Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 170

You May Yet Discover Your Favorite Food on the New Earth

What are your favorite foods? If someone were to ask me, I’d have to say Mexican. My wife Nanci makes a killer burrito with the works, and sour cream enchiladas. I'm also a fan of Nanci's steak salad, crispy chicken salad, beef stew and cornbread muffins, chili with cheddar cheese and onions and...the occasional pizza too.

The person who’s eaten the widest variety of meals on Earth still hasn’t tasted countless others. How many special dishes will you discover on the New Earth? As yet, you may not have tasted your favorite meal—and if you have, it didn’t taste as good as it will there. (After all, our resurrected bodies will have resurrected taste buds!) The best meals you’ll ever eat are all still ahead of you on the New Earth.

One wonderful thing about Heaven is that we’ll be able to enjoy such amazing food without having to battle sin. There will be no gluttony and eating disorders, no indigestion, no high or low blood sugars, which is good news to an insulin-dependent diabetic like me. However, not all Christians believe that we will eat and drink in Heaven. Some people cite Romans 14:17: “ThekingdomofGodis not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” But this passage isn’t about the afterlife. Paul is speaking about our walk with God and the importance of not making other people stumble over what we eat and drink.

Before the resurrection, in the present Heaven, it seems unlikely we could eat. However, there is the tree of life, from which God says overcomers may eat (Revelation 2:7). The fact that a tree with possibly edible fruit is currently located in the intermediate Heaven at least raises the question of whether people can eat there now. But still, since it’s pre-resurrection, it seems likely there’s no eating in the present Heaven.

Strangely, however, many people also believe we won’t eat or drink in the eternal Heaven, which is centered on the New Earth. They assume the biblical language about eating and drinking and banquets is figurative and that we will eat only “in a spiritual sense.” But why is there a need to look for a spiritual sense when resurrected people in actual bodies will live on a resurrected Earth? Christoplatonism lurks behind this understanding.

The resurrected Jesus invited His disciples, “Come and have breakfast.” He prepared His disciples a meal and then ate bread and fish with them (John 21:4-14). He proved that resurrection bodies are capable of eating food, real food. Christ could have abstained from eating. The fact that He didn’t is a powerful statement about the nature of His resurrection body, and by implication, ours, since Christ “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians3:21).

Other passages indicate that we’ll eat at feasts with Christ in an earthly kingdom. Jesus said to His disciples, “I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes” (Luke22:18). On another occasion Jesus said, “Many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew8:11). Where will thekingdomofGodcome? To Earth. Where will God’s Kingdom reach its ultimate and eternal state? On the New Earth.

An angel in Heaven said to John, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9). What do people do at any supper—especially a wedding supper? Eat and drink, talk, tell stories, celebrate, laugh, and have dessert. Wedding feasts in theMiddle Eastoften lasted a full week. When we attend the wedding supper of the Lamb, we won’t be guests—we’ll be the bride!

It’s true Scripture contains many figures of speech. But it’s incorrect to assume that because some figures of speech are used to describe Heaven, all that the Bible says about Heaven therefore is figurative. When we’re told we’ll have resurrection bodies like Christ’s and that He ate in His resurrection body, why should we assume He was speaking figuratively when He refers to tables, banquets, and eating and drinking in His Kingdom?

We’re commanded, “Glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians6:20, NKJV). What will we do for eternity? Glorify God in our bodies. Scripture tells us, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians10:31). What will we do for eternity? Eat, drink, and do all to the glory of God.

If it seems trivial or unspiritual to anticipate such things, remember that it’s God who promises that on the New Earth we will sit at tables, at banquets and feasts, and enjoy the finest foods and drinks. And to top it off, our Father promises that He Himself will prepare for us the finest foods :

 In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat (Isaiah 25:6).

Of course, the best part about everything on the New Earth will be living daily in the presence of Jesus. But when He talks to us about feasts and delicious banquets and choice foods, don’t you think He wants us to look forward to eating at His table?

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Four Ways Generosity Benefits Us

I appreciate this video from the National Christian Foundation, encouraging us to think about the ways our generosity can make a difference in others’ lives, for Christ’s glory.

By God’s grace, it’s not only others who benefit when we give. Here are just four of the many benefits we receive when we choose generosity:

1. We become more Christ-like.

My friend Dixie Fraley told me, “We’re most like God when we’re giving.” Gaze upon Christ long enough, and you’ll become more of a giver. Give long enough, and you’ll become more like Christ.

Our giving is a reflexive response to the grace of God in our lives. It doesn’t come out of our altruism or philanthropy—it comes out of the transforming work of Christ in us. This grace is the action; our giving is the reaction. We give because He first gave to us. The greatest passage on giving in all Scripture ends not with “Congratulations for your generosity,” but “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

2. We gain freedom from materialism.

Another benefit of giving is freedom. It’s a matter of basic physics. The greater the mass, the greater the hold that mass exerts. The more things we own—the greater their total mass, and the more they grip us, setting us in orbit around them. Finally, like a black hole, they suck us in.

Giving changes all that. It breaks us out of orbit around our possessions. We escape their gravity, entering a new orbit around our treasures in Heaven.

3. We are infused with joy.

When I speak on giving at conferences, donor gatherings and churches, I repeatedly see people with joy in their eyes telling how God has touched their lives through helping the needy, in hands-on ways as well as through their giving.

When Jesus spoke of the man who found the treasure in the field, he emphasized how "in his joy" the man went and sold all that he had to gain the treasure (Matthew 13:44). We're not supposed to feel sorry for the man because it cost him everything. Rather, we're supposed to imitate him. It cost him, yes, but it gained him everything he wanted! It filled him with joy. The benefits vastly outweighed the costs.

The more we give, the more we delight in our giving—and the more God delights in us. Our giving pleases us. But more importantly, it pleases God: “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

God delights in our cheerfulness in giving. He wants us to find joy. He even commands us to rejoice (Philippians 4:4). What command could be a greater pleasure to obey than that one? But if we don’t give, we’re robbed of the source of joy God instructs us to seek!

4. We store up eternal rewards in Heaven.

We are given these eternal rewards for doing good works (Ephesians 6:8; Romans 2:6, 10), persevering under persecution (Luke 6:22-23), showing compassion to the needy (Luke 14:13-14), and treating our enemies kindly (Luke 6:35).

God also grants us rewards for generous giving: “Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21). It can’t be wrong to do that or He wouldn't have commanded it! Our job is to follow Christ and leave the rewarding to Him. But our job is also not to disbelieve or minimize what He said about rewards.

We are to want rewards because it pleases Him to give them to us...and what pleases our Father should give us delight.

So I invite you to transfer your assets from earth to Heaven, and to give humbly, generously, and frequently to God’s work. Excel in giving so that you may please God, serve others, and enjoy treasures in Heaven. When you do, you’ll feel the freedom, experience the joy, and sense the smile of God.

"I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time or eternity." —David Livingstone

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Things We Won’t Regret

Kevin DeYoung’s blog is one of my favorites. I loved this post he wrote, and encourage you to consider the things in your own life you one day won’t regret taking time for.

What We Won’t Regret

Recently I got to thinking about all the things we are likely not to regret when we get to the end of our days.

We won’t regret playing hide and seek with our children.

We won’t regret turning off the t.v. and putting the phone away.

We won’t regret that one night (or week, or even season of life) we let the kids get happy meals just so they would be happy and we could survive.

We won’t regret singing the same hymns over and over until they became familiar enough to sing with the saints around a hospital bed.

We won’t regret the time we spent hiding the word in our hearts.

We won’t regret jumping in a pile of leaves every fall.

We won’t regret overlooking a lot of little things that bother us about our spouses.

We won’t regret kissing our spouse in front of the kids.

We won’t regret going to bed with a messy house if that meant we had time to chase the kids around in the backyard.

We won’t regret all the wasted time with friends.

We won’t regret laughing often and laughing loudly.

We won’t regret hugging our kids whenever they’ll let us.

We won’t regret the times the kids slept in our beds and the times in the middle of the night we had to carry them softly back to theirs.

We won’t regret being a little bit goofy.

We won’t regret asking for forgiveness, and we won’t regret forgiving those who ask.

We won’t regret dancing at weddings–fast and silly with our kids, slow and sweet with our spouse.

We won’t regret giving most people the benefit of the doubt.

We won’t regret committing to a good church and sticking around.

We won’t regret learning to play the piano, read music, or sing in parts.

We won’t regret reading to our children.

We won’t regret time spent in prayer.

We won’t regret going on long road trips filled with frustrations, but full with memories.

We won’t regret letting our kids be kids.

We won’t regret walking with people through suffering.

We won’t regret trusting Jesus.

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Singleness and the Church: A Valuable Perspective for Everyone

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, I hope you’ve enjoyed the videos from EPM’s Julia Stager we’ve shared so far. Julia’s video blog today is on the topic of singleness and the church. I encourage everyone, single or married, to listen to her insights and wise advice. I found this very helpful for me personally.

If you’re interested in watching the rest of Julia’s videos, you can subscribe to her YouTube channel: Crossover.

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Why We Need the Whole Counsel of Scripture

I once spoke to eighty college students about a sensitive theological question: “Can true Christians lose their salvation?” First, I asked them to commit themselves to a yes or no answer. I separated them, according to their answers, on opposite sides of the room, breaking them up into small groups.

Next I gave everyone a handout featuring twenty passages of Scripture. After reading these aloud, the students were to discuss in their groups and decide: “If these were the only Scripture passages I had, would I answer the question yes or no?”

Tensions rose. On both sides of the room, students looked confused, and some were angry.

Only afterward did I explain that I’d given each group different handouts consisting of entirely different passages. The Scriptures each group was given appeared to teach an answer exactly opposite to the position they’d said they believed.

My main take-away was that we need to establish our positions in light of all Scripture, not just our preferred passages that support what we wish to believe.

The issue of whether Christians can lose their salvation is one that involves matters of God’s sovereignty and human choice. The question typically gets one answer from those called Arminians and the opposite answer from those called Calvinists. John Wesley is seen as the classic Arminian, while John Calvin (surprise!) is the classic Calvinist; but, trust me, neither Calvin nor Wesley were idiots (which I wanted to help those eighty college students understand).

Unfortunately, the terms Calvinist and Arminian, while generally helpful, suggest many inaccurate assumptions and stereotypes. Some Calvinists are radically different from others, and the same can be said for Arminians. As general descriptions of theology, Calvinism and Arminianism can be helpful terms, but they’re decidedly unhelpful when it leads to the kind of thinking (for either group) that concludes, “They all believe A, and none of them believes B.”

Modern Calvinists often emphasize certain aspects of Calvin’s writings and doctrine more than others. They may overlook, for example, Calvin’s emphasis on our mystical union with Christ and the Holy Spirit, or miss the warmth of Calvin’s love for Christ. They may never have read how Calvin detested those “who are content to roll the gospel on the tips of their tongues when its efficacy ought to penetrate the inmost affections of the heart, take its seat in the soul, and affect the whole man a hundred times more deeply than the cold exhortations of the philosophers!" [i]

Similarly, modern Arminians are often less Calvinistic than Arminius was. For instance, some speak disparagingly of the doctrine of total depravity which Arminius affirmed, as did Wesley. On the other hand, many of them reject the Wesleyan doctrine of sinless perfectionism, which Arminius did not hold to.

Both “sides” love God and believe his Word, but they emphasize different portions of it. Therefore the common attitude, “If you really believed the Bible, you would agree with me,” reflects a far too simplistic approach.

If we want to better understand any doctrine or teaching, we must consider not bits and pieces of the Bible but “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27, ESV). The Bible features a staggering breadth and depth of truth that selective proof-texting can never reflect.

[i] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2006), 1:688.

From Eternal Perspective Ministries

One of the most perplexing theological questions—Is it possible to reconcile God’s sovereignty with human choice?—is also one of the most personal. A careful guide through Scripture, hand in Hand shows us why God’s sovereignty and our choices were meant to go together.

Randy’s book hand in Hand is available from EPM for $11.99 (retail $14.99).

Plus, today, Monday December 1 only, we’re offering FREE standard shipping on all orders from our online store!

Golden Retriever Fails Obedience Test

As owners of a Golden Retriever, Nanci and I can totally relate to this video. Note the concentrated obedience of the first two dogs who pass all the distractions and the treats to run their hearts out. Then, note the Golden Retriever. These dogs are so fun, but our own dog Maggie definitely has a mind of her own. Why would you pass by all that good stuff?

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Prayer + Thanksgiving = Peace

When one of our daughters had surgery a few years ago to remove a mass suspected to be cancer (it wasn’t), my wife Nanci and I were grateful to the surgeon who operated on her. But we weren’t praying to the surgeon. We prayed to God, and credited Him for the results. Our highest gratitude was to our Savior. We knew the surgeon’s hands were under God’s sovereign control, making us more grateful—not less—for the surgeon’s God-given skill.

Of course, not every circumstance will turn out as we hope and pray. Either way, our gratitude for God’s sovereign plan, and for His promise to work all things for the ultimate good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) will make us slower to blame others and less likely to be embittered against them.

“Do not be anxious about anything,” the apostle Paul wrote, “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, emphasis added).

Prayer plus thanksgiving equals peace.

We must recognize, however, that God’s will is often different from ours. He is never under any obligation to do as we ask. Though we are free to ask Him to deliver us from something especially difficult or painful, the final outcome of every situation is solely in God’s hands. Proverbs 19:21 declares, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.” While we may only see our earthly circumstances, God is working to increase our dependence on Him and to make us more like Christ. We should thank God no matter what, not out of pretense, but out of trust in His wisdom, goodness and love.

Dr. Helen Roseveare was a medical missionary to the Congo during the 1950s and 1960s, where rebel armies posed a constant threat to her team’s work and safety.

In August of 1964, word spread that the local chief had been abducted and flayed alive. One night Helen and the other women missionaries who had not already fled the country were seized at gunpoint by guerrilla soldiers who took over the hospital compound and occupied it for five months. The women were savagely beaten, humiliated, and raped by the rebel soldiers.

She has never forgotten that first very dark night: “I felt unutterably alone. For a brief moment, I felt God had failed me. He could have stepped in and prevented this rising crescendo of wickedness and cruelty. He could have saved me out of their hands. Why didn’t He speak? Why didn’t He intervene?”

But in the midst of that terrifying ordeal, as she cried out to the Lord, she sensed Him saying to her, “Helen, can you thank Me?” Helen wrote, “That healing and release began when I said, ‘Lord, I’m willing to thank You for trusting me with this experience, even if You never tell me why.’ No, my circumstances didn’t change. But He changed me in the midst of them.”

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This article originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2014 issue of Eternal Perspectives magazine.

I Will Choose to Trust God Today

In her book Choosing Gratitude, Nancy Leigh DeMoss shares a pledge written by a Bible teacher named Russell Kelfer. He challenged believers to write these words on a sheet of paper, and sign their names, then make a habit of recommitting themselves to it on a regular basis:

Having been born into the kingdom of God, I do hereby acknowledge that God’s purchase of my life included all the rights and control of that life for all eternity.

I do further acknowledge that He has not guaranteed me to be free from pain or to have success or prosperity. He has not guaranteed me perfect health. He has not guaranteed me perfect parents. He has not guaranteed me perfect children. He has not guaranteed me the absence of pressures, trials, misunderstandings, or persecution.

What He has promised me is eternal life. What He has promised me is abundant life. What He has promised me is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, and self-control. He has given me all of Himself in exchange for the rights to my life…

Therefore I acknowledge this day the relinquishment of all my rights and expectations, and humbly ask Him by His grace to replace these with a grateful spirit, for whatever in His wisdom He deems to allow for my life. 

In other words, this day—like every other day—belongs to God, not me. So, if God determines that I should spend time contending with a flat tire, an unpleasant confrontation, or even an unexpected trip to the emergency room, that’s completely up to Him. He knows best. He’s the master, I’m His servant. I have trusted Him with my eternal life, and I will trust Him with my life today.

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This article originally appeared in the Fall/Winter 2014 issue of Eternal Perspectives magazine.

Backslashes vs. Forward Slashes

Elsewhere I’ve written about many myths and outdated grammar that people routinely think are correct, and they’re driven crazy by authors who are “wrong.” In some cases the authors are wrong, in many cases they are right and the reader is wrong, and in many other cases, either way of saying it is fine.  

Having received such letters, as all writers do, I’m the last person who wants to be picky about either grammar or punctuation. But let me choose an example that may be the single most often misstated term in punctuation. That’s the backslash versus the slash, which is now often called the forward slash. At least 90% of the time these terms are used, it’s incorrect. For instance, people in radio and on TV habitually say “backslash” when referring to website addresses.

Suppose someone wanted to link people to my different books on Heaven. They could write http://www.epm.org/heaven. That is correct as written (even though in most cases you don’t need the http:// or the www, but there are exceptions).

What is incorrect is when it is spoken like this, as it’s often done in radio interviews: “See http colon backslash backslash www dot epm dot org backslash heaven.” Though it’s nearly always stated this way it’s exactly wrong—those punctuation marks, “/,” that are referred to as backslashes, are actually not. They are forward slashes.

This illustration may help to get it straight:

Assume a person is walking the same direction we write in English and most (though certainly not all) languages, from left to right.

if the person leans backward, he\she looks like a backslash
if the person leans forward, he/she looks like a forward slash

The reason for this common error is probably that in handwriting, most people making a true forward slash begin at the top, which is to the right, and move to the bottom which is to the left. Hence, since in English we write left to right, they are moving backwards to make a forward slash! And they usually move forward to make a backslash. The confusion is understandable, but if you think in terms of the person walking to the right, as above, it should always be clear.

Anyway, it makes no difference what we call slashes if it’s written correctly. But when web addresses are given audibly, it can get confusing. When someone is telling me on the phone to enter a backslash, I usually guess they probably really mean a regular slash (forward slash), but then, maybe they don’t… Trial and error gets it right, but a correct use of terminology would help.

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Interracial Marriage Between Believers

I’ve heard people use Deuteronomy 7:3-4 to say the Bible forbids interracial marriage. But God was warning His people not to marry the people of other races because they were not worshippers of God, but of idols, false gods. As Solomon was compromised through the idolatry of some of his wives, the people as a whole drew away from God.

The Israelites would be led astray from God if they intermarried with idol worshippers, pagans, or heathens. This is exactly what happened to the nation as a whole: “Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god” (Malachi 2:1). It was not a difference in skin color that was at issue!

In the New Testament people of all nations and races were coming to faith in Christ. The New Testament parallel to those Old Testament texts would be, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

It’s not interracial marriage that’s wrong, but marrying an unbeliever, or one who doesn’t believe in Jesus. (Of course, God forgives this sin, like others, and countless faithful Jesus-followers came to Christ after marriage, and their spouses haven’t yet done so—my point is not to criticize and certainly not to encourage divorce!)

I believe interracial marriage between believers is God-honoring, and can be a beautiful demonstration of Romans 10:12, “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.” It can also be viewed as a symbolic picture of Heaven, where we’re shown the beauty of all races (which in fact are part of the one human race) coming together to worship Jesus:

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." (Revelation 7:9-10)

I’ve mentioned before my respect for Trillia Newbell, author of United. This 4-minute video of Trillia and her husband Thern sharing their thoughts on living an interracial marriage is worth watching.

(John Piper has also written some helpful thoughts on race and interracial marriage.)

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