To “Live and Die Serving and Honoring the Lord Jesus”: Missionary John G. Paton

By Randy Alcorn | July 27, 2016

John G. Paton (1824-1907) served as a missionary in the South Pacific’s New Hebrides islands. As a successful young Scottish preacher, Paton determined to leave Glasgow to minister to this unreached people group. But most of his Christian friends urged him to do something more sensible with his life.

A Deeper Trust in Our Good God’s Purposes

By Randy Alcorn | April 6, 2016

I never presumed that If God Is Good would work magic or make anyone’s problems disappear. But my prayer, then and now, is that readers will not only find help for themselves, but also life-changing insights to share with others—believers and unbelievers, family and friends, neighbors and co-workers—in their time of greatest need.

Reflections after the Paris Attacks: The Brevity of Life, God’s Sovereignty, and Our Solid Hope

By Randy Alcorn | November 18, 2015

Like all of you, I was greatly saddened to hear of the attacks in Paris last Friday. Nanci’s and my prayers have been with the people of France. 

In the Wake of the Charleston Shooting: How Could a Good God Allow Suffering and Evil?

By Randy Alcorn | June 24, 2015

Last weekend I spoke at my home church, Good Shepherd Community Church in Boring (yes, Boring) Oregon, on the question of why a good God allows evil and suffering. We'd actually planned the discussion prior to the Charleston church murder of nine people at their Wednesday evening Bible study (we began by talking about this tragedy).

There Is No Pointless Suffering

By Randy Alcorn | May 11, 2015

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). By recognizing and believing in God’s sovereignty, even over Satan’s work, our perspective is transformed.

Does Open Theism Solve the Problem of Evil and Suffering?

By Randy Alcorn | April 13, 2015

Most proposed solutions to the problem of evil and suffering have been around for a long time, but Open Theism is more recent. 

Perspectives That Are All the More Significant When You Lose

By Randy Alcorn | February 4, 2015

“Whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he” (Proverbs 16:20). This is why I can be happy in Jesus tonight even though my favorite team lost the Super Bowl in the final moments. :)

Brittany Maynard, age 29, has taken her life here in Portland, Oregon

By Randy Alcorn | November 3, 2014

It was announced late Sunday afternoon that on Saturday, 29-year-old terminally ill Brittany Maynard chose to end her life under Oregon’s physician assisted suicide law.

Turning Bad into Best

By Randy Alcorn | October 6, 2014

C. S. Lewis, in The Great Divorce, wrote that “both good and evil, when they are full grown, become retrospective… Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.”

Surrendering to God’s Wisdom

By Randy Alcorn | June 16, 2014

When I need a point-of-view adjustment, I read the last five chapters of Job. That’s where the focus shifts from Job’s questions about his suffering—and his friends’ proposed answers—to God’s majesty.