Reaching Your World with Luis Palau

When you tend to something, you see results. Think about a garden. No one who expects a beautiful, thriving garden merely throws some seed on the ground and walks away. Instead, care must be taken to plant seeds and water the ground. Then, when the plants are grown, we must trim and maintain the foliage.In the same way, if you want to enjoy successful relationships, you must tend to them. You cannot wake up every morning and merely HOPE things go well. Rather, you must take conscious action to keep relationships healthy. The Bible says, "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." Love is not passive. Love is a verb; something you choose to do.How great is your vision for your relationships? If you want to enjoy healthy, thriving relationships - with your spouse, your children, your coworkers or your neighbors - you must take action. So, make up your mind today to strengthen your relationships. Ask God to give you His love for the people in your life. Ask Him for the courage to put that love into action. As your relationships are strengthened, you will have more and more opportunities to share your faith.  There's nothing more fulfilling than that.

What does it mean to be alive? Think about it. In nature, life means fresh growth and green leaves. For humanity, life means physical activity, relational interaction, learning, growing, and changing. Hebrews 4:12 says, "The word of God is living and active."  Have you ever wondered what that means?  How can a book be alive? Well, things that are alive have breath. And breath is what we use to speak. The very pages of the Bible are the breath that God uses to speak to us through His living Word! But the Bible is not merely a vehicle used by God to communicate with us. The Bible is in and of itself dynamic and life-changing. It discerns the good and the bad within us. We must not only read and hear God's Word, we must let it shape us.How much time do you spend in God's Word? I challenge you today to intentionally increase your time studying the Bible. Your spirit feeds on God's Word; it comes alive through this nourishment. Please, make sure you are well fed! You will never regret the time you spend reading Scripture. It will equip you to better reach your world. When you're intentional about being in the Word, it's easy to be intentional about reaching lost souls. 

Have you ever walked down the street, or through a store, or stopped at a park and just watched people?  People are masters at wearing masks to hide what's really going on in their lives.  We all do it, to some extent.  We don't want people to know what we're thinking or feeling so we put on a happy face and try to fool the world.When Jesus comes into our life, He sees past the facade.  He sees past the pretty face we like to portray and sees into our heart.  And, he loves us just the way we are.  Once you've experienced His love, you can't go on as if everybody else is just fine.  Think back to the first time you knew that God loved you, even though you weren't perfect.  Remember the freedom that came from taking off the mask?  Today, let's reach out to hurting people living behind a mask.  Let's be the ones who are consistently reaching out, laying the foundation, and living in freedom and relationship with Jesus Christ.  That way, when God softens the hearts of those around us, and masks start to come off, we'll be there to gently lead our hurting friends to the feet of Jesus.

True joy and happiness can only be found in Jesus Christ.  That alone should motivate us to share God's Good News with the world. Since many people are missing out on this true and lasting joy, we should be all the more willing and eager to share it with them.A famous quote sums it up well, "Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls."  Our goal in reaching our world is ultimately to win as many souls as possible to Jesus Christ.  And you know, our joyful countenance is one means of doing just that. The Bible says in Habakkuk, "Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my savior."  Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians that we are to be "joyful always."C.S. Lewis made an important distinction on the topic of joy, saying, "Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is."  We have to lead people to Jesus Christ because only He can give true and sustaining joy.  People are looking for joy in all the wrong places and coming up empty. Ask God to give you His lasting joy this week.  Then, share with others the reason for your joy. Tell them that they too can have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

In Romans, St. Paul says, "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse."  I recently read a great example of blessing someone who hurts you.  You may have heard of a very large family from Arkansas - the Duggars. Their life is documented on a television show and they recently wrote a book.  In their book, Mr. Duggar explained how, early on in their family life he ran a used car lot.  Mr. Duggar shared how several cars they were trying to sell were stolen. Most of the car thieves ended up in jail.  Mr. Dugger could have been furious.  But, you know how he responded?  He visited the thieves in jail and gave them Bibles.  Mr. Duggar offered a blessing and prayed for them. He gave them God's word which has the power to save and transform lives.  He chose to be a blessing even to those who wronged him.  This week- seek to bless not only those you like, but those who have persecuted you as well. You will be amazed as God works through your efforts to bless everyone He brings across your path.  In the process, you may even lead another to Jesus Christ and nothing is better than that.

A lot of people are very sad these days. As followers of Christ, we can make a difference for those who are depressed.  We can shine a light of joy and peace in places of sadness and turmoil.  We can do all these things and reach our world, but only if we really are joyful ourselves. How can we offer others hope if we aren't living a hope-filled life?  How can we offer others peace if we aren't peaceful?You may have heard of George Mueller.  He's a great hero of the faith who spent much of his life running orphanages in England. He was an evangelist and a man of prayer, and he witnessed many miracles in his lifetime of ministry.  He could have been sad many times.  He sacrificed much in his efforts to pursue God's calling.  But he was often quoted as saying that his first duty of every day was to be "happy in the Lord".  What an inspiration Mueller's words are!  Psalm 68 says, "May the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful."  Are you happy in the Lord? Spend time in prayer and God's Word each day so you can find your true happiness and peace in Him- only then can you effectively reach your world.

Turn on the nightly news and what do you see? Fires. Murders. Current wars and nations on the brink of war...  When we see these things it's easy to become fearful. We wonder if one of these terrible things will happen to us or to someone we love.  But God is love and He has a plan for your life - one that doesn't include living in fear. The enemy would love nothing more than to have Christ-followers paralyzed by the evil in this world.  He would love to see us retreat and do nothing.  He doesn't want us to tell people about Jesus Christ.  He wants us to live in fear.  Friends, don't give in to his lies! The Good News of Jesus Christ has the power to transform lives.  As Jesus transforms lives, He will transform neighborhoods and cities and countries.  And, He wants to use YOU in that process.  So allow God's spirit to encourage and strengthen you.As King David said in the Psalms, "I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."  Next time you're tempted to be fearful, pray with great faith that the Lord would deliver you from your fears. Pray that He would use you to reach our world that is hurting and desperately needs Jesus Christ. 

The book of Revelation in the Bible says they "triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."  There is power in a testimony.  I share mine all the time.  And, I'm in good company! Paul's testimony is recorded in the scripture three times.  Imagine if you traveled with him...  You'd probably hear his story every day!There is nothing more authentic and powerful than your mouth sharing your testimony and your life exemplifying change through the power of God.  Though your story will be most powerful for you, when you are sharing your faith, the testimony of others can be helpful too.  Many people don't resonate with my story so sometimes I tell Dad's.  His father died when he was 10 years old.  He came to know the Lord at a camp when he was 12.  Though Dad's story is much different than mine, he uses his story just as much!  It doesn't matter what your story is.  It might be coming back to the Lord after walking away from him for 27 years, like me.  Or, meeting the Lord as a child, like Dad.  Or living through a horrible experience like my friend, Bethany Hamilton, who had her arm bitten off by a shark.  It doesn't matter what your testimony is.  The important thing is that it's yours and that it's shared.

I've met some very disciplined people and I've seen discipline used for God's glory, as well as perverted for Satan's pleasure.  If you observe the Sabbath religiously, pray continually, and spend hours in solitude- good for you!  But all that spirituality is somewhat empty if it doesn't motivate toward action.Pursue Christ.  Pursue Him through the various spiritual disciplines.  But it's not all about you!  There are others who are questioning, confused, seeking... use the wisdom you are gaining through your spiritual practices to make a difference- an eternal difference- in another's life!You will never regret taking action when it comes to sharing the Good news.  St Paul wrote that the Gospel is the "power of God".  If we have access to the power of God for salvation- we better not be keeping it to ourselves in our spiritual bubbles.  Don't be content to practice the spiritual disciplines without inviting others to also join the family of God.  Don't be content to know the truth for yourself but not to tell it to others.  Get out there and share your insights with someone else.  Your words, spoken from a heart of love, may lead another to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

An ordered life- one that honors God's commandments, and sets aside time for Him, will see great blessing.  It may not be the kind of blessing you're thinking of- a new house, a fancy car, or freedom from any sickness or sadness.  No, it's a blessing far greater.  Those that pursue Christ through the spiritual disciplines will see more and more of the greatest treasure of all - Jesus Himself!  And while external circumstances may be difficult, you will have Christ Himself.The Bible says in the Psalms, "I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever." Well-known pastor John Piper said, "It is about the greatness of God, not the significance of man."If through the spiritual disciplines God becomes greater and more significant- you are heading in the right direction!  If through your spiritual practices you are compelled to worship Jesus Christ- you are getting there.  If you are motivated to tell other people about Jesus, you are on the right track.  Remember the goal of the spiritual disciplines is not discipline but to become more Christ-like, to worship more fully, and to help bring others into a relationship with our Lord Jesus.  Nothing is better than that.

Legalism is a heavy load to carry.  It means that you have to be good and stay in line to earn God's love.  It means you live by rules and regulations.  That's a lot of pressure.  The Spiritual Disciplines can often be confused with legalism- and many times that's what they become.  Do not allow this perversion of what God originally intended to creep into your relationship with Christ.  Rather, heed St. Paul's words in the book of Galatians, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." When you are beginning to establish the spiritual disciplines in your walk with the Lord, beware of the enslavement of legalism.  Guard against it.  Pray against it.  If the disciplines are not bringing greater freedom- then they are not of Christ! There are many spiritual disciplines- but perhaps the most important are time in God's Word and in prayer. Both of these activities will help keep you from legalism. They will give you freedom to truly enjoy your ever-deepening relationship with the Lord. And, through your relationship with Him, you'll be able to reach your world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Many people work very hard to cultivate the spiritual disciplines.  They desire to live a structured, ordered life.  They begin to observe the Sabbath, read the Scriptures, pray continually and more- and yet sometimes in the midst of all these things they lose sight of why they're doing it in the first place!The point of the spiritual disciplines is not to be disciplined!  While discipline is a good character trait, and should be evident in the lives of all Christ followers, it is a means to an end.  If you are very organized, self-controlled, and orderly, but those disciplines are not leading you to love others, serve others, share the Good News with others, and become more Christ-like- then your discipline has missed the mark!St. Paul writes in Philippians, "...in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Pursue discipline in your life this week- but do so that you might grow in your humble service of others. As you do, more and more opportunities for you to share your faith will arise.

I'm so proud of my friend, Bethany Hamilton.  Have you heard of her?  She's the girl who had her arm bitten off by a shark in a tragic surfing accident.  And yet, even through that horrible situation, she continues to honor the Lord.Recently a movie was made about Bethany's life.  It's called "Soul Surfer."  The movie depicts what happened to Bethany.  After the accident she received a lot of publicity, attention, and limelight.  Yet, she utilized every moment to bring glory to the Lord - it's as simple as that.We might not all have moments when the world is watching us, but we all are watched by someone.  God says "Those who honor me, I will honor."  You don't have to have notoriety or a position that is seen by thousands to honor the Lord.  You don't need a story like Bethany's to make a difference and be a light.  Wherever you are, whomever you are with, honor the Lord today.  God has placed you where you are for a purpose, just as He did with Bethany.  Give him honor, credit, and speak of him often.  In so doing, you will be a seed-planter.  You will have the opportunity to show and tell your world of the great love of God's son, Jesus Christ.

Because of the work we do on radio and television I've become acquainted with many journalists through the years.  One day, at a luncheon, I was talking to a journalist who was going to denounce a certain politician who had really, really messed up his public life and personal secret life.  And then, when I talked to this journalist I said to him, without meaning to, I said, "You know, pointing the finger is not going to solve your problems."  And suddenly - we were having lunch at a restaurant - he broke down and said "That's me."  He said, "I do a lot of drinking.  I've been stepping out on my wife.  Who am I to point the finger at this guy and do an expose on him when I myself am such a hypocrite?" At that point I realized, in a restaurant, a classy restaurant downtown, that this man really had a conscience and he'd been brought up in a Christian home, in a Christian school, but he never received Jesus Christ.  And right there, at the restaurant, when he suddenly became aware of his own weakness and his own duplicity, I was able to tell him how through the cross of Jesus Christ and the blood that He gave on the cross, our sins can be forgiven, and his life was revolutionized.  Today, he speaks for Jesus.  He is a new man.  And, he's still in journalism.

I'm sure that you've heard the phrase, "discipling someone."  Now, what does that mean?  What it means is that a person who has been a Christian earlier helps a new Christian to grow in their faith, to understand the Word of God, to get involved in prayer, to join a good biblical church, and to begin to share the faith and give financially to spread the Kingdom of God.  I have a friend, in my city, his name is Jim.  He was in horrendous trouble. He had messed up in his personal life, successful in business, but he had some secret practices that his wife had no idea about.  Then, one day, when she found out all hell broke loose.  But, God led him to read a little booklet I'd written. It's called, "What is a Real Christian?" and when he read that booklet his conscience was absolutely shaken, he fell on his knees all by himself, and said, "God have mercy on me."  Then he wrote a little note and he and I became friends.  I didn't know him until then.But, you know, the verse that I have been drilling into Jim is Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live but it's not I it's Christ living in me."  What Jim has needed to learn from the get-go as a new follower of Jesus is that Christ lives in him and Christ is the power to live a holy life.