Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 3

When Prayers Go Unanswered

Note from Randy: I was looking for some resources to share with a friend who is struggling with unanswered prayer and came across this excellent article from Stand to Reason. I was surprised to see the author’s reference to my book If God Is Good, but in my defense I loved and appreciated the article before reading her mention of it! 😊

Writing about unanswered prayer, Wayne Grudem says, “When prayer remains unanswered, we must continue to trust God, who ‘causes all things to work together for good’ (Rom. 8:23 NASB) and to cast our cares on him, knowing that he continually cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We must keep remembering that he will give strength sufficient for each day (Deut. 33:25) and that he has promised, ‘I will never fail you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5; cf. Rom. 8:35-39).’”

I hope you find this article from Amy Hall encouraging.

Making Sense of Unanswered Prayer

I was recently asked, “Why do you think some prayers are unanswered despite their heartfelt, sincere, and unselfish motives?” (Greg and I responded to this on the #STRask podcast here.)

I don’t think we can know why God answers some particular prayers the way we want and not others, though we can know the two main goals God is working towards in and through our lives regardless of how he answers:

His glory: Sometimes God reveals his glory by answering our prayers the way we hoped, but sometimes he reveals his glory through our learning to depend on him as we experience his faithfulness and trustworthiness through an unchanging trial (see 2 Cor. 1:8–9, for example). He uses our life situations to make himself known to us and to the world, to draw others to himself, etc. No matter how he responds to our prayer, we can be confident he is working to reveal his glory more fully to us. As Ephesians says, his goal is to show us the riches of his grace for eternity (2:4–7), to the praise of his glory (1:6).

Our good: Romans 8:28 makes it clear God is working all things for our good, but 8:29 defines exactly what that good is: becoming like Christ. (And of course, our seeing more of his glory also works for our good!)

Since we know he has promised to reveal himself in such a way that we will enjoy the riches of his grace for eternity, and he has also promised to work everything for our good (i.e., to fulfill his purpose for us, which is to make us like Christ), we know that every answer to every prayer is working towards those two goals, even if we can’t see how his answer is accomplishing those things.

In light of those promised goals, I can think of two reasons why his responses to our prayers might seem perplexing to us at times:

First, we might not have enough knowledge to evaluate his response to our prayer. Since he’s omniscient, he knows much better than we do how to accomplish his two great goals, so his answers to our prayers could look very different from our expectations (which we developed with very limited knowledge).

Second, we might have different, lesser goals in mind when we pray (for example, our comfort, or even the easing of our distress, when such things are requested in situations where they will not actually serve God’s two great goals for us). If we evaluate God’s answers in light of our own, lesser goals, his answers won’t make sense because he has different, greater goals for us than we have for ourselves.

The above is an intellectual response to the question, but of course, an intellectual understanding of unanswered prayer and comfort in the midst of it are two different things. Sometimes grief just has to be gone through, and the best we can do is try to bear up under it in a way that brings us closer to God rather than pushes us away from him. When it comes to unanswered prayer, the only thing that can sustain us is trust in God’s sovereignty, goodness, and specific love for each of us:

God’s sovereignty: We need to trust in his sovereignty so we can rest in the knowledge that he has a reason for not giving us what we’ve asked for. We can only know there’s a reason for our suffering if we also know he could change our situation but isn’t—that our lives are not out of his control, filled with meaningless pain. (This is why God answers Job’s distress with a statement of his sovereignty.)

God’s goodness and specific love: We need to trust in his goodness and his love for each of us as his specific son or daughter so that we know there is not only a purpose, but a good purpose behind our situation—that he hasn’t forgotten us, that he truly loves us and wants the best for us, and that we’re not merely pawns in his plans.

That kind of trust in both his sovereignty and love for us as specific individuals (not just the world in general) is difficult to maintain in the midst of grief…so difficult. The only way to build up that trust is to think as much and as well as we can about who God is and what Christ has done for each of us. And we can do that by reading both the Bible and other good books that will help us comprehend the reality of God’s love as taught in the Bible. Here are three that have made a difference to me:

Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers  – This was my favorite book I read last year. The chapters are short and very readable, but it took me a while to get through the whole thing because there was so much to think about and absorb.
Delighting in the Trinity  – This is also very readable. The first time I read this, the intensity of the truth of God’s love would actually cause me to turn away from the book at times because it was too much even to take in.
Rejoicing in Christ  – This is by the same author as the previous book and does a wonderful job of revealing Christ to the reader.

This is the only path to comfort that I see when prayers go seemingly unanswered—an increased trust in God’s good sovereignty and love. All the books above are about his love since I think that’s the more difficult truth for our hearts to comprehend. In terms of God’s sovereignty over suffering, the book I would recommend is If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil by Randy Alcorn, a book that helped me grasp—in my heart as well as my mind—the truth that evil and suffering are not stronger than God, no matter how much it might feel otherwise to us. The sheer number of stories in that book where God worked through suffering—not just in spite of it, but through it—is a testimony to the truth of God’s sovereignty over evil, and it changed me.

I honestly think the two paragraphs below are the most important I’ve ever written (see the full post here: What Easter Says to Those Who Are Suffering), and they contain the ideas I finally grasped after reading Alcorn’s book:

With the cross and resurrection at its core, Christianity need never deny the reality of evil and suffering because Jesus has proven Himself to be greater than all of it. He didn’t just overcome it, He overcame through it. The cross was the very means by which He secured joy: “[F]or the joy set before Him [He] endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2). In this same way, all evil will be swallowed up. We will, in our resurrection, see that what we suffered was the means by which we gained joy, and the “eternal weight of glory” produced by our affliction will turn the suffering we experienced into a drop of dye lost in an ocean.

Sometimes we’re tempted to think evil is stronger than God, but when we understand that every attempt evil makes to harm us is working for our good, we’ll see that all of evil’s weapons have been removed from it; there is nothing left it can use against us. [Emphasis added.]

We have been chosen and called by God so that he can shower each of us with the “surpassing riches of his grace” for eternity, all to his glory. Not one of his children is forgotten or passed over. He governs each of our lives carefully and lovingly as our Father. Since we can’t always see the specifics of what he’s doing, we have to live by faith—that is, trust in the things we can’t yet see, a trust that’s based on everything we know to be true about him.

And how can we know what’s true about him? We must learn. And here we come to the bottom line: To persevere through unanswered prayer, study and pray in order to gain the kind of deep knowledge of God’s reality and character that will lead to an unassailable trust in his sovereignty and love for you. This is the only way forward through perplexing pain and seemingly-unanswered prayers.

 Originally published at Stand to Reason. Reprinted with permission.

Recommended Reading 90 Days of God's Goodness If God Is Good (Paperback) The Goodness of God

Charles Spurgeon’s Surprising Thoughts on Aliens

This may be to many readers one of the most surprising blogs I’ve ever written. And if you follow the links at the end to what I and others have said on this subject, you may be doubly surprised!

I’ve read a lot by Charles Spurgeon, but the 63 volumes of his sermons alone come to 25 million words, equivalent to the 27 volumes of the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Then his 140 books and hundreds of articles in The Sword and Trowel come to something like 18 million more words, making him one of the most prolific writers in history. So when Tony Reinke shared these great and unusual quotes from Charles Spurgeon, I shouldn’t have been surprised that I had never before read them:

“I think it is no stretch of the imagination to believe that as this world is only one speck in the creation of God, there may be millions of other races in the countless worlds around us.”

“It may be true that all those majestic orbs that stud the midnight sky are worlds filled with intelligent beings. And it is much more easy to believe that they are than that they are not, for, surely, God has not built all those magnificent mansions and left them untenanted!”

“I cannot tell you how many races of intelligent beings there are beside the hierarchy of angels, but it is not at all improbable that there are as many worlds as there are grains of sand upon the seashore—and perhaps every one of these teems with inhabitants more than our earth does.”

“It may be that every starry world teems with myriads of intelligent inhabitants—it is much more likely that it should be so than that it should not be so, seeing that God is not in the habit of creating anything in vain.”

After sharing those quotes, Reinke followed with this. I love Tony, and his sense of humor!

Haters gonna say this image is fake. https://t.co/AZUdjCTLr6 pic.twitter.com/IeVKi03R4I

— Tony Reinke (@TonyReinke) June 12, 2025

In response, J. A. Medders, the Director of Theology and Content for Send Network and the General Editor for New Churches, wrote this post, and shared more from Spurgeon:

Aliens. UFOs. Extra-terrerstial beings. Charles Spurgeon?

I was surprised to learn that Charles Spurgeon made comments about the possibility of intelligent life existing beyond our planet. But not too surprised. The man was prolific, opinionated, and bold. When you have more words printed in English than anyone else in history, it means you said a lot of stuff.

So, what did Spurgeon say? Let me give you the quotes and then my commentary.

Spurgeon on Intelligent Beings

We do not know what other races of innocent creatures there may be, but I think it is no stretch of imagination to believe that, as this world is only one speck in the creation of God, there may be millions of other races in the countless worlds around us, and all these may be invited to behold the wonders of redeeming love as manifested in the saints in the day of the Lord. I seem to see these unfallen intelligences encompassing the saints as a cloud of witnesses, and in rapt vision beholding in them the love and grace of the redeeming Lord.

It may be true that all those majestic orbs that stud the midnight sky are worlds filled with intelligent beings; it is much more easy to believe that they are than that they are not, for, surely, God has not built all those magnificent mansions, and left them untenanted. It were irrational to conceive of those myriads of stupendous worlds, vastly bigger than this poor little speck in God’s great universe, all left without inhabitants.

I cannot tell you how many races of intelligent beings there are beside the hierarchy of angels, but it is not at all improbable that there are as many worlds as there are grains of sand upon the seashore, and perhaps every one of these teems with inhabitants more than our earth does.

It may be that every starry world teems with myriads of intelligent inhabitants; it is much more likely that it should be so than that it should not be so, seeing that God is not in the habit of creating anything in vain, and we can scarcely imagine that he has made all those mighty orbs to circle around his throne without suitable inhabitants to render due homage to him.

Read the whole thing, including J. A.’s commentary.

And in case this subject interests you, I too have addressed it at length. Here are some excerpts from my Heaven book, related to a New Universe, other planets, aliens, and space travel, and addressing the question: Is It Possible That in the Ages to Come We Will Travel to Other Planets and Encounter Alien Beings?

You might also like to check out these resources on our site:

How Should Christians Respond to UFOs and Other Unexplainable Phenomena?

What about Sources That Claim They Have Proof for the Existence of Aliens? How Does That Affect Our Faith in Jesus?

 

Recommended Reading Heaven The Promise of the New Earth

Praying for and Weeping with Those Suffering in Texas

The news out of Texas has been so tragic, where the results of flash floods on July 4 have claimed more than 100 lives. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes, causing extensive damage and loss of life, including the deaths of 27 children and adults at Camp Mystic, a Christian Camp located near the river. Several people from the camp remain missing.

There’s such heartbreak—I’ve been trying to imagine if it were one of our daughters now, and even more so when they were children. Or how would any of us feel if one of these were our grandchild? May we better understand others through putting ourselves in their place, and pray accordingly. What a reminder that all of us live only by God’s mercy.  

Matt Chandler shared these prayer points for those affected by the tragedy:

Pray for rescue: Ask God to guide search teams and protect the lives of those still missing. Pray for breakthroughs and safe returns.

Pray for grieving families: Especially families who lost children at Camp Mystic and beyond. Ask for the comfort that only Jesus can give.

Pray for the displaced: Many have lost homes and basic necessities. Pray for provision and resources: food, clean water, shelter.

Pray for first responders: Lift up firefighters, police, EMTs, and volunteers. Ask for strength, wisdom, and protection as they carry unimaginable weight day after day.

Pray for the Church: Pray that local churches would be the hands and feet of Jesus, offering help, hope, and healing in the days to come.

Pray for leadership: Ask God to give local and state officials wisdom to respond well now and prepare wisely for the future.

Pray for God’s presence: That even in the pain, people would experience the nearness of Christ and the hope of the gospel.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. -Psalm 34:18

If you’d like to help those affected through giving, EPM recommends Samaritan’s Purse. Others have also recommended the disaster response of Convoy of Hope.

Several stories of heroism have already been circulating; 27-year-old father Julian Ryan died helping his family escape their flooding home. The director of Camp Mystic, Dick Eastland, died while trying to help campers. News Anchor Ryan Wolf writes, “His final act was one of courage, devotion, and love. For generations, Dick was the heart of Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas. A steady presence, a father figure, a man of deep faith—he made every girl feel seen, safe, and cherished. He and his wife, Tweety, poured their souls into that camp since 1974. She survived. He did not.”

I believe that on the New Earth we will sit around dinner tables and campfires, hearing and telling stories of heroism that happened in this present world, the one that sometimes seemed so confusing to us. And we’ll get to meet many men, women, and children whom God used to give us little glimmers of His saving grace.

Yet the question that haunts us when something terrible like this happens is, “Why?” In 2010, after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, I was interviewed about If God Is Good, my big book on the problem of evil and suffering, and the interviewer asked: “How do you respond to people who say, ‘How could your God allow this to happen?’” Here’s what I shared:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbWbBB4dbOU?si=zGuxuNOrSRylZqoQ

Recently I was reflecting on a family I know that has faced what seems to be an inordinate amount of suffering. Only God knows why, but there is a doctrine of recompense that I think goes further than we realize, meaning that those who have experienced the worst suffering in this life will enjoy the most happiness in the life to come. Of course, we will all be 100% happy in Christ’s presence, but I think the capacity for joy on the New Earth is somehow expanded through the suffering of this present time that cannot be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). 

Jonathan Edwards and Charles Spurgeon both used an illustration of eternal rewards that two vessels can be filled with water, but one of the vessels may be much larger than the other. The idea is that our faithful service for the Lord, and our suffering in this life, can increase forever the capacity for joy that we will experience in the world to come. 

Again, everyone will be filled with joy and 100% happy, and no one will lack delight, but for some who have endured such sufferings and losses in this life, perhaps their joy will be all the greater.

When I was writing If God Is Good, this really made sense to me because otherwise it’s hard to understand what seems like such unfairness due to the unequal suffering of God’s children in this life. But one day we will understand and see in retrospect that Romans 8:28 was true all along, and we will reap the eternal benefits of it.

Recommended Reading 90 Days of God's Goodness If God Is Good (Paperback) If God Is Good Booklet (10-Pack)

The Showdown Moment in Western Civilization: Is Christianity True or Not?

I have the greatest admiration for Os Guinness, a brilliant author and social critic who’s written or edited more than 30 books. I first came to appreciate Os when he worked with one of my favorite authors Francis Schaeffer at L’Abri in Switzerland. While there, living with Francis and his wife Edith, Os wrote his remarkable book The Dust of Death. When Os and I were both speaking at a C. S. Lewis conference in Oxford years ago, Nanci and I had a delightful dinner with him and his wonderful wife Jenny. (More about her and her amazing story at the end of this blog.)

I was struck by this quote from a message that Os, now 83 years old, gave earlier this year about the need for cultural-spiritual renewal in the West. This moved my heart:

We’re at the showdown moment in Western Civilization. Will the radical revolutions regenerate society as they promised, or not? Will the secular enlightenment of liberalism encourage humanity to go forward and progress with reason alone without God, or not? But also…the God of Sinai, the God of the burning bush, the God of the burning mountain, and our Lord with the call of Galilee—are these things true, or not? The Christian faith will not do anything for civilization if it’s viewed as useful. It will do nothing for civilization if we turn it into a psychological version of whatever. It will only be true and effective if it’s understood to be true and you have enough people who are citizens who have an ultimate loyalty to what they see as ultimate reality.

Os also said, “Humans need three things on a personal level: meaning, belonging, and purpose. And there are no deeper answers than the Christian faith, rooted in Judaism.”

Watch the full message here. It’s just 15 minutes long and well worth your time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1hI2GIFPig?si=JGBiOiYUhy5eYNmP

Going back to that dinner that Nanci and I had with Os and Jenny Guinness, it also included a driving tour of Oxford, which was unforgettable since Os is a great historian. (We drank wine at dinner, and I had to comment on that because his great-great-great grandfather was Arthur Guinness, the founder of Guinness beer, the Dublin brewery!)

Before our meeting, Nanci was curious about Jenny, wondering how she would dress for the dinner, so she looked her up and found out she had been a cover girl for Vogue magazine. Nanci thought maybe she'd feel totally outclassed, but Jenny turned out to be a gracious sister in Jesus, and she and Nanci really hit it off. There was much laughter, most of it involving Nanci. We had a wonderful time, the way believers can spend only one evening together and yet feel a permanent friendship has been forged, to be renewed in Heaven or on the New Earth. Memories like that, with people in places all over the world, make me miss Nanci all the more and long for the great reunion!

Read Jenny’s testimony here. Or if you want to see her compelling intellectual and cultural insights as well as hear her journey to faith from her immersion in the world of fashion, see this remarkable video. If you listen to it, you may well think of unbelieving friends who could be reached through her powerful story. Os also tells her story in his 2023 book Signals of Transcendence.

Recommended Reading If God Is Good (Paperback) The Grace and Truth Paradox

New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act, and the Worth of Each Human Being

Physician assisted suicide is in the news again, with New York lawmakers passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act. The bill is now on Governor Hochul’s desk, and she has not indicated whether or not she will sign it.

On the subject of euthanasia, this is a remarkable article by a man who knows firsthand what it is to face severe physical challenges. Dovie Eistner writes:

I was born with a recessive genetic neuromuscular condition called nemaline myopathy. Over the years, it’s developed to the relatively stable point where I use a portable ventilator to breathe — hence, my blacking out last September — and a motorized wheelchair to get around. I often require assistance with basic tasks. I’m not terminal — at least, not without taking into account that life itself is terminal, for all of us. But many times, my own body can feel like a straitjacket, and that’s without the physical pain that surges from time to time.

I don’t want to die, and God willing, I’ve got another couple of decades left, at the very least. Under the law as proposed, I wouldn’t be eligible, all things being equal. But all things aren’t always equal.

He continues:

Advocates of physician-assisted, when not resorting to subterfuge, insist that the terminally ill who want to live out their remaining days should be able to do so. So what differentiates them from those who advocates say should be allowed to die? Pain, physical or spiritual. And don’t we all suffer pain? Aren’t we all terminal? Six minutes, six days, six weeks, six months, six years, six decades — one day, the curse of Adam will catch up with us all. I’ve lost friends to tragedies who I thought would live 100 years.

Simply put, we don’t know when our time is. If that’s the case, then the logic of assisted suicide leads inevitably to the conclusion that those with doctor-approved expiration dates are living lives not worth living. Lives unworthy of life, as the Nazis referred to people with disabilities when they set out to exterminate us with their Aktion T4 program.

A life not worthy of living. Well, I’ve heard that before. From peers, from rivals, sometimes from myself. I haven’t been suicidal in a good number of years, but I can’t say that about my teens and early 20s. I’ve had my fair share of heartbreak and physical pain that might have crushed many. Yes, no one wants to end up like Tithonus, locked away to wilt and fade while still breathing. But neither should the state of New York give reason for loved ones to abandon the frail. I’m one of the lucky ones. I fear for a world in which life is cheap.

I recommend reading the entire article.

Three decades ago, I joined others, including many physicians, in expending a lot of time and effort to oppose Oregon’s move to become the first place in human history (yes, even before the Netherlands) to legalize physician assisted suicide. We failed, obviously. (In 2014, Oregon was again in the spotlight when 29-year-old terminally ill Brittany Maynard chose to end her life under Oregon’s physician assisted suicide law.)

I wrote a booklet-sized treatment on euthanasia in 1986, citing relevant Scripture. If you’re interested, here it is. I talk about the difference between taking a life and permitting a death, and that we need to be careful not to play God. Most of it, I think, remains as relevant now as it was then.

As Creator and Sovereign, God alone has the ultimate prerogative of giving and taking human life. The worth of each human being is determined not by mental or physical capacities, or tangible contribution to society, but by its intrinsic God-given nature, the fact it is created by Him and in His image. Active euthanasia usurps God’s sole prerogative over human life. In its voluntary form it is suicide; in its involuntary form it is murder.

Recommended Reading Pro-Choice or Pro-Life?

Congratulations to My Grandson Jake and His New Bride Richie!

Our grandson Jake got married to Richie in Phoenix on June 20, the first of our five grandsons to get married. Getting to know Richie and gaining a granddaughter has been delightful! Their wedding was beautiful and wonderful. The only thing missing was Nanci. ♥️♥️♥️

However, I believe Scripture suggests our loved ones now in Heaven are sometimes witnessing, in at least some capacity, God’s unfolding plan on Earth. My own mom died just four months after our Angie, Jake’s mom, was born. Nanci and I believed that at both our daughters’ weddings, in the summer of 2001, the girls’ two grandmothers were watching from Heaven. And since Nanci’s mom had been blind her last few years here, she was seeing the wedding in a way she couldn’t have even before she died. Now 24 years later, I truly believe God gave Nanci a front-row seat to her own grandson’s wedding. 🙏❤️🎉

Jake’s brother Ty, Jake, Richie, Nanci’s and my daughter Angie, and her husband Dan Stump:

The pronouncement of marriage, by Pastor Costi Hinn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70c2wVof-fY?si=-ReCrjvk4-emPD_X

Here’s Jake dancing with his mom, our daughter Angela. She was so happy for her son, I don’t think she stopped smiling the entire day!

A few days ago Jake and I talked on the phone about the wedding and honeymoon. Richie, who calls me “Pops” as Jake does, joined the conversation. It was wonderful to hear the joy in their voices. Of course they know, as we all should, that life is challenging and a good marriage takes hard work. It certainly did for Nanci and me. The best things in life, including marriage and parenting, aren’t easy, but when we draw on the empowering grace and truth of Jesus, they become incredibly rewarding.

At the wedding I spent some great time with our daughter Karina, her husband Dan Franklin, and their boys Matt, Jack, and David. Angie and I had lunch together after returning home from the wedding in Phoenix. We talked about the sheer happiness of the day with Jake and Richie and family and friends. Then we talked about how much we both missed Nanci. Both of us cried, but that’s how it should be. “We are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). The only way to avoid grief is to avoid love. And to avoid love is to avoid the best part of being alive.

Sorrow is real but in no way did it eclipse the joy of Jake and Richie’s wedding. Resurrection and eternal life await—Angela, Karina and our sons-in-law and grandchildren and friends who love Jesus will one day be with Jesus and each other forever. Nanci and Richie haven’t met each other yet but they certainly will. And knowing both of them, I guarantee they will adore each other!

I thank God for the 54 years of friendship and 47 years of marriage He gave me and Nanci. I am profoundly grateful that in our final years of marriage, as we loved and trusted and cherished each other more than we ever had.

This is wedding season, and I'm sure many of you will also be going to weddings over the next few months. If you're married, be sure to use this opportunity to think in terms of cultivating and preserving your marriage. If you're not married, do what you can to support the sanctity of marriage and uphold the importance of this sacred gift and trust God has imparted to humanity.

For those with children, let me remind you that the best two gifts you can give them is that you love the Lord with all your heart, and that you love each other unreservedly. They will find security in your love. And as important as raising children is, remember too that it was your wife or husband with whom you exchanged vows. Children are entrusted to us for perhaps twenty years, what may be a third or fourth of our lives. By God's grace, some of us will be married to our spouses for fifty years or more.

Don't make your family all about your children’s activities. Love, honor, and serve your husband or wife. Carve out time for them. Go out for dates. Do dinner and a movie. Go out of town together. Put Christ in the center of your life and conversation. Thank Him together for His goodness and kindness, not only for the big things, but also for His small daily provisions of common grace.

In a culture that glorifies selfishness and immorality, cultivate and preserve your marriage. God will be honored, and your children and grandchildren will be grateful. And people will see a signpost that points to Christ's love for His bride (Ephesians 5).

I thank God for Nanci, my partner in the great adventure God laid out for us. And now as Jake and Ritchie begin their life together, I pray they would look to Jesus every day as their Savior, Redeemer, and ever-present Friend.

Some marriage advice for everyone:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God...” James 1:5

“Don’t let the sun go down while you’re still angry.” Ephesians 4:26

“I have learned to be content...”  Philippians 4:11

“Carry each other’s burdens...” Galatians 6:2

“Above all, love each other deeply...” 1 Peter 4:8

Speaking of the challenges and joys of marriage, I was touched by this video from our friend Joni Eareckson Tada, celebrating her and Ken’s 43rd wedding anniversary. This is a couple who has leaned hard on Jesus:

 
 
 

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A post shared by Joni and Friends (@joniandfriends)

Why Should We Care about Eternal Rewards and Crowns, Since We’ll Cast Them at Jesus’s Feet Anyway?

I think the doctrine of eternal rewards is critically important, yet greatly misunderstood. Scripture is full of references to it. Here are some materials I’ve researched and presented to groups on this subject. The great majority of this is just Scripture, which I’ve organized.

Paul said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Notice that Paul speaks not of a glory achieved for Christ but “for us.” Likewise, Jesus didn’t say, “Store up for me treasures in heaven”; he said, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20, italics mine). Of course, only Christ will be honored as the object of our worship in Heaven. We will gladly lay our crowns, our rewards, before His throne, so He receives the ultimate glory (Revelation 4:10-11). Yet Scripture teaches that we will not only behold His glory but also participate in it (Romans 8:18-19).

Crowns are a common symbol of ruling power, though they may symbolize other rewards as well. Five crowns are mentioned in the New Testament:

1. The Crown of Life—given for faithfulness to Christ in persecution or martyrdom (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).

2. The Incorruptible Crown—given for determination, discipline, and victory in the Christian life (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

3. The Crown of Rejoicing—given for pouring oneself into others in evangelism and discipleship (1 Thessalonians 2:19; Philippians 4:1).

4. The Crown of Glory—given for faithfully representing Christ in a position of spiritual leadership (1 Peter 5:1-4). (Note that a prerequisite is being “not greedy for money, but eager to serve.” A Christian leader’s preoccupation with money can forfeit this reward.)

5. The Crown of Righteousness—given for joyfully purifying and readying oneself to meet Christ at his return (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

There’s nothing in this list that suggests it is exhaustive. There may be innumerable crowns and types of crowns and rewards unrelated to crowns. But all are graciously given by the Lord Jesus in response to the faithful efforts of the believer.

These crowns bring glory to Christ as they are laid before His feet (Revelation 4:10), showing that our rewards are given not merely for our recognition but for God’s glory. Although God’s glory is the highest reason for any action, Scripture sees no contradiction between God’s eternal glory and our eternal good. On the contrary, glorifying God will always result in our greatest eternal good. Likewise, pursuing our eternal good, as He commands us to do, will always glorify God. False humility that says, “I want no reward,” effectively means, “I want nothing to lay at Christ’s feet to bring Him glory.”

We are to guard our crowns carefully (Revelation 3:11). Why? Because we can be disqualified from receiving them (1 Corinthians 9:27). We can lose them (1 Corinthians 3:15). They can be taken from us (Matthew 25:28-29). We can seek our rewards from men, thereby forfeiting them from God (Matthew 6:5-6). John warns, “Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully” (2 John 8). We can fail to earn rewards, and we can forfeit rewards already in our account.

A crown is a symbol of a position of authority given by God.  Some people have told me, “We’ll get the crowns, yes, but according to this passage, we’ll no longer have them, because we’ll lay them before the throne so that God is the only one who has authority.” That’s not what this passage is saying. Those who lay them before the throne are dedicating their position and their God-given authority to Him. They’re saying, “I’m going to serve you.” But when they walk away from His throne room, they’re still in that position of leadership.

Paul spoke about the Philippians’ financial giving, explaining, “Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account” (Philippians 4:17). God keeps an account open for us in Heaven, and every gift given for His glory is a deposit in that account. When we give, we withdraw funds from our earthly account to have them credited to our heavenly account. Not only God, not only others, but we are the eternal beneficiaries of our giving.

Still, some sincere, Bible-believing Christians really struggle with the concept of eternal rewards. But here’s the incredible thing, the factor that turns the entire debate on its head: it wasn’t our idea that God would reward us. It was His idea! Satan didn’t make up the idea of incentives. Our sin nature didn’t make it up. A corrupt world didn’t make it up. God made it up. He designed us to need incentives to motivate us to do our jobs and do them well.

We flatter ourselves—and insult God—when we say, “I don’t care about reward.”

God will reward the child who gave to the missions offering the money she’d saved for a softball mitt. He’ll reward the teenager who kept himself pure despite all the temptations. He’ll reward the man who tenderly cared for his wife with Alzheimer’s, the mother who raised the child with cerebral palsy, the child who rejoiced despite his handicap. He’ll reward the unskilled person who was faithful and the skilled person who was meek and servant-hearted. He’ll reward the parents who modeled Christ to their children and the children who followed Him despite their parents’ bad example. He’ll reward those who suffered while trusting Him, and those who helped the ones who were suffering. He’ll reward the couple who downsize, selling their large house to live in a small one and give all the money away to missions.

He doesn’t have to reward anyone for anything. He does it because He wants to! And make no mistake, regardless of what you and I think about it, that’s exactly what He’s going to do: “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done” (Matthew 16:27).

Recommended Reading Heaven Money, Possessions and Eternity The Law of Rewards (Special Edition)

Cancer, Trusting God’s Plan, and Thoughts on Pursuing Treatments and When to Stop

A reader asked me this thoughtful question:

I was recently diagnosed with cancer. I am struggling with whether I should go through treatments from a biblical perspective. While I am not asking for advice on whether or not to undergo treatment, I would like to know how Randy and Nanci made the decision to go through treatments that are extremely difficult. Does Randy feel like they made the right decision?

Nanci and I had no regrets about the treatments we chose. Yes, some of Nanci’s treatments were difficult, but it was always what she wanted, and the Lord gave her four more years from her diagnosis. She wasn’t desperately clinging to this life, nor was she giving up her quality of life.

Nanci really did look forward to being with Jesus and one night asked me, “Can we change our prayer? Instead of asking Him to heal me, like we have for so long, can we ask Him, ‘If you don’t plan to heal me, would you please take me home?’” There was no bitterness or desperation; we were both content to change our prayer, which was hard in some ways, but not because we felt like we were giving up. Rather, we were giving ourselves over to God’s plan.

Nanci wanted to fight the cancer, knowing that sometimes treatments work. Finally, she didn’t want the chemo anymore because it wasn’t working.

In her last journal entry, written about a month before she died, she wrote:

Very important consultation with my doctor. It was decided that I will go on chemo pills, and I told her that I don’t want to fight the cancer in order to give me more time. She thinks maybe I have 1½ years or so.

So now we have a better feel for a game plan.

I am so relieved, and honestly excited! I will see Jesus pretty soon!

If you choose to take reasonable steps to give yourself more time, and you feel it’s worth it, go for it. We are promised that we will be given wisdom when we seek it from the Lord, who gives generously (James 1:5). By all means, seek advice from your doctors and from wise people in your life who love you and love the Lord.

But always resolve that when the right time comes, if it does, you are willing to quit treatments and go to Jesus whenever He wishes. “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).

Meanwhile, meditate on Scripture and read good books to prepare you to meet your King. And use your remaining time to have good interactions with your loved ones and say whatever needs to be said sooner, not later.

God is good and kind and absolutely faithful. Nanci and I knew that to be true before her four plus years of dealing with cancer, but we saw Him in so many ways it brings tears of profound gratitude to my eyes right now as I type this.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

    for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness. 

Lamentations 3:22–23

Here’s what I wrote on the three-year anniversary of Nanci’s homegoing. And here’s an index of many other blogs about Nanci’s cancer journey.

Recommended Reading 50 Days of Heaven (Special Edition) 90 Days of God's Goodness We Shall See God

Pray for Our Brothers and Sisters in Israel and Iran and Across the Middle East

Headlines from the Middle East, and specifically the Israel-Iran conflict, have dominated the news lately. Here are some insights about believers in Israel and Iran that can help you know how to pray.

Our ministry received an update from Kehilat Ha Maayan, a Messianic congregation comprised of mostly Jewish and also Gentile born-again believers in Yeshua (the Hebrew name of Jesus). Thirty years ago, I was in Israel to speak at prolife events, and Nanci and I visited that church in Kfar Saba, Israel, pastored by Tony Sperandao, back in October 1995.

I remember the date because we were at a Feast of Tabernacles celebration put on by the Christian Embassy. There Prime minister Yitzhak Rabin spoke to us, and we were sitting maybe sixty feet from him. A few weeks after we returned, the prime minister was assassinated, the first and only murdered head of state in modern Israel.

It was surreal to have been so close to Rabin, then to be home with our daughters and hear of the assassination just a few weeks later. We watched the news and recognized various bodyguards, including one who stood very near us. A sobering memory.  

Here’s part of an update from the church:

For all of us, this war is unlike any war we have had since 1948, the War of Independence. Many of our members do not have a bomb shelter they can readily access in 90 seconds. They must stand outside their homes in the stairways, or run to a common neighborhood shelter, which is difficult at nighttime especially with small children and elderly people.

…By God’s miracles, most of the ballistic missiles have been intercepted before they entered Israeli airspace, but the few that do, cause horrific damage in various cities like Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, Haifa, Be’er Sheva and others. And yet, many lives were spared by God’s supernatural intervention. As of this writing, over 25,000 homes have been destroyed. We have, via our distribution center, donated clothes and toys to the families who are left with nothing. Later this week, we will visit and hand out food coupons.

…Now more than ever, our people are staring at eternity. Many are interested in knowing more about God, and those who we have shared with about Yeshua, our Savior, are asking relevant questions.

The church asks for prayer for strength and wisdom to reach out to those they meet through divine appointments, as they care for people’s emotional wounds from the last two years.

Read the full update, and see more prayer requests, here.

On the subject of Iran, Naghmeh Panahi, a former Iranian house-church leader, shared these news headlines:

The Times of Israel: Iran says 700 arrested for wartime ties with Israel; 3 alleged Mossad agents hanged

NBC News: Execution of 3 accused of spying and mass detentions fuel crackdown fears in Iran

She wrote in response on Facebook:

Dear friends,

[These] last few weeks have been so hard and such an emotional roller coaster.

I would like to ask you to continue to pray for the Iranian people and specially for the underground house churches.

The Iranian regime is on a rampage of arresting and executing anyone they suspect as working with Israel. They are randomly checking phones and if there are any likes of posts that the Iranian government perceives as anti regime, they are arresting.

The underground house churches in Iran are in great danger. Not only have they been heavily persecuted because of following Jesus, but they have been accused of working with Israel and America and are often given political charges and heavy prison sentences.

There [are] also concerns that Iran will shut down all forms of communication with the outside world (much like North Korea) to be able to better control the Iranian people.

The situation for the Iranian people has gotten worse specially for the underground house churches.

Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to share the Gospel to people around them who are struggling with fear and hopelessness.

Elam Ministries, an organization EPM recommends, shared this remarkable story:

Last week Hanieh*, a believer inside Iran, was walking the streets of her city praying for protection and peace. As she listened to worship music, she prayed that God would continue to show the Iranian church how to be salt and light amid the chaos and fear. Then she saw a family ahead of her on the street, clearly dismayed and distressed. She went over to them, and began to talk and pray with them. They, like many others at this time, were hungry for hope and their hearts warmed as she shared the Gospel with them.

There on the street in a war-torn city, Hanieh had the privilege of leading the whole family in prayer as they put their trust in Christ.

Hanieh is one of many Christians in Iran who are committed to continuing to serve Christ in these dark days.

*Name changed for security.

See their website for more ways to pray for Iran.

My friend Greg Laurie writes, “Let’s pray for a powerful spiritual awakening in the hearts of the Iranian people. I’ve heard remarkable stories of millions coming to Christ, despite their government’s attempts to suppress the gospel. You can’t stop the Word of God! Let’s also pray that many Israelis come to see Jesus as their Messiah during this time of crisis.”

Our brothers and sisters in Syria also need prayer; last Sunday there were violent attacks on churches. Ananias House, a ministry serving those in the Middle East, reports that at least 25 people are dead, with the count continuing to rise as the more than 60 wounded are treated.

“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Hebrews 13:3).

Recommended Reading Safely Home

Since Satan Knows the Ultimate Outcome of God’s Plan, Why Does He Continue Opposing God?

A reader wrote me this insightful message:

If Satan is familiar with the Bible, and knows what John wrote in Revelation, why does he bother when he knows the ultimate outcome?

I think, although I have no specific scriptural support for it, that Satan is the ultimate egomaniac. That being the case, he might overestimate his “power” (which is clearly under God’s control) and be delusional about his role in the events of the last days, thinking he might somehow really be like The Most High. Another possible explanation is that he knows full well that he loses in the end, and is determined to make the lives of Christians on earth as “hellish” as possible, knowing this is as close to hell as we will ever get.

I believe this person’s comments are right on target: “I think…that Satan is the ultimate egomaniac. That being the case, he might overestimate his ‘power’ (which is clearly under God’s control).”

Let’s look at some Scripture that supports this conclusion.

Satan and angels are created beings; and, as such, are totally subservient to God and limited in all their powers compared with the Sovereign and Omnipotent Creator. “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). “For I am convinced that neither death, no life, no angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height , nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). “For the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Satan and his fallen angels (demons) are, however, powerful, crafty, intelligent, deceitful, and committed to (permanently sealed into) opposing God. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). “In which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

As created beings, Satan and angels (fallen or not) do not know God’s plan (except for that which is revealed). They do not know what God’s decree contains, until it actually happens. “But of that day or hour no one knows not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Mark 13:32).

Satan and the angels cannot read minds. Nowhere does Scripture mention this capability for any creature. Yet, it specifically asserts God’s ability to know an individual’s mind: “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether” (Psalm 139:4); “But He knew what they were thinking” (Luke 6:8)

Satan, demons, and fallen humans all know that God is real. “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” (Job 1:6). “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). “Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20).

Satan’s entire delusion is that he is “like God.” This is the reason he fell and introduced sin into the creation. “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15).

He presented the same deluded idea to Adam and Eve, and they chose it too. “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). This is an intoxicating delusion. One who is operating their life based on “illusions of grandeur” will act irrationally consistent with their mental (or spiritual) illness.

Therefore, even though fallen creatures know the revealed truth, and know that God exists, it is irrelevant to them. Satan is convinced that he is free to act, smarter than God, and able to thwart God’s plan. “Then Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Does Job fear God for no reason? …But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face’” (Job 1:9, 11).

At every point Satan is focused on opposing God (for example, the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11). Fallen humans also oppose God: “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (Romans 1:22-23).

Satan sometimes poses as an angel of light and offers counterfeit religions based on subtle misinformation: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Other times his counterfeit religions are outright pagan: “And served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons” (Psalm 106:36-37); “I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; and I did not want you to become sharers in demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20).

His final delusion will be with the Antichrist, and the only reason this will happen is the Lord removing the restraint: “Who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.....And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed....The one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:4, 6, 9).

Satan considers himself successful in his opposing God. However, since he is created, even he and his demons are part of God’s decree. As such, Satan cannot do anything that is not allowed by God. And everything Satan is allowed to do brings about the eternal plan of God to His Glory. “Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.’ So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord” (Job 1:12). “He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him” (Mark 1:27). “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6).

Satan is so thoroughly deluded about his ultimate success over the Lord that he actually attempts a physical overthrow. This same blinding delusion is reflected in the men whom he uses in the end times: “…by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). “And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and these was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:7-9).

So, the answer to this person’s original question is summed up in the statement “seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” Satan is so delusional that, in his blinding hatred opposing God, he willingly fulfills God’s decree as it is plainly revealed and known by him.

The devil cannot oppose God more vigorously than the way described in the final chapter of Revelation. He thus willingly charges into the face of sure defeat fully confident of victory. Such is the nature of evil. “And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:1-2). Even after 1,000 years to contemplate the truth of the Scriptures, when he is finally released, Satan goes right back to opposing God exactly as described in Revelation. “And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations... And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:7-10).

If Satan was free to decide not to do what the Bible reveals he will do, then Satan would be more powerful than God. God would be proven not to be Sovereign. Additionally, God tells us He is Truth (“I am the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6) and His Word is Truth (John 17:17); if, in fact, Satan could decide that he will not act as prophesied in Revelation, then the Word would be false. If the Word is false, and it is the source that reveals both God and Satan, then nothing could be believed about either.

Recommended Reading hand in Hand If God Is Good (Paperback)