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Listen in as Luis Palau encourages Christians to share their faith with easy-to-use tips on reaching your world for Jesus Christ.
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Have you ever tasted a cool, refreshing Coca Cola? So have hundreds of millions of people around the world. Former president of the company, Robert Woodruff, had the boldness to state during World War II, “We will see every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for five cents wherever he is and whatever it costs.” When the war ended, he went on…
Journalists love to ask my opinion about politics. I always decline to comment. I won’t even tell them how I’m registered to vote. The minute I align myself with a political party or politician, I’ve effectively alienated half of my listeners. In America, there is still a feeling that we are a Christian and even an evangelical Protestant nation. Bu…
When I’m interviewed by the media, they often ask about my opportunities to speak about the Good News of Jesus Christ with presidents, prime ministers, parliaments, and royalty. In my early years, I thought that if I could convert them, somehow we would change nations. But that’s not how the Good News works. Real change comes from the bottom up, no…
When it comes to God, the Bible, the Church, and the Good News of Jesus Christ, a lot of Christians talk nostalgically about the “good old days.” They idolize past generations as more faithful than ours. But you won’t hear me doing the same. I’ve spent a fair amount of time researching the history of Christian revivals. Other than the Great Awakeni…
Some people like to cite bad news headlines about the state of the Church and then ask if I’m wringing my hands these days. My honest answer is: I feel a great deal of hope. Every part of the world has its challenges, but God is faithful. In some ways we have more opportunities today than nearly any other time in history. As Jesus said in Matthew 9…
I’ve noticed lately that there is a major dividing line in Christian conversation- there are those who emphasize proclamation and conversion, and those who emphasize discipleship. And I want to ask the question- why must it be one or the other? Clinging to one as if more critical than the other leads to great discouragement when it comes to Kingdom…
Is faith in Jesus Christ anti-intellectual? I think there can be a perception for some that in order to come to faith in Christ, they need to check their brain at the door. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the most brilliant academics in history have been professing Christians. Several years ago I co-wrote a book with a brilliant Ch…
As Christians, should we focus on this world or the world to come? I say we should focus on both! As C.S. Lewis wrote, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next… Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in': aim at earth and you will get neither.”This i…
Law and Gospel. They are two distinct but essential parts of our faith. God’s law is perfect. We are not. That’s why we need the Good News Gospel. Martin Luther wrote, "Now when a man has learned through the commandments to recognize his helplessness and is distressed about how he might satisfy the law (of God)— then, being truly humbled and reduce…
There is a common saying you may have heard, “Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship.” But you know, I don’t think it needs to be an either/or. Many people have a negative perspective on religion because they perceive it to be man-made, and because there are many false religions in the world. But Christianity is a true religion establis…
Committing one’s life to Jesus Christ is the most important decision anyone can ever make. Compared to eternal life, all other decisions aren’t that important when you think about it.Interestingly, it’s children—not adults—who are most likely to make that most important of decisions. In fact, childlikeness is a prerequisite for conversion. In Matth…
You want to tell your friends and people around you what the good news of God is all about. You have not proclaimed the good news Gospel unless you use words. The good news Gospel is a message. It's a divine message. It's a message from God about His Son. In Romans chapter 1 - the first few verses (you should read it for yourself), it says, "The go…
I woke up this morning thinking of an old, old, song - a simple one: "O what a wonderful, wonderful day, day I shall never forget." And it was the day when I met the Lord Jesus Christ.I was 12 years old, just a boy. My father had just died two years earlier. A missionary in South America sat me down and asked me a simple question. I was only 12 rem…
This is a statement attributed to Rudyard Kipling who said, "Nothing is ever settled, until it's settled right." And you know, if you want to settle affairs with God Almighty, your Creator, who made you in your mother's womb, who loves you, who wants you to live a victorious, joyful life on planet Earth and then eternally in Heaven in His presence,…
I was born in Argentina, South America. When I was 17 or 18 I saw a film of Dr. Billy Graham speaking in India, and he was speaking on the Bible verse that says, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit." And he asked in the film, "Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?" And in my teena…
Do you have a prodigal son or daughter? Someone who has walked away from the faith, or a loved one who is living rebelliously? If so, I want to urge you to remain faithful in prayer. You see, I was a prodigal son. For many years, I lived by my own rules. I was selfish, and despite every attempt my mom and dad made, I was wrapped up in my own worldl…
You and I both know that we live in a changing world. Styles change, world leaders rise and fall, pop culture icons come and go. But God’s message is unchanging. In fact, I’ve been sharing the same Good news all over the world for fifty years — and each time I share it, I am amazed by how relevant and important it is to people of all ages, races, a…
There’s a funny story about a little boy named Johnny, who had been sent to his room for misbehaving. After a while, the boy came out, and told his parents that he had thought over his behavior and said a prayer. His mother was pleased. She said, “Good job! If you ask God to help you behave well, He will help you.” Johnny replied, “Oh, Mom. I didn’…
For many years, my wife Pat and I prayed for our son Andrew to come to know the Lord. When he was in college and after, living on the other side of the country, we prayed for him several times a day. We knew he was making choices that were not in line with God’s teachings, but the only thing Pat and I could do was to pray. We prayed that Andrew wou…
ABC News reported on a study done by a Duke University doctor on the power of prayer. This was a secular study, but the results showed what we have known as believers for quite some time: prayer works.In the study, a thousand medical patients were divided into two groups. One group was prayed for, and the other was not. Patients did not know which …
You can walk in confidence to God’s calling on your life. You can do so knowing that what the Lord has in store for you is better than anything you might have been planning for yourself. I often think back to that day in high school—trembling in front of hundreds of my peers, petrified to give a little speech. And I had nothing to lose. How did I g…
Over the last 15 years I have met with two fellows separately - both of them, it just so happens, called Jim. Both of them had a mighty stumble in their moral life. Their families almost broke apart, but God was merciful and they have been restored. One day one of them said to me, "You know, ever since I was found out doing what I was doing, I went…
Dealing with the temptations of the flesh is one of the great battles for Christians, young and old. Especially young, but believe me, old too. Saint Paul deals with it in Galatians chapter 5 when he says, "Those who belong to Christ have crucified their sinful nature with its passions and desires.”Crucified. Crucified means that you are ruthless w…
A famous English preacher was called Charles Spurgeon. Many preachers listened to him and today they still read his messages. He went to heaven long ago. He made this statement: "To preach Christ without His cross is to betray Him with a kiss." That is a strong, tremendous statement. When you witness to your friends, when you talk to them about God…
The first American pastor that I ever heard, came down to Argentina in South America and had a Bible class. Before he did the Bible reading and the explanation, he told a sort of humorous ditty that he liked to quote. It goes like this: To dwell above with saints we love, why that will all be glory. To dwell below with saints we know, now that's an…
Helen Roseveare was a British Christian missionary to the Congo. She stated in her early 20s, “I’ll go anywhere God wants me to, whatever the cost. But please when I feel I can’t stand any more and cry out, ‘Stop!’ will you ignore my ‘stop’ and remember that today I said to you Lord, ‘Go ahead!’?” And boy would Helen need that kind of clear pledge,…
After my dad died, everything disappeared within three years, leaving my family in utter deprivation. But the whole time we lived in poverty, my mom gave us a strong sense of security. Through prayer and singing and by affirming the promises of God, she kept us from fear and despair. She challenged us to believe that God would provide in the nick o…
After my dad died when I was a young boy, our family quickly plunged from relative wealth to desperate poverty. We lost it all: property, farms, vehicles and employees. Yet even when we had nothing, I don’t recall a sense of despair in the house. Some days, all we had to eat was a big loaf of French bread, flavored over the fire with a little garli…
Great defense might win championships in sports, but I doubt it’s the best strategy for life. Constant worrying about defending your territory, your resources, your heart, your job will—sooner or later—take a toll. In fact, Medical News Today published an article that said, ”stress is significantly associated with virtually all the major areas of d…
A short while before he died in a plane crash years ago, professional golfer Payne Stewart gave his testimony at a church. “When I die,” Stewart said, “I’m going to a special place--but I want to live a special life here and now.”He did exactly that. He lived only a few months after giving that testimony, and then the Lord took him home to heaven--…
Do you ever feel that God feels very distant? What is recorded in the Bible happened thousands of years ago and sometimes can feel so unrelated to how we live now. But while God is reigning in Heaven, He’s still watching over the whole world, and He is present in our hearts and is alive in our world today by the power of the Holy Spirit. God wants …
The way of life in Jesus Christ is first the way of peace, second of purity, and third of love. Not only that, but the way of life in Jesus is also the way of obedience.The way of the Christian is to serve only one master-- Jesus. The Bible describes Him as "Lord of lords and King of kings" [Revelation 17:14]. When you become a Christian, Jesus bec…
Did you know the Bible says a Christian is someone who walks in the way of life in Jesus Christ? First, it’s the way of peace. Second, it’s the way of purity. Third, the way of life is the way of love. Jesus Himself said, "All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another," John 13:35. The Bible adds, "We know that we have passed …
The Bible tells us that a Christian is someone who walks in the way of life. Did you know that? And that way is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, John 14:6. You may ask, "What kind of a way is this ‘way of life’?"First, it is the way of peace.Second, it is the way of purity. The Bible says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God," Mat…
Did you know the Bible says a Christian is someone who walks in the way of life? And that way is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus Himself said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me," John 14:6. You may wonder, "What kind of way is this ‘way of life’?" First, it is the way of peace. God's peace fi…
Each time I see a racing ambulance I am reminded that life is short. At any moment, any of us could take our last breath. It’s a sobering thought. Life is fragile. Every day 155,000 people die. But, for those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can take great comfort in the fact that God knows all these things. He is sovereign and has ul…
It seems like every time I go into a bookstore, there’s another bestselling self-help book on the front shelf. “How to be successful” or “How to be rich” or “How to be happy” or “How to be fulfilled”. It’s not that I’m against reading - I’m all for reading books that grow you spiritually and mentally. But I do get dismayed by all of the man-made “s…
Did you know that time is actually sacred? I think sometimes we get so caught up in running from thing to thing - errands, or school, or work meetings - that we can forget this. But the time we have each day, and more importantly, how we choose to spend it, is sacred! The Bible says in Ephesians 5:15 and 16, “Look carefully then how you walk, not a…
It seems like now, more than ever, this world is full of distracting noise. I was in New York; when I was in Times Square I noticed this noise more than ever. Countless advertisements everywhere you looked. Retail stores all over. Crowds of people running from place to place. It is all too easy for us to get caught up in the noise. We accept what t…
Every winter sport has longstanding traditions, guidelines, and rules. When it comes to ice fishing in Idaho, make sure you have a current fishing license, cut a hole no more than ten inches in diameter, use no more than five fishing poles, and add no more than five hooks per line. We have to abide by the established traditions and rules. When it c…
Happy New Year’s Eve! I pray for you the blessing that Paul offers in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” How good that God invites us to experience personal growth and wholeness.Today, let’s loo…
Hebrews 4:15 [MSG] says that Jesus has “been through weakness and testing, [and] experienced it all—all but the sin.” While Jesus was the perfect Son of God, He experienced it all, indeed, including apparent personal growth. This enabled Him to relate fully with others. The same can be true for us socially. First, we need proper exercise socially. …
We live in a broken world. Nothing seems all together anymore. In the midst of it all, however, God invites us to experience wholeness. You see, personal growth as whole persons is anything but optional. We see this most concisely in the Bible’s description of Jesus as a teenager in Luke 2:52. While Jesus was (and is) the perfect Son of God, here o…
After Jesus’ birth, Luke 2:25-35 says: “At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.“The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So …
Was the first Christmas a surprise? The religious leaders at that time scoffed. Yet the Scriptures clearly predicted what was happening--and they knew it. Their answer to King Herod proved that. Isaiah alone had made two dozen prophecies fulfilled seven centuries later by Jesus, the promised Christ. So when you read Isaiah, watch out for these prop…
Why did the Magi risk everything? In many ways, these wise men had become holy fools—desperate, compelled, and finally obsessed. In the end, they traveled perhaps a thousand miles or more, probably in a small camel train, only to stop in Jerusalem to ask, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” [Matthew 2:2]. Matthew goes on to say, “King Herod wa…
So profound were the events of the first Christmas that one angel of the Lord wasn’t enough. As soon as the angel finishes his announcement of “good tidings of great joy” to the shepherds of Bethlehem, the lights go up and a choir of hundreds—perhaps thousands—of angels celebrate in song. In words immortalized by Linus each year during the TV speci…
We sometimes forget that Mary and Joseph’s relatives, friends, and neighbors couldn’t understand what was happening in their lives. The same was true for Zechariah and Elizabeth. How embarrassing that Elizabeth was barren. How doubly embarrassing that Zechariah didn’t have a son. Then rumors started to fly. Why was Elizabeth in hiding? Snickering a…
Before the first Christmas, Zechariah finds himself in the presence of the angel Gabriel. Incredibly, Zechariah speaks words of disbelief, only to be told he will be unable to speak another word for nine months. Even when his young relative Mary visits Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, the old man is forced to use hand motions and write his though…
