Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 105

Don’t Look Up at the Clouds to Get a Picture of the Eternal Heaven

Before I get to today’s blog, I want to first mention that the full Football Sunday videos I wrote about in a recent blog can now be downloaded by churches and individuals. (You’ll need to sign up or sign in to their site to download them for free.) This is substantial Christ-centered content with testimonies of eternity-minded athletes. I think you’ll be blown away by the spiritual emphasis as well as the production quality!

Now on today’s blog: the article below is excerpted from a 12-day devotional on Heaven I wrote, which is on YouVersion. I highly recommend the YouVersion app, which is on my phone and also available for computers and tablets. It has a selection of versions, including the ESV and CSB, as well as high quality free audio. There’s also lots of great free Bible reading and devotional plans.

Here’s Day 1 from my Heaven devotional:

A pastor once confessed to me, “Whenever I think about Heaven, it makes me depressed. I’d rather just cease to exist when I die.”

“Why?” I asked.

“To float around in the clouds with nothing to do but strum a harp . . . it’s all so terribly boring. Heaven doesn’t sound much better than Hell.”

Where did this Bible-believing, seminary-educated pastor get such a view of Heaven? Certainly not from Scripture, where Paul said that to depart and be with Christ was far better than staying on a sin-cursed Earth (Philippians 1:23). My friend was more honest than most, yet I’ve found that many Christians share the same misconceptions about Heaven.

In order to get a picture of Heaven—which will one day be centered on the New Earth—you don’t need to look up at the clouds; you simply need to look around you and imagine what all this would be like without sin and death and suffering.

So look out a window. Take a walk. Use your God-given skills to paint or draw or build a shed or write a book. Imagine our world—all of it—in its original condition: The happy dog with the wagging tail, not the snarling beast, beaten and starved. The flowers not wilted, the grass not dying, the blue sky without pollution. People smiling and joyful, not angry, depressed, and empty. If you’re not in a particularly beautiful place, close your eyes and envision the best place you’ve ever been—complete with trees, mountains, and waterfalls.

Think of friends or family members who loved Jesus and are with Him now. Picture them with you, walking together in this place. Now you see someone coming toward you. It’s Jesus, with a big smile on His face. 

At last, you’re with the person you were made for, in the place you were made for. Everywhere you go, there will be new people and places to enjoy, new things to discover. What’s that you smell? A feast. A party’s ahead, and you’re invited. There’s exploration and work to be done—you can’t wait to get started.

Heaven is a place worth thinking and talking and dreaming about. Once you understand what the Bible says about Heaven—especially when you learn to think of it in terms of the New Earth—you’ll look forward to living there!

Subscribe to “Fix Your Eyes On Eternity: A 12-Day Devotional On Heaven And The New Earth” on YouVersion to read the rest.

Browse more resources on the topic of Heaven, and see Randy’s related books, including Heaven.

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

The U.S. Sends Millions to Countries That Persecute Their Own Citizens—for Being Christian

My friend Kerby Anderson, host of the Point of View radio talk show, is a veteran spokesman for causes honoring to Christ. I was very touched by what he wrote below and asked if we could share it. Let’s take it to heart and take appropriate action too. —Randy Alcorn

We Pay Them for This?

by Kerby Anderson

It’s hard to wrap your mind around. Every year, we send millions of dollars to countries that persecute their own citizens—for being Christian.

Open Doors ministry produces their World Watch List once a year. In it, they rank the countries of the world based on their persecution of, and opposition to, Christianity. The stories they tell about what these people face is unimaginable.

Stories like Hannah Cho in North Korea. Her mother was a Christian and taught her a very simple prayer when she was a child. Hannah still prays that prayer every day. She and her husband had six children before they were arrested for their faith. They were sent to a labor camp where they endured unimaginable torture and starvation. Eventually, Hannah was released, but her husband died in that camp, suffering at the hands of his tormentors.

In North Korea, Christians are viewed as hostile elements in society that must be eliminated. It ranks #1 on Open Doors list of the worst persecutors of Christianity. Yet… we gave North Korea $3.5 million in 2017 (most recent numbers available).

In Afghanistan, Christians can have their property seized, can be beaten, and even face death at the hands of their own family members or others in their community.

Ranking #2 on the list, Afghanistan received $5.7 billion from the US in 2017. Most of that was military aid, but $1.3 billion was not.

Rounding out just the top five on the list are Somalia ($584 million), Sudan ($193 million), and Pakistan ($837 million). Just these five worst offenders received almost $2 billion in non-military aid in 2017.

Every year, we give away billions of dollars to build up the economies of countries where people suffer and die, simply for following Christ.

Contact President Trump today and ask him to use U.S. financial aid as leverage to stop the persecution of Christians…Take a moment to stand in the gap for Christians around the world who are suffering for their faith.

Browse more articles on the persecuted church, as well as see Randy's novel Safely Home.

Photo by kantsmith on Pixabay

New York State’s New Abortion Law Withholds Liberty and Justice from the Most Vulnerable

Last Tuesday, on the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the New York Senate passed the Reproductive Health Act, which allows abortions “after 24 weeks if a fetus is no longer viable, or if a woman’s life or health is at risk. Abortion also would be regulated in New York under public health law, instead of the existing penal law,” reports Syracuse.com. As Russell Moore explains, in effect, it “removes any protections as persons from unborn children at any stage of pregnancy.” This means a baby can be aborted any time before birth, for any reason.

Footage from the New York State chamber showed loud clapping and cheering when the bill was passed. Benjamin Watson, a friend and brother who stands for justice in every area with every person, not just some, wrote this in response:

It is a sad and evil day when the murder of our most innocent and vulnerable is celebrated with such overwhelming exuberance.

We SHOULD be supporting and encouraging the building of families which are fundamental to any society.

By not doing so, we invite consequences untold https://t.co/LOBRM0O2D5

— Benjamin Watson (@BenjaminSWatson) January 23, 2019

I stand with Ben and everyone else who decries the celebrating of literally cutting to pieces precious and innocent babies created in God’s image.  I read some of the pushback against Ben Watson’s words that people expressed on his Twitter account. I weep at the blindness of those who profess to believe in justice, yet withhold it from the most vulnerable children. God help us.

More than ever, we must show the men and women indoctrinated to believe abortion is the best choice, that while the alternatives are challeng­ing, only abortion kills an innocent person. It has by far the most negative consequences in a woman’s life, and in society as a whole.

The New York bill mentions abortion in cases where “a woman’s life or health is at risk.” Greg Gilbert writes, “In abortion discussions, ‘health [of the mother]’ always includes everything. Physical health, mental health, financial health, social health. It’s anything you want it to be.”

He’s right—and in fact, in an adjoining case to Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, health was defined to embrace almost any consideration. Abortions were legal “in the light of all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age—relevant to the well-being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health.” [1]

In my book ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments, I further address the question of “What About a Woman Whose Life Is Threatened by Pregnancy or Childbirth?” We never want to send the message that the women are less important than babies. But it is an extremely rare case when abortion is actually required to save the mother’s life. Abortion for the mother’s life and abortion for the mother’s “health” are usually not the same issue.

It’s never in anyone’s best interests to kill a child. It’s not just the child who suffers, it’s her mother. Precisely because the unborn is a child, the consequences of killing him are severe. It’s the identity of the first victim, the child, that brings harm to the second victim, the mother.

That’s still true in New York. And it’s certainly true everywhere else, too, including where you and I live. So may God help us to reach out in compassion and love to both the unborn and their moms. I encourage everyone to especially pray for prolife ministries and outreaches in New York, who more than ever need our support and encouragement in helping the vulnerable and speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Browse more prolife articles and resources, as well as see Randy's books Why ProLife? and ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments.

[1] Doe v. Bolton, U.S. Supreme Court, January 1973, No. 70-40, IV, 11.

Football Sunday: A Terrific Resource for Your Church and Family

We normally don’t blog on weekends, but time is an issue, and getting out this blog now might allow pastors and others the heads-up they need to take advantage of a great opportunity!

I mentioned Football Sunday in a blog a few weeks ago, but this is the week where everything comes together. It’s still not too late for your church to use some or all of the resources to make Super Bowl Sunday a day of outreach and spiritual growth. Even millions of people who aren’t football fans attend parties and gatherings every year on Super Bowl Sunday, which is the single biggest secular event of the year in the United States. Last year an estimated 103.4 million people watched the Eagles beat the Patriots.

Sports Spectrum, an affiliate of the excellent ministry Pro Athletes Outreach, puts together a high quality Christ-centered program for Super Bowl Sunday. It’s both edifying and evangelistic and can be effectively used in church services, or in any home watching the game. You can show the whole thing or just choose one segment. One great idea is to use it as a positive alternative to the halftime show! Both adults and kids will listen to and be inspired by the testimonies of players. 

In this video Benjamin Watson, tight end with the Saints, and a brother in Christ I deeply appreciate, talks about 2019 football Sunday. Please take just one literal minute to watch this now:

Watson, one of the NFL players I featured in my January 11 blog, will host the program. As previewed in the video above, NFL quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Case Keenum, linebacker Damario Davis, and players from the Rams and Patriots will be in the video. I know Ben, Kirk, Case, and Demario, and in conversations and emails and texts concerning God and His Word, have found each of them to be true followers of Jesus.  

The Football Sunday video is still in production because it’s only been six days since anyone knew who would be playing in the Super Bowl! The final video will be released on Wednesday, January 30. You can sign up to be notified when it’s posted.

I think it’s important to emphasize this is NOT fluff. We don’t need fluff in our churches. This is substantial Christ-centered content with testimonies of eternity-minded athletes. It’s not preachy, but it’s powerful. 

Over 20,000 people have professed a faith in Jesus as a result of showing the videos in churches. If you want to know for sure it’s worthwhile (and I commend you for that), watch last year’s 2018 Football Sunday event (27 minutes), hosted by beloved commentator James Brown. I think you’ll be blown away by the spiritual emphasis as well as the production quality.

Here’s some info from that Football Sunday website:

Football Sunday is a free event that can be used as a sermon or halftime show replacement. On Super Sunday 2019, players from the season’s championship teams as well as other pro-football players will share the love and truth of Jesus—in a way your attenders have never heard before.

Shown in nearly 5,000 churches and seen by more than 3,000,000 people, Football Sunday has become an outreach tool for churches to reach sports fans in their communities. 

You can show the whole video as part your service, or select favorite segments to use as part of your service and message that day. 

If you’re reading this before your Sunday services, consider giving your pastors a heads-up. Forward them this blog. Encourage them to check out footballsunday.com. It may not be too late to ask your pastor to show that one-minute video and encourage people to invite friends and family to church on February 3.

And don’t forget, even if your church doesn’t use the video, you can watch it, or parts of it, before the Super Bowl or at half time. It’s a great way to get the gospel out to friends and family.

Paul says, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).

Be Aware of Human Trafficking and Pray as You Travel This Year

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month. Sadly, no community—yes, even here in the United States—is immune to the evils of human trafficking. That’s why we all need to be aware of the signs and if we see something, report it. Send Relief put together the following helpful prayer guide to bring awareness to this issue. Also check out this podcast and this article, both with more specific information on knowing the signs of trafficking. —Randy Alcorn

As-You-Travel Prayer Guide

• 46,876 miles of interstate

• 100,000 daily flights

• 53,000 hotels and over 5,000,000 rooms

• 185 US ports

The pavement, airways, hotels and ports constitute the network for human exploitation and slavery. As you travel, here’s how you can pray:

• Pray for the trafficking victim: strength, freedom, safety, hope, help, healing, and restoration. Pray for their families and that they can be reunited.

• Pray for exits along the interstate which includes:

• Truck Stops: Girls (called “Lot Lizards”) are dropped off by traffickers to go from truck to truck asking the truckers to buy them. Pray for Truckers Against Trafficking, Transport for Christ and other organizations who work to educate truckers and truck stop employees about human trafficking. Pray that the Human Trafficking Hotline number will be placed at all Truck Stops.

• Rest Areas: Traffickers may stop with victims to use restroom and to clean up as they often move the victims from city to city. Movement lessens the chances of them getting caught. Pray that the Human Trafficking Hotline number and materials can be placed in Rest Areas and that security is trained and placed at all rest areas.

• Motels & Hotels: Victims are often advertised on social media sites, appointments are made, and a buyer (the “John”) meets them at motel or hotel room. Pray that motel and hotel employees will be trained and will sign ECPAT’s code of conduct against sex trafficking. Pray that missing and exploited children’s pictures and booklets will get into the hotels so that children can be identified and rescued. Pray that the Human Trafficking Hotline number can be placed at facilities and in the rooms.

• Restaurants and Businesses: Pray that business owners are made aware of human trafficking and do not participate in sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Pray that they will be open to looking for missing and exploited children.

• Ports: A barge can hold as much as 1,500 tons of cargo. Not all containers can be inspected. Pray that port workers become educated on human trafficking, look for suspicious containers, and the resources and technology become available to make it possible to inspect more containers.

• Borders: Some borders have rivers, fences, checkpoints, and workers going back and forth across each day. Pray for Border Patrol and others that protect our borders to make a conscious effort to look for human trafficking.

• Stateline Checkpoints: Many truckers drive their trucks through checkpoints every day. Pray for the workers at the checkpoints to keep an eye out for human traffickers. Pray for more laws and better technology to inspect cargo that is processed through the checkpoints.

• Airports: Pray that all airport employees will be trained to recognize trafficking and place information regarding trafficking within the airports. Pray for pilots and flight attendants to be trained.

• Bus Stations and Train Stations: Pray for training for all employees in both of these transportation industries. Bus stations are notorious for traffickers hanging out to pick up runaways.

• Pray that law enforcement will be trained on what to look for and pray for their safety.

• Pray that the traffickers will be caught and prosecuted.

• Pray that buyers will be caught and prosecuted. If there was no buying, there would be no selling.

• Knowing that God’s grace is for everyone, pray for the trafficker and the buyer to be convicted of their sins and that they come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This does not mean that they should go free and not pay for the consequences of their crimes.

• Pray for ministries as they seek to assist through providing shelter, food, clothing, transportation, and restoration.

• Pray for churches as they become knowledgeable about human trafficking, willing to educate others, and open to minister where God leads.

• Pray that human trafficking is stopped. Victims of Human Trafficking are subjected to force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labor. Victims are young children, teenagers, men, and women.

Human Trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. The Human Trafficking Hotline number is 1-888-3737-888.

You can also download the PDF of this information to share.

If you’d like to finally support organizations actively working to end human trafficking and minister to victims, check out these ones recommended by EPM: Compassion First, Door to Grace, Gotta Go Ministries, International Justice Mission, and Love146.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

An Introduction to god, with a Lowercase g

This is an excerpt from Greg Gilbert’s book What Is the Gospel? It’s also cited by Ray Ortlund in his book called The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ. I highly recommend both books.

Gilbert uses satire to portray the type of god that many people seem to believe in these days. He’s basically toothless and harmless, so diminished in His attributes that He is neither to be feared nor to be loved on any deep level.

He perhaps merits only our mild affection, not our fear, reverence, respect, submission or obedience. Whatever else we might say about this god, He is certainly not the true God revealed in the Bible. No wonder Satan loves for people to believe this caricature of the Almighty:

Let me introduce you to god. (Note the lowercase g.)

You might want to lower your voice a little before we go in. He might be sleeping now. He’s old, you know, and doesn’t much understand or like this “newfangled” modern world. His golden days—the ones he talks about when you really get him going—were a long time ago, before most of us were even born. That was back when people cared what he thought about things, and considered him pretty important to their lives.

Of course all that’s changed now, though, and god—poor fellow—just never adjusted very well. Life’s moved on and passed him by. Now, he spends most of his time just hanging in the garden out back. I go there sometimes to see him, and there we tarry, walking and talking softly and tenderly among the roses…

Anyway, a lot of people still like him, it seems—or at least he manages to keep his poll numbers pretty high. And you’d be surprised how many people even drop by to visit and ask for things every once in a while. But of course that’s alright with him. He’s here to help.

Thank goodness, all the crankiness you read about sometimes in his old books—you know, having the earth swallow people up, raining fire down on cities, that sort of thing—all that seems to have faded in his old age. Now he’s just a good-natured, low-maintenance friend who’s really easy to talk to—especially since he almost never talks back, and when he does, it’s usually to tell me through some slightly weird “sign” that what I want to do regardless is alright by him. That really is the best kind of friend, isn’t it?

You know the best thing about him, though? He doesn’t judge me. Ever, for anything. Oh sure, I know that deep down he wishes I’d be better—more loving, less selfish, and all that—but he’s realistic. He knows I’m human and nobody’s perfect. And I’m totally sure he’s fine with that. Besides, forgiving people is his job. It’s what he does. After all, he’s love, right? And I like to think of love as “never judging, only forgiving.” That’s the god I know. And I wouldn’t have him any other way…

Okay, we can go in now. And don’t worry, we don’t have to stay long. Really. He’s grateful for any time he can get.

Photo by Peter Mason on Unsplash

The Good We Never Ask For: What God Does for Us in Suffering

Christian slaves in America sometimes were forbidden to sing—even to God. So when they went to the river, they would hang wet blankets around themselves, then sing into pots filled with water to absorb the sound. “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10), they couldn’t hold inside their songs of praise.

Perhaps what you’re facing makes you wonder if God has turned His back on you. Your trial may last a day, a year, a decade, or more. But I doubt your circumstances are worse than that of those Christian slaves, stripped of liberty and dignity, with families routinely torn apart. Yet they couldn’t force themselves not to sing.

Throughout the centuries and around the world, many suffering believers affirm that God uses hard times to draw us to Him, to give us a profound happiness in Him, and to build greater Christlikeness and dependence. We pray “bring me closer to you, Lord,” and usually in answer, our loving and sovereign God keeps trials coming our way—even sometimes when we beg Him not to.

There’s no nearness to God without dependence on God. And nothing makes us more dependent on Him than when the bottom drops out.

Inevitable and Purposeful

We Christians will be delivered from eternal misery. But God never says we’ll avoid hardships now. In fact, He specifically promises them, in verses we seldom post on the refrigerator. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). I smile when I read this. It’s like God is saying, “Whatever gave you the idea you wouldn’t suffer?”

The apostle Paul told believers he was sending Timothy to them “to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this” (1 Thessalonians 3:2–3). If we don’t know this, we should! When we think of what God has destined us for, abundant life and resurrection come to mind, but trials rarely do. Yet God assures us that He Himself not the curse or Satan—has actually destined us to suffer. Afflictions are not just inevitable; they’re purposeful. Though they may appear random, they are the product of God’s intelligent and loving design.

In Trusting God, Jerry Bridges wrote, “That which should distinguish the suffering of believers from unbelievers is the confidence that our suffering is under the control of an all-powerful and all-loving God. Our suffering has meaning and purpose in God’s eternal plan.”

Good Comes Through Adversity

What can suffering do for me? It can show me the impossibility of finding true happiness outside of God. When what I once leaned on for happiness—my health, career, wealth, or popularity—crumbles into dust, the way is cleared for me to see that God is my only solid foundation.

We’re right to ask God for relief. Nevertheless, every time we ask Him to remove difficulty, we may be asking Him to forgo an opportunity to declare His greatness or deepen our relationship with Him. When did you last hear someone say, “I grew closest to God when my life was free from suffering”?

Ten months after his son was killed in a car accident, Greg Laurie told me, “What I wish is that I could have learned and grown and drawn close to the Lord just like I have, but that Christopher was still here.” Greg captured it perfectly—I too wish I could have all the good God brings through adversity without all that pain. But it doesn’t work that way, does it?

What None of Us Wanted

My beloved wife, Nanci, was diagnosed with colon cancer almost exactly one year ago. Throughout 2018 she underwent a long series of difficult treatments. We experienced countless appointments and changed diagnoses and timelines and side-effects. We saw long-term planning become guesswork.

As Nanci and I walked this path together over the last year, we resolved to worship our sovereign God, who bears the scars of His love for us. We’ve read His word and discussed great books about His attributes. We’ve senses His presence and seen Him increase our dependence on Him. We’ve been deeply touched as our family and friends rallied around us. It’s been my privilege to serve Nanci more than ever, especially after all the ways she has served me over the years.

God graciously brings all this good out of what? Out of what none of us wanted to happen. (We’re grateful that recent tests showed no sign of cancer, and are continuing to ask God to renew her strength and return her to full health.)

Our Father sometimes answers our prayers to relieve our suffering, and each time He does we thank Him wholeheartedly. But when He answers no, we must honor His desire to work in us more deeply.

If asked, “Do you want to be closer to Jesus, and more like him?” we all know what we should say. Yet, if God answered all our prayers for relief from suffering, He would be delivering us from the very thing we say we want. Christlikeness is something to long for, not be delivered from. It’s not easy to pray, “Please do whatever it takes to make me more like Jesus.” But when He does whatever it takes, we should trust Him.

Welcome What the Good Trials Bring

Since suffering builds character, no wonder the Bible tells us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2–3). How can we possibly welcome difficulties instead of resenting them? By trusting God when He tells us trials draw us closer to Him, mature us, expand our ministry, and prepare us for eternal joy.

God doesn’t command us to cheer because we’ve been betrayed, diagnosed with cancer, or lost a loved one. Rather, our joy comes in the expectation of adversity’s by-products, including the development of godly character, greater dependence on Jesus, and countless reasons hidden to us for now (but crystal clear in our Father’s mind).

Paul said, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance” (Romans 5:3). Paul and James both claim we should rejoice in suffering because of the fruit it ultimately yields. When we see with an eternal perspective, we can say, “This trial is difficult, but God is sovereign, loving, and kind. Through His grace and empowerment, I will become more like Jesus and closer to Him. And I will be eternally grateful for what God did through these hard times.”

Enter the Joy of Your Master

Someday, we’ll see with clear-eyed certainty that God’s word was right all along, that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us,” and that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:18, 28).

Someday, we’ll appreciate the value of each minute of every purpose-filled trial. But let’s not wait until we die to believe what God says about our present suffering. By faith, for His glory and our good, let’s front-load God’s promises into our hearts and minds today, and get a head start on entering into our Master’s happiness.

Browse more resources on the topic of suffering, and see Randy’s related books, including If God Is Good.

Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash

The Man Who Shared Jesus with Chuck Colson—and Changed Eternity for Him and Countless Others

Earlier this month, Tom Phillips, who led Chuck Colson to Jesus in 1973, went to be with his Lord and Savior. When asked in an interview if he had ever gotten over the night when Christ gripped his life, Chuck replied, “No, and I never want to get over it. When I think about who I was that night and who I had been, and then think about what Jesus has meant to me since and knowing that I can live my life without suffocating in my own sin—which I would have otherwise—I am so filled with gratitude that I am compelled to do what Jesus commands. That is why I keep doing what I am doing. I am so grateful for what He has done for me.”

Because of the heart God gave him for prisoners, Chuck founded Prison Fellowship in 1976. He ministered in more than 800 prisons, in 40 countries around the world, over the next 35 years. (EPM has had the privilege of supporting their ministry for many years.)

As I’ve shared before, I loved Chuck and thought the world of him. In every face-to-face and written contact I had with him, I was touched by his heartfelt sincerity and his love for our Savior. So I thank God for Tom Phillips having that role in the life of someone I deeply loved and admired—and who I really look forward to seeing again.

The following article by Emily Colson, Chuck’s daughter, shares about how Tom’s quiet faithfulness impacted her dad’s life, and how that in turn changed her life and the lives of countless others:

The Man Who Led My Dad to Christ: Tom Phillips (1924-2019)

By Emily Colson and David Carlson
January 10, 2019

Tom Phillips led my Dad, Chuck Colson, to the Lord in 1973. And yesterday, Tom went to be with Jesus.

Those of you who know about Tom Phillips probably know him from that incredible scene in my Dad’s first book, Born Again. It happened in the midst of the Watergate crisis. While on vacation in New England, my dad sought out Tom, his friend and associate. There was something different about Tom, a peace my dad desperately needed. They sat together on Tom’s screen porch, and Tom, in his humble, persistent way, asked Dad how he was doing. As my dad began to pour out his heart to Tom, Tom shared how he—a successful businessman who seemed to have everything—realized he had nothing without Jesus Christ. Tom shared with my dad his story of attending a Billy Graham crusade, and giving his life to Christ.

And then Tom read from C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity about the great sin of pride. My dad was cut to the heart. Tom offered to pray with my dad, but he declined.  Dad thanked Tom for the evening, and headed to his car parked in Tom’s driveway. Here is that passage from “Born Again”:

“Outside in the darkness, the iron grip I’d kept on my emotions began to relax. Tears welled up in my eyes as I groped in the darkness for the right key to start my car. Angrily I brushed them away and started the engine. ‘What kind of weakness is this?’ I said to nobody . . .

“As I drove out of Tom’s driveway, the tears were flowing uncontrollably . . . I pulled to the side off the road not more than a hundred yards from the entrance to Tom’s driveway . . .

“With my face cupped in my hands . . . I forgot about machismo, about pretenses, about fears of being weak. And as I did, I began to experience a wonderful feeling of being released . . .

“And then I prayed my first real prayer, ‘God, I don’t know how to find You, but I’m going to try! I’m not much the way I am now, but somehow I want to give myself to You.’ I didn’t know how to say more, so I repeated over and over the words: Take me.”

When I heard the news that Tom had died, I had to catch my breath. But almost immediately a smile came to my face as I thought about his reunion with Dad in the presence of our Savior. And about the hundreds of thousands of men and women who came to know Jesus because Tom shared his faith with my Dad.

This past summer I felt a sense of urgency to talk with Tom. I knew he was 94, and there was something I needed to say to him. I called and left a message, hoping he would be up for a visit. Several weeks went by with no response. And then sure enough, Tom called to tell me he would be thrilled to see me, and invited me to his home.

The night before my visit, I re-read the chapter in Born Again about my dad’s visit that fateful night. As I pulled up to Tom’s home, which is just around the corner from the very house where my Dad talked with him some 45 years ago, my emotions were raw. A nurse came out to greet me, and waved me into the kitchen door. “Tom has been so excited about your visit,” she said. “He wanted to be sure this lunch was special.”

Tom was just as gracious and gentle as I had remembered, welcoming me into his home. We sat around his kitchen table, enjoying food and conversation. And then I pulled out a manila envelope. “Tom, I brought you a gift,” I said as I fought back tears. “This is nothing, and this is everything.”  I could barely speak past the lump in my throat. “Tom, I want to thank you,” I began. “You were obedient to Christ and shared your faith with my dad. And because of that, thousands of lives were changed.  But, Tom, this is personal. My life was changed too.”

My tears were now uncontrollable. One of the caregivers brought me a box of tissues. “When my dad gave his life to Christ, it gave me my dad back…maybe for the first time.” I stumbled over my words, trying to convey how my relationship with my dad radically changed. “And then, Tom, I gave my life to Christ. And then…” I paused, and opened the manila envelope to hand him a photograph of my father baptizing my son Max. “…And then, my son gave his life to Christ.” Tom smiled at the photo. Across the top of the photograph I had written “Thank you Tom”, and along the bottom, my son, in his beautiful looping handwriting had written, “Love Max.”

Afterward Tom invited me into his mahogany paneled study. The walls were covered with books on business and history and Christianity. An entire shelf was devoted to books my dad had written. There beside that shelf was Tom’s copy of Mere Christianity. Tom pointed to his large-type Bible on his desk and smiled, “It’s still the best book I’ve ever read.”

I told Tom how my Dad used to say that Tom had never witnessed to anyone before he witnessed to my Dad. I asked him if that were so—had he shared the Gospel with others before? Being the quiet, humble man he was, Tom just shrugged and said, “a little.”

And then Tom told me something that amazed me. Tom had told no one about Dad’s visit that evening. It wasn’t until Born Again was published that people knew. But that was Tom. He didn’t want credit. The credit belonged to God alone. And he was more than content with that.

We said our goodbyes and I headed for the car. Something struck me as I drove off: the remarkable peace about Tom. Here he was, 94, obviously in frail health; his beloved wife, Gert had passed a year before, and yet he exuded peace. It was the same peace that drew my dad to Tom. It was the peace of Christ.

Before I headed back home, I drove around the corner to Tom’s old house and parked my car in the street. I just needed to be there. This was the very driveway where my dad, some 45 years ago, through tears, had surrendered to Christ.

Tom has entered into the presence of The Lord. And he has certainly heard,  “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Emily Colson is a member of the Board of Directors of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and author of the book  “Dancing with Max”

Copyright 2019 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

Like Tom and Chuck are experiencing now in Christ’s presence, one day we too will see how our acts of faithfulness and obedience changed the lives of others. Perhaps we’ll see how we helped people become interested in following Christ. (Fortunately, we still have time to make a difference in people’s lives, a difference that they—and we—will be grateful for later!)

Jackie Hill Perry Shares a Powerful Prolife Story

I’ve written before about my appreciation for Jackie Hill Perry’s book Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been. In this excerpt from the book, she shares a powerful prolife story. —Randy Alcorn

“I want an abortion,” my mother said. On the other end of the phone was her best friend. They’d known each other since they were four. When Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and when many women had babies they didn’t want or couldn’t afford to keep but with no money to stop them from coming, they let ’em grow anyhow. The thick white extension cord sticking out from the bottom of the phone kept getting caught between her wrist and her forearm. She moved the phone to the other ear to let it unravel. It was adding to the frustration she felt burning in her hands. “I don’t want the baby in this way.”

What she meant was, she didn’t want a baby with him. The coworker turned friend that became a lover. He was the “way” she never intended to bring another baby into the world by. Her first child, my brother, was already sixteen. She had him with a man she loved, and who loved her back. Her and my brother’s father actually went on dates, made plans to spend time together, and called each other names like “Baby” and “Sweetie.”

My father was a twenty-five-year-old man, with a beautiful face but who had no idea how to sit still and love anything that would make him consistent. Their relationship was too complicated to bring a child into, she thought, so why not remove it or should I say, me.

Her best friend listened. She could hear the irrationality in my mother’s argument. It being that abortion was to be considered instead of life. That removing me from the earth would make her own world better. Society had changed a whole lot since then but God was still the same. Abortion was still evil and had always been, even before the day “Thou shalt not kill” thundered out of God’s mouth. She wasn’t thinking clearly and her best friend had to help her see it for herself. She opened her mouth, and God spoke, “How do you know that God didn’t intend for you to have the baby in this way?”

Like a cold glass of water to the face, my mother’s eye widened, her heart beat truth into her chest, and the noise of death quieted down for a second. She had never considered providence and how involved it was with her womb. God, all-knowing, maker of man, creator of life, had orchestrated my conception. Though accomplished in sinful lusts, He had given me to her. He was forming me in her womb. Unbeknownst to her, He had chosen me before the foundation of the world to know Him. And no one—not my mother, my father, or even me—would get in His way.

Along with artists Sho Baraka and Propaganda, Jackie was part of a prolife video, “73–17: Life's Blueprint Unfolds in the Womb,” released last year by Desiring God and Humble Beast. And she also wrote an article addressed “To a Woman Considering Abortion.”  

For more on abortion and the sanctity of life, see Randy’s books Why ProLife? and ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments. 

How God Changes Our “Why Me?” Questions in Suffering to “Why Not Me?”

There was a time when I could not fully accept any explanation for evil and suffering that didn’t make sense to me, start to finish. However, over the years, and through the process of writing my book If God Is Good, I’ve come to trust my own understanding less, and God’s Word more.

I find a strange delight in being swallowed up by the immensity of God’s greatness and by the divine mysteries that once disturbed me. Know­ing that I’ll sit before God’s judgment seat—not He before mine—I choose to trust Him. And the more I do, the more sense the story makes to me.

And I am certain about this: the best answer to the problem of evil is a person—Jesus Christ. I’m convinced He is the only answer. The drama of evil and suffering in Christ’s sac­rifice addresses the very heart of the problem of evil and suffering. And one day it will prove to have been the final answer.

So whenever you feel tempted in your suffering to ask God, “Why are you doing this to me?” look at the Cross and ask, “Why did you do that for me?”

In this excerpt from his 2018 book God’s Grace in Your Suffering, David Powlison writes about how God changes our “Why me?” questions in suffering. (My thanks to Justin Taylor for sharing this on his excellent blog.)

So often the initial reaction to painful suffering is

Why me?

Why this?

Why now?

Why?

You’ve now heard God speaking with you. The real God says all these wonderful things, and does everything he says.

He comes for you, in the flesh, in Christ, into suffering, on your behalf.

He does not offer advice and perspective from afar; he steps into your significant suffering.

He will see you through, and work with you the whole way.

He will carry you even in extremis.

This reality changes the questions that rise up from your heart. That inward-turning Why me? quiets down, lifts its eyes, and begins to look around.

You turn outward and a new and wonderful question forms.

Why you?

Why you, Lord of life?

Why would you enter this world of evils?

Why would you go through loss, weakness, hardship, sorrow, and death?

Why would you do this for me, of all people?

But you did.

You did this for the joy set before you.

You did this for love.

You did this showing the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

As that deeper question sinks home, you become joyously sane. The universe is no longer supremely about you. Yet you are not irrelevant. God’s story makes you just the right size. Everything counts, but the scale changes to something that makes much more sense. You face hard things. But you have already received something better which can never be taken away. And that better something will continue to work out the whole journey long.

The question generates a heartfelt response.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget any of the good things he does, who pardons all your iniquities and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassions, who satisfies you with good things as your adornment, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Thank you, my Father.

You are able to give true voice to a Thank you amid all that is truly wrong, because all sins and all sufferings have now come under his lovingkindness.

Finally, you are prepared to pose—and to mean—an almost unimaginable question.

Why not me?

Why not this?

Why not now?

If in some way, your faith might serve as a three-watt night light in a very dark world, Why not me?

If your suffering shows forth the Savior of the world, Why not me?

If you have the privilege of filling up the sufferings of Christ?

If he sanctifies to you your deepest distress?

If you fear no evil?

If he bears you in his arms?

If your weakness demonstrates the power of God to save us from all that is wrong?

If your honest struggle shows other strugglers how to land on their feet?

If your life becomes a source of hope for others?

Why not me?

Of course, you don’t want to suffer, but you’ve become willing: “If it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Like him, your loud cries and tears will in fact be heard by the one who saves from death.

Like him, you will learn obedience through what you suffer.

Like him, you will sympathize with the weaknesses of others.

Like him, you will deal gently with the ignorant and wayward.

Like him, you will display faith to a faithless world, hope to a hopeless world, love to a loveless world, life to a dying world.

If all that God promises only comes true, then Why not me?

—David Powlison, God’s Grace in Your Suffering (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018), 115–17.

Postscript: In October, David was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Nanci and I were touched by David’s video this past fall sharing about his initial diagnosis (now determined after surgery to be stage four cancer), especially since we were journeying through her own cancer treatments. David says this experience has given him the opportunity to live the things he’s written about and says he believes. Here’s that first video, which includes much encouraging Scripture.

You can read and watch further updates on his health on the CCEF site.

Photo by Andrew Seaman on Unsplash