Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 92

When God Entered Time and Became a Man

As we enter the Advent season, there’s no more worthy subject to set our minds on than Jesus Himself. He is “the Alpha and the Omega…the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13), the One this Christmas season is all about. (And the One the rest of the year should be about too!)

Christmas is about Jesus pouring Himself out and condescending to be truly one of us. His humility in His incarnation and atonement is beautifully reflected in Philippians 2:6-11, which actually starts with telling us we are to take on His same humility in serving others (so Christmas season isn’t only a chance to worship Him, but to imitate Him):

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

I’ll finish with some reflections on Jesus’s humanity and humility, from Max Lucado. Max has a way with words and I hope you appreciate these thoughts as much as I do:

When God entered time and became a man, he who was boundless became bound. Imprisoned in flesh. Restricted by weary-prone muscles and eyelids. For more than three decades, his once limitless reach would be limited to the stretch of an arm, his speed checked to the pace of human feet.

I wonder, was he ever tempted to regain his boundlessness? In the middle of a long trip, did he ever consider transporting himself to the next city? When the rain chilled his bones, was he tempted to change the weather? When the heat parched his lips, did he give thought to popping over to the Caribbean for some refreshment? 

If he ever entertained such thoughts, he never gave into them. Not once. Stop and think about this. Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort. 

With one word, he could’ve transformed the hard earth into a soft bed, but he didn’t. With a wave of his hands, he could’ve boomeranged the spit of his accusers back into their faces, but he didn’t. With an arch of his brow, he could’ve paralyzed the hand of the soldier as he braided the crown of thorns. But he didn’t. ―Max Lucado, He Chose the Nails

For more on Jesus, see Randy’s book Face to Face with Jesus: Seeing Him as He Really Is.

Photo by Pro Church Media on Unsplash

Happy, Grateful People Never Get Over God’s Grace

John Piper says, “Gratitude leaves no room for sin, because it comes out of humility, the opposite of sin. And for sin to flourish it must be dripping with pride.”

Happy people celebrate their conversion not just once, but over and over. They are profoundly grateful for what God has done for them.

In the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, when the younger brother returns home to much rejoicing, the older brother questions his father’s actions. The older brother is full of complaints, revealing his proud, ungrateful heart. In the same way, whenever we believe that our heavenly Father is mismanaging our lives and treating others better, we’re demonstrating arrogance. Humility fosters happiness; pride undermines it.

The older brother was as unhappy in his self-righteousness as the younger brother had been in his immorality. But because the prodigal repented and welcomed his father’s grace, he was now forgiven, restored, and happy. Yet the older brother, offended by grace and poisoned by ingratitude, remained unhappy.

Bible teacher M. R. DeHaan (1891–1965) said,

The most cheerful people I have met, with few exceptions, have been those who had the least sunshine and the most pain and suffering in their lives. The most grateful people I have met were not those who had traveled a pathway of roses all their lives through, but those who were confined, because of circumstances, to their homes, often to their beds, and had learned to depend upon God as only such Christians know how to do. The “gripers” are usually, I have observed, those who enjoy excellent health. The complainers are those who have the least to complain about.

Pride is the master sin, and it’s manifested in our complaints. Scripture calls upon us to grow in thankfulness:

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! (Psalm 30:12)
I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you. (Psalm 35:18)
Do all things without grumbling or disputing. . . . I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. (Philippians 2:14, 17-18)

When I came to faith in Christ, my skeptical father said, “You’ll get over it.” It has now been over forty-five years, and I’m grateful I’ve never gotten over it—it has been a daily source of happiness.

When my prodigal dad, cancer-ridden and desperate at age eighty-five, surrendered his life to Christ, I celebrated his conversion. I still rejoice every time this moment comes to mind. If I find myself wishing my dad had come to my ball games and taken me fishing and said “I love you” when I was a kid, I choose instead to be grateful for the good things about him. I thank God for using him in my life decades before he came to Jesus. My father sometimes failed me; such is life under the Curse. But my Father God has never failed me, even when I don’t understand His plan.

God, eternity won’t be long enough to thank you for all you’ve given us and all you will give us in the ages to come. May we not wait until we see you for our every breath to be filled with gratitude for the saving work of Jesus . . . along with every secondary gift you give us. May our hearts overflow with gratitude to you this Thanksgiving, and each day!

For more on gratitude and its role in the Christian's life, see Randy's book Happiness. 

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Is It Possible to Be Happy in Christ Despite Suffering?

God never guarantees that the Christian life will be smooth or easy. In fact, he promises the opposite: “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12, NKJV). We’re not to be surprised when we face great difficulties (see 1 Peter 4:12).

All the psalms of lament, the book of Lamentations, and many other Scripture passages reveal the importance of realism and sorrow in the Christian life. No treatment of joy and happiness should deny or minimize such texts.

Indeed, a truly biblical worldview and an authentic doctrine of joy and happiness fully recognize and embrace the realities of suffering in this present age.

The happiness described in Scripture is all the richer because it doesn’t involve denial or pretense and can be experienced amid severe difficulty. Christ-followers don’t preach the flimsy kind of happiness that’s built on wishful thinking. Instead, our basis for happiness remains true—and sometimes becomes clearer—in suffering.

Rejoicing Is Rooted in Our God, Not Our Circumstances

Rejoicing always in the Lord (see Philippians 4:4) may seem unrealistic at times. But we must remember that this rejoicing is centered not in a passing circumstance but in a constant reality—God Himself, and His Son, Jesus, who died for us and rose again.

On the one hand, we might suppose that Scripture doesn’t command us to rejoice in our nation’s condition, our culture’s trajectory, our spouse’s attitude, our child’s struggle, our church’s conflicts, our job loss, or our poor health. On the other hand, we’re told to “always [give] thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20, NIV). Likewise, Scripture tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV).

I don’t think this means that we are to rejoice in evil, per se, since God hates evil (Zechariah 8:17; Proverbs 6:16-19) and commands us to hate it (Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 8:13; Romans 12:9). I do think it means that we should believe Romans 8:28, which tells us God will work all things together for our good, including evil things that happen to us.

Believing this frees us to thank God in the middle of difficult and even evil circumstances, knowing that in His sovereign grace, He is accomplishing great, eternal purposes in us through these things.

We’re told to rejoice in the Lord and to “consider it all joy” when we face hardship (James 1:2, NASB). Choosing to rejoice, by rehearsing reasons to be happy and grateful while suffering, affirms trust in God. We walk by faith, believing in what God has done, is doing, and will do to bring a good end to all that troubles us.

This response requires faith that God lovingly superintends our challenges. Viewing our sufferings as random or obsessing over someone else’s bad choices that caused our sufferings robs us of happiness. A weak, small, or faulty view of God always poisons the well of our contentment.

The more we grow in our understanding of God’s attributes, the happier we become.

We Have a Sovereign and Loving God

The deeper our knowledge of God’s character, the deeper our reservoir of strength, perspective, and happiness in hard times. Who is this God we are to trust? What is He really like?

As we have dealt with her cancer over the past two years, Nanci and I have spent time meditating on the attributes of God, rereading and listening to audiobooks such as The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer and Knowing God by J. I. Packer and Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. Our hearts are lifted in praise as we contemplate His holiness, grace, justice, mercy, and every facet of His being revealed to us in Scripture.

Scripture teaches that we have a God who loves us and is sovereign over the universe, including all evil. We can’t be happy, and remain happy, without believing in the sovereignty of a loving God. The beauty of the Christian worldview is that while we’re encouraged to take initiative and control what’s within our power, we also know that the enormous part of life we can’t control is under God’s governance.

Scripture tells us, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). It assures us, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). And since God is eternally wise and good and happy, and we’re not, we’re far better off with Him, not us, in control.

Gratitude Is Central

One surefire way to raise our level of happiness in times of suffering is choosing to be thankful.

In every circumstance, no matter how difficult, we can give thanks to God and experience his joy. Ephesians 5:18-20 says, “Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Being Spirit controlled is inseparable from giving thanks in everything.

When Nanci and I had to cancel a trip we were really looking forward to, we began to contemplate all the good things that we could do with the time we now had. Then we started doing those good things and got excited about them. Instead of clinging to unhappiness for something we lost, we found happiness in something we gained.

Whether we find ourselves having reason to celebrate or to mourn, there’s never a time not to express our gratitude to God. Psalm 140:13 declares, “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name.”

While it may seem hard to “make ourselves happy,” it’s not hard to choose to give thanks, which in turn always kindles happiness. No matter how difficult our circumstances, the happiness thanksgiving generates is always within our reach.

Our Suffering Will End

Even if the worst suffering of our lives still lies ahead of us, our loving God assures us it will be for only a short time. But He promises far more—a future payoff for our present sufferings:

Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18, NIV)

Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV)

In light of that eternal glory being achieved for us by our momentary troubles, Paul offers the following words of eternal perspective: “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV). This verse has always cleared my head, and that’s why I named our organization Eternal Perspective Ministries.

How wonderful to be promised not only that our present sufferings will end but also that even now they have a hidden purpose that will forever outlast this life! The more we fix our eyes on what’s presently unseen, the more we can experience reassurance and comfort and the increase in happiness they inevitably bring. That’s why Scottish evangelist Duncan Matheson (1824–1869) prayed, “Lord, stamp eternity upon my eyeballs.”

A normal day as resurrected people on the New Earth will be far better than the best day we’ve ever experienced here. And we will one day see our worst day on Earth under the Curse as not having been wasted but as making a positive and eternal difference.

This article is excerpted from Randy’s book Does God Want Us to Be Happy? It offers a collection of short, easy readings on one of life’s biggest questions: in a world full of brokenness, is happiness a worthy pursuit for Christians? This book answers the question with a different approach and contains some new material. It's perfect for those who would like to consider the central question in Happiness in a shorter form.

Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

Why I Believe It Can Be God-Glorifying to Share Our Stories of Giving Generously

In my book Money, Possessions, and Eternity I suggested sharing giving testimonies in order to help Christ’s body grow in giving. I once objected to this—and many still do—because Jesus said, “But when you give to the needy do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:3-4).

But in an appendix in the same book, I explored that verse in context of its chapter, and made the case that in the church we need to take the risk of openly telling stories of what God has done for us in the arena of giving. Though we must always check our spiritual pulse, sharing certainly does not have to be an act of pride.

If you’re interested in listening to my thoughts on this, here is a video I recorded several years ago:

There’s still a lot of pushback on the idea of sharing about our giving, but not as much is there was 30 years ago when the first edition of Money, Possessions, and Eternity came out. I think people are realizing giving isn’t the only thing people are tempted to be proud of, and in Matthew 6 it’s inseparable from prayer and fasting. We shouldn’t do anything to glorify ourselves, but if nobody ever says they are praying for you, or that they fasted over the struggles of their church, or they decided to give the proceeds of their garage sale to missions, then the body of Christ will be impoverished through lack of examples. We are to let our light shine in order to glorify not us but our Father. 

Most of us know who the prayer warriors are in our churches. And if you want prayer or want to learn to pray you can approach them. So why not giving warriors? Bible study warriors? Fasting warriors? Helping the needy warriors? Jail ministry and prolife warriors?

When a pastor preaches on purity, don’t we need to hear what steps he takes to guard his mind and heart? When he speaks on evangelism, is it wrong for him to tell us how he shared the gospel? Or how about when he shares what he does to cultivate his marriage, or how he spends time in God’s Word?

If we abstain from teaching or preaching or telling stories about anything that could tempt us to be proud, we’d have to pretty much not speak at all. And if all we did was talk about our failures and things we aren’t proud of, then we’d be tempted to be proud of our transparent self-effacing humility. I told nearly 100 short giving stories in my new book Giving Is the Good Life. But had people not shared those stories in some public forum, such as a book or conference or blog or video, I couldn’t have used them to encourage and challenge others.

My hope and prayer is that in the body of Christ, we will humbly and joyfully “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).

Photo: Christianpics.co

Is It Wrong to Be Motivated to Obey God Because We Know He Will Reward Us?

Jesus said in John 5:44, “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” Christ said we should not live for the approval of people. But He also says we should very much want to get God’s approval. (To be clear, we’re not talking about earning our salvation, which we could never do, but pleasing the Father we love.)

So God wants us to obey Him in order to get His praise, His approval.

When Scripture says we will stand before God and hear Him say “Well done,” should we want to hear Him say that? Of course!

If that sounds unspiritual, it’s only because we fail to understand how God has made us and how good it is and pleasing to God it is that we as His children would want to hear Him say “Good job. I’m pleased. I’m proud of you.”

In fact, God’s approval is the most basic of rewards, and all other rewards—including “treasures in Heaven” and ruling over cities—stem from God’s generosity that He heaps upon His children because He’s pleased with us.

Scripture clearly and repeatedly shows us we should want eternal reward, and seeks to motivate us by it. Jesus said, “It is more blessed [happymaking] to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). So is it wrong to seek God’s promised blessing that comes with giving? No. It’s right. He’s the one who makes that promise to us.

Read the Beatitudes. They encourage us through the promise of eternal reward. We’re supposed to want that reward. That’s the point of Jesus offering it as an encouragement to have right attitudes. That’s how motivation works. If we don’t want to get what Christ promises, then the Beatitudes fall flat.

We should seek to please our Lord, to meet the needs of the poor and needy, to be an encouragement to others, etc. But if we “believe that He is a rewarder” (Hebrews 11:6), then it is right, not wrong, to also want to get God’s blessing and reward. That blessing and reward is good, not bad, because it comes from His hand, and we should want to receive what comes from Him. We should crave what He, in His marvelous grace, offers us, including reward. To want it and seek it and be motivated by it is to do what He calls us to do. If we remember who He is, and that He gives us grace and empowers us to obey, and that the ultimate glory is His, then our motives will be right, not wrong.

We are givers, but our giving is but a thunder. God’s grace is the lightning. We love because He first loved us, and we give because He first gave to us. It starts with God, not us. He is the Creator; we are the creatures. He made us first to be receivers, then second to be givers. Therefore, wanting to obtain blessing, treasures in Heaven, and praise from God is not inherently wrong, but can and should be good and pleasing to God.

Several years ago, my son-in-law got his master’s degree. His grandmother had generously told her grandkids that when they graduated she wanted to take them (and their spouse) on a one-week vacation to the place of their choice. They had a wonderful time in Maui. And guess who was pleased more than anyone else? Grandma, who at 70 years old was snorkeling in the deep water and gasping at the turtles and loving being with her precious (grown) grandchildren.

Now, what if Dan and Angie had said, “No, Grandma. We worked hard at school not so we could get rewarded or please you, but because it was our duty; it needed to be done. Thanks for offering the free trip, but no thanks; we don’t want it.”

Now, by one definition that would be selfless and admirable. But not by my definition nor Dan’s grandma’s definition, and much more importantly, not by Scripture’s. Was it wrong to be motivated by the promise of their week’s vacation when making the sacrifices of school? Of course it wasn’t wrong. It was right and good. God, not Satan, made us to be motivated by the promise of reward. Hebrews 11:6 tells us we must believe God is a Rewarder. That is Theology 101.

Here’s what I think we should really want to get when we stand before our Jesus: the pleasure of hearing Him say “Well done” and the pleasure of seeing the look of approval on His face, as He says “Enter into the joy of your Lord.” To know that by His grace, we who deserve Hell have somehow (oh, what a great mystery!) made God happy and now we will love and serve Him forever in a world without sin and curse and death...could it get any better than that?

That is the “getting” we were made for—and the getting that pleases Him, and the getting He died to give us. And the getting that will be repeated and expanded and multiplied throughout all eternity, to His delight and ours.

First, for His glory; second, for our good.

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This Holiday Season, Don’t Let the Urgent Keep You from Seeking What’s Truly Important: Jesus

I wrote this article years ago, but I’m sharing it again on my blog as it’s still timely, especially as we enter the holiday season. From mid-November to early January, our lives change, bringing many things that are delightful, but which increase our pressure and fatigue! May this article remind you to focus on what’s truly most important in this season, and to take time to sit at Jesus’ feet. —Randy Alcorn

There was work to be done. After all, when Jesus came, the twelve came with Him. The house needed to be swept. Food would have to be prepared and the table set. Twenty-six extra feet would require washing. Bedding, too, must be arranged, as traveling dinner guests always spend the night. If I don’t do it, she may have thought, it won’t get done.

Housework and meal preparation were things no one else seemed to notice—unless they didn’t get done. Perhaps no one could remember a time when Martha didn’t get them done, and she was determined this day would be no exception.

Both Martha and Mary loved and served Jesus. Yet one was a worker, the other a worshiper; one was a servant, the other a seeker. Together, they paint contrasting pictures of the Christian life.

In Scripture’s account of that dinner, Martha is mentioned first (Luke 10:38-42). She was probably the eldest, certainly the one in charge of the home. Some speculate her family was prominent and wealthy. If so, she probably had several servants.

She was a doer, a goal-oriented achiever, a believer in the work ethic who took pride in her accomplishments and thrived on success. Today, Martha would make a good executive, coach, committee chairman, or Christian worker. She is the “super homemaker” type—a compulsive cleaner and five-course meal server who wouldn’t be caught dead with dust on the refrigerator or frozen pizza in the oven.

As is often the case with siblings, Mary was quite different. Calm and relaxed, she seems more thoughtful and less tense than her sister. Mary was a thinker, a listener, a contemplator. Today we might describe her as “laid back” or “mellow,” while Martha tended to be “uptight.”

Martha was a classic example of what some physicians call the “type A” personality, those aggressively involved in an endless struggle to achieve, to accomplish more in less time. They see people as obstacles to their goals and have little tolerance for others’ deficiencies.

Mary, on the other hand, was a “type B” personality. Patient and low-key, she was people-oriented. It’s likely she often got distracted from her work to engage in conversation, much to Martha’s annoyance.

Mary may have depended heavily on an impatient Martha to do her jobs for her. Martha was the type who would hoe weeds; Mary was the type who would smell the flowers.

Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to every pearl that dropped from His mouth. It wasn’t every day that one could hear the Master, and she wasn’t about to miss this opportunity.

Meanwhile, Luke tells us, Martha was “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” (10:40 NIV). And a great deal did have to be done—all without vacuum, range, microwave, or even running water.

Martha is not criticized for working hard to be a good hostess, rather, for being distracted by her serving. The word  translated “distracted” means “to be drawn about in different directions.” We are not distracted to something, but away from something. She was distracted from Jesus.

Being distracted is not always bad. One can be distracted from television, worry, eating, or even sin in general. Mary was distracted, too—from the housework. But more important, she was compelled to her Lord.

Put yourself in Martha’s position. She had had it. Perhaps the bread had burned, the drinks had spilled, and the kitchen was a mess. No one else was bothered, but perfectionist Martha lived under the self-imposed pressure that made her endure such occasions rather than enjoy them.

She prided herself in serving dinner on time, and it was already late. Meanwhile, every time she breezed past the front room, her eyes focused on her sister Mary, blissfully seated at the feet of Jesus.

It’s not that listening to Jesus was wrong, of course. Martha would do the same if time permitted. But it didn’t, or so she told herself.

To Martha, Mary’s behavior was sheer laziness and the height of insensitivity. Unfortunately, her own insensitivity in not spending time with Jesus never dawned on her.

Having put up with this situation for more than long enough, Martha marched into the front room, to the amazement of her guests. The Greek words used in verse 40 imply suddenness or haste.

Stepping right up to her honored guest, she said, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

In essence, Martha accused not only her sister but also Christ of insensitivity and injustice. Here is the Messiah, the Savior, God incarnate—not the kind of person to whom one barks out orders. But Martha lost sight of whom she was dealing with. She allowed Jesus’ lordship to be eclipsed by her own grievances.

She was a lot like Peter—energetic, strong-willed, and ready to give advice, even to her Lord. When she should have been quietly listening to Him, she was loudly challenging Him.

Those same attributes that made Martha a capable, effective manager also got her in trouble. She was aggressive, assertive, and strong in conviction. She was also quick to criticize, intolerant of others’ differences, and prone to self-pity.

Maybe Martha was jealous of Mary’s close relationship with Jesus. Yet she could have been just as close had she chosen to spend the time with Him.

She should have calmly taken her concern to Mary. Instead, she disrupted the good fellowship of weary travelers and thoroughly embarrassed her well-meaning sister, not to mention herself.

But in Jesus’ response, we learn as much about Him as we do about Martha. He knew her heart. She did love Him and was sincerely doing her best to serve Him. She just didn’t realize she was serving her own pride. She attempted to minister to him when she desperately needed to be ministered by Him.

John 11:5 states, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” With amazing wisdom and tenderness, Jesus here demonstrates that love by not rebuking Martha’s insolence. Instead, the Lord gently puts the whole scene in perspective for her.

“Martha, Martha,” He begins, as one often did in addressing one he deeply loved and longed to lead in a better way. We can imagine Jesus gently placing His hands on her shoulder, as He continues: “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41, 42).

The word translated “worry” comes from the Greek words for “pieces” and “mind.” Literally, it means to come to pieces in the mind or to have a divided mind.

Jesus admits there is no end to the number of things we might worry about (Matthew 6:34). We can worry about our jobs, our possessions, our children, our health, or, like Martha, our responsibilities. Worry does not stem from these things, however, but from within.

It’s the product of a mind that lacks perspective. Such a mind needs to fill itself from the reservoir of God’s Word, not the innumerable concerns that constantly vie for our attention. Martha quite likely knew the verse, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Yet she seldom put it into practice.

Mary chose “what is better” or, literally, “the better portion.” The reference is to food, and it sets up an interesting contrast. While Martha devoted herself to preparing physical food, Mary devoted herself to receiving spiritual food. She was a hungry soul, single-mindedly devoted to the spiritual meal served by Jesus and oblivious to all else.

Jesus stresses the issue of Mary’s choice. Yet Martha also had a choice, even though she probably thought her hands were tied. I have to do this work, she rationalized. It’s not a matter of preference, but necessity. How many times do we use this as an excuse to neglect time with God?

Charles Hummel’s The Tyranny of the Urgent reminds us we must learn to discern between the urgent and the truly important. Serving the guests was much more urgent than listening to Jesus. But it was also far less important. Mary made her choice; so did Martha. She was not the victim of circumstances.

Couldn’t Martha have prepared a simpler meal or delayed dinner long enough to enjoy Jesus’ presence? If she had, she could have gone about her duties with renewed perspective and probably with the help of her sister.

Jesus said of Mary, “It will not be taken from her.” Time spent at the feet of Jesus is an investment in eternity, a treasure stored in Heaven.

The Westminster Confession states, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Martha might have thought “enjoy” was a bit too frivolous.

She suffered from job saturation. Today, we, too, are often managed by our responsibilities. Sometimes, when we are unsure of our direction, we attempt to compensate by doubling our speed. The result is a hurried and harried Christian life, full of activity, but devoid of an eternal perspective.

In his marvelous book When I Relax I Feel Guilty, Tim Hansel describes Martha-like believers as “Weary Servants of the Impossible.” For us, there are never enough hours in the day or days in the week.

Often, those most committed to serving others give of themselves until they have nothing left. But they keep on giving, drawing from a dry reservoir. They have forgotten how to receive.

Martha, too, forgot there was one thing even more fundamental than giving to Jesus. That sounds almost heretical, doesn’t it? What could possibly be more important than giving to Jesus? Receiving from Him. The truth is, we need our Lord a great deal more than He needs us.

Jesus wants our fellowship and devotion, not just our skills and efforts. He values our service less than our devotion and worship. Yet it is worship that fosters the most effective service.

In his booklet My Heart Christ’s Home, Robert Munger envisions Jesus saying these words to the Christian who neglects personal time with God:

“The trouble with you is this: You have been thinking of the quiet time, of the Bible study and prayer time, as a factor in your own spiritual progress, but you have forgotten that this hour means something to Me also.…do not neglect this hour if only for My sake. Whatever else may be your desire, remember I want your fellowship!”

Martha is not rebuked for serving any more than Mary is commended for not serving. The message is not “worship precludes service,” but “worship precedes service.” I found when I was a pastor that grasping and maintaining this perspective on worship and service was the most important challenge in my ministry; it was also the most difficult.

It’s too easy to base my sense of worth on what I do or how much I do, rather than who I am. Too often I cut short worship to devote more time to service. Ironically, whenever I put service before worship, I shortchange those I’m attempting to serve, and I shortchange myself. But worst of all, I shortchange my Lord.

Satan’s favorite lie is, “There’s work to do. God understands. He’s always available, and there’ll be plenty of time to spend with Him later.” Hence, the urgent displaces the important. We allow the labor of our hands to overshadow the love of our hearts.

Often, the urgent is what people want us to do. But the important is what God wants us to do. Jesus did not always live up to others’ expectations. But he was in touch with His Father and knew how to separate the grain of God’s will from the chaff of man’s will.

At the end of His life, Jesus said to His Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). What strikes me is not that Jesus worked, or even that He finished His work, but that the work He finished was what God gave Him to do.

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God’s Unchanging Character Means He Is Always Good, No Matter Our Circumstances

“‘Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!’ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Psalms 30:10-12).

Here’s my 90-second response to a question from Greg Laurie about whether we can be happy when going through suffering and hard times:

In my understanding of Scripture and my experience, daily happiness in Christ isn’t wishful thinking. It’s based on solid facts: God secured our eternal happiness through the cross and resurrection. He dwells within us, and He intercedes for us. Nothing separates us from His love. And He tells us “Be happy and full of joy, because the Lord has done a wonderful thing” (Joel 2:21, NCV).

Life brings no end of ups and downs. One week or month or year seems great, another is discouraging. Wishful thinking and denial won’t make things like health issues, financial struggles, or relational difficulties go away, and while discouragement is natural, reminding yourself of God’s unchanging character and love and faithfulness is critical to being able to rise above the adversity of circumstances that seem to change like the weather.

I’m not talking about looking in a mirror and trying to make yourself a positive thinker. So-called “positive thinking,” the sort that’s involved in prosperity theology, tries to make us happy by ignoring the negative (such as sin, suffering, and hell).

For two years some people have been telling us that if we just trust God enough Nanci’s cancer will go away. Well, we do trust Him and we pray daily for her healing as we have all along. But we also recognize that He is God, and His Word does not always promise ease and healing. In fact, it is full of His followers who suffer, die, and must grieve over the loss of loved ones. I believe in a fact-based happiness centered in Christ and His love, wisdom, and sovereign plan.

Nanci goes in for two big tests, an MRI and a CT scan, next Wednesday, November 20. If God answers our prayers that the cancer is gone, we will say “God is good.” If we find that the cancer is still there, we will go forward with the scheduled lung surgery the following week, two days before Thanksgiving, and we will say “God is good.” If the cancer has grown, we will say “God is good.” And we will have a different but good Thanksgiving if she’s in the hospital five days after surgery as the doctors believe. (We’ll share updates after the tests on her CaringBridge page.)

We will be right to say “God is good” in any of those cases because God is who He is, unchanging, always good and faithful and loving to His people even when He chooses not to answer our prayers the way we would have liked. God is just as good when you lose as when you win, and just as good when life goes your way and when it doesn’t. 

He is trustworthy, and always knows better than we do, even though He kindly invites us to pray for the desires of our hearts, which is why we’ve prayed for Nanci’s healing ever since she got the cancer, and for successful treatments too.

Scripture does not teach the God-as-genie, name-it-and-claim-it prosperity gospel, which promises happiness through health, wealth, and success. We should be grateful when God grants us health, provisions, and delightful surprises. But it’s one thing to be happy when such things occur, and another to believe God has failed us when they don’t.

Our models shouldn’t be jewelry-laden prosperity preachers, but Jesus-centered servants, such as missionary Amy Carmichael (1867–1951), who brought the gospel to countless children she rescued from temple prostitution in India. She experienced much physical suffering and didn’t have a furlough in fifty-five years. Yet she wrote, “There is nothing dreary and doubtful about this life. It is meant to be continually joyful. . . . We are called to a settled happiness in the Lord whose joy is our strength.”

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you” (Psalm 33:20-22).

For more on happiness, see Randy's book Does God Want Us to Be Happy? For more on suffering, see his book The Goodness of God. 

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Will We Wear Clothes in Heaven?

Today’s blog is excerpted from my book Heaven for Kids. It was a blast writing it—one of the things I loved doing was including a bunch of material from The Chronicles of Narnia, more than was 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: there’s a church in Florida in which the men’s ministry read and studied Heaven for Kids!

Clothes are important to us. What do you like to wear? Jeans? Shorts? Anything and everything as long as it’s blue?

Because Adam and Eve were naked without being embarrassed before they disobeyed God, some people say we won’t need to wear clothes in Heaven. Before you freak out, there’s good news. Even prior to the final resurrection, which will happen at the time of Jesus’ return to Earth, people are already described as wearing clothes— white robes that show purity, thanks to Jesus (Revelation 3:4; 6:11). Even the risen Jesus is described as wearing a robe in Heaven. So it appears we’ll wear clothes—not because there will be shame or temptation, but maybe because they will improve our appearance and comfort.

Wearing robes might seem kind of funny to us, unless we’re in a Christmas play. But to first-century people, anything but robes would seem strange, because that’s what they wore most of the time. So that’s probably what they’ll wear in Heaven.

We can imagine ourselves dressed in Heaven the way people in our culture dress on Earth. Does that mean some people will wear jeans and T-shirts, while others will wear dressier clothes? Why not? Just as we wear different clothes for different occasions here, we may do the same on the New Earth.

White is the color most often associated with clothing in Heaven. The white clothes may show our status with God (Revelation 7:9), just as they showed Jesus’ relationship to God during His experience on top of a mountain (Matthew 17). The emphasis on white may also relate to being clean.

Surprisingly, the only person described in Heaven as wearing a robe that isn’t white is Jesus: “He wore a robe dipped in blood” (Revelation 19:13). This likely isn’t actual blood but a red robe that’s a symbol of Jesus’ dying for all the bad things we’ve done.

Seven angels are described as wearing golden sashes (Revelation 15:6). Because many people from different countries wear colorful clothing, we should expect them to do this in Heaven, too. We’ll talk more later about how resurrected people will keep their national heritages.

The book of Revelation tells us we’ll be priests, kings, and queens in Heaven. God designed special clothes for the priests in Old Testament times (Exodus 28:3-43). So it’s likely that as God’s royal children we will wear a variety of beautiful clothes as we rule the earth under the direction of Jesus, the King of kings.

This week, purchase Randy Alcorn’s Tell Me About Heaven from our ministry for $9.99 (50% off $19.99 retail) and Heaven for Kids for $5.99 (57% off $13.99 retail), plus S&H. Both books make wonderful gifts this Christmas season! Sale ends Thursday, November 14 at 12 pm PT (noon).

Photo by Janko Ferlič - @specialdaddy on Unsplash

What Does It Mean to Be Ready to Meet the Lord?

A reader asked me, “I often hear the saying ‘I want to be ready to meet my Lord.’ Can you explain what exactly you mean by this, please?”  

First of all, and most importantly, being ready to meet the Lord means you’ve made sure of your relationship with Jesus Christ, and are trusting only Him to save you—not anyone or anything else, and certainly not any good works you’ve done. R. A. Torrey put it this way: “I am ready to meet God face to face tonight…for all my sins are covered by the atoning blood.”

Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” And in John 5:24 Jesus tells us, “Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

Once you’ve accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, being ready to meet the Lord means living in a way that pleases Him so that whenever He calls you home—and knowing that could be any time—you can hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”  

Scripture teaches with unmistakable clarity that all believers in Christ will give an account of their lives to their Lord (Romans 14:10-12). Even if Christ does not return for two hundred years, we will meet Him in our deaths, whether in twenty years, twenty months, or twenty minutes. God encourages us not to be surprised about the soon coming of our appointment to stand before Him. If we are ready to meet Christ, we will long for His return. If we are not ready, we will dread it. If we do not feel ready to meet Him, now is the time to get ready.

Readers of my books are probably familiar with my emphasis on how five minutes after we die, we’ll know exactly how we should have lived. But we can’t do life here over again. There’s no retaking the course once we’ve failed it. There’s no improving a D to an A. No rescheduling the final exams. Death is the deadline. There’s no extension.

The good news is we don’t have to wait until we die to know how we should live! God has given us His Word to tell us how to live and His indwelling Spirit to empower us to live as we should. “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3, NIV).  Every day God gives us is an opportunity to live for Christ: “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).

If we are His children, God is for us, not against us (Romans 8:31). He has assured us our names are written in the Book of Life, and we won’t face the Great White Throne Judgment. He wants to commend and reward us at the judgment seat of Christ. He doesn’t want the works of our lifetime to go up in smoke. He wants us to have eternal rewards—and He has given us ­every­ resource in Christ to live the godly life that will result in those eternal rewards. “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done” (Revelation 22:12).

Peter says, “If you do these things, [then] you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter1:10-11). What a powerful encouragement this is to saints who sacrifice in this life to prepare for the next! In Heaven a great welcoming committee awaits them and a hearty “Well done!” But this isn’t automatic—the conditional “if, then” makes it clear that if we don’t do what Peter prescribed, then we won’t receive this rich welcome when we enter Heaven.

In my book The Purity Principle, I share how years ago I was approached by a woman who told me that a year earlier her husband had come to her in tears, confessing his attraction to a coworker. He was under constant temptation and felt himself slipping. He committed himself to back off from the relationship and asked his wife to understand and pray for him. She was hurt but realized she needed to help him rather than feel sorry for herself.

The result? Not only did he back off, but through his wife’s support they drew closer together than ever. In tears she told me, “Two months ago my husband died without warning. If he hadn’t been honest with me that night, he would have had an affair with that woman—and likely would have left me. He would have died unready to meet God, and I would have lived the rest of my life grieving over his affair. But that isn’t what happened. His last words to me were, ‘I love you,’ and I know it was true—he’d proven it by his actions. I thank God every day that I think of him with complete respect and admiration for loving God and me enough to be honest about his struggles.”

This man was ready to meet His Savior because he changed course and made different choices that honored both His Lord and his wife, while he still had the time to do so. “Let us throw off ­every­thing that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). Sin entangles our feet, puts us out of the competition, and results in losing the race and the prize. So as God’s child, what personal, spiritual, moral, and financial changes do you need to make to get ready to give Him a face-to-face account of your job performance, and to hear “well done”?

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)

See Randy's book The Law of Rewards for more on preparing well for eternity.

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Learning to See in the Country of the Blind

You can also listen to the audio version of this blog.

Throughout the ages, Heaven has played a dominant role in the thoughts and lives of God’s people. Heaven is the North Star by which countless Christians have navigated their lives. But have you noticed? Heaven today has largely fallen off our radar screens. If we are honest, we must admit that we are not daily and consciously looking forward to Heaven, much less to a New Earth. We’ve reduced Heaven to an otherworldly state, and we’ve ignored the clear biblical promise of a redeemed universe over which we will serve as God’s delegated rulers. We’ve become blinded to the truth, and we’ve lost our vocabulary of wonder and our anticipation of the great and glorious plan that God has in store for us. Jesus said of the devil, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Some of Satan’s favorite lies are about Heaven.

In his short story “The Country of the Blind,” H. G. Wells writes of a tribe in a remote valley deep in a towering mountain range, cut off from the rest of the world by a massive avalanche that has destroyed the mountain passes. As a result of a terrible epidemic, successive generations of this tribe are all born blind. Eventually, as a culture, they lose the very concept of vision and have no awareness of the world they’re unable to see. Because of their handicap, they do not know their true condition. When an outsider, who can see, stumbles into their village, they think he is a newly formed creature, with imperfect senses, and that all his talk of seeing is craziness. They cannot understand this other dimension called sight. Although they have adapted themselves to their circumstances, they cannot imagine what realms might lie beyond their valley.

Spiritually speaking, we live in the Country of the Blind. The disease of sin has blinded us to the truth about God and Heaven, both of which are real, yet unseen. Fortunately, Jesus has come to our valley from Heaven to tell us about his Father and the world beyond. If we will listen to Him—which requires a concerted effort to overcome our presuppositions, our ignorance, and the devil’s lies—we will gain a new understanding of our present circumstances and of the world to come. We will no longer be conformed to the pattern of this world but will be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). Consequently, our lives will be forever changed.

This blog is excepted from Randy’s book 50 Days of Heaven, which is also available on audio. For more on the eternal home that awaits us, browse additional books and resources on Heaven available from EPM.

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