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Where was God September 11? Where He always is—exalted in the heavens, indwelling the hearts of His children, comforting the afflicted, stretching out His nail-scarred hands in the offer of a redemption that costs us nothing, but cost Him everything.

Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Our tangible love for others witnesses to the gospel truth that Christ loves us and died for us.

When I shared about this topic on my Facebook page recently, we received 562 comments in response. Many commenters asked why this clarification even matters. Others wondered whether we should ever correct those who are grieving by sharing the biblical truth.

Since the 2004 publication of my book titled Heaven, I’ve heard easily a thousand questions about Heaven and the New Earth. The questions I hear most often are these: Will there be animals in Heaven? and, more specifically, Will our pets be there?

“Your hands made me and formed me,” the psalmist says to his Lord (119:73). David expressed to God, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14). The body is something to thank God for, not be ashamed of.

I absolutely love this preface to Ray Ortlund’s book Eat, Drink, and Be Merry. His words remind me of the premise of my book Happiness:  modern Christians need to speak more, not less, about happiness—the kind of happiness that’s centered on Christ.

The Treasure Principle is a book that has shocked me in the response it has generated. It has sold over 2 million copies in English and been translated into over 25 languages. However, over the years, I’ve realized that there are readers who are familiar with The Treasure Principle but are not familiar with my other books on money and giving.

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 during the ceremony, so I talked to them while everyone could see us talking but the three of us spoke privately.

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.

We’ll be morally perfect on the New Earth, 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.

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).

It might go to my dog 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 talented friend Lisa Tawn Bergren. Gracie also gets several mentions in my upcoming book All God’s Creatures.

What good can come from studying the mysterious and sometimes upsetting subject of God’s sovereignty and human free will? I believe one compelling reason to study this paradox is to better understand what we cannot fully understand.

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.