by John Piper

A Book Review by Jackie Houchin

TASTE AND SEE by John Piper is a lovely book of 140 meditations about the Bible, Christian history, the author’s experiences, and knotty questions. It is a feast that you will want to take your time reading. And if you are like me, once you’ve finished, you will want to begin again.  I keep it beside my bed to read just before turning off the lights. A pleasing thing for the mind to “munch on” through the night.

Some of Piper’s meditations are humorous as he tells of experiences (and bloopers).

#2 – Lost Mastercard. “Cast all your cares on Him because he cares for you”.

#4 – The Great Work of God: Rain. A Thanksgiving Meditation on Job 5:8-10, is a humorous, yet marvelous look at … how it rains!

A few of the more personal meditations helped me know John Piper, the man, as well as the pastor.

#6 – Early Morning at the Manse. How a Father Fights for His Faith and His Family.

#16 – A Letter to My Wife Saying Yes to Adoption.

#45 – The Danger of Computer Unreality. Five Resolutions

#58 – Bodies, Breakfast, and the Marriage Bed.

There are many practical insights into the weightier things of the Word in question form.

#22 – How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit. how do you Drink the Wine of God, a meditation on Ephesians 5:18-21.

#56 – How Can Eternal Life Be a Free Gift and Yet “According to Works”?  a Meditation on Romans 2:6-8.

#69 – How Does One Sin Make You Guilty of the Whole Law?  a Meditation on James 2:10-11.

More questions answered are;

#38 – What is a Root of Bitterness?  on Hebrews 12:15.

#62 – Can the Regenerate Be Erased from the Book of Life?  on Revelation 3:5.

#98 – Who was Jesus’ Grandfather?  How to think about apparent Contradictions in the Bible.

#133 – If Christ Predicted War, May Christians Pray for Peace?  Distinguishing God’s Work and Ours.

On working and serving;

#37 – You are About to Change Your Job.  Thinking about How God Shakes Us Loose and Leads in a new way.

#75 – Some Questions to Ask When Considering a Job.  Pondering Vacation as Service to Christ.

There are also a few meditations on gender, race, abortion, and civil rights from a Biblical perspective.

But the following were especially precious to me:

#89 – The Sovereignty of God: A Precious and Practical Doctrine.  Piper uses incidents in the life of George Meuler, especially about the death of his wife. A very sweet meditation.

#103 – Another paradox of prayer: “Vain Repetitions” Verses “Continual Coming.” Pondering Matthew 6:7-8, Luke 11:8, and Luke 18:5.  In this meditation, he gives two specific “clauses” in the Matthew passage that are warnings, and that clarify the above paradox.  Good stuff!

#131 – Tsunami and Repentance. The Point of All Pleasure and Pain.  I read this meditation just after news of a horrible shooting at an elementary school.  I was shocked at first at what Pastor Piper said. But then I saw his view – which is God’s view – about the terrible things that happen in our lives, and the ultimate horror of eternity apart from God, if man does not repent.  “Every deadly calamity is a merciful call from God for the living to repent.”

#132 – Faith! Fact! Feelings!  Testing a Common Slogan. Does a person need to have “feelings” to prove they’ve been saved?  The slogan goes, “The locomotive on a train is “fact.” The coal car is “faith”. The caboose is “feeling”. The train will run wit or without the caboose, but it would be futile to pull the train by the caboose.”  Piper refers to Matthew 13:44, that points to Christ as hidden “treasure” joyfully found. So, he affirms that saving faith, receives Christ as our Lord and Savior … but also as our joyful “Treasure.”

I hope you will give this treasury of meditations by John Piper a try. There are 121 more that I did not mention, and perhaps THESE would be the ones that speak to you.

FIVE stars.

On Amazon: TASTE AND SEE by John Piper  (You can purchase a copy used for $.99 cents.)

 

 

 

 

 

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