Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 55

Dying Is But Going Home

As of Monday morning, Nanci is with Jesus. So happy for her. Sad for us. But the happiness for her triumphs over the sadness. Grieving is ahead, and it will be hard, but these last years and especially this last month have given us a head start on the grieving process. I am so proud of my wife for her dependence on Jesus and her absolute trust in the sovereign plan and love of God. 

Nanci is and always will be an inspiration to me. I have spent the last two days with family and friends, thanking God for His grace and the promises of Jesus that we will live with Him forever in a world without the Curse, and He will wipe away all the tears and all the reasons for the tears. All God’s children really will live happily ever after. This is not a fairytale; it is the blood-bought promise of Jesus. 

What a great and kind God He is. As of Monday, Nanci now lives where she sees this firsthand, in the place where Joy truly is the air she breathes: “In your presence is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

Thank you so much for all your prayers, some of you for four years of praying consistently for Nanci. My heart is full of gratitude to you. Don’t feel your prayers were not answered—many of them were, and many others were answered in a better way than we could ever ask. 

Today’s blog is excerpted from my book We Shall See God. It’s the first of 50 entries drawn from Charles Spurgeon’s sermons on Heaven, and it’s entitled “Dying Is But Going Home.” It seems fitting to share right now. Spurgeon delivered this sermon on March 21, 1886, just three days after the death of his friend and fellow pastor Charles Stanford. In it, he encourages his congregation to view death as a home-going, as the gateway to full union with Christ:

Breathe the home air. Jesus tells us that the air of his home is love: “You loved me before the foundation of the world.”

Brothers and sisters, can you follow me in a great flight? Can you stretch broader wings than the condor ever knew and fly back into the unbeginning eternity? There was a day before all days when there was no day but the Ancient of Days. There was a time before all time when God only was, the uncreated, the only existent One. The Divine Three—Father, Son, and Spirit—lived in blessed camaraderie with each other, delighting in each other.

Oh, the intensity of the divine love of the Father to the Son! There was no world, no sun, no moon, no stars, no universe, but God alone. And the whole of God’s omnipotence flowed forth in a stream of love to the Son, while the Son’s whole being remained eternally one with the Father by a mysterious essential union.

How did all this which we now see and hear happen? Why this creation? this fall of Adam? this redemption? this church? this Heaven? How did it all come about? It didn’t need to have been. But the Father’s love made him resolve to show forth the glory of his Son. The mysterious story which has been gradually unfolded before us has only this one design—the Father would make known his love to the Son and make the Son’s glories to appear before the eyes of those whom the Father gave him.

This Fall and this redemption, and the story as a whole, so far as the divine purpose is concerned, are the fruit of the Father’s love to the Son and his delight in glorifying the Son.

That [the Son] might be glorified forever, [the Father] permitted that he should take on a human body and should suffer, bleed, and die. Why? So that there might come out of him, as a harvest comes from a dying and buried grain of wheat, all the countless hosts of elect souls, ordained forever to a joy exceeding bounds. These are the bride of the Lamb, the body of Christ, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Their destiny is so high that no language can fully describe it. God only knows the love of God and all that it has prepared for those who are the objects of it.

Beloved, I am lost in the subject now. I breathe that heavenly air. Love surrounds all and conquers grief. I will not cause the temperature to fall by uttering any other words but this—hold your friends lovingly but be ready to yield them to Jesus. Don’t hold them back from the One to whom they belong.

When they are sick, fast and pray. But when they are departed, do much as David did, who washed his face and ate and drank. You will go to them; they cannot return to you. Comfort yourselves with the double thought of their joy in Christ and Christ’s joy in them. Add the triple thought of the Father’s joy in Christ and in them.

Let us watch the Master’s call. Let us not dread the question—who next, and who next? Let none of us start back as though we hoped to linger longer than others. Let us even desire to see our names in the celestial roll call. Let us be willing to be dealt with just as our Lord pleases.

Let no doubt intervene; let no gloom encompass us. Dying is but going home. Indeed, there is no dying for the saints. Charles Stanford is gone! Thus was his death told to me: “He drew up his feet and smiled.” Likewise you and I will depart. He had borne his testimony in the light, even when blind. He had cheered us all, though he was the greatest sufferer of us all. And now the film has gone from the eyes, the anguish is gone from the heart, and he is with Jesus. He smiled. What a sight was that which caused that smile!

I have seen many faces of dear departed ones lit up with splendor. Of many I could feel sure that they had seen a vision of angels. Traces of a reflected glory hung about their countenances.

Oh, brothers and sisters, we shall soon know more of Heaven than all the Christian scholars can tell us! Let us go home now to our own dwellings, but let us pledge ourselves that we will meet again. We will meet with Jesus, where he is, where we shall behold his glory.

Here are my reflections on Spurgeon’s sermon, also included in We Shall See God:

Charles Spurgeon, always God centered rather than man centered, starts this message on Heaven with an emphasis on the triune God, whose eternal fellowship among Father, Son, and Spirit is the basis for all our relational capacities and longings and joy.

Spurgeon, speaking this message at age fifty-one, passionately anticipated Heaven. He speaks with a warm fondness for his colleague Charles Stanford, who lived and preached in south London, not far from Spurgeon. Stanford had been blinded by glaucoma five years before his death, but he continued to write with the aid of a typewriter until his life ended, just before Spurgeon’s message.

Notice Spurgeon’s confidence that Heaven is the place of great union with Christ and reunion with redeemed loved ones. As a caring pastor, Spurgeon desires his people to understand that embracing the gospel should change their view of death. He says, “Let no doubt intervene; let no gloom encompass us. Dying is but going home.” Only six years later, at age fifty-seven, Spurgeon himself would go home to Jesus, joining his friend Charles Stanford.

Jesus came to deliver us from the fear of death, “so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15, niv). In light of the coming resurrection of the dead, the apostle Paul asks, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, NIV).

We should not romanticize death. But those who know Jesus should realize that death is the gateway to never-ending joy.

Grasping what the Bible teaches about Heaven shifts our center of gravity and radically alters our perspective on life. This is why we should always seek to keep Heaven in our line of sight.

In 1952, Florence Chadwick stepped off Catalina Island, California, into the waters of the Pacific Ocean, determined to swim to the mainland. An experienced swimmer, she had already made history as the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways.

The weather that day was foggy and chilly; Florence could hardly see the boats accompanying her. Still, she swam steadily for fifteen hours. When she begged to be taken out of the water, her mother, in a boat alongside her, told her that she was close and that she could make it. But Florence, physically and emotionally exhausted, stopped swimming and was pulled into the boat. It wasn’t until she was on board that she discovered the shore was less than half a mile away. At a news conference the next day, she said, “All I could see was the fog. . . . I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”

When you face discouragement, difficulty, or fatigue, or when you feel surrounded by the fog of uncertain circumstances, are you thinking, If only I could see the shore, I could make it?

Set your sights on Jesus Christ, the Rock of salvation. He is the One who has promised to prepare a place for those who put their hope in Him, a place where they will live with him forever. If we can learn to fix our eyes on Jesus, to see through the fog and picture our eternal home in our mind’s eye, it will comfort and energize us, giving us a clear look at the finish line.

When the apostle Paul faced hardship, beatings, and im­prisonment, he said, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, NIV). What gave Paul the strength and perspective to “press on toward the goal”? A clear view of Heaven.

Ask your Savior for His grace and empowerment, and keep your eyes on the shore. By His sustaining grace, you’ll make it.

Photo by Marek Rucinski on Unsplash

Is Our Suffering Pointless? (And an Update on Nanci)

Perhaps the greatest test of whether we believe Romans 8:28—“In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”—is to identify the very worst things that have happened to us, then ask if we believe that in the end God will somehow use them for our good.

Fold a paper in half. Then write on the top half the worst things that have happened to you and on the bottom half the best.

Invariably, if you’ve lived long enough, if enough time has passed since some of those “worst things” happened to you, then you’ll almost certainly find an overlap. Experiences labeled as the worst things that ever happened, over time become some of the best. That’s because God uses the painful, difficult experiences of life for our ultimate good.

How is this possible? Because God is both loving and sovereign. Our lists provide persuasive proof that while evil and suffering are not good, God can use them to accomplish immeasurable good. This knowledge should give us great confidence that even when we don’t see any redemptive meaning in our suffering, God can see it—and one day we will too. Therefore, we need not run from suffering or lose hope if God doesn’t remove it. We can trust that God has a purpose for whatever He permits.

In this video, my friend Steve Keels and I answer the question, “Is my suffering pointless?”

I posted this on Nanci's Caring Bridge today:

Nanci may soon be with Jesus

After last Monday’s incredibly powerful day with Nanci and our whole family, I have been playing her praise music and reading to her from her journals, because I know nothing more full of God’s Word and great quotes from God’s people, including her. It is amazing to be encouraging both of us with words she has written out with her own hand. (I’ll include some of her journal writings at the end of this post, in fact the last 2/3 of it is from Nanci’s journal.) 

When Nanci poured herself out for her family last Monday, a week ago today, it was as if she exhausted her remaining energy. She’s gotten weaker nearly every day. Still, Nanci and I were having short but meaningful conversations until just a few days ago. Unfortunately, the last two days she has faded noticeably. 

Though we are keeping her comfortable, she’s no longer capable of communicating with her words. I still talk to her and read Scripture to her and play the praise music for her, but don’t know how much she is absorbing. (Since I don’t know, I talk to her assuming she can understand.) 

The hospice nurse thinks Nanci may have less than a week to live, maybe just a few days, though it’s impossible to be certain. 

I simultaneously don’t want her to go, yet with all my heart I DO want her to go into the arms of Jesus. 

I am grateful that with the meds that it’s not intense suffering as much as ongoing discomfort but still, even hearing her frequent cough that borders on choking sometimes is heart-breaking. We give her a continuous flow of oxygen, Nebulizer treatments, suction machine, mouth moisturizer, and lip balm in addition to morphine, and that’s not all. With the wonderful help of Hospice, we’re reaching for everything in the arsenal to make her a little more comfortable. Meanwhile God is has graciously prepared us to release her to Jesus. 

“To live is Christ and to die is gain…I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:21, 23). Better by far even than when we’re at our strongest in this world groaning under the Curse, and all the better when we’re at our weakest, and this is the weakest my Nanci has ever been. She has told me in tears that what she’s gone through these past months has been very hard. She has wanted either to get much better or to be with Jesus.

Being with Jesus and God’s family—including both of our moms and dads and many dear friends—in Heaven, awaiting the resurrection and the New Earth, free from pain and suffering and curse. What could be better for her? 

It seems like Nanci’s barely hanging on, and this evening I was kissing her forehead and whispering to her things like this: “Let go and be with the person you love the most and have always dreamed of meeting face to face. One day soon I’ll join you there and so will the people on earth that you love the most.”

Well done, good and faithful daughter of God. What a privilege, my Sweetheart, to have lived this life with you. I so look forward to the wonders and glories we will experience together in the world to come, where Joy will be the air we breathe.

Thanks so much for your ongoing prayers, especially for Nanci and also for me and our daughters, sons-in-law and grandsons, and Nanci’s special friends. (You know who you are, and we love you for loving her.)

Randy

Some excerpts from Nanci's journal:

1. John Newton: “We have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, his arm over us, his ear open to our prayer—his grace sufficient, his promise unchangeable.” 

Nanci: That promise, found in Romans 8:27–30, is:

               *The Holy Spirit prays for me according to the will of God

               *God always works to cause everything to result in my best interest

               *God works “everything” to conform me to the image of his son.

               *God called me; he justified me; and he will glorify me.

God is in control. I am not. God knows my future. I do not. God always has my best interest in mind. I can trust that.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne: “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.”

 2. Yesterday I was mourning my summer. I was looking at pictures on my phone of last summer at the beach with Maggie and the boys; of Dodge Park; of doing things. I had tears of “what I had missed.” Now I’m missing the boys’ games, missing walking Maggie, the PAO conference, and doing many more things! Then one of my devotionals from Face to Face with Jesus talked about clinging to our own plans and desires instead of yielding to the path God has for you.

The path God laid out for me over the past 8 months did not provide me with many—if any—options wherein I could choose to follow my own plans and desires. Surgery and pain, radiation and chemo and pain and fatigue, more chemo with greater pain and fatigue. All these were unavoidable.

But the best that came my way in God’s sovereign plan over these months has been my heart yielding to God’s plan. I have sat reading books about God. I have sat reading God’s word. I have sat pouring my heart out to God and praising God, and coming to a new and greater belief in his love for me; a new and greater trust in his plans for me, a new and greater expectation of what my death will bring!

I would not trade a spring and summer filled with fun and projects needing to get done, over what God had planned. He knew what was in my best interest! He knew what would draw me to himself in ways I never anticipated. 

3. My Savior ministered to me greatly this morning with this truth: I will be ready to die when my time comes because my Shepherd will give me his joy, peace, and readiness. It will not be me working up enough faith and trust, my God will fight the battle for me! It will be his perfect ministering Spirit who will carry me peacefully–jubilantly into God’s arms. 

Spurgeon: “What if we should soon be called to the heavenly realm? Certainly, there would be nothing to deplore in such a summons, but everything to rejoice in. Living or dying we are the Lord’s. If we live, Jesus will be with us; if we die, we will be with Jesus.

4. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you says the LORD. Jer. 29:12–14

We know these days that God always listens to us because of his Son’s work on our behalf. When I pray I never worry about having God’s attention. I never need to plead for his ear, or his heart to take heed. 

God always listens to me.

The Holy Spirit gives me words to say.

Jesus advocates my prayers with God the Father

God wants me to pray to Him.

Even though God has already sovereignly determined the plans for my life, somehow my prayer requests play a solid role in it all. I do not need to understand how this fits; I do need to trust that God has declared to use my prayers. God wants to hear my prayers.

My prayers to God keep my spiritual life alive. I recognize God’s sovereignty and power when I pray. I feel his love, grace and faithfulness. Prayer helps me keep things in perspective. Nothing “just happens”. Everything is planned in love. Everything is carried out in wisdom, power and love.

Because I am not God, I should never question why things go the way they go. It is the height of foolishness to determine that my ways are preferable to God’s ways.

I am not omniscient, all–wise or totally just.

I don’t even love myself nearly as much as God loves me!!! 

So why would I ever second guess God? He always always has my best interests in mind and when his way for me is painful, unclear, frightening, seemingly unfair, emotionally difficult, mentally challenging, et all…I need to trust, to believe that God does all things well.

5. And I pray that Christ will be more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. Eph. 3:17

Needing to trust in Christ and then choosing to do so, results in him making a home deeper in my heart. That bond which becomes more established between us comes from my recognition and acceptance of my need for him. It comes from placing my trust in him. It is lessened by my questioning and resentment of his ways. My trust allows my soul to continuously grow in the presence of God’s love for me which is a deep and marvelous love.

6. A prayer of Nanci’s:

Ancient of Days, 

You have shown yourself to me over these months. 

You have stayed by my side, of course, but you have allowed me to feel your presence. Thank you with all my heart.

You, in your wisdom, did not choose to remove all side effects, but you, in your mercy, did eliminate some and lighten others.

I pray that you will continue to teach me about your love, faithfulness and grace through pain, and uncertainty, and waiting—waiting—waiting.

I praise and thank you for your sovereign hand on my life. 

I truly trust you with my life.

I don’t want anything to happen (and it won’t) which is outside your will.

You know what is best. 

You are always working in my best interests.

Now, please, Heavenly Father, give me your strength, your courage, your perspective as I seek to accept with thanksgiving whatever you have for me. 

I still need your help to be able to say “I will accept with joy, praise, and thanksgiving anything and everything ahead.”

More pain. More fear. More uncertainty, more waiting. I need your sweet and powerful Holy Spirit to infuse my heart with your joy and thanksgiving. I’m bringing this request to your throne. Nanci

John Donne: “I shall…be united to the Ancient of Days, to God himself, who had no morning, never began…No man ever saw God and lived; and yet I shall not live till I see God; and when I have seen him I shall never die.” 

Photo by Jan Kahánek on Unsplash

Answering Tough Questions about Heaven, with Sean McDowell

Sean McDowell, who teaches at Biola/Talbot, has a self-described passion for equipping the church, particularly young people, to make the case for the Christian faith. Last year I was on his podcast to talk about Heaven, Hell, and the afterlife.

We covered many great questions, including:

Are There Pets in Heaven?

Is there Marriage and Sex in Heaven?

Will We Play Sports in Heaven?

How Will Age Work in Heaven?

What Language Will Be Used in Heaven?

Are Near Death Experiences Real?

How Quickly Do We Get to Heaven After Death?

What are Your Thoughts on Cremation?

How Should We Use Heaven as an Evangelistic Tool?

How Does One Enjoy Heaven Knowing Loved Ones are In Hell?

Here’s the full conversation:

For more, see Randy’s book  Heaven . You can also browse our additional resources on Heaven.

Jesus Is Victor and Lord: A Powerful Story of God’s Deliverance

Earlier this year I shared on my blog about a group EPM supports, MedSend, that funds qualified healthcare professionals who address the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world. They  sent us this powerful story from a physician assistant who has served in Southeast Asia for seven years:

I recently read a newsletter we sent out nearly 7 years ago and was struck by the fact that very little has changed. Yes, we’ve learned the language and we feel at home in our South Asian travels and spicy food tolerance, but the one thing that hasn’t changed is that the highs are really high, and the lows are really low. Here is a high.

In our experience, any time a series of ridiculously difficult things happen back to back, it’s because there is an unseen battle also going on. Through tears we prayed that we wouldn’t be discouraged and asked God to show us what work we were being distracted from. We were reminded of the trainings that we had started in December and made phone calls to schedule the next meeting. After that meeting, Rama and I left our place to go pray for her family and share more stories of Jesus. (Rama was our COVID house helper who became a follower of Jesus in 2020.) I had never had such a clear opportunity to share with them. They asked great questions and murmured aloud to each other, “Could Jesus really be the one true God?”

Two nights later, I received a call from Rama asking me to come and pray for her mom who had an evil spirit, “I wasn’t sure if I should call you or not, but my mom had been unresponsive for a couple of hours. I shook her hard and told her that I was going to call you to pray for her and she sat up and screamed, ‘Do NOT call Jen!’ So that’s when I decided to call you.”

When we arrived, everyone was nervously standing by. Rama’s mom was muttering unintelligible words. Different family members began to ask her questions, but she only responded with, “I don’t belong here. Bring me back to the village.” This sweet lady who had welcomed me in her home more than a dozen times looked at me with disinterest and said, “I don't know you. Why should I talk to you?” After some discussion among the family, someone suggested that the spirit had come with Rama’s brother-in-law from the village. His brother (only 40 years old) recently woke in the night coughing. He coughed for 2 hours and suddenly died.

Obviously, my understanding of death and village spirits is...limited, so I just suggested that we start praying for her in Jesus’s name. As I reached my hand out and began to pray for her, she began to cough, which thoroughly scared the rest of the family. My teammate and I prayed with faith that Jesus would heal her and after a few minutes, she passed out on the bed. There wasn’t a single sound, though there were 12 of us packed into the small room. After a couple more minutes, Rama’s mother sat up, looked at me and said, “Jen! When did you get here!? And why hasn’t anyone served you and your friend chai?” Just then, Rama’s brother-in-law jumped up with his hands raised in the air and yelled, “Jesus is the victor! Jesus is Lord!” Everyone began clapping. 

Rama’s father asked, “What now?” So, we encouraged them again to follow Jesus only. That night, every single person in the family prayed in the name of Jesus, several of them prayed in Jesus’s name for the first time ever. The next day was the first day in Rama’s memory that she hadn’t seen her father wake up and do morning worship to their former gods. Over the next week, Rama’s mother asked for a Bible in her language and her father asked if we could meet weekly to pray and study the Word, “because the more we learn about Jesus, I believe that He will take His rightful place at the top and all the other gods that we’ve worshipped since we were children will fade away.”

Amen. May it be so.

(Names have been changed to protect identities.)

Photo by René DeAnda on Unsplash

Six Steps Toward Spiritual Maturity

From Randy: This article by Bobby Jamieson about growing in godliness is helpful whether you’re a new believer or you’ve known Jesus for years. Though it’s addressed to men, Bobby writes, “Much of what I’ll say also applies to women, but the next-to-last section zeroes in on a uniquely male calling.”

At the end of his article, I also share some book recommendations.

The Man of God You Could Become: Six Steps Toward Spiritual Maturity

By Bobby Jamieson

Do you want to grow as a man of God?

Maybe you’re a new believer. Your character drastically differs from just a couple years ago, but you know you have a long way to go. Or maybe you’ve been a believer for a long time, but you’ve sensed yourself spiritually stagnating. You’d be hard pressed to point out a way you’ve made evident spiritual progress in the last year.

If either of those profiles fit you, this article, and its two goals, are for you. The first is to give you a new ambition, namely, becoming a man of God. The second is to give you some directions for the journey.

The “man” in “man of God” is deliberate; I’m speaking particularly to men. Much of what I’ll say also applies to women, but the next-to-last section zeroes in on a uniquely male calling.

First, here’s the new ambition. I want you, from now till the day you die, to make it your ambition to become a man of God. And I want that for you because God does. As Paul writes to Timothy, “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:7–8).

Godliness is “of value in every way.” It is more valuable than physical strength or financial success. It is worth more than the thickest resume or the most coveted property. Godliness will, in the long run, make you happier than the satisfaction of any earthly desire.

So how can you get it? Here are six pieces of counsel.

Mind the Gap

First, mind the gap — that is, the gap between your character and God’s. And “gap” doesn’t even begin to cover it. More like “infinite chasm.” But God commands you to cross it: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Leviticus 19:2; cf. 1 Peter 1:15–16).

Learn to see and evaluate your character in light of God’s. Hold Scripture before your eyes as a mirror to reveal what’s lacking in you but present in him, and what’s present in you but lacking in him. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). What darkness is present in you? What light is missing? If you want specific benchmarks to measure yourself against, study the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23), and the qualifications for elders (1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9).

One good way to become more mindful of this gap is to seek out and study godly men. Who do you know who radiates more of God’s holiness and joy and love than you do? Get to know him. Get close to him. Find out how he has made the progress he has, and do what he does (more on models below). The gap between your character and his can help you see the infinitely greater gap between your character and God’s. But not only that: learning how a more godly man got more godly can power-assist your progress in godliness.

Mine New Motives

Real change comes from the heart. This requires (though is by no means limited to) a new set of motives for you to mine. In order to make any lasting progress in godliness, your chief motive must be to glorify God: “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Train your heart to love God’s glory more than your own, to love praising God more than receiving praise. Make it your ambition to please God in all you do (2 Corinthians 5:9).

In our theme verse, Paul promises that godliness is of value in every way. What is the value-added of godliness? What should motivate you to pursue it? Godliness gives you power greater than any physical prowess, technological reach, or military strength: “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32). Godliness gives you a freedom that runs deeper than any other: freedom from tyranny of self and slavery to sin. As Jesus promises, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32). Godliness gives you contentment, which is greater gain than any stockpile of earthly treasure. “Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Timothy 6:6–7).

Do you want power or freedom or lasting, secure gain? You’ll find the best, and the only reliable, form of all of those goods in godliness. So, work to continually recalibrate your motives.

Form Transforming Habits

In order to do this, you need to form transforming habits, especially Scripture study, meditation, and prayer in private and with others. Donald Whitney’s book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life is a practical, challenging guide to these, as is David Mathis’s Habits of Grace.

If you’re not in the habit of regularly communing with Jesus through time in his word and prayer, here’s how I’d encourage you to start. Whatever your morning schedule looks like, get up a little earlier, even just twenty or thirty minutes. Read something in Scripture — could be a Psalm or a chapter of Proverbs, could be the passage your pastor is going to preach the next Sunday — and find something to turn into prayer.

What in the passage can you praise God for? What sins in your life does the passage reveal? What reason does the passage give you to thank God? What does it teach you to ask God for? Turn Scripture reading into prayer and even a short time with Christ can become a regularly refueling engine of daily transformation into his character.

Get New Models

Everyone has models. Even if you don’t consciously admit it, styling yourself as an intrepid individualist, chances are there are men you strive to be like. Whether in matters personal or professional, superficial or substantive, there are men you know, or at least know of, that you want to be like. And if you haven’t been self-consciously striving for godliness for the past several years, then chances are, you need new models.

So find the godliest men you can, get as close to them as you can, and learn as much from them as you can. That’s what the apostle Paul told the whole Philippian church to do: “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us” (Philippians 3:17). And again, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9).

Find Ways to Father

One nearly universal definition of manhood is to produce more than you consume (see, for instance Roy Baumeister, Is There Anything Good About Men?, 195). It’s easy to see how that works in an economic, material sense: to provide for a family, you need to earn more than you use. You must be a generator of surpluses. And working hard so as to provide for others is a basic biblical imperative that especially lands on men’s shoulders (1 Timothy 5:8).

But this shorthand definition of manhood — that you produce more than you consume — doesn’t just apply to bringing home bacon. It has deep spiritual relevance as well. We all have burdens, and we need help bearing them (Galatians 6:2). We all have limited wisdom, and so we all need counselors (Proverbs 24:6). But a spiritually productive man is one who is a net burden-bearer, and a net wisdom-dispenser, a net exporter to others of spiritual good and gain. So strive to be a spiritual producer. Strive to have your desires so under control, your heart so aligned with God’s will, and your mind so transformed by his word, that you store up a surplus of spiritual help that you can regularly share out with others.

Another way to say this is, find ways to father. If you’re the father of children, train them in all God’s ways (Ephesians 6:4). If you’re unmarried and desire to be married, pursue the kind of holiness, competence, leadership ability, and maturity that will make you not only attractive husband material but ready and eager to be a father. Fatherhood, both natural and spiritual, is the distinctive shape of masculine maturity. A father provides and protects. What kind of man do you need to become in order to faithfully provide for and protect others in both material and spiritual ways?

Make Membership Matter

Finally, make membership matter — meaning church membership. The New Testament assumes that all Christians will belong to local gatherings of Christians that assemble regularly and are mutually, self-consciously committed to each other (for example, 1 Corinthians 5:1–13). I’m putting this last, but in some ways it really goes first.

Church membership is the crucial, formative context for these other five items that have come before. Finding, committing to, and throwing yourself into a gospel-preaching church is the best way to regularly expose yourself to the character of God, reminders of gospel motives for godliness, help in forming spiritually fruitful habits, godly models to follow, and opportunities to bear others’ burdens and build them up in love.

These six points are just a start, hopefully a jump-start, for the long, often difficult journey of growing more godly. But the good news about church membership is that, when you regularly gather with a body of believers who are committed to Christ and each other, every single Sunday is a fresh start. And fellowship with other godly men who are striving in the same direction can continually refresh your heart in your quest to be more like Christ.

This article originally appeared on Desiring God and is used with permission of the author.

Books Randy Recommends to Help You Grow in Your Faith

Some of these I’ve read, some I’ve seen recommended by others:

New Believer's Guide to Effective Christian Living by Greg Laurie

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney (Love this one, it’s been years since I’ve read it, and it might be too much for some but is great for others.)

Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines by David Mathis

Abide: Understanding the Secrets of Living for Jesus by Warren Wiersbe

In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado

The Ways of God by Henry Blackaby

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan

Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

Epic by John Eldredge

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Heaven for Kids: Reaching Kids, Parents, and Even Grandparents with a Biblical Theology of Heaven

Though it’s been several years, I still think about what a blast I had writing my book Heaven for Kids and recording the audio book. I loved including more material from The Chronicles of Narnia than I used in the big Heaven book.

And by the way, if my big Heaven book seems too heavy for you, or if 50 Days of Heaven is too devotional, consider this: over the years we’ve heard from churches and adults who’ve read and studied Heaven for Kids! It’s also a great resource for parents and grandparents to help answer their children’s questions about Heaven.

I share more about the book in this video:

Though the audiobook is no longer available on CDs from our ministry (this is 2022, after all), you can download it through Audible or Christianaudio.com. Several families have told us that they enjoyed listening to it during a road trip. You can read an excerpt from the book here, or listen to these sections from the audiobook:

Will we play in Heaven?

Will we have new identities in Heaven?

Will we hang out only with Jesus in Heaven?

Will we laugh in Heaven?

Will we travel through time?

Will we see our pets again in Heaven?

Will there be sports in Heaven?

Will we be able to fly in Heaven?

Readers and listeners by the dozens continue to share their enjoyment of Heaven for Kids:

When we found out my father-in-law was dying of pancreatic cancer, one of our main concerns was how to deal with it with our kids. This book was a great resource, especially for our introspective 11 year old. She was able to read it on her own and ponder the chapters. It gave her great comfort to know that because of Grandpa’s faith in Christ, he has a promise of eternity in Heaven—free from any more pain or suffering. She also likes to read that Heaven is going to be exciting and active—not a bunch of cloud-sitting and harp playing. In fact, she said, “Now that I've learned more about what heaven will be like, I’m a little jealous that Grandpa gets to go so soon.” I highly recommend for any family in a similar situation.

I just turned 40, and for some reason I began to struggle with feelings of “Heaven will be boring.” I felt the Spirit of God reassure me of its real ness and greatness. I recommend this book!

I absolutely love this book! I have a progressive disease and worry about my young child growing up without his mom. I read this book first and found great comfort in what it has to say about Heaven. I appreciate all the references to scripture so you can look things up for yourself if you choose. I will now begin reading this to my son so he will have a better understanding of what Heaven is all about.

…Having grown up in the church, I've heard about Heaven so many times and that's "where" we get to spend eternity "praising God" and such. And that was all fine for me ... until my dad was killed suddenly in a boating accident. Then, just knowing I was "going to Heaven" was just not enough for me. And, the more I searched the Scriptures, the more confused I became. I was hopeless and had resigned myself to believing (well, I had been misled by the Evil One) that we would have no idea who people were and heaven was this sort of intangible, mystical place that I was *supposed* to be excited about. I wasn't. In my heart, I was fatherless and I could have cared less about Heaven if that's all that it was. …I bought this book for my kids since dealing with death had hit them at such an early age, they always have questions and always felt so incapable of answering their questions...until this book! Thank you, Mr. Alcorn, for giving hope to this hopeless mom!

My family has been studying both the original Heaven and Heaven for Kids since our littlest died in February. Knowing the truth and joys of Heaven and the New Earth which are waiting for those who profess Christ, is the BIGGEST source of comfort for me as a bereaved mother. ...This is the BEST book for learning about Heaven and creating an excellent stage from which to imagine the beauty of eternity with the Lord.

My youngest son passed away last June at the tender age of 5. My other son has not talked about his death much, so I bought this book. I think my son thought that talking about my other son’s death and Heaven would make me sadder… This book opened up discussions between us that never would have happened otherwise. He is almost 10, and I think this book described Heaven perfectly for his age.

I bought 2 books for my 4 grandchildren…Their grandpa, my husband, passed away 7 months ago. The sons can't seem to talk about their grief and don't have a strong church background although they all started attending regularly a year ago. So, the sons don't know much about heaven. They are at least able to share cheery stories about their dad when we're together. When I gave the books to the girls, they dove into it right away. It helped open the door to conversation about where Grandpa is...in Heaven.

My kids and I have read this several times. AMAZING for kids and adults!! This book will leave you EXCITED about Heaven!!

Though I'm far from being a kid, I enjoyed listening to this book and gaining insight about Heaven. I bought the print copy for my 8-year-old nephew because he had a lot of questions about Heaven. The book answered his questions and calmed his fears. I recommend it to anyone seeking Bible-based answers to questions about heaven.

I wanted my children to not fall into the same misunderstandings I had. I read this aloud to my 3rd grader and Kindergartner. My 8 year old especially was eager to have his questions answered, and now we all look forward to Heaven together since we understand it better.

My 9-year-old grandson had questions about Heaven and this book has been a wonderful resource in answering his questions using the Bible verses and explanations that he can understand… I find this time with him talking about this topic and God as a blessing and something I will cherish.

From Eternal Perspective Ministries: Get an Additional 10% Off

Through April, we are offering 10% off our already-discounted prices on Randy’s books and products, including Heaven for Kids! Simply enter code TAKE10 at checkout. 

Coupon code expires Saturday, April 30 at 11:59 p.m. PT. 

The Weakness of Suffering Is a Workroom for God’s Grace

We come into this world needy, and we leave it the same way. Without suffering we would forget our neediness. If suffering seems too high a price for faith, it’s because we underestimate faith’s value.

In the West, with our conspicuous prosperity and ease, Christianity’s popularity continues to shrink. In Africa, Asia, and South America, with much greater adversity and suffering, Christianity continues to grow. Josef Tson, nearly martyred in Ceauşescu’s Romania, told me that 95 percent of Christians pass the test of adver­sity, while 95 percent fail the test of prosperity.

J. B. Phillips translates James 1:2–4, “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character, men of integrity with no weak spots.”

How can we possibly obey this command to welcome difficulties instead of resenting them? By trusting that God tells the truth when He says these make us better people, increase our endurance, expand our ministry, and prepare us for eternal joy. If learning to trust God is good for us and God loves us enough to act for our good, why are we surprised when difficulties come?

My father, a Great Depression survivor, was a physically powerful and fiercely independent man. As he got older his strength faded. This opened his life to help from others—first from me, later from God. I took him shopping and helped him in ways he’d never have accepted before. Age, weakness, and incapacity humbled this proud man—and his eternity will be dramatically better because of it.

C. S. Lewis said in The Problem of Pain, “The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it.” Our self-will deceives us; in loss, tragedy, and suffering we may finally come to terms with our need for help.

Why do God’s children undergo pressures, suffering, and deadly peril? Paul answers clearly: “that we might not rely on ourselves but on God” (2 Corinthians 1:11). God uses our weakness and inadequacy not only to build our character, but also to manifest His strength and grace to us and through us.

On this subject, a few weeks ago Nanci and I watched an excellent video from Paul David Tripp together. (I’ve mentioned before how much we love Paul’s book New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional. We highly recommend it.)

Paul says, “Suffering exposes our theology. …Suffering will deepen your faith or it will weaken it. …Your suffering is not a failure of God’s plan. …In suffering, God reveals us, and reveals Himself. …The weakness of suffering is a workroom for grace.”

For more related to the subject of suffering, see Randy’s book  If God Is Good , as well as the devotional  90 Days of God’s Goodness  and book  The Goodness of God . 

Photo by Austin Ramsey on Unsplash

Finding Happiness Even in Hard Times: My Interview with Brain Surgeon Dr. Lee Warren

A few weeks ago I had a delightful conversation with Dr. Lee Warren for his podcast about my book Happiness. We talked about what true happiness is, and how to find delight even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Dr. Warren is a brain surgeon, inventor, Iraq War veteran, and author of I've Seen the End of You: A Neurosurgeon's Look at Faith, Doubt, and the Things We Think We Know. He honestly was one of the most thoughtful interviewers I’ve ever interacted with. (And we shared a love for dogs!) He graciously told me that Happiness has deeply impacted him personally and theologically.

Now may seem like a strange time to be talking about happiness, especially with so much heartbreak and sadness in our broken world. Please don’t misunderstand: nothing in this interview minimizes the reality of suffering. My beloved Nanci is now in hospice care after four years of battling cancer. She and I, along with our daughters, family, and friends are navigating the pain that knowledge of our impending separation, though temporary, causes. And Dr. Warren is also no stranger to suffering, having experienced the death of his child. (He shares the story here.)

So no, we won’t constantly “bubble over” with gleeful happiness every moment of every day. In a world under the curse of evil and suffering, something would be very wrong if we did!

I say this in Happiness:

If we constantly focus on all that’s wrong with the world, then sorrow or anger will be our default. But the apostle Paul, writing from prison in Rome, calls on us to rejoice in the Lord not periodically, but always.

It’s not insensitive, unkind, or wrong to be happy. By being happy in Christ, we lay claim to the fact that God is bigger than the Fall and affirm that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will reverse the Curse and reign over a new universe. Our happiness shouts that our God is present with us and at work in the world every minute of every hour of every day.

If we focus on the Lord and His abundant grace, we will experience a deep and solid happiness in Jesus, even when times are very hard. Paul said, “His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy” (Colossians 1:11, CEV).

You can listen to our interview, or watch the whole thing here:

Finally, if you need a laugh (and don’t we all), check out this video. Hearing that I’d been interviewed by a brain surgeon, one of our staff passed it on. We all got a kick out of it. I doubt brain surgeons are mentioned a lot in comedy routines, but they made the cut in this one. :)

Dr. Warren then shared his favorite two brain surgery comedy bits, here and here. (He wrote, “This is why I rarely get invited to parties.”)

“Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh!” (Psalm 144:15).

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Ukraine Update from a Ministry We Recommend, and an Opportunity to Give

ACTION International, based in the Seattle area, is one of my favorite ministries. It flies under the radar because its people devote so little effort to fundraising, and so much effort to hands-on ministry. They are faithful and Bible-based. Spend some time on their website, and you’ll see their heart.

Brian Stewart, ACTION USA’s Executive Director, writes, “The suffering of the Ukrainian people has greatly increased, but so have the opportunities to share the Gospel and minister to urgent needs. Our two focal points for ministry are Ternopil, in the safer, western part of the country, and Kherson, which is now under the control of the Russian army. Please join us in praying for our dear colleagues in both areas who are working in the most difficult of conditions to help families who are being displaced by the invasion.”

Ternopil

By God’s grace, Paul Hughes, Director of ACTION UK, and his close colleagues in Ukraine began planning over two months ago for the possibility of needing to minister to thousands of displaced families. Tragically, their preparations were indeed necessary. The team had the foresight to establish five church-based shelters in an area of the country that is both far removed from the invasion points, and relatively close to the Polish border.

Each shelter is hosting two or three times more people than had been planned. This week over 1,500 people came through the shelters every day. Many have had to avoid soldiers as they fled their homes. However, as Paul writes, “Most are open to praying with pastors and volunteers. The issues of evil, sin, God, and rescue are natural conversations in these circumstances.” Most families who arrive in Ternopil are eager to leave the country, so they stay only one day.

“The children arrive looking exhausted,” Paul reports after speaking to many of the volunteers, “yet at least they have slept some, in their mothers’ arms. The moms, however, have been carrying their kids and the suitcases, and have been constantly walking or standing in long lines at stations and crossings. All have traveled at least two days, many three or four days, without sleep.”

These dear people are fed, housed (at the shelter or in the homes of church members), counseled, and witnessed to. Some are wounded but are more eager to get to the border than a hospital, so most of the families leave for Poland after staying one night. Pastors, elders, and deacons help them make that 4-hour trip in buses that each shelter has.

At the Polish border, the volunteers are able to pick up canned food, bottled water, bandages, and medicine. In great part that is what your donations have been spent on, as well as gasoline, kitchen equipment, and mattresses.

Not only is the Gospel being shared with these hurting families, but local political leaders, police, and security services are also hearing of God’s love, and seeing it in action in their city.

Kherson

The Russian army has occupied the city, and the population is being ruled by fear. Soldiers fire their weapons indiscriminately to instill panic. Movement is severely restricted, and food is gone from the store shelves. Some have shared with Paul their concerns that the invaders are using starvation tactics.

Many of Paul’s contacts in this area run homes for children from trauma backgrounds, and this week has been especially hard for these little ones. He writes, “These are children who jump at the sound of a chair moving, or a pen dropping to the floor. Imagine their fear as they hear gunfire and mortars outside.”

In spite of the danger, children’s ministers continue to host Bible clubs, where kids can come discuss what is happening, be prayed for, play games, and have a small snack.

Paul writes, “In the midst of the brutal bloodshed in Kherson, faithful believers still meet to break bread, remember Christ, and pray for their families, churches, and their city.”

You can give through ACTION’s website. Or if you would like to donate through EPM, select “Relief Fund,” and through March 31, everything you give will fund ministries working in Ukraine, including ACTION.

An Update on My Precious Wife Nanci

Last Thursday, after six days of increasingly poor health, Nanci was admitted to the hospital Emergency Room. She has since come home from the hospital, and a hospital bed has been moved into our room with a recliner next to it for me or others.

Things have radically changed since Thursday. Nanci has been in an altered state mentally. We don’t know if that’s temporary or permanent.  

My daughters Karina and Angela and I were up most of Sunday night with her. (No surprise, the girls are a wonderful care team, just amazing.) Part of it was very precious and beautiful, as Nanci was raising her hands up to the Lord, singing and sweetly asking Him to take her to be with him. Part of it was tough. She is struggling to find the right words and wants to get out of bed, but we can’t let her because she is so physically unstable.  

We met with the hospice director Monday morning and then a hospice social worker. Nanci is officially now in hospice care, so that means her death is expected within six months. It could be a lot less than that or it could be more, of course no one knows. 

Nanci and I have had end-of-present-life conversations going back years and again in recent months. She is ready to meet Jesus. After what I have seen in the last several days—which has been so hard on her—I feel ready to let her go, even though in another sense of course I can’t be ready. Thanks for your prayers. 

Lamentations 3:19-26 is on my heart:

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.

I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

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.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

For more updates, see Nanci’s Caring Bridge site.

Photo by Jasmin Ne on Unsplash