"A Godward Heart", by John Piper (book review)

DEVOTIONAL?  If you like standard daily devotional books, then this one will suit you fine. While it is not officially a day-by-day kind of devo with an assigned date to conduct a particular reading, it reads very much like one.  Each short (1-2 pages) chapter begins with a scripture passage, followed by a short commentary/thought. That said, the book contains 50 short readings, spanning 205 small pages.

John Piper once mentioned in a talk he gave regarding another of his books, "The Pleasures of God", as well as saying it at other times, he believes more people are inspired or changed not by entire books but by chapters and/or paragraphs within those books.  This premise of this little book is based upon that belief that small portions are influential.  He didn't say how the portions/chapters within the book were chosen, but I surmise it is based upon (1) his personal opinion on which passages were his favorites over the years, and (2) prior reader feedback from his other books or sermons.

I truly enjoy and appreciate John Piper's teaching, and have been inspired and encouraged by him over the years.  John Piper has proven himself to be one of those highly trusted pastors whose words and teachings are worth our while to read.

I dare say you will find many (if not most?) of these chapter snippets will be familiar to you if you've read many of his books or listened to his sermons.  Nevertheless, you will be encouraged, and you could probably even narrow down its contents to YOUR most influential chapters.

RATING:  It is difficult to provide reflections and any number of chapters since the book does not have a main point.  Instead, the general theme is to point readers' hearts toward God on a daily basis.  I give this one 3 1/2 stars, but only because I'm not a big fan of "devotionals".  If you are, you will likely cherish its worth.


DISCLAIMER: I received this book free of charge from Multnomah Books (via "Blogging for Books") in exchange for my unbiased review of it.  All opinions are mine and have not been forced upon me to provide a positive review of it.