Here I Am, Lord Cultivating a Tender Heart for the Lost

Home , Dad (Angel), Luis Palau, Offspring (Angel)

by Luis Palau HERE I AM, LORD Cultivating a Tender Heart for the Lost

“Here I Am, Lord” Text and music © 1981, OCP. Published by OCP. 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, OR 97213. All rights reserved. Used by permission. In the summer of 2009, Luis Palau spoke to a small group of ministry friends in Sunriver, Oregon.

This booklet is a transcription of that message.

CULTIVATING A TENDER HEART FOR THE LOST

Here I Am, Lord

I want to read just a few verses from Matthew 18: 1-6. Keep an eye for what Jesus did here in this chapter:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

And in another passage a bit further down (Matthew 18: 10-14) Jesus is still speaking:

“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven

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always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety- nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”

That’s why I do what I do. That’s why I am an evan- gelist. I proclaim God’s Good News Gospel so that none of these little ones should be lost—none!

Why Am I Committed?

I heard a song in Scotland the other day. We were launching an evangelistic festival publicly in a local church with about 800 people. During the launch they sang this song. I pray that the Lord will use it in your heart like He used it in my heart. Let me read it: I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry. All who dwell in dark and sin My hand will save.

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I, who made the stars at night, I will make the darkness bright. Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of snow and rain, I have borne my people’s pain. I have wept for love of them. They turned away. I will break their hearts of stone, Give them hearts with love alone. Speak my word to them. Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart. I will hold your people in my heart.

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You know, this is a question that we need to ask ourselves even into old age. We cannot all sell our businesses and go. I don’t think we should. Who’s going to support the other guys? Who should go? Somebody has to work and make money. For some of you, that’s your calling. But we must ask ourselves, “What is my role? What is my calling? What does God want me to do?”

That’s why that phrase and the melody is very haunting. The refrain especially touched me while in Scotland. The whole congregation of Scots sing- ing: “Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night.”

I don’t know what hit me!

I had just been reading about Samuel, who was a little boy if you remember. In 1 Samuel 3, he was only 6 years old if I’ve got it right. And the Lord calls him in the night. He says, “Samuel, Samuel.”

Samuel thought it was the high priest calling him. So he runs up to the high priest and says, “You called me?” The high priest wakes up and says, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.”

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So the Lord calls Samuel again. “Samuel, Samuel,” the Lord says. And again, having never heard the voice of the Lord, he thinks it’s the priest. So he runs off to the priest and is told the same thing. The third time the priest finally gets it. It’s the Lord speaking to Samuel. So he says, “When the Lord says, ‘Samuel,’ you say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’” (1 Samuel 3: 1-10).

He was 6 years old! Just think—we usually tell a kid at that age that he had too much pizza or that he’s imagining things. But, no! God does speak to little boys!

The Voice of the Lord

I remember as a boy when my mom used to read us stories about missionaries. Even though we were in Argentina’s “mission field,” my mom would read us missionary stories about Africa and China. I remember China specifically. I used to think, “Someday when I grow up I’m going to go to China and tell those boys and girls about Jesus because they don’t know Him there. They are worshipping idols, burning incense, candles and such. They must know, or they will be lost—forever.”

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It wasn’t until I was 60 years old before I got into China (which seemed impossible at the time). I still remember landing in Shanghai. I began to cry on that United Airlines flight. I thought, “After sixty years of praying for China, finally I am here.”

Whatever the Lord places on your heart, do it in obedience by faith and go in the direction where God is leading you. I’ve been studying the life of Abraham. You know, Abraham wasn’t perfect, but his commitment to the will and Word of God was there. I pray that my life is the same. And how God used Abraham! Three thousand years later we still talk about him. We feel we know him.

Why Do I Go?

Why does the Palau team still have a passion for Europe? Africa is wide open and they respond like mad to the Gospel. Latin America, it’s the same thing. Can there really be half a million people in Argentina standing downtown at an evangelistic festival? Yes! We saw it with our own eyes last year. But Europe? Why do we go there? Why do we still have a passion? Because God said, “Go.”

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God didn’t say go to the nice places only or go to the easy places. He said to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel” (Mark 16:15). I thank God for those who taught me the Word as a young guy in Argentina. Growing up, I remember youth conferences all the time. I don’t know why, but it seemed like there was a period where the theme of every youth conference was “Go!” Just one word: “Go.”

In Spanish, it’s the same. Just two letters, “ir,” which means go. You’d walk into the hallway and see a big banner above the pulpit: “Go.” The message was very simple: “Go.” My mom and dad hammered it home, as well. They were always saying, “Go, go, go.” And they went themselves! We all ‘went”—and still do. My sisters and my brother and I are all in fulltime Christian work. We “go!”

My dad was a businessman and would build homes and subdivisions. He built them in an old- fashioned way, not like the classy, gated housing communities today. But he’d develop areas, buy land, build houses, and lay down roads. On the weekends he would go with another businessman, Mr. Rogers, who worked for an oil company. He was the guy who led my dad and mom to Christ.

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With me and my five sisters in tow, they would go out and preach the Gospel. We were brought up with the idea that weekends and holidays were for evangelism.

We would pass out literature and stand on street corners. My dad would tell his story. The British businessman would get up and preach the Gospel with a heavy English accent. A little crowd would gather and cuss them out and call them names. My dad and Mr. Rogers would carry on and people would be converted. In the nine years that my dad was a converted man, he and Mr. Rogers planted nine churches in nine cities—one every summer.

I found out years later that in all nine of those cities, my dad, being a builder, built a chapel, a baptistery, and an outhouse. That was the begin- ning of a congregation! Those churches are now developed and are still there today.

I was brought up with the understanding that you study if you’re a kid, you work if you’re a dad, but no matter how old you are your life is devoted to one big thing: spreading the Gospel, preaching the Good News, and saving souls … because

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people die mighty fast.

My dad died very suddenly when I was only 10. He was just 34 years old. My youngest sister was born five months after he died. Ever since I was a boy, unconsciously, I’ve had a motivation to preach. People die when you don’t expect them to die. I keep telling the team that I’m going to die at 92 years old and the team has come to believe it. But I have no idea, really. In Spanish, we have a saying, “Bad grass never dies.” So maybe I’ll live to be 102!

But the image of my dad, people insulting him, and us kids passing out Gospel leaflets and build- ing an audience for him—it’s in our blood. You can’t think of what else you want to do with your life when people are dying.

People Are Lost

That’s the second reason I carry on. People without Christ are lost, and lost people are dying. Since I was a little boy I was taught from the Bible that if you die without Christ, you’re lost. And that’s why you evangelize.

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Most people insult you left and right, sneer at you like you’re an idiot, call you names, and put you down. I don’t like it any more than you like it. But the reason we go is that they’re lost without Christ. Maybe only five of them get converted, but that’s five fewer people who are going to hell. And even though they think they are fun guys and so much smarter than you, it doesn’t matter. They’re lost.

Led by the Spirit

The third reason I do what I do is because I feel that the Holy Spirit fires you up if you really listen. Pay attention again to this part of the song:

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.

Whatever the Lord leads you to do … if He calls you in the night … if you hear His voice … if when you can’t sleep at night, instead of taking a sleep- ing pill, pray for goodness sakes! Say to the Lord: “Lord, if you want to keep me awake, speak to

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me! I want to hear Your voice. Nobody else is talking. The TV is off. People are asleep all over town. Speak to me, Lord. Speak to me. I want to know what I can do. Shall I carry on doing my business and making money and supporting all these outreaches? Shall I go once in a while—maybe for a summer or to one of the festivals? What shall I do, Lord? What shall my family do?”

Give Me Your Son – Your Only Son

Just think about Abraham’s situation. When God asked Abraham to offer his one and only son, Isaac—the one through whom the chain of com- mand was going to come for the Messiah, the Lord says to go up to Mount Moriah. Abraham goes up and he’s going to actually give his son to the Lord. When God saw that he was willing to sacrifice his one and only son (and this is a picture of God the Father sacrificing His one and only Son), the Lord says, “Abraham.”

Abraham is about to dedicate his son to the Lord, and he does not know that there is a substi- tute in the bushes behind him. But the Lord says,

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“Because you have done this thing and you have not denied me your son—your only son—I will bless you. And through your offspring, all nations of the earth will be blessed.”

Don’t you wish that for your family—that through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed? Now, obviously, Abraham himself didn’t hit every nation of the earth, nor did his offspring. Not even the Lord Jesus. He stuck around Jerusalem. But by the Spirit and through the Church, Christ has touched all nations on the earth. And Christ descended from Abraham!

We should all take this to heart. You younger guys with younger kids—you can still train and guide them in the Word and prepare them for their future. Whatever their career and whatever their calling, teach them that they also would say, “My great goal in life is to bless the nations.” Of course, the greatest blessing—the biggest blessing, the long-lasting blessing—is giving them Jesus Christ and the Good News of eternal life.

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Used to Reach Others

My dad would be in hell today if somebody hadn’t come to Argentina and settled in our town. This missionary was a businessman and an oil man. He first led my mom to the Lord, then my grandma, then my dad. He led tons of other people to Christ, too. If it wasn’t for this man, my dad would not have known Jesus Christ or the Bible. In those days the Bible wasn’t even allowed in Argentina. But thanks to a businessman, my dad is in heaven today.

I came to Christ thanks to teachers who came to Argentina. Yes, they taught in British boarding schools and that’s why my dad sent me there. But their real reason for being there was to win people to Christ.

Mine was an all-boys school. Mr. Charlie Cohen and another guy named Frank Chandler—these teachers were used of God. They led me to Christ … me and my closest buddy, George James. He was my roommate and my friend. He received Christ through those guys and then he took a hike for a few years. Then, when the team and I were in Egypt about ten years ago, an Egyptian woman

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came up to me and said, “I’m going to mention a name to you and we’ll see if you remember him.” Then she said, “George James.” I said, “My roommate in high school and college.” She said, “Yes. He’s in Australia and he asked me to tell you that he really is converted and that he really is walking with Jesus Christ. I’m his secretary.”

A few years later I was with the team in Fiji for a campaign. We had George come over just to see him again after all these years. But it was Charlie Cohen and Frank Chandler who sowed the seed and won youth to Christ. And years later, here we are – grown men serving Jesus Christ and being used to reach others.

Evangelism Is Not Easy

The fourth reason I do what I do is because it takes effort. Evangelism demands push and fight … and push … and push … and push. Evangelism, strangely, isn’t welcomed by most people. You would think that every believer would say, “Man, we love what you do. Here is a check. Go for it! Keep at it!” There are actually very few people like that.

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You’d be amazed at how hard you have to push to convince others that what we are doing is important. You may see the crowds and say, “Wow! That must have been easy.” Let me tell you, it was not easy! What you don’t hear are the stories of arguments and opposition and this and that. You’ve got to push and push and push.

If you want to publish something evangelistic for the Kingdom, you’d be amazed at how you have to push. I was thinking about one of my friends who was converted reading a little booklet that we put out called, “What Is a Real Christian?” Just to get that booklet out, it may seem like, “Oh yeah, just another booklet.” No, if you want to even publish an evangelistic booklet for Christ it takes effort!

We put a million “What Is a Real Christian?” booklets in Russia in 1980. And it was work! But the other day in Scotland, a Ukrainian man who was living in Scotland with his wife told me with a heavy accent, “I was in a hospital and thought I was dying. A nurse did what you aren’t supposed to do. She gave me a Christian book. It was written by you and it was a Bible study. I read it and was converted. Now I’m a deacon in my church here

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in Scotland. Here is my wife. She is pregnant with our first child!”

Stories like that—that is why I do it! But, you know, you have to push. You have to raise the money. You have to publish the book. You have to ship it to Russia. You have to distribute it. And then, years later—if you’re lucky—you get to hear about what happened.

If you want to unite the Church, believe me you have to push. You wish people would come flocking and say, “Oh, Louie, you’re a wonderful guy. Let’s all get together. Let’s evangelize the whole city!” But the arguments against it are so much harder.

When you talk about inviting people to a festival, you realize how seldom we launch out to invite people to hear the Gospel. Or, people will say, “It’s so expensive!” Yes, it’s also expensive to go see a rock concert or a football game where you pay $150 for tickets and food! But people still go to rock concerts. They still go to football games.

Yes, preaching the Gospel demands push and expense. But in the end, the fruit is fantastic and

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people come to Jesus Christ. It’s all worth it.

To pave the way for an upcoming outreach in Vietnam, we have a brother who is pushing on our behalf. It isn’t like it’s all happening by accident. He’s pushing and pushing and going and calling and doing all sorts of things. And in China it’s the same thing.

We’ve been praying for China for years! And yes, we have seen God do great things. And of course the Christians are doing a fantastic job over there. But I still feel that we, as outsiders, can dream big and talk about a big rally. If that happens, it will open doors. It will give credibility. It will make it easy for Christians to evangelize.

So, we pray for China. But you’ve got to push and push and push. You don’t know how many emails go off to China or how often our guys visit China. There is a businessman who sold his business in Connecticut. Now he spends his time just focused on China and Vietnam for us. He travels back and forth, meets with high-up officials, talks about opportunities, asks for permission, and builds relationships. It’s not easy. This is all the behind-the-scenes stuff that many people don’t

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realize. But it’s worth it all! Think of my dad!

And then there is France! God-willing, we are going to Marseille on the southern coast of France this coming May. But it takes effort. You have to push, push, push. So, we need your prayers. We need your encouragement. And we need your feeling of what the Lord would have you do. My maternal grandma was from France. We’ve preached in places like Paris and Nice. But what resistance! People resist … Satan mightily resists. But, God willing, we shall go to France!

Give Him Honor

Finally, why else am I committed to impacting Europe and the rest of the world? It’s to honor my Savior Jesus Christ.

You know, Jesus Christ is so dishonored around the world. I was reading today about the people insulting Him on the last week of His earthly life. They said, “You’ve got a demon. You’re demon possessed.” And Jesus said, “No, I’m not demon possessed. But, I honor my Father and you have dishonored me” (John 8:48-49).

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You know, that is one of the most touching state- ments to me in the whole Bible. “I’m not demon possessed. I honor my Father. But you have dishonored me.”

Remember the famous passage: “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).

But our blessed Lord also affirms, “Those who honor me I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30). And: “The honors of the world fade away; they are a crown that will not last” (1 Cor. 9:25). O Lord Jesus, I want to honor you!

Even if not a single soul is saved in this cow town or this big city, I don’t care. I do, but I could do without it. I want to lift up Jesus Christ, speak well of Jesus Christ, honor Him, speak about the cross, and speak about salvation. Even if nobody was converted—which is an extreme statement— but even if nobody was converted, it is still worth honoring Jesus Christ and speaking well of the Son of God.

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Looking Ahead

Ministry in Europe is not easy. It is the hardest place in the world. Not the most dangerous, but it is the hardest. I have some emails from different people who’ve written from Scotland—local people thanking the team as a whole that we went there even though they are a hard and unrespon- sive people. Few people there get excited about an evangelistic festival because of their traditions. But nevertheless, it is still worth going.

I have a story about three little boys who were brought to our recent festival by one lady whose whole church was not cooperating. But she some- how got the church to pay for a minibus from another town. She used it to transport a bunch of elderly people to the event and three little boys snuck on the bus. I’ve got their names. I’ll give them to you even though they mean nothing to you: Hector, Ian, and Cameron. Three Scottish boys about 8 to 10 years of age … and all three gave their lives to the Lord!

I bet you 30 years from now when my son Andrew and some of the guys—by then I should be gone—if they go back to Scotland, they will

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meet Hector, Ian, and Cameron and they will be men who are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

We were there 30 years ago in Scotland. And now, in the very little section of the Northern High- lands of Scotland that we went to evangelize, there are at least five or six clergy who were converted 30 years ago when they were teenage guys. Now these guys are serving the Lord in pastoral work. It is really glorious to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. You know that song: Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.

I hope that all of you, dear brothers and sisters, accept that sense of burden. No, that doesn’t mean you’re all going to become missionaries or go to Rwanda or anywhere else. But that you’ll do your part in the Kingdom of God and that you’ll not allow the secularity around us to overwhelm you. The Lord has blessed some of you with brilliant ways of succeeding and making good money. Use it well for the Kingdom of God.

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Don’t Give Up

I have a letter I want to read to you. It’s a good reminder. The person who wrote this letter was tremendously blessed at one of our festivals. I knew he and his family were blessed because he said so openly. He was deeply involved, openly and financially. For about two or three years he heavily supported us. Then recently I received this letter:

Dear Luis,

Thank you so much for the information about your upcoming campaign. It’s always a pleasure to learn about your innovative, life- changing evangelistic festivals that you’re bringing to communities around the world. I applaud your dedication and efforts.

As much as we’ve enjoyed supporting your campaigns in the past, I’d like to be able to make a contribution to this new campaign, but we must respectfully decline. Our foundation has committed its focus to medical research within our greater metropolitan area at this time. Our previous financial commitments and current budget do not allow us to add any

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additional funding obligations at this time.

We greatly value your work and we wish you, Pat, Kevin, and Andrew much continued success.

That breaks my heart. They control that foundation. God gave them all that money. The Lord will send us money from somewhere else. He always does. But it is our job to win the lost!

A buddy of mine died a few years ago. He had nearly 1 billion dollars in his foundation and he left nothing to the cause of spreading the Gospel.

Pat and I had a part in leading him to surrender to Jesus Christ. He gave quite significantly while he was alive. But a few years back I confronted him with that which I felt led to say. I told him: “You’ve got to change your board of trustees. They’re all secular people. They are brilliant businessmen from some of the biggest corporations in the area, but all of them are unconverted.”

His own son was on the board of trustees at the time. But even he didn’t share the same passion and vision. You know what happened?

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Before my buddy had even died, his son and the foundation wrote a note, along with a check for roughly $15,000, which said: “This is the last check coming from our foundation for you. Don’t bother writing to us again. Take us off your mailing list. We will never again support your work.” The note was signed by the son of this guy whom we led to Christ!

Instead of using what God had given him for the extension of God’s Kingdom, for little Rwandan boys and girls, for nations in Latin America, China, Vietnam, or wherever, my friend was giving it to his board, consisting of a bunch of unbelievers, to do with it as they pleased. So, I pray that you will not be that way. I pray that your heart will stay tender and that your song will be:

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.

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Eternity in Mind

In the end, brothers and sisters, the only thing that remains is what we do for eternity. And the Lord is speaking to you. Respond to Him! Let God use you so that when you come to the end of the race you can truly say:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Keep eternity’s values in view because lives change, and that’s what it is really all about. That is what Jesus Christ came to do.

Bow your head with me now before the Lord and let us pray:

Lord God our Father,

You came into our lives at different stages, some of us when we were just boys and girls. What a privilege it has been to know You from

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our earliest childhood, to be members of your holy Kingdom, to be in the family of God, to be delivered from many stupid and harmful behavioral patterns.

Thank You, Lord, for speaking to some of us when we were quite young, telling us to have a tender heart for the lost, to hold your people in our hearts. And Father, we want to never give up on that. Give us all a tender heart. Give us a love for the lost. We think of what a fabulous life You’ve really given to us, and what an amazing future waits for us, to be in your presence forever. As the old hymn says, “Face to face with Christ my Savior, face to face what will it be, when in wonder I behold Him, Jesus Christ who died for me.”

Oh Lord, while You give us life on earth, use us with great power. Take our lives, O God, and let them be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Use us, O God. Take what You’ve given us, what You’ve made us, how You’ve educated us, the exper- iences You’ve put us through, all the good things and the tough things in our lives, and Lord, use us in unexpected and unusual ways.

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O God, we recommit ourselves to You with all our hearts. Use us and bless us for the glory of your name.

And, O God, that each one of our families, even though some of us have sons and daughters who are far away and living an improper life with their backs toward You, O God, please give us the blessing that You gave Abraham: “because you have not denied me your Son, your only Son, through your offspring, all nations through the earth will be blessed.” O God, that You would do that through each of our families, through the money that You have given us, through the prayers that we pray, through the teamwork that we work, through the devotion of preaching Christ. God, bless the nations through us and our descendants.

We ask this in Christ’s name, Amen.

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“Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.” Matthew 18:14

For more information about the Luis Palau Association, contact us at:

Post Office Box 50 Portland, Oregon 97207 888.877.5847 www.palau.org