Hope with God... with Andrew and Wendy Palau

How can our souls be saved? Jesus said this about Himself, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What a bold statement! To some, that statement may seem narrow or exclusive. But that’s not what Jesus is saying at all. His message was that everyone who wants to be saved CAN be saved—through Him. He provided a way for us all to be saved—and without...

Have you ever thought about this: That the author of the story of life has written himself into the story? Jesus tells His friends in John 16 that He came from the Father, and He entered the world. And we're told in John 1 that the Word, that is, Jesus, became flesh. And He made His dwelling among us, the creator and the author of life came to the created- to us. God is the author, and this world...

First sentence of transcript goes here. As brilliant as some humans are, we cannot heal ourselves. We are not capable of rescuing ourselves from the brokenness that has affected humanity since the Garden of Eden. No amount of effort can set us free from the sin that enslaves us. In John 12, Jesus says… For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. If we were to stand before a judge...

Jesus said that when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He'll guide us into all truth. This is astounding. Many people might say the truth doesn't exist or it can't be found. Or people might say we each have our own truth. But Jesus said that His Spirit of Truth will guide us into all that is true. In John 16:13, He says we can know what is true about the world, about life, about eternity, and it is...

Who do you think Jesus is? Some people think He was just a great teacher or a prophet. But Jesus shocked the religious people of His day when He made this bold statement, “Whoever obeys my teaching will never die.” They wondered- how could Jesus say such a thing when even the father of the faith, Abraham, had died? Did Jesus think he was better than Abraham? Jesus answered them, “I tell you the tr...

Have you ever wondered, “If Jesus was so powerful, why didn’t He save His own life?” That’s a fair question. He was able to heal people. He cast out demons. He walked on water. Yet, there He was hung on a cross and killed. Before He died, He said this to His disciples. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to ta...

Jesus promised us trouble. In John 16:33, He said, “In this world you will have trouble.” This can feel a bit discouraging. Why would we have so much trouble in the world? The word comes from the Greek word for pressure or burdened. Does this ring true for you? We all have our own trouble. The thing is, none of us escape. But the beautiful thing is that Jesus said these words right before He went...

Have you ever double-booked your calendar and thought, “It’s too bad I can’t be in both places at once.”? God actually can…He is bigger than time and space because He is the one who created it all! There’s a story of a royal official in the Bible. He asked Jesus to heal his son… “Lord, please come before my little boy dies.” Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed...

Jesus said, "I will do whatever you ask in my name." This is shocking. But have you ever read these words and thought, “Lord, I can think of one hundred things I asked that you didn't do? So, Lord, I'm not sure if I believe this.” You know, very often, we read the first part of the verse- I will do whatever you ask, and we forget the significance of the second part of the verse- In my na...

Is today your lucky day? If not, don’t worry, because God is bigger than luck. There’s a story in the Bible about a pool that seemed to be blessed. An angel would stir the waters, and whoever was lucky enough to be the first one in the water- they would be healed. But when Jesus visited the pool, it was plain that His power was so much bigger. A blind man was waiting there, and he said to Jesus, “...

The pain of losing a loved one can be overwhelming. We grieve because the people we care about can’t be with us anymore, and we miss them terribly. But where do they go after they die? Some people imagine they simply turn into nothing—they cease to exist. Others say they might become an animal or some other creature depending on if they’ve done enough good deeds in their life. But Jesus says in th...

Jesus said that He and His Father would make their home with us. This is shocking. Why would the God of the universe come and make His home with us? The word for home used here means dwelling place; to make His dwelling place in us? What an amazing promise that Jesus made right before He went to the cross. He promised His Spirit, His very self, to come and be with us and to make His home in us- to...

What if I told you…you didn’t have to die? Yes, your body will eventually wear out and die. But your spirit can live on forever in a new body that will never wear out. Better than that, you can live this new, eternal life face-to-face with God. How is this possible? It’s only made possible by the one who has authority over all life, and even over death. That’s Jesus. In John 11, when His dear frie...

Jesus said, " Because I live you also will live." This is startling; what generosity. God, the author of the story of life, saw fit to write Himself into the story of life. To take what He has, which is life, and to offer it to us. This should astound us and humble us. And move us to love Him even more. God is the author, and this world is His story. The author of life offers us life. Ha...

Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try, your life just isn’t moving forward? If so, I want to ask you—are you connected to the source of life? Are you getting your strength from God? Jesus says in John 15… Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Our own human strength is so limited,...

No matter what your life looks like, YOU matter to God. He showed us over and over in the Bible that He cared for all people, regardless of race, gender, or social status. In John 4, in the Bible, He demonstrated that by having a one-on-one conversation with a Samaritan woman. During that time, Jewish men did not usually converse with women in public. And Samaritans were especially looked down upo...

Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” These are startling words. They sound exclusive and narrow. There is only one way to know the Father, and it's through His Son. It's easy to see this as a negative idea. But, it is actually the most open and inclusive truth. Think of this, the Son came to us, the Son loved us, the Son gave his life for us. And the Son calls us and says, “...

Why does God have to be invisible? It would be so much easier to believe in Him if we could just see Him with our own eyes and see what He’s really like. But, we don’t have to wonder what He is like. God showed us Himself in the most easily relatable form for us as humans… He became human! The Bible says in John 1:18… No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in...

Jesus told us that one day He would take us to be with Him. This is startling- that Jesus wants us to come and be with Him. Before He went to the cross, He told His friends… Don't be troubled. Trust me. There is a place for you in eternity, and I'm going to prepare it for you. And I will come back and take you to be with me. Some of us find it difficult to imagine what this means. To be in eternit...

Have you ever wondered, “Where is God when I need Him?” Even though I knew that God had promised never to leave me, sometimes it felt as though He was very far away. If you’re going through a season of feeling distant from God, I want to encourage you today. Even though God may FEEL distant, trust the promises of the Bible that if you believe in Him, He will never abandon you. John 1:9 says that J...

The night before Jesus would be crucified, He prayed with great faith: “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Jesus knew what lay ahead…the cross…a cruel form of torture for the worst criminals. He knew He was destined for a slow and painful death. Yet in that moment, He surrendered His own will to the will of the...

Jesus said these unusual words in John chapter 6. “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” What is Jesus saying? It sounds crazy. But just before that, Jesus said: I am the bread of life. … unless you eat this bread —me— you will have no life! Just like we all need bread—food for physical life, we all need Him—for spiritual li...

Does life ever feel like a long, uphill struggle? Our worldly culture encourages us to reach for higher and higher positions of power, hoping that someday we’ll make it to the top of the mountain. But God instructs us to do the opposite. He asks us to go lower. In 1 Peter, the Bible says… “...humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give...

Jesus says these words in John 6: “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” Wow, that is so beautiful. What a promise! When Jesus said it, He meant it! When we come to Him He will help us. But are we willing, though, to come with our whole selves? To truly be helped by Jesus? He never promised to make our lives easy, but He promised to faithfully help us in our struggles. And He promises to n...

Everything has a cost. When we choose to follow God, we do our best to leave behind our old sinful ways and live in a way that’s pleasing to God. But following God is so much more than what you DON’T do. God is not a taker, He’s a giver. Jesus said in John 10:10, The thief’s purpose is to steal to kill and to destroy (only). My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life (the abundant life,...