Randy Alcorn's Blog

Congratulations to My Grandson Ty and His Bride Ava

Randy Alcorn — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

My grandson Ty married his sweetheart Ava on August 1. It was a wonderful event, start to finish. It was my privilege to serve them communion, so I talked to them while everyone could see us talking but the three of us spoke privately. Then I prayed for them, and honestly, if I could choose whether to perform a whole wedding (which I’ve done many times) or have those special moments centered on Christ’s sacrifice for us, providing the model for godly marriage, I would choose leading in communion in a heartbeat. It was precious and a pleasure not to have a microphone so I could say just what I wanted for only them to hear.

Ava is a godly young woman and has become very dear to me over the last few years. After raising two daughters, then having five grandsons who Nanci and I adore, it is my joy to now have two wonderful granddaughters added to our family through marriage!

Ava Stump, you are the best! Richie Stump, you are the best! I thank God for both of you, and I thank God in advance for who He may have in mind for my other grandsons.

There is nothing like seeing five grandsons grow up to become good men who know Jesus. But there is also nothing like seeing two new young adult granddaughters (who I did not know as they grew up) and realize how God was sovereignly working in their lives all those years preparing them to meet and marry our grandsons. They love Jesus with all their hearts. (And they both call me “Pops,” as their husbands do, and as all the guys on our tennis team did. 😊)

Here’s Ava and Ty with her family:

I videoed Ty and Ava having fun with their bridal party before the wedding. (The photo shoot was a blast! 😂) The guy on the right is my grandson Jake, Ty’s older brother, who got married to his wife Richie last summer. The guy on the left is William McLaughlin, son of Heidi who is a vital part of EPM, and William is a close friend of both Ty and Jake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu8XPTDoLe8

Jake and William are below again. Check out what they did when the photographer asked them to move closer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVwj8bGl6Sg

Seeing my grandsons with their closest friends, some of whom I coached for Barlow High tennis, was such a highlight.

Watching our daughter Angie and her husband Dan help put on their sons’ weddings for two summers, back-to-back, takes me back to Nanci and our daughters' weddings six weeks apart (yes, they both got married in the same summer!).

Ava and Ty and with the pastor who married them, my friend Steve Keels, up front at the beginning of the wedding:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYw5fMHrho4?is=9xCmd51-RaHKiqgJ

Ty and Ava dancing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQlGf8zpz2I?is=Pzr0ZTsV9tE9aacn

Ty and his mom Ang dancing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJiPVBjBNBU?is=9b1_Zs7jBHWReFiC

I said at both Karina’s and Angela’s weddings, in the summer of 2001, that I believed their two grandmothers, Lucille Alcorn and Adele Noren, were watching from Heaven, since Scripture suggests our loved ones now in Heaven are sometimes witnessing, in at least some capacity, God’s unfolding plan on Earth (see what I share in this video).

Because Nanci’s mom had been blind her last few years here, she was likely seeing the girls’ weddings in a way she couldn’t have before she died.

Now, 25 years later, Nanci is the grandmother who couldn’t be there for her grandkids’ weddings. But I truly believe God gave Nanci a front-row seat to both Jake’s and Ty’s weddings to their brides. Resurrection and eternal life await—Angela, Karina, and our sons-in-law and grandchildren and friends who love Jesus will one day be with Him and each other forever.

Honestly, Nanci’s single greatest regret in her final month before going to Heaven was not being able to meet the women that would marry our grandsons. Nanci hasn’t met Richie and Ava yet but she certainly will. And I guarantee she will adore both of them! I strongly suspect she already does!

Don’t Miss Out on the Right Kind of Riches

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

I have a friend who observes my adult daughters, my sons-in-law, and my grandchildren (two of them now married) and tells me, “You are a rich man.” He’s absolutely right. I value that kind of wealth far more than financial riches.

By telling us to be rich in good deeds, God is likewise encouraging us to redefine our view of riches: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6:18).

Being rich as the world defines it is merely an illusion. We fail to recognize true and lasting riches as compared to false and fleeting ones. Someone can have great earthly riches, as the rich fool did or as Ebenezer Scrooge did, and have a profoundly impoverished soul. And someone can have almost no earthly riches, like the poor widow and countless others, and have a vibrant, thriving soul.

When we give, we don’t surrender riches. Rather, we trade one kind of riches for another. The first kind we can’t take with us when we die. According to Jesus, the second kind of riches will go before us and await us in Heaven after we die (Matthew 6:19-20).

If I take Jesus seriously and choose a smaller house and less expensive cars here on Earth so I can invest the savings in God’s Kingdom, my Lord will give me eternal treasures in Heaven that, in retrospect, will make a big house and nice cars seem utterly trivial.

But why not believe Jesus now rather than wait until Heaven—when it will be too late to reverse our choices—to believe what He said was true all along? We might ask ourselves, Why settle for an expensive necklace or a deluxe entertainment system now when by giving away the money we could contribute to an imperishable treasure in eternity?

God has given us the gifts, opportunities, and resources we need to be rich in good deeds. We were “created in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10)—not to do random or insignificant good works, but to do works prepared for us from eternity past. But God doesn’t only prepare works for us to do; He also continually prepares us to do those works. What a thrilling concept!

Years ago, when I was still a pastor, Nanci and I opened our home to Diane, a pregnant teenager who had previously had an abortion. While she lived with us, she gave birth and placed her baby for adoption. There were many tough times for Diane and for us, including late nights when I drove through town trying to find her. We had a two-year-old daughter at the time, and our second daughter was born shortly after Diane delivered, so our own stresses were multiplied.

But we had the joy of seeing Diane come to Christ and later become a terrific wife and mother. Over the years she has also had a powerful ministry to others. Nanci and I remained close to her, and we regularly reaped a harvest of joy that vastly outweighed the initial trials.

Diane once told me, “Abortion filled me with grief and regret. But when I think of the child I placed for adoption, I’m filled with joy, because I know he’s being raised by a wonderful family that wanted him.” We had the privilege of being with Diane when she was joyfully reunited with the son she surrendered for adoption thirty-three years earlier.

I recall one evening, when Nanci was sick with cancer, that Diane drove nearly an hour to bring us dinner, nearly forty years after she lived with us. The meal was great, but the real payoff, both now and forever, is in our precious relationship, which will outlive this world and be our treasure in the next.

Does doing good and ministering to others involve sacrifice? Absolutely. Often we see payoffs in this life, though sometimes it takes a while. But even when we don’t see the return on our investments now, Jesus promised we will see them in the next life, when He will make sure we “will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14, NIV).

What New Opportunities and Abilities Will We Experience on the New Earth?

Randy Alcorn — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

The term perfect is often misused when it describes our state in Heaven. I’ve heard it said, for instance, “We’ll communicate perfectly, so we’ll never be at a loss for words.” I disagree. I expect we’ll sometimes grasp for words to describe the wondrous things we’ll experience. I expect I’ll stand in speechless wonder at the glory of God.

We’ll be morally perfect, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be capable of doing anything and everything. (Adam and Eve were morally perfect, but that didn’t mean they could automatically invent nuclear submarines or defy gravity. They were perfect yet finite, just as we will be.)

Do you remember a time when you were running or swimming or working and felt you were strong enough to go on forever (even though later you could hardly get out of bed)? That was a little taste of who you’ll be on the New Earth.

The fear, anxiety, dread, and turmoil we associate with certain activities on the present Earth will be gone on the New Earth. For example, some people have a deep fear of public speaking, and they imagine that ruling means they’ll be miserable, having to be “up front” and speak to groups. If God wants us to do something, He’ll wire and equip us to do it. Our service will not only bring Him glory but also bring us joy.

I believe the New Earth will offer us opportunities we wished for but never had. God’s original plan was that human beings would live happy and fulfilling lives on Earth. If our current lives are our only chances at that, God’s plan has been thwarted. Consider the injustice—many honest, faithful people never got to live fulfilling lives, while some dishonest and unfaithful people seemed to fare much better.

Heaven will be deeply appreciated by the disabled, who will be liberated from ravaged bodies and minds, and by the sick and elderly, who will be free from their pains and restrictions. They will walk and run and see and hear, some for the first time. Hymn writer Fanny Crosby said, “Don’t pity me for my blindness, for the first face I ever see will be the face of my Lord Jesus.”

One of the greatest things about Heaven is that we’ll no longer have to battle our desires. They’ll always be pure, attending to their proper objects. We’ll enjoy food without gluttony and eating disorders. We’ll express admiration and affection without lust, fornication, or betrayal. Those simply won’t exist.

Here are some quotes from authors who have also contemplated what life in God’s presence will be like:

I suspect that every saved soul in heaven is a great wonder, and that heaven is a vast museum of wonders of grace and mercy—a palace of miracles, in which everything will surprise everyone who gets there.

Charles Spurgeon, “Feeble Faith Appealing to a Strong Savior”

Something better awaits and beckons us all. We shall be “like the angels,” which means not neutered, anaemic spirits, but full, free and liberated persons in whom all the possibilities of our God-given humanity will burst forth in undreamed-of fulfillment.

Bruce Milne, The Message of Heaven and Hell

In Heaven, as on earth, each of us will be or do something no one else will be or do as well. No one will be superfluous.

Peter Kreeft, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Heaven

I do live expecting great things in the life that is ripening for me and all mine—when we shall have all the universe for our own, and be good merry helpful children in the great house of our father. . . . When we are all just as loving and unselfish as Jesus; when like him, our one thought of delight is that God is, and is what he is, . . . then, darling, you and I and all will have grand liberty wherewith Christ makes free—opening his hand to send us out like white doves to range the universe.

George MacDonald, letter to his dying daughter

As our minds expanded, we came to the realization that there were no limitations to that which we might do. Eternity gave us the opportunity to carry forward the grandest enterprises, reach the highest aspirations, and realize our loftiest ambitions. And ever before us there were new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, and fresh objects to call forth the powers of body and mind and soul.

Walton Brown, Home at Last

What will these glorified human beings be able to do in their transfigured universe, on their transfigured earth? The simplest answer seems to be: whatever they wish. For according to an old theological dictum heaven will mean the satisfaction of every rational desire. And their transfigured cosmos will obviously be an “extension of heaven,” wide open to whatever use the glorified men will wish to put it. It will be theirs to use and develop into an even better and better universe. There will be no conflicts, no enmities, no hatred, no wars, no property bounds, no segregation, no discrimination. There will be abundant space and abundant opportunity for everyone to do whatever he wishes and wherever he wishes. . . . Their beatific vision will make it impossible for them to be uncharitable, envious, jealous, avaricious, unjust.

E. J. Fortman, Everlasting Life after Death

What Is the Significance of Leaves for Healing on the New Earth?

Randy Alcorn — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

The prophet Ezekiel shares this picture of what’s coming in the renovated world that awaits us:

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, for they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing. (Ezekiel 47:12)

The apostle John reveals a parallel picture of the New Earth:

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. (Revelation 22:1-2, NLT)

The tree of life in Eden will become a great forest of life on the New Earth, growing on both sides of the river and producing an abundance of delicious fruit that will provide God’s people continuous health (Revelation 22:1-2). What does this mean? That the New Jerusalem will be Eden magnified and expanded, but with far more variety not only in the fruit it bears, but also in untold other ways. (Assuming that New Earth animals will eat what New Earth people do, presumably they will experience the same benefits, whatever those are.)

If Eden was a rural utopia, the New Jerusalem, with its great waters and trees and fruits, will be an urban utopia, presumably with green spaces and water features and endless beauty that would be eye-popping to the greatest urban planners in this world. It will be all the best and none of the worst of the cities we’ve known on a fallen earth. (Anyone who thinks they hate the idea of a city has only seen fallen cities.)

Outside the city will be nations. We know this because the kings of those nations will bring their treasures into the New Jerusalem, perhaps as worshipful tributes to King Jesus (Revelation 21:24). Anyone who thinks he hates the country because of isolation, boredom, and lack of activity hasn’t seen what awaits us on the New Earth, both outside cities and inside them.

The healing of the nations is linked to the leaves of the tree of life. Most likely that tree in the New Jerusalem is literal just as it was in Eden, just far more expansive, with perhaps miles or hundreds of miles of “trees” stemming from one root, making it a single tree of life. (The Pando aspen grove in the Fishlake National Forest in Utah is a quaking aspen with stems that appear to be separate trees but are not, spreading out over 106 acres and connected by a massive interwoven root system.) We are told that right now the [not a] tree of life is in the Present Heaven (Revelation 2:7) and in Revelation 21 that its leaves and great variety of fruits will enrich our existence there. Throughout history, leaves have been a primary source of medicines used in healing.

But since there will be no suffering, sickness, or death for anyone on the New Earth—people or animals—what is the meaning of the “healing” the leaves will bring? One possibility is that the leaves are for celebrating the final end of divisions between nations. In the ancient world, leaves and wreaths were symbols of peace. The olive branch represented peace in the Greco-Roman world. Even the Great Seal of the United States has an eagle symbolizing war, holding an olive branch in its claw, with olives and leaves, symbolizing peace. Those seeking peace would hold an olive branch when approaching a high ranking official. Laurel wreathes not only crowned victorious commanders and athletes but also became symbols of peace celebrating the end of competition and the beginning of festivities. So the leaves of healing may represent that all earth’s inhabitants are perpetually healthy at last, nations are no longer divided, hate is over, and war is forever behind us.

Since on the New Earth war will only be a memory, surely the tree of life’s leaves won’t be necessary to heal us from such wounds. Diseases will be no more. However, while we can’t know for certain the exact nature of the resurrection body, it seems possible that in our everyday lives, or perhaps in particularly adventuresome activities, we will always be finite creatures even while living eternally. If so, could we—and the animals under our care—incur minor injuries (never fatal and without great pain), that the leaves could quickly heal?

Pain is not synonymous with evil, the curse, and the fall. What happened with the curse was the increase of pain and then the beginning of unrelenting pain leading to death. It's not that Adam and Eve didn't have nerves that didn't allow them to feel any pain.

While Ezekiel and Revelation are certainly talking about people in terms of the healing of the nations, as go people, so go the animals. So it could very well mean that animals could experience just the small amount of pain necessary to deter their actions—to pull a paw out of a fire, for instance. And then the leaves of the tree of life could also be used for their healing. This of course is speculation, but I'm just trying to make best sense of the text.

Pain can be beneficial when it’s only temporary and fleeting, prompting us to pull back our hand from a hot surface before damage is done or any ongoing suffering begins. This is the protective nature of pain that could theoretically still be part of our resurrection bodies.

Pain can prompt a reflective reaction in the body that protects it from harm that would involve actual suffering, which would be severe and ongoing—and we’re told will no longer exist. Our bodies can react reflexively to danger before we fully register pain consciously.

In a perfect Eden, with perfect but finite bodies, could Adam and Eve have tripped and fallen, or had a cut that bled? Could they have then tended and helped each other? Could the leaves of that amazing garden of Eden have had properties that helped administer healing? If so, could this be what it’s talking about concerning leaves of healing on the New Earth?

Perhaps the tree’s fruit and leaves will be one way God continuously infuses and sustains His resurrected people with life and health. God doesn’t have to make us once and for all invulnerable like comic book superheroes. He could instead give us a continuous and everlasting infusion of secondary means to maintain our health and well-being.

I am speculating, attempting to make sense of the leaves of the tree of life being for our healing on the New Earth when we already have our resurrection bodies, and death and suffering are no more. Some translations read “no more pain,” but that doesn’t need to mean “no more ability to feel” or “no more nerve endings or sensations,” just no more suffering. We don’t have to know the answers now, but one day we will!

I think part of retaining our humanity will involve still feeling sensations and responding to stimuli. I would expect the same of the New Earth and the animal kingdom. An inability to feel would reduce us to robots, while continuous empowerment and infusion of healthy foods and preventive treatments, such as the healing leaves of the tree of life, could help us maintain our full humanity.

God can do it however He wishes. Jesus sometimes healed people without any secondary means, simply by saying “be healed,” other times touching them, and in one case mixing his spit with mud, having the man put it on his eyes, then wash himself off in a river. The point is not how He will do it but that He will do it. And since the fruit of the tree of life will presumably be available to animals also, it may play a part in their ongoing perfect health.

God says of His people, “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst” (Revelation 7:16). This doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t require food and drink, but possibly that we will always have all the food and drink we want and need. The leaves, which have always been associated with healing in this world, will remind us of the profound personal and global healing sustained by God’s ongoing provision. If that is so, then the leaves do not have to cause the healing of present sickness but can forever remind us of God’s miraculous healing of the New Earth and all its inhabitants.

To be forever strong, our resurrection bodies may be sustained forever by unending access to nourishing foods and preventive medicines from consuming leaves that will have health-giving properties. This could be just as true of animals as people. In any case, the bottom line is the same, and Revelation 21:4 says it all: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Meet Gracie’s Double in Our New Children’s Book “Heaven on Earth”

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

One of the great blessings since Nanci went to be with Jesus has been our dog Gracie, who we picked out together. Nanci had only ten months with her, but I’ve had her now five years, and I often reflect on the joy she brought to both of us from the day we brought her home. In certain ways, Gracie is sometimes very Nanci-like. (While some women would shudder to be compared to a dog, trust me, my dog-loving wife would consider it a high compliment!) When I’m not traveling, especially when writing, whole days can go by with it being just the two of us.

When I need to leave Gracie home, I give her a good treat but when I come back (sometimes just after getting the mail), she goes crazy. Half the time we walk and half the time we run together, and her sheer excitement and delight as she dramatically pulls her leash forward at the beginning of a run always makes me laugh.

I have often videoed Gracie running purely for fun, but sometimes I can’t keep up with her quick movement. This shows you what I’m talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GXOlnLEfWk

She’s only thirty-five pounds, but her speed once saved her when she was chased for sixty yards across a field by a big German shepherd, before jumping to the side, turning on a dime, and sprinting back to me. Family and friends have helped me grieve Nanci, but in her own way Gracie has done as much for me as anyone through her vibrancy and excitement for life, her loyal and truly unconditional love, and her utter devotion. There are days of bad weather here in Oregon where I would rather stay inside, but that’s simply not an option with Gracie, so I get the fun, fresh air, and the exercise!

Watch Gracie’s exuberant joy here as she greets the Eternal Perspective Ministries staff, gathered for a meeting at my office. Each time she’s released to see them, she dances around excitedly, greeting each person, before settling down and taking turns leaning against each staff person to get petted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rzMycuzx2Q

Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” Animals are the second most important part of God’s creation, after people. We should see God’s nature in His creation, including His animal creation.

Think of Adam in Eden, naming all the animals. Consider the representatives of all animal families rescued on the ark along with Noah and his family, shepherds and their sheep in Scripture, how God made us to be caretakers having benevolent dominion over them. And don’t forget the prophet Nathan’s story of how much a man loved his pet lamb (2 Samuel 12:3).

Exodus 20:10 tells us animals were to be included in the Sabbath rest. Deuteronomy 25:4 says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.” The animal gets to eat the grain also. In Exodus 23:4–5, God commands His people even to help an enemy’s ox or donkey!
And Proverbs 12:10 connects caring for animals with goodness and virtue: “The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel” (NIV).

Are you a horse lover? Read Job 39:19–25, and you’ll see God is the original horse lover, not to mention their Creator! Isaiah 11:6-9 promises there will be animals on the New Earth, including wolves (dog family) and lions and leopards (cat family). The breeds indicated in Scripture are surely just a sampling. I’m confident there will be animals of every kind on that perfect restored world where former predators and prey are said to live together in perfect peace.

It might go to Gracie’s head to hear this, but she’s the inspiration for the dog featured in the new children’s book Heaven on Earth, which I cowrote with my very talented friend Lisa Tawn Bergren. The illustrator, James Bernardin, did a wonderful job. (Gracie also gets several mentions in my upcoming book All God’s Creatures.) You’ll definitely get the feel of animal-love in Heaven on Earth. Then in November, All God’s Creatures will offer you a rich theology of animals that I hope will engage your head and touch your heart.

Like the real Gracie, the book Gracie is a doodle (my Gracie’s the smaller kind, and is half Goldendoodle, half Labradoodle). The book Gracie is a bigger Goldendoodle, like real Gracie’s 80-pound friend Bo Keels. Both in real life and in Heaven on Earth, the two Gracies love people and going on walks and adventures:

She also deeply loves her people, as Book-Gracie adored both child and grandma:

She makes her family laugh:

And she is a gift from God to them:

Lisa Bergren and I wanted this to be a book that depicts the New Earth in fun and vivid ways. We hope you and your children and grandchildren and any child in your life will love it.

If you’re not familiar with Lisa, check out her website, and start reading her books!

Why Are Our Free Will and God’s Sovereignty Worth Discussing?

Randy Alcorn — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

What good can come from studying the mysterious and sometimes upsetting subject of God’s sovereignty and human free will?

Some recognize these issues as hugely important. Convinced of their position, bloggers, seminary professors and talk show hosts look for opportunities to make their case.

Others shrug and say, “These doctrines cause division and are impossible to understand. Why even try?”

I believe one compelling reason to study this paradox is to better understand what we cannot fully understand. While it’s not imperative that I understand everything, it is important that I believe in both God’s sovereignty and meaningful human choice. If I don’t believe in God’s sovereignty, I’ll either despair or imagine that I must carve out my own path. If I don’t believe in my freedom to make meaningful choices, I’ll either give up on life or not take responsibility for my decisions.

Following are six other reasons:

1. To develop a deeper appreciation for God and His Word, which reveals Him to us

When the United States announced its intention to send a man to the moon, it mobilized extravagant resources. By the time Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface in July 1969, the US space program had done much more than reach its objective. Along the way, great advances were made in medicine, engineering, chemistry, physics, and numerous other fields. NASA aimed at the moon and got a whole lot more.

Likewise, our pursuit of godly wisdom and understanding will not only deepen our perspective on a specific passage or topic, but also helps us in countless other ways, as we give extra effort to diligently and prayerfully meditating on God’s Word (see Psalms 19:8; 119:30, 105; 2 Peter 1:19).

2. To help us mirror Christ’s humility

True humility and wisdom consist of recognizing how little we really know. The Bible insists we “know in part” and we “see but a poor reflection as in a mirror” (1 Corinthians 13:9, 12). We’re to bow to the wisdom of Scripture, even when its mysteries are hard to wrap our minds around. Humility requires that we realize how much we have to learn from God.

While the Ethiopian eunuch puzzled over Scripture, Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30). Asking God to enlighten us and give us insight from His Word will go a long way toward increasing our wisdom on this topic.

Bible study is exciting when we come expecting to learn, to be challenged, and to be transformed—if we are open to adjusting our opinions when they don’t align with Scripture.

3. To embrace all of God’s inspired Word, not just parts of it

“The first to present his case seems right,” says Proverbs 18:17, “till another comes forward and questions him.” Our families and churches and the books we’ve read may have presented their cases first, but that doesn’t mean they are right.

The Message paraphrases Ecclesiastes 7:18: “It’s best to stay in touch with both sides of an issue. A person who fears God deals responsibly with all of reality, not just a piece of it.” God inspired all of His Word, not just parts of it, and He calls us to embrace it all.

Large dogs can get two tennis balls in their mouths at the same time. Not our Dalmatian, Moses. He managed to get two in his mouth only momentarily. To his distress, one ball or the other always spurted out. Likewise, we have a hard time handling parallel ideas such as grace and truth, or God’s sovereignty and free or meaningful choice. We need to stretch our undersized minds to hold them both at once.

A paradox is an apparent contradiction, not an actual one. Sovereignty and meaningful choice aren’t contradictory. God has no trouble understanding how they work together. In His infinite mind they coexist in perfect harmony.

As you may have noticed, our minds are not infinite. And while our brains can never fully grasp sovereignty and meaningful choice, by affirming what Scripture says about both, we can avoid the mistake of denying one in order to affirm the other.

4. To foster unity in the body of Christ

I encourage you to carefully examine your own position and inconsistencies before subjecting fellow Christians to critique. Let’s bear the fruit of the Spirit, which includes both peace and patience (see Galatians 5:22). Unity has an evangelistic power that needless division undermines (see John 17:20–21).

Let’s recognize our core areas of agreement, making an honest attempt to understand one another while refusing to let peripheral issues separate us. If we love the same Jesus and believe the same Bible, let’s start and end there.

5. To avoid both fatalism and crushing guilt

Church history shows us that leaning heavily toward a particular set of verses can result in apathy and passivity: “God is going to do whatever He wants to do anyway, so why bother doing anything ourselves?” Leaning heavily toward another set of verses can result in something close to frenzy and unrelenting guilt: “We have to save the world! It all depends on us!” What is God’s role and what is mine? Is my life in God’s hands, my hands, or the hands of demons or other people? What we believe about God’s sovereignty and human choice has a significant impact on how we live.

6. To prevent us from becoming trivial people in a shallow age

The times we live in are in no danger of going down in history as “The Era of Deep Thought.” In our world, feelings overshadow thinking, and sizzle triumphs over substance.

Taking their cues from the culture, Christians who hear about the paradox of sovereignty and free will might say, “It’s a mystery; we’re never going to solve it.” But this can just be laziness, a spiritual-sounding way of saying, “I don’t want to think too hard. Let’s watch a movie instead.”

If you want truth and depth, you have to spend time in God’s Word, allowing it to make the crucial sixteen-inch journey from your head to your heart. Yes, the question of how human choice and divine sovereignty can coexist is big and difficult, but it’s also vitally important. If we devote our lives to dealing only with trivial issues, we can’t help but become trivial people.

The Intriguing and Beautiful Relationship between God’s Sovereignty and Our Meaningful Choice

Of all the dilemmas we confront in life, none is more befuddling than God’s sovereignty and human choice. So why do I find the perplexing topic beautiful rather than frustrating?

It’s all about perspective.

When astronomers gaze into deep space they’re confronted with the universe’s puzzles. Cosmic rays are highly energetic particles that flow into our solar system from deep in outer space, but where do they actually come from? It’s been a mystery for fifty years. The sun’s corona, its ultra-hot outer atmosphere, has a temperature of “a staggering 10.8 million degrees Fahrenheit.” Solar physicists still don’t understand how the sun reheats itself. These mysteries and countless others have not so much frustrated scientists as fascinated them. Watch their interviews and read their articles; their wonder about things they don’t comprehend is palpable. You don’t have to be able to wrap your mind around something in order to see its beauty.

Likewise, for God to fully know in advance what billions of human beings could and would do under certain circumstances, and to govern our world in such a way as to accomplish His eternal plan—is this not stunning?

If we can gaze at the night sky or a waterfall or the ocean with hearts moved at their sheer beauty, should we not be able to study the metaphysical wonders of God’s universe with equal or even greater awe?

God’s Choices Come First, Ours Second

I do think it’s reasonable to look at God’s choices as being more foundational than our own. Why? Because we’re made in His image, and His choice-making precedes and empowers ours. The universe is first and foremost about the purposes, plan, and glory of God. Because He is infinite, His choices naturally hold more sway than those of His creatures. As His power exceeds ours, so does the power of His choices.

That doesn’t mean our choices don’t matter—they certainly do. He gives us room to make choices according to the prevailing disposition of our will and within the limits He imposes in His sovereign plan. My perspective is simply that everything about God, including His choices, is greater than everything about us.

A. W. Tozer said in The Pursuit of God, “Every soul belongs to God and exists by His pleasure. God being Who and What He is, and we being who and what we are, the only thinkable relation between us is one of full lordship on His part and complete submission on ours.”

That’s the spirit in which I approach this topic: eager to acknowledge His lordship and willing to submit to whatever He reveals in His Word.

Adapted from Randy’s book hand in Hand.

My New Book “Heaven on Earth,” and the Importance of Teaching Kids about Heaven

Randy Alcorn — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

My new children's book Heaven on Earth: When God Makes Everything New, which I wrote with my friend Lisa Tawn Bergren, released yesterday on August 11. It's beautifully illustrated by James Bernardin, and geared towards children ages 3-7.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJoHXldaLZs

Scripture says, “We wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell” (2 Peter 3:13). Unfortunately, many children are not looking forward to this because they have not been taught what the Bible says about Heaven.

Many children are put at ease about Heaven when parents explain that we will not be ghosts. No child wants to become a ghost. The Bible says, “We know that when He appears we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). Jesus in His resurrected body proclaimed that he was not a ghost but that He had actual “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39).

Christ’s resurrection body was suited for life on earth. As Jesus was raised to come back to live on earth, we, too, will be raised to come back to live on earth (1 Thessalonians 4:14; Revelation 21:1-3). Teach your children the doctrines of the resurrection and the New Earth, and they will be excited about life after death!

Kids need to know that everything good, enjoyable, refreshing, and exciting comes from God. Jesus is creative, fascinating, and anything but boring. Heaven is going to be full of surprises and adventures as we learn more about God and explore His new universe.

My prayer is that Heaven on Earth will assist parents in helping their children get excited about life on the New Earth!

What Does Scripture Mean When It Says That God Regretted Making Saul King?

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Open theists, who believe that God does not and cannot know in advance the future choices that His free creatures will make, cite 1 Samuel 15:11 to prove that God changes His mind. God says, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me” (ESV). The word translated “I regret” is also rendered “I am grieved” (NIV) and “I am sorry” (NLT). Similarly, verse 35 tells us again, “And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel” (ESV).

Open theists argue that when God says He “regrets” something, He implies that He didn’t know what would happen. After gaining further knowledge, God changes His mind. God acted on the best knowledge He had at the time, but the bottom line is, regardless of the terminology used, God made a mistake.

Throughout history Christians have understood that in 1 Samuel 15 (and similar passages), God accommodates His language so that we can better understand Him. To say He “regrets” making Saul king is to communicate powerfully that He grieves over sin. God is not saying, “If only I had known then what I’ve learned since...” (Even among finite beings, a mother can feel sorrow about disciplining her child, still knowing she’d repeat her actions in a similar situation.)

Remarkably, between the two verses about God “regretting” making Saul king, another verse warns us against wrong conclusions about God: “The Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret” (verse 29, ESV).

Here we find an emphatic statement that God does not regret as humans do. We couldn’t ask for a clearer interpretive guideline. Knowing in advance our tendency to misunderstand, God sovereignly places this clarification in the immediate context, using the same Hebrew word from verses 11 and 35, warning us not to conclude exactly what open theists do conclude: that God regrets in the same way humans do.

On the contrary, He directly tells his people, “I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6). He is a God “who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17). Jesus Christ, the very “image of God” (1 Corinthians 4:4), “is the same yesterday and today and tomorrow” (Hebrews 13:8) —and doesn’t that seem to rule out constant change, whether in knowledge or anything else?

I agree with Bruce Ware, who argues that the proper interpretation of 1 Samuel 15 about God “regretting” is this: God never regrets in the strong and ultimate sense, but He does regret in a weaker and more immediate sense. He is not uncaring (He does regret), but He remains unchanging (He does not regret).

How do we explain passages such as God promising judgment on Nineveh (see Jonah 3:4), then deciding to withhold judgment when the Ninevites repent (see verse 10)? Wayne Grudem says in his Systematic Theology, “These instances should all be understood as true expressions of God’s present attitude or intention with respect to the situation as it exists at that moment. If the situation changes, then of course God’s attitude or expression of intention will also change.”

Such change does not indicate an inconsistency in God’s being; He remains true to His unchanging nature by responding to repentance differently than He responds to evil.

Excerpt from If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil.

God Measures Success as Faithfulness

Randy Alcorn — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Is it wrong to want to be successful? Not necessarily. Success can be good, if it’s achieved in godly ways. If not, it’s thinly disguised idolatry, which is always a failure, no matter how widely we’re praised.

Success is measured differently in the eyes of God. For sure what He values most is not what people call success, but what God Himself calls faithfulness: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

He could’ve said we “must prove successful,” but He didn’t. He said we must prove faithful.

We all have limited control over our success. I have written 68 books, but I have never had the power to make them best sellers. Some are, and some aren’t and never will be. Some are out of print and will never be back. What I could control was my hard work and diligent research and honest efforts and prayers that God would use them as He saw fit. That applies as much to the books that I seldom get letters about and are out of print as it does to the bestsellers.

I know a lot of writers, some of whom are extremely successful. But most are never satisfied. If your book sells ten thousand copies, you wish it were one hundred thousand.

If you sell a million, you want it to be ten million. If your book lands on the bestseller list, you wish it were number one; if it makes number one, you want it to stay there. If we get what we wish for, instead of being happy, we usually wish for more.

But if pleasing God is our aim, our desire for success is on solid ground. Jesus put it this way in His parable: “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Matthew 25:23).

May we strive to be found faithful with what God has put us over. In doing so, we will experience the joy of our Master in the fun times and the not-so-fun times.

J. R. Miller wrote, “Christ is building His kingdom with earth’s broken things. Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed… He can lift earth’s saddest failure up to heaven’s glory.”

Regardless of whether we are successful in the world’s eyes, and whoever we do and don’t please, let’s seek to please the Audience of One, whose “opinion” is truth and is ultimately the One that matters.

What Unique Platform Has God Given You to Glorify Him?

Randy Alcorn — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

If you are working a “secular” job, you are not second class in God’s Kingdom. You are no less called or gifted than a pastor or a missionary. Your ministry is to represent Jesus in your own sphere of influence and to provide financial support that enables others to do the work God equips them to do.

So if God has wired you to be good at what you do—whether business or art, manufacturing or farming, music or medicine, or anything that allows you to freely help the needy and further the cause of Christ—rejoice! This is a great use of your life. No matter who you are, God has given you your physical and mental and spiritual gifts to provide you a platform from which to draw attention to Him.

Leaving your job for “full-time ministry” may not be a step up for the Kingdom of God but a step down. God may have given you the ability, right where you are, to help churches and missionaries reach those God has called them to, as well as the ability to reach others in your own unique sphere of ministry.

Whether you are a grocery clerk, an assembly line worker, a salesperson, a nurse, a flight attendant, a stay-at-home mom, or a professional athlete, or whether you have a primary ministry of prayer or encouraging people, God has given you a unique platform. In all likelihood, no pastor or missionary will reach your neighbors, teachers, coworkers, coaches, or teammates. We each have our own God-given mission fields to serve every day. So use your platform for the glory of God, and then give generously to the causes of evangelism, justice, and mercy that are close to His heart.

As a teenager, Art DeMoss loved gambling, and he eventually ended up in Las Vegas with the goal of getting rich. He opened a couple of betting rooms, handling upwards of $10,000 daily. “I was searching for something,” he said, “and I never realized at the time what I was really searching for.” Though he was remarkably successful, he had no peace or happiness.

One night Art attended an evangelistic meeting, where he heard the gospel. Jesus saved him, and he surrendered his life to the Lord. An amazing transformation took place in his heart: money was dethroned.

Knowing he needed a new profession, Art and his wife Nancy moved to Philadelphia and founded National Liberty insurance company. Their business grew quickly, but Art kept his eyes on his main purpose: to glorify God and advance God’s Kingdom.

Art said to his pastor, “I’m going to give my life to full-time Christian service.”

The pastor responded, “Are you going to become a missionary?”

“Oh, no,” Art said. “We have enough missionaries. . . . We need people who will make a huge amount of money to support missionaries.”

Over the years, Art and Nancy used their successful business to share their love for Jesus with other professionals. Art told his story to nearly everyone who met with him in his office. He challenged others, “Don’t spend your life; invest it!”

Art joined the board of directors for Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru), where his significant financial investments enabled millions around the world to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. In 1979, Art died suddenly at the age of fifty-three. A plaque underneath his portrait at Cru’s headquarters says, “His life was dedicated to Christ and his service.”

Without exception, those who knew Art DeMoss, including his daughter Nancy Leigh, testify that he was a man whose passion for Jesus and the gospel was matched only by his passion for giving. We can learn much from the fact that these passions were ultimately indistinguishable from each other.

After Art’s death, the Arthur S. DeMoss foundation was created, which quietly funds evangelistic work, including publishing the widely distributed Power for Living evangelistic booklet.

God doesn’t just call His people to the far reaches of the Earth for His Kingdom. He also equips many servants to support and supply workers and to meanwhile represent Him in their own territory right where they live and work. Whatever He has called you to do, do it with your whole heart, giving generously out of the overflow He’s entrusted to you.

May each of us live daily in such a way as to look forward to hearing the Lord say to us, when we meet Him face to face, “Well done, you good and faithful servant! . . . You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!” (Matthew 25:21, GNT).

Why Is Saying Goodbye to a Pet So Painful?

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700

A reader wrote our ministry to share her pain over putting down her elderly dog, who had aggressive cancer. She explained she had saved the dog from a kill shelter, and helped him through various medical issues over the years.

This person then asked a penetrating question: Why does God allow this to happen to the innocent little ones?

Our Eternal Perspective Ministries staff member Heidi shared this compassionate response:

I’m so sorry to hear about your sweet dog. You saved him from an earlier death, and I can tell by the sadness in your e-mail that you gave him a loving and good life. You did something that God intended for us to do when He created the world, by being a caretaker of one of His precious animals.

The Bible never says animals are guilty of sin, or deserve to be punished for human sin. They are morally innocent. Yet it does say that all creation suffers because the world itself has been damaged by humanity's fall into sin. Romans 8 says that “the whole creation has been groaning,” waiting for the day God restores everything. Animal suffering is one of the heartbreaking consequences of living in a world that is no longer what God originally intended.

Randy often emphasizes that when God finished creation, He called it “very good.” Disease, death, and suffering were not part of His original design. They are intruders, not permanent residents. The Bible ends with a restored creation, a global Eden, where death, pain, and loss are gone. That is why we encourage an eternal perspective, which includes turning our eyes to the restoration of the earth that we are promised because of the work Jesus did on the cross to conquer sin and death.

You’re struggling with a question that most of us struggle with. We aren’t given a specific answer for why one animal develops aggressive cancer while another lives to old age. Job never learned the reason for his own suffering, either. Instead, he learned that the God who rules the universe is wiser and more compassionate than he could yet see. Our inability to explain a particular tragedy doesn’t mean there isn’t a purpose beyond our understanding.

Here are a few posts on our website that I hope may be helpful to you as you process your grief and take your questions to God:

In this one, a mother asks a very similar question to yours about why her son had to die.

Is It OK for a Christian to Grieve the Loss of a Pet?

Comfort for Those Grieving a Pet

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and the God of all comfort be near to you as you grieve the loss of your beloved pet.

Randy again: Some might say to those grieving a pet, “It’s only an animal.” But pets offer companionship and love that many people don’t find elsewhere. They love us naturally, with no hidden agenda (beyond treat-seeking, which is usually not well hidden).

For many, a pet’s death is among life’s greatest losses. Margaret Haskins Durber, a character in Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon series, captures this feeling in a poem titled “In Memory of Our Cat, Ralph”:

We quickly turned and went inside the empty house and sat and cried

Softly in the dark some tears

For that familiar voice, that fur,

That soft weight missing from our laps,

That we had loved too well perhaps

And mourned from weakness of the heart,

A child’s weakness—to regard

An animal whose life is brief

With such affection and such grief.

Though most pets have a short lifespan compared to humans, they occupy an important place in our hearts while they are with us. A pet is part of daily life in a way few friends are. We can affirm people’s greater worth, while still missing a pet more because of that daily bond. We love animals not because of sin but because God made us—and them—to love each other. I like how author Gary Kurz puts it:

We dictate their routines and provide for their needs. We feed them, give them shelter, rush them to the veterinarian when they are feeling ill. For all practical purposes, we treat them as we do our own human children. But here is the difference, they are perpetual, because unlike our own offspring, they do not grow up and leave the nest. They do not go to college. They do not get married. They do not enlist in the military. They remain in the home and continue to look to us for their provision and care. In fact, they depend on us for as long as they have breath. On our part, we are only too happy to meet those needs. For some, pets are the only children they will ever know.

Someone once asked me a penetrating question: “Why didn’t God make animals to live longer?” Perhaps partly so that we could learn to grieve and prepare for our own deaths as well as those of our loved ones. And furthermore, to provide us with the joy of having had several pets in our lifetimes.

If my premise is correct, which I explore in my book forthcoming All God’s Creatures, this will give us more happiness in eternity as a result of being able to reunite on the New Earth with more than one beloved pet.

How God Has Used John Piper to Impact Me, and My Family

Randy Alcorn — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0700

In my last blog, I shared John Piper’s reflections on turning 80. What follows is not a biography of John, but just a personal remembrance of some of the connections I have had with him over the past forty years. Hence, I will mention a few of my messages by name, since those were my purpose in being there and it was John who requested me to address these various subjects. Of course, the other speakers and John himself brought their own messages, and they are readily accessible on the Desiring God website.

One of our church elders asked me years ago, “What could we do together as elders to deepen our biblical knowledge and increase our wisdom to lead our people?” (What a great question for pastors and lay leaders and anyone else!) If I had to limit myself to the works of one single person, it would be John Piper.

Here was my specific answer to that church leader: Before getting to your business agenda, regularly listen together to Ask Pastor John episodes, “Look at the Book” videos, and Piper messages and then discuss them. Doing so could transform a group of elders to think more biblically and become “able to teach” others as not only pastoral elders but lay elders are called to be (1 Timothy 3:2). Or you can listen to them on your own in the car, on planes, or as you work or tinker in the garage.

Piper is my favorite living author, and his books Desiring God, The Pleasures of God, Future Grace, Don’t Waste Your Life and many others have impacted my life deeply, as they did Nanci’s. Our daughters and sons in law (both pastors) and grandchildren have likewise been beneficiaries of his writing.

Piper and I met over the phone after we had both participated in peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience (“rescuing”) at abortion clinics. Our first contact was when John called me in my office at Good Shepherd Community church in the spring of 1989, having heard of my involvement in rescuing. We talked about the challenging impact of our civil disobedience on the churches where we were pastors, the fact that some understood and agreed, and others did not. It turned out that we had rescued for the first time on exactly the same day, he in Minneapolis and I in Portland.

It was such an encouragement to talk to John during that difficult season where not many people understood our convictions. Both of us were receiving pushback from some in our churches, yet enthusiastic responses from others. My rescuing ended up resulting in me having to step down as a pastor, something I believe in retrospect was the perfect plan of God as it pushed me out of the nest of pastoral ministry to my main calling in life, which would have been difficult for me to do on my own. In God’s providence, John continued as a pastor for decades thereafter. He has been a great encouragement to me in the years since, both from a distance and in personal interactions in a variety of locations.

John first asked me to speak at his pastors’ conference in Minneapolis in February 2004 on “Money and Missions.” My sons-in-law Dan Franklin and Dan Stump came to the conference with me, and we had long and rich conversations together. (Nanci called them “the Dans,” and both are now senior pastors of their churches. Dan Franklin pastors at Life Bible Fellowship Church in Upland, California. Dan Stump at Cornerstone Church in Gresham, Oregon, very close to my home church Good Shepherd Community Church, where he served as an elder. Years ago, Dan Franklin also served as a pastor a Good Shepherd, which Nanci and I have been part of since it began in 1977.)

At that Desiring God pastors’ conference in 2004, I addressed biblical stewardship in three sessions and George Verwer talked about missions in a fourth. (Though we’d met before, George and I became fast friends at that conference, and any friend of George’s knows that meant many years of getting phone calls from him from all over the world, once from a ship crossing the Atlantic!)

I spoke again at John Piper’s national Desiring God conference in 2007 called “Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints”, where he asked me to tell my story and talk about endurance in battling abortion. I entitled the message “Today's Decisions Determine Who You'll Be Tomorrow.”

I remember that conference like it was yesterday, because we had a lunch where the male speakers were at one table and our wives were at a nearby table with missionary Helen Roseveare. I recall hearing the women laugh. Nanci’s laugh was the loudest, and I kept smiling because I knew those women were having a blast. Our table was surreal for me because the other three speakers at the table were John Piper, Jerry Bridges, and John MacAruther. They and their books had all impacted my life deeply. And here I was, by far the youngest of them, sitting at a table and wondering how in the world I ended up grouped with these men! Needless to say, the conversation with those three men was rich and meaningful! This photo brings back great memories:

John and I spoke together again in 2008 at a college and young adults conference in Palm Springs, called Resolved, put on by John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church.

In 2010 I was one of the contributing authors to a book written to honor John, and Jesus above all, titled For the Fame of God’s Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper. The book was kept secret to John, and we were chosen because of our relationships with him and our holding similar views on the subject matters for our essays. Mine was entitled “Dethroning Money to Treasure Christ above All.” This video was the surprise presentation of that book to John. It was a pleasure to be there when it happened.

Also in 2010 at the Desiring God National Conference, I spoke on Romans 8:28. In 2013, I spoke again at the final Desiring God national conference on the 50th anniversary of the homegoing of C. S. Lewis. This time the group of plenary speakers I was part of included Piper, Doug Wilson, Philip Ryken, and Kevin Van Hoozer. I spoke on “C.S. Lewis on Heaven and the New Earth: God's Eternal Remedy to the Problem of Evil and Suffering.”

That conference was one of the most memorable of my life. To appreciate John’s view of C. S. Lewis, here is the excited preview he gave on Ask Pastor John the week before the conference.

Later I spoke at a Desiring God donors conference at Skamania Lodge on the Columbia River Gorge, not far from our home. It has been our privilege to support Desiring God over the years, and it was and is still a privilege to encourage others to give generously to this strategic ministry.

John then spoke over a weekend at my home church, Good Shepherd Community Church, where he made a Look at the Book presentation that was a delight. He also spent time with us in our home.

In 2018 when Nanci was in her first year of cancer, John and Noël Piper kindly came to our home again to visit Nanci and pray over her. It was a powerful and heartwarming and unforgettable time. (Maggie may have thought they came primarily to see her.)

Fast forward to my grandson Ty, who has benefited tremendously from John’s books and messages, and asked me if I could take him to a John Piper conference where he could meet John. So I did, choosing to accept an invitation to attend a Desiring God donors’ conference, believing that being a smaller conference it might afford an opportunity for Ty to meet John. As it turned out, John graciously invited us to have a private dinner with him on the first night, just with the three of us.

Ty asked John great questions, and it was beautiful for me to be there knowing how much Ty respects him, as do I. I was touched at how seriously John engaged with Ty’s questions. And it meant so much to both of us that John was willing and even eager to share out of his busy life with my grandson.

Speaking of grandson Ty, he married his sweetheart Ava August 1, the day after this blog was posted. Here they are having fun with their bridal party before the wedding. A wonderful event, start to finish. It was my privilege to serve them communion, talk to them, and pray for them!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu8XPTDoLe8?si=QlokhNK-jIW5HMpd

Living on the Brink of Eternity: Reflections from John Piper on Life at 80

Randy Alcorn — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0700

John Piper’s 80th birthday was earlier this year. Piper’s life and ministry, books, and his insights and passion for God, have been a great gift to me and Nanci and our children and grandchildren, and countless others.

Tony Reinke posted this wonderful exchange below between Justin Taylor and John Piper during a Q&A. I just love what Piper says about living on the brink of eternity. (And I so relate, especially since Nanci is now with Jesus and I look forward more than ever to first of all being with Him, and second of all, being reunited with Nanci!)

Justin Taylor: “As you turn eighty this year, which feels like a milestone, none of us knows our day or our hour, but statistically you will be seeing Jesus sooner rather than later. What is that experience like now in your eighties, contemplating seeing him face to face?”

John Piper: “He sees to it that it stays real, because I had a heart attack last July and got three stents in here now. And I think this black eye right here is owing to blood thinners. I’m on two blood thinners and I woke up the other morning and said, ‘What’s that?’ And I went to ChatGPT. [Laughter] Doctor Chat! [Laughter] It said, number one, age. [Laughter] Thin skin. Number two, blood thinners.

Anyway, the point is, God keeps me on the brink of eternity. I look at that and think, what if it covered my face!? And that’s a great place to live. On the edge of eternity. … So the effect being old has is that it forces me to demand from the Lord that he be real. ‘I want you to be *starkly real* so that in the moment of death there’s no question, there’s no doubt, there’s no fear. And the meeting on the other side would not be totally surprising.’ …I didn’t used to plead like this when I was 40. But I plead for a kind of stark, present, precious, spiritual sense of the Lord’s reality, and that’s a wonderful thing to be driven to day after day, so that my devotions now are of a special order of urgency day by day.”

Justin Taylor penned a wonderful tribute to John in honor of his birthday. He writes:

In July of 1980, 34-year-old John Piper preached his first sermon as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church on the eastern edge of downtown Minneapolis. Surveying a sea of gray hair, he retained traces of South Carolina lilt in his tenor voice as he said, “I have nothing of abiding worth to say to you. But God does. And of that Word I hope and pray that I never tire of speaking. The life of the church depends on it.”

Piper’s final sermon at the church fell on Easter Sunday of 2013. The gray-haired, balding pastor, then 67, looked out at a sea of younger faces and explained why this wouldn’t be a typical farewell sermon with personal reflections: “It has been our commitment in all these years together to preach not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord (2 Corinthians 4:5). People ought not to go to church to hear the sentiments or the ideas of a man, but to hear the word of God.”

…At the age of 80, Piper works full-time from his home office, answering questions about the Bible and the Christian life through the Ask Pastor John podcast (400 million episode plays over the past 13 years) and through his verse-by-verse video series, Look at the Book (over 1,300 videos so far, with a life goal of working through all the Pauline letters). He and his wife remain faithful members at Bethlehem Baptist.

I encourage you to read the whole thing.

John’s son Barnabas wrote about his dad:

Happy 80th birthday to my dad. You may know him as a preacher or writer. While that is undeniably true, I get to know him as a competitor, a poet, a man of complex theology but simple tastes, a devoted husband, a delighted grandfather, and the best putt putt golfer in the family across all generations.

I loved these photos that Barnabas shared:

Thank you, John, for your commitment to exalting and glorifying Christ in the years He gives you. May we all finish well, to the glory of God!

Why Tell the Truth?

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Honored historians plagiarize. Politicians invent war records. Coaches embellish résumés. Employees call in sick when they’re playing golf. Advertisements promise intimacy with someone beautiful if you buy this car or drink that beer.

We’re so used to being lied to, and so prone to self-deceit, that it’s hard to discern what’s true and what’s not.

In one poll, sixty-four percent of Americans agreed with the statement, “I will lie when it suits me if it doesn’t cause any real damage.” Fifty-three percent said, “I will cheat on my spouse—after all, given the chance, he or she will do the same.” Only 31 percent of Americans agree that “Honesty is the best policy.” When asked what they would do for 10 million dollars, 25 percent said they would abandon their family, 23 percent would become prostitutes for a week or more, and 7 percent would murder a stranger.

Once we had a moral consensus. Not everybody lived by the standard, but they recognized it. The words of Judges 21:25 seem eerily prophetic of our times: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (NASB).

Thirty-five years ago, on a family vacation, I looked into taking my family on a boat ride. If I was willing to sit and listen to a sales presentation, we could go on the ride for fifteen dollars instead of sixty dollars.

All I had to do was sign a document claiming that I made a certain amount of money. When I explained that I didn’t make that much money, the salesman said, “No problem. Just say you do. It’s okay.”

I replied that it wasn’t “okay.” It was a lie.

“Look,” the salesman explained, “these people would rip you off in the blink of an eye. They’d lie to you in a heartbeat.”

I was supposed to feel guilty—or at least incredibly stupid—for telling the truth.

I went down the street to another salesman. The sign said children twelve and under were half price. “How old are your kids?” he asked. I said one was eleven; the other, standing there with me, was thirteen.

“No sweat,” he assured me. “Just say she’s twelve. They’ll never know.”

“But it’s not true.”

“What’s the difference?”

“The truth matters. We’re trying to teach our children that.”

As we left he shook his head, muttering under his breath.

My wife’s family owned a cabin on the Oregon coast. Every year the town used to have a Fourth of July parade. People on the floats and trucks threw saltwater taffy into the crowd.

One year after the parade, the streets were covered with taffy wrappers. Hundreds, everywhere. If there had been one or two, I wouldn’t have noticed, but the cumulative effect was striking. That pretty little beach town had become an eyesore.

Lies are like that. They pile up. Take each lie and multiply it by tens of millions in business, school, family, and government, and you have monumental moral erosion. It’s like bleeding to death from ten thousand paper cuts.

In 1970 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said in his Nobel Prize acceptance address, “One word of truth outweighs the entire world.” What did he mean? That the truth is bigger than us. Just as the Berlin Wall finally toppled, the weight of all the world’s lies can be toppled by a single truth. Truth resonates in the human heart. People may resist it, yet it’s the truth they need, for as Jesus said, “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

Tragically, Christians can be as untruthful as the world. Some Christian speakers regularly misrepresent the truth. The names of Christian celebrities are prominent on books they didn’t write. Christian leaders take credit for columns written by their assistants. Christian liberal arts colleges routinely publish doctrinal statements that many faculty members neither believe nor teach. Some Christian musicians take offerings for needy children, not divulging that they retain 20 percent for themselves.

When we fail to tell the truth, we fail to represent Jesus, who is the Truth.

Jesus Is What We Need Most

Kevin DeYoung — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Note from Randy: This is a wonderful article by Kevin DeYoung, one of my favorite writers. Kevin rightly diagnosis our greatest need in life—that is, to behold Jesus. So often we think that what we want is intimacy, a new job, a raise, a doctorate, a spouse, a large-screen television, a new car, a cabin in the woods, a condo in Hawaii, and so on. What we really want is the person we were made for, Jesus (and by extension, the place we were made for, Heaven). Nothing less can satisfy us!

The biggest need in your life, and in mine, is to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

I’m convinced that more evangelism, more prayer, more fruitfulness, more holiness will flow from the fountain of our lives only when we start drinking more deeply of Christ.

If you want to be more merciful, look upon Jesus who cried out at the cross, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

If you want to be more loving, look upon Jesus who ate with sinners and welcomed repentant prostitutes and tax collectors into the kingdom.

If you want to be purer, look upon Jesus whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

If you want more courage in the face of lies and injustice, look upon Jesus who drove out the money changers from the temple with a whip.

If you want to be stronger in the midst of suffering, look upon Jesus who did not revile when reviled and submitted himself wholly to the will of his Father.

If you want to grow in grace, look upon Jesus who reinstated Peter after he denied his Lord three times.

If you want more tenderness in your life, look upon Jesus who took the little children upon his lap and blessed them.

If you want to display the diverse excellencies of God, look upon Jesus who came from the Father full of grace and truth.

Our main problem is not lack of time or resources or the annoying people in our lives. Your main problem and my main problem is that we do not see enough the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We are not amazed. We do not stand in awe. We are not rendered speechless in his presence.

Too many of us are toying around with gimmicks and looking for quick fixes and miracle cures. Too many of us are digging deep inside ourselves for the change we want. Too many of us spend all our time tinkering with sports and the internet and home repairs while neglecting the one thing that is most needful—to sit at the feet of Jesus, to see him in the preaching of the Word, to gaze upon him in the Scriptures, to slowly meditate upon the pages of the Bible, to spend uninterrupted, unhurried time with the Lord. This is what we need.

Let us plead with God that we might behold his glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Implore him for eyes to see. Pray persistently and passionately to know him more.

Because there is no growing apart from gazing, and no becoming like Christ without beholding him in his glory.

This article originally appeared on Clearly Reformed, and is used with permission.

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