Friday, February 21, 2014

A Godward Heart, John Piper, Multnomah Books

John Piper has written a collection of short meditation devotionals. “For reasons not entirely explainable, God can make a single paragraph life changing.”

Each of the fifty chapters has different verses from the Bible that Mr. Piper interprets. His references are geared toward strengthening one’s faith in their walk with God. The chapters are short but powerful. The majority of the chapters are only three to five pages with a few chapters at six pages.

Mr. Piper made an interpretation in Chapter 9: Covering the Chasm, “The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25). Now there is shame. Why? Because the foundation of covenant-keeping love collapsed. And with it the sweet, all-trusting security of marriage disappeared forever.” He explains that the first sin affected the trust between Adam and Eve, causing the security to be broken.

My favorite section comes from Chapter 41: Does Anyone Standing by the Lake of Fire Jump In? When speaking of non-believers, Mr. Piper makes a very good point when he makes the statement,  “…whatever he believes or does not believe, when he chooses against God…He is not…preferring the real hell over the real God. He is blind to both.”

Also included is Chapter 48: Creating Pointers to the Greatness of Christ. This chapter is in relation to social media. He uses Twitter to tweet verses from the bible. He feels it may deter someone from following idols and encourage them to read about God’s goodness. “In spite of all the dangers, Twitter seemed like a risk worth taking.”

John Piper has written a meditation book covering numerous topics that we deal with every day. Each of the fifty meditations are notated with verses from the Bible. As I read this book, I read verses before and after the referenced verse in my own Bible. I recommend this book for those wishing to seek more understanding in their walk of faith. It would also benefit Bible study groups.
I received this book free from Multnomah Publishing for this review.

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