Resources by Topic: Christian Life

In this audio clip, Randy answers a question about God's plan and our free will.

In this audio clip, Randy answers a question about God's judgment to Moses in Exodus.

Satan has conned many people into a twisted view of the Christian life. We imagine that God calls us to do things that won’t be good for us, while the unbelievers are out there having all the fun. 

Back when I started my blog, I recommended the excellent book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, who are both Christ-centered young men of character and vision.  A few years ago, Brett’s wife Ana was diagnosed with late stage Lyme Disease. Life has been extremely difficult for them, but I’ve been touched by their faith in Jesus and commitment to each other throughout their trials.

Most of us aren’t professional athletes, but career disappointments and personal failures in family relationships and whatever we do are just some of the many ways we become disillusioned. Listen to quarterback Nick Foles talk about how past failures have shaped him as a person.

Your observations about the western church are, in my opinion, sadly accurate (and I don’t pretend to be unaffected by them either). 

Jesus is not our personal assistant charged with granting our wishes. While He often doesn’t give us what we want, He always gives us what we need.

In hard times, God is absolutely sovereign and loving, but more than ever we need the right kind of friends to visibly live out God’s heart and wisdom for our encouragement, and to help us keep our eyes on our King.

Several years ago I was asked what things believers can do to pursue an authentic, meaningful relationship with God. Here are my suggestions, which are the same now as they were then.

I grew up with a dad who slept at home, but generally wasn’t there for me or my brother. Everyone is different, but what happened to me was that my earthly father’s absence made me all the more appreciative when I entered into a relationship with Jesus, and thereby into a relationship with my Father in Heaven. 

Sometimes focusing on God’s “big miracles”—like curing cancer and making brain tumors disappear—causes us to overlook His small, daily miracles of providence in which He holds the universe together, keeps our hearts beating, provides us with air to breathe and lungs to breathe it, and gives us food to eat and stomachs to digest it. 

In 2017, Randy Alcorn had the priviledge of speaking to a group of professional athletes on the subject of holiness and happiness. See his book Happiness for more information. 

I’ve shared Jesus with people on sidewalks, planes, and tennis courts. Some friends think I’m a natural-born evangelist. But I’m not! Evangelism can be uncomfortable, but God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. 

Charles Spurgeon shared this in his sermon “Knowledge. Worship. Gratitude”: "Let us begin to be very thankful, if we have not been so before. Let us praise God for common mercies, for they prove to be uncommonly precious when they are once taken away."