christmas.

God loves us and has created us to be in relationship with Him. But we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Because we broke our relationship with God, He sent His son, Jesus Christ to earth, on that very first Christmas so many years ago. Jesus lived a perfect life, and died on a cross in our place. On the third day He rose again and He invites each of us into relationship with Him now and forever. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will have life even though he dies.” Salvation is a gift. So in this season of gift-giving, it’s the perfect time to give the most important gift to those you love- the gift of the Good News of Jesus.

Share the true meaning of Christmas this year. The Good News is what Christmas is all about, after all.

This is Luis Palau

My wife and I have four sons. I still remember holding them as infants. Babies are so tiny and dependent on their parents. I often remember my time as a father to my young sons when I read the Christmas story. At first my wife and I did the reading of the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2.  Then we did family plays; cousin Anne was Mary, one of the boys was Joseph, others were sheep.

I wonder what it must have been like to be Mary and Joseph. Holding their tiny baby knowing that He was the promised Messiah. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” All of this was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. No wonder we celebrate!

Isn’t it amazing that our God chose to break into human history as a helpless baby? And not only that, but that He would do that knowing His destiny? Knowing that He was born to die for our sins? And He volunteered to do so. What a God we serve! What a God to worship this Christmas season!

The Good News of Jesus Christ is the best news in the world. Will you share it with others this Christmas?

This is Luis Palau.

Christmas time is a time for happy celebration for all believers.  And rightly so!  Believers in Jesus for centuries have seen the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus as cheerful, hopeful, thrilling – born of the blessed virgin Mary by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.

I love the line of “What Child is This” that says, “haste, haste to bring Him laud.” Laud means to praise someone, especially in a public context. Are you looking for ways to publicly praise Jesus Christ this Christmas? What a challenge for all of us to consider all year, but especially at Christmas. Start looking for ways to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the neighbors and friends and family you’ll be seeing so much of this season. God will guide me and you in finding great ways to bring Jesus Christ into the picture.

Do you have a work, family or block holiday party coming up? Look for opportunities to share your reason for rejoicing at Christmas. And as we are reminded in this classic hymn, make “haste” to do it! Don’t waste another minute. You never know what this life will bring and it’s always the right time to publicly praise Jesus Christ. As Jesus told us, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”

This is Luis Palau.

William Chatterton Dix was diagnosed with a near-fatal condition that caused him to be bed-ridden for almost a year. During his illness he became deeply depressed and came close to death many times. But out of this difficult experience, he felt inspired and began to write hymns. One of his hymns you may be singing in your church this Christmas. “What Child is this?” points to the true meaning of Christmas.

Dix wrote, “This, this is Christ the King … Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, … The Cross He bore for me, for you; Hail, hail the Word Made Flesh, … The King of Kings salvation brings; Let loving hearts enthrone Him.”

“The King of Kings, salvation brings,” he says. What a glorious reminder of Who we are celebrating each December. Have you shared about the Word made flesh, the King of Kings, who bore the cross for me and you? Dix was a man near death and deeply depressed, and yet he recovered hope in writing hymns to the Lord. He found hope in Jesus Christ, the One who has “overcome the world.” Have you shared the hope of Jesus with a depressed or hurting friend? Christmas is the perfect time to share it.

This is Luis Palau.

Have you ever thought about the fact that all good things, including Christmas, are mostly about waiting? The story of Christmas actually goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  The day Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God didn’t panic. Heaven didn’t go on red alert. God had seen this coming long before creation. The Lord found Adam and Eve, sacrificed a pair of animals to clothe them, and spoke of a coming Messiah who would bring salvation to God’s people. And then, with tears running down His cheeks, He dismissed Adam and Eve from the garden.

I can almost see the Lord standing by the forbidden tree, knowing that one day He Himself would return to earth. Disguised as a human baby, He grew up and let Himself be nailed to a tree, bearing the world’s sins in His own body. And by doing so, Jesus offered new, eternal life to all who believe.

The Lord stooped to join the human family that we might be lifted up to join His family. God’s Son was born as the seed of woman that we might be adopted as sons and daughters of God. Jesus became sin that we might take on His righteousness. By His wounds, we are healed. What Good News this Christmas season!

This is Andrew Palau.

Christmas can be such a fun time! People have parties, dinners, and gift exchanges. There are Christmas carols to be sung and cookies to be eaten. There are plays, concerts, worship services, and Christmas pageants to attend, not to mention desserts to bake, presents to wrap, and decorations to hang.While all of this is fun and filled with joy, it can be easy to fill the schedule with all of these good things and rush around nonstop. Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year, and sometimes in between running from event to event, we find ourselves feeling tired and rundown. We can end up saying, “I can’t wait until Christmas is over so I can relax.”

What a sad way to think about Christmas! It is one of the most joyful times of the year: our Savior was born as a baby for US. Instead of thinking about this precious free gift given us, we are too busy celebrating. We miss the real reason for our joy. It’s not the candles we use to decorate; it’s that Jesus is “the light of the world” and that He brought light to the darkness.

So, instead of running around and forgetting the true reason we celebrate Christmas, stop. Take a night off and light a candle. Remind yourself about Jesus. Think about who might need the reminder too, and invite them over. Sit around and chat about Jesus. See how fulfilling your Christmas can actually be. 

This is Luis Palau.

Many of us are privileged to live in a country that is very wealthy compared to the rest of the world. Even so, at Christmas, many people go into debt, just to buy people gifts that they may not want anyway. In the midst of our wealth and abundance, it is easy to forget that Jesus was born in a barn. His parents were sleeping there because they were far from home. They were travelers, with no beds of their own. Soon they would be refugees, because it would be too dangerous to go home.

Today, there are millions of people all over this world who are refugees, unable to go home because of war or poverty. You’ve seen the TV footage. Even in our own country, there are people living on the street or in shelters because of economic hardship or poor decision-making. Christmas can be especially hard for such people. It is often cold, lonely, and dark.

Jesus has made many of us rich in faith and joy, especially during the season when we celebrate His birth. So, just as the angels sang to the shepherds, saying “Glory to God in the highest,” we can also proclaim the name of Jesus by helping those in need, whether that is with our money, our time, our love, or our words. Helping those in need glorifies God. Let’s show the world that we celebrate a baby born in a barn by loving those who need to know the love of Jesus this Christmas.

This is Luis Palau.

A major part of Christmas is celebrating God’s great gift to us by giving gifts to those we love. The problem is that our culture has forgotten the reasons we give gifts and focuses only on the gifts themselves—how much they cost and how many there are. When the Magi came to see Jesus, they brought Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It was a celebration! Gold often makes us think of fancy goblets and jewelry, but the reason the kings brought Jesus gifts wasn’t to show off their wealth. It was to honor him. But don’t forget, these kings traveled far and wide, probably for months, to get to the baby Jesus. They sacrificed their time and energy to get to Him, which is a bigger gift than the presents they brought Him.

Jesus wants us to show people we love them, but why does it have to be with gifts that mean very little? Instead, what if we spent our time making gifts or giving the gift of time? When people see that we are not spending our money and instead investing our time in the name of Jesus, they might just wonder whom we are honoring. And we might have a better chance to share the love of Jesus with them. They will want to see why these gifts give us so much joy, and we will be able to tell them: it is because we give ourselves, not meaningless presents. Just as the kings did for Jesus, and just as Jesus did for us on the cross.                               

This is Luis Palau.

I love the Christmas season! Wreaths go up on doors, and lights go up on houses. Christmas music is played in stores. Christmas trees pop up everywhere. In Oregon, where I live, most of those Christmas trees are real evergreens, and so Christmas even smells good. The problem is that the Christmas season seems to be starting earlier and earlier every year. Now stores are decorating for Christmas long before Thanksgiving, and so it can be easy to get irritated by the songs and the fake snow.

More and more, Christmas has become about materialism and commercialism. Did you know that Americans spend over 450 billion dollars every Christmas? Every Christmas! Much of that money is spent on presents that break or are forgotten in less than a year…just in time to start the whole cycle over again. But for those who love Jesus, Christmas is not about money or shopping. It’s about the greatest Gift of all, the Gift given for our salvation. And this present came in the package of a little baby. “For unto you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord,” the angel said. Now that is a message I never get tired of hearing. Or sharing. Reaching your world is sharing God’s Good News, the gift of Jesus, year round, but especially at Christmas.

This is Luis Palau.

I never want to be ashamed of Jesus Christ. I remember a speech delivered at a presidential prayer breakfast. God was mentioned several times, but Jesus, only once. That was it. It was apparent that people did not want to speak the name of Jesus so as not to give offense.

But faithfulness calls for Christians to speak boldly and clearly for Jesus Christ. It's not enough to say “God”—everybody does that. “God” could be anything—a myth, a sports hero, a tree in an old-growth forest. I understand wise speech. But accommodation is insulting to the very One to whom we owe everything.

If I'm invited to speak as a Christian evangelist, I'm going to speak about Jesus Christ, because Jesus is the Creator of heaven and earth, God’s unique Son, and our Lord and Savior.  Hebrews 2:11 says Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers or sisters. Then why should we be ashamed to speak His name?

What’s more, are non-Christians often more eager to hear about the Lord than we Christians are to share His Good News? I find those we fear may be the most closed-minded actually are the most open to talk about Christ. So, let's share courageously.

Pray for me—for boldness and for God's enablement to stir other Christians everywhere to be bold. Let’s you and I be witnesses to a world desperately in need of Jesus Christ.

This is Andrew Palau.