Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 36

Ways Parents and Grandparents Can Pray for Children as They Head Back to School

Note from Randy: These are some thoughtful back-to-school prayers from Melissa Kruger with The Gospel Coalition. May they serve as reminders to pray for the children in our lives. Sometimes it's the only thing we can do for them. But it’s always the best thing, since God is on the throne, and our power is so limited.

Melissa writes, “Amid all the hustle and bustle of a new school year, one of the best ways we can prepare our kids is by praying for them. A few years ago, I ended the summer by reading through the Psalms and Proverbs. As I drank in the wisdom of these two books, I put together a list of Scriptures to help me pray for my children as they headed back to school.”

I pray that my children would understand their need for Jesus and rejoice in the good news of the gospel. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death” (Ps. 68:19–20).

I pray that my children will love learning, that their hearts would seek to understand the world you’ve created. “The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly” (Prov. 15:14).

I pray that as they learn about your world, they would behold the majesty of your glory. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” (Ps. 19:1–2).

I pray that you would surround them with friends who make wise choices and encourage their faith. “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Prov. 13:20).

I pray that their teachers would be wise and gentle. “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. . . . A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit” (Prov. 15:2, 4).

I pray that they would work with diligence and put forth their best efforts. “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied” (Prov. 13:4).

I pray that they would be thoughtful with their words and respectful in their replies. “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things” (Prov. 15:28). 

I pray that you would free them from the pressure of trying to be like everyone else, instead instilling in them the confidence to know they’re uniquely made by you. “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Ps. 139:14).

I pray that they would receive correction well. “The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence” (Prov. 15:31–32).

I pray that they would share their faith with others. “They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom” (Ps. 145:11–12).

I pray that when they do what’s wrong, they would bear consequences that lead them to repentance. I pray that when they do what’s right, you would bless their obedience that they may learn to love your ways. “The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways” (Prov. 14:14).

I pray that your Word would be on their hearts and in their minds as they learn. “Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD” (Prov. 16:20).

I pray that they would be kind to others. “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Prov. 21:21).

I pray that you would give them the grace of self-control. “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls” (Prov. 25:28).

I pray that your grace would rest upon them. “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (Ps. 90:17).

I pray that you would protect them from all evil. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life” (Ps. 121:1–2, 7).

More than anything else, may their lives glorify you. “I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever” (Ps. 86:12).

O Lord, hear our prayers! Amen.

Download the PDF of these prayers. The Gospel Coalition is also offering a back-to-school sale on resources for parents and churches.

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Will There Be Technology in Heaven?

A reader asked our ministry, “Will people have technology in Heaven?”

Technology is a God-given aspect of human capability that enables us to fulfill His command to exercise dominion. Something in the human constitution loves to create, tweak, experiment, and play with machinery. This isn’t a modern development; it was true of ancient people as well.

We will find harps, trumpets, and other man-made objects in the present Heaven. What should we expect to find on the New Earth? Tables, chairs, cabinets, wagons, machinery, transportation, sports equipment, and much more. It’s a narrow view of both God and humans to imagine that God can be pleased and glorified with a trumpet but not a desk, computer, or baseball bat. Will there be new inventions? Refinements of old inventions? Why not? We’ll live in resurrected bodies on a resurrected Earth. The God who gave people creativity surely won’t take it back, will He? The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29).

In this two-minute video, I share some thoughts about technology to the glory of God.

When God gave Eden to Adam and Eve, He expected them to develop it. He’ll give us the New Earth and expect the same of us. But this time we’ll succeed! This time no human accomplishment, no cultural masterpiece, no technological achievement will be marred by sin and death. All will fully serve God’s purposes and bring him glory.

On this earth, we seek comfort and invent ways to get it. On the New Earth, comfort may seek us. It may be built into the environment so that our efforts can be spent on other concerns. Of course, we’ll have the technological knowledge and skills to control our environment, so if we can make ourselves more comfortable, we will.

If mankind had never sinned, would we have invented the wheel and created machinery? Certainly. On the New Earth, shouldn’t we expect machinery made for the good of mankind and the glory of God? On the New Earth people might invent machinery that could take us to the far ends of the New Milky Way, to other galaxies and beyond. Why not? Is this notion more unthinkable than it once was to imagine sailing a ship across an ocean or flying a plane across the world or landing a spacecraft on the moon? Because people in this fallen world have extended their dominion beyond our current Earth, might we not expect people on the New Earth to extend their Christ-exalting reach into the new universe?

With advanced science and technology, it seems we will build far greater things on the New Earth than we can on the old. Paul Marshall points out, “The Bible never condemns technology itself. . . . It does not make the modern distinction between what is ‘natural’ and what is ‘artificial.’ Both are seen merely as aspects of what is ‘creational,’ a category that includes both the human and the non-human world in relation to each other.”

Even under the Curse, we’ve been able to explore the moon, and we have the technology to land on Mars. What will we be able to accomplish for God’s glory when we have resurrected minds, unlimited resources, complete scientific coopera­tion, and no more death?

Browse more resources on the topic of Heaven, and see Randy’s related books, including Heaven and The Promise of the New Earth.

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John Piper on Why We Confess Our Daily Sins

Note from Randy: While we have a settled once-and-for-all forgiveness in Christ, we also have a current ongoing relationship with Him that is hampered by unconfessed sin. We should keep short accounts with God. When we sin, we should confess immediately, relying on God’s grace and mercy for forgiveness. Otherwise, we’ll become desensitized and go another step further before our dulled conscience objects. Delayed confession is the next worst thing to no confession.

Ask Pastor John is one of my favorite podcasts, and I encourage you to listen to it. The following is an excerpt from the episode All My Sins Were Canceled — So Why Continue to Confess?

Since we are conformed to Christ progressively and not all at once, therefore Christians are going to sin. There are no sinless Christians in action. “If you say you have no sin, you’re a liar,” John said (see 1 John 1:8–10). What should our attitude be, then, toward our ongoing acts and attitudes and words of sin?

No genuine Christian who loves Christ can be cavalier about the very thing Christ died to abolish — namely, our sin. That would be one mistake we could make: we could be cavalier in our attitude. “Well, he died to forgive them all, so they don’t really matter, because they’re all covered by blood.” No true Christian talks like that about his own sin.

But the other mistake would be to panic and feel that with every sin, there needs to be a new redemption, a new sacrifice, a new penance. …“I have to pay something, right? I see it. I have to pay something. I have to make this right.” That would be a great mistake. The payment was perfect. You can’t add to it at all. You can’t add to your sin-covering at all.

Instead, what the New Testament says, in 1 John 1:9, is this: “If we confess” — and I’m underlining that word confess. Repentance or penance might not be the most helpful word here. Just stick with John’s word. Confess means “agree with,” “see it the way God sees it,” “feel about it the way God feels about it.” So John says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So confessing is not a payment. It is simply an agreement with God that this was an ugly and unworthy thing for me to do, and I’m ashamed of it. I’m sorry for it. I turn from it. I embrace the finished, complete, perfect, once-for-all work of Christ afresh. I rest in it. I enjoy the fellowship that he secured.

By John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source:  desiringGod.org

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A Two-Point Checklist of Christlikeness

John 1:1, 14 tells us Jesus is full of two things: grace and truth.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Not “full of patience, wisdom, beauty, compassion, and creativity.” In the list there are no commas and only one conjunction—grace and truth. Scripture distills Christ’s attributes into a two-point checklist of Christlikeness.

The baby born in a Bethlehem barn was Creator of the universe. He pitched His tent on the humble camping ground of our little planet. God’s glory no longer dwelt in a temple of wood and stone, but in Christ. Jesus was the Holy of Holies.

But when He ascended back into the wide blue heavens, He left God’s shekinah glory—that visible manifestation of God’s presence—on Earth. We Christians became His living temples, the new Holy of Holies (1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 6:19).

People had only to look at Jesus to see what God is like. People today should only have to look at us to see what Jesus is like. For better or worse, they’ll draw conclusions about Christ from what they see in us. If we fail the grace test, we fail to be Christlike. If we fail the truth test, we fail to be Christlike. If we pass both tests, we’re like Jesus.

A grace-starved, truth-starved world needs Jesus, full of grace and truth.

What does this hungry world see when it looks at us?

Surprised by Grace

First-century Jewish culture understood truth far better than grace. Grace comes first in John 1:14 because it was more surprising.

When Jesus stepped onto the world’s stage, people could not only hear the demands of truth but also see Truth Himself. No longer fleeting glimmers of grace, but Grace Himself. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, NASB).

When God passed in front of Moses, He identified Himself as “abounding in love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). The words translated love and faithfulness are the Hebrew equivalents of grace and truth.

Grace is a delightful, fragrant word.

It intrigues.

Attracts.

Compels.

Dazzles.

It also confounds. It’s as though God said, “You know about truth. It’s taught in synagogues every Sabbath. But let Me tell you about grace...”

The Old Testament teaches the fear of God, spelling out the horrendous consequences of disregarding truth. It presents truth relentlessly.

There’s certainly grace in the Old Testament—lots of it—but it was overshadowed by truth. The Pharisees, God’s self-appointed gatekeepers, never emphasized grace. Christ’s hearers had seen truth in the law of Moses, but it was Christ who gave them their first clear view of grace.

The law could only reveal sin. Only Jesus could remove it.

Achieving Balance

Today, many of us embrace truth but need a heavy dose of grace. (Spend ten minutes on social media if you need an embarrassing eyeful of examples.) Others talk about grace but forget their need for a heavy dose of truth.

Truth-oriented Christians love studying Scripture and theology. But sometimes they’re quick to judge and slow to forgive. They’re strong on truth, weak on grace.

Grace-oriented Christians love forgiveness and freedom. But sometimes they neglect Bible study and see moral standards as “legalism.” They’re strong on grace, weak on truth.

When I invited a lesbian activist to lunch, she hammered me for an hour, telling of all the Christians who’d mistreated her. She seemed as hard as nails. I listened, trying to show her God’s grace, praying she’d see the Jesus she desperately needed. She raised her voice and cursed freely. People stared. But that was okay. Jesus went to the cross for her—the least I could do was listen.

Suddenly she cried and sobbed—broken. I reached across the table for her hand. For the next two hours the story spilled out, of her heartsickness, her doubts about the causes she championed. I told her about Christ’s grace.

After four hours we walked out of that restaurant, side by side. We hugged.

In our conversation, truth wasn’t shared at the expense of grace, or grace at the expense of truth.

With only one wing, birds are grounded. Likewise, the gospel flies only with the wings of both grace and truth.

The apparent conflict isn’t because grace and truth are incompatible, but because we lack perspective to resolve their paradox. The two are interdependent. We should never approach truth except in a spirit of grace, or grace except in a spirit of truth. Jesus wasn’t 50 percent grace, 50 percent truth, but 100 percent grace, 100 percent truth.

Countless mistakes in marriage, parenting, ministry, and other relationships result from failures to balance grace and truth. Sometimes we neglect both. Often we choose one over the other.

It reminds me of Moses, our Dalmatian.

When one tennis ball was in his mouth, the other was on the floor. Large dogs can get two balls in their mouths. Not Moses. He managed that feat only momentarily. To his distress, and our great amusement, one ball or the other spurted out onto the floor.

Similarly, our minds don’t seem big enough to hold on to grace and truth at the same time. We go after the grace ball—only to drop the truth ball to make room for it. We need to stretch our undersized minds to hold them both at once.

A paradox is an apparent contradiction. Grace and truth aren’t really contradictory. Jesus didn’t speak truth and suddenly switch to grace. Jesus constantly and permanently engaged both. And so should we.

There is always one answer to the question of what Jesus would do: He would act in grace and truth.

Tim Keller wrote, “'Truth’ without grace is not really truth and ‘grace’ without truth is not really grace.”

Truth without grace breeds a self-righteous legalism that poisons the church and pushes the world away from Christ. Grace without truth breeds moral indifference and keeps people from seeing their need for Christ.

Jesus doesn’t need publicity agents; He wants followers. Attempts to “soften” the gospel by minimizing truth keep people from Jesus. Attempts to “toughen” the gospel by minimizing grace keep people from Jesus. It’s not enough for us to offer grace or truth.

We must offer both.

Adapted from Randy’s book The Grace and Truth Paradox .

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We Are Not Dying Out; We Are Hastening on to a More Glorious Life

During the four years my beloved wife was dying of cancer, she read daily from Spurgeon’s messages and books. I searched “Spurgeon” in the typed manuscript of my Nanci’s last four years of journals. I knew they were full of Spurgeon quotes, but I wasn’t prepared for the total—170! The only person she quoted more often was God, from His Word. It’s no exaggeration to say that other than her Creator and Redeemer, and her immediate family and closest friends, no person spoke to her more powerfully than Charles Spurgeon!

Nanci quoted from Spurgeon’s devotional Faith’s Check Book several times. (You can read it online here.) Here is December 14’s devotional:

"And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new"  (Revelation 21:5).

Glory be to His name! All things need making new, for they are sadly battered and worn by sin. It is time that the old vesture was rolled up and laid aside, and that creation put on her Sunday suit. But no one else can make all things new except the LORD who made them at the first; for it needs as much power to make out of evil as to make out of nothing. Our LORD Jesus has undertaken the task, and He is fully competent for the performance of it. Already he has commenced His labor, and for centuries He has persevered in making new the hearts of men and the order of society. By and by He will make new the whole constitution of human government, and human nature shall be changed by His grace; and there shall come a day when the body shall be made new and raised like unto His glorious body.

What a joy to belong to a kingdom in which everything is being made new by the power of its King! We are not dying out: we are hastening on to a more glorious life. Despite the opposition of the powers of evil, our glorious LORD Jesus is accomplishing His purpose and making us, and all things about us, "new" and as full of beauty as when they first came from the hand of the LORD.

Nanci copied down longhand Spurgeon’s words: “We are not dying out: we are hastening on to a more glorious life. Despite the opposition of the powers of evil, our glorious LORD Jesus is accomplishing His purpose…” Then she wrote, “I would not trade my cancer journey for anything because of the growth in my love, adoration, and trust in my God.”

Though I never read anything by Spurgeon in Bible College or seminary, once I discovered his books (and especially his sermons) he became one of my greatest sources of eternal perspective, joy, and insight. But even if I’d never read a sentence by Spurgeon, the effect he had on my wife in her greatest years of need would have forever changed not only her life but mine.

P. S. If you haven’t met Charles Spurgeon, introduce yourself to him by reading his classic devotional Morning & Evening, which Nanci loved. I also recommend Spurgeon Gems, 280 short quotations mostly gleaned from his sermons. I have the Charles Spurgeon collection (an incredible 149 volumes, including over 3,500 sermons), one of my favorite add-ons to my Logos Bible Software, an amazing resource I use often in my research.

If you want to read what I selected as the best Spurgeon insights on Heaven and the New Earth (most of them excerpts from his sermons), see my book We Shall See God, which is 60% Spurgeon’s words and 40% mine. (The expression “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission” came to me often while writing that book, since Spurgeon wasn’t available for me to ask if I could co-author it with him! Though it seemed a bit presumptuous on my part, when Nanci introduces me to him in Heaven I don’t anticipate him being offended!)

Photo by Matthew Hicks on Unsplash

Quality Resources to Teach the Bible to Children

A friend asked me for some recommendations for resources on teaching the Bible to children. I researched and found some, but also thought I would include some resources for kids to read and discuss with their parents, which would help them understand God’s Word and hopefully get them excited about it. I also threw in some quality videos.

Our duty to our children is clear: “Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). I hope parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and those involved with children’s ministry find this list helpful. What could be more important?

7 Ways of Teaching the Bible to Children: Includes 25 Lessons, Plus Activities That Satisfy Different Learning Styles.

Leading Little Ones to God: A Child’s Book of Bible Teachings, emphasizes the role of parent and teachers.

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, by Sally Lloyd Jones, my favorite book of Bible stories for kids.

The Beginner’s Bible: also good Bible stories.  They’ve made a video series based on the book. Here’s one of them: The Greatest Story.

The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes: this is by Ken Taylor, who Nanci and I knew and loved. He was the founder of Tyndale House, one of my two major publishers. This is a classic, long-time bestseller among children’s Bible stories, now updated.

The Biggest Story: Kevin DeYoung has written a delightful book that both young and old will enjoy. It is a small treatment of a huge theme—God’s drama of redemption, centered on Jesus Christ. Kevin’s words are fresh, engaging, playful, and biblical. Many Bible storybooks offer pearls without a string. This one puts the pearls on a string—the right one. The result is magnificent and memorable.

The Gospel Story Bible: I know and love Marty Machowski, a pastor with a heart for children.

Kingstone Comics published two of my graphic novels, and they have some great stuff for older kids. They do cover some more challenging aspects of the biblical narrative, so it would all depend on what you think is age appropriate, and I would recommend looking them over first before giving them to your kids.

The Kingstone Bible Trilogy: a very large and well done 3-volume series. Violence is depicted where there is violence in the Bible, but it’s usually not gratuitous. There is an occasional image that I think could’ve been toned down for kids, but that’s a matter of taste, and kids aren’t their only audience, so people in their teens 20s and older adults really can benefit from these. (I was raised in an unbelieving home and loved comics, so that format appeals to me.) This big set is a terrific resource for families where they could be reading and looking at stories and choose in advance which ones they think are best. It is very biblically oriented. A southern Baptist pastor, Art Ayris, heads up the whole project, and has become a good friend of mine. The two graphic novels I did, at least parts of both, are in this big Bible set as are most of the other products they produce. If you get this set, you get a lot of the things that they sell in smaller forms.

101 Questions about the Bible and Christianity: Another great Kingstone product. It is essentially apologetics for the young, but also for the old. I recently gave it to two of my teenage grandsons. Again, some of it is too advanced for really young kids but parts of it would be helpful to upper elementary school kids. You just have to choose what questions apply to them and read in advance and decide when you want to share it with them. (If you have younger children, trust me, your kids will be teenagers before you blink your eye! My daughters are 43 and 41, and it seems like yesterday they were elementary school, and the day before that they were born!)

The Bible Project: an amazing and ever-growing collection of relatively short videos, most in the five to seven-minute range, some of which are very appropriate for children, and all of which are great for adults. Nanci and I used to watch these together in the evenings and talk about them. It’s a fun way to learn as a couple, and as the kids get older, for the whole family together.  Also, your Bible study group could use them where you say, “Let’s listen to this video or these two videos this week and talk about them when we get together,” or you could just simply watch them and talk about them together on the spot.

The Gospel Project: This is a systematic curriculum for teaching the Bible to kids both young and older, often used in churches. Trevin Wax supervises this as managing editor; he’s a good friend and rock solid. I’ve endorsed several of his books. Here’s an interview with Trevin where he explains what it’s all about.  

Tim Challies, a friend I deeply appreciate, lays out the distinctives of The Gospel Project in an interesting and informative article. This may be the single best thing for use in churches. Here’s one of their videos for kids on Jesus and the Samaritan woman. For sure it sticks closely with the text of Scripture. The Gospel Project for PreSchoolers is just one of their many products. This video explains it.

Route 66 Book: The 66 Books of the Bible for Kids, Grades 2-5 .

“What’s in the Bible?” is a fun and excellent resource for kids from Phil Vischer, who created Veggie Tales but went much deeper with this.

Shai Linne is a rapper and a pastor, and he is rock solid. Check out his Bible teaching to kids through song. Here’s more Shai Linne stuff for kids.

Some more recommendations of resources are on this page.

Do you know about the Christian children’s video subscription called yippee? It has all kinds of videos and stuff for kids. Not all Bible teaching, but good stuff.

Truth and Grace Memory Book

Doorposts: If you haven’t seen this resource, you might want to check it out.

Here are some resources my assistant Amy recommends:

Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce Ware: encourages and enables parents of children 6-14 years of age to teach through the whole of systematic theology at a level their children can understand.

Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers (series) by Joey Allen: The most foundational teachings of the Christian faith are presented in the Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers series at a level preschool and elementary children can understand. 

Big Theology for Little Hearts (Board book series by Devon and Jessica Provencher): Each book in the Big Theology for Little Hearts series introduces a big idea from the Bible with concise definitions and engaging illustrations to help young minds gain a foundational understanding of God’s word.

My First Books and More by Carine MacKenzie:  a year’s worth and more of Bible readings, devotions, and memory verses.

The Daily Grace website has great resources for kids and families, including Theology Cards for Kids and A to Z Promises of God Kids Cards.

And my thanks to Ashley Roethlisberger who gave me these great suggestions:

Our kids love listening to Adventures in Odyssey at bedtime or in the car. (Some of them do get pretty intense though, so we had to stop them at bedtime.)

They also enjoyed listening to The 7 Habits of Happy Kids in the car.

Their favorite Bible stories on video by far are The Superbook Show.

My newest source for teaching children a biblical worldview is Foundation Worldview. They have many resources, including 20-minute videos for children 4-8 years old that my kids have enjoyed and that give us practical things to discuss throughout the week.

Last idea would be the book The New City Catechism for Kids. They also have an app. My 3-year-old nephew has already started memorizing those! Biblical doctrine Q&A made simple.           

Finally, my thanks to reader Wendy McCloy for suggesting Danika Cooley's website: Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible - Thinking Kids (thinkingkidsblog.org)

I watched Danika's interview with Focus on the Family. Great stuff! She also has a prolife book for children titled Wonderfully Made, which she reads online.

May we, as parents and grandparents, have a passion for the things of God and for teaching our children what will truly matter for eternity!

“Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh” (Joshua 24:15).

Photo: Pexels

Reading about the New Earth Changed Her View of All Creation and Gave Her Hope

Our ministry received this letter from a reader of the Heaven book. In her own way, she captures the essence of what has happened in the lives of countless people who for many years were held in bondage by the false view of Heaven and eternity that has been widespread in Bible-believing churches. There are still many people who think that way, though I would say definitely less than 20 years ago when I wrote Heaven. I am very, very grateful that the message is getting out. But I can’t tell you how many conversations, letters, emails and texts I’ve received—including from pastors and other serious Bible students—that echo what this woman wrote to tell us.

I wanted to tell you how much your ministry has touched me. I was a veterinary assistant for three years, and I’ve had to be a part of many euthanasias. As much as you become used to it, the pain you see in the owners’ eyes as they say goodbye to their beloved pets will never stop affecting you. I’ve seen horrific things as a VA, and every time it reminds me it was never supposed to be this way. We were never meant to watch people and animals suffer like this.

I used to believe what you’ve coined as Christoplatonism. I was utterly devoid of any hope for the world, and I just thought the only creation that will benefit is those who follow Jesus. I always thought that was so unfair because in reality, animals and plants and the globe itself never did anything wrong—it was us. Even some non-Christians have a sense of how the world suffers because of the sins of people.

For 22 years of my life, I believed that God would just destroy the earth one day and then Christians’ spirits would be taken to Heaven, and we’d forget everything that ever happened and be disembodied spirits that only sang for the rest of our lives. I did not understand why Christians so anticipated the second coming.

My dad actually recommended your book Heaven to me to help understand the physical and spiritual redemption of not only humanity but the whole world. I was shocked! It changed my perspective on a lot of things. I started realizing that there are a lot of very good things in the world that are often just polluted with sin. Things like reading, writing, painting, laughing, athletics, drama, etc. All of these things are good, but sin often pollutes them into being used for evil.

I had thought, “Well, God wants me to use my gifts now, but that won’t be a thing once we are in Heaven with Him. We’ll just be too focused on Him that we won’t do anything else.” Once I learned we will work, eat, worship, and experience endless pleasures (I learned this from your book and Scripture) my mind was completely changed. I started seeing God in a different perspective, and not as a dictator who wants to punish mankind and whose original idea lost to Satan. I realized God doesn’t have a plan B; He’s going to make sure His original plan is reinstated and much better. I see that as a huge win!

I used to think (because my Sunday school teachers who didn’t care for animals told me so) that if I ever had a dog, when they died, that was it, and there’s no way I’d ever see them again. They just cease to exist. It never settled well with me. I prayed about it many times and when I’d pray about it, it never felt like God was affirming what these people told me, quite the opposite. I’m not saying God ever told me directly what He plans to do; more that He gave me this sense that what I’ve been told wasn’t exactly true.

The older I’ve gotten and more I’ve studied and read, I firmly believe that God will redeem all of creation. I sincerely hope and am fairly certain all the animals I’ve had to watch suffer and eventually be put to sleep will one day get to play on God’s New Earth and many will be reunited with the owners they made so happy here!

Even with my own dog, who as of now is still fairly young and very healthy, it makes me sad to know someday he’ll pass away, but I have hope that it’s not the last time I’ll see him. I’m not someone who would put my dog’s life over another person’s, but I surely do love him. He’s been a great comfort to me and companion to me as a single woman. I truly believe God sent him to me, because I got him when I was going through an extremely rough time. I believe that God wouldn’t just let him cease to exist, and I think animals who bring joy and comfort to humans here and now are special to Him.

Basically, I just want to thank you for helping me change my perspective and for seeing the value in all creation. It’s disheartening to hear Christians speak so terribly about animals and treat them like trash. It’s lovely to see a fellow Christian who believes in the humane treatment of animals and loving them the way God loves them. May God continue to bless your ministry!

When I was reading over 150 books and researching the subject of Heaven in 1999-2003, it was remarkably difficult to find much at all about the New Earth, and especially much that was biblically grounded and made sense. It was maybe 1% of what I read, if even that. What I did find jumped out to me as biblical truth that I had never been taught in an evangelical church, Bible College, or seminary. In my conversations with people, it was shocking what pastors and Christian leaders believed and did not believe about Heaven.

I have had people tell me (and I hope they’re right) that the Heaven book has had a major effect on changing the perspectives of evangelical pastors and laypeople on the subject of the New Earth. I’m humbled and grateful. When the book came out in 2004, it was regarded as unique and radical. Some thought it was off-the-wall, but others resonated with it, and began looking into what Scripture had taught all along. I think I believe more in its truth now than I even did when I first wrote the book. (I would not have written it had I not believed it!) But it was so different than 98% of what I was reading. I could only find references to the New Earth in mostly obscure books and a few reformed systematic theologies. 

Many have been influenced not only by my book but by Surprised by Hope, by N. T. Wright. It came out four years after my book Heaven, and to my surprise and delight, world-class theologian Tom Wright not only read my book but wrote to me to express his agreement. (He only objected to me calling the New Earth the future Heaven, since he thinks only the present Heaven should be called that, though I think Heaven won’t cease but be relocated to the New Earth, where God’s dwelling place with His people and this throne will be—hence the New Earth will be Heaven on Earth.)

I’ve had many people ask if I based my book Heaven on N. T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope. Fortunately, mine was published in 2004 and his came out in 2008, otherwise given the number of times we cite the same quotations about the New Earth it might appear that I leaned heavily on it! But I really do like what Wright did, and he’s an excellent and creative communicator with an audience that includes many readers not in mine.  

I have noticed a striking difference when I speak to groups today than when I spoke to them 20 years ago. Despite the clear teaching of Scripture, the  pushback against the New Earth used to be very strong, now it’s milder and some are totally onboard. I still have many people say, “I’ve never heard that before,” but noticeably fewer. When people ask me what I consider my most influential books, I often say those related to Heaven and the New Earth. I add to that my books on giving, prolife issues, those on suffering, and those on happiness. (Though many people have been more influenced by my fiction than my nonfiction, and I’m grateful for that also.)

But more than anything, I hear from people that they have a transformed picture of Heaven and the New Earth that’s helped them fear death less and focus less on bucket lists and more on the blood-bought promises of Jesus about the wonders of eternal life with Him and His people. If the belief that God’s people will never pass their peaks and really will live happily ever after as resurrected people living on a resurrected earth is a significant part of my legacy as a writer, I’ll certainly be happy and grateful to God!

If you’d like to read more about Christoplatonism, here’s a video, and here’s the appendix I wrote about it in Heaven. (I coined the term “Christoplatonism” to capture how Plato’s notion of a good spirit realm and an evil material world hijacked the church’s understanding of heaven. From a Christoplatonic perspective, our souls occupy our bodies like a hermit crab inhabits a seashell.) And here’s an excerpt from the book: Will Animals, Including Our Pets, Live Again? And in this article, I address Eight Myths Many Believe about Heaven.

Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash

Social Media Is Hurting Our Children: What Can Concerned Parents and Grandparents Do?

Note from Randy: This is a sobering and important article from The Gospel Coalition’s Joe Carter, explaining how social media is causing our children to suffer, and encouraging parents to be proactive in protecting their children. (And it’s not just children who are negatively impacted by social media; many of us adults are too.)

If your child has a smartphone or has access to a phone, a tablet, online gaming console, or a computer, they are vulnerable. As a parent you might wonder, “Do I have the right to interfere? Isn’t that being nosey?” Your job is to interfere, and to know what is going on in your children’s lives, as well as what happens when they’re at friends’ houses and at school. You need to protect them, just as if you were standing next to a freeway and would feel an obligation to put your arms around them and say, “Stay off that freeway.”

This is a battle for our children, with their lives and futures at stake. May Christian parents answer the Lord’s call to protect their children.

Social Media Is Causing Our Children to Suffer

By Joe Carter

The Story: The U.S. surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, has issued a warning about the potential risks of social media on children’s mental health. Here’s why Christian parents should be concerned—and what we can do to protect our kids.

The Background: The surgeon general’s warning comes in response to growing scrutiny over the harmful effects of inappropriate content on and excessive use of social media. These platforms have been linked to a range of harmful consequences, from disrupted sleep patterns to promoting suicidal thoughts among young people.

Murthy has called for policymakers, platforms, and parents to establish safe limits, and he believes children shouldn’t join social media before the age of 13. The Biden administration is simultaneously releasing plans to improve online safety for children that include establishing an interagency task force, promoting digital literacy and habits, and supporting efforts to prevent online harassment and child abuse.

An estimated 95 percent of teenagers and 40 percent of children aged 8–12 are on social media, often exposed to extreme and harmful content. Those spending more than three hours a day on these platforms are twice as likely to experience depression and anxiety. Additionally, one-third or more of girls aged 11–15 have reported feeling “addicted” to certain platforms.

As family researchers Jenet Erickson and W. Bradford Wilcox point out,

Newer research indicates that yes, social media is a factor, with some adolescents and young adults especially affected by platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The largest study to date found that girls between the ages of 11–13 appeared to be especially vulnerable. And Facebook’s own research, leaked by a whistleblower last year, revealed a link for teen girls between Instagram use and increased suicidal thoughts (13.5%), eating disorders (17%) and feeling worse about their bodies (32%). [links in original]

What It Means: Human inventions are part of God’s common grace to mankind, and most have the potential to be used for our flourishing. However, in our focus on the potential benefits of technology, we often downplay or dismiss the obvious harm and suffering they can cause. This has been especially true of communication technologies like social media. While Christians, in particular, have been slow to respond to the threat of social media, we can no longer ignore the effects on our children and teens.

We should become more aware of how communication technologies shape our thinking and interactions. Harold Innis, a 20th-century communication theorist, posited that media technologies have three profound effects on us: they shape (1) the structure of our interests, (2) the character of symbols, and (3) the nature of community. Applying this model to social media reveals significant areas of concern.

The structure of interests refers to the subjects that hold our attention. In this age of algorithms, social media can greatly influence what our children and teens think about. It’s unsurprising there’s been a skyrocketing number of teens exploring and engaging in bisexuality, eating disorders, and transgenderism when social media sites have been promoting those topics to teens.

It’s easy for teens to start with a worthy interest and be led down a path to suffering. A teenager interested in fitness might receive an onslaught of posts promoting unrealistic body ideals, leading to body dissatisfaction and unhealthy behaviors. Social media algorithms may then point them to proanorexia (“pro-ana”) and probulimia sites and to online communities where they can interact with others who promote “thinspiration” (i.e., “inspirational” pictures of extremely thin bodies).

The character of symbols, or the ways we interpret and communicate information, has also been revolutionized by social media. Platforms tend to favor brevity and instant gratification, reducing complex ideas to emojis, hashtags, and viral challenges. This shift can undermine critical thinking skills and encourage a superficial understanding of issues, such as the Bible and faith. Rather than turning to parents, pastors, or mature adults who can help them navigate their questions and doubts, teens are encouraged to learn from their frivolous and ill-informed peers.

The nature of community is greatly affected by social media. While these platforms offer a way to connect with others, they promote shallow, fleeting interactions over meaningful, deep relationships. This can impair the development of critical social skills such as empathy and conflict resolution.

Teens tend to confuse social media with “real life.” On platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, users are regularly exposed to idealized and often unrealistic portrayals of the lives of others. Seeing peers and celebrities flaunting their “perfect” (often photoshopped) bodies, luxurious lifestyles, and flawless appearances can lead to unhealthy comparisons and a distorted self-image. Many teens and preteens feel pressured to meet these unattainable standards, which can lead to body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and eating disorders.

Cyberbullying is another significant issue. Before the internet, bullying was mostly confined to school grounds. Now, it has infiltrated homes through screens. Online platforms have become a breeding ground for harassment, trolling, and abuse, where anonymity often emboldens bullies (as any adult who has been on Twitter can attest). The effects of cyberbullying can be devastating, leading to anxiety, depression, and, in extreme cases, suicidal ideation. According to a survey by Pew Research taken in 2022, nearly half of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 (46 percent) report ever experiencing at least one of six cyberbullying behaviors.

What can we do to protect our children? While the Bible doesn’t say anything directly about social media, it has a lot to say about considering the company we keep and avoiding negative influences:

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. (Prov. 13:20)

My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. (Prov. 1:10)

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Cor. 15:33)

We can’t completely control who children and teens are exposed to online. But we can pray earnestly to the one who cares for the souls of children and welcomes them into his kingdom. We can ask him to work in their hearts and the hearts of those around them, keeping their feet from evil ways and causing them to delight in him above all.

Parents also can and should take greater precautions to protect their children. The most effective way is to limit or take away their access to smartphones. As Leonard Sax says,

As a family doctor, I pay attention to these nuts and bolts. I advise parents to install parental monitoring software on any device with Internet access, to enforce limits on social media use. Common Sense Media recommends Net Nanny and Qustodio, as well as Bark or Circle, among other parental monitoring apps.

Explain to your teen that the use of a smartphone is a privilege, not a right. Inappropriate use of the smartphone will result in forfeiture of that privilege. What constitutes inappropriate use? Downloading or sharing obscene photos is inappropriate use. Cyberbullying is inappropriate use. Posting nasty comments anonymously is inappropriate use. A parental monitoring app will let you know whether any of this is happening, and it’s the job of parents to know. [link in original]

“My advice to parents: don’t wait for state or federal legislation,” adds Sax. “You could be waiting a long time. Parents need to act now.”

This article originally appeared on The Gospel Coalition , and is used with permission of the author.

Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash

Do We Understand Stewardship 101?

Grasping God’s ownership of everything is the foundation of a biblical theology of money. Faithful money-managing stewards act in the owner’s interests, regularly consulting Him to understand and implement His investment priorities. That’s why when I was asked “What are the most basic principles of stewardship?” my answer begins with God’s ownership.

Here’s what God’s Word says about who owns everything:

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
    The world and all its people belong to him.” (Psalm 24:1).

“Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 10:14).

“The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me [God]. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me.” (Leviticus 25:23).

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.” (1 Chronicles 29:11‑12).

“Who has given me anything that I need to pay back?
    Everything under heaven is mine.” (Job 41:11).

“For all the animals of the forest are mine,
    and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird on the mountains,
    and all the animals of the field are mine.
 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    for all the world is mine and everything in it.” (Psalm 50:10‑12).

Jesus asked, “If you are untrustworthy with worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?” (Luke 16:11). He taught more about how we should handle money and possessions than anything because our spiritual condition and service qualifications are inseparable from our attitude and actions concerning material wealth.

Jesus gave the best investment advice: “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). We can’t take our treasures with us, but we can send them on ahead!

Happiness, not mere duty, permeates a God-honoring theology of money. Jesus said: “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving” (Acts 20:35, GNT). When grace-saturated, kingdom-minded, eternity-oriented disciples lovingly utilize God’s money and possessions, we fulfill the first and second greatest commandments. We thereby store up treasures in Heaven and cheerfully “take hold of what is truly life” (see 1 Timothy 6:19, CSB).

So search Scripture, seek God’s wisdom, then give, save, and spend His money well, and thereby love Him, your family, neighbors, and a needy world.

See more resources on money and giving, as well as Randy's related books, including  Managing God's Money  and  Giving Is the Good Life .

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Don’t Let Grief and Pain Become Your Idol—Let Them Point You to Jesus

Note from Randy: Lee Warren is not a rocket scientist, but he is a brain surgeon. He is also a brother who understands both suffering and God’s grace and kindness in the deepest trials. I got to know Lee while my beloved wife Nanci was dying of cancer. We developed a quick friendship, partly because when we talked I never doubted whether he got it. I love Lee’s tender heart and warm wisdom, and both are everywhere evident in his new book Hope Is the First Dose.

Dr. Warren also has a great podcast, and I’ve had the privilege of being on it twice. The first time was to talk about happiness, and how to find delight even in the midst of difficult circumstances. The second time was to talk about the hope of Heaven, and how that hope sustains us through grief.

I hope you find this excerpt from Hope Is the First Dose helpful. In our pain and grief, may we turn to Jesus, our true source of comfort, hope, and peace. “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life” (Psalm 119:50).

I‘ve performed thousands of surgeries in my neurosurgery career. But probably the most difficult one was to save the life of a little boy named Mason who’d hit his head in a playground accident, just a few weeks after my own son died. The surgery went well, but I was almost overwhelmed with the guilt of saving someone else’s child, when I had been powerless to save my own. As I often do, I retreated to the hospital chapel to sort myself out after the procedure.

Ever since I was a medical student, I have found my­self in hospital chapels when I’m struggling with difficult situations. Something about the quiet and the stained glass seems to center me when the hospital is too much to bear. And at East Alabama Medical Center, Pastor Jon had an uncanny ability to show up when I needed someone to talk to.

But I hadn’t been in this chapel since before Mitch died.

Over the years, whenever I was stressed, hurting, or preparing my mind for a tough case, I’d come to the cha­pel. Once, I’d run into a crisis of faith when I struggled to under­stand how to doctor someone when I couldn’t save them from their brain tumor. Pastor Jon had helped reframe my think­ing, particularly about prayer. He was my sounding board as I worked through the stitching together of faith and science that led me to begin writing I’ve Seen the End of You, back when I thought I had learned about pain by studying people going through it.

But that was before I lost my boy; now I was in the depths of it myself.

It was also in this room that Pastor Jon had told me he’d lost not just one child—a little girl born with congenital heart disease—but his son as well, who had died in a car accident as a young adult.

I’d learned so much from him, had my faith strengthened and so many questions worked out during our talks. But now I felt restless and angry.

“This is the first operation you’ve performed since Mitch died, right?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes. I wasn’t planning on coming back for a couple more weeks.”

“What a blessing you were here, though, for Mason and his family. You gave them back their son.”

I started to cry, and he put his hand on my shoulder. I said, “Yes. I’m glad about that. I just . . .”

I felt pressure rising in my chest, climbing its way up my throat, and I wanted with everything inside me to run away.

I stood and walked to the little table in the corner of the chapel where a box of Kleenex sat next to a foot-tall statue of Jesus on the cross. I wiped my eyes and my nose and noticed the ceramic nails in the ceramic Jesus’s hands and feet, the ceramic thorns in his crown. My right shoulder was on fire, my jaw ached, and my heart felt as though it was going to shatter into a million ceramic shards.

Pastor Jon shattered the silence. “You wish someone could give you your son back, too, right?”

I heard him but at the same time didn’t. I turned, walked back to the pew, and sat. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Pastor Jon put his hand on my shoulder. “You wish someone could give you your son back, too, right? That’s why you walked away a while ago,” he said.

I shook my head. “’Walked away’? What do you mean?”

He lowered his voice a little. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen you not stay to pray with a family.”

I looked away for a moment. “I didn’t even realize I did that. Prayer feels, I don’t know, just impossible. I’ve been involved in saving lives and rescuing people from pain and suffering so many times, but this feels like there’s no rescue, nothing that can ever make it better. Of all the things I’ve been through—war, divorce, tough cases—this is extraordinary.”

Pastor Jon looked at me for a second and his eyes narrowed. “I know. I’ve been there, remember? But I need you to know that you’re in a lot of danger right now, Lee.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Danger?”

“Yes. This is the point where it’s so easy to make an idol out of your pain.”

I straightened. “What are you talking about?”

“Grief can be all-consuming. You’ve seen it before, right? Remember the lady who dragged her poor husband all over the country trying to save him from the brain tumor long after he’d lost all useful brain function? Because she couldn’t let him go? What was her name?”

I nodded. “Mrs. Andrews. Her husband couldn’t speak or move the last six months of his life, but she put him through surgeries for feeding and breathing tubes, took him to some quack in Houston who sold her a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of snake oil before he finally died.”

“That’s right,” he said. “She made keeping her husband alive the most important thing in her life. She couldn’t even see what was best for him or her family, couldn’t make room for God to comfort her because she made her circumstances determine how she felt. You told me that, remember? One of the things you discovered in your research was that people who think their circumstances determine their peace of mind, their faith, their happiness—they’re the ones who do the worst when hard times come, right?”

I waved a hand. “Yes, but what does that have to do with idolatry?”

“Everything,” he said. “Remember the Ten Commandments?”

“Of course,” I said.

“What are they?”

“You’re really giving me a test right now?”

He smiled sadly. “I just need you to remember the first two.”

“You shall have no other gods before me, and you shall not make an idol for yourself.”

“Very good! That’s it. So you and Lisa have a choice to make here. You’re on a mountain of pain and grief, reeling from losing Mitch and wondering how you can ever get over this, right?”

I looked down at my feet and then back at Pastor Jon. “Pretty much.”

“Okay, then here’s your choice: Are you going to let God help you, or are you going to walk away from him? You can let God be with you on this mountain, like he was with Moses. It’s scary. There are thunderclouds and lightning and darkness, and it’s terrifying. But he’ll be there with you, and he’ll give you the tools to make it through. And it hurts like he’s carving them on the stone tablet of your heart.

“It plays out in finding his promises in Scripture and holding on to them for dear life, in friends coming alongside you, in figuring out your marriage and your other kids in the context of one of you being permanently gone. Books will show up at just the right time, you’ll hear a pastor with just the right message, see a sunrise that seems particularly hopeful. Somehow, you will climb off that mountain carrying what you need to find your way again.”

His words were exactly true, and I knew it. It was already happening. Every day, someone called or emailed something that was exactly what we needed that day. The verse of the day on Bible Gateway would speak right to us, or one of the kids would text something that helped so much. And we were doing it for each other and the kids too. God was ministering to us, even when I felt so very far away from him. Every day, there was manna right in front of us, just enough.

Pastor Jon leaned closer and looked directly into my eyes. “But remember what Aaron was doing while Moses was on the mountain?” I thought for a moment. “He was in the valley, making the golden calf.”

He sighed. “Right. While Moses was doing the scary close-to-God stuff and getting the help he needed, Aaron and the rest of the people stayed away from the cloud and the fire and the darkness where God was, and they made themselves a god they could touch and feel.

“A lot of people do that with grief and pain. They fix their eyes and their hearts on a casket or a divorce or a diagnosis, they drink or do something else to numb the pain, and they spend their lives holding on to the hurt so tightly that it becomes the only thing they have. That’s basically idolatry. It’s making a god out of your circumstances instead of letting God help you process them. That’s a dangerous place to live, Lee.”

I’d never thought of it like that. I’d seen so many patients over the years who had never gotten over something that had happened to them, even if they had survived it. A cancer scare that turned someone’s world upside down and left them emotionally wrecked even though they were cured. A loss that embittered and enraged someone so much that their whole life was ruined.

“But there’s one more thing you need to know if you want to survive this and find your peace, your happiness, again,” he said.

I waved a hand. “What?”

“Losing a child is extraordinary. But, my friend, it’s also really ordinary.”

I started crying again. “How can you say that? I mean, you’ve lost two kids, which I can’t even imagine, so you know it’s not something you’re supposed to feel, and it’s certainly not an ordinary part of life.”

“Not what I meant,” he said. “Take a few deep breaths and just think about what you know from working in this building. I guarantee you that even today, someone is dying or has died. Someone is having a heart attack or holding their wife’s hand as she slips away. Zoom out to the cities around us and the amount of suffering happening in this very moment is staggering.”

“You’re not making me feel any better. I hope this isn’t your Sunday
sermon,” I said.

He huffed. “No. I’m making the point that extreme, extraordinary suffering and pain is an ordinary, normal, constant part of life. And that’s why you can find a way to make it through.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said quietly.

He put his hand on my knee. “If it really were happening only to you, then it would be extraordinary, and it would be reasonable for you to feel hopeless or singled out by God or abandoned. But the extraordinarily ordinary pain of life is mixed in with all the extraordinarily ordinary amazing things too—while we’re speaking, people are being born, falling in love, achieving a long-held goal, or being baptized. Someone is holding hands or seeing a rainbow for the first time. Yes, life is really hard, but it’s also really good. All at the same time. And when you’re submerged in pain, it can be so deep and so dark that you can forget all that light is out there. But it still is.”

Adapted from Hope Is the First Dose by W. Lee Warren, M.D. Copyright © 2023 by W. Lee Warren, M.D. Published by WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Used with permission.

Photo by RDNE Stock project