Randy Alcorn (born June 23, 1954) is an American Protestant author and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries, a non-profit Christian organization dedicated to teaching an eternal viewpoint and helping the needy of the world. He has written several novels, including Deadline, Dominion, and Deception. He received a Gold Medallion Book Award in 2003 for his novel Safely Home. He has also written a number of non-fiction books, including Heaven, The Purity Principle, and The Treasure Principle. Eternal Perspective Ministries owns the royalties to his books and 100 percent of them are given away to support missions, famine relief, pro-life work, and other ministries. He and his wife, Nanci, have two grown up and married daughters, Karina and Angela, who assisted him in writing the novel The Ishbane Conspiracy in 2001. Randy and Nanci have four grandsons. They live in Gresham, Oregon.
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July 8, 2024: Randy Alcorn: Eternal Perspectives: Refined By Fire, For God’s Good Purposes
Randy Alcorn
The angel’s message to the shepherds at Jesus’ birth condenses the gospel to its core. He said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). The gospel isn’t for some; it’s for all. The Greek adjective translated “great” here is megas—this isn’t just news, but good news of “mega-joy.” It’s the best news there has ever been or ever will be. --Randy Alcorn; Eternal Perspectives; Jesus: Good News Of Great Happiness 12/1/23 Randy Alcron Files
“Paul told the Philippians, “I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided—a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18, CSB). Their financial gifts were gifts to God. Since they gave so generously to provide for him and his work, Paul was confident God would provide the same for them: “My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, CSB). This is a familiar promise, but most people don’t realize that in context, it is specifically for givers who have stretched themselves to become sacrificial partners in Kingdom ministry. “For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my need several times” (v.16). --Randy Alcorn
Randy Alcorn
You cannot have a Christian worldview unless you believe that God has a plan, the ability to carry it out, and the loving-kindness to do it not only for His glory but our good.
This means that for God’s child there is no pointless suffering. Of course, much of it may appear pointless, since finite fallen creatures are incapable of understanding the point. But God is all-wise and all-loving and never pointless nor off-point! That’s why Job could cry out in agony, “Though he slay me yet I will trust him.” --Randy Alcorn; Eternal Perspectives; 1.23.23 Feb 28, 2022: Randy Alcorn: Finding Happiness in Christ Is Not Automatic
Feb 17, 2022: Relevant Magazine: Does God Really Want Everyone to Be Happy?
In the words of Randy Alcorn, author and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries, “We should be grateful when God grants us health, provisions, and delightful surprises. But it’s one thing to be happy when such things occur, and another to believe God has failed us when they don’t.” Randy Alcorn
The Christian life is supernatural but not enchanted. God doesn’t magically make us happy despite the fact that we make work, sports, leisure, or sex into our idols. If we choose to seek happiness elsewhere, God won’t force Himself on us. And He certainly won’t give us happiness in what’s not from Him or what’s distanced from Him. --Randy Alcorn
December 18, 2021:
I came across this article this morning written last week by one of my favorite authors, Randy Alcorn: In the 52 years I’ve known Jesus, I’ve witnessed countless conflicts between believers. But never more than in the last year. Many have angrily left churches they once loved. Believers who formerly chose churches based on Christ-centered Bible teaching and worship now choose them based on non-essential issues, including political viewpoints and COVID protocols. Churches are experiencing a pandemic of tribalism, blame, and unforgiveness—all fatal to the love and unity Jesus spoke of. Rampant either/or thinking leaves no room for subtlety and nuance. Acknowledging occasional truth in other viewpoints is seen as compromise rather than fairness and charitability. Sadly, evangelicals sometimes appear as little more than another special-interest group, sharing only a narrow “unity” based on mutual outrage and disdain. This acidic, eager-to-fight negativity highlights that we have no right to expect unbelievers to be drawn to the good news when we obsess about bad news and treat brothers and sisters as enemies. Feb 20, 2020: Joni & Friends: Walking With Your Loved One Through Cancer
When you receive the unexpected news that your loved one has cancer, how do you hold on to hope? On the podcast, Crystal talks with Randy Alcorn, founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries and author of more than 50 books including The Treasure Principle and New York Times Best Seller Heaven. Randy shares candidly as the loving husband to his wife, Nanci, who has been battling significant colon cancer since 2018. Dec 31, 2014: Randy Alcorn: EPM: Keeping an Eternal Perspective in Times of Disappointment
Sept 4, 2014: Tiger Strypes: Review of If God is Good” by Randy Alcorn.
I received the invitation from Family Christian “Blogger Team” to read and review the book called “If God is Good” by Randy Alcorn. It has the subtitle of “Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil”.
BOOKS ON THE RECORD: May 11, 2014: Since 1985 Alcorn has written many books, but none have been more popular than The Treasure Principle which was published in 2001. Released with little fanfare and with only three brief endorsements (including John Piper’s who says, “Supercharged with stunning, divine truth! Lightning struck over and over as I read it.”) the book claims to “unlock the secret of joyful giving.” The “treasure principle” is this: You can’t take it with you—but you can send it on ahead. Alcorn says, “If we give instead of keep, if we invest in the eternal instead of in the temporal, we store up treasures in heaven that will never stop paying dividends. Whatever we store up on earth will be left behind when we leave. Whatever treasures we store up in heaven will be waiting for us when we arrive.” Along with the principle he offers six keys:
Principle #1 - God owns everything. I’m His money manager. Principle #2 - My heart always goes where I put God’s money. Principle #3 - Heaven, not earth, is my home. Principle #4- I should live for the dot but for the line [not for this short life on earth but for eternity] Principle #5 - Giving is the only antidote to materialism. Principle #6 - God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving. (SOURCE: Tim Challies: "The Bestsellers: The Treasure Principle ") |
August 1, 2024: Alcorn wrote: The cosmological argument cites the world’s existence as evidence of an uncaused, eternal being who created and sustains it. Either something comes from nothing (an unscientific notion), or a first cause or “prime mover” existed prior to everything else. Francis Schaeffer argued in He Is There and He Is Not Silent that a personal first cause, God, could account for both the material and personal elements of life, while a material first cause could only account for the material.
December 16, 2024: Alcorn wrote: Pro-life men are also told by some pro-choice advocates, “No uterus, no opinion” and “No womb, no say.” But abortion is a human issue, not a gender issue. Facts, logic, reason, and compassion have no anatomy. Whether they are espoused by men or women is no more relevant than whether they are espoused by black or white people. The point is not the gender of those advancing arguments, but whether or not the arguments are accurate. To believe otherwise is simply sexism. April 21, 2023: Randy Alcorn wrote: The voice many people hear above God’s is the voice of their own hurt, pain, disappointment, upbringing, bad experiences with churches, impatience with others’ faults, independence, a desire to do everything their way, etc. But because they feel it so strongly, they interpret it as “God’s voice.” This is different in degree but not in kind from people who sincerely believe God was leading them to murder someone. Sincerity and intensity and specificity of feeling do not equal God’s voice. As a lesser example, consider the people who say, “God gave me this song” or “God gave me this poem” or “God gave me this book” or “God gave me the words of this message.” Well, I think God actually does all these things sometimes, but not always and certainly not just because we think so or want others to think so! As a result, the Holy Spirit has gotten credit—or more appropriately, blame—for many things He would not want credit for, including countless lousy songs, bad poems, poorly written books, and misguided messages. August 5, 2019: Sharon Hodde Miller wrote: In addition to being a false virtue, niceness radically diminishes our Christian witness. Author Randy Alcorn describes it this way: “We’ve been schooled that it’s inappropriate to say anything negative. Being a good witness once meant faithfully representing Christ, even when it meant being unpopular. Now it means ‘making people like us.’ We’ve redefined Christlike to mean ‘nice.’” Not surprisingly, this false idol has shaped the reputation of Christians throughout the world. Alcorn goes on to say, “Many non-believers know only two kinds of Christians: those who speak truth without grace and those who are very nice but never share the truth.” In other words, niceness is one of the reasons our gospel message is uncompelling and our witness limp. Niceness is a false form of spiritual formation that has crept into the church, seduced Jesus’ followers, and taken much of the power out of our lives. It is one of our generation’s favorite idols, and it is high past time to name it. April 2003: Christianity Today reported: : On the first Friday in May 1990, an envelope came to the door of Randy Alcorn’s semi-rural home in Gresham, Oregon, east of Portland. Inside the envelope was a copy of a writ of garnishment for Alcorn’s wages. The writ required Good Shepherd Church, where Alcorn was pastor of missions, to surrender a portion of his wages. Alcorn understood instantly what lay behind the writ. In 1989 Portland police had arrested him several times for blocking the doors of several abortion clinics. One of the clinics had sued him and other “rescuers,” winning a small judgment plus attorney’s fees. Alcorn had refused to pay, believing it would violate his conscience to write a check to an abortion clinic. Some time before the suit, Alcorn and his wife, Nanci, had placed all their assets in her name—house, car, and bank account. Alcorn had given away or sold the copyrights to his five published books. At a debtor’s hearing he was able to state truthfully that he owned nothing of value. An opposing lawyer went so far as to ask about the gold band he was wearing on his left hand. |
Feb 27, 2012: Creation.com: An eternal perspective on creation
Lita Cosner chats with Randy Alcorn, writer and founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries
Lita Cosner chats with Randy Alcorn, writer and founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries
Oct 8, 2010: Good Question Have Groups Talking: Pets in heaven? (Randy Alcorn)
Humorist Will Rogers said, “If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” This statement was, of course, based on sentiment, not theology.
Humorist Will Rogers said, “If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” This statement was, of course, based on sentiment, not theology.
From Eternity to Here
Randy Alcorn, founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries, sat down with CT senior associate editor Stan Guthrie to discuss the release of Heaven Study Guide, 50 Days of Heaven, and Heaven for Kids, all based on his popular 2004 book, Heaven (available from Tyndale). Next year, Multnomah/RandomHouse will publish Alcorn’s latest thriller, Deception, which continues a series that began with Deadline (1994) and Dominion (1996). (Christianity Today: October 2006) READMORE>>>>>
Randy Alcorn, founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries, sat down with CT senior associate editor Stan Guthrie to discuss the release of Heaven Study Guide, 50 Days of Heaven, and Heaven for Kids, all based on his popular 2004 book, Heaven (available from Tyndale). Next year, Multnomah/RandomHouse will publish Alcorn’s latest thriller, Deception, which continues a series that began with Deadline (1994) and Dominion (1996). (Christianity Today: October 2006) READMORE>>>>>





