Hope with God... with Andrew and Wendy Palau

Someone once asked me, “How can I be joyful at Christmas?” He said, “I was unfaithful and my spouse left me years ago. And now, I’m alone, and filled with regret.” I shared that Jesus came to save us from our sins—even the worst of them! This is more than enough reason to celebrate Jesus at Christmas. When an angel told Mary she’d give birth to the Son of God, she said, “How will this be…since I’m...

This can be a lonely time of year for so many people. You might have many people around you and you still feel lonely. Sometimes the people we love the most die or they abandon us, but you can have an eternal, spiritual hope this Christmas. You are not alone. God knows you and He sees you. And He says to you today, I love you . This Christmas, Jesus came for you . Emmanuel means God is with us . A...

Sometimes Christmas movies and TV shows depict the holidays as being about perfect families, about presents, and about Santa Claus. But Christmas—it is so much bigger than any of that. Jesus didn’t come to fill your stocking. He came to fill your life. A life filled with grace and love. Whatever hardships you are facing this season, remember—they do not define you. You are more than your circumsta...

Have you ever heard these words, “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have eternal life”? This Christmas season, the word that stands out to me is gave—God gave . During this time of year we're thinking about giving and we're buying gifts for the ones we love. Have you ever considered that the greatest gift we’ll ever receive has already...

Did you know there are two Christmases? One, it’s about eating, drinking, and overspending. The other is about love, joy, peace, and adoration of the One whose birth we celebrate. Christmas is meant to be a vivid demonstration of God’s love. In Luke 1, Mary, the mother of Christ, praises God in this way: He has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things. Mary believed God’s pr...

As December gets underway, I am sure that you have so many things on your mind. Shopping, gifts, travel planning, and how you’re going to afford it all. And maybe amid everything else, there are bittersweet memories of Christmases past weighing on your heart. I think there’s something God wants to give you this Christmas: peace. Leading up to the first Christmas, this is what Zechariah prophesied...

In Luke chapter one, there is a beautiful song about a promised savior—Jesus. One of the many things said about the Savior is that “He will be the rising sun coming from heaven.” What a beautiful image of a sunrise…the slow infiltration of light that gradually makes everything visible and beautiful. Are you living in darkness? Are there things in your life that are causing a blanket of darkness ov...

The Christmas season is wonderful. We’re celebrating the birth of the Son of God, and I’m so glad for the opportunity that Christmas gives us to speak openly about Jesus Christ and to talk about His purpose in coming to this earth. Christmas carols, Christmas specials on TV…even newspapers and magazines publish articles about our Savior. These testimonies can soften hearts, preparing people to sta...

When Jesus was born, the Jewish people were waiting, anticipating the arrival of a savior. The ancient prophets had promised a Messiah and they were waiting for Him. In Luke 1, the song of Zechariah says, “He has come. He will redeem His people. Finally, salvation is here.” Have you been waiting? You know you need help? You know you need a Savior? This Messiah, Jesus, came for the entire world… an...

Before the first Christmas, a man named Zechariah found himself in the presence of the angel Gabriel. Incredibly, when the angel told him he was going to have a son in His old age, Zechariah spoke words of disbelief, only to be told he’d be unable to speak another word for nine months. When he could speak again, eight days after his son’s birth, Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and was an...

We know that Jesus freely offers everyone abundant life, but just because it’s free doesn’t mean the Christian life is always easy. G.K. Chesterton once said, The problem with Christianity is not that it has been tried and found wanting, but that it has been found difficult, and left untried. I myself have had people tell me that they want the life Jesus offers, but they are afraid they would have...

What does your soul need today? Your body might need lunch or a good night's sleep. But what does your soul need? In Psalm 103, David says, Praise the Lord, O my soul. All my inmost being praise him. Forget not all his benefits. I believe that our souls need to honor God for who He is, and remember what He's done for us. Has He forgiven you, restored you, healed you? Has He brought you through som...

Sometimes, I find myself thinking about… well… myself. I consider my own comforts and personal tastes. And if I’m uncomfortable with a situation, my first instinct is to pray to God to remove me from it—or it from me—or somehow make it better. All of us struggle with this. I have to remember that God—in His infinite glory—is not particularly worried about my own comfort in a situation. God cares f...

We often get God wrong. Or maybe we have a warped idea of what God is really like. We’ll lean one direction or the other. Maybe we think God is soft, almost like Santa—jolly and happy and just wanting to please us. Or maybe we think God is hard, sitting back with his arms folded and watching, waiting for us to make a mistake. Listen to this verse in Psalm 62… One thing God has spoken. Two things h...

I know of a young woman who is in college with the hope of going to medical school someday. She works in a hospital all day and takes classes at night. Recently, she said she felt so overwhelmed with the pressures of work, school, and family that she just wanted to give up. Discouragement is something we all experience at some time. Whether you're in school, or raising children, or running a busin...

I’ve met a lot of Christians who feel too far removed from Jesus; they can’t make that personal connection with the cross. It’s easy to feel like you’re just a random person who happens to be grouped into the others that Jesus died for. But Jesus loves you on a personal level. And when He was on the cross, He died for all of your sins—for every time you fell short, messed up, or made a mistake. He...

If you're like me, sometimes you feel exhausting to God. So needy—always coming to Him with problems or weaknesses or failures. There's a story in Matthew 15. Jesus is teaching and healing a great crowd of people. And they have many needs. After three days, Jesus realizes they have even another need—they're hungry. Instead of being frustrated and exhausted because of this situation, Jesus has comp...

The stories in children’s Bibles are almost always simplified. They are streamlined, so that children can understand the stories at their level. Often, the message in a Bible story will be summed up to one line, like “Jesus loves you,” or “You were created by God,” or “God will forgive you”. Sometimes, as adults, we get wrapped up in the complexities and finer details within Christianity. We begin...

In Psalm 103, the writer says that God will crown us with love and compassion. We don't wear crowns much these days. But in ancient days, a crown was only worn by royalty with wealth and position. God offers you an everlasting crown. He offers an eternal position as a loved person. You're valued and treasured. You're a child of the King of kings. He also offers us a crown of compassion. That means...

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, Hey, we don’t have enough. Jesus then took the five loaves of bread and two fish that they did have and 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-equipp...

There is a thrilling account in the Bible of an event in the life of the prophet Elisha. I love this story! An enemy king sent his army to capture Elisha. The warriors positioned themselves around the town during the night. And in the morning, when Elisha’s servant went outside, he was terrified to see this strong force ready to attack with horses and chariots. But Elisha told him, Don’t be afraid...

In Psalm 103, the writer says that God will redeem our lives from the pit. Have you ever been in a pit? It's a dark, deep place. You're trapped and dirty. God promises to redeem us from this type of life. The image is to be rescued—to be pulled out, and freed, and to be cleaned up. Jesus came to redeem us. The word redeem means to deliver—to purchase. And this is exactly what Jesus did on the cros...

Most of us have a built-in need to be safe and secure. We spend huge amounts of time perfecting the right diet, the right exercise routine, the right medical regimen, the right home environment. These tactics may give an illusion of protection from dangers, but they can’t guarantee safety. One scripture passage highlights two ways of attempting to feel safe. Proverbs 18:10 says, The name of the Lo...

I read this week that the center of human identity is the presence of core desires. Does this ring true for you? We are all filled with desire—the desire to be loved or belong, to have a safe fulfilling place in the world. Added on top of these basic desires are the desires that are unique to us according to our personality or where we come from. Desire is a powerful presence for every human being...

Recently, my team and I had a very fruitful time of outreach in a nation in Africa. We saw thousands of people give their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ. But that outcome was certainly not guaranteed For the past year or so we prepared for the events and were met with obstacle after obstacle. If we had been facing all that alone, in our own strength, we would have failed early on. But God was wi...