Desiring God

You hear “Christian Hedonism”, you’ll likely associate with the man John Piper. Well you should, he is the main force behind this theology. He sums up “Christian Hedonism” most well in this phrase: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." In 1986, he published the original version of “Desiring God”. Now, he’s released a revised version through Multnomah Publishing. I’ve received a copy of the book for free in exchange for an honest review. Everything I say is 100% my own opinion.

“Desiring God” is the main book for Christian hedonism, a fairly new theological viewpoint (although you could argue that Jonathan Edwards supported it in his own way before it was as widely recognized.) Piper does a very good job of pointing out the Scriptural validity of the view of Christian hedonism (the view that we should enjoy God and that God enjoys God, essentially) and provides a very good argument. I personally adhere to it, and I think this is just a wonderful book if you want to know why Christian hedonism is a legitimate theological view.

I love this book, I plan on reading it again, and I give it five out of five stars.

I Am Not But I Know I Am

I love Louie Giglio. I’ve never personally been to any of the Passion Conferences, but I’ve heard that they’re amazing. I’ve listened to his sermons and Mr. Giglio just has a tonne of amazing things to say. I recently received his latest book, “I Am Not But I Know I Am” from Multnomah Publishers. I received it for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Everything I say is completely my opinion.

Anyway, I love Mr. Giglio. His book “I Am Not But I Know I Am” is wonderful. It’s short, not even reaching 200 pages, so it’s a very quick read. This book focuses on the story of God – how He’s more than enough, so we don’t have to be these perfect people. It talks about His love and how His love has been extended to us, so we can extend it to other people. This book has a lot of solid theological depth in it, but it’s broken down into bite-size pieces so the non-theologians among us can grasp them. We may be sailing in deep waters, but Giglio has given us a set of floaties to keep us going.

This book is, in a word, encouraging. If you’re questioning who God is or what He thinks of you, read this book. Then it encourages you to go and LIVE your faith instead of just talking about it. Five out of five stars.

When Bad Christians Happen to Good People

If I can be perfectly honest, I have a lot of anger inside of me. A good portion of it is directed towards my fellow Christians. If I can be blunt, the average person attending the American church can be a bit of a meathead. (I’m including myself in this demographic – I’m a rather oblivious person from time to time J) So when I saw this book, “When Bad Christians Happen to Good People” by Dave Burchett, I clicked ‘order’ nearly immediately. I was intrigued.

I tell you what, ladies and gentlemen, this book is fantastic. The author is funny and thought provoking, an unusual combination. I’d never have imagined that a single book (save the Bible) would cause me pause and consider so often. Every three pages I would be stopping and asking God to help me change.

Guys, let’s face it. We have all failed as a church. But this book could be a remedy to that. This book doesn’t bash Christians in the face. It instead holds their hand as they are convicted and shows them a way to fixing their problems.

I highly recommend this book. Five out of five stars. This book is excellent!

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.