In his book The Eclipse of Heaven, theology professor A. J. Conyers argues that until recently the doctrine of Heaven was enormously important to the church. Belief in Heaven was not just a nice auxiliary sentiment. It was a central, life-sustaining conviction. Sadly, even for countless Christians, that is no longer true. Heaven has fallen off our radar screens. How can we set our hearts on Heaven when we have an impoverished theology of Heaven? How can we expect our children... Read more
A reader recently asked a great question on my Facebook page: “Could you please define God’s sovereignty as compared to His providence?” In my book hand in Hand: The Beauty of God’s Sovereignty and Meaningful Human Choice, I say this: Arminian theologian Jack Cottrell says, “The sovereignty of God may be concisely summed up as absolute Lordship. It is the same as the concept of kingdom or kingship or dominion.” Calvinist theologian A. A. Hodge defined God’s sovereignty as “His absolute right to govern and... Read more
One of the ministries EPM has long supported is MedSend, a group that funds qualified healthcare professionals to serve the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world. Our friend John Brose was one of EPM’s original supporters since our beginning in 1990. Dr. Brose was a member of our church, a beloved physician, and a former missionary physician to Burundi who served on the board and was vitally involved with MedSend. He often talked to me about this important ministry and... Read more
A reader recently sent me a link on Facebook with some pictures that put earth in perspective in the universe. Below are a few of the images. Seeing this brings me back to gazing into the sky night after night as a boy. And how God used it, and my study of the wonders of the universe, to prepare my heart to meet Him: The universe is vast, yet God is said to have created it with His fingers. Effortless. No big... Read more
Here at EPM, we love the ministry of Prison Fellowship. I loved their founder, Chuck Colson, one of the most brilliant and Christ-loving men I’ve ever known. If you’re older you’re familiar with who he was, Richard Nixon’s “Hatchet Man,” a scholar, Marine, attorney, and assistant to the President of the United States. He was one of the small group of powerful men at the center of the Watergate Scandal, and while in prison he came to faith in Christ. If... Read more
In addition to the challenges that come with COVID-19, our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world continue to suffer persecution, sometimes very severe, for following Jesus. Each year Open Doors USA releases their World Watch List Report, which lists the 50 places around the world where it costs the most to be a Christian. They say, Around the world, more than 340 million Christians live in places where they experience high levels of persecution, just for following Jesus. That’s 1... Read more
Our ministry loves the work of Oasis International, which seeks to “empower the voices of the vibrant church in Africa as they disciple believers in Africa and speak to the global church.” One of their major projects is the Africa Study Bible: Africa’s Discipleship Crisis Many pastors in Africa are leading churches with little or no training. They have few resources to help them understand and correctly apply God’s Word. At the current rate, 42% of the world’s Christians will live... Read more
Last week I watched a video of a young woman, Shelby Houston, speaking at her father’s memorial service. Her dad, Officer Richard Houston, was shot and killed on December 3 in Mesquite, Texas while responding to a domestic disturbance. This clip from her message is so wonderful, so beautiful, it took my breath away. This is the grace of God. What a legacy her father left and what a reminder of the incredible impact that godly cops can and do make... Read more
For many years I’ve observed Christians saying, “This is an utterly unique time in history” (always true, but sometimes, so what?), and “There have never been more signs of the Antichrist coming.” But Nero was seen as the Antichrist, and the same is true of hundreds of dictators around the world throughout the centuries. Who would be a more likely Antichrist than Hitler, the slaughterer of the Jews, and his partner Mussolini, the false prophet coming out of Rome? Yet... Read more
Behind every ministry there are countless faithful givers who say no to certain earthly treasures in order to say yes to reaching the physically and spiritually needy all over the world. Warren and Brenda Pfohl are two such faithful givers. They wrote our ministry: “We have loved supporting EPM ministry over the past several years. We wanted to share a video The Jesus Film Project made about us and our journey of generosity. Randy and his books about eternity and generosity shaped... Read more
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