Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 84

Amazing Grace Sung by Believers from 50 Different Countries, United by Jesus

I have sometimes envisioned what it will mean for every tribe, nation, and language to gather together and sing the praises of Jesus, as is depicted in Revelation 5:9 and 7:9. I’m sure we’ll learn a lot of great new hymns and songs once we’re with Jesus, most of which we’ve never heard. But I feel nearly certain that one of those songs we’ll sing forever from this life is “Amazing Grace.”

It is one of those hymns that is cross-cultural and is sung by people in not just hundreds but thousands of languages. In fact, it may well be the most often-sung song of any kind in world history. Agnostics, skeptics, and hardened criminals have shed tears upon hearing it.

That’s why when I picture praise gatherings of countless millions on God’s New Earth, the song I hear them singing in thousands of languages is “Amazing Grace.” So I was particularly moved by this remarkable video, which I encourage you to watch and share with both believers and unbelievers. God has drawn many to Himself through this timeless hymn. May this united song from 50 countries touched by COVID-19 remind us that it is a far greater thing to be forever touched by Jesus.

Some more thoughts about this remarkable song: Imagine a slave ship captain, a cruel Englishman who acquired slaves from Africa and transported them in slave ships to be sold like animals at auction. Imagine that this man later writes lyrics that become the most popular song of English-speaking blacks in the entire world. Unthinkable?

That song is “Amazing Grace.” Some black churches sing it every Sunday. Sometimes it goes on and on, for ten or fifteen minutes. Many African-Americans love that song more than any other—even though it was written by a white man who sold black slaves and treated them like filth.

What can explain this? The same thing that explains how Christians throughout the centuries have treasured the letters of Paul, who zealously murdered Christians. It’s built into the message:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

that saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

was blind, but now I see.

The man who abused those slaves and the man who wrote that song were both named John Newton. Both shared the same DNA, but the songwriter was a new man. He became a pastor and labored to oppose the slave trade. Eighty-two years old and blind, Newton said shortly before he died, “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.”

“Amazing Grace” moves my heart more than any song I’ve ever heard. This hymn has been recorded more often by more musicians than any other. It can be sung at the most secular event or pagan concert, and a hush will fall on the audience. Eyes tear up. And not just the eyes of Christians. Grace is what hearts cry out for!

Grace is what people long for, even those who don’t know Jesus.

Especially those who don’t know Jesus.

For more on this subject, see Randy’s devotional Beautiful and Scandalous and his book The Grace and Truth Paradox.

Photo by Andrew Butler on Unsplash

What Are My Loved Ones Experiencing in the Present Heaven?

A reader wrote, “I just finished the book Heaven. Knowing Jesus, I found it inspiring and well documented. I was disappointed there wasn’t more mentioned about the immediate Heaven, the one right after we leave this earth. I just lost a loved one and would like more information and clarity about what she is experiencing. I have read three books on Heaven, read a lot about the New Earth, but little about what happens when I die.”  

While my book Heaven centers on the New Earth, the eternal Heaven, a few chapters deal with the present Heaven. When a Christian dies he enters what theologians call the “intermediate state,” a transitional period between life on Earth and the future resurrection to life on the New Earth. Usually when we talk about “Heaven,” we mean the place that Christians go when they die. When we tell our children “Grandma’s now in Heaven,” we’re referring to what I prefer to call the present Heaven (the word intermediate sometimes confuses people).

Books on Heaven often fail to distinguish between the intermediate and eternal states, using the one word—Heaven—as all-inclusive. But this is an important distinction. The present Heaven is a temporary lodging, a waiting place (a delightful one!) until the return of Christ and our bodily resurrection. The eternal Heaven, the New Earth, is our true home, the place where we will live forever with our Lord and each other. The great redemptive promises of God will find their ultimate fulfillment on the New Earth, not in the present Heaven. God’s children are destined for life as resurrected beings on a resurrected Earth.

Though the present Heaven is not our final destination, it’s a wonderful place, and it’s understandable that those who have had loved ones die in Christ wonder what life is like for them there. Based on the Bible’s teaching, we know several things: the present Heaven is a real (and possibly physical) place. Those who love Jesus and trust Him for their salvation will be with Him there, together with all who have died in Christ. We will be awake and cognizant. And because we will be with Jesus, it is “better by far” than our present existence.

The Present Heaven Is a Real Place

Heaven is normally invisible to those living on Earth. For those who have trouble accepting the reality of an unseen realm, consider the perspective of researchers who embrace string theory. Scientists at Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, among others, have postulated that there are ten unobservable dimensions and likely an infinite number of imperceptible universes. If this is what some scientists believe, why should anyone feel self-conscious about believing in one unobservable dimension, a realm containing angels and Heaven and Hell?

The Bible teaches that sometimes humans are allowed to see into Heaven. When Stephen was being stoned because of his faith in Christ, he gazed into Heaven: “Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and ­Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God’” (Acts 7:55-56). Scripture tells us not that Stephen dreamed this, but that he actually saw it.

Wayne Grudem points out that Stephen “did not see mere symbols of a state of existence. It was rather that his eyes were opened to see a spiritual dimension of reality which God has hidden from us in this present age, a dimension which none the less ­really does exist in our space/time universe, and within which ­Jesus now lives in his physical resurrected body, waiting even now for a time when he will return to earth.”

I agree with Grudem that the present Heaven is a space/time universe. He may be right that it’s part of our own universe, or it may be in a different universe. It could be a universe next door that’s normally hidden but sometimes opened. In any case, I don’t think God gave Stephen a vision in order to make Heaven appear physical. Rather, He allowed Stephen to see a present Heaven that was (and is) physical.

The prophet Elisha asked God to give his servant, Gehazi, a glimpse of the invisible realm. He prayed, “‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17). Acts 7 and 2 Kings 6 are narrative accounts, historical in nature, not apocalyptic or parabolic literature. The text is clear that Stephen and Gehazi saw real things.

The Present Heaven May Be a Physical Place

If we look at Scripture, we’ll see considerable evidence that the present Heaven has physical properties. We’re told there are scrolls in Heaven, elders who have faces, martyrs who wear clothes, and even people with palm branches in their hands. There are musical instruments in the present Heaven, horses coming into and out of Heaven, and an eagle flying overhead in Heaven.

Many commentators dismiss the possibility that any of these passages in Revelation should be taken literally, on the grounds that the book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature, which is known for its figures of speech. But the book of Hebrews isn’t apocalyptic, it’s epistolary. Moses was told, in building the earthly Tabernacle, “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” If that which was built after the pattern was physical, might it suggest the original was also physical? The book of Hebrews seems to say that we should see Earth as a derivative realm and Heaven as the source realm.

Unlike God and the angels, who are in essence spirits (John 4:24; Hebrews 1:14), human beings are by nature both spiritual and physical. God did not create Adam as a spirit and place it inside a body. Rather, He first created a body, then breathed into it a spirit. There was never a moment when a human being existed without a body. We are not essentially spirits who inhabit bodies; we are essentially as much physical as we are spiritual. We cannot be fully human without both a spirit and a body.

Given the consistent physical descriptions of the intermediate Heaven and those who dwell there, it seems possible—though this is certainly debatable—that between our earthly lives and our bodily resurrection God may grant us some temporary physical form that will allow us to function as human beings while in that unnatural state “between bodies” awaiting our bodily resurrection. If so, that would account for the repeated depictions of people now in Heaven occupying physical space, wearing clothes and crowns, carrying branches, and having body parts (for example, Lazarus’s finger in Luke 16:24).

A fundamental article of the Christian faith is that the resurrected Christ now dwells in Heaven. We are told that His resurrected body on Earth was physical and that this same, physical Jesus ascended to Heaven, from where He will one day return to Earth. It seems indisputable, then, to say that there is at least one physical body in the present Heaven. If Christ’s body in the intermediate Heaven has physical properties, it stands to reason that others in Heaven could have physical forms as well, even if only temporary ones.

To avoid misunderstanding, I need to emphasize a critical doctrinal point. According to Scripture, we do not receive resurrection bodies immediately after death. Resurrection does not happen one at a time. If we have intermediate forms in the intermediate Heaven, they will not be our true bodies, which we leave behind at death.

So if we are given material forms when we die (and I’m suggesting this possibility only because of the many Scriptures depicting physical forms in the present Heaven), they would be temporary vessels. Any understanding of people having physical forms immediately after death that would lead us to conclude that the future resurrection has already happened or is unnecessary is emphatically wrong!

We’ll Be Together with Christ and Those Who Love Him

As painful as death is, and as right as it is to grieve it (Jesus did), we on this dying Earth can also rejoice for our loved ones who are in the presence of Christ. When they die, those covered by Christ’s blood are experiencing the joy of Christ’s presence in a place so wonderful that Christ called it Paradise.

As the apostle Paul tells us, though we naturally grieve at losing loved ones, we are not “to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Our parting is not the end of our relationship, only an interruption. We have not “lost” them, because we know where they are. And one day, we’re told, in a magnificent reunion, they and we “will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18).

Peter tells us, “You will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11). God is the main welcomer, no doubt.  All eyes are on Jesus, the Cosmic Center, the Source of all Happiness. But wouldn’t it make sense for the secondary welcomers to be God’s people, those who touched our lives, and whose lives we touched? Wouldn’t that be a great greeting party?

Jesus said, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). Angels probably rejoice too, but the ones living in the presence of angels Jesus refers to are likely God’s people, redeemed human beings, some of who knew and loved and prayed for the conversion of these sinners, and now are beholding the answers to their prayers. Wouldn’t such people be a natural part of the welcome committee when we enter Heaven?

I envision glorious reunions and amazing introductions, conversations and storytelling at banquets and on walks, jaws dropping and laughter long and hard, the laughter of Jesus being the most contagious.   

When I enter Heaven, I look forward to being hugged by my dear mother, who I led to Christ when I was a new believer in high school. Then I picture Mom, that broad smile on her face, presenting me with my sixth grandchild. In 2013 my daughter Angie had a miscarriage. This was a very painful time for our family, but one more reason I am looking forward to Heaven. When this happens, I will look at Jesus, nodding my thanks to the One with the nail-scarred hands, and I will not let my grandchild or my mother go. 

Those in the Present Heaven Are Awake and Alive

That we’ll receive “a rich welcome” necessitates that at death, we will be awake and conscious. Christ depicted Lazarus and the rich man as conscious in Heaven and Hell immediately after they died (Luke 16:22-31). Jesus told the dying thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The apostle Paul said that to die was to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23), and to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). After their deaths, martyrs are pictured in Heaven, crying out to God to bring justice on Earth (Revelation 6:9-11).

These passages clearly teach that there is no such thing as “soul sleep,” or a long period of unconsciousness between life on Earth and life in Heaven. The phrase “fallen asleep” (in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and similar passages) is a euphemism for death, describing the body’s outward appearance. The spirit’s departure from the body ends our existence on Earth. The physical part of us “sleeps” until the resurrection, while the spiritual part of us relocates to a conscious existence in Heaven (Daniel 12:2-3; 2 Corinthians 5:8).

Every reference in Revelation to human beings talking and worshiping in Heaven prior to the resurrection of the dead demonstrates that our spiritual beings are conscious, not sleeping, after death. (Nearly everyone who believes in soul sleep believes that souls are disembodied at death; it’s not clear how disembodied beings could sleep, because sleeping involves a physical body.)

As awake and conscious beings, those in Heaven are free to ask God questions (Revelation 6:9-11), which means they have an audience with God. It also means they can and do learn. They wouldn’t be asking questions if they already knew the answers. In Heaven, people desire understanding and pursue it. There is also time in the present Heaven. People are aware of time’s passing and are eager for the coming day of the Lord’s judgment. God answers that the martyrs must “rest a little longer.” Waiting requires the passing of time. I see no reason to believe that the realities of this passage apply only to one group of martyrs and to no one else in Heaven. We should assume that what is true of them is also true of our loved ones already there, and it will be true of us when we die.

Life in Christ’s Presence Is Better by Far

Paul says, “For to me, 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). Life in the Heaven we go to when we die, where we’ll dwell prior to our bodily resurrection, is “better by far” than living here on Earth under the Curse, away from the direct presence of God.

Paul spoke from experience. He had actually been taken into Heaven years before writing those words (2 Corinthians 12:1–6). He knew firsthand what awaited him in Paradise. He wasn’t speculating when he called it gain. To be in the very presence of Jesus, enjoying the wonders of His being, and to be with God’s people and no longer subject to sin and suffering? “Better by far” is an understatement!

King David wrote, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11, NKJV). In the presence of God, there’s nothing but joy. Those who live in the presence of Christ find great happiness in worshiping God and living as righteous beings in rich fellowship in a sinless environment. And because God is continuously at work on Earth, the saints watching from Heaven have a great deal to praise Him for, including God’s drawing people on Earth to Himself (Luke 15:7, 10).

Our loved ones now in Heaven live in a place where joy is the air they breathe, and nothing they see on earth can diminish their joy. Their joy doesn’t depend on ignorance, but perspective, drawn from the Christ in whose presence they live. If you’re following Jesus, no doubt your loved ones there are rejoicing over you. The great cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 12 is now up in the stands of Heaven and watching you on the same playing field they once ran on. They’re looking forward to hearing Jesus say “Well done” to you, and they may also commend you for your service of Jesus!

But those in the present Heaven are also looking forward to Christ’s return, their bodily resurrection, the final judgment, and the fashioning of the New Earth from the ruins of the old. Only then and there, in the eternal Heaven, the home Jesus is preparing for us, will all evil and suffering and sorrow be washed away by the hand of God. Only then and there will we experience the fullness of joy intended by God and purchased for us by Christ, who we will forever praise!

See also my article Can We Or Should We Talk to Loved Ones in Heaven? and my book Heaven .

Photo by Kumiko SHIMIZU on Unsplash

Racial Justice and the Image of God

I hate what has happened in our country since George Floyd died while in police custody after his neck was pinned to the ground for a prolonged period in which he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. I hate what was done to Floyd, and I hate what others have done in effectively punishing other people by burning, destroying, and looting from them. (On the other hand, I have participated in peaceful protests myself, and I definitely defend the rights of others to do so thoughtfully and with self-control.)

To understand what’s happening in our country takes more than watching news and social media—it requires understanding history. I love Benjamin Watson and his character, integrity, and passions for Jesus and justice for all, including the unborn. I’ve read 50+ books on racial history and justice, many back when researching my novel Dominion.  Ben’s book Under Our Skin is the one I recommend most. In these reflections he wrote last week, Ben said this:

As Christ-followers, there’s a certain way we need to carry ourselves in the midst of injustice. We have a responsibility to do so. Our primary goal in this life is to bring God glory. That doesn’t mean we don’t address the issues of our day or engage in civic debate. As citizens and members of our specific communities, we should not remove ourselves from the situations that desperately need our attention. It does mean we have a mandate to engage in a way that brings glory to God and ultimately points people toward Him and the things He cares about. We are to do so in a way that is different than those who don’t know Him.

My son-in-law Dan Franklin, teaching pastor at Life Bible Fellowship Church in Upland, California, shared the following thoughts on Facebook yesterday. May Jesus be honored, justice prevail, and peace be upheld for the sake of all people. —Randy Alcorn

Perhaps the core reason that racism is so evil and incompatible with Christianity is because of the foundational teaching that all human beings are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Many ancient cultures believed that only rulers or royals bore God’s image. But the Bible begins with the idea that every human being bears His image. This means that crimes against human beings are taken personally by God. Genesis 9:6 says, “Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.” Proverbs 17:5 says, “Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker.” Human beings have dignity and value and profundity because they bear the image of the almighty God of all.

This also gives new profundity to Jesus’ statement in Matthew 7:12 (often called The Golden Rule): “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” We thank someone who gives us a gift—in part—because we would want to be thanked. We apologize when we are rude because we would want an apology if someone were rude to us. We want a defendant in a court case to have a vigorous and competent defense because we would want those same things if we were to trade places with that defendant.

When we see a man killed unjustly by a police officer, we want that police officer punished. This is not because we hate the police. This is not because we value one race over another race. This is because if I were killed unjustly by that police officer, I would not want him to go unpunished. And we also want him punished because we want all people to know the wrongness of that action, so that it is less likely to happen again.

On top of this, if I were part of an ethnic group that had suffered greatly in this nation, I would want others to show patience and compassion toward me whenever I got angry over acts of injustice and oppression. Even if sometimes I spoke too loudly, said words I shouldn’t have said, or blew up in frustration, I would hope that others would understand where I was coming from. Because of that, I know that this is God’s calling for me.

I don’t approve of the riots and the looting. I believe that they are absolutely counter-productive. I have no desire to excuse them. But I believe that it is incumbent upon all of us to look with empathy and to ask what kind of hopelessness and grief might lead us to act in a similar way. I am no better than any looter. I am no better than any rioter. I can sit in my safe home and say that they are acting wrongly (and I believe they are), but I would hope for some grace from others if I were so hopeless and angry and grief-stricken that I lashed out in a destructive way. We can have compassion without showing approval. We can seek to understand without seeking to excuse.

Not only am I no better than a looter, but the scary reality is that I am no better than any murderer. I have the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on my hands. He died for MY sins. I believe that murderers should be punished severely, but I also thank God that His grace extends even to those of us who have sinned most egregiously, so that we can have new life and new hope.

Racism will always be with us because human beings will always—this side of Jesus renewing the earth—grab hold of ways to make themselves feel superior to others. We will use race, money, athleticism, attractiveness, social status, or anything else. And racism is a very real temptation for every single one of us. I don’t believe that there are racist people and non-racist people. I believe that all of us are vulnerable to act out in racist ways if we believe we can benefit from it. Thank God for His mercy for all of us.

As we grapple with the ongoing reality of racism and prejudice, we as Christians must cling to the reality of God’s image in each of us. Before spewing out a gut response to any situation, we ought to pause and make sure that we see ourselves in the person we are about to speak against. Before stereotyping and pre-judging, we must pause to see our faces in those pictures, videos, and stories. If we do, God will supply us with the humility to navigate these waters, to move closer to one another, and to experience more of the healing that the Great Physician has brought us.

From Randy: Finally, this is a beautiful and heartfelt prayer from long-term Minneapolis resident John Piper. It’s full of grace and truth, including but not limited to racial justice. I recommend listening to it rather than reading it, because you will hear something in John’s voice that words on a page or screen can’t capture.

Photo by munshots on Unsplash

Enjoying Maggie Grace, Then and Now

Almost eight and a half years ago, I shared this on my blog:

Nanci and I are enjoying our first week with our new Golden Retriever puppy, Maggie Grace, who is nine weeks old.

She’s pretty adorable, so I keep pulling out the camera. These are two slideshows, one of which I posted on Facebook Monday night, the second of which I haven’t posted until now.

God graciously links the hearts of people to their animals. That was his plan from the beginning. You’ve heard of therapy dogs? Most dogs are therapy dogs, to the families they’ve been entrusted to. Maggie has already been therapy for us. We thank God for her.

“The godly care for their animals” (Proverbs 12:10, NLT).

First slideshow of our Maggie, 2:13 min.: 

Second slideshow of Maggie, 2:26 min.: 

Here are a couple of photos of Maggie as an eight-year-old (equivalent to about 60 human years, so she’s catching up with us). We love her more than ever, even as she’s slowing down a bit (but she can still dig and chase rabbits with the best of them). Maggie is hanging out with our dear friends’ Steve and Sue Keels’ rapidly growing six-month-old pup Bo, a goldendoodle. He has become to the Keels a wonderful friend and therapy dog after the loss of their son Jason six months ago. I took these of Maggie and Bo when they had a play date at our house a few days ago. Thankfully they didn’t have to social distance with each other or with us!

Nanci and I often share with each other dog photos and videos. Dogs have brought us much joy and laughter, and both are great gifts from God. Some quotes about dogs, hope you enjoy them:

“Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job.” —Franklin P. Jones

“It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” —John Grogan 

“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.” —Roger A. Caras 

“Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” —Groucho Marx

“Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.” —Franklin P. Jones

“When an 85-pound mammal licks your tears away, then tries to sit on your lap, it’s hard to feel sad.” —Kristan Higgins 

“Be comforted, little dog, thou too in the Resurrection shall have a tail of gold.” —Martin Luther

Lessons from the Life and Ministry of Ravi Zacharias

Author, speaker, and apologist Ravi Zacharias went home to be with Jesus last week. He was a humble, Jesus-loving brother who spoke to millions of people but, in my experience, made everyone he talked with feel like they are the only one around. I thank my Lord Jesus for showing me his humility through Ravi, a great man who didn’t know he was great. (See my recent blog featuring Ravi answering questions along with Hugh Ross, and a personal story that demonstrates his heart for others.)

There have been several excellent tributes to Ravi, including this one from Amy Orr-Ewing, a senior vice president with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. She writes,

As popular consensus told us that young people can’t concentrate for prolonged periods of time, Ravi preached to packed-out audiences in pin-drop silence. Many of his hearers were the young, teenagers and students figuring out life’s big questions. His messages combined profound philosophical insights, multiple literary allusions and straightforward explanations of the gospel. For Ravi, questions lead us towards God and not away from him. He was not afraid to explore the deepest and hardest questions facing the world and to set forth how Christ meets humanity there. He was utterly confident that the Christian faith had profound meaning to offer in the darkest shades of the soul.

Alister McGrath wrote for The Gospel Coalition about Ravi’s legacy, and Sam Allberry shared three lessons he learned from working with and observing him. May these be true of us, too, as we share about the good news of Jesus with others:

3 Lessons I Learned from Working with Ravi Zacharias

By Sam Allberry

There’s a 20-year-old scrunched-up piece of paper carefully filed away in my office. It’s scrunched up because it was the only thing I had at hand when I realized I urgently needed something to write on, and it’s carefully filed because scribbled over every inch of it are notes from the first talk I ever heard from Ravi Zacharias. 

Ravi was speaking at an evangelistic event for students at the University of Oxford in the early 2000s. I’d heard his name from others but had never heard him speak. I was working for a campus ministry at Oxford at the time and went to hear him speak. It was what I now know to be vintage Ravi––high-altitude, incisive, and compelling.

But it was the extended question time afterward that really made me sit up. Ravi was being asked about everything from gay marriage to quantum physics, and what struck me wasn’t so much that he had something to say in response to each question, though that itself is no small thing. It was the way in which he spoke. Ravi was someone who’d been doing this sort of thing for decades, but none of his answers felt canned. Each felt so fresh, so personal and respectful. So I found the only piece of paper I had on me––a scrunched-up handout in my pocket from a meeting I’d just come from––and scribbled furiously anywhere I could––around the margins, in the gaps between what was already on it, and in an ever-decreasing font size to fit as much as possible. 

It’s been four years since I started working with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries as an itinerant speaker. I’ve had multiple opportunities to see Ravi in action and behind the scenes. We’re now a large and global speaking team, with around 100 speakers from yall parts of the world, but Ravi has very much shaped the tone and culture of the team.

Here are three things I’ve learned from working with Ravi.

1. The person matters more than the question.

I’ve never really felt like I was an evangelist. Every image that comes to mind when I hear that word is of something I’m not––gregarious, extroverted, or super confident.

But what I’ve seen from Ravi’s ministry is that what has makes him such an effective evangelist is that he’s actually pastoring unbelievers. His focus is the person, irrespective of their question or demeanor. When he would return from trips and report to the team, he would always mention particular individuals for us to pray for, especially those carrying deep wounds and pains. “Answer the questioner, not the question,” he would often say. When a student approached a microphone to ask a question, he wouldn’t be seeing a challenge that needed to be met, or an obstacle that needed to be dealt with, or an argument that needed to be won. He would see a person who needed ministering to.

Whether the question was answered amazingly wasn’t the key issue; what really mattered was responding to the person, not just what they were saying. 

2. Tone is as important as content.

It’s easy to reduce apologetics to argumentation. I’ve seen Christians who seem to think that contending for the gospel means stomping over everyone who raises any objections to faith. But it’s all too possible to win an argument and yet end up losing the person––as though the gospel was advanced by a succession of mic-drop moments. 

But Scripture shows us something different. When Peter calls us to be ready to give an answer for the hope we have, his attention is on our demeanor, not just our words: “Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:16). This text has been foundational for Ravi, and, through him, for the whole team. Tone matters. A true word said ungraciously will not commend the gospel. We can un-preach with our manner what we think we’re preaching with our words.

Peter’s words don’t include the caveat “unless they’re a jerk, in which case you can unload on them.” There were many times at a university forum, when a student would ask something in a snarky way. But Ravi would always aim to respond with gentleness and respect. It could often be disarming. They may have just treated him with disdain, but his response was both dignified and dignifying. He didn’t belittle others, or humiliate them. 

3. The cross is the heart of the message.

Ravi’s calling was always as an evangelist. His work as an apologist was in service to that calling. The phrase we would often hear was “evangelism undergirded by apologetics.” Apologetics was never an end in itself, as though the aim of the game was mainly to show that our thinking and beliefs were superior to those of others. The place for apologetics was in serving the promotion of the gospel itself.

Ravi’s message wasn’t so much the intellectual credibility of the faith (though he has done more than anyone else in this generation to commend that); it was Christ crucified. When Paul said, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2), he didn’t mean that he only talked about the cross; rather, he meant the cross was the animating heart of everything he did say. Ravi’s goal wasn’t to demonstrate the shallowness of, say, secular thinking; his goal was to present Christ. He didn’t preach an argument; he used argumentation to preach a person. 

Ravi has now gone to be with the Christ he so loved to proclaim. He wasn’t a perfect man (and he would be the first to stress that), but he did know someone who was, and did all that he could to commend him. 

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

Katie Gaultney writes in WORLD Magazine’s tribute to Ravi:

[Ravi] said he also loved the culinary arts, writing once, “My family still thinks that after I retire, I will open a small restaurant somewhere. If I ever did, it would be for great conversations around a great meal.”

In my book Heaven I write that there’s a biblical and logical basis for believing that on the New Earth we will have the privilege of living out some of the dreams we had for this life that we weren’t able to fulfill. Perhaps on the New Earth, Ravi will get to live out his dream of cooking and/or having a restaurant, one open to people of every tribe, nation, and language. In any event, I look forward to the great food and conversations around the tables on that redeemed and resurrected earth, and to seeing my brother Ravi again, in the presence of King Jesus!

Photo: RZIM

Ten Biblical Reasons to Give, and an Opportunity to Serve Needy Children through Compassion’s Fill the Stadium

Our family has continuously sponsored a number of children through Compassion for over 30 years, since our daughters were small (I believe they were six and four when we first started!). It seems the photos of Compassion children, and their letters to us, have always been on our refrigerator. Those are heartwarming memories. It has been a joy to be connected with their ministry.  

With the help of Pro Athletes Outreach, Compassion has recently launched Fill the Stadium:

COVID-19 has left nearly 70,000 children without a sponsor. That’s the capacity of the average NFL stadium! As the world is in the grips of COVID-19, it has led to more than sickness. Parents can’t work. Food is scarce. Our frontline church partners around the world are courageously delivering essential items to desperate children and families—often door to door.

Compassion and some of our Pro Athlete friends have teamed up to respond to this challenge. With your help, we’re hoping to ‘fill the stadium’ with urgent support for a stadium’s worth of children in crisis.

My strong conviction is that if I’m going to speak on behalf of a cause, I want to make sure I’ve given to it and am planning on giving more. Eternal Perspective Ministries has given to Compassion and Pro Athletes Outreach, and recently to Fill the Stadium, and we wouldn’t do that unless we believed in them. I encourage you to prayerfully consider giving to this project, and also to other worthy ministries.

Here are ten biblical reasons to give to causes like this one, which help children in Jesus’ name:

1. Giving shows love for God. The first and greatest command is to love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).

2. Giving shows love for people. To give is to love your neighbor as yourself. This is the heart of the Good Samaritan, who showed mercy and sacrificially loved his neighbor. Jesus said, “You go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).

3. Giving to help children recognizes their value to Jesus and their special need for care and protection. Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” The disciples might have been telling people, “Keep the children to the side. They’re just distracting. The Lord is here to teach the multitudes, but children get in the way.” But Jesus said, “No. Let them come to me.” He held them in His arms and elevated their status when He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” God puts great value in the loving, trusting heart of a child.

(By the way, Nanci and I loved watching the miniseries The Chosen, about Jesus’s life. The third episode is called “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” and it’s powerful. I highly recommend it for you and your whole family!)

There’s another intriguing (and often overlooked) verse related to God’s special love for children. In Matthew 18:10 Jesus says, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.” At first glance, we might think Jesus is saying that children have guardian angels. That may very well be true, but guardian angels would be here on earth around us, engaged in spiritual battle. There are some passages that imply their presence in our lives, but these particular angels Jesus refers to in Matthew 18:10 are not engaged in spiritual warfare on earth. Instead, they are in Heaven, continuously beholding the face of the Father.

What does that mean? I think it means God has appointed angels in Heaven who bring the cause of the children constantly before Him. It’s not like God doesn’t know or care what’s happening in their lives, but He often chooses to use secondary agents (like His followers) to do His work. He’s sovereign and all-knowing and doesn’t need angels to do that, any more than He needs us. But He chooses to have angels representing the cause of children and being a voice for them before Him. That’s a staggering thought.

God also has special rewards for those who help children, and conversely, special judgment for those who harm children. Jesus says in Luke 17:13 that it would be better for those who harm little ones to be thrown in the sea with a millstone around their neck. God absolutely hates the neglecting and exploiting of children, including sex trafficking and other forms of slavery.

4. Giving to the needy is giving to God. He says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). In Acts 9:5, Jesus says to Paul, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Now, Paul was persecuting Christians. But Jesus says that if you do it to His people, you’ve done it to Him. In the same way, giving to the needy is giving to God.

Proverbs 19:17 says, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done” (NIV). That's a striking verse, because God doesn’t owe us anything—we owe Him everything! But when we are generous to the poor, we are lending to the Lord. In that verse “LORD” is the personal name of God, Yahweh. We are lending to Yahweh, and He's going to pay us back, incredible as that sounds. But we didn’t come up with this idea—He did!

Scripture is full of hundreds and hundreds of calls to give to the poor and the needy. God, in His sovereign love and care for them, says, “When you give to them, I will take it upon myself as it were my personal debt, and I will pay you back (by implication) with interest.”

This isn’t about prosperity theology or the health and wealth gospel. We're talking about a payoff that's going to come in the life to come, and about storing up treasures for ourselves in Heaven, to God’s glory.

5. Giving brings us joy. In Acts 20:35, Jesus said, “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving” (GNT). Let’s not miss the joy it brings to our lives! A friend once asked me, “Do you know any generous person who’s unhappy?” I gave it a lot of thought. I know many generous people. Some have been through great tragedies. Some have dealt with seasons of depression and anxiety. But would I, overall, describe any of them as unhappy? No. Their generosity infuses joy into their lives and eclipses their many reasons to be sad.

6. Giving brings us purpose and adventure. Sometimes I meet Christians who seem utterly bored with their lives. There is a great cure for boredom, although it’s one people don’t typically consider: giving more time, money, and energy to God’s Kingdom work, and inviting God to open our eyes to the needs surrounding us.

7. Giving is contagious. In fact, it’s just as contagious as materialism. However, it brings life instead of death, and inspires others to enter into a greater love and joy and purpose.  

8. Giving brings us eternal reward from God. When we give, we exchange treasures on earth that won’t last for treasures in Heaven that will last forever.

In Luke 14, Jesus was talking to a man who had invited him to a banquet, as well as to all the people who were guests there. (By the way, Jesus went to parties. The Pharisees didn’t!) He said, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors” (v.12). No doubt, the disciples and the other guests were thinking, Why not? Isn't that the normal thing to do? But Jesus said not to do so, “lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid.” Again, the disciples are probably thinking, That's the usual way it works, Lord!

Jesus said, “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you” (v. 13-14). It almost sounds like He is saying no one should ever want to be repaid—as if being repaid is a bad or unspiritual thing.

But then Jesus turned it all on its head by saying if you put on the banquet (for example, by meeting the needs of others and giving to the cause of the poor, like the children that Compassion and other ministries serve), then “you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (v.14). Let me be clear: we are covered by the blood of Christ, and that's the only way we’ll stand before the Lord. Our salvation isn’t earned by works of righteousness which we have done, like giving, but is according to His mercy. But God will choose to reward us for what we have done on His behalf and for loving our neighbors as ourselves by giving, especially to the most needy.

9. Giving moves our hearts to what will matter forever. Where you put your treasure, there your heart will be also. Do you want a big heart for the things of God? Give your treasure to the things of God, including projects like Fill the Stadium.

10. Giving has the power to break the back of the money idol. It frees our hearts to fully worship God and is a true investment in eternity. As long as I still have something, I believe I own it. But when I give it away, I relinquish the control, power, and prestige that come with wealth. At the moment of release, the light turns on. The magic spell is broken. My mind clears, and I recognize God as owner, myself as servant, and other people as intended beneficiaries of what God has entrusted to me.

Learn more about Fill the Stadium. Your donation provides children in need with critical resource and the opportunity to be included in a Compassion program during this global health crisis.

For more on giving, see Randy’s books Giving Is the Good Life, The Treasure Principle, and The Law of Rewards.

Photo by Tucker Tangeman on Unsplash

Trillia Newbell Shares a Lament for Ahmaud Arbery

I have the greatest appreciation for Trillia Newbell, the author of United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity. She is a delightful, godly, and wise woman, with a perspective that is needed in the church today.

One of the many things Trillia does is provide a commentary for the podcast The World and Everything in It. She recently shared some thoughts related to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.

I am well aware that there is a great deal of polarization every time a young black man is shot and killed. There are those who always assume he was totally guilty and those who assume he was totally innocent. In cases where there is evidence that he has been guilty of something, the bigger question is, was he guilty of something which justified his being shot and killed? Please listen carefully to what Trillia has to say and ask God to speak to you through her. —Randy Alcorn

When news broke that a young black man was shot, my first instinct was to mourn. Not another one, I thought to myself. I decided to read as much as possible to gain understanding. And the more I learned, the greater the grief.

By this time, it’s likely we’ve all heard of Ahmaud Arbery. He was murdered while running through a Georgia neighborhood in February. As soon as a video of the shooting surfaced, it sparked an immediate public outcry. I was one of the many who ran in his honor on May 8th, which would have been his 26th birthday. 

But not everyone was mourning. Plenty of people took to social media with hopes of tarnishing Arbery’s character. Images of someone who looked like Arbery walking into a construction site began to circulate. Then came discussion of a possible incident when he was 19 years old. 

My hope for a society that could come together when the evidence was mounting against the assailants began to fade. 

It doesn’t matter if he went into a construction site during his run. It doesn’t matter if we find out that he had anything, criminal or otherwise, in his past.

And even if there were a burglary involved, execution is inexcusable. Private citizens may not stalk, ambush, and kill someone. Arbery was unarmed and jogging—nothing warrants his tragic demise. 

All of us who are pro-life understand just how precious life is. God created Ahmaud Arbery in His image. Whether Arbery knew Jesus or not doesn’t take away his value and worth. The color of Arbery’s skin doesn’t determine his significance. He is valuable because God created him. 

We all know this. So, when I see an unarmed black man gunned down, my heart breaks. It breaks for his family, it breaks for our country, it breaks for the pending divide we will see over yet another story like this. It breaks because an image-bearer lost his life in an unspeakable way. 

I’ve imagined what it would have been like if we all heard this story without knowing what these men looked like or where they were. How might the responses have changed? 

Most of us would agree every life is valuable. Most of us would agree that no one should be forced to answer questions from strangers holding guns. Even if we disagree about the idea of citizen’s arrest, almost no one condones killing an unarmed man.

The trouble with these situations is that the moment we insert race—it becomes a divisive issue, rather than one we all mourn. But ethnicity does matter in these situations, because we are continuing to see unarmed black men die. There’s no excuse for it, and that’s why you see an outcry from the black community and beyond.

Our reaction isn’t an overreaction. It’s a desire to see unity, peace, love, and justice. Most of the calls I see from my African American brothers and sisters are calls for justice and lament. And that’s all any of us can hope for.

Justice is coming one way or the other—whether by the court of law or by the Lord Himself. One day every tear will be wiped away, but for now we mourn as we wait. 

This commentary originally aired on  The World and Everything in It  podcast. © 2020, reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Related to this topic, I highly recommend Benjamin Watson’s thoughtful and well-written book Under Our Skin. (Much of what Benjamin writes about reminded me of what I learned in researching my novel Dominion.) 

Photo by jerry klein on Unsplash

Why Don't We Often Focus on the Importance of Christ's Ascension?

Tomorrow, May 21, is Ascension Day. A reader asked me, “I hear talk about Christ’s death and resurrection, but seldom about his ascension. Why is that?”

The ascension was considered more important to earlier generations of Christians than it is today. Gotquestions.org explains:

According to one of the early church fathers, Augustine of Hippo, the Feast of Ascension originated with the Apostles. It may be one of the oldest feasts practiced by the Church, possibly going as far back as AD 68. There is no written evidence, however, of the church honoring Ascension Day until Augustine’s time in the fourth century. Churches around the world have observed Ascension Day Feasts for centuries…

It’s true the ascension is a neglected doctrine today, perhaps because we fail to explore the full implications of it. Steve Mathewson writes,

Forty days after Jesus’s resurrection, the biblical storyline takes a remarkable turn: Jesus disappears. “He was taken up before their very eyes,” Luke tells us, “and a cloud hid him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). Two angels then tell the disciples that Jesus was “taken into heaven” (Acts 1:11)

So what do we make of this plot twist in the Bible’s story? How should we understand our crucified and risen Lord’s ascension? Michael Horton observes that we typically “treat the ascension as little more than a dazzling exclamation point for the resurrection rather than as a new event in its own right.”

Yet the ascension is a vital part of the redemption story. If we simply collapse the ascension into the resurrection, we miss stunning benefits tied directly to Jesus being taken into heaven.

(See the rest of Steve’s article 5 Ways the Ascension Benefits You.)

Nate Palmer says this: “Without an ascended Christ, there is no High Priest ruling and reigning over all creation, our assurance of heaven is in serious doubt, and we would not be living temples in which God’s Spirit resides helping us understand the things of God. In short, without an Ascension every book past John wouldn’t exist and our union with Christ stops at an earthly resurrection.”

One remarkable thing about the ascension is that it affirms Christ’s physical body went into Heaven following His resurrection. This is what the creeds call His “self-same body,” stating that likewise our self-same bodies will be restored in our resurrection. Some Christians imagine that Christ shed Himself of His humanity and returned to being a completely spiritual being when He went back to Heaven. But this is false. The ascension creates a paradigm shift. The truth is not that Jesus became a baby at Christmas, and then 33 years later came the resurrection and ascension and then He stopped being a man. The resurrection demonstrates the incarnation is not temporary. But still it could be wondered if having defeated death in the resurrection, when it came time to going back to Heaven, Christ might have said, “Time’s up, no sense in being a man any more” and shed Himself of a body and retake the form (or lack of form) inherent in being the second member of the trinity. 

He could have “dissolved” or “disappeared,” but instead He physically ascended to a place, from which He will physically return to earth in the same physical body. So Jesus became a man (first coming, incarnation), defeated death and assumed His eternal body as a man (resurrection), and went back to Heaven as a man (ascension) and will return as a man (second coming; and as our firstfruits raising our self-same bodies as bodies like His). He will reign over the New Earth as the God-man. He has become a permanent member of the human race.

So if you’re ever wished you could walk the earth with Jesus, like His disciples did, good news...if you know Him, you will. You will have a new (raised) body and it will be a New (raised) Earth, but it will really be you, it will really be Jesus, and it will really be Earth. No sin, no death, no curse. I will be me without all the bad parts, and the Earth will be Earth without all the bad parts. (New bodies are not non-bodies, and new earth is not non-earth, any more than a new car is a non-car.)

As Job put it, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

So the second member of the triune God will be a human being for all eternity, and we will know Him not only as God, but as man. To not only worship God, but to see God, run alongside God, eat with God, swim with God, play catch with God.... Now, that is about as stunning a truth as there is. This is not “over-familiarizing” God. Had we come up with this idea, it would be blasphemy. The incarnation, resurrection and ascension was HIS idea, not ours. I for one wouldn’t have thought of it in a million years. But I’ll still be thanking Him for it in a million years, and I suspect I’ll be even more amazed about it then than I am now. 

Here are some more quotes worth contemplating on the importance of the ascension:

He ascended as a conqueror, in a way of triumph. —Thomas Watson

The Lord, by his ascension into heaven, has opened up the access to the heavenly kingdom, which Adam had shut. For having entered it in our flesh, as it were in our name, it follows…that we are in a manner seated in heavenly places, not entertaining a mere hope of heaven, but possessing it in our covenantal Head. —John Calvin

 At the ascension, Jesus leaves the space-time continuum and passes into the presence of the Father. He is still human, still our second Adam…and still our Advocate—yet now he has been so glorified that everything he does has a cosmic scope…any time-space limitation passes away. —Timothy Keller

The ascension of Jesus into heaven is designed to teach us that heaven does exist as a place in the space-time universe. —Wayne Grudem

The ascension of Christ is his liberation from all restriction of time and space. It does not represent his removal from the earth, but his constant presence everywhere on earth. —William Temple

What the ascension means is that Jesus Christ forever remains the Christ who is Jesus. He did not revert back to intangibility…The Incarnation is a miracle with no expiration date. —Jared C. Wilson

The Ascension was from one standpoint the restoration of the glory that the Son had before the Incarnation, from another the glorifying of human nature in a way that had never happened before, and from a third the start of a reign that had not previously been exercised in this form. —J.I. Packer

[As the ascended king] He controls all things for the church, and therefore you can face the world with peace in your heart…The man who died for you is not only at the right hand of the divine throne but he’s there as the Executive Director of history, directing everything for the benefit of the church. —Timothy Keller

Photo by Dhagna on Unsplash

In Challenging Times, Seek Your Satisfaction in God and His Word

Flight crews routinely announce, “If you’re traveling with a child or someone who requires assistance, in the case of an emergency, secure your own oxygen mask first before helping the other person.” Those instructions may sound selfish, just as it sounds selfish to say that one of our main duties in life is to find happiness, satisfaction, peace, and rest in God. But only when we’re delighting in our Lord do we have far more to offer everyone else—especially in times of stress and difficulty, when life demands even more of us.

Consider the example of George Müller, who immersed himself in the care of thousands of orphans in the 1800s, and suffered from bad health and the weight of stressful responsibilities. One day he wrote in his journal, “This morning I greatly dishonored the Lord by irritability manifested toward my dear wife.” He said he fell “on my knees before God, praising him for having given me such a wife.”

Müller didn’t excuse his irritability. He knew his unhappiness and bad mood had displeased God and hurt his wife. He owned up to it.

But George Müller couldn’t eliminate stress or occasional bad health. So what was his solution? He wrote,

I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was, not how much I might serve the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. . . . I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it.

He put into practice what Psalm 90:14 says: “Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love! Then we will shout for joy and be happy all our days!” (NET). On another occasion Müller said, “In what way shall we attain to this settled happiness of soul? How shall we learn to enjoy God? . . . This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the holy Scriptures.”

We may not always recognize it, but we long for God and for His Word, that truth which is an extension of Himself, that clarifies and explains and shows us life as it really is, not as it is constantly misperceived. The world, with its sin and shallowness, leaves a sour taste in our mouths, but there is an eternal sweetness and delight to God’s Word. After we’ve spent enough time there, we’ll find that television and social media and news sites and popular culture will only leave us hungry and unsatisfied.

In his excellent article, Brett McCracken argues that just as fats/sugars/oils fall in the “use sparingly” category of the food pyramid, so too the internet and social media should not make up the bulk of our mental “diet.” In fact, I believe that sometimes it is just toxic, and those who eat a toxic diet will not be spiritually healthy. This is why we see Christians on social media who appear to imagine they are representing Jesus, while they fail to realize everyone else is shaking their heads at their constant launching of verbal grenades and stating their own biased opinions and conspiracy theories as if they were facts.  In my opinion, it’s nearly impossible for perpetually unhappy and critical people to share the “good news of happiness” (Isaiah 52:7) effectively.

Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs (1600–1646) spoke about the futility of finding happiness in anything other than God: “That is just as if a man were hungry, and to satisfy his craving stomach he should gape and hold open his mouth to take in the wind, and then should think that the reason why he is not satisfied is because he has not got enough of the wind; no, the reason is because the thing is not suitable to a craving stomach.”

That’s why we’re to develop a taste for God’s Word, for it is as desirable and essential for us as milk is for a baby’s growth: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2).

Like eating good food and exercising regularly, if we develop the holy habit of daily meditating on Scripture, we will deeply appreciate it, realize our need for it, and miss it acutely whenever we’re away from it too long. And we’ll understand that only God can satisfy and sustain us in every season of life.

Related to this topic, our friend and EPM board member Robin Green recently sent me this note. It’s a reminder of the ever fresh, perspective-giving power of God’s Word:

This morning I was reading in Exodus 32, how Moses is on the mountain with God, receiving the law. Meanwhile, the Israelites are making a golden calf and worshiping it and sacrificing to it and saying it is the god who brought them up out of Egypt. And God is angry and says He will consume them. But Moses implores the Lord and reminds Him of His covenant and all. “And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.” Of course, when he gets down from the mountain, Moses throws a fit and is furious with the people. And Aaron says he threw the gold into the fire and “out came this calf.” It’s ridiculous!

For some reason, this passage spoke to me about our sin, the sin of our nation, the sin of our world in turning away from God and ignoring Him and wishing to go our own way. And I was moved to pray that the Lord would relent from the disaster that is on us… not just the virus, but the crazy politics of our day, the division, the hatred, the flying after foolish answers to serious problems, the idolatry of wealth and health and youth.

I just wanted to say that God’s Word speaks to us each time we read it. No matter how many times it is read, it still speaks freshly to each day. I find that amazing. Of course Exodus 32 isn’t speaking directly about the pandemic of 2020. But God takes His word and reminds us that we are but dust, just as the Israelites in the desert were dust. We are wayward, just as they were. And He has a way out, which He graciously provided through Jesus. It’s amazing.

“How sweet are thy words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103, NIV)

“My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.” (Psalm 119:20, NIV)

“I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands.” (Psalm 119: 131, NIV)

“You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.” (Psalm 63:5, NLT)

Browse more resources on the topic of happiness, and see Randy’s related books, including Happiness and Does God Want Us to Be Happy?

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Suffering, Sovereignty, and the Coronavirus Crisis

Three weeks ago I did a 45-minute video chat with my friend Scott Lindsay of Faithlife, the makers of Logos Bible Software. We discussed suffering, God’s sovereignty, and the coronavirus crisis, and also talked about the good things that God is doing through this time.

Scott opened up some time for Q&A, and those watching sent in some great questions, including:

- How do you best bring up the reality of eternity to someone who is not saved in the midst of this pandemic?

- Is it helpful to talk about the end times in those conversations?

- What encouragement is there for church leaders during this time?

Hope you find this helpful!

If you’d like to read more about God’s sovereignty and meaningful human choice, see my book hand in Hand. For the problem of evil and suffering, see my big book If God Is Good, and these smaller spinoffs, including the devotional 90 Days of God’s Goodness, The Goodness of God, and the booklet If God Is God, Why Do We Hurt?

Photo by Mahkeo on Unsplash