Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 186
November 27, 2013
Thanksgiving: The Noblest and Most Joy-Giving Sacrifice
I appreciated these thoughts on gratitude from William Law (English cleric and theological writer, 1686 –1761), excerpted from his book A Serious Call To a Devout and Holy Life. May you have a happy, Christ-centered, full-of-gratitude Thanksgiving!
Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God willeth, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.
…If anyone would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing. Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.
…though it be the noblest sacrifice that the greatest Saint can offer unto God, yet is it not tied to any time, or place, or great occasion but is always in your power and may be the exercise of every day. For the common events of every day are sufficient to discover and exercise this temper and may plainly show you how far you are governed in all your actions by this thankful spirit.
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you (Jonah 2:9).
Related Resources
Book: 90 Days of God's Goodness
Blog: Sustained through Gratitude
November 25, 2013
An Invitation to Join the Giving Tuesday Movement
Black Friday. Small Business Saturday. Cyber Monday. What’s next? Fire-sale Sunday? It seems like every year there’s a new “specially designated” day to promote Christmas spending.
I want to say something about the growing “Giving Tuesday” movement (yes, yet another new day, but this one with a higher purpose). It’s the philanthropic community’s response to the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and is designed to provide people with a charitable day to consider giving as they go into the holiday season. (Learn more at www.givingtuesday.org.)
You can give to any ministry you choose. (In fact, we don’t turn down gifts at EPM!) But one of my favorite ministries is the JESUS Film project, which I’ve personally witnessed at work in powerful ways in China, Cambodia and Mexico. They’re one of the charitable partners participating in Giving Tuesday. If you are led to donate on December 3, then JESUS Film would be a great organization to consider. (In fact, if you wish, you can give through EPM and we’ll pass on 100% of the designated donations. Simply select the special fund “JESUS Film” at www.epm.org/donate.)
The Giving Tuesday project that JESUS Film will feature this year is the Mission 865 Project, which is their effort to translate the “JESUS” film for 865 people groups of 50,000 or more speakers; it will also have a challenge grant that will multiply the impact of the gifts given.
As the Advent Conspiracy movement shows, a growing number of believers are aware of the materialism in our Christmas celebrations and are choosing to celebrate differently. I’d encourage you and your family to consider ways that you can make this Christmas different, even if you still exchange presents, as our family does.
Many years ago when our then-missions-pastor Barry Arnold told our church about enslaved Christians in Sudan, family after family spontaneously decided to give to free the slaves. My family was among them, and it was a wonderful Christmas, made better by the knowledge that we’d given to what matters.
Shortly before he and his four friends were killed by the Auca Indians in their attempts to bring them the gospel, missionary Nate Saint wrote:
As we have a high old time this Christmas, may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christless night without ever a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for these we have failed to bring out of darkness. Beyond the smiling scenes ofBethlehem may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha. May God give us a new vision of His will concerning the lost and our responsibility.
David Bryant, author of In the Gap, asks, “Who wouldn’t like to end each day, putting our heads on our pillows, confidently saying, ‘I know this day my life has counted strategically for Christ’s global cause, especially for those currently beyond the reach of the gospel’?”
Whether or not you participate in “Giving Tuesday,” may this Christmas season focus on the person and work of Christ. One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For we know the grace of Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich.”
Speaking of a gift, imagine one day on the New Earth, the warm voice of someone from a different culture, with a different color of skin, coming up to you, embracing you and whispering, “Thank you—through your giving you helped bring us the good news of Jesus.”
Related Resources
Book: The Treasure Principle
Blog: Pondering God's Giving Heart
Article: Investing in Eternity
November 22, 2013
Don’t Raise Good Kids: Thoughts from Jon Bloom
My friend Jon Bloom, author of Not By Sight: A Fresh Look at Old Stories of Walking by Faith, wrote a great blog for Christian parents and for all those raised in Christian homes. I remember when our daughters were small, the importance of trying to convey even to really good kids that they are sinners, lost without Christ. It’s a delicate balance. On the one hand, when they’re obedient and responsible and kind, you want to affirm them for being good. But at the same time they need to see that just like their parents, they are truly sinners, they fall far short of God’s perfect standard, and they are completely lost apart from a relationship with Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Thanks, Jon for this thoughtful article:
Don’t Raise Good Kids
By Jon Bloom
Parents, don’t raise good kids. I’m a recovering good kid, and I’m here to tell you that the gospel isn’t for good kids.
I was pretty easy for my parents to raise. I was generally compliant, had a buoyant, warm personality, didn’t get into any serious trouble, was liked by my teachers for the most part, usually did respectably in school, was a leader in my church groups, and had plenty of friends. My adolescent, wild-oat sowing would only generate smirks and eye rolls.
My folks and most adults in my life affirmed me as a good kid, and I believed it. Which posed a problem for me: I struggled to grasp the gospel.
Me? Hell?
Though I believe my pre-adolescent conversion was real — God is gracious to produce and honor a small seed of real faith — it was hard to swallow that I was that bad. God showing favor on me in redemption made sense because others had shown favor on me. But it was hard for me to see that this favor was not the approval of a good kid but the pardoning of a condemned sinner. Really? Me deserve hell?
Related Resources
Book: Heaven for Kids
Blog: What is a father's primary responsibility?
Resource: Parenting Teens: Leaving a Lasting Spiritual Heritage
Photo credit: hotblack via sxc.hu
November 20, 2013
Empowered for Holiness
Don’t forget that “the one [Christ] who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). As powerful as the evil one is to tempt us, God is infinitely more powerful to deliver us and has given us in Christ all the resources we need to live godly lives.
“Be holy for I am holy.” God is the reason we should be holy. But He’s also the empowerment for our holiness. Many of us are convinced we should be more holy, but we’ve gone about it wrong. To be holy in our strength, and for our glory, is to be distinctly unholy. To be holy in Christ’s strength and for His glory…that’s our calling, and our joy.
Christ intercedes for us (Romans 8:34) for the same reason we intercede for each other—we need help and we need God’s power to resist temptation and live holy lives. Since the prayers of a righteous man are effective (James 5:16, NIV), what could be more effective than Christ’s prayers for us? What an encouragement to know that even if no one else knows our needs and is praying for us, Christ does and is.
Perspectives from God’s Word
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:11–12).
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).
Perspectives from God’s People
“The Spirit’s work is not to make us holy, in order that we may be pardoned; but to show us the cross, where the pardon is to be found by the unholy; so that having found the pardon there, we may begin the life of holiness to which we are called.” —Horatius Bonar
“Lord, make me as holy as it is possible for a saved sinner to be.” —Robert Murray M’Cheyne
A "Buy-two-get-one-free" special
Did you enjoy this excerpt from Randy's new devotional Seeing the Unseen? This affordable gift book is the perfect way to introduce friends and family to Randy's writings on a variety of topics. Place three Seeing the Unseen books in your cart (retail $9.99, EPM price $7.99 per book). During checkout, use the discount code seeingoffer to deduct the full price of one book. Offer ends November 30, 2013. Limit one free book per order.
Photo credit: br8mbill8 via sxc.hu
November 18, 2013
Beauty from Ashes
Today's guest blog is from Tami Yeager, EPM's bookkeeper. Because of her passion for the persecuted church, she also serves as a volunteer area coordinator for Voice of the Martyrs. Tami and her husband Jeff have five children and seven grandchildren.
...a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:3).
Where we live we are able to burn our yard debris during certain times of the year. Each fall we clean up dead and dying plants and toss them into the burn pile, having deemed each plant as having served its purpose and its season having come to an end. When we do burn the pile, the fire burns extremely hot, and because of its size and intensity, it will often smolder for days. When it does eventually burn out, what remains is a large pile of ash.
This last spring a beautiful squash plant rose from the burn pile. Not a single person in our family planted it or tended it once it sprouted from the ashes. Yet this plant is the healthiest plant on the property. The seed survived the heat of the fire last fall and the freeze of winter, and the plant weathered the 80-degree, sun-filled days of this past summer. Not only did it survive all of those extreme elements, but it has also bore an abundance of fruit—there are over nine squash growing on this healthy plant!
The beauty of the abundant life rising from the ash pile has captivated me. I have found my thoughts consumed with what God is saying through this plant that came to life from the ashes. It comforts me to know that God can bring beauty from ashes, and also reminds me that there is great potential for seeds buried in the soil of disappointment, sorrow, and despair.
Never underestimate the potential of a seed buried deep within the ashes. The fire that seemed to be relentless was in reality creating the perfect soil for new life.
November 15, 2013
The Power of Perspective
Our perceptions—much more than our circumstances—are the building blocks with which we construct our lives. No matter what the circumstances and stress, our view of life determines our level of joy and contentment.
Having a biblical perspective is seeing life as God sees it. It is the ability to get past the immediate circumstances to see God’s ultimate plan.
Perspective is what Joshua and Caleb had; it’s what the other ten spies lacked (Numbers 13:31). Joshua and Caleb entered Canaan and saw the land, the fruit, the potential for prosperity, and a place for their families to live and worship God. The other ten spies went to the same land and saw giants—great men of war, who made conquering the land seem impossible. Of course Joshua and Caleb saw the same giants. But while the ten saw the giants as bigger than God, the two saw God as bigger than the giants. Because they envisioned God on His throne, Joshua and Caleb could look at the same set of circumstances and see a completely different picture than the others saw—a picture both realistic and optimistic.
Our perspective may not be tested in the same way as theirs, but count on it, it will be tested.
Years ago Nanci and I went on a two-week vacation to California. We left the kids with friends and took off on what was going to be our greatest vacation ever. We had everything planned and just knew it would all go perfectly.
Everything did go perfectly—for the first forty miles. Then our radiator blew up, costing half a day and half our money to get a new one. Twenty-four hours later the rest of our money and our credit cards were stolen—on Friday evening of Memorial Day weekend. We couldn’t wire back for money until the banks opened three days later, when we had reservations in another part of the state. As the saying goes, “But that’s not all.” Not only did we have more car problems, but Nanci developed a severe sun rash and couldn’t expose her skin to direct sunlight until we returned home to Oregon (where direct sunlight is rarely a problem). Long sleeves, high necklines, and floppy hats were the only things that allowed her to escape from the motel.
Now, while it could have been the worst vacation we’ve ever had, it turned out to be one of the best. Why? Perspective.
We cried, we prayed, we laughed, we grew. We counted our blessings and realized how much we had and how little we’d lost. Once we let go of our ideal picture-perfect vacation and determined to enjoy whatever God had for us, He gave back to us a wonderful time and more. The circumstances didn’t improve because our attitudes improved. But, by God’s grace, our attitudes completely overcame the circumstances. With hearts full of gratitude, we enjoyed our time immensely.
“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21). The fulfilled life largely consists of unclenching our fists, releasing our plans and giving ourselves over to His purpose, whether visible or invisible.
“A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” (Proverbs 18:14). A right attitude carries us through bad circumstances and poor health. But no matter how strong the body, how positive the circumstances, a crushed spirit will never experience joy. Perspective is what makes the spirit soar like an eagle even when the body is ravaged by accident, disease, or age.
Stress can’t stand in the face of a right perspective.
Related Resources
Book: Help for Women Under Stress
Blog: Crisis and Tragedy
Resource: Circumstances or Perspective?
Photo credit: slarge via sxc.hu
November 13, 2013
Are aborted children better off because they’ll go straight to Heaven?
In this video interview with EPM staffer Julia Stager, we discuss the question, “Aren’t unborn children better off being aborted so they can go to Heaven, rather than taking the chance they will be raised in homes where they won’t come to faith in Christ?” I also share some more expanded thoughts in the following transcript.
That question really pushes a button with me. I’ve heard it from a number of people and I cringe every time. In fact, years ago I heard it from two pastors on two separate occasions. They were seriously arguing, “Why are you trying to do all this stuff to prevent abortions? Children are better off dying. They’re going to be in Heaven forever.”
They were actually trying to tell me that attempts to save the lives of unborn children may end up sending them to Hell because they’re going to grow up past the age of accountability (a term not used in Scripture, though there might be some truth to it), and then in all probability reject Christ. So if we succeeded in saving their lives, they would probably go to Hell instead of Heaven.
To which I responded, “That is a very cold theological argument!” And, “Do you see any logic like that in the Bible?” Now, do I believe that children are covered by the blood of Christ? I don’t think it’s as easy a question to answer as some people do (who assume children are morally innocent), but, yes, the bottom line is I do believe they are covered by Christ’s blood. (I share more about this in another article.)
What bothers me the most is the people who take the “moral high ground” to justify their failure to try to save the lives of unborn children.
Consider this scenario: You have a child or grandchild who is two years old. If they die today you believe they'll go to Heaven, but if they grow up they may not come to Christ. So what is the best thing you can do today? Kill them? Using the same logic for not saving children dying by abortion, you could make that choice.
Or, suppose I saw a three-year-old little girl about to fall off a cliff. If I save the child’s life, she will likely grow older and may not come to faith in Christ. But if I let her die, she goes to Heaven. What should I do? (That’s how you make a moral quandary out of something that’s completely simple—you try to save the child’s life even if you have to risk your life to do it!)
This whole line of argumentation is repugnant on the face of it, isn’t it? I think it’s every bit as repugnant when used about unborn children as it is about children who are already born.
Satan must just love this whole idea. To demonstrate just how ugly and demonic this “logic” is, consider the following post a commenter left in response to an article on our website. The thought process he uses is seemingly sound but actually utterly deceptive:
(1) Unborn babies do not deserve worse than death by dismemberment.
(2) God does not condemn people to worse than they deserve.
(3) Hell is worse than death by dismemberment.
(4) Therefore, God does not condemn unborn babies to hell.
(5) Hundreds of millions of unborn babies have been aborted.
(6) Had they not been aborted, some of these would have survived to adulthood.
(7) Many of these survivors would not have come to faith in Christ (it is unreasonable to think otherwise).
(8) Adults who do not come to faith in Christ are condemned to hell.
(9) Therefore, if some had not been aborted, they’d have gone to hell.
(10) Therefore, abortion has saved some from hell.
(11) We can correspondingly conclude that abortion saves an unborn baby from the risk of hell.
(12) Hell involves eternal suffering and conscious separation from God.
(13) There is nothing in the earthly life for which it is worth risking eternal suffering and conscious separation from God.
(14) Therefore, abortion is in the unborn baby’s interest.
This apparently seemed logical to the commenter, but it is morally reprehensible. And most importantly, this logic doesn't work with God, who is much smarter than any of us.
When I was two years old, I wandered away from my parents and fell into a swimming pool. It’s my earliest memory. I vividly recall being under the water with my eyes open, and I was terrified. Some stranger whose face I never saw pulled me out of the water. I wonder to this day if it was an angel. In any case, my life was saved, and I’m sure glad!
Scripture says, “Rescue those being led away to death. Hold back those staggering towards slaughter. Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. Defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9). That’s what God says. (Not "kill them young, or stand by passively and let others kill them, so they'll go to Heaven.")
Look out for theological argumentation that becomes rigid and uncaring. It can be terribly misused, and in this case, it is both thoroughly unbiblical and dishonoring to Christ.
Related Resources
Book: ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments
Blog: You May Choose to Look the Other Way, But...
Audio: How can pastors address the issue of abortion in their churches?
photo credit: Insight Imaging: John A Ryan Photography via photopin cc
November 11, 2013
Randy’s book Money, Possessions and Eternity, and Sending Your Treasure on Ahead
Originally published in 1989 and updated in 2000, Randy’s book Money, Possessions, and Eternity tackles some difficult subjects and encourages readers to reconsider their perspectives on money and material possessions. Randy shares more about the book in this minute-long video:
Over the years, readers’ stories and responses to the book have been a continuous encouragement to Randy. He writes, “I’ve received countless letters and emails telling me how people have been liberated to a new joy in their Christian lives. One man told me that the book helped him choose to move from his position as CEO of a major company to work in a missions organization. Another man told me he has given millions of dollars to God’s kingdom as a result of God speaking to him through the book. Pastors have written to say how their lives and their churches have been changed. This is a tribute not to my insight, but to the power of the Scriptures that are the cornerstone of this book.”
We recently received this note from a family that is learning firsthand about sending their treasures on ahead:
Money, Possessions, and Eternity and Heaven have had a very profound effect on my thinking—and my bank account—over the last year. We first downloaded the Kindle version of Money, Possessions, and Eternity. My husband began reading right away, but I wasn’t interested. We’ve always been responsible with money, giving generously, and not in debt, so I didn’t think I needed to read it.
But eventually I gave in and surprisingly found it interesting and challenging. In particular, your comments on Revelation 13:6 about the enemy seeking to steal our desire for Heaven caught my attention, so I began reading your book Heaven as well. Meditating on Heaven has given me a whole new perspective, making discontent circumstances seem so much smaller and insignificant. It also made me want to give a lot more—not because I felt guilty, but because I was excited about Heaven!
About the same time we were looking forward to my husband’s yearly work bonus, and using it this year for much-needed new kitchen counter tops. After reading your books though, my husband suggested that we give the entire bonus away to kingdom work, and I was totally on board with that idea. As we began to give, God began to release such joy!
Now one year later, I am convinced that there is absolutely nothing on this earth I could have bought myself with that money that would have given me half as much pleasure as I received from giving it all away. We helped friends with adoption costs, helped a missionary family come home for furlough, bought a used car for a young pastor at church, gave monthly support for Bible translation, and gave toward a large year-end need at our church.
The more we gave, the easier it was to give. We even designated part of the bonus money for each of our elementary-age children to choose how to give away, teaching them about stewardship and prayer in the process. We have been blessed by going to a new level of giving and in the future would like to continue stepping out in faith to give more.
Now it is bonus time again, and my counter cracks have turned into bigger chips. We have set up a small savings fund to replace the counters someday. It will take more time to get new kitchen counters this way, and our house won’t get paid off as early as we’d planned, but I am happy to send my building materials ahead to eternity. Whenever I look at the chips in my counter, I am reminded of the children of prisoners that we sent to camp this summer, the Bibles we sent to persecuted countries, and those who will soon have God’s Word in their own language through translation work we have helped with. What are counter tops compared to all of that? —A. K.
Stephanie
Eternal Perspective Ministries
November 8, 2013
Eternal Hope for the Grieving
I remember like it was yesterday hearing the stunning news of the death of fourteen-year-old Rachel Terveen.
Rachel’s family was part of our church. Her brother Matt was the same age as our daughter Angie. The church and community mourned. Though I didn’t know her personally, Rachel has come to my mind often over the years. When I wrote my book Heaven, I included her in the dedication.
Rachel was an athlete, young and vibrant...if any death was unthinkable, hers was. Nanci and I looked at our own daughters, and realized no one is immune to death. In Psalm 90:12, Moses prayed, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Our churches and communities, our nation and our world, are filled with grieving people—numb, broken, bitter or simply exhausted. Grief is a journey, often confusing and sometimes terribly lonely. Those grieving need to hear from God. He promises His Word, not ours, will not return to Him empty, without accomplishing the purpose for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11). (John Terveen, Rachel’s father, later wrote a book titled Hope for the Brokenhearted: God's Voice of Comfort in the Midst of Grief and Loss. A former pastor, Dr. Terveen is a Greek professor at Multnomah Biblical Seminary [a part of Multnomah University, a school I had the privilege of graduating from over thirty years ago.] His book is steeped in Scripture.)
Who of us has not been touched by death? A dear friend of mine died at age 19 in a terrible farm accident. My uncle was murdered. My mother was suddenly taken by cancer. Eleven years later, to the day, I was holding the hand of my closest friend when he died at age 38. My wife and daughters and brother and I were with my father when he died. My wife’s dear mother and father have died. On and on it goes. Your list is as long as mine.
But here is the good news, and it is breathtaking: one day God “will swallow up death forever” (Isaiah 25:7). All that is wrong will be made right. “No longer will there be any curse” (Revelation 22:3).
Jesus said, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. . . . Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven” (Luke 6:21-23). This is the promise of God: His children who weep now at all their losses, will laugh in Heaven.
I began by saying I didn’t know Rachel Terveen personally. That’s true, but one day I will meet her. I’ll get to hear her laugh. I’ll watch the smiles of her father and mother and her Lord Jesus, as they look at her. As resurrected people, we’ll walk together on God’s New Earth.
Our Lord promises, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain” (Revelation 21:4).
That day may seem distant, but it is coming. Bank on it.
Related Resources
Book: The Goodness of God
Article: Giving Comfort to Hurting People
List: Recommended Books and Resources for Those Who Are Grieving
Photo credit: TouTouke via rgbstock.com
November 6, 2013
How the Word of God Sets Prisoners Free
One of the ministries EPM supports is Biblica, a ministry committed to making the transforming message of God's Word accessible for people in any life circumstance. One way they do that is through a prison outreach that provides inmates worldwide with biblical resources directing them to spiritual freedom in Christ.
I encourage you to watch this six-minute testimony of a life transformed through God’s Word as a result of Biblica’s work on the Free on the Inside Prison Bible:
I especially loved this video because EPM has a heart for seeing prisoners come to Christ and grow in their faith. By God’s grace we are now sending out an average of 679 books each month to inmates and chapel libraries. (EPM staff member Sharon Misenhimer sends ministry information and/or books to over 300 prisoners each month. It’s a busy job!)
The books we send minister to a wide range of inmates, from those serving sentences for drug-related crimes to those on death row. They’re often shared with other inmates, so one book may be read by dozens. It’s a privilege to receive letters such as these:
I just wanted to thank EPM for all the books you mailed to me while I was in prison. I have been out a year now. I’m doing good, and trying to continue to grow in Christ. The books you mailed to me helped change and redirect not only my character, but my life. What you are doing does make a difference! —J.
Mr. Alcorn’s book Safely Home tore through that veneer I had still clung to. His passionate and alive characters touched my heart and made a way for Jesus Christ to utterly destroy my selfishness. The Lord has truly re-entered my life like never before, in great part because of Safely Home. —A.
Your books help me see life from a whole new perspective. Your books have helped me grow into a strong Christian woman. —R.
We’ve sent thousands of my new graphic novel Eternity to prisons across the country, and will be sending more. Eternity will be being read, ultimately, by tens of thousands of prisoners, many who find it hard to read conventional books. It includes exceptional artwork and a clear gospel presentation, embodied in a parable of Jesus into which I’ve woven depictions of Heaven and Hell. (By the way, when people are drawn to the gospel, and come to Christ through unconventional reading material THEN there is reason to hope they will become readers of conventional books, starting with God’s Word!)
What can you do to get involved in reaching prisoners? You can pray that many men and women in our prison system would come to faith in Christ through the materials being sent out by Biblica, Prison Fellowship, EPM, and other ministries. We would also greatly appreciate prayer that every book EPM sends would be used by the Lord to touch and change lives.
If God lays it on your heart to help partner with our ministry in sending Eternity and my other books to prisoners, you may donate online (choose the option "Books for Prisoners Fund" under Special Funds) or send a check to EPM designated “books for prisoners” on the memo line. 100% of the donations to this fund will be used to finance the cost of the books and materials, as well as the shipping charges. We would love to have you on our prison ministry team!
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. (Psalm 107:13-16)
Related Resources
Book: Eternity
Article: Books for Prisoners
Blog: Sharing the Message of Eternity
Background image credit: saavem via rgbstock.com