Eternal Perspectives, with Randy Alcorn - Fixing Our Eyes on the Unseen

How Should We Respond to Those Who Reject Jesus Because Some Christians Are Hypocrites?

January 17, 2019 By Randy Alcorn

All of us probably know co-workers or family members or neighbors who say they reject Jesus because some of His followers are hypocrites. How should we respond to this? First, I think we should acknowledge to our skeptical friends that there are indeed many hypocrites. (And if you are a hypocrite, then repent, ask forgiveness, and trust God to empower you to no longer be one. And if it happens again, repent again, and get help from those walking with Jesus who… Read more

Make Reading a Priority—and Let Books Change You—in the Coming Year

January 14, 2019 By Randy Alcorn

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Ivan Mesa’s intro to The Gospel Coalition’s 2018 book awards is terrific, which is why I’m featuring it below. First, no, none of my books received an award, second this is a great list, and third, please click the link and look through the books and choose one or more and buy and actually READ them. Though I do read ebooks, I still believe that overall the brain connects better with the physical book you read, and carry and put in a… Read more

What Will It Mean for the Earth to Be “Full of the Knowledge of the LORD as the Sea Is Full of Water”?

January 11, 2019 By Randy Alcorn

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A reader asked me, “The last part of Isaiah 11:9 says, ‘For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.’ Most of the things I’ve read focus on the first part of the verse, which says, ‘They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain.’ What are your thoughts on this beautiful promise in Isaiah 11:9 and how it relates to the New Earth?” Here’s the context leading up to the culminating promise… Read more

Resting on God: A Puritan Prayer

January 9, 2019 By Randy Alcorn

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Nanci and I love The Valley of Vision, which is a collection of brief and profound Puritan prayers compiled by Arthur Bennett (I love the leather edition linked to. It’s one of the few books worthy of having in leather!). We find them powerful and penetrating. Here’s one I appreciated: O God, most high, most glorious, the thought of Your infinite serenity cheers me, for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, but You are for ever at perfect peace…. Read more

Isabella Chow and Standing up for What God’s Word Says Even When It’s Unpopular

December 19, 2018 By Randy Alcorn

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Last month, 20-year-old Isabella Chow, a student senator at the University of California, Berkeley, became the center of a controversy when she chose to abstain from a pro-LGBTQ vote. She was essentially told, “You have to fully support this bill and fully support the LGBTQ lifestyle, or you’re out.” But Isabella held to her convictions. At the next student senate meeting that followed the vote, she sat for three hours while student after student stepped up to the microphone to… Read more

How Going to Jail Gave Me a Heart for Prisoners, and How You Can Help EPM Reach Them Through Books

December 13, 2018 By Randy Alcorn

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Over twenty-five years ago, on nine occasions I participated in peaceful, nonviolent civil disobedience, briefly going to jail (my longest incarceration was only two days) for what was an extremely unpopular cause—speaking up for unborn children. I remember how during a one-hour release from the jail cell, I checked over the “bookshelf” and found pathetic offerings. I determined to do what I could to donate some decent books that could get the gospel in there. While in jail I shared… Read more

Jesus Changes Everything

December 11, 2018 By Randy Alcorn

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From childhood I’ve loved astronomy. I grew up in an unbelieving home. Night after night I’d gaze at the stars, clueless about a Creator, but yearning for something greater than myself. One night, as I stared through my telescope at the great galaxy of Andromeda with its trillion stars 2.5 million light years away, I was filled with awe. I longed to explore its wonders and lose myself in its vastness. I read fantasy and science fiction stories of other… Read more

Scripture Gives Us Many Reasons to Be Happy

October 19, 2018 By Randy Alcorn

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When someone says, as many have, “Happiness isn’t in the Bible,” it’s not even slightly true. Even in versions that don’t frequently use the words happy and happiness, the concept is conspicuously present, not only in its many synonyms (see here and here), but in words such as contentment, peace, delight, and dozens of others in every translation. Consider this verse: “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights… Read more

The War on Unborn Black Children in the U.S.

October 15, 2018 By Randy Alcorn

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Recently prolife advocate Abby Johnson shared the picture below on her Facebook page, along with this caption: “The abortion war against black women is so real. This is on a billboard in Dallas.” Several years ago, John Piper preached on the question of “When Is Abortion Racism?” He said: In the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision of 1857, the Supreme Court held that Black slaves were property without rights as free persons. But today, we rightly view that as unthinkable. My hope is that… Read more

John Piper on Identifying and Fighting Besetting Sins

October 12, 2018 By Randy Alcorn

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Having turned 64 this year, this post from John Piper got my attention. It concerns what he learned about himself on a leave of absence at age 64. I prayed for him then, and now as I read this I also pray for myself. Since I consider John, and many others, my betters in countless areas, I look at his list of self-diagnosed sins (though with the help of others) and pray that God would point out my sins as… Read more