Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 174

The Cranky Code

In their book Getting Anger Under Control, Neil T. Anderson and Rich Miller share what author and speaker C. Leslie Charles dubs “The Cranky Code,” which she suggests is the belief system of our angry, self-centered society. I encourage you to read through this convicting list!

I am entitled to what I want when I want it.

My time is important and I should not have to be inconvenienced by others.

I have the right to be impatient or rude when other people are behaving stupidly.

I am entitled to special privileges because I am who I am.

I’m a taxpayer; I own part of this road and I have the right to drive as fast as I want.

I not only have the right to pursue happiness, I deserve to be happy and I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it.

I’m entitled to cheat a little bit in order to get ahead. If I don’t take advantage someone else will, and then they’ll be a step ahead of me.

I work extra hard but don’t get paid for it so I’m justified in helping myself to a few “souvenirs” from my office to offset what I am rightly owed.

I’m too busy to mince around with false politeness and should be able to tell people exactly what I think without having to worry about their feelings.

I must be more in the know than everyone else so I can stay “one up” on them; otherwise they may take advantage of me.

I deserve the newest, the biggest, the best, and the most. It’s my right.

I’m going to die one day so I may as well get as much as I can right now.

So what if I’m being rude—I never have to see this person again, so what difference does it make?

My opinions and views are more valid than anyone else’s.

My emergencies take precedence over anyone else’s emergency.

The world is unfair and opportunities are limited, so I may as well get all I can while I can, regardless of who or what stands in my way.

Anderson and Miller write, “Though clearly non-Christian in origin, these belief statements can honestly reflect the flesh patterns of believers as well—though we may be very reluctant to admit it!”

Scripture has this to say about our conduct as believers:

"Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom" (James 3:13).

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15).

“…set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

 “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

May we as Christ-followers live differently, abiding by Jesus’ words: “…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

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What languages will we speak in Heaven?

Revelation 7:10 says, “They cried out in a loud voice.” This singular “voice” implies a shared language. This could be a trade language, Heaven’s equivalent to Swahili or English, second languages that many know in addition to their native languages, allowing them to communicate. Or the common language could be our primary one. It may be a universal language God grants us without our having to learn it. If he wishes, God could allow us to understand all languages even if we can’t speak them.

Genesis 11:1, 4-7 tells us:

At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. . . . Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.” But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”

The Babel account offers clues to the importance of shared language in an ideal society. God confused the language of the people and dispersed them, so their great city went unfinished. Notice that all people originally shared one language, which empowered them to cooperate together in great achievements. But because they were united in self-glorification rather than God-glorification, they embraced a false unity that would’ve empowered further rebellion and self-destruction. Because the people weren’t united around their God-designed purpose to rule the earth for his glory, God removed a source of their destructive unity and power—their shared language. Once mankind is made righteous and entrusted with stewarding the New Earth, God will likely restore a common language.

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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Heaven is a beautiful leather-like gift book that provides solid, biblically based answers to more than 100 questions about God, Heaven, angels, and eternity. (This is a special edition of Randy's book TouchPoints: Heaven.)

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We Need a Fresh Appreciation of the Gospel’s Magnificence

“We have grown so accustomed to the idea of divine love...that we no longer sense the awe that God's coming should awaken in us.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I have seen firsthand people watching the JESUS Film for the first time, in their own languages, viewing Jesus with awe and wonder and affection, then crying out in agony when He is tortured and crucified, and weeping uncontrollably at the gospel story.

Seeing eyes glued and ears tuned to the JESUS film gives you a fresh appreciation of the gospel’s magnificence. There is nothing like hearing people gasp and watching them cover their mouths and wipe their tears as they stand wide-eyed, gaping at this Christ—this wonderful messenger sent from God—being nailed to the cross. It is a stunning sight.

Why do most of us no longer respond that way? Because the good news is old news to us. It is not fresh. Ask God to give you a renewed sense of the terrible suffering of Jesus and the overflowing love and joy that is at the heart of the gospel.  

If we truly grasped God’s grace and how amazing the gospel is—even a little—we would fall on our knees and weep. Then we would get up and dance, smile, shout and laugh, looking at each other and saying, “Can you believe it? We’re forgiven! We’re going to live forever in Heaven!”

How could we do anything less?

“Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God,  How awesome are your deeds! ...Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man” (Psalm 66:1-3, 5).

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The Things Dogs Teach Us About Life

Those of you who follow my blog or Facebook know that Nanci and I love dogs. She and I like to talk about our resurrection (post-bucket) lists, consisting of all the things we look forward to doing after we die, and in particular, after the resurrection. Nanci’s post-bucket list includes her dream to spend a lot of time with dogs. (Yes, I believe there is every reason to believe that as God put humans and animals on this earth, He will put not only humans but animals on the New Earth.)

Check out this cute video about things dogs teach us, as part of God’s creation:

The Wonderful Things Dogs Teach Us About Life.

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Whom Are You Serving?

I appreciate these thoughts from our friend Joni Eareckson Tada on Christ being the motivation for our earthly service. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:7-8, we are to “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” —Colossians 3:23-24

Sometimes I hear people say that a single man has “given his elderly parent the best years of his life.” Or I hear about a mother who has sacrificed all to “devote her years to care for her handicapped child.” Occasionally it is a missionary who has “given up her life for the mission field.”

And sometimes I hear that this single man, mother, or missionary has nearly worn out himself or herself, collapsing in bone-weary exhaustion. No wonder these people sound tired. Whom do they think they’re serving? Jesus must not only energize our service, He must be the focus of our service. As Colossians chapter 3 advises, “Whatever you do work at it with all you heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

Yes service to God means sacrifice and devotion. But we don’t give up our lives to serve others—we give up our lives to serve the Lord. It is almost incidental that we are serving a husband or wife, an elderly parent, a handicapped child, or a tribe on a mission field.

When our focus in Christian service is squarely on the Lord Jesus, our work may be tiring, but it doesn’t have to be tiresome. We may get weary, but our work does not have to be wearisome if our energy comes directly from the Lord Jesus.  How can service to the Lord be a tedious, boring effort?

Lord Jesus, it is You whom I love to serve. Help me to keep my focus on You today so that I will have all the energy I need to help others around me.

Taken from Diamonds in the Dust. Copyright © 1993 by Joni Eareckson Tada. Used by permission. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

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Cultivating Your Marriage and Guarding It from Impurity

Communication is crucial. Every affair begins with deception, and most deception begins with seemingly innocent secrets such as, “she doesn’t need to know this.” If you’re married, regularly evaluate your relationship with your spouse. Watch for the red flags of discontentment, poor communication, and a poor sexual relationship.

We live in a fallen world. Even Christian marriages can become filled with resentment, boredom, or hurt. This makes us more vulnerable to the intrigue and excitement of a new person. The answer, however, is not a new person, but a fresh appreciation of the “old” person. Boredom can be overcome, and attraction can be rekindled.

A man in our church shared with a group of men that he found his eyes wandering from his wife, who no longer seemed attractive to him. Realizing this was not God’s desire, he committed himself to praying daily that God would make his wife the most attractive woman in the world to him. Within a month that prayer was decisively answered. After hearing his story, another man did the same thing and also saw dramatic results. Both of their marriages are better now than they’ve been in years. (Perhaps their wives were praying the same thing, but I am convinced God answered the heartfelt prayers of these men.)

Sometimes our marriage problems need assistance from the outside. Yet many Christians are too proud to ask for help. They stubbornly refuse to admit their struggles and get counseling—until after they fall into immorality. If your marriage or personal life is faltering, get help now before greater damage is done. The long-term cost of not swallowing our pride far exceeds any short-term gain.

Avail yourself of books, CDs, videos, and seminars geared to improving your marriage. Go to a Family Life Ministries’ Weekend to Remember. When we were newlyweds, my wife and I went on a Marriage Enrichment weekend, and were surprised to uncover feelings and discover differences in perspective that, though they weren’t major, could have caused serious problems down the road if left unheeded. More recently, decades later, we attended a marriage conference at our church and found that while our marriage had deepened and was stronger than it had ever been, there were still things we needed to discuss. We thank God for the prompting to communicate offered by that conference.

After I addressed some of these issues at a conference, a woman shared her story. A year earlier her husband had come to her in tears, confessing his attraction to a Christian woman he worked with. He was under constant temptation and felt himself slipping. He committed himself to backing off from the relationship and asked his wife to please understand and pray for him. She was initially hurt but realized she needed to help him rather than feel sorry for herself.

The result? Not only did he get out of the relationship, but through his wife’s support they drew closer than ever before. In tears she told me, “Two months ago my husband died without warning. I know that if he hadn’t been honest with me that night, he would have ended up in an affair with the woman, and perhaps would have left me. He would have died in sin, unready to meet God, and I would have lived the rest of my life grieving his affair. But that isn’t how it happened. His last words to me were, ‘I love you,’ and I know it was true—he had proven it by his actions. I thank the Lord every day that I think of him with complete respect and admiration for loving God and me enough to be honest about his struggles.”

Lust thrives on secrecy. There is nothing that defuses lust as effectively as exposure. Honest communication between husband and wife makes them allies, not adversaries. When discussing sexual temptation, there is both initial pain, and some immediate relief. And while sharing specific names is not always necessary, spouses can better understand their mates, pray more effectively, and be more sensitive to each other’s needs—all of which will draw the couple together.

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In the Face of Evil, We Must Live Our Faith Out Loud

Today’s guest blog is from Tami Yeager, EPM’s financial administrator. She shared these thoughts on last Wednesday after the news of American journalist James Foley being beheaded by Islamic militants.

Today my heart is heavy after being assaulted by the evil depicted across the internet of the American journalist being beheaded. I woke with the following thoughts:

As followers of Jesus Christ we must not be deterred by evil. Our mission remains the same as the day it was given to us—Go, and make disciples. 

Now is not a time to halt, and count the costs. We counted the cost when we joined. We do not serve a God who revokes His call when the news is horribly grim. He is greater than the terror-filled words being screamed at the world by evil and demonic men. The Bible is filled with examples of God’s response to terrorists who taunt His people.

To many of us, the brutality we are seeing depicted on every media outlet may seem like a “new” kind of evil. While it is indeed brutal, it is not new. Christians have faced this enemy throughout the ages, and all over the world. I believe today is a time for the church of Christ to step up its game. We are in, or we are out. We are hot, or we are cold. We are willing to give our life for our cause, or we are not. 

We must guard against walls of false protection being built up around our hearts, a deceptive fortress deceiving us into thinking we can hide behind it. When confronted by those whose culture and religion are unfamiliar to us, we need to reach across the self-imposed boundaries and love.

In light of the flames of persecution spreading across the globe I feel an urgency to stand up and do my part. Now is a time to run, and not walk—to be sober and alert. It’s a time to step up our efforts and give, pray, go, speak, and do whatever God calls each of us to do. We must live our faith out loud. We have no time to waste. 

Perhaps the façade we have cloaked ourselves with—the one that said to us “persecution only happens to ‘them’”—is being removed for our own good?

I pray we will redeem the times, and finish well.

Stand steady, and don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Bring others to Christ. Leave nothing undone that you ought to do. (2 Timothy 4:5)

Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this—that I am with you always, even to the end of the world. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Tami

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Loss: Finding Hope that Lasts when Life Falls Apart

I believe in CCEF, the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation, and encourage you to explore their website and take advantage of its tremendous resources.

I have benefited from the writings of David Powlison and Ed Welch. Take 90 seconds to watch this video. Though it speaks about a conference concerning Loss, a conference God might want you to attend, it spoke to my heart, and I hope it does to you. The fact that most of us won’t be at this conference doesn’t mean our hearts can’t be touched by this 90 seconds:

CCEF - 2014 National Conference from CCEF on Vimeo.

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Sermons by Our Sons-in-Law

I love to see young men preaching God’s truth in their local churches. One day recently Nanci and I viewed video messages by both our sons-in-law, Dan Franklin and Dan Stump. As always, we really enjoyed their Bible teaching and love the way they serve their churches and seek to live out the gospel in their families.

Dan Stump, married to our daughter Angela, is an elder at Gresham Bible Church, in Gresham, Oregon. Dan Franklin, married to our daughter Karina, is the teaching pastor at Life Bible Fellowship Church in Upland, California.

Check out Dan Stump’s recent message on Philippians 1: http://greshambible.org/media.php?pageID=23

And here’s Dan Franklin’s recent message on John 13: http://vimeo.com/102656114 . Many more of Dan Franklin’s sermons can be accessed here: https://vimeo.com/lbfchurch/videos

Nanci and I thank God for our wonderful daughters and the Christ-centered men they married. We’re deeply grateful our grandchildren are among the many beneficiaries of their lives.

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Of an Unnamed Nigerian Woman

Today's guest blog is from Tami Yeager, EPM's financial administrator. Because of her passion for the persecuted church, she also serves as a volunteer community voice coordinator for The Voice of the Martyrs. 

Displayed on the Martyrs Monument (at The Voice of The Martyrs USA ministry office in Bartlesville, Oklahoma) are the names of many martyrs—each one representing a real person with a real story. I love to stand near this memorial and slowly read the names and brief descriptions. During a recent visit I found myself once again drawn to the monument. On this particular day there was one memorial stone that stood out to me. It simply read A Nigerian Woman.

Unlike the others, her name had not been inscribed in the beautiful stone slab. She had been beaten to death by an angry mob before the authorities could learn her name. I wondered what she looked like, and how old she was. She was someone's daughter. Did she have sisters and brothers? Was she married, and did she have children? These are questions I will not know the answers to on this side of eternity.

I imagined what her village may have looked like and wondered what must have taken place in her life leading up to that day in 2006. I wondered how she had been prepared for that moment. Did she wake up on that fateful morning with a sense that this day would be different? Was it customary for her to share her faith with others? Surely she knew that sharing Christ with her Muslim neighbors could cost her. I believe she had counted the cost, and was well acquainted with the price one could pay. I imagine love was her motivator, and its weight far outweighed her fear.

Did people silently slip into their homes as voices began to rise in the streets that day? Were children warned to hide in the dark, and be still? As an evil hatred raged hot amongst the mob that surrounded her, did those who believed as she did stay silent? Was her body left in the dust of the street for days as a warning to others who might have otherwise been swayed to believe as she did? Like Stephen in the book of Acts, was she looking into heaven while they beat her? Were the painful blows from many fists and feet brought to an abrupt halt as she surrendered her spirit, exhaling her last earthly breath, and simultaneously taking in her first heavenly breath?

What was it like for her to open her eyes and find that she was now in the arms of the One whom she had exchanged her life for? Standing to receive her white robe, did she recognize some of those who surrounded her? Did she then hear the cheers from a great cloud of witnesses that had been ever so faint before, and now could be heard with vivid clarity? Was she overcome with indescribable joy, peace, and happiness at the sound of the King's words, “Well done my good and faithful servant, now take your place and wait a little longer"? Did she then instinctively move into the place that had been saved for her, alongside the others of whom the world is not worthy?

I wonder who among the angry mob walked away that day unable to shake what they witnessed in her. She had been faithful unto death. Were there some who closed their eyes that night unable to escape the images now playing in their minds? Were the words she spoke to them being repeated in their thoughts? Were any of those who took part in her murder later visited in dreams and visions by the One she told them about? Would some of those who hit her, kicked her, spit upon her, and cursed her later fall on their knees and cry out for forgiveness? The day her blood was spilled on Nigerian soil, was there another Saul to Paul conversion?

The truth is I do not know any more about the Nigerian woman's story then what is written in stone. I am, however, keenly aware that in many places of the world today suffering for the sake of the gospel is “normal” Christianity. The little I do know of my Nigerian sister fuels a passion in me to give her, and others like her, a voice. I look forward to the day I meet my sister. It is then that I will learn all of her story.

Then a white robe was given to each of them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number of their brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to be martyred—had joined them (Revelation 6:11).

To learn more about Christian persecution visit www.persecution.com.

Tami