Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 116

God’s Greatest Miracles Happen in and Around Us All the Time

Recently I listened to John Piper answer the question, “Why Do We See So Few Miracles Today?” on his Ask Pastor John podcast.

His answer is great. It also got me thinking about something else I would add to what John says: that visible miracles are reminders of the reality of greater invisible miracles, which in fact are happening all the time as God regenerates hard human hearts. Hence, God is doing far more miracles than we realize. That’s what this blog is about.

The Costly Miracle of a New Heart

Our Lord transforming human hearts, through stunning acts done daily around the globe, is every bit as miraculous as Jesus transforming water into wine. In fact, these redemptive acts make the dividing of the Red Sea, the falling walls of Jericho, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead actually pale in comparison. Is that an overstatement? No, because the greatest physical miracles cost our all-powerful God nothing, but the miracles of salvation, sanctification, and glorification cost the very life of God’s Son.

God gives us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), makes us new in Christ (Ephesians 4:24), and changes our destiny from death to life, from Hell to Heaven (John 5:24). He takes drug-addicts, sex-addicts, pride-addicts, gossip-addicts, and every variety of sin-addict and works a transforming miracle in us.

As we yield our wills to Him daily, He provides yet another series of sanctifying miracles for us, so that cumulatively, if we have eyes to see, we’ll realize there have been thousands of intervening miracles of grace in just our own lives, and countless millions more in the lives of others. (For more on this, see The Wonderful Miracle of Conversion.)

When God drew me to faith in Christ, as a 15 year old, my life changed radically. One of the hundreds of verses I memorized was this one: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). And the only explanation of this was nothing less than miraculous. As the next verse says, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself…” (v. 18). Miracles are things which God does that cannot be explained by natural processes or human actions. Hence every true conversion—which is not the same as every outward profession—is by definition a miracle.

God’s Miraculous, Empowering Grace

Often when someone dies it’s said, “We prayed for a miracle, but for some reason God chose not to answer.” I understand this, and indeed it’s true that God sometimes doesn’t perform the miracle we asked for.

When that’s the case, I think we would do well to realize this: “While he didn’t perform the miracle we asked for, He performed many other miracles of grace and encouragement, inspiration and comfort, personal transformation and increased dependence on Jesus, worship and deepened relationships, faithfulness and perseverance, empowerment, and open doors of evangelism…and almost certainly many other miracles we don’t yet know of but one day will. And some—perhaps many—of those miracles happened because the miracle we prayed for didn’t.” (See “If I Have Enough Faith, Will God Heal Me?”)

I am witnessing miracles in Nanci’s life and mine even as we pray for the miracle of God directly intervening to cure her colon cancer. To clarify, this sort of cancer is tricky, multiple doctors tell us, as it “hides.” So even as we repeatedly ask God for a total-cure miracle, it’s hard to know what’s going on in the microscopic cells surrounding where the cancer was first detected, and partially removed, and in other parts of her body. (It’s not like a foot that needs to be amputated, but God heals it and it’s objectively obvious.) We know sometimes God chooses to heal, and sometimes He doesn’t. So knowing He could heal directly (and maybe has already), or He could heal indirectly through medical means, we move forward with treatments that will fight the cancer if God has not chosen to directly kill it.

However, to the point I’m focusing on, I can vouch first hand for the miracle of God’s empowering grace in our lives. As Nanci daily meditates on Scripture and reads Tozer’s Knowledge of the Holy and The Pursuit of God, and Packer’s Knowing God, and as we discuss what we’re learning and pray together, I see in her and in me a profound “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” that “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

Likewise we see transforming grace in our dear sister Karen Coleman who served with us for years at EPM, as she is in stage-four breast cancer and experiencing great fatigue but also the peace of Jesus. Karen has had to retire from EPM, but continues to inspire us. I just read her CaringBridge update where she lists a number of blessings and says, “We all have purpose and work to do for the Kingdom until He takes us home!”

My point is that we don’t lack miracles in our lives! What we lack is the vision, the eternal perspective that allows us to see and experience and marvel at these miracles. For while we may say redemptive transformation is an invisible miracle, that’s not entirely true since its effects are visible. Jesus said, “Every tree is known by its own fruit” (Luke 6:44).

Consider 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Isn’t this “invisible miracle,” which is really an ongoing daily series of miracles, ultimately visible? Doesn’t it result in a life once characterized by the sordid works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) becoming a new life that bears the fruit—and fruit is visible—of the indwelling Holy Spirit? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Can you think of a greater miracle, or ongoing series of thousands of miracles, in each redeemed life? So, thank God daily for His miracles of grace in your life and those you know, and a world full of people you don’t know but one day will live with in the presence of Jesus. And ask Him to open your eyes to His miracles, not limiting them to physical or medical miracles.

Forgiveness Is the Greatest Miracle

Every time Jesus forgives sin, He performs the greatest of miracles. In Mark 2:1-12 Jesus performed an amazing miracle, the healing of the paralytic. But there’s much to be learned from this passage, because the first thing Jesus did was to say to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (v. 5).

Then the teachers were offended because they thought, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (v. 7).

Jesus then asked them, “Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?” (v. 9).

The answer is obvious. It is easier to SAY sins are forgiven, because there’s no way to prove that has actually happened. But if you say “Get up” to someone who’s paralyzed, a miracle won’t have occurred unless he actually gets up! So everyone will either see the miracle or know that it hasn’t happened.

Then Jesus said, “But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So He said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home” (v. 10-11). Then the man got up and “walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” (v. 12).

Though the people were amazed at the physical healing, many may have missed the point that the greater miracle was Jesus forgiving the man’s sins! It was to authenticate the GREATER miracle of forgiveness that Jesus performed the LESSER miracle of physical healing.

Why do I call it a lesser miracle? For several reasons, but it takes me back to the fact that the omnipotent God can heal physical problems with no effort or cost. But He could not heal spiritual problems nor forgive sins without going to the cross to die for us, which was neither easy nor costless even for the omnipotent Creator. (How Jesus can say “Your sins are forgiven” to someone before the cross? This article provides a helpful answer.)

As for some other answers to the question of why God doesn’t seem to do as many physical miracles today, do listen to this excellent 10-minute answer from John Piper.

Photo by Mike Wilson on Unsplash

I Couldn’t Call God “Father”: An Iranian Woman’s Journey of Faith

Today’s guest blog is by Nadia (not her real name), one of many Iranian women who’ve been touched by the liberating and restoring love of Christ. Today she is a key leader serving with Elam Ministries to reach and disciple other Persian-speaking women through their women’s ministry programs.

EPM has had the privilege of supporting Elam Ministries. If you’re looking for an eternity-impacting ministry to invest in that is reaching Islamic people with the Gospel, we highly recommend them. —Randy Alcorn

My Painful, Broken Past

In Islam there are 99 names for Allah. Not one of them is “Father.” To Muslims, God is not a father. He is a judge.

I am from a family of six children. My father never showed us love. Whenever I heard of people speaking about the love and support of their fathers, I had no idea what they meant.

My father was an angry man. He abused us emotionally and physically, especially my mother. 

She was beaten several times to within an inch of her life. She put up with this in order to protect us children.

I also remember the day when my father tried to kill my brother, forcing my brother to run away barefooted into the street.

When I was old enough, l left Iran so that I could be free of my father and have a better life. I ended up in the UK.

I always had a negative view of men. I questioned why God had given men such power. I tried to be a strong woman. I was also depressed and tired of life.

One day, alone in my room, I spoke for the first time to the God of creation. I had given up on my religion, which had always made me second class and weak.

I prayed to the God who I did not know, yet whose presence I sensed in a real way. I wanted to die, but I didn’t want to commit suicide, as I thought that it would bring shame on my mother. So I asked God to kill me. But God didn’t kill me.

God gave me life. Let me tell you how.

Finding Joy in a Church

A week later, I met with an Iranian lady. When I started to share my heart with her, she told me that she had no belief in any religion—but her daughter had become a Christian and had changed. She asked me if I wanted to go to her daughter’s church. The work of God is amazing: He used a non-believer to witness to me.

I went to the church for the first time and it was very strange for me. The people had names like Mohammad and Zahra, which are Muslim names. I didn’t know that Muslims could become Christians.

The men there were different. I felt they did not have unclean eyes.

They were worshipping with joy, in my mother tongue, Persian. I had always wondered why I should have to speak to God in Arabic, a language I didn’t know. Why he didn’t accept my mother tongue?

At the end of the sermon that day, during the altar call, the preacher called everyone to trust Jesus and proclaimed that Jesus was a healer.

From that day onward, I had a new joy.

Learning to See God as Father

But there was a great challenge for me. I had to accept God as my Father. In my mind, this word was not a word of honor toward the God that I had come to know. To me, “mother” would have been a much better word.

But God wanted to reveal Himself to me. He did this with total patience and gentleness.

As I studied the Bible, I saw the grace and love of the Father. As I prayed I felt the attention of the Father. As I worshiped I felt the embrace of the Father.

He healed my past, my present, and my future, and has transformed me. He even enabled me to truly forgive my earthly father.

I used to hate the word “Father.” Today, I worship God the Father with great love and passion. I worship Jesus Christ as Lord, the One who has saved my soul. I love to walk in the Spirit who is always with me.

My Family Restored

I was the first in my family to become a Christian. I shared the Gospel with my mother. She said at her age of 60 she could not change.

But over time the love of Christ won her heart and today she worships Jesus.

I shared Jesus with my nephew. Today he worships Jesus. When my sister-in-law had a problem, I prayed for her and shared a Bible verse. Today she worships Jesus. My sister saw the change in my life. Today she worships Jesus. One of my brothers was an atheist. But today he worships Jesus.

I saw 11 people come to Christ. But my father did not.

He had left my mother for a woman who was my age. It caused a lot of pain for the family and for a long time nobody spoke with him.

But God put it on my heart to call and talk with him.

One day on a call, my father told me he had cancer. The young wife left him. My mother, who had grown in faith, bravely decided to go and care for him on his death bed.

Three days before he died, I called and spoke to him one last time. It was difficult, but the Lord put it in my heart to share the Gospel with him again. I told him about the thief next to Jesus on the cross. I told him, “Like the thief, you can still be forgiven.”

My mother was there, and held his hand while he smiled and asked Jesus to forgive him.

Helping Other Women Call on Their Father

In Islam people do not know God as father. But praise God, He has been working in Iran. And many, many people like me are finding their Heavenly Father.

Today I have the privilege of being part of Elam’s women’s ministry team. I have had the chance to teach many women just like me about their Father in heaven.

I never knew that my story would impact so many other lives. I have had the chance to tell many hundreds of Iranian women what the Father has done in my life. I speak of the Father’s faithfulness, the Father’s love, the Father’s attention, the Father’s generosity, and the Father’s authority.

Recently, after I shared my story at a conference for women from Iran, a lady name Haleh came to me. She was in tears. Her father was like mine.

It was not surprising that Haleh couldn’t see God as Father. But after much prayer and ministry, she was finally able to call on God as her Father. It was so moving to see. The following day Haleh sang a new song to God about His fatherhood, and like a little girl she danced before her daddy. 

Photo by Majid Sadr on Unsplash

Self-Control and the Battle for Our Minds

While Scripture does not say as much as we’d like about circumstance-control, it says a great deal more than we like about self-control. Scripture warns, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls” (Proverbs 25:28). Such a city, and such a person, will be left unhappy.

Without self-control on the inside, our lives are made vulnerable to innumerable assaults. That’s why God commands us, “Make every effort to supplement your . . . knowledge with self-control” (2 Peter 1:5-6). The Spirit-controlled believer is a self-controlled believer: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23).

Immediately after telling his readers they should cast their anxieties on God, Peter tells them “Be self-controlled and alert” (1 Peter 5:8). Throughout the New Testament we are called upon to exercise self-control. But we cannot exercise self-control unless and until we believe we can control ourselves.

The key to controlling yourself is controlling your mind. This is why Solomon said: “Above all else, guard your heart [inner being, mind], for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

Paul says to the Romans: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Romans 8:5).

What is your mindset? Do you dwell on selfish, envious, jealous, bitter thoughts? Or do you dwell on what pleases God? Do you focus on God, His Word, and His mighty works on our behalf, or do you focus on woes and misfortunes and abuses suffered at the hands of others? According to Scripture, the choice is yours.

Time and time again we are told to rid ourselves of wrong thinking and the wrong behavior it leads to, and replace it with right thinking and right behavior.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor…. (Ephesians 4:22–23)

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry…. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these…since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ….Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. …put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:5–14)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1–2)

These passages speak of putting on the new nature in Christ and putting off the old sinful nature. Would God tell us to control our minds and our actions if we are incapable of doing so? Is God so unrealistic or cruel that He would command us to do the impossible?

Peter says, “Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled...” (1 Peter 1:13). The phrase translated “prepare your mind for action” literally means “gird up the loins of your mind.” In the first century, both men and women wore long robes. Confronted with a stressful situation, they would fight or flee. But first they would bend over, grab the back hem of their robe and pull it up between their legs, tucking it in at the belt. They were now prepared to do battle or run without fear of tripping over their robes.

This is what we are to do with our minds—take charge of them, get them in battle condition so we won’t trip. Going into battle takes preparation, determination and perspective. We need to set our minds on Christ, and draw on His strength: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1–2).

Photo by Steven Spassov on Unsplash

Not Just Vermin or Garbage: Our Calling to Reach Street Children in Jesus’ Name

My friend Doug Nichols is the founder of ACTION International, one of my favorite ministries in the world. If you’re wondering about a worthy missions work to support, I highly recommend ACTION. (Doug currently serves as global missions advocate and mobilizer for Commission to Every Nation.)

One of ACTION’s primary outreaches is to children in crisis around the world, which is something close to the heart of God. Jesus, who told His disciples, “Let the little children come to me,” proved His love for children by becoming one, eventually dying for each and every child.

Jesus also said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. . . . Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matthew 25:40, 45). Every Christian must ask, “What am I doing to uphold the cause of needy children?” Mere sentiment is not enough. I encourage you to read what Doug has to say about the great needs worldwide, then ask God how you can help make a difference in these children’s lives. —Randy Alcorn

We Must Care for Our Future—Our Children

by Doug Nichols

If only 20 spotted owls were dying every day, there would be an outrage. But 25,000 children die daily from starvation and disease, and it’s hardly noticed. Many of these are abandoned street children.

One hundred million extremely underprivileged and street children struggle for existence in today’s cities. One hundred million! Are these children trash? Local businessmen in Brazil call them “Vermin, garbage. If we let them grow up, they will be criminals, a blight on our society.”

Some of these children are young and cute. They can still smile. But most are older, have rotten teeth, are scar-faced, disease-ridden, flea- and lice-infested, shifty-eyed, suspicious, and fearful. They are the poor, the outcast, the abandoned, the exploited—the children of the streets.                              

How do they exist on the streets? They survive by begging, stealing, selling their bodies, and eating out of garbage cans.

The government of the Philippines estimates there are up to 100,000 children living on the streets of Manila. Fifteen thousand of these are child prostitutes between the ages of 9 and 12. In Thailand there are 800,000 prostitutes from 12 to 16 years of age.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, another 800,000 children are living on the streets.

Estimates in Mexico City are over one million underprivileged children, with 240,000 living on the streets.

Children don’t ask for much.

A veteran children’s worker, with more than 30 years’ experience, asked Latin American street children what was the biggest wish of their entire lives:                           

Ramon drooled over a vivid description of a sumptuous dinner.
Ten-year-old Leila pleaded for the chance to go to school. She longed to read and write.
Ricardo looked up from his shoe-shine box to whisper wearily that what he always wanted in his 12 years was a father.
Maria’s aggressive retort was to be left alone from abuse and violence, and Nelson said that more than anything he wanted to play.

Their biggest wish? Not new cars, fancy houses, property, exotic vacations, the desire to be prosperous and famous. No, the biggest wishes of street children are for things many take for granted—home, good food, family, school, the chance to play and work, the freedom from fear and violence.

Really, they’re not asking much, are they?

As Christians, why is working with children, the smaller half of the world, so important?

First, God said of the Ten Commandments, “Impress them on your children” (Deut. 6:7); therefore, working with children is central to obedience to God.
Second, it is important because of the bulk of the world’s population is children.
Third, children play important roles in society, positively as well as negatively.

There are an estimated 40 million children on the streets of Latin America. The majority of them are becoming a plague to society; but by working with these children with compassionate care, and especially the Gospel, we can help society as a whole.

What can you do?

There is a need for hundreds of evangelical missionaries to work with needy street children worldwide. 200 could serve effectively just in Manila, Philippines, with street children and thousands more children in crisis!
You as an individual can have a large impact on one, two, or more street children throughout the world. For example, if you set aside just 25 cents per day to assist street children, this would total $30 in four months, which is all it costs to send a child to a 1-2 day camp in in Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, or Africa.
Why not call an evangelical Christian organization today and volunteer to help the children on the streets of the world?

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

The Truth Starts with God, Not Us

Left to myself, I don’t think straight. I believe the lies that are currently popular. God gives me His truth as a moral compass, a reference point to guide me.

It’s not my job to fix the compass so it points the direction I want it to. I must believe the truth as it is, thank God for it, and seek to communicate it graciously to others. I start by believing that He is telling the truth, no matter how controversial that truth may seem in a world that changes “truths” like troupe actors change clothes.

In this video, I share more thoughts about how the truth doesn’t start with us, but with Jesus, who said He is “the way, the truth, and the life."

For more on this subject, see Randy's blog as well as his devotional Truth: A Bigger View of God's Word.

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Heavenly Encouragement in the Race of Life

Life in this world—the way it is now and the way we are now—can be difficult, can’t it? It’s easy to become burdened, discouraged, depressed, or even traumatized when you suffer the loss of a loved one, when your health is failing, or when your dreams—your family, career, or lifelong ambitions—have crumbled. Perhaps you’ve become cynical or have lost hope. Some seasons of life can seem like a series of twists, turns, and dead ends.

God gives each of us a race to run. To finish well we must develop perseverance. The Christian life is not a hundred-meter dash but a marathon, requiring patience, endurance, and discipline. But how do we find the strength to finish our race well? 

Heaven Is Our Finish Line

When the apostle Paul faced hardship, beatings, and im­prisonment, he said, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV). What gave Paul the strength and perspective to “press on toward the goal”? A clear view of Heaven.

A study was done in which one group of Israeli soldiers was told it would go on a march, but was not told if or when the march would eventually end. Another group was told the length of the march.

Both groups were tested for their stress response. Although they marched not one foot further than those in the other group, those who didn't know if or when the march would end registered a much higher level of stress. Why? Because they felt helpless—hopeless—wondering if they would ever be allowed to rest.

We do not know exactly when, but as followers of Christ, we do know there is a finish line. We will not run forever. We will rest.

Think of it: Jesus, at unfathomable cost to Himself, purchased for us a happy ending. A happy “ending” that will never end. Anticipating our future on a resurrected Earth with Christ can empower us to persevere in a difficult marriage, remain faithful to the hard task of caring for an ailing parent or child, or stick with a demanding job. Samuel Rutherford wrote, “Our little time of suffering is not worthy of our first night’s welcome home to Heaven.”

If you believe this, you won’t cling desperately to this life. Your solid hope will give you strength to persevere when things get tough. You’ll lift your face, stretch out your arms, and continue running in anticipation of the greater life to come. (I must mention suicide here because the idea seduces some people. The fact that Heaven will be so wonderful shouldn’t tempt us to take shortcuts to get to the finish line. As long as God keeps you here on Earth, it’s exactly where He wants you.) 

Our Savior Is Waiting

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” creating the mental picture of the Greek competitions, which were watched intently by throngs of engrossed fans sitting high up in the ancient stadiums. The “great cloud of witnesses” refers to the saints who’ve gone before us, whose accomplishments on the playing field of life are now part of our rich history. The imagery may also suggest that those saints, the spiritual “athletes” of old, are now watching us and cheering us on from the great stadium of Heaven that looks down on the field of Earth.

The author of Hebrews goes on to admonish us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The following verse commands us: “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2–3, NIV).

John Piper writes of these verses, “But we do not look sideways to the saints as we run. Our main motivation comes from looking straight ahead at Jesus. He finished the same race of human life. Only he never sinned, and so his race was perfect. When he finished his race, he finished our salvation. So we run, ‘looking to Jesus, the founder and finisher of our faith.’”

Jesus Christ, the Rock of salvation, is the One who has promised to prepare a place for those who put their hope in Him, a place where they will live with Him forever. If we can learn to fix our eyes on Jesus, to picture our eternal home in our mind’s eye, it will comfort and energize us, giving us a clear look at the finish line. And if we’ve served Him here, His welcome will be glorious!

In his book Things Unseen, Mark Buchanan describes the Christian’s life race and Jesus’ role encouraging us on: “You’re heaven-bent. You eagerly await a Savior who, in turn, eagerly awaits you. There’s a huge company with you, cheering every move you and your Savior make closer to each other. He pours out grace for you to finish the race. He pours out more grace when you stumble, grow weary, fall down, lose heart. He stands at the head of the course and, while all the saints who have gone before line the roadway and cheer riotously, He stretches out His arms wide in exuberant welcome, exultant congregation.”

I imagine myself seeing Jesus, falling to my knees, having Him reach out and pull me up. To think of Him welcoming me not just once, but for all eternity, is sheer joy.

Shut your eyes and picture seeing Jesus and being embraced in His arms when you cross life’s finish line. What a wondrous thought!

The Promise of Eternal Reward

It’s not only the anticipation of seeing our Savior that should propel us forward; it’s also the joy of pleasing Him. Jesus has promised reward for those who’ve faithfully served Him: “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done” (Revelation 22:12).

Moses remained faithful to God because “he was looking ahead to his reward” (Hebrews 11:26, NIV). Likewise, Paul ran his race with his eyes on Heaven’s prize, which motivated him to run hard and long. He was unashamedly motivated by the prospect of eternal reward, and acknowledged it freely and frequently (1 Corinthians 9:24-25; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 5:9-10; 2 Timothy 4:7-8). “Run in such a way as to get the prize,” he said, and on the verge of death he spoke longingly of the crown the Judge would award him in Heaven. He encouraged believers with these words: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

Jesus tells us that one day His faithful servants will hear their Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23).

Think about those incredible words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Memorize them. They are the words we long to hear, the words we were made to hear.

What changes might you need to initiate today so that you may one day hear those words from God? If you don’t yet know Jesus, it’s not too late. Confess your sins and humbly accept the gift of His atoning sacrifice on your behalf. If you do know Him, make your daily decisions in light of your destiny. By God’s grace, use the time you have left on the present Earth to store up for yourself treasures on the New Earth, to be laid at Christ’s feet for His glory (Revelation 4:10). Run your race of life to honor Him.

And should you wonder if there’s anything you’ve done that God could possibly reward, be encouraged by 1 Corinthians 4:5 which talks of the judgment when “each will receive his praise from God” (NIV). He will find something to reward you for. Will you seek to do more rewardable works for Him?

When we hear Jesus say “Well done,” we'll know that any sacrifice we made, any difficulty along the way, was nothing. Meanwhile, we can rejoice in suffering in the same way that Olympic athletes rejoice in their workouts—not because we find it easy, but because we know it will one day result in great reward.

He Gives Renewed Strength

Many are familiar with the beautiful promise of Isaiah 40:31: “Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (NIV).

Joni Eareckson Tada writes about this verse:

The beginning of the Christian life was exhilarating: lots of smiles and handshakes and encouragement. Your emotions soared. And the end? Well, it’s going to be wonderful meeting Jesus face-to-face.

But now you’re in the middle. There are miles behind you and miles to go. You don’t hear any cheers or applause. Your commitment to simply keep putting one tired foot in front of the other begins to flag and fade. Ah, but the promise in Isaiah is just as true now as then. Friend, if you walk in the Spirit, your strength will be renewed. You’ll run and not be weary. Even in the long, gray, middle distance, you will walk and not be faint. So friend, don’t faint; don’t give up. The finish line is just over the horizon and, oh, what a rich reward awaits you. Every step brings you closer to home, so fix your eyes on the One who awaits you there. You’re halfway home. 

With God’s help, we can submit to the discipline of the life circumstances He’s entrusted to us. May we rejoice not merely when those circumstances please us, but even when they don’t, because we know God is sovereign, all-knowing, and all-wise, because He has delivered us from Hell and promised us Heaven, because He is working together all things, even the worst things, for our good (Romans 8:28).

So are you weary in life’s race? Ask your Savior for His empowerment to finish strong, and keep your eyes on the heavenly finish line. By His sustaining grace, you’ll make it.

Randy’s book Heaven can help you learn more about our heavenly finish line, which will inspire you to finish well in the race of life. Browse EPM’s selection of Heaven related books and products here.

This article also appeared in the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of our free Eternal Perspectives magazine.

Top photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

These Two “Look at the Book” Videos from John Piper Are a Great Investment of Your Time

If you haven’t yet checked out John Piper’s amazing LABS (Look at the Book), I encourage you to do so. Here are two that I watched in the past few days and think are terrific:

The Righteous Are Not the Perfect: Piper talks about the difference between the righteous and the wicked, in Psalm 1 and the rest of the psalms. This is really insightful.

Do Not Be Anxious About Anything: A friend had texted me that he is going through a very tough time. So I thought of Philippians 4:6-7, and hoped John Piper had done a LAB on that passage. Sure enough, I found he has. When I watched it to see if I thought it would help this brother, I realized that it helped me as I too am in a tough time. I shared it with my wife Nanci who is battling cancer—after 43 years of marriage, she is my sweetheart, and I am with her step by step in this journey. If you’re facing challenging times, I hope you watch this. I’m not sure you could find a better way to invest 10 minutes of your life.

May you walk with King Jesus daily, remembering He says to you, “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16).

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

Let Your Kids Experience Failure

I’ve written before about how failure can be an important part of God’s character-building process in our lives. Here, in his book Navigating Life With More Than Enough, Todd DeKruyter talks about how parents need to let their children experience failure and avoid constantly rescuing them from life’s dilemmas and difficulties. —Randy Alcorn

Hear how Michael Jordan speaks of failure: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

Watching your children fail is much harder than you might expect. Many of us high achievers solve problems for a living. We need to fight against stepping in, constantly fixing problems, or helicopter parenting. Townsend and Cloud, in their book Boundaries With Kids, have a beautiful exchange that grabs the picture here of letting the child learn through failure. They say parents need to stop “running interference.”

Imagine a child late on the project who has to have certain supplies tonight in order to do the project by tomorrow. Instead of running to the store to teach them the lesson that mom and dad will bail them out, what if you responded like this:

“Mom, I need some glue for my project.”

“Sorry, dear, I don’t have any.”

“But I have to have it. The project’s due tomorrow.”

“What teacher would call and give you an assignment at this hour without enough time to get the supplies?”

“Come on, Mom. She gave it to us at school.”

“When?”

“Two weeks ago.”

“Oh. So you have had two weeks to get glue and your other supplies?”

“Yes, but I thought we had them.”

“Oh, that’s sad. Seems like I remember this happening with the felt you needed for your last project. Well, I don’t have any and it’s past my bedtime. So I hope you can figure out something to make that does not require glue. Good night, honey. I’m pulling for you.”

Wow! Now that is teaching the kid to learn how to control himself. It lets him fail early enough in life where it’s not too crazy of a consequence, and it’s just good parenting.

Struggle is good. Let our kids want, work, and learn. Failure is a great teacher. There is much even in MBA courses and business schools lately about failure being a good teacher. There are loads more quotes from people who have accomplished much about how much failure taught them. What about the child who has cash to help them avoid failure? What will they learn? What lesson is learned when the parent swoops in like a helicopter and bails the young ones (or not so young ones) out of trouble? Money can buy me out of trouble? Is that the lesson you want them to hear?

We teach so much in those moments. Let’s teach well.

Photo by giselaatje on Pixabay

Our Book Ministry to Prisoners Is Growing

A few years ago Nanci and I met Earl Smith, former death row chaplain at San Quentin State Prison and author of Death Row Chaplain: Unbelievable True Stories from America's Most Notorious Prison. He has his own story of redemption and a deep heart for men imprisoned in their souls. I have seen Earl two other times since first meeting him. This is a man who has had spiritual conversations with notorious criminals, including Charles Manson. (Earl is also chaplain for the San Francisco 49ers and one of the most trusted people in that organization.)

At a conference with professional football players, Earl told me, and at the time I didn’t know this, that our ministry has sent San Quentin lots of books. He said, to my delight, that they have made an incredible difference in the lives of prisoners, many of them on death row. Hearing it from him and seeing the tears in his eyes moved my heart deeply.

Almost all the credit is due to our staff member Sharon, who faithfully responds to the hundreds of requests and letters EPM receives each month, and also Dwight and Dan and others, who have packaged and sent the books. Only in eternity will we learn of the full impact of these books and letters.

Below is a report from our ministry showing how this outreach is continuing to expand and grow. —Randy Alcorn

Each month Eternal Perspective Ministries sends hundreds of Randy’s books to prison facilities across the U.S. Recent numbers show this outreach is growing! Just this past March, we received inmate requests from 12 new facilities in one week (the most we’ve ever received). And during one week alone, we had 180 book requests (normally we get 50 to 70)! The most recent commonly requested book is the coloring book and devotional Picturing Heaven. Here are our numbers from 2017:

2,958 new prisoner contacts
624 institutions served
358 (average)  letters received monthly
40 to 50 requests weekly from a Dayton, Texas jail (other prisons 5 to 20)

And here are some recent letters we’ve received from prisoners:

“I just read your book Deadline. It was life altering. I have been a drug addict for 30 years and am 42 years old. A lot of my life I have spent guilt ridden because of my drug abuse. I have a 15-year-old daughter that I have been estranged from for 2 years now. It’s been a catch 22—I use drugs because I don’t have my daughter and I don’t have my daughter because I use drugs. It reminded me of Jake’s relationship with Carly. Your book gives me hope of a renewed relationship with my child. It also makes me look forward to a life after this life. I have a sense of peace now that I have never had before, and behind bars at that.”  —Tammy

“I would first like to say how much your donations mean to the inmates I’ve met here. They have inspired us to look deeper into the Word and into ourselves; greatly nourishing the Holy Spirit and our creativity in the form of art and poetry. …I know your efforts have already expanded the kingdom of Heaven, making His word more accessible and more desired by those here who were ignorant.”  —Elizabeth

“Randy Alcorn has been a spiritual mentor to me behind these walls along with many countless of men who have fought the good fight of faith and have followed in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, in which we can imitate their faith (Hebrews 13:7).”  —Rafael

“I would like to thank you for all that you do. I don’t believe I would have found God if it wasn’t for Eternal Perspective Ministries.” —Erica

It’s also encouraging to occasionally receive financial gifts from prisoners ranging from a few dollars to a $25.00 check we received several weeks ago for our “Books for Prisoners Fund.” (And more than once we’ve received postage stamps from prisoners to help offset mailing costs!) These prisoners have limited resources, so for them to give so that others can receive books is deeply touching.

If you’d like to partner with us to help provide books to prisoners, you can donate online (choose “Books for Prisoners Fund” under Special Funds). 100% of the donations to this fund will be used to finance the cost and shipping of the books and materials. Thank you for helping us make an eternal difference in the lives of prisoners, who are often a forgotten mission field.

“I was in prison and you visited me.” —Jesus, Matthew 25:36

Four Pieces of Advice for Graduates

With graduation season almost upon us, here are four pieces of advice for both high school and college graduates (and reminders for all of us, in any stage of life).

You can watch the video or read the edited transcript.

1. Ask God to speak to you through His Word. Something I encourage you to do every day is to go before the Lord and say, “God, open your Word to me, and open my heart to your Word. Let Your book always be very important to me—not simply as words on a page, but as a tool of your indwelling Holy Spirit.”

Evaluate your spiritual life and ask Him to speak to you through His Word, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to give you the ability to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

2. Seek to do everything to God’s glory. First Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” Isn’t that interesting? It doesn’t say, “Whether you spend time in the Word, evangelize, go out in foreign missions, pray, and attend church, do it all to the glory of God.” (Though those things are certainly important.) No—it says to glorify Him when you’re eating and drinking and in every other simple, basic thing.

Don’t draw a line in your life between the secular and the sacred. Your whole life should be one of devotion to Him, so that when you’re working in a mundane job, playing sports, listening to music—whatever you’re doing—you’ll be doing it for Christ’s glory.

3. Remind yourself of God’s promises and your responsibility before Him. Throughout the day, continually remind yourself that Christ is in You, He is with you, and He has promised you an eternity with Him. Remember that Christ has given you gifts and a sphere of influence, and He’s entrusted money and material things to you that He calls upon you to share with others. Ask Him to use you as His vessel wherever you go and in whatever you do.

4. Make it all about Jesus. He says that if you want to save your life, you’re going to lose it (Matthew 16:25). If everything you do is all about you and making your life the way you want it, you’re in danger of following the rich fool’s example (Luke 12:13-21). But Jesus says that if you lose your life for His sake, you’ll find it. That’s the fulfilling life of following Christ.

Other resources that may be helpful:

Knowing God’s Will
Find Your Happiness in Christ
Christ-Centered Stewardship in a Consumer-Driven Culture
Guidelines for Sexual Purity
Recommended Books, Blogs, Websites, and Software to Go Deeper into God’s Word and Draw Closer to Jesus

More recommended books:

Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will by Kevin DeYoung
Do Hard Things  by Alex and Brett Harris
How to Stay Christian in College  by J. Budziszewski
This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years by Jaquelle Crowe

Photo: paseidon on Pixabay