In my novel Safely Home, I tell the story of two Harvard roommates reunited in China twenty years after graduation. One is American businessman Ben Fielding, an entrepreneur in international high-tech corporate partnerships. The other is Li Quan, a brilliant academic who, when Ben last saw him, was headed home to be a professor at a Chinese university. When Ben reconnects with Li Quan on a business trip to China, he’s shocked to find his old friend living in poverty, working... Read more
Note from Randy: For the last issue of our Eternal Perspectives magazine, we asked several of our staff and board members to share a Christian quote that they’ve found meaningful, and also why that quote has helped them in their walk with Christ. (Sign up to receive our magazine in the mail for free, or to receive a notification when the latest issue is posted online.) Doreen Button, editor: “‘Safe?’ said Mr. Beaver; ‘don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said... Read more
To give lavishly is to be rich toward God; to hoard or spend on ourselves without regard for others is to be impoverished toward God. He accepts our gifts to the needy as if they were given directly to Him: “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed” (Proverbs 19:17). Any lifestyle that doesn’t align with God’s priorities and won’t hold up after death is not a good one—no matter... Read more
When Marco Polo returned to Italy from the court of Kublai Khan, he described a world his audience had never seen—one that could not be understood without the eyes of imagination. Not that China was an imaginary realm, but it was very different from Italy. Yet as two locations on planet Earth inhabited by human beings, they had much in common. The reference points of Italy allowed a basis for understanding China, and the differences could be spelled out from... Read more
It’s a great mystery that the Bible is an increasingly neglected book. Some who check social media, texts, and emails multiple times a day think nothing of going day after day without reading God’s Word. That’s why we are spiritually starved and lack the discernment to know what’s true and what’s false. There is no virtue in having a Bible sit unread on a shelf or a Bible app sit unused on your phone. A Bible does us no good... Read more
The evil of rebellion against God entered the universe through Satan, who dreamed of autonomy and of exalting himself above God. He sinned by desiring more power than God had given him. Satan’s objective is evil and suffering—exactly what the Messiah came ultimately to defeat. From the beginning, God planned that his Son should deal the death blow to Satan, evil, and suffering—reversing the Curse triggered by Adam and Eve’s sin, redeeming a fallen humanity, and repairing a broken world.... Read more
A reader asked our ministry, “Will people have technology in Heaven?” Technology is a God-given aspect of human capability that enables us to fulfill His command to exercise dominion. Something in the human constitution loves to create, tweak, experiment, and play with machinery. This isn’t a modern development; it was true of ancient people as well. We will find harps, trumpets, and other man-made objects in the present Heaven. What should we expect to find on the New Earth? Tables,... Read more
John 1:1, 14 tells us Jesus is full of two things: grace and truth. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Not “full of patience, wisdom, beauty, compassion, and creativity.” In the list there are no commas and... Read more
During the four years my beloved wife was dying of cancer, she read daily from Spurgeon’s messages and books. I searched “Spurgeon” in the typed manuscript of my Nanci’s last four years of journals. I knew they were full of Spurgeon quotes, but I wasn’t prepared for the total—170! The only person she quoted more often was God, from His Word. It’s no exaggeration to say that other than her Creator and Redeemer, and her immediate family and closest friends,... Read more
A friend asked me for some recommendations for resources on teaching the Bible to children. I researched and found some, but also thought I would include some resources for kids to read and discuss with their parents, which would help them understand God’s Word and hopefully get them excited about it. I also threw in some quality videos. Our duty to our children is clear: “Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). I hope... Read more
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