Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 156

Why We Don't Need to Choose Between Happiness and Holiness

As a young pastor, I preached, as others still do, “God calls us to holiness, not happiness.” There’s a half-truth in this. I saw Christians pursue what they thought would make them happy, falling headlong into sexual immorality, alcoholism, materialism, and obsession with success.

I was attempting to oppose our human tendency to put preferences and convenience before obedience to Christ. It all sounded so spiritual, and I could quote countless authors and preachers who agreed with me.

I’m now convinced we were all dead wrong.

There were several flaws in my thinking, including inconsistency with my own experience. I’d found profound happiness in Christ; wasn’t that from God? Furthermore, calling people to reject happiness in favor of holiness was ineffective. It might work for a while but not in the long run.

Tony Reinke gets it right: “Sin is joy poisoned. Holiness is joy postponed and pursued.”

Some Christians see happiness as the opposite of holiness. But Scripture says otherwise.

Consider Leviticus 9:24: “Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering . . . on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown” (NIV). The radically holy God sent down fire, and they did what? They fell facedown . . . and “shouted for joy”! This remarkable response flows from the utter holiness of submission combined with the utter happiness of praise.

Second Chronicles 6:41 says, “May your holy people be happy because of your goodness” (NCV). To be holy is to see God as he is and to become like him, covered in Christ’s righteousness. And since God’s nature is to be happy (as we saw in part 2), the more like him we become in our sanctification, the happier we become.

Any understanding of God that’s incompatible with the lofty and infinitely holy view of God in Ezekiel 1:26-28 and Isaiah 6:1-4, along with the powerful view of the glorified Christ in Revelation 1, is utterly false. God is decidedly and unapologetically anti-sin, but in no sense anti-happiness. Indeed, holiness is what secures our happiness.

What makes us better makes us happier.

In Western nations, popular opinion holds that high moral standards are foolish, demeaning, and narrow-minded human constructs—impossible to maintain and contrary to happiness. This lie has been remarkably effective. We seem to have to choose between sinning to be happy and abstaining from happiness through righteous self-deprivation.

If we believe the lie that saying no to sin means saying no to happiness, then no amount of self-restraint will keep us from ultimately seeking happiness in sin. John Piper writes, “Enjoy a superior satisfaction. Cultivate capacities for pleasure in Christ. . . . You were created to treasure Christ with all your heart—more than you treasure sex or sugar or sports or shopping. If you have little taste for Jesus, competing pleasures will triumph.”

Holiness doesn’t mean abstaining from pleasure; holiness means recognizing Jesus as the source of life’s greatest pleasure.

Spurgeon said, “Holiness is the royal road to happiness. The death of sin is the life of joy.”

A gospel that promotes holiness over happiness isn’t good news.

Too often our message to the world becomes a false gospel that lays upon people an impossible burden: to be a Christian, you must give up wanting to be happy and instead choose to be holy. “Give up happiness; choose holiness instead” is not good news in any sense, and therefore it is not the true gospel! It bears more resemblance to the legalistic worldview of the Pharisees Jesus condemned (see Matthew 23:2-4).

Theologian and seminary professor Bruce Ware told me, “Of the eighty kids who grew up in our Bible-believing church, my sister and I can count on one hand those now walking with Jesus.”

If given a choice, people who grow up in evangelical churches will predictably choose what appears to be the delightful happiness of the world over the dutiful holiness of church. Satan tries to rig the game by leading us to believe we can’t have both happiness and holiness. Offer people a choice between being hungry and thirsty or having food and drink, and their choice is obvious. Never mind that the meal may be laced with cyanide or the drink injected with arsenic. Any offer of happiness, with or without holiness, will always win over an offer of holiness devoid of happiness.

C. S. Lewis wrote to an American friend, “How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing . . . it is irresistible. If even 10% of the world’s population had it, would not the whole world be converted and happy before a year’s end?”

Holiness and happiness are like spiritual DNA.

DNA’s double helix is perfectly balanced at the core of human life. Two strands wrap around each other, forming an axis of symmetry and providing a perfect complement for each other.

God has made holiness and happiness to enjoy a similar relationship: each benefits from the other. For those of us who are Christ-centered believers, our lives should overflow with both. Neither alone will suffice; both together are essential for the truly Christ-centered life.

When Jesus says, “Be perfect” (Matthew 5:48), we should recognize that true happiness in him is part of what he intends. Our pleasure is won in the “Aha!” moments of discovering firsthand why God’s ways really are best. The more we discover God’s ways and experience the goodness of his holiness, the less we try to find happiness apart from him.

Learn more in Randy's book Happiness. 

25 Years of God’s Kindnesses to EPM: Photos and Video from the Celebration

On October 16, Nanci and I and the Eternal Perspective Ministries staff celebrated 25 years of God's faithfulness and kindness to EPM. It was a rich time together. We’re grateful for each person who was able to join us that night. Also, we appreciated getting notes from many more of you from places around the country and around the world, saying you would have loved to have joined us if you’d been able. That meant a lot to us. (We were also moved by the video testimonials some dear friends kindly submitted.)

To every person who has supported this ministry through your prayers, your giving, your time or your interest in who we are and what we do, Nanci and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. (Thanks also to those who make purchases in our bookstore—all profits help fund EPM!)

Over the years at EPM God has faithfully provided a wonderful staff with giftings that perfectly fit with just what we’ve needed, and at just the right times. This has freed us up to do what God has called us to do: encourage others to live for Jesus, in light of eternity. Our founding verse is 2 Corinthians 4:18:

We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

God is the Great Provider. He’s been faithful to us beyond measure. We give all the honor and praise to Him. “It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:24). We continue to trust in Him and His grace to provide for us, and are so grateful for your part in that—“And my God will fully supply your every need according to his glorious riches in the Messiah Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, ISV). 

Thank you, sincerely, for joining with us in spreading what Isaiah 52:7 calls “the good news of happiness”!

I hope you enjoy this photo slideshow that recaps the evening, as well as the video of my interview with EPM board member Robin Green.

What’s on My Shelf

I recently answered some questions from Ivan Mesa with the Gospel Coalition for his “On My Shelf” feature .

What's on your nightstand right now?

I don’t keep books on my nightstand, but I have two equivalents: a book table by the living room recliner, and another by my office chair. Here’s what’s on them, besides the Bible:

The Valley of Vision
The Mind of the Maker, Dorothy Sayers
Studies in Words, C. S. Lewis
The Gospel as Center, D. A. Carson and Tim Keller, editors
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? Kevin DeYoung
The Lamb of God, Nancy Guthrie
Does God Desire all to be Saved?, John Piper
Preaching, Tim Keller
My Boy Ben, David Wheaton
Walking in the Dust of the Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg
The Oxford of Inspector Morse and Lewis, Bill Leonard
The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, John P. Hoover
Justice League of America Omnibus
The Brave and the Bold Team Up, Archives
The Apostle , by Randy Alcorn (my newest graphic novel, which recently arrived off the press, and now I get to look at it without being able to change it anymore so I can read and hopefully enjoy the finished work!)

Audio books I’m currently listening to (on my Android Note 4):

The Game, Laurie B. King, read by Jenny Sterlin
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, read by Tim Robbins
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, read by Simon Vance (terrifically read)
Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton, read by Scott Brick

What are your favorite fiction books?

The Narnia series and Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Sherlock Homes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Singer Trilogy by Calvin Miller
The Odyssey and The Iliad by Homer
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Jayber Crow, by Wendell Berry (fabulous audio narration by Paul Michael)

What biographies or autobiographies have most influenced you and why?

Tortured for Christ, Richard Wurmbrand (read it as a teenager, just after coming to Christ and it profoundly affected my understanding of being “all in” following Jesus)
Foxes Book of Martyrs (did what Wurmbrand’s book did, but showed me in the context of many throughout church history)
Here I Stand, Roland Bainton, classic bio of Martin Luther.
John Newton: Disgrace to Amazing Grace by Jonathan Aitken.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography, by Eberhard Bethge (over 1000 pages!)
William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity by Kevin Belmonte (the book which the wonderful movie Amazing Grace was based on).
Charles Spurgeon, by Arnold Dallimore
Jonathan Edwards, by George Marsden
Surprised by Joy, C. S. Lewis
The most recent autobiography I read, still untitled and unpublished, is by pastor and civil rights leader John M. Perkins. John is a great man who has had a strong impact on my life, and was honored that he asked me to write the foreword.

What are some books you regularly re-read and why?

I do re-read some books, though there aren’t many I read more than two or three times.

I’ve read Tozer’s The Knowledge of the Holy several times, as I have Lewis’s Space Trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia, as well as Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Calvin Miller’s Singer trilogy. I’ve read the complete Sherlock Holmes several times too, both the printed and audio versions.

Another old favorite is Francis Schaeffer’s He is There and He is Not Silent. I’ve found myself reentering Knowing God by J.I. Packer, which had a huge impact on me when I read it the year it came out. I’ve also gone back to Piper’s Desiring God, The Joy of Fearing God by Jerry Bridges and Kingdoms in Conflict, by Chuck Colson.

I’ll frequently revisit Spurgeon’s writings, including his sermons, though he wrote so much it’s hard to call it “rereading,” since by now I’m not sure what I’ve read and what I haven’t!

I’m currently rereading some of the old comic books I grew up on, which are now in Archive and Omnibus volumes—a blast from the past! Legion of Super Heroes, Justice League of America, Fantastic Four, The Flash, Green Lantern. Very fun.

What books have most profoundly shaped how you serve and lead others for the sake of the gospel? 

Well, it’s not The Flash or Fantastic Four. :)

Five years ago a friend and I had lunch with Bruce Ware, who teaches theology at Southern Seminary, and Gerry Breshears, theology prof at Western Seminary in Portland.

Bruce asked me, “Randy, of all books besides the Bible itself, what book has had the greatest influence on your life?” And I said, “That’s easy. Without a doubt it’s A. W. Tozer’s book The Knowledge of the Holy.”

Bruce smiled and said, “You’re kidding. That’s the book that has had the biggest influence on my life!”

And then Gerry Breshears said, “Okay, this is crazy. That’s my number one book too!”

If you haven’t read The Knowledge of the Holy, I encourage you to. (Or listen to the excellent audio read by Scott Brick, only 4.5 hours.) Give God a chance to use it in your life as he has in so many others. It’s a short book, written by Tozer with extraordinary concision and power. Early on it says, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Utterly true, and with incredible life-shaping impact.

What are you learning about life and following Jesus?

Much of what I’m learning is directly connected to the biblical and historical research I’ve done the last three years for my book Happiness. I studied all the Hebrew and Greek happiness words used in Scripture (primarily 22 Hebrew words and 16 Greek), including those rendered joy, gladness, delight, and pleasure, and also studied the happiness-related themes of celebration, feasting, etc.

The sheer quantity of what Scripture has to say about being glad in God is overwhelming. The biblical and historical affirmation of God’s happiness, while not a new concept to me, has had a profound effect on my own thinking by sheer volume and weight. I’ve been saturated with this and it’s influenced my worldview, creeping into daily little things, including the sheer delight I take in God’s creation, everything from my Golden Retriever to bike rides with my grandsons.

As I walk with God, He calls me to enter into a happiness within and between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a happiness that preexisted the universe itself. And though the ultimate entrance into His happiness awaits us after death (Matthew 25:21), God calls us not to wait until we die to experience the wonder and celebration and gladness that overflows us, but to experience it here and now in a fallen and cursed world that doesn’t revoke happiness but will ultimately result in greater eternal happiness.

I keep pondering how Heaven will overflow with happiness because God himself overflows with happiness. It is not a fairy tale that we will live happily ever after. Our Creator and Redeemer’s happiness guarantees a happy ending to the story that will never end.

I have found myself daily frontloading into the present the promises of eternal joy, and letting that color my view of daily events. It’s been a truly Christ-centered and happy-making experience.

Embracing God’s Promise of Happiness, Even in Suffering and Loss

Recently I was a guest on Pastor Greg Laurie’s program, A New Beginning, talking about the subject of happiness. Below is an edited transcript (excluding the intro), or you can listen to the podcast. (Greg’s ministry has a great app you can use to listen to the program as well as other content.)

I have a great appreciation for Greg, a good brother and a friend with a real heart for Christ and for people. Greg has a passion for evangelism and is also a student of the Scriptures with a Christ-centered ministry. 

In fact, this Sunday, October 25, I’ll be speaking at Harvest Christian Fellowship where Greg pastors, at both their Riverside and Orange County campuses. See more details. (I’m also speaking Saturday, October 24 in Ontario, California at the Assure Pregnancy Clinic banquet. Learn more.)

Greg: Randy’s written a new book. The topic is happiness. I’m reading this book right now. If you think you know about happiness, you’re going to find out there’s a lot you don’t know. I’ve already learned so much from reading it. What does the Bible says about happiness? Does God want us to be happy? Is God happy?

There’s so much more to talk about. Randy, welcome and thank you for being on A New Beginning.

Randy: Thanks, Greg. It’s a pleasure to be with you. I love Harvest and everything you do there.

Greg: Thanks so much, Randy. Let me just dive in with a couple of questions. Why did you write a book on happiness? And if you would, please, define happiness for us. Maybe give us the secular version. And then, more importantly, what does the Bible say?

Randy: I think the subject of happiness is critically important. You see it when you look at Isaiah 52:7, which talks about the gospel and which Paul quotes in Romans:  “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness.” (Now that’s the ESV, which doesn’t use the word happiness that often, but it uses tons of synonyms. Many translations use the word happiness a lot.)

Happiness is part of the gospel. Luke talks about the good news of great joy that the angels brought to the shepherds (Luke 2:10). The gospel is so much about bringing a deliverance from sin, of course. But the result is not only our holiness but also our personal happiness.

There’s a tendency sometimes—and that’s the reason I wrote the book—to minimize happiness. We focus so much on what people in the world are doing and how people are trying to find happiness in sin. Well, the problem isn’t that they’re trying to be happy. We’re wired to be happy. God made us to be happy.

The problem is we seek happiness in the wrong places—in sin, rather than the right place, in Christ.

Greg: In your book you make an amazing statement. And this will blow some people’s minds. You say that God is happy. Now I think that some perceive God that way. But frankly, I think a lot of others do not perceive Him that way at all. You think of the passage that says, “The Lord your God in the midst of you is mighty. He’ll rejoice over you with singing.” And then the priest would say to the people, “The Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make his face smile upon you.” I don’t think a lot of people perceive God as smiling or singing. But the Bible gives us a different picture, doesn’t it?

Randy: It really does. And I think part of our problem is that we see the passages about God's holiness, His wrath, His judgment on sin, the fact that He is displeased or unhappy with sin, which are there and are important. However, what we forget is that before the universe existed, and before there was sin, before Satan and the demons fell, before Adam and Eve fell, God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—lived together in complete and utter happiness and harmony. That still continues. That has never stopped.

Then we’re told that ultimately God will take away all sin and wipe away the tears from every eye (Revelation 21:4). And then there will be no more sin or evil. So, in other words, the things which God is displeased with are temporary in nature. Before and after—at the beginning and the end of the story that will never end—there will be nothing to displease God. And His predominant attribute of happiness, which the Puritans talked about a lot, is going to be something that pervades the entire universe.

Greg: Randy, I particularly like the how-to dimension of your book. In your introduction, one of the key paragraphs was this one, if you don’t mind me reading it to you:

“I’d be the last person to write a breezy book on happiness that ignores life’s difficulties and denies the struggles of living in a fallen world. But by God’s grace, as the years have passed, I’ve experienced a more consistent heartfelt gladness and delight in Christ. That—not perpetual and unsustainable ecstasy—is what this book is about. Rest assured, this book is not about pasting on a false smile in the midst of heartache. It’s about discovering a reasonable, attainable, and delightful happiness in Christ that transcends difficult circumstances.”

So what you’re saying in the book is that we can find a higher level of happiness by understanding the biblical principles that you lay out. Isn’t that correct?

Randy: Absolutely. Paul talked about being sorrowful, yet always rejoicing (2 Corinthians 6:10). It’s interesting that he didn’t say “rejoicing, yet always being sorrowful.” He put the emphasis on the rejoicing. And we are commanded, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). And by the way, that word translated rejoice means to be glad, to be happy, to delight in, to find pleasure in. The Hebrew and Greek words that are translated joy are synonyms of happiness. It could just as easily be translated, “Be happy in the Lord; again I say be happy.”

But notice what we’re to be happy in. We’re to be happy in the Lord. Now if we base our happiness upon the circumstances of our life, when hard things come our way, we’ll lose our happiness. We’ll lose our joy.

But sometimes what we say is, “Okay. Happiness is based on circumstances. And we shouldn’t base our lives on circumstances.” That’s a half-truth. We shouldn’t, in the way we normally think of as circumstances. Yet what if we think of circumstances as being the realities of our lives, the reality of my life in Christ? I’m told in Romans 8 that not only did Christ go to the cross and pay for my sins, but we’re more than conquerors through Him who loved us. The God who did all this for us in Christ, how much more will He do for us? Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ—not life, not death—nothing in all creation shall separate us from Christ’s love. That’s the true circumstance of my life.

Greg: So extending that, then, what about the people we know who are locked in some kind of a tough situation of their life, who are in the midst of some real trial and suffering. What can we tell them about happiness?

Randy: I think we tell the person who’s suffering, “You are living in a period of your life where the world is under sin. The world is under the Fall.” These are the realities of life. We’re told in Scripture, “Do not be surprised, friends, at the fiery trial that you are enduring, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).  

So when we face these difficult life circumstances, we need to realize that God is with us in them. Jesus knows and understands our pain. He experienced more pain than any person has in all history. But we should be defined by the future that God has laid out for us, and the present indwelling of the Holy Spirit who is also a happy Spirit. The indwelling Christ intercedes for us, and the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. In a sense, we front load our present circumstances with the reality of what our eternity will be with Jesus.

Greg: What about Christians in depression? Is that some kind of a barometric reading on their faith? Are faith and depression mutually exclusive?

Randy: No. Charles Spurgeon is an example of someone who’s had a great impact on my life. He battled with depression his whole life. I’ve experienced depression. There are godly people who take medications to deal with their depression. And I think that’s fine. We just need to realize that no, depression is not a sign of being unspiritual. But I do think that when we are depressed, there are things that are true that we can look at in God and in His Word that can bring to us the joy that we’re commanded to experience.

Greg: Let me just ask a real simple question. Someone might be listening right now. We’re talking a lot about happiness. Just, very quickly, for someone who just tuned in, define happiness and tell a person right now that’s listening how to obtain personal happiness in the right way.

Randy: I think the best way to define happiness is to just use its synonyms. And you see that dictionaries do this. If you look up happiness, you’ll see: joy, gladness, merriment, delight, pleasure. These are all overlapping words in English, just as the Hebrew and Greek words used in the Bible are overlapping words. Their meanings are complementary to each other. So you define happiness by these other things. We all know happiness when we see it and when we experience it.

As far as finding happiness, God is the primary. Happiness begins and ends in God Himself. It’s part of His eternal nature. That’s why it’s such a paradigm shift when believers come to understand that the God who created them is a happy God and therefore approves of our happiness, and invites us to enter into His happiness.

Once we see that, and once we associate the gospel with the good news of happiness which Scripture tell us it is, then we can embrace that happiness and not feel guilty about wanting to be happy. We can take the secondary things in life that aren’t the primary (only God is the Primary), that are beautiful things that God has given us. He’s given us family, friends, and the church, the body of Christ. He’s given us a job to do. He’s given us a beautiful creation. He’s given us animals as pets. All these things we can enjoy. And we should feel good about that. We should worship God and glorify God as we enjoy His pleasures manifested in His creation.

Greg: I love that. And doesn’t Scripture say that He’s given us all things richly to enjoy? If we put God first in our life, all these things are added to us for the joy we want, the happiness we desire. It’s all there in a relationship with God.

If you’ve just tuned in, I’m talking with Randy Alcorn, the author of a brand new book on the subject of happiness. This is a book that every Christian should have in their library. By the way, this is 450 pages—there’s so much material, so much great information. In addition to this large book, Randy also has a new smaller book called God’s Promise of Happiness. In fact, this is a great little companion you would certainly enjoy reading yourself. This would be a great book to give to a friend who’s not a Christian yet. It’s evangelistic in nature.

Commentator: Randy, there’s a growing segment of our audience here on The New Beginning who have suffered loss. These are people who really resonate with Pastor Greg because he suffered the loss of his son. I’m acutely aware of the fact that they’re carrying a heavy load of emotional baggage. Maybe we need to speak to them in a slightly different way about their need, their desire for happiness. What would your book tell them about how to find happiness once again?

Randy: Each of us have had losses in our lives, or will experience losses yet to come. Sometimes it’s the loss of health. Sometimes it’s the loss of employment. Sometimes it’s a scandal, and maybe sin was involved, but oftentimes it’s just the things of life that bring us down.  I think the first thing we need to do when we’ve experienced great and traumatic loss, like Greg with his son Christopher, is to realize in those times that God is with us. He says, “Lo, I am with you always. I will never desert you. I will never forsake you” (Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5).

So don’t deny the reality of your loss. Embrace it. Also, at the same time, affirm what Scripture tells us, which is that this God who rules the universe is a happy God, and He endured the miseries of the cross precisely so that we would not have to pay an eternal price for our sin. He paid that for us on the cross.

Now, in Him, we can find personal comfort. He loves us. He cares for us. He intercedes for us. He promises that all things will work together for our good, ultimately (Romans 8:28). And I think that then we need to give ourselves permission to grieve. You see grieving in Scripture. You saw it in the life of Jesus. You saw it in the life of Paul. None of the affirmations about happiness and joy that we’re making, none of the biblical call to rejoice in the Lord always, and rejoice in all circumstances, denies the reality of pain and grief. God understands it, and in fact, God endured it more than any other person in human history in the person of Christ on the cross.

Greg: That’s great. You know I think, Randy, when you go through a loss like we went through, and others have gone through, you feel so sad that you wonder if you’ll ever be happy again. Then when you’re momentarily happy, you feel bad for feeling good. You struggle with this. I came to realize that you can be sorrowful, as the Scripture says, but rejoicing. You have moments of happiness. And as time passes, you never get over a child’s death or perhaps a spouse’s death or others, but you do get through it, and you realize you can be happy again. You can know this joy of the Lord. So there is hope. There is hope in even the darkest circumstances.

I think if a person were to get ahold of this new book you’ve written on the subject of happiness, it would really help them get a perspective, and get a biblical worldview on this topic, and learn how to experience it in a real way—not the fleeting, temporary happiness that might come from an illicit high or a sinful joy, but a real, lasting, abiding happiness, blessedness, joy, that comes from a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Randy: Absolutely. And I think what you said there is so important. Scripture talks about the passing pleasures of sin in Hebrews 11:25. It doesn’t deny that sin can have pleasure for a moment. But it’s different than lasting happiness in Christ, the happiness that’s real and deep and will outlive this life. Think of what it means that after we die, He would say to us, His servants who are redeemed by His grace, not through any works we’ve done, and who served Him well in this world: “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into your Master’s happiness.” That’s a happiness that preceded the creation of the world and will endure forever! Such a happiness is delightful and will overflow in the New Heavens and the New Earth, Every day we’ll discover more and new and fresh reasons to be happy in the God that we love, the God who made us, the God who redeemed us in Christ.

Greg: Well, Randy, maybe there’s somebody who is listening right now who is just depressed. Maybe it’s because of something that’s happened. Maybe it’s not anything in particular, but they are just down. And they are hearing us speak about happiness, and it’s almost making them a little more unhappy, because they don’t feel it’s attainable. But we’re saying to them, it is. Maybe you could just say a quick word about how they can know this happiness. Then, perhaps, if you wouldn’t mind, lead us all in a prayer where we can ask the Lord to help us find this happiness He promises us in Scripture.

Randy: Sure. There are many passages in Scripture that affirm the happiness in Christ, and the happiness that comes through meditating on God’s Word and clinging to His promises. God’s promises are true. We can count on them, we can take them to the bank, and that’s what we need to do.

Let’s pray together.

Father, we come to you, realizing that many people in this listening audience are struggling. There are people whose spouses left them. There are people going through a divorce. There are people whose child has leukemia. People who are dying of cancer, or a close friend has betrayed them, or they’ve lost their job. Lord, we lift these people up to you. And we thank you that your Word does not call us to deny the reality of our present sufferings, but it does tell us that these present sufferings aren’t worth being compared to the glory that will be revealed to us.

And Lord, thank you too that you call us to rejoice here and now. You don’t just tell us that one day we’ll be happy, but meanwhile we’ve got to be miserable in our lives here on earth. But instead, in the midst of difficulty, you’ve given us the means in Christ to rejoice, to contemplate His redemptive work and the depths of His love. As Scripture tells us, “Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ.”

God, I pray that you touch every hurting person. And any of those who don’t know Jesus, we pray they would turn to Him, and that you would do a work of grace in their hearts, and draw them to yourself. I ask that they would experience in you the happiness that the world talks about, but ultimately does not experience and cannot offer because it’s only found in You. We lift them up to you, Lord. We pray for your grace in their lives and in ours. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A 13-Year-Old Reader’s Review of My Graphic Novel The Apostle

Last year I shared a review of my graphic novel Eternity, written by (then) 12-year-old Katie, who reviews books on her blog. She recently reviewed my latest graphic novel The Apostle. (Thanks, Katie!)

Recently I read the graphic novel The Apostle by Randy Alcorn. I found it to be very well written, with amazing illustrations. This book centers on Paul’s life, following him from the stoning of Stephen until his death. I’ve read these stories before, but they always seemed like individual journal entries, loosely tied together. As I read The Apostle, I began to see how the accounts in Acts are part of a bigger, better story - God’s story. 

By using Luke as a narrator, Mr. Alcorn gives a glimpse of how difficult it was for the church to accept Saul at first. The death of Stephen still echoed in their minds. The only things Saul had brought to them before had been misery, death, and imprisonment. And yet - this was who God had chosen. He was chosen to live and die for Jesus, bring God’s Word to thousands of people, and write many books of the New Testament. 

I loved this book, and will definitely be reading it again! It is very well written, and stays true to scripture. Better yet, it very clearly presents the gospel throughout the book. In short, this is a great book, and I highly recommend it. 

I’m always encouraged to see young people reading and evaluating Christ-centered books and literature!

Note from EPM: If you’d like to get an early start on buying Christmas gifts for the young readers on your list, Randy’s graphic novels Eternity and The Apostle are both on sale for $8 each (53% off $16.99 retail) through today, Wednesday, October 21 at 4 p.m. PT.

Baby Body Parts Confirmed as Being Sold for Profit by Private Abortion Clinic in My Home State

In my own home state of Oregon, a prolife organization has confirmed that it’s not just Planned Parenthood that’s selling baby body parts for medical research, but also a private abortion clinic in Portland. Recently, one of the women who was there for a late-term abortion gave the prolifers outside some information that directly tied the clinic to Advanced Bioscience Resources, the same company noted in the Center for Medical Progress videos as buying the body parts of babies from Planned Parenthood.

Click each photo to see the larger image.

      

Notice the irony of the statement on their promotional materials: “One person can make a world of difference.” Yet the personhood of unborn children is completely ignored. Personhood isn’t something to be bestowed on human beings by Ivy League professors (Princeton’s bioethics prof Peter Singer comes to mind) intent on ridding society of “undesirables.” Personhood has an inherent value that comes from being a member of the human race. According to the Bible, this is part of being created in God’s image.

The materials also claim “tissue” donation is “An opportunity for ANY woman to help ALL women and our world.” But what about the fact that half (and in some places, more) of all aborted babies are female? To kill an unborn female is to kill a young woman. To sell off her body parts is to exploit a young woman. There can be no equal rights for all women until there are equal rights for unborn women.

My Little Book God’s Promise of Happiness, Plus a Giveaway from EPM

Along with my book Happiness, a new beautiful little book called God’s Promise of Happiness was just released, which is a simplified and differently presented version of the big book. (It has 13,000 words and 96 pages.) It’s designed for believers who want an introduction to the topic, but don’t have the time or inclination to engage the larger work. God’s Promise of Happiness is also written for unbelievers who are interested in the subject and will be drawn to the Gospel as “good news of happiness” (Isaiah 52:7, ESV). I believe its pocket size and the question and answer format will make it a helpful tool in sharing the Gospel of Christ. In that sense, it’s sort of the happiness equivalent of my Heaven booklet.

Hope you enjoy the excerpt below, and you can also read a longer PDF excerpt to get a feel for how the book is laid out. I pray that God will use God’s Promise of Happiness for the glory of Jesus and the good of His bride.

IS IT OKAY FOR CHRISTIANS TO BE HAPPY?

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth! Be happy! Rejoice out loud! (Psalm 98: 4, CEB)

It’s not just okay to be happy; it’s right to be happy. The Bible clearly tells God’s children to be happy. Jesus commanded his disciples to be happy, and for a compelling reason: “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). If we’re not experiencing happiness in God, then we’re disobeying and missing the abundant life Jesus came to give (see John 10:10).

We shouldn’t criticize people for wanting to be happy. Pastors who encourage people to stop seeking happiness or parents who don’t want their children motivated by happiness are fighting a losing battle. They’ll never succeed, and they’ll do damage by distancing the gospel from the happiness everyone craves.

Consistently seeking our happiness in Jesus shouts to everyone that God is present and working in the world and that he’ll one day reign over a new universe. As A. W. Tozer said, “The people of God ought to be the happiest people in all the wide world!” [i]

Be happy and shout to God who makes us strong! (Psalm 81:1, CEV)
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! (Philippians 4:4, NLT)

DOES THE BIBLE HAVE MUCH TO SAY ABOUT HAPPINESS?

There are more than 2,700 passages in the Bible containing words such as joy, happiness, gladness, merriment, pleasure, cheer, laughter, delight, jubilation, feasting, exultation, and celebration.

God makes it clear that seeking happiness through sin is wrong and fruitless. But seeking happiness in him is good and right:

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord! (Deuteronomy 33:29)
Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. (Matthew 5:12, CEV)

Many passages don’t contain the word happiness, but the concept is unmistakable:

May Yahweh bless you and protect you; may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26, HCSB)
All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. (Proverbs 15:15)
Enjoy life with the wife whom you love. (Ecclesiastes 9:9)

DOESN’T THE BIBLE TALK ABOUT JOY RATHER THAN HAPPINESS?

An ungrounded separation of joy from happiness has infiltrated the Christian community. Among English speakers, the word happiness has been a bridge between the church and the world, until recently. It’s a bridge we can’t afford to burn. Joy is a perfectly good word. But there are other equally good words that Bible translators use to convey happiness, including gladness, merriment, delight, and pleasure.

Happiness and joy are synonyms. They’re much more alike than unalike. Joy, in Merriam- Webster’s dictionary, is defined as “a feeling of great happiness” and “a source or cause of great happiness.” [ii]

Similarly, look in Hebrew and Greek lexicons at the many different words translated joyful, glad, merry, and delighted. In nearly every case, you’ll find these words defined as meaning “happy.”

Think of expressions using the word joy:

“He jumped for joy.”
“She’s our pride and joy.”
“I wept for joy.”

In each case, isn’t joy synonymous with happiness?

John Piper writes, “If you have nice little categories for ‘joy is what Christians have’ and ‘happiness is what the world has,’ you can scrap those when you go to the Bible, because the Bible is indiscriminate in its uses of the language of happiness and joy and contentment and satisfaction.” [iii]

You, O Lord, have made me happy by your work. I will sing for joy because of what you have done. (Psalm 92:4, NET)
God, you have caused the nation to grow and made the people happy. And they have shown their happiness to you, like the joy during harvest time. (Isaiah 9:3, NCV)

 

Enter to win 1 of 10 pairs of God’s Promise of Happiness (one for you, one to give away) from EPM:

[i] A. W. Tozer, Who Put Jesus on the Cross? (Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread, 2009), e-book.

[ii] Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (Britannica Digital Learning, 2014), s.v. “joy,” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio...

[iii] John Piper, “Let Your Passion Be Single,” Desiring God, November 12, 1999.

photo credit

Carly Fiorina’s Comments and the Footage of an Aborted Child: Was It Real?

Note from Randy: Please understand that what follows is not intended as an endorsement for Carly Fiorina or anyone else. However, my position has long been, and still is, that I will not vote for any candidate of any party who defends the freedom to kill innocent unborn children. (Also, please note a graphic picture of the results of abortion is included in this blog.)

Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina ignited a firestorm when at CNN’s Republican primary debate last month she challenged President Obama and Hillary Clinton to watch the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) video exposés on Planned Parenthood and referred to a specific part of one of the videos:

“Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking, while someone says, ‘We have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.’ This is about the character of our nation, and if we will not stand up and force President Obama to veto this [Planned Parenthood defunding] bill, shame on us.”

Following the debate, the media claimed her comments were false, there was no such video, or the video portrayed a miscarriage, and not an abortion. So were they correct?

No! The CMP video did include real footage of a still-alive aborted baby, which was provided by the Center of Bio-Ethical Reform, a prolife advocacy group. (The picture below shows that the baby in the Center for Medical Progress footage is the same child in the video from the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform.)

Gregg Cunningham, executive director of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, explains:

Ms. Fiorina was referring to a Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR) video depicting a few seconds of a 17 1/2 week fetus, still alive and moving, following an intact-delivery abortion. Here we post the entire unedited video. The total running time is approximately 13 minutes and the video is in five segments as the camera operator turns the camera on and off.

CBR and the Center for Medical Progress (CMP), in whose undercover Planned Parenthood investigative video the CBR abortion footage appears, have been falsely accused of misrepresenting a miscarriage as an abortion. The first segment of the unedited video depicts the abortion itself, with the baby delivered alive and struggling in the abortionist’s gloved hand. Segments 2 and 3 depict the baby still moving in a stainless steel pan after repeatedly being handled abusively by the abortionist. Segments 4 and 5 are static gynecological shots of the baby’s mother.

This unedited version of the disputed footage proves incontestably that this termination is an abortion. Mothers at risk of miscarriage present at hospitals, not abortion clinics. Hospitals are in the business of sustaining pregnancies and saving babies. Abortion clinics are in the business of terminating pregnancies and killing babies. This video depicts a termination and the subsequent abuse and neglect of a preemie obviously delivered alive. No attempt is made to provide the neonatal intensive care a hospital would extend to a wanted baby. It is possible that the abortionists performing this termination violated both state and federal law by withholding care from a baby who survived an abortion.

Ms. Fiorina made reference to a baby’s heart still beating while its brain was being harvested (a process which Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services calls “digging”) and a former StemExpress “procurement technician” says, “I’m sitting here and I’m looking at this fetus and its heart is beating, and I don’t know what to think” (National Review, August 19, 2015).  The article adds that “… her StemExpress supervisor instructed her to cut through the face of the fetus in order to get the brain.”

The unedited version of the abortion depicts an intact-delivery termination and Planned Parenthood partner StemExpress admits through its CEO (Cate Dyer), “Oh yeah, if you had intact cases, which we’ve done a lot, we sometimes ship those back to our lab in its entirety …” (The Daily Signal, August 21, 2015).

A World Magazine article, August 19, 2015, describes “… an aborted baby’s beating heart, a post-abortion occurrence that’s not uncommon, according to Ben Van Handel, executive director of Novogenix Laboratories.”

Ms. Fiorina’s characterizations are not hyperbole.

The terms of our abortion clinic access agreements explicitly forbid us from disclosing any information which could identify the abortion providers from whose clinics we obtain imagery. Dates, locations, affiliations and staff and patient information are confidential. Violating these prohibitions could subject CBR to legal liability and jeopardize clinic access for current and future projects. We are even obligated to delete the audio track on all of our videos.

Gregg provided further rebuttal of the false claim that the video depicts a miscarriage:

Medical malpractice lawsuits have become so common that OB/GYNs practice defensive medicine.  They protect themselves by over-diagnosing, over-treating and over-prescribing.  No doctor delivering this baby as a preemie in a hospital would fail to provide neonatal intensive care.  Even if he had no compassion for the baby or his parents, he would provide care to avoid being sued for negligence.  Warren Hern, in his book "Abortion Practice" warns of the difficulty in estimating fetal ages.  A baby moving as vigorously as this one is presumptively entitled to care and would receive it—unless the attending physician is an abortionist, which is the case here.

Miscarried embryos and fetuses are virtually all still births involving a baby who expired in the uterus and was later born dead.  A preemie in a hospital is born alive and given intensive care—not slapped around in a pan as happened here with a baby who survived the abortion depicted at the beginning of the video.

It’s worth saying that Carly Fiorina’s comments about the video could use further clarification:

Carly Fiorina appears to have conflated the video of the fetus with the story [of harvesting an aborted child’s brain] being told by O’Donnell [the former StemExpress “procurement technician”] at the same time. It’s fair to say Fiorina’s description was incorrect to the degree it treated both incidents as relating to one fetus; however, both the brain harvesting incident and the video of a fully formed, kicking fetus are real. [i]

I’m grateful for those, including Carly Fiorina, who are speaking up for the unborn (Proverbs 31:8-9) even when it’s unpopular to do so. May we continue to do likewise.

[i] 'Carly Fiorina Was Right': Group Releases Full Abortion Video Mentioned in GOP Debate 

Photo credits: "Carly Fiorina by Gage Skidmore 3" by Gage Skidmore. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons. | Video image comparison

Joy Forney on Finding and Being Community

Joy Hlavka Forney and her husband Dave, along with their children, serve with Mission Aviation Fellowship in Uganda, East Africa. Joy grew up at our church, Good Shepherd Community Church, along with her sisters and our daughters. I served for years with Joy’s dad Alan, one of our pastors, and more recently our lead pastor. The Forneys are quality people and in this article Joy said things that really resonate with me. This is church in its simplest and most precious form. Thanks, Joy:

How to Find Community

True community. We all crave it, but it can be so difficult to find, can’t it?!

We sat on wooden benches creaking under our weight. The music blaring next door ringing in our ears. Several different languages spoken all under one roof with names like Luganda and Acholi. One translator for all of us.

I sat on the floor, dusty with red dirt, in my sweet spot, with the kids.

It started as a Christmas gift to my friend Chaundra, who dreamed up a space where we could meet as families of kids with special needs. She decided to build community and invited me to join in, and here we are, month by month, meeting together.

A foot brace squeaks and creaks as we play. My little boy, Giftie, finding his spot in the group, a place to belong for a boy who is deaf and has cerebral palsy.

We gathered. We weren’t sure what exactly it was going to look like, we just knew that we wanted a safe place, a place for the people to come and be filled, encouraged.

The Ugandan pastor and his church body showed us the way. The way to love, give, serve and build community. These saints traveled on foot to tell each of the families about our gathering, since most had no phone. They lovingly cooked the food and made sure each family had transportation money.

Humbled by the turnout, I nervously bit my lip and wondered if everyone was disappointed.
We brought a speech therapist, nurses, a prayer warrior, and us fellow mamas to special needs kids to encourage.

One family, with their sweet son, traveled by bus 8 hours just to be a part of the group. I felt bad.

You came all this way for this? We don’t have much.

A meal and some encouragement was our simple offering, and still they came.

One girl with hydrocephalis, many with cerebral palsy, children with burns, autism, deaf, mute.

All are welcome to our gathering. We are in this together.

Come, sit. Belong.

Let’s eat together, share stories, and come away refreshed for the difficult weeks ahead.
I leaned over to our friend, a Ugandan nurse. I told her I felt bad and she looked at me, confused.

“Why?”

I explained we didn’t have much to offer, much for them to do or take away.
Still confused, she spoke true, “These people are just happy to find a community, to belong, and see other people walking their same road. This gives them hope.“

Hope and Community. 

Long after I figured it was time to go, they lingered. Not saying much, simply sitting and enjoying.

To be with all the others. To know you aren’t alone. To look around and see your people. That is enough.

How many times when offering something, hospitality, friendship, do I think I have to clean it up, prettify it, offer something spectacular, when all I need to offer is community?

To sit, in the dirty, dusty, mess of it all and offer the hope of knowing we are in this together?

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, …” Acts 2:42-47 ESV

It is what we all crave. To belong. To be seen. To be understood.

I hear from a lot of women, wishing they had community.

My best advice? Create it. Find those who need a friend, who need to belong, and give them the gift of community with you.

Who in your life needs the gift of community, the gift of hope today?

Reach out to them. Text them, call them, invite them.

Give them the gift of hope and community.

 

Happiness Webcast and Recap of the #Happinessbook Twitter Chat

Hope you enjoy watching the webcast video below, and also reading through the recap of the #Happinessbook Twitter chat that took place last week. (If Twitter is your thing, I invite you to follow me there. You can also join me on Facebook, where I regularly post thoughts, Christ-centered quotes, Scriptures, and occasional pictures of my grandkids and our dog Maggie.)

If you're reading this blog by email, see the browser version to watch the video and read the full chat recap.

I’m live for next 60 minutes answering questions. Ask yours with #Happinessbook and follow at http://t.co/vM3Fiwwi24

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@KLWetherell Use examples of suffering believers happy in Jesus. Paul says Rejoice in the Lord always. Sorrow & joy coexist. #Happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@mariaeriksens There are many, one 1 Thess. 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances." #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@maggierowe With a smile & a sense of peace & pleasure in Christ. Even when we deal with tough issues, maybe especially then #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@dukeslee Oswald Chambers, who I love, was the first I found to speak critically about happiness and make it opposed to joy #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@caroltraver All God's image bearers have some happiness. God "satisfies your hearts with food & happiness" (Acts 14:17) #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@mariaeriksens Show Jesus & Paul in multiple passages, include 2 Cor 12:9, 3X prayed to be delivered God didn't but gave joy #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@SonKing I'm sure it did, they had delight in all creation, food, animals, water, trees, etc., all from God. He is primary. #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@maggierowe See celebration in Deut 12 and 14:24-26, where God commands his people to eat and drink whatever they crave, ESV #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@KJ__Miller @maggierowe Yes, I quote that from Lewis, and a lot more from him too! Great insights on happiness from him. #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@jbegits It's the universal longing, behind everyone's thoughts & actions, when we seek happiness in Christ all changes. #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@maggierowe Abosolutely. Hebrews 1:9 is emphatic, Jesus the happiest person there is, have two chapters on Jesus' gladness #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@SonKing Yes, I cite Piper 15 times in book, gave it to him when we were speaking together few days ago. Desiring God great! #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@KJ__Miller Saying thank you, connection between thanksgiving & joy throughout Scripture. Time in Word (Psalm 19:8, GNT) #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@jdkearnsak In book I argue that this distinction between joy & happiness is recent and not based in Bible or church history #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@KylarNicholasGr See Rev 21:24, nations & kings on new earth, all in submission to King of kings, Jesus. Flags? Possible. #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@RandyAlston No, if you check Hebrew & Greek lexicons, original words for joy, happiness, gladness are all close synonyms. #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@dukeslee Jonathan Edwards (and lots of Puritans I cite), Spurgeon, and today, Piper. #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

.@EStephenBurnett @TGC Don't think the speculation ever contradicts Bible, imagination based on revealed texts as pastors do #happinessbook

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015

Thanks to all who joined #Happinessbook! @epmorg will post a recap on my blog soon. See http://t.co/qoXRYeWo6O for more resources.

— Randy Alcorn (@randyalcorn) September 30, 2015