When William Carey was a young minister in the late 1790s, he researched the religious practices of other cultures. This led to a concern for those overseas who did not know Jesus. Carey believed in the Great Commission, going and making disciples of all the nations. Yet, many others dismissed him. Some pastors called him an “enthusiast” and would not listen to his passion for bringing the Good News to other cultures.

Carey ignored them and moved forward anyway. In 1792 he started a missionary society. He preached a sermon with the call to “expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” A year later, William and his family were in India.

Mission work in India was very difficult for the Careys. They had no money and were often ill. But Carey continued in his calling, learning the Bengali language. He began to translate the Bible and proclaim Jesus to small groups of people.

In 1800, Carey published his first Bengali New Testament, and he went on to translate the entire Bible into five other major languages of India. He also worked for social reform and brought many people to Christ. He expected great things and attempted great things for Christ. We can follow Carey’s example and do the same, whether it is in India, or our schools, or our neighborhoods. We can reach our world for Jesus if we obey Him in the Holy Spirit.                

This is Luis Palau.

Adoniram and Ann Judson were the first Christian missionaries to the country of Burma. They were warned when they went there in 1814 that the country would never respond to the Good News of Jesus, as everyone there was of a different religious conviction. But Adoniram’s goal was to translate the Bible and leave behind a church with 100 believers in it.

Adoniram spent three years learning the language, working 12 hours each day. During this time, he and his wife had very little contact with anyone who spoke English. He finished the gospel of Matthew in Burmese in 1817, and started sharing the Good News Gospel publicly after that. It took two more years before any Burmese people received Christ.

By 1822, there were twelve believers in Burma. This is quite different from our mass evangelistic festivals where hundreds of people come to know the Lord in one night. But Judson was patient. He waited on the Lord and was strong and courageous, even when he was imprisoned and lost family members. When he died after almost 40 years in Burma, he left behind a completed Bible, a Burmese dictionary, and hundreds of Burmese Christians leading the church.

Adoniram Judson trusted God to bless Burma. Like him, you and I must continue to work hard to reach our world for Christ. We must be patient for God to change the hearts of those around us.          

This is Luis Palau.

George Mueller and his wife felt called to open orphanages in Bristol, England, in the 1800s. They started small, with one home for 30 girls, and eventually their ministry grew to serve over 1,700 orphans.

Mueller’s philosophy of fundraising was to focus on intense prayer. He prayed about everything, and he trusted that God would provide for him and the children. Guess what? God did … often at the last minute, but God provided.In one instance, Mueller and the children sat down at the breakfast table. He offered up a prayer of thanks to God, even though there was no food in the house for breakfast. Just as they finished praying, a baker knocked at the door, with enough bread to feed everyone. Then, a milkman’s cart broke down in front of the orphanage, so everyone had fresh milk too. The Lord provided – not early, not late, but just in time. God’s time!

When the Lord asks you to take a step of faith, He will provide for you. God has always provided for His people; He gave the Israelites manna in the wilderness, and He provided bread for Mueller and the orphans at breakfast. Matthew, in the Bible, says that the Lord knows what we need (Matthew 6:8); we just need to pray, trust, and step out in faith and “wait on the Lord.” God will do big things if we trust Him to provide.

This is Luis Palau.

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.

In my family, the Bible, theology, and evangelism go hand in hand. The apostle Paul certainly modeled this in his own life and ministry for decades. And, God used him in remarkable ways. What’s more, Paul planted brand-new churches almost everywhere he went. Then, as he continued his missionary journeys, Paul took time to write brilliant epistles. Those Spirit-inspired letters review the Good News of Jesus Christ, and then present amazing theological truths and practical applications. A dozen of them have spoken to the church all through the ages.

Rarely do you find someone who knows the Bible inside out, who can teach theology to amazing depths, and who feels at ease explaining the Good News. Somehow, spending years in the classroom has resulted in complicating the simple truth of the Good News.

When our team was in Scotland, a well-known professor from Aberdeen Theological College showed up at one of our classes for counselors. Here is a man who has written books of theology, but there he was, paying careful attention to the basics of how to introduce someone to Christ.

How good that each of us can always learn more about the life-transforming power of the Good News of Christ [Romans 1:16]. That’s what these radio spots are all about.   

This is Andrew Palau.

You are probably familiar with the concept of sacrifice. But unless you’re a big sports fan, you might not know about how sacrifice relates to baseball. In baseball, a sacrifice bunt is when a batter just barely hits the ball, knowing that he will be out before he gets to first base. But he does this so that his other teammates can move forward, maybe even gaining a run for the team - and winning. The batter’s sacrifice is for the good of the team, even though it means that he’ll be out and go back to the bench.

As important as it is to baseball strategy, this sort of sacrifice is not as important as some others.  However, it does illustrate an important component of sacrifice. Sacrifice doesn’t just benefit one person; it benefits a whole team. We are called to be sacrificial, to give up what we love for the sake of the Gospel. We are called to put others before ourselves, not just for the sake of one person but the sake of us all. In this way, we are called to “walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God,” as Ephesians says (Ephesians 5:2).

In our selfish world, sacrificing for our neighbors in big and small ways will make an impact both on them and on our communities, and I believe it will ultimately affect our entire team – the whole world. Let’s reach the world for Christ through our sacrifices.              

This is Luis Palau.

Let’s do an experiment. Think back to a moment where someone was kind to you. Really, truly kind. Picture that person and that moment. Was it yesterday? Or was it 30 years ago? Did someone help you? Listen to you? Give you something you needed? Give you what you didn’t deserve? Those moments are ones that stick with us, and usually bring a smile to our faces when we remember them. Whether the kindness is unexpected or long-awaited, it is always welcome, and it always makes an impact.

Kindness is so necessary in today’s rude and mean world. When we are told that to get ahead in life we have to be ruthless and unkind, a simple act of generosity and goodwill can make a big difference. The impact of kindness might not appear to change the whole world, but it can change someone’s world, and the ripples of a kind act usually go beyond what we can see.

True kindness comes from God. As Romans says, we often overlook how God’s kindness is what leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). God’s justice can help us recognize our faults, but His kindness is what helps us change our lives. We repent of our sins because of God’s goodness and mercy. We are changed by God’s kindness to us, so it makes sense that others will be changed by our kindness, which comes from God. Let’s use kindness to lead the world to Christ and ultimately, repentance.

This is Luis Palau.

How do you know when someone is happy? Do you only know it when they actually say the words, “I am happy”? Or can you tell it by their faces? Think back to a little kid on a swingset, soaring high in the air. Or a parent seeing a child who has been far away for a long time. Or even someone eating a really good dessert on their birthday. Usually someone who is happy shows it: their eyes sparkle. Their mouths grin. Their cheeks flush, and their whole body radiates happiness. It’s amazing: after spending time with someone happy, usually you feel happy too.

Happiness is a fleeting emotion, but it’s related to the concept of joy. Joy is more a state of mind and a way of life. Joy is also easily seen in someone’s face, but it lasts longer, and it persists despite difficult circumstances. No one can be happy all the time, but God’s joy should be a steady current running through our lives. In fact, the book of Nehemiah says, “The joy of the Lord is [our] strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). 

Joy in the Lord’s goodness and provision isn’t just about being happy; it’s the reason we get up each day. It’s the source from which we draw our strength. Many seem to draw their strength from anger or frustration, but if we draw our strength from the joy God gives us, we will stand out. People will wonder where our joy comes from, and we can share about the life-changing joy of the Lord.

This is Luis Palau.

As a proclaimer of good news, I often communicate the Gospel using words, whether I’m speaking to one person or to thousands, or writing a letter or a book. When I communicate the Gospel, I have thousands of words at my disposal; plus, I speak two languages, so I even have a choice between Spanish and English. I also have hundreds of verses in the Bible to choose from, words given us by God that teach us the truth of God’s mercy and Jesus’s love.

I love words. I love using them, hearing them, writing them. But while words are important, they’re not the only aspect of sharing theGgospel. Our lives are not just communicated in words. We share who we are not just through what we say about ourselves and others, but also how we act and react in situations. Colossians 3:17 says that whatever we do, in word or deed, we should do it in Christ’s name. It even goes so far as to say what we eat and drink can be traced back to Christ. So, when we consider how to best be ambassadors of Christ, we need to think beyond words. We need to start paying attention to how we treat others and live our lives.

The words we speak are the important part of God’s good news, but our lives also speak loudly to the impact of Christ. To reach the world for Christ, in addition to our words, let’s make sure our lives proclaim the love and joy of Christ.

This is Luis Palau.

In Matthew 23, the Lord challenges His disciples to “practice what they preach.” And, He gives us the same challenge. I was thinking about those two words – practice and preach. Preaching is what you say – what you proclaim. Preaching is telling others what you believe. The definition of “preaching” is “to proclaim and make known.” We understand preaching. But, practicing…

Practicing is the application of our preaching. Practicing is performing and exercising regularly what we say so that it is seen in both our words and our actions. Practicing is “habitual or customary performance.” In order to be credible and believable, we can’t say one thing but act in the contrary. We must be consistent, constant, and reliable – not just “talking the talk” but “walking the walk.” Jesus’ warning in Matthew 23 can be applied to all of our lives. There, He points out hypocrisy and calls His followers to a different life – one of endorsing our words through actions.

As followers of Jesus, let’s examine our lives and see if there is any place where we are “preaching” but not “practicing.” Then, let’s ask God for His forgiveness and change our actions. Let’s be men and women who don’t just say that we believe in Jesus, but whose lives reflect that truth.

This is Andrew Palau.