Unexpected Free Book!

Averil and I got our mail from our old address the other day and there was a package in it and I said to Dean, "It's nice to get something big in the mail and not even remember what you ordered!" When I got home I opened it up and was amazed to see a copy of Randy Alcorn's book, Money, Possessions, and Eternity because I never ordered it and there was no bill! It was totally free. I don't know if Randy Alcorn sent it to me (he did send me the books Heaven and Deception for free after I met him but those were signed and I knew they were coming, this book wasn't signed and I did not know it was coming), or if someone friend bought it and had it shipped to me or what?! But I've been telling Averil lately how I'm not sure what to read next but now I know what I'll be reading! Randy Alcorn is a great author and knows a ton about this topic and this is a topic close to my heart so I'm sure glad to recieve the book in the mail.

By the way, here is a good blog post from Randy: Stephen King, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Angelina Jolie, and Giving.

The Black Angel

Michael Christopher's play The Black Angel is about Herman Engel, a Nazi general guilty of despicable war crimes. At the Nuremberg trials he was sentenced to thirty years in prison.

When he got out he made a new beginning, building a cabin for himself and his wife in a remote part of France.

But there was a French journalist named Morrieaux, whose family had been massacred by Engel's troops. Morrieaux clung to 30 years of bitterness and was bent on revenge.

The journalist traced Engel to the French village, went into town, and stirred up hatred. The men agreed they'd go up that night and kill Engel and his wife, burning their cabin to the ground.

But that afternoon Morrieaux confronted Engel, interrogating him throughout the afternoon. As time wore on, Morriaux saw this tired, pathetic man's guilty and tortured soul. Revenge began to taste sour.

Finally Morrieaux said, "They're going to kill you tonight. Come with me now and I'll get you out.

Engel looked at him intently, "I will go with you on one condition."

"What condition?"

"That you forgive me."

"No," said Morrieaux. "I will save your life...but I cannot forgive you."

Engel refused to leave. That night his cabin burned to the ground. He and his wife were murdered.

What was this forgiving grace more important to Engel than life itself? And why could Morrieaux not find it in himself to grant it? Haunting questions.

The good news is that there's a God much bigger than Engel, a Saviour much bigger than Engel's sin. And there's a God much bigger than Morrieaux...much bigger than his inability to forgive.

From Randy Alcorn, The Grace and Truth Paradox

The New Earth

I really appreciated Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, as I was preparing my sermons on the Present Heaven and on The New Heaven and New Earth. His content and illustrations were excellent. I especially liked his stuff about "It doesn't get any better than this...." near the end of the book, which I paraphrased for my sermon last week:

Have you ever been on a wonderful vacation or sat around a campfire with friends or around a Christmas Dinner with your family and leaned back and said with total satisfaction those enchanting words, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” I’m sure you have, though I know for some of you it may have been years ago and things are so rough right now you can hardly remember. But you have been there, right? Even if just for a moment you have thought, “It couldn’t get any better than this.” Well, that is not true because the most ordinary moment on the New Earth will be greater than the most perfect moments in this life. And just when you are in perfection on the New Earth enjoying some adventure or relaxing with family and friends or part of a worship service or reading a great book or playing a fantastic sport and you sit back and think, “I doesn’t get any better than this” – it will. Everyday will be better than the day before and will keep getting better and better because of our increasing capacity for joy and increasing knowledge of our infinite God. It just makes me want to shout out, “Thank you Lord! I can hardly wait! I can hardly understand why you would welcome me in, but I know you will because Jesus died for my sins! So thank you Lord!”

Heaven: Home of Laughter

"Who said, "If you're not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there"? (Hint: It wasn't Mark Twain.) It was Martin Luther.

In Heaven, I believe our joy will often erupt in laughter. When laughter is prompted by what's appropriate, God always takes pleasure in it. I think Christ will laugh with us, and his wit and fun-loving nature will be our greatest sources of endless laughter." - Randy Alcorn

Read the whole article right here.