One of my great heroes is William Wilberforce. He is credited as the primary human agent to bring about the end of slavery in England. He wrote, “The gospel freely admitted makes a man happy. It gives him peace with God, and makes him happy in God.”

I’ve read books on happiness stressing that we must be happy right here and now, living in the moment, because this is our one and only chance. How sad! Thankfully, God says otherwise.

To be holy is to see God as He is and to become like Him, covered in Christ’s righteousness. And since God’s nature is to be happy, the more like Him we become in our sanctification, the happier we will be.

It’s not too late to convey this message of Christ-centered happiness to our children and grandchildren and churches. Since they long for happiness, it’s a message they desperately need to hear. 

As part of a study related to my Happiness book, I recorded a series of videos, 10 to 20 minutes each, on the subject of happiness in Christ. I’ll be sharing all six videos, one at a time over the course of the next few blogs. Here’s the first video in the series, titled, “Happiness vs Joy: The Conflict.”

Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, preached a prototype gospel message, asserting three times the happiness of the one who is at the center of the gospel—Jesus. Yet how many people, unbelievers and believers alike, have ever heard a modern gospel message that makes this point? 

Randy Alcorn filmed six 15- to 20-minute teaching sessions to be used in conjunction with the Happiness Bible Study Book.

The better I know Jesus, the more I see Him all around me—in people, animals, places, and objects. But if I hadn’t studied His Word and reflected on His character over the years, I wouldn’t have known what to look for.

Throughout the difficulties and joys that 2025 will bring, you’ll find abiding happiness as you go back to God’s Word again and again. One Bible reading program to consider is the Bible Recap, a chronological readthrough with Tara-Leigh Cobble. Several of our EPM staff did it in 2024, and highly recommend it.