I heard a fascinating quote from a friend at a recent conference. He said, “We are not called to be Jesus’ defense attorneys, we are called to be His witnesses.” You know, I think it can be so easy to get caught up in arguing the case for God and Christianity. But in my experience, arguing with people rarely results in saved souls. God had a better plan in mind than that. Jesus calls us to be His witnesses. To testify. To tell others what the Lord has done for us and in us. It’s really that simple. Just tell your story; your experiences with Jesus Christ.

Someone once asked Charles Spurgeon how he defends the Bible. He replied, “I defend the Bible the same way I defend a lion. I simply let it out of its cage.” To reach your world, you simply need to witness. Yes, “we must be ready always to give an answer for the hope that you have,” I Peter chapter 2 tells us. God’s powerful Word, and the truth of who He is, will always be true. In the book of Acts, we read, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.”Here are two questions: First, how can you be Jesus’ witness to those in your life? Answer:  by your joy and love in Christ.  Second, what has the Lord done for you that you could share to help draw others to new life in Christ? Think about it and then tell about it.

This is Luis Palau.

Proverbs 24:10-12 says, “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?” That is a powerful passage to motivate us to reach our world if there ever was one, don’t you think? The Bible does not mince words about eternity. In fact, Jesus Himself spoke of Hell more than anyone else in the Bible. It is a real place, and I believe if we really, truly, believed it, we would never stop sharing God’s Good News. This Proverb tells us to rescue those being led away to death. Christ is the only way, the only hope. The only path to eternity with God. We need to share Him with the world.

As witnesses and evangelists for the Lord we stand in the gap. We tell others about the way – the way the Lord has prepared for us all. There is no better news in all the world, and we must not grow weary in sharing it.

Can I just encourage you to never give up sharing God’s Good News? Eternity is a long time - in many ways, beyond our comprehension. When you get to Heaven, don’t you want to bring a lot of people with you? I sure do!

This is Luis Palau.

Sometimes I think we see God as too small. If we were to see Him in all His grandeur we would never stop singing His glory. In C.S. Lewis’ “The Weight of Glory” he writes, “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about… when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

People who do not know the joy of life with Christ are far too easily pleased with the empty things of this world. They cannot be fully alive. To live apart from God is to live without the One who made us - it doesn’t make sense. We were never meant to seek meaning and contentment apart from Him. Saint Irenaeus wrote, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and to be alive consists in beholding God.”

Boldly share God’s Good News today. What He offers is beyond compare. He is the only way to abundant life and life eternal.            

This is Luis Palau.

The New Year brings with it hope for the future; hope that stems from the sense of a new beginning; hope that comes from reflections of the years past; hope that new possibilities exist for us and for our families and friends. 

In our hopefulness, we often make resolutions. Unfortunately, many of these resolutions reflect very current, today, here-and-now, sorts of hope.  I've found that too often, a few months into the New Year, I realize I haven't been disciplined to accomplish what I originally set out to do. 

Thankfully, several years ago, my mother-in-law made a great suggestion that has revolutionized our New Year's resolutions.  No more random resolutions about fitness or organization.  Instead, she encouraged us to make spiritual resolutions.  We pronounce them together, pray, and then hold each other accountable.  This has brought about growth and lasting change.

Paul writes in Romans, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  This New Year, hope for something with eternal merit and reach your world as you do.

This is Andrew Palau.

Let’s never forget that after Christmas comes Good Friday. The Bible clearly states that the cross was the reason God's Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth. In the mystery and marvel of it, Jesus was willing to go. "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!" [Philippians 2:8]

What happened on the cross? The Bible teaches that God the Son took upon Himself all the sins of the world. Just think - every evil thought you and I have ever pondered; every sin that we have ever committed; every evil, mean, dirty, jealous act that we have practiced, was laid on Jesus Christ.

Jesus took our sins on His own body. He took my rebellion, my pride, my impurity, my covetousness—every evil thing Luis Palau ever thought or did—and He said, "Luis, I love you! I want you to know I am going to die for you. And if you repent and turn to me, then I will forgive you and cleanse you. Every sin you ever committed will be forgotten forever."

It doesn't matter how rebellious and evil you have been, or how guilty you feel. If you want forgiveness, you must come to the cross of Christ. Once you do, you won't have restless nights with a guilty conscience. Instead, you will be able to sing praises to God. You will have peace with God because Jesus takes away the sins of the world – and that includes you.

This is Luis Palau.

We talk a lot about joy at Christmas. We sing about it in Christmas carols such as “Joy to the World,” and it is on Christmas cards and wrapping paper. But the rest of the year, we don’t talk much about joy. We talk about happiness, or contentment, or delight, but not so much joy. The Bible talks about joy a lot, though. The word is all over the Old and New Testaments. Joy is associated with singing and dancing to the Lord. Joy comes in the morning. Even nature cries out with joy: trees, pastures, meadows, valleys all shout with joy in the Bible. The Psalms make it obvious that joy can’t be suppressed; it bubbles uncontrollably out of people and nature. Joy must be expressed. “The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace…” – God has revealed that.

So, it seems like joy shouldn’t just come out at Christmas. Of course, we should spread cheer and celebrate Christ’s birth, but what happens on December 26, after all of the festivities end and Christmas is over? Is our joy gone? Do we put away our joy until the day after Thanksgiving the next year, when we get out the Christmas cards, carols, and wrapping paper? I say no! Our joy in the Lord should bubble up from our hearts all year round. People won’t help but see it and wish they had what we had.

The best news is: Joy can be shared and passed on. So, share your joy in Jesus Christ with those who need it, not just at Christmas, but every day of the year. It can change many people in your world.   

This is Luis Palau.

"I'll be back soon," a soldier told his wife before leaving her and their infant son to fight in World War II. Five years went by. The young mother would show her boy a portrait of the soldier and say, "See, that's your daddy. One day he's going to come home." In reality, she didn't know what to expect. One morning the boy said, "Mommy, wouldn't it be great if Daddy would just step out of the picture frame?"

In a sense that's what God did 2,000 years ago. As part of His eternal plan, the Lord stepped out of heaven and became a man so you and I could look at Jesus and say, "That's what God looks like." [Philippians 2:5-11 and Hebrews 1:1-3]

Have you taken the important step of saying that Jesus Christ is your God and King? It is the greatest decision of your life. If you have never made that commitment, I encourage you to do so right now.

Simply say this prayer with me: "Heavenly Father, I believe Jesus is God become man. I believe Jesus died for me on the cross. I believe in my heart that You raised Jesus from the dead. Thank You for forgiving my sins. I gladly acknowledge Jesus Christ as my God and as my King. Amen."

If you just prayed that prayer, congratulations! God has just made you part of His forever family. This truly is the greatest day of your life.

This is Luis Palau.

On the first Christmas 2,000 years ago, God came to earth to live among us. The human mind is boggled by that.  Even more unexpected is the first picture we see. No flaming chariots brought God into the world, and no royal entourage greeted Him. God entered the world as a helpless baby with a feeding trough as His bed.

Even though we celebrate this miracle every Christmas and wonder at the mystery of it, many people don't really think about it or believe it. But if God is God, He can take upon Himself a human body.  Jesus Christ was no ordinary man. He was God become man. But first He was born of the virgin Mary by the miracle of the Holy Spirit as we read in the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.

Jesus did not evolve from history; He came into history from the outside. His life is the highest and holiest entering the lowest and lowliest. But that was not enough. If Jesus had grown up and lived only a perfect and marvelous life, without another great miracle taking place, His life likely would mean nothing to you and me today.

Jesus had to go from the cradle to the cross. After Christmas comes Good Friday. The Bible clearly states that the cross was the reason God's Son came to earth. And don’t forget His resurrection! I believe in Jesus more than ever. Why wait? Put your trust in Him today.  

This is Luis Palau.

Almost 200 years ago the poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote a piece called “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”  It is surprising how applicable the words of that poem still are.  Those words were put to music and we still sing the carol at Christmas time.  I was struck recently by some of the lines of that song.  It says:

And in despair I bowed my head:"There is no peace on earth," I said,"For hate is strong and mocks the songOf peace on earth, good will to men."Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,With peace on earth, good will to men."

Things do seem pretty hopeless in our world at times.  But at Christmas we are reminded of that great love of God. and that He is still on His throne and we can trust Him.  The angels sang to the shepherds of Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest.  Peace on earth and goodwill to men.”  Let’s be reassured by those words as we celebrate Christmas in a world that seems to have forgotten what real peace looks like. 

Those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ can know His peace in our lives.  As we read in Acts 10:36: “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”

Let’s share that message with others in our world this holiday season. These are the greatest days to reach our world.This is Andrew Palau

The first time I ever held a newborn, it was one of our twin boys. I couldn’t believe how small he was. He was so tiny, a miniature human who couldn’t do a whole lot. He couldn’t talk, walk, or eat solid foods. He was completely dependent on his parents to look out for him. And yet, inside this little newborn was all of the DNA and God-given capabilities he needed to become a man someday. All that was already in him. We just had to wait. His time would come.

Sometimes we take little things for granted. For example, the book of Micah talks about how Bethlehem was too small to be considered a clan of Judah, but “from [it] shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” A magnificent being would come from little Bethlehem. It just had to wait. Its time would come.

God came down to earth and took the form of a little helpless baby, born in a little town no one cared about. No one expected much from a carpenter, much less that He would die on a cross to save the whole world. And so, this Christmas, we can take some time to celebrate the little things. Imagine how different Christmas would be if we remembered great things come in small packages.

What small things can we celebrate this Christmas? And how can we use those small things to point others to the greatness of Jesus? Our time has come to spread the news to our world.

This is Luis Palau.