Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Desiring God by John Piper ISBN: 1-59052-119-6 Publisher: Multnomah Publishers Inc. Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.31 (67 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Most Important Book (except the Bible) I've Ever Read!
Comment: Desiring God: The Meditations of a Christian Hedonist is, hands down, the most important book (except the Bible) that I have ever read. It is a series of profoundly biblical meditations on Scripture, rooted in painstaking exegesis by a competent and well-trained New Testament scholar, illustrated from the pages of history, and validated by the changed lives of hundreds of young men and women from the past 18 years (the first edition was released in 1986).
Piper's thesis is that the chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever. This is based on the conviction that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. The call to Christian Hedonism is thus a call to abandon the short-term, low-yield pleasures of the world for the magnificent joys of knowing God in whom is fullness of joy and at whose right hand there are pleasures for ever more.
Don't be misled by negative reviews about this book. Piper does not seek "to create Christians that are nothing more than self-seeking clones that ignore the Biblical concepts of humilty," nor does he attempt "to make God into some type of tool that Christians can use for their enjoyment." Rather, he claims that people have already made a god out of what they derive the most enjoyment from. If you get more joy out of golf than out of God, you are worshiping an idol. The reason God commands (yes COMMANDS) us to enjoy Him (Psalm 37:4; Psalm 100:2; and dozens of other texts) is because this brings Him praise and honor. My wife is not honored by my taking her out to dinner if it is motivated by a desire to do my duty rather than by a spontaenous affection for her that delights in her presence. She is honored when I pursue her joy because it makes me happy to see her happy. That is true Hedonism.
This book is a radical call to deny yourself the fleeting pleasures of sin and to embrace the risk-taking lifestyle that has marked martyrs and missionaries across the ages. It is not a health/wealth/prosperity book, but a weighty Bible-saturated book of practical theology that is designed to produce saints who can be satisfied in God even though they suffer for the sake of Christ and the nations.
I have met John Piper (though he would not remember me) and corresponded with him more than once. I've listened to dozens of sermons, have heard him in person on numerous occasions and have read almost every book he has written. He is one of the most humble men I know. He gives every penny of his book royalties away and lives a simple life, pastoring a church in downtown Minneapolis. He has no love for money and no desire for glory for himself. His life is authentic and so is his message. Read this book and learn afresh the joy of following Jesus!
Rating: 5
Summary: Two aims are NOT better than one... :o)
Comment: Writing a review for a book that is single-handedly responsible for a radical change in your life is difficult. Such is the case with this book for me. I start out by saying that because I am not being flippant with my review; it is a very serious thing to me.
The most revolutionary concept set forth in this book is that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. The first time I read that, it meant little to me and I gave it a nod because it sounded so Christian and so right. But when you consider what it implies, you just might find the foundation of your Christian life changed into a white-hot passion to know God and experience all that He is for you in Christ.
God is most glorified when we obey the command, "Delight yourself in the Lord." To obey God's commands out of duty, exclusively because it is right, is not pleasing to God. This is a difficult roadblock to overcome, and Piper does a masterful job of explaining, from numerous Scriptures, why this is so. Is obeying God the right thing to do? Yes! But if our heart is not in the obedience, how is God glorified in that?
I would recommend first reading Piper's "The Dangerous Duty of Delight," which is Desiring God in a nutshell. Desiring God picks up with a deeper discussion on how this concept of Christian Hedonism (that is, radically pursuing pleasure in God *Himself*, not His gifts) changes the way we look at conversion, worship, love, Scripture, prayer, money, marriage, missions, and suffering (and yes, suffering is a big part of a Christian's life).
This book, to put it simply, is a must-read for every single Christian. If you read of people who are positively "on fire" for God, and you wonder where such passion comes from, John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, J.I. Packer, Jerry Bridges, James M. Boice, and I would strongly exhort you to read this book. It is the overflow from a man whose desire in life is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.
Rating: 5
Summary: hedonism as essential
Comment: It's inconceivable to me -- even as an English teacher who believes in the life-altering power of transformation that can be transmitted by words -- that people can so often read a book that would change their lives. Ginsu knives change lives. Products of our commercial endorsement age "change lives" according to "customer testimony." It just doesn't happen with the regularity that people associate with it, and therefore, the testimonials that mention such phrases contain close-to-no power.
Having said that, Piper's book approximates a miracle. It is a staunch Calvinistic view of God and the world that neither diminishes God, his work or his creation. Piper seeks to have Christians delight in God's work in us and ultimately in God's glory. Period. The transformative word here is "delight." To enjoy God. First. Foremost.
I wish I could say it changed my life. Didn't. I was a sin-worker before I read this book and I'm still a sin-worker (read: not sin-slave) today. But it did open my eyes and get me salivating for heaven -- even the glimpses of heaven here on earth.
 |
Title: Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper ISBN: 1581344988 Publisher: Crossway Books Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
 |
Title: The Pleasures of God : Meditations on God's Delight in Being God by John Piper ISBN: 1576736652 Publisher: Multnomah Publishers Inc. Pub. Date: 30 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
 |
Title: Future Grace by John Piper ISBN: 1576733378 Publisher: Multnomah Publishers Inc. Pub. Date: 09 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
 |
Title: Knowing God by J. I. Packer ISBN: 083081650X Publisher: Intervarsity Press Pub. Date: December, 1993 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: God's Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards by John Piper ISBN: 1581340079 Publisher: Crossway Books Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $17.99 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
