Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 138

C. S. Lewis’s View of Women, and How He’s Impacted My Thinking

The following questions and answers are from my contribution to Women and C. S. Lewis: What His Life and Literature Reveal for Today's Culture, edited by Carolyn Curtis and Mary Pomroy Key. I highly recommend this unique and well-reviewed book, which has excellent contributions by 26 others, including Alister McGrath and Kathy Keller.

Question: The readers of our book are interested in C.S. Lewis’s commentaries, literary treatments and known or apparent attitudes regarding women and girls. It’s intriguing to think about whether he would participate in today’s discussions about a variety of issues, ranging from women in church leadership…to abuses of women such as the rise of sex trafficking… to silencing the voices of women and thwarting the educations of schoolgirls in certain cultures. Many thinkers, authors and speakers in the 21st Century are vocal on such issues from various points of view. Do you think Lewis would join this chorus or stay silent, fearing such participation would enter the political realm (Lewis’s reason for turning down Churchill’s offer of a CBE [Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a rank in the royal honors system of the United Kingdom])? If he did participate, what do you think he might say or add to the discussion? We know this is a “supposal,” since he was of a different era, but do you see a hint of a trajectory in his thinking, writing and speaking, based on what you know of Lewis?

Answer: Lewis wrote admiringly of “the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade,” and just as he advocated equal rights for all races, I have no doubt he would fully advocate women’s rights, though his calling wasn’t one of a crusader. I cringe whenever I see Lewis called a misogynist. Certainly, to the degree that most of us are, he was a creature of his day and culture—indeed, he called himself a dinosaur—but in many respects, in the deeply respectful tone he speaks about women, he seems more ahead of his time than behind it. He was a true complementarian, one who saw women as God’s image-bearers with fully equal value to men, even if sometimes intended for different roles, something he celebrated.

As the father of two daughters, I love seeing Lewis’s tenderness toward girls. In his Letters to Children, he treats young girls with great respect and never talks down to them.

In 1949, Lewis sent his five-year-old god-daughter Lucy Barfield the completed manuscript of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with a letter saying, “I wrote this story for you,” which later became the dedication in the printed book. The way he portrays Lucy, as the most spiritually perceptive and good-hearted of the children, is itself a compliment to females—no male character in the Chronicles compares to Lucy in her love for Aslan, nor does Aslan love any character more than Lucy.

Many don’t know that the actual inspiration for Narnia’s Lucy was Jill Freud, a London girl who at age 11, during World War II, was evacuated to Lewis's house in Oxford to escape the bombings. Lewis wrote, “I never appreciated children till the war brought them to me." In his letters Lewis praised Jill as a “bright spot” in the home and "the most selfless person" he’d ever known.

Children often have a way of sensing an adult’s true nature, so I was interested to read a 2005 interview with then 78-year-old Jill Freud. When asked her first impressions of Lewis, she said, “Oh, I loved him.” She said Lewis was like an adoptive parent to her. “He influenced me hugely. …He did think I was bright.”

Two years later Lewis paid for her to go to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she began a successful career as an actress. Her assessment of Jack Lewis? “I thought he was wonderful.” Not the assessment that a girl or young woman would make of a misogynist!

Lewis developed a good friendship with Ruth Pitter, an accomplished poet. Lewis admired her poetry. His correspondence, including his critique of her work, demonstrates great respect for her intellect and artistic gifts. 

Lewis deeply respected and appreciated his friend Dorothy Sayers, one of the greatest British intellectuals of her time, as well as a popular playwright and writer of mysteries. At Sayers’s funeral in 1957, Lewis’s warm eulogy spoke of the extraordinary craftsmanship displayed in her radio plays on the life of Christ, “The Man Born to be King.” He said he had read it “every Holy Week since it first appeared, and never re-read it without being deeply moved.” Sayers was an outspoken woman and a forceful intellect, some of the same qualities Lewis would admire in his future wife Joy.

Lewis developed a close friendship with Joy Davidman Gresham before they married. He loved her deeply and after her death, writing A Grief Observed under a pseudonym, he called Joy “a splendid thing; a soul straight, bright, and tempered like a sword.” If some of Lewis’s earlier books seem occasionally condescending or stereotypical concerning women, his later writings show strong respect, and toward Joy, deep admiration. Lewis met few men who were his intellectual equal, but delighted to marry a woman who had two of his own qualities: a photographic memory and a love for debate. Joy’s son Doug Gresham confirms that theirs was a marriage of equals, with a mutual depth of respect.

It is impossible to separate how Jack Lewis viewed women, later in life, from how he viewed Joy, the woman with whom he shared his dreams, pleasures and sorrows. How brilliant was Joy? She entered college at age 14. By age twenty she had a master's degree with honors from Columbia. Her poetry was published in the most prestigious magazines.  At age 8, she read H.G. Wells’s Outline of History and declared that she was an atheist. (Many years later she credited the books of Lewis with bringing her to Christ.) Her brother recalled that she could read a page of Shakespeare once and memorize it instantly. Her IQ tests were literally off the charts. (Some of the claims about her intellect may seem overstated, but Doug Gresham, when I asked him, confirmed their truth.) Any man who was insecure around capable women would surely stay away from Joy, who was so brilliant and prone toward debate!  

Warren Lewis, Jack’s brother, wrote: “For Jack the attraction was at first undoubtedly intellectual. Joy was the only woman whom he had met ... who had a brain which matched his own in suppleness, in width of interest, and in analytical grasp, and above all in humour and a sense of fun.”

Paul Ford points out that the female characters in the four Chronicles of Narnia written prior to The Horse and His Boy are more old-fashioned, while afterward the women become more modern, intellectual and self-sufficient. It’s no coincidence that The Horse and His Boy, dedicated to Joy’s sons Douglas and David, was the first one written after Lewis had gotten to know Joy. In his last novel, Till We Have Faces, Lewis’s favorite, he writes from the point-of-view of Orual, a woman. Joy collaborated with him on this book, which he dedicated to her. I’ve admired the typewriter at Doug Gresham’s home used by his mother, on which she typed the final manuscript. Many believe that Orual, in many respects, reflects Joy’s persona. Theirs was a true partnership of equals.

Without his understanding of women that came through his relationship with Joy, The Four Loves might not have been written, and certainly would not be as rich and perceptive.

After Davidman's death from cancer in 1960, Lewis wrote in A Grief Observed: “She was my daughter and my mother, my pupil and my teacher, my subject and my sovereign; and always, holding all these in solution, my trusty comrade, friend, shipmate, fellow-soldier. ...If we had never fallen in love we should have none the less always been together.”

My wife Nanci and I were very touched, many years ago, to view Joy’s memorial epitaph in Headington, near Oxford, with the words written by her loving husband Jack Lewis. He could not have expressed such deep affection for one woman without embracing a high regard for womanhood:

Here the whole world (stars, water, air,
And field, and forest, as they were
Reflected in a single mind)
Like cast off clothes was left behind
In ashes, yet with hopes that she,
Re-born from holy poverty,
In lenten lands, hereafter may
Resume them on her Easter Day.

Question: As an author who has written widely on issues of interest to women (and men), such as Help for Women Under Stress, Why Prolife?, and ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments, in what ways has Lewis impacted your thinking?

Answer: My wife Nanci and I raised two daughters whom I respect deeply. When the first was born, the Christian doctor said to me in the delivery room, “Sorry, dad. It’s a girl.” I looked at him without appreciation and said, “I prayed we’d have a girl.” I’ve never had a moment’s regret that God gave me girls instead of boys.

Lewis’s writing and focus on Heaven powerfully reminds us to live our lives seeking to please Christ. His emphasis on eternity helps us to become the kind of Christians who actively reach out to others in Jesus’s name, addressing both their physical and spiritual needs. Many of the most materially needy and emotionally abused people in the world are women.

Nanci’s and my book Help for Women Under Stress was written to give hope, encouragement and practical assistance to women facing life’s challenges. We encourage women to embrace their worth but recognize their limits. Their energy is perishable, but can and should be daily replenished. Most importantly, we remind readers that God will wipe away all their tears in an eternal world of rest, refreshment, thriving relationships and unending adventure. This eternal perspective emerges in both Lewis’s fiction and nonfiction, and it’s something all of us need to consider.

My books ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments and Why ProLife? were born out of a deep concern both for the unborn and their mothers. A little more than half of aborted children are female, and in some cultures prenatal testing is done to identify females and kill them before they are born. This is anti-woman on the most basic level.

Because I’ve been outspoken in my support of women, it was a particularly hard blow years ago to be pigeonholed as “anti-women” because I publicly opposed abortion. In fact, my concern about abortion didn’t start with a burden for children, but a burden for women who struggled due to their past abortions. I believe abortion not only kills children, but deeply hurts women.

It was during this time of public criticism that I began daily to think about God as “the Audience of One.” Lewis helped me remember that eternal realities alone, not temporary ones (including other people’s opinions of us), are truly important. When Jack Lewis met his Savior, I believe he heard, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into your Master’s happiness.” When that day comes for all of us, we will know instantly that the One opinion that really mattered all along was His.

Outlive Your Life

It’s a law of life. Material things wear out, give out, burn out:

The computer that suddenly refuses to boot up…
The favorite sweater pulled out of storage in the fall which the moths found during the summer…
The light bulb that flashes to dark…

So what will last? What are things truly worth our limited time and concentrated focus, because they’re not going to be thrown onto the next pile of trash or tossed into the thrift store donation box?

The Bible tells us about some weighty things that will last.

God: “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).
His Word: “The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; Grass dries up, flowers droop, God’s Word goes on and on forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25 The Message).
People, created in God’s image—When Jesus uses sheep and goats to illustrate the final judgment, He concludes with these sobering words about the people of this earth:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’…And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:42-45)

Since God, His Word, and people are eternal, what will last is what’s used wisely for God, His Word, and His people.

David prayed,

Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life…Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but ­only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. (Psalm 39:4-7)

Because this life is so brief, we might conclude it’s inconsequential. Nothing could be further from the truth! The Bible tells us that this life lays the foundation upon which eternal life is built. Here’s a great 2-minute video reminding us that eternity will hold for us what we have invested there during our life on earth.

I love this video because not only does it capture life well, but it also reflects the central message of our ministry, Eternal Perspective Ministries. The common element in all EPM does is an emphasis on seeing life through the eyes of eternity, and thereby learning to live now to the glory of God. As there will be no second chance for the unbeliever to go back and live his life over again, this time accepting Christ, so there will be no second chance for the believer to go back and live his life over again, this time serving Christ. Now is our window of opportunity. Now is our chance to follow Christ, speak the truth and reach out to the needy in love. Now is our chance to invest our lives in eternity. (You can read more about our ministry and how we’re making eternal investments.)

Think of it this way: suppose I offer you one thousand dollars today to spend however you want. Not a bad deal. But suppose I give you a choice—you can either have that one thousand dollars today or you can have ten million dollars one year from now, then ten million more every year after that. Only a fool would take the thousand dollars today. Yet that’s what we do whenever we grab onto something that will last for only a moment, forgoing something far more valuable that we could enjoy later for much longer. This present life is but a brief window of opportunity to invest in what will last for eternity.

So do something eternal today:

Dig into God’s Word and let it seep into your soul.
Spend some quality time with people, going deep, speaking truth.
Look for an opportunity to give away your time and treasure to help others.
Share the Good News of Jesus with someone you meet today.

By living in light of God’s eternal perspective, you really can outlive your life.

Photo: Unsplash

Joni Eareckson Tada on Our Calling to Advocate for the Voiceless

Last weekend, my home church, Good Shepherd Community Church, had the privilege of hosting Joni Eareckson Tada and her wonderful husband Ken for a Sanctity of Human Life weekend.

Joni’s a faithful servant of God, who has lived what Eugene Peterson called “a long obedience in the same direction.” I can't think of anyone better qualified to speak on Sanctity of Human Life issues—Joni has been a faithful advocate for the disabled, the unborn, the elderly, and the voiceless.

As I share in my introduction before her message, Nanci and I have counted Joni and Ken as friends for years, and we had an unforgettable evening in their home years ago, talking about theology and doing lots of laughing and weeping together. They are the real deal. She and Ken have experienced much suffering in their 35 years of marriage, and as she told me when I interviewed her for my book If God Is Good, “Suffering is messy.”

Because of the insights Joni has into something we all have faced, or will face, I cannot encourage you enough to get a copy of her Beyond Suffering Bible. It's a wonderful resource for every reader, and not just for those who are disabled, because our present life under the curse is hard (though we’re guaranteed a glorious future with God and His people on the New Earth!).

Joni had specially asked for prayer on the Saturday evening she was speaking because of difficulty with her lungs, which are weak due to the quadriplegia (this year marks 50 years since the accident that left her paralyzed). A key part of the message from the Holy Spirit was in the vulnerability Joni displayed, and the tender, loving relationship between her and Ken, which you’ll see as he assists her a few times throughout the service. As I told Ken, among other things, the message became a powerful picture of a Christlike marriage. You won’t regret taking the time to watch what Joni shared with us that night:

After Joni spoke on Sunday morning, most of our Eternal Perspective Ministries staff gathered for lunch with her and Ken. Our ministry has enjoyed a special partnership with Joni and Friends (JAF) over the years, so it was a privilege to spend time together, including singing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” before our meal.

What a privilege for our EPM staff to have been touched by Joni’s life and books and to support the wonderful ministry of JAF.

Looking for a wonderful need-meeting cause to support? Check out JAF’s Wheels for the World, one of my favorite ministries.

Watch this 2-minute video and you’ll be eager to give to this great cause.

Pornography Is Never Harmless, Never Private, Never Safe

In a recent article, Marshall Segal addresses the problem of pornography. He lays out these bullet points that summarize pornography’s devastating consequences:

Pornography blinds us to God (Matthew 5:8). It blurs our eyes to his goodness, truth, and beauty.
Pornography trains us to treat women as objects, as less than human. It portrays them as possessions to be used and enjoyed, and then thrown away.
Pornography fuels sex slavery — real people held against their will and raped repeatedly — all over the world, even in the United States, even in your city or the major city near you.
Pornography belittles real beauty — like the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 31:30) — and replaces it with a cheap and fading imitation.
Pornography makes sex small and momentary, like a cigarette, instead of massive and lifelong, like it is in marriage.
Pornography robs us of some of the delight we might have had with our spouse. It keeps us from experiencing and enjoying them and their bodies without a fog of images from our past.
Pornography quickly bankrupts trust in a relationship. It encourages us to lie and hide from others, to walk in darkness and then build walls around ourselves in the darkness.
Pornography grossly stunts our maturity, the development of our mind and our gifts — our abilities to understand God and love others.
Pornography pursues an undergraduate degree in selfishness, training us over and over to focus on ourselves, prefer ourselves, and serve ourselves.
Pornography keeps us from all kinds of ministry, disqualifying many and demotivating even more.
Pornography is teaching many children an awful, evil distortion of love and sex even before their parents explain the truth to them.

I encourage you to read the rest of this helpful article. 

Photo: Unsplash

He Finds Joy Even in Us

H. D. M. Spence-Jones (1836–1917) was a Cambridge graduate who taught Hebrew and was the general editor of The Pulpit Commentary. I was struck by his observation on Jeremiah 32:41 (which I quote in my book Happiness), where God says, “I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.”

Spence-Jones wrote,

God has joy. He is not indifferent, nor is he morose; we are to think of him as the “blessed” God, i.e. as essentially happy. . . . The brightness and beauty of the world are reflections from the blessedness of God. Because he is glad, nature is glad, flowers bloom, birds sing, young creatures bound with delight. Nothing is more sad in perversions of religion than the representations of God as a gloomy tyrant. . . .

These fragrant meadows, broad rolling seas of moorland heather, rich green forest-cities of busy insect life, flashing ocean waves, and the pure blue sky above, and all that is sweet and lovely in creation, swell one symphony of gladness, because the mighty Spirit that haunts them is himself overflowing with joy. Our God is a Sun. And if divinity is sunny, so should religion be. The happy God will rejoice in the happiness of his children. . . . God is so joyous that he finds joy even in us.[i]

[i] H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., The Pulpit Commentary: Jeremiah, vol. 2.

Photo: Unsplash

What Should We Think About Holy Laughter?

When I was recently asked my opinion about holy laughter, I was surprised, since I thought of it as something that happened in the 90’s, as part of what was called “The Toronto Blessing,” and I wasn’t familiar with people practicing it today.  Since then I’ve discovered it is still a common part of some conferences and churches.

I have serious reservations about holy laughter. This is largely because when it was happening in Toronto under Rodney Howard-Browne (who I met once when I was speaking somewhere, and who seemed like a nice and humble guy), I saw its effects on some pastor friends of mine at a church back east. I was uncomfortable with those effects, which included what appeared to be a lack of discernment, so that whatever odd manifestations happened in a believer’s life were viewed as the work of the Holy Spirit.

But there’s much strangeness due to personality or mental or emotional disorders also, and to drunkenness and drug use, and clearly these are not the work of God's Spirit. If someone rooted in God’s Word and enjoying His presence is suddenly overcome with laughter, well, to me that’s great. Joy—genuine, Christ-centered happiness—is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). But with the Toronto revival and much of the ensuing “holy laughter” gatherings, the peer pressure toward self-induced and human-induced laughter seems great.

This has long been a problem, going back to the revivals of John Wesley where a form of what some thought of as “holy laughter” took over some meetings. Wesley’s response was that this was of the devil. However, while preaching, Wesley beheld many cases of people overcome with groaning and falling to the ground, etc., which he believed to be, some of it anyway, the work of God’s Spirit.

I don’t want to be dogmatic here, and can’t say such manifestations are always demonic, though that’s the position some take (see this video showing a gathering with “holy laughter,” with critical commentary onscreen by Phil Johnson).

While I’m neither charismatic nor anticharismatic, and am at home with a broad range of worship practices in many charismatic churches (many of our best worship songs have come out of charismatic churches), I admit that even without the commentary on the screen this video makes me very uncomfortable. It feels like a psychologically induced phenomenon rather than a true movement of the Holy Spirit. (Not that the Holy Spirit needs my permission to do what He wishes—He certainly doesn’t.)

I prayed for the gift of tongues for over a year as a young Christian, and never received it, though I was very sincere and passionate in seeking it. But then people started telling me I needed to repeat random syllables over and over to “prime the pump.” I believed the Holy Spirit wanted me to ask Him for the gift, but not to simulate having it. That felt like pretense. So when I’ve watched videos in which the preacher encourages people to start laughing, basically making themselves laugh, I am very leery of this.

I believe raising our hands in worship and other physical manifestations can honor God. (I often raise my hands in worship at church.) And I agree that church gatherings should be happier than they often are. So if laughter from on high fills someone’s heart, that’s wonderful, but I think it needs to come down vertically, rather than be induced horizontally.

Below is an excerpt from an article by Adrian Warnock on holy laughter, one in which he’s not condemning others, but encouraging readers to be careful. He says this about Jonathan Edwards, the great Puritan pastor and revival preacher:

Jonathan Edwards discussed how to judge if a movement is of God. According to Edwards, we should not be influenced by

Bizarre and unusual phenomena
The interest generated by the phenomena in the world
The ecstasy and reports of impressions or visions
The fact that imitation is to some degree responsible for producing the outward effects
The conduct and teaching of those affected.

It was his opinion that none of these things prove anything.

It was in his study of 1 John 4 that Edwards found the signs to indicate the genuineness of a work of God:

An increase in esteem for Jesus as the Son of God
A greater following of God’s ways
An increased hunger for and understanding of God’s Word (thus listening to the Apostles)
An increased love for God and man.
It is by the fruit of this movement that we will know its genuineness. (Matthew 7:15-20). The result of all of this ought to be a greater desire for holiness and to see souls saved.

Photo: Unsplash

Being Sensitive in Sharing Scripture with the Suffering

When I was in high school, I had a friend that I really looked up to. Greg was bright, talented, and most importantly he deeply loved the Lord Jesus. Unlike some of our other Christian friends, Greg was going somewhere for God. If anyone had a promising life of ministry ahead of him, surely it was Greg.

Early one Friday evening in the spring of my junior year, the phone rang. Greg had just had a freak accident. He was in a great deal of pain, and the doctors were not sure if he would pull through. I remember like it was yesterday staying up all night, sitting on the hospital floor, praying, numbly, staring at the “intensive care” sign that stood between me and Greg. I prayed for healing, and I had strong faith that God would answer. It never occurred to me that His answer might be “no.” It was. A few days later Greg entered the presence of Jesus.

Greg’s father was not a Christian, and he was understandably a broken man. Many of us who were Christians had opportunity to share with him. I’ll never forget when one of my brothers in Christ said to Greg’s dad, “You know, the Bible says all things work together for good.” His reaction was both understandable and predictable. He was angry and bitter, not only at Greg’s death, but at the sheer audacity of someone apparently labeling his son’s tragic death as “good!”

While I realized this feeble attempt at comfort was well intended, it hurt me as much as anyone. I thought it was an insensitive platitude that was totally inappropriate and untimely. Since then in my ministry I’ve seen a great deal more accidents and sickness than I care to think about. And more than once I’ve heard Romans 8:28 used in the wrong way at the wrong time.

Darrell Scott told me that after his daughter Rachel was murdered at Columbine, people often quoted Romans 8:28 to him. He wasn’t ready to hear it. How sad that such a powerful verse, cited carelessly or prematurely, becomes a source of pain when it should offer great comfort. Think of God’s truths like tools. Don’t use a hammer when you need a wrench. And don’t use either when you need to give someone a hug, a blanket, or a meal—or just weep with them.

In this video, I address the question, “Should We Use Romans 8:28 to Comfort Others?”

Photo: Pixabay

We Need Honest Discussions About Race in the Church

Racial unity is a topic that I’m glad to see more churches in our country addressing. Still, there’s much work to be done. I agree everyone needs Jesus and that makes all the difference. Yet many whites and blacks who do love Jesus with all their hearts feel alienated from each other when they hear one another other talk about race. So salvation, which is purely by God’s grace, is a beginning, but must be followed by sanctification which gets complicated because it requires work on our part, especially when it comes to difficult things like racial unity.

In a blog post, Isaac Adams shared an example of a white and black pastor at the same church having an open discussion about race in front of their church the July weekend after two back-to-back tragic killings by police, followed the next day by the murder of five police in Dallas. Though the 45-minute audio conversation Isaac shares in his article took place several months ago, I think it’s a timeless example of how black and white pastors can model honest conversation about race in front of their churches.

Not only is the content great, what I also love is the model of how churches can openly discuss these things. And if a particular church has no white pastor or black pastor, combining two churches for a weekend with the white pastor from one and the black pastor from another would be great. Who knows what it could lead to? (Of course there’s value in Hispanics, Asians, and other races being included, but the greatest historic divide in America is between whites and blacks.)

Related to this topic, I also highly recommend Benjamin Watson's thoughtful and well-written book Under Our Skin. 

In our churches, may we experience the joy of unity, a foretaste of the perfect unity in a place yet to come!

Photo: Pixabay

The Simple, Daily Cultivation of God-Consciousness

Brother Lawrence (1614–1691) wrote The Practice of the Presence of God about his constant, conscious rehearsal of God’s presence. He saw his relationship with God not as a mountaintop experience that fades in memory as years pass but as a moment-by-moment lifestyle. His service to God involved contentment with what he called little things:

Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . . . We can do little things for God. I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for the love of Him. When that is done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before Him, who has given me grace to work—afterwards, I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God.[i]

The simple, daily cultivation of God-consciousness has had a central role in the increasing happiness I’ve experienced over the years. I often have coffee with God, and sometimes I have a meal alone with Him. Occasionally when I’m praying, I pull out a chair for Him and think of Jesus occupying it (not only did He sit in chairs; He also built them!). I talk to Him. I’m not pretending Jesus is with me at lunch or when I pray; I simply believe His promise that He really is with me and I act in keeping with it. If you want to be happy, put meaning to the sometimes empty phrase “spending time with God.”

A king’s advisers hesitate to interrupt him, but his children are always welcome. God tells us, “Whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help” (Hebrews 4:16, CEV).

We can’t spend time with many of the world’s famous people, but I have a hunch we’d often be disappointed if we could. We can, however, spend time with God daily—hour by hour. To “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is not an impossible chore but an ongoing delight.

Imagine if we came to God as dogs come to their masters—with tail-wagging enthusiasm, overflowing joy, and complete vulnerability. What if we came bounding into His presence, conveying with everything in us, “I just want to be with you!”?

God wants us to recognize His constant presence and goodness, and thank Him not only when things go our way but “in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This is as close as Scripture gets to a formula for happiness. But it’s more than a prescription; it’s a happiness-permeated reality for those who live it out.

[i] Brother Lawrence, “Pursuing the Sense of the Presence of God,” The Practice of the Presence of God, ed. Harold J. Chadwick (Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos, 1999).

Photo: Unsplash

Our Recap of 2016, and Looking Ahead to 2017

2016 proved to be a very challenging year for our wonderful EPM staff, who had to work creatively when our office was closed a few months due to water damage and renovation. An extraordinary number of our staff, actually most of us, also suffered painful personal losses and serious health problems this past year. When we met together last week, we talked about how our praise and gratitude to God can be all the stronger because of the suffering we’ve walked through.

We pray loads will be lightened in the year to come, but wherever there is still pain and adversity, we know God’s grace will abound, and He will be accomplishing His eternal purposes through our staff individually, and through our ministry. I have sensed some of this is spiritual warfare, attacks from the evil one. We desperately need God’s grace and strength.

Jesus said “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Your prayers for Nanci and me and all of our EPM staff in 2017 would be deeply appreciated. We certainly can’t do this work without Him, and we can’t do it without you either.

Hope you enjoy the highlights from EPM’s past year. Thank you so much for serving as members of Christ’s body to partner with us in this eternity-shaping ministry! —Randy Alcorn

Some of Randy’s Most Read Blog Posts of 2016

Parents: It’s Time to Wake Up About Porn, Sexting and Your Children - “That pornography is ‘harmless’ is a lie from the pit of Hell.”

Should Christians Save for Retirement? – “I’m not saying we can’t use or shouldn’t have a retirement plan. I do. But as God’s children, we need to think differently about them.”

Matt Chandler’s Challenge to Men – “Brothers, let’s not waste our lives and fail our wives and children. Let’s rise to the occasion and man-up, to the glory of Jesus.”

7 Reflections Now That the Election Is Over – “Here are seven perspectives as we seek to think biblically and eternally about not only the upcoming four years, but for the rest of our lives.”

Where Is Heaven, and What Are Some Major Misconceptions About Heaven?  - “I’ve found that it’s a common misconception even among Christians that the present Heaven, where Christians go when we die, is the same place we will live forever.”

Videos of Randy Speaking in 2016

Heaven: What It Is and What It Isn’t - Randy spoke on Heaven at Cornerstone Bible Fellowship in Bermuda:

(Related books available from EPM: Heaven, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Heaven)

More videos:

Hardwired for Happiness - Randy spoke on happiness at his home church. This is part 1 of a 3 part series. (Related books available from EPM: Happiness, God’s Promise of Happiness)

Treasuring the Light - Randy spoke on the eternal impact of giving at an East West Ministries banquet. (Related books available from EPM: The Treasure Principle, Managing God’s Money)

Just a Few of the Many Ministry Projects We Supported Through Book Royalties in 2016

ACTION Cuba – pastor training

Life International – developing/supporting global prolife ministries

Global Aid Network – emergency medical pallets

John M. Perkins Foundation – summer/school programs for children

World Relief – Southern Africa food crisis

EPM gave $289,195 in book royalties to 58 organizations in 2016 ($7,662,440 lifetime-to-date royalties given).

Donations to EPM’s general fund are what fund our own operating costs and enable Randy and Nanci to continue giving away 100% of the royalties.

What’s Ahead for EPM in 2017?

Books and Resources: Randy’s devotional 60 Days of Happiness was released this month, and another devotional titled Truth: A Bigger View of God’s Word will be released in May. We also hope to translate many more of our online resources into other languages to grow the worldwide outreach of our website. (We would welcome any donations specifically for this project, which can be given to the “Translation Fund” on our donation page.)

Speaking: Of the nine speaking times scheduled for Randy in 2017, two will involve international trips. For a complete list, see his speaking engagements.

Photo: Unsplash