Hope with God... with Andrew and Wendy Palau

Do you know that there is an enemy of your soul? Maybe that thought makes you feel unsettled, almost scared. Well, you shouldn’t be. Yes, there is an enemy of your soul. He is called the devil and he wants to destroy your life. The Bible calls him a liar, also the accuser. But that is not the end of the story – of your story. Jesus says, “The thief (that’s the devil) comes to steal, kill, and dest...

An older man I know recently retired. He went from working daily, to being unsure of how to fill his time. As many people do, he faced a bit of a crisis. He realized that much of his identity had resulted from his career. Do you have a tendency to get your self-worth from something other than God? Maybe it’s your job, or your education, or your spouse. We think that those things will bring us secu...

On the night of Jesus’ birth, the descendants of King David packed the rooms of Bethlehem’s inns. Yet it was not to any of these VIPs that God sent His angel to announce the birth of the Savior. Instead, God revealed the news in spectacular fashion to a group of humble shepherds. The shepherds were urged to go and see the Messiah so many had been waiting for. They immediately ran to Bethlehem to f...

God created rest. Did you know that? God Himself rested. Genesis 2 doesn’t say that God needed rest, just that He did rest. He created the world and then He stopped.  Sometimes we rest. We stop working but our souls are not at rest. Sometimes we work so hard, but our souls and hearts are at rest. True rest comes when we give all of ourselves to Jesus. Not striving to make Him happy but resting in...

I love receiving Christmas cards that have a picture of a cozy house nestled in banks of pristine snow. It looks so inviting and welcoming, with every window glowing. Christmas is so much about hospitality – inviting other people into our home. Maybe it’s partly because we remember that Mary and Joseph welcomed the visiting shepherds even though they were in a stranger’s barn themselves. Is your h...

Over and over again in the Bible Jesus tells people who He has healed or helped to return home and tell how much God has done. Here is the question: Has God helped you? Can you think of a prayer He’s answered recently? Has He comforted you in some way? Forgiven you? Has He whispered truth to you that comforts you in your darkest night? Tell someone! The greatest lie the enemy whispers to us all is...

The story of Christ’s birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love. So what happened?  What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a Savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists. Is this what we really want out of Christmas? What if Christmas became the world-changing event again that it was meant to be? Do you think the lives of the shepher...

Life, as we experience it, is full of broken promises and unfulfilled expectations. Products that are advertised as life-changing turn out to be nothing of the sort. People make promises to us which they don’t keep. We feel let down by someone we trusted.  You might even think that God has let you down. Do you believe He is not interested in you and what is happening in your life? Nothing could be...

Have you ever said to God, “Where are You? If You had been here this would not have happened?” I have. And there are two sisters in the Bible who asked Jesus this same question. Their brother had died. When Jesus got to them both sisters said to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, this would not have happened.” Jesus’s response is astounding to me. Instead of giving an explanation, He tells them who...

I know people who are angry with God because they prayed for something and didn’t receive it. But we have to remember that God is not a magic genie. He is a loving Father. Just as loving parents often have to say no to their children, so God sometimes says no to us. Children don’t yet have the wisdom to always make good choices. And we don’t always know what is best for our lives either. But God d...

Listen to these words of Jesus in Luke 6: “Give away your life; you’ll find life given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way.” This is called “God’s economy.” The beautiful paradox that’s the kingdom of God. The very thing we want, we must give away - submitting our lives to the lordship and the authority of Jesus. As we walk with God through Jesus, we receive all we have e...

In the interest of always being prepared for any contingency, I sometimes think about what I should try to save if ever our house catches on fire. What is most valuable? What matters the most to us?  Analyzing my life in the same way is a good spiritual exercise. What is most important to me? Surely, Jesus should be at the top of that list. The Apostle Paul said, “To me, to live is Christ…” If we...

Sometimes I think Christians forget how urgent the Gospel message really is. We think, “Once I’m comfortable with this person, then I’ll share the Good News.” Or, “I’ll talk about Jesus only if they mention Him first.” I think many people have this idea that we’ll always have more time to share about Jesus. But let me tell you, this couldn’t be further from the truth.  The Gospel message is an urg...

Do you think of God as an angry God? Maybe you feel as if He is constantly standing above you looking down with a sense of disapproval. Yes, God hates sin. Sin destroys us from the inside out and because of how much He loves us, He hates when something hurts us. Listen to these words in the Old Testament book of Micah: “Who is God like you who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remn...

I heard about a Christian man who went into a coffee shop. He sat down at a table and put out a sign that said, “Free coffee if you listen to my story.” No one came up to listen to his tale. The next day, he sat down at the same table and again put out a sign. This time it said, “Free coffee if you tell me your story.” Before he knew it, people were lining up to tell him their stories. Some even b...

I’m born in Kingston, Jamaica and we love mango season. So every once in a while we’ll have a guest that comes to Jamaica and we’ll offer them a mango. Invariably someone will say, “Oh, I don’t like mangos,” and we’ll say, “What? You don’t like mangos?”  Conversation will stop. Obviously, you’ve never had a real mango. We’ll get a really beautifully ripe Bombay mango and put it before them and say...

One of the most effective missionaries of the twentieth century was Gladys Aylward. Born in London in 1902, she did poorly in school and took a job as a maid when she was 14. But in her twenties, Gladys received Jesus as her Savior, and everything changed. Convinced that God was calling her to serve Him in China, she overcame huge obstacles to make her way overland to that distant country. After l...

I’ve been told the secret to effective communication is repetition and review. Tell people what you are going to say, then say it. Then tell them what you said. The writer of Psalm 136 was obviously following that principle. Four times he exhorts us to “give thanks.” And 26 times he reminds us that God’s “faithful love endures forever.” If circumstances in your life are difficult right now, it can...

If you know Jesus Christ, you have a relationship with the One who is more powerful and more loving than anyone else. Aren’t you glad He’s your friend? Maybe you’re thinking that if that is so, your life should be easier – more blessed. Well, Jesus knows how to bless us better than we do. In His wisdom, He gives us challenges and limits that help us learn and grow safely. He knows that if we had a...

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn…” Why would He say such a thing? Mourning is that deep, dark place of anguish. So why would Jesus say, “Blessed are those who mourn”? The word blessed means happy and fortunate. Mourning is a place where we desperately need God.  The rest of the verse says, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” By Him! And there is the blessing: Him. Jes...

Those of us who know Jesus and follow Him closely, have experienced His blessing. I’d like to remind you today of a huge reason to feel blessed.  When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection He told them, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) That is directly speaking about you and me today. You have no...

When times are uncertain, many of us turn to trusted friends. But the ultimate friend – the One who can never let us down – and the One who is always dependable is Jesus Himself.  The Bible says we were created to be in relationship with Him! And Jesus sees us as a friend, too. The Bible says in John 15:15, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing;...

There is one thing we know about heaven that makes me excited. Every longing we’ve ever had will be met. As a girl I remember my parents playing a song about a man who goes to heaven and sees Jesus. He describes it like this: “Being with Him was to have everything I ever wanted, be everything I ever imagined, and arrive at everywhere I’d only dreamed of going.” These words resonated so deeply with...

Have you ever experienced a difficult time in life that causes you to question your faith? Something bad happens, followed by something else. And wham! We find ourselves in despair and doubt. This can be brought on by a terminal illness, the loss of a loved one, or some other tragedy.  The author of the book of James, in the Bible, knew a lot about trials. In the Bible, He says, “Consider it a gre...

Listen to this beautiful verse of hope. “As for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” The interesting thing about this verse written by Micah in chapter 7 – it was written in a time of great destruction and suffering for the people of Israel. Micah describes it as a time of confusion. Isn’t that exactly how we feel when trouble enters our life, when suff...