Reaching Your World with Luis Palau

When you think of a Bible story, what scene comes to mind first? Is it young David picking up stones to kill Goliath? Or, maybe Noah building his ark? Or, Jesus feeding the 5,000? These stories are familiar if you’ve grown up in Sunday School or if you’ve attended church for some time. Today, I want to look at one of those stories: the feeding of the five thousand. When Jesus’ disciples came to Him and told Him that the crowd was hungry, Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” The disciples protested, saying, “but we don’t have enough.” Jesus then took the five loaves of bread and two fish that they did have and He blessed it and used it to feed the entire crowd. There were even leftovers! Notice this: sometimes when God calls his people, they feel ill-equipped. “But God, I don’t have enough” we say. Friends, God isn’t asking us for more than what we have. He’s asking that we trust Him to multiply our efforts. We don’t have to have “enough.” We need only to trust that He will provide. He’ll make a way. As we act in faith, our perceived inadequacies or shortcomings will not hinder God from reaching people. He’s bigger than that. He’s bigger than us. Just as He multiplied the five loaves and two fish, He will multiply our efforts to reach people with His Good News. This is Andrew Palau.

In this life there will be great trouble and pain. But God is not the author of evil. God is only and always good. I love the old hymn, “What God Ordains is Always Good.” I’ll share some of the verses with you.       “What God ordains is always good; His will is just and holy. As He directs my life for me, I follow meek and lowly. My God indeed, in ev'ry need, knows well how He will shield me; To Him, then, I will yield me.       What God ordains is always good; He never will deceive me. He leads me in His righteous way and never will He leave me. I take content what He has sent; His hand that sends me sadness, will turn my tears to gladness.       What God ordains is always good; this truth remains unshaken. Though sorrow, need, or death be mine, I shall not be forsaken. I fear no harm, for with His arm He will embrace and shield me; So to my God I yield me.” I hope this hymn encourages you today. I love the words because they acknowledge that life is hard. That sorrow and death do come, but God is still good through it all. And we must yield ourselves to Him because He promises never “to leave or forsake us”. What a testimony to a watching world to boldly proclaim that God is always good, so we can trust in His goodness through life’s storms. What a God we serve! This is Luis Palau.

The definition of faithful is “loyal, constant, steadfast.” To remain faithful is sadly rare in today’s world. To spend an entire life steadfastly devoted, constant, loyal… these are not qualities that are celebrated as much today. How many marriages end too soon? How many people walk away from their faith? People can be fickle. It is only by God’s power and strength that we can remain faithful to God and the people we love. Left to our own devices, every last one of us would make a mess of things.   And you know, I love to read in the Scriptures about how God remains steadfast and faithful. Even as His people constantly grumble. And run after other gods. And even question the faith. God is not moved. In 2 Timothy we are told, “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” Praise the Lord for His faithfulness! You may feel faithless today. You may have doubts or questions. Bring those to the Lord. Say, “Lord I believe. Help my unbelief.” He can restore your faith. He will strengthen you. He will remain faithful. Isn’t that glorious good news? Who can you share it with today?   This is Luis Palau.

A well-known pastor says this about our everyday life, “To taste the sweetness of ordinary joys, we learn to enter each day with a conviction about the givenness of all things…. We’ve been given a place to be, some things to do, a need for sustenance, and a people to share this with. God originates these gifts. … At some point, we all have to come to terms with the spiritual truth that true joy is found in God…”   And you know, that is so true. Our true joy comes from God Himself. I see God working in extraordinary ways in cities throughout the world. But you know, I want to encourage you that God is just as present and active in the seemingly ordinary aspects of life – your life. You may not witness a major revival, but you can see your neighbors come to Christ. You can raise your children in the faith. You can make a difference in the lives of others for eternity. St. Paul writes in Philippians, “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” God is working in you and through you, when you share the Good News about Jesus.   Talk to God right now. Ask Him to work through you in every thing you do. You’ll be amazed how joy-filled ordinary life can be when it’s lived in relationship with our extraordinary God.   This is Luis Palau.

Someone wrote, “we pray in the Lord's Prayer that God give us our daily bread, which he does. He does so, not directly as when he gave manna to the Israelites, but through the work of farmers and bakers-and we might add truck drivers and retailers… Similarly, God heals the sick. While he can and sometimes does do so directly, in the normal course of things he works through doctors, nurses, and other medical experts. God protects us from evil, with the vocation of the police officer. God teaches through teachers, orders society through governments, proclaims the Gospel through pastors. God… hides himself in the ordinary social functions and stations of life, even the most humble.” Wow! What an encouragement to all the Christians who thought God only valued the work of people in full-time ministry. Your work matters to God. God will hide Himself in you as you love and serve those in your world. You will be amazed how He works through you to draw others to Himself. But you must speak the Good News. St. Paul writes in Ephesians, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ask God to work through you today. He will do it and lives will be blessed. This is Luis Palau.

One of the great enemies of our hope is forgetting God’s promises. We must remind ourselves regularly of His goodness. And on difficult days or in seasons of grief, sometimes that looks like focusing on reminding ourselves moment by moment how good God is. When everything is changing, He is steady. The Bible tells us in Hebrews verse 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. That is an amazing comfort. How are you reminding yourself today of the promises of God? I put sticky notes with scripture around the house. My wife listens to Christian music throughout the day. Maybe you’re memorizing scripture passages and reciting them to yourself when you need them. Whatever it is, it will bless you to practice a constant commitment to remembering God’s character and His love for you. Lamentations verses 3:21-22 says this: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.” If we don’t remind ourselves of the greatness and grace and power and love of God, we will sink into insufferable pessimism. Don’t allow in your life the godless messages that start with “I can’t. . .” “She won’t. . .” “They never. . . “ “It has never worked. . .” The great turn from despair to hope in Psalm 77 comes with these words: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord – yes, I will remember your wonders. . .” Today, remember God’s goodness and set in place ways to make a habit of reminding yourself that He is good. This is Andrew Palau.

You know, when you look around the world now and in the past, we often ask ourselves, “What is God doing in the world today? Why does He allow this or that to happen? What are the ways of God? How does He overrule the decisions of government people – kings, princes, presidents, and people in authority, and wealthy people. How does God overrule?” Well, there is an answer to learn to understand God’s ways. In Psalm 119, verse 15 the Bible says, “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.” Let me read it again. “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.” When you get on your knees, which is the way I most recommend meditation; get on your knees, open your Bible by your bed perhaps, with a notebook next to you, and begin to think about what you read in the holy word of God – the Bible. And as God speaks to you directly and personally, and as God speaks to your heart and God speaks to your mind, you begin by the Holy Spirit who lives in you as a believer, to put it all together. You don’t understand every angle. You can’t explain everything God is doing, but you have peace because God is in charge. That’s the benefit of meditation. This is Luis Palau. 

Ever since I started reading the Bible as a teenager for myself, and really spending time on my knees reading the Bible, meditating on it, and thinking of God’s ways for my life, I found in Joshua chapter 1 these words: “Don’t let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything that is written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. [Joshua 1:8]” What the Lord is telling us here - repeated in the New Testament as well as in the Old Testament - is that there can be victory and prosperity and success spiritually, as well as in other ways when you spend time meditating on the word of God. When He calls it “the law of the Lord,” He is talking about the word of God. The word of God purifies your thought life. The word of God gets your mind thinking proper thoughts. You align your thoughts with God’s thoughts, God’s mind with your mind. Therefore, you begin to look at life, and the problems of life, the opportunities – family, friendships, church, loving your neighbors – it all comes into focus when you meditate on the word of God. So biblical meditation is meditating on the holy word of God. This is Luis Palau. 

Recently I’ve noticed in the newspapers, magazines, and television shows a lot of talk about meditation. Some of it is taken from eastern religions, some of it is sort of psychological, some of it is just the creation of some individual who writes a book and gets a movement going. The Bible, however, talks very plainly and very clearly about meditation - meditation we practice without even being aware of it. It says in the book of Psalms, chapter 1, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the word of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night [Psalm 1:1-2].” You know, that is Christian meditation. That edifies you. That keeps you in balance. That keeps you from going in the wrong direction and drifting into the paths of darkness. You walk in the light when you meditate on the word of God. And one of the secrets of success in the Christian life – what this book of Psalms says, and many other passages we will look at in future days – you delight yourself in the law of the Lord, you meditate on it day and night, and as a result you will be peaceful, joyful, and close to the Lord. This is Luis Palau.

You know, when the coronavirus was in its heyday, and there was lockdown, people were staying away from each other six feet, etc. etc. one of the themes that broke out was loneliness. And the whole subject of loneliness, you read articles in the magazines, newspapers, commentaries on television, and rightly so because suddenly you felt absolutely cut off from the world.  It seemed so abnormal. That was a term that was used a lot. But the subject was loneliness, and you know, one of the wonderful things for you and I, when we know the living God who created us in our mother’s womb, the great thing is that the Lord says in Isaiah chapter 41 verse 10, “Don’t be afraid, I am with you; don’t be dismayed, I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” The Lord says in another passage in the New Testament, “I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” My dear friend, when you think about reaching your world, the best thing you can do for your friends is tell them that if they have Christ in their hearts, they are never alone, because Jesus Christ never leaves us. This is Luis Palau.

It can feel like the COVID-19 virus has brought the entire planet to a screeching halt. Festivals are cancelled. Basketball is cancelled. School semesters are cancelled. Memorial services and birthday parties are cancelled. It feels like everything is cancelled.   And whatever you’re going through today, I want to remind you that it’s okay to be disappointed. And also, let’s give each other grace since we are all trying to navigate unexpected fears, hardships, and disappointments. It can be so easy to let today’s disappointments make you expect the absolute worst for tomorrow. I’m challenging myself – and you too – to not run so far into the unknown future. Let’s just make the most responsible and joyful decisions we can today and place the rest in God’s hands.   Jesus reminds us in John verse 16:33, “I have you told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”   We can feel afraid, but we don’t have to live afraid. Now is the time to feed your faith and fuel healthy perspectives. Make the choice today what will rule in your hearts and proclaim out loud: “Disillusioning disappointments and blinding fear, you don’t get to be the boss of me. . .I am ruled by the peace of Christ, and I will use His Truth to frame all I see.”               This is Andrew Palau.

In a Wall Street Journal article I once read, Joseph Loconte explored the example Jesus set after His resurrection for our evangelism efforts today. He wrote, “In all of the New Testament’s resurrection accounts, the method of Jesus for winning hearts and minds- his emphasis on peaceful persuasion- couldn’t be plainer. All depict the patience and kindness of God in the face of human doubt.” The author recalled how Jesus was patient with the two disciples when He appeared to them on the road to Emmaus, after He rose from the dead. The disciples at first were unsure who Jesus was. He was a stranger to them. But God’s Word tells us that, “beginning with Moses and the prophets, he explained to them what was said in the Scriptures concerning himself.” Loconte writes, “the disciples had been guided, not coerced out of their skepticism. Their objections had been met with reason, not force.” Jesus should be our example in evangelism. We too should be patient and willing to meet people where they are- to respond kindly to questions and patiently to doubts. To share what the Lord has done for each one of us. To evangelize with peaceful persuasion. Do it today, won’t you?          This is Luis Palau.

In Gene Edward Veith’s book, “The Spirituality of the Cross” he writes, “Every proclamation of the Gospel, whether in a sermon or in a layperson’s informal witnessing to a friend, is a dissemination of God’s Word. This oral word, insofar as it is the message of the Bible, is God’s Word delivered by a human voice… Just as God is not ashamed to inspire the utterances of fallen human beings, to have His truths written in human language with paper and ink, He is not ashamed to have His Word communicated by the halting speech of His followers… God the Holy Spirit promises to be at work whenever His Word is spoken.”   What a humbling thought, that is, isn’t it? That God would use you and me to speak His word to the world? In Isaiah, the Lord tells us, “My word that goes out from my mouth will not return empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”   Perhaps you’ve been nervous about sharing the Good News. You’ve thought, ‘what could I possibly have to say?’ But God has chosen you to speak to the world through human language. With whom can you share God’s Word today?   This is Luis Palau.

I read an interesting article some time ago in the Wall Street Journal. Kathleen Hughes wrote about finding true greatness by rethinking priorities and everyday uses of time. She wrote about the need to find meaning in life, especially in the second half of your life. In the article she quoted Henry David Thoreau who wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” I think in many ways Hughes and Thoreau are correct. We are searching for meaning. People desire to make a difference with their lives. They are hoping to leave a legacy, to do something that matters. But so many are floundering. They aren’t sure where to begin or what to do. I would encourage you that there is nothing more meaningful to focus your life on than matters of eternal consequence. If you are feeling desperate to find meaning, open your Bible today. Open it to the Gospel of John. Read the amazing true, written account of God’s work in this world in real time and space. Consider your part in God’s great story. Say to Him, “Here I am Lord, send me.” Or “Here I am Lord, show me.” He is ready to free you from your desperation. And to equip you to reach your world. This is Luis Palau.

If you’ve grown up in the church and spent a lot of your time around other Christians, you may assume that most people are just like you. You may think that the majority of people know who God is, and that a lot of people probably believe in Him too. But the statistics say otherwise. Statistics show that a growing number of young adults are identifying themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular”. Many parents are finding that their children who go off to college, come home having left their faith and the church.We must recognize that this is happening in our culture and think through how we ought to respond. In my experience, most atheists are honest people who have a pile of guilt that they don't know how to resolve. I think that the best thing is to draw them out and figure out what’s bothering them. Once you do, find one Bible verse that fits and then say that verse and repeat it again and again, and watch the Holy Spirit powerfully shape your friend’s heart through the Word of God. In 1 Peter, we are told we need to be ready to “give an answer.” Are you ready to give an answer?  Even to those who annoy you when they say that they are atheists?              This is Luis Palau.