Randy Alcorn - Giving Is the Good Life: The Unexpected Path to Purpose and Joy

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Giving Is the Good Life: The Unexpected Path to Purpose and Joy

Copyright 2019 by Randy Alcorn. All rights reserved.

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Designed by Dean H. Renninger

Edited by Stephanie Rische

The author is grateful for the helpful counsel of the literary agency, WTA Services LLC, Franklin, TN.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Scripture quotations marked CEV are taken from the Contemporary English Version, copyright 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

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ISBN 978-1-4964-2593-5

ISBN 978-1-4964-2595-9 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-4964-2594-2 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-4964-2596-6 (Apple)

Build: 2021-04-21 14:32:07 EPUB 3.0

To Paul and Michele Norquist and their wonderful children,

for making our personal lives and our church a much richer place; for serving and honoring Jesus and shepherding Gods people with pure and humble hearts.

To Linda Jeffries,

for your many years of faithful, excellent, and kindhearted service to all our EPM staff, to Nanci and me, and to everyone around the world youve touched through our ministry.

To Bobby and Tanya Atkins,

for your amazing servants hearts as you have cheerfully labored behind the scenes over the decades for our beloved Good Shepherd Community Church.

To Karen Stout Coleman,

a great and happy-in-Jesus servant of God, in Cameroon and in Gresham and Boring and Sandy, Oregon, with EPM and in every other place she ever set foot. Now with Jesus, Karens presence has made Heaven richer and her absence has made Earth poorer. The grand reunion awaits. We cant wait to see you again, precious sister.

Not life, but a good life, is to be chiefly valued.

SOCRATES

The good life is reserved for the person who fears God,
who lives reverently in his presence.

ECCLESIASTES 8:12, MSG

Are you living the good life? If not, I know you wish you were.

People define the good life in different ways, but everybody wants to live it. After all, whats the alternative? Living a bad life? A pointless, guilt-ridden, or miserable life?

Wed all choose the good life any day, and yet we often dont understand how to make it happen.

A quick online search reveals that most peoples idea of the good life includes happiness. That makes sense nobody wants to be unhappy. Most of us also want to make other people happy and help them if we can. But when it comes down to it, even Christ-followers suspect that spending our lives serving God and others might cost us our happiness.

Wouldnt it be great if we could do what pleases God and whats best for others, while at the same time enjoying happiness and deep satisfaction?

But thats not possible, you may think.

Or is it?

What if we really can live the good life without being selfish? What if God not only wants us to live life more abundantly, as Jesus put it (John 10:10), but also provides clear instructions for how to actually experience it? What if its possible to discover what to embrace and what to avoid so we can live a meaningful and fulfilling life