When it is so common to ask “Where is God When Evil Happens?” I can’t think of a better way to end 2012 than to post this from John Piper, who asks “Where Was God in All the Goodness of 2012?”
As 2012 winds up, I am pondering the departure this year of many Christ-followers, including our brother Chuck Colson. As I shared in a post after Chuck’s death, I have the highest regard for him. He was one of my heroes.
One of the ministries EPM supports is Action International. Devendra and Koko Rai work with Action in India, and in November, Devendra sent out a prayer request for the daughter of an Indian pastor. Changpi (who turned 7 on December 8) was diagnosed with a hole in her heart that created complications in her liver.
One of the things I love most about Christmas is that it’s all about giving—with the ultimate gifts being Christ’s incarnation and His atonement. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
Our birthright does not include pain-free living. Only those who understand that this world languishes under a curse will marvel at its beauties despite that curse. C. S. Lewis’s final article, published after his death, carried the title “We Have No Right to Happiness.” Believing that we do have such a right sets us up for bitterness.
Nanci said to me, “Given what Scripture tells us about the evil of the human heart, you’d think that there would be thousands of Jack the Rippers in every city.” Her statement stopped me in my tracks. Might God be limiting sin all around us, all the time? Second Thessalonians 2:7 declares that God is in fact restraining lawlessness in this world. For this we should thank him daily.
I can mourn with and pray for the families in Connecticut who lost their children (and in a few cases their spouses) in the school shooting. I certainly cannot offer any definitive explanation. I am dedicating this week’s three blogs to perspectives that may be helpful to some.
Prolifer Mike Brady has expressed concern over the recent move of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to recommend that birth control pills be available over the counter. (Learn more.)
This is an excerpt from C. S. Lewis’s classic Mere Christianity. If you’ve never read the book, I highly recommend you do. And if you have read it, I think you’ll enjoy rereading it or listening to the audio, as I’ve done recently.
Recently I met with my long time friend and former director of The Jesus Film Project, Jim Green. He suggested I download the new Jesus Film app on my smartphone. I did and when he showed me what it offers, in over 1,100 languages, I was astounded.
I'm the author of over 40 books and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries. I love Jesus, my wife Nanci, and our daughters, sons and five grandsons!
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