Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist

Desiring God

I recently received a free copy of the revised addition of John Piper's most popular book, 'Desiring God' from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I have a personal history with this book. It was the very first book I read by Piper and the content completely transformed my thinking about my relationship with God, His Word, and the way I approach Him. The concept "Christians Hedonist" did not initially settle with me (as I am sure was the case for many other readers). I had to wait until he finished the initial explanation which he does very well in the introduction. Several points that this book wishes to make are: 1. That God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him. 2. A "Christian Hedonist" is not someone who is living to satisfy and please themselves and just happens to be a Christian. In fact, quite the opposite is true. A "Christian Hedonist" seeks to glorify and delight God by finding their delight (and satisfaction) in Him [God]. 3. We are far too easily pleased.with trivial, earthly, half-hearted things.
You will find behind every word a heart convinced of the expressions that the words make. I remember, back in 2006, when I read this book for the first time being overwhelmed with my own joylessness and lack of satisfaction in the God who saved me, and the complete easy and conviction with which John Piper expressed his own journey to desire God. I am confident that a true believer will not be able to read this book without being effected toward a newly developed desire for God. One of the great things about the revision is the inclusion of a "study guide" that should be extremely helpful in small-group sessions. This aid would be great for book studies or even for personal reflection. The point of the book "Desiring God" is applied to many areas of the Christian's life. There are chapters attempting to apply this focus in our Conversation, Worship, Prayer, Money, Marriage, Suffering, and many other life situations. Finding God as the satisfaction in our management of all the areas mentioned in this book reminds us that God is in all and is over all.
I highly recommend this read for every Christian. It has been recommended reading in many of my pastoral counseling situations. It is easy to read,relevant,and absolutely captivating.

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Looking at Christianity in a Whole New Way

What would it be like to be filled with joy, all the time? In John Piper's book, *Desiring God*, He brings up the topic of Christian Hedonism. When I first picked up the book, I didn't even know what a Hedonist was. Now after finishing the book, I not only know what a Hedonist is, but, I understand that I am one and want to work on being one. According to John Piper, a Hedonist is someone who glorifies God by enjoying Him forever. Read the book, and you'll understand why.

One chapter that stuck out to me in particular was the chapter called, "The Happiness of God." This is actually the first chapter, and, it talks about the basis for Christian Hedonism. Yes, Christian Hedonism is talking about our happiness-- but, God's happiness is the best place to start at. Why? Our happiness depends on God's happiness. There's no such thing as a truly happy Christian who is not finding their joy in God.

I highly suggest reading *Desiring God*! It is a wonderful book that many people can benefit from.

Do you want to be known for being characterized by joy? Do you want to desire God more? Do you want to be a Christian Hedonist? Read *Desiring God*, it could change your life.


I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Desiring God

Desiring God is a John Piper classic. In it, Piper discusses why he is a Christian hedonist (a term he coined) and what that means. He explains how the ultimate thing in life is to glory in God and enjoy Him.

The book seems to repeat itself often, and can sometimes feel like Piper is talking in circles but if it is broken down into small amounts, it is definitely a good read. Numerous scriptures back everything Piper discusses up.

While this book is a classic, it is definitely a slow read as it needs to be digested in small portions. This is not a book to just read, it is a book to take in.

*I received this book for free in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review. *

A Classic For Good Reason

After reading the Revised Edition of John Piper's Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, I see why this book has become a classic in the twenty-five years since it was first published. From what I have experienced and seen in my own life and in the American Church, joy is a seriously under-developed fruit of the Spirit. In this book, Mr. Piper biblically demonstrates that we were meant to seek our personal joy and happiness...in Christ! Because, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome," 1John 5:3. There seems to be a prevalent idea that obeying God should be burdensome. That doing what is right should be hard. But this is not biblical. If we truly love God, keeping His commands will not be a burden, but rather, a joy! When God created mankind, He made us in such a way as to not be satisfied by anything but Himself. "In Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures." God's commands are given to us as instructions for attaining ultimate happiness, contentment and joy! And when we obey and find our satisfaction in Christ, He is glorified. Everything that we used to consider gain is loss in comparison with the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus! The Revised Edition of Desiring God includes a study guide for group or individual study and an additional chapter on the topic of Christian suffering that, in my opinion, the book would be incomplete without. I would very highly recommend Desiring God to any Christian! This is one that I plan to re-read in the near future because it is so saturated with truth that it requires more than one read to absorb it all. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Desiring God, by John Piper

"Desiring God is a paradigm-shattering work that dramatically alters common perspectives on relating to God. Piper reveals that there really is no need to choose between duty and delight in the Christian life. In fact, for the follower of Jesus, delight is the duty, because Christ is most magnified in His people when they are most satisfied in Him."

I must confess I did not finish reading this book. Don't misunderstand it was not because I didn't believe in what he was saying. I just had a hard time following his lead. My God is an awesome God! I sincerely try in ALL things to be thankful and satisfied. Do I succeed - not all the time. But, that would be because I have placed other things ahead of God. When I keep Him first in my life then I look forward to His leading. I must say that this book was more than I could understand. Possibly it simply was not the right time for me to read it. This may be the right time for you.

I received this book for free from Multnomah for this review.

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Great book and very in depth but not for everyone

I have to say that I love John Piper. He is a great teacher and so very in depth which I really like. This book and the dvd teaching would work well for a small group, but not every small group. We tested this out and it although I thouroughly enjoyed it and learned so much about being content in God, it lost others especially those new in their faith. There are some real gems in this book and many of the other books Piper writes, but I would recommend it for groups or persons who think on a little deeper level and are mature enough to follow Piper. I received this book free from the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Desiring God for your joy

To the guy God used to show me that joy is the only respectable and rational pursuit in this existence, and then that real joy could only be found in the One who is the source of infinite delight.

well, I'll be forever grateful to God for Pipes, because there is nothing more freeing than the truth and the truth is this:

Our God is the "happy" God and it is His joy to see His children find pure and passionate delight in Himself, the One who has at His right hand (which is where Jesus sits) infinite pleasures forever.

God delights in seeing His children delighted :)

How awesome is that?

And what He desires for us is that we would find perfect joy and it just so happens that perfect joy can only be found in Him, so:

God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him

Or

The end of all men is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.

(Both of the above are paraphrases/quotes from Piper).

And Piper doesn't extrapolate this from the Bible with any sort of magic or chicanery-trickery, instead John points to explicitly hedonistic passages in the Bible like:

"Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases." - Psalm 115.3

"Delight yourself in the LORD." - Psalm 37.4

"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'" - Matthew 25.21

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." - Deuteronomy 6.5 (The chapter also talks about God's desire to do good to His people always and forever).

Or how about:

"looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12.2

So Jesus went to the cross, not out of a sombre-like duty, but Jesus went to the cross in in the pursuit of His joy (and ours).

Amazing! Amazing love!

So this book is a life-changer and a giver of joy. The revised edition is made even better with the added chapter on suffering and how we can find, even in suffering, our great joy. Here is the 2nd to last paragraph in that chapter:

"This is the essence of Christian Hedonism. In the pursuit of joy through suffering, we magnify the all-satisfying worth of the Source of our joy. God Himself shines as the brightness at the end of our tunnel of pain. If we do not communicate that He is the goal and the ground of our joy in suffering, then the very meaning of our suffering will be lost. The meaning is this: God is gain. God is gain. God is gain."

I received this book free from the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Amazing depth, but a bit long

Desiring God

Whenever I walk through Barnes and Noble, I am amazed at how many books are published that shouldn't be. Honestly, where did these publishers find the authors putting out some material? There are relatively few books that should be published, and fewer that should be republished.

Desiring God is a book that was transformational when released in the 80's, and still finds itself as a foundational book today, in 2011, as it is released in it's revised edition, 25 years later. A book that clearly shows the joy that is found in fully engaging oneself into the Christian faith.

If you are looking for a light, easy read.perhaps one that can be used as a bathroom reader or coffee table décor, it is not this book! John Piper is a theologian, and writes as such. This book requires a pen to underline good points, time to think through revealed principles, and coffee to keep your attention.

The Chief End of Man

I first read Desiring God in high school, mostly because it was endorsed by Mac Powell, of Third Day (my favorite band at the time), and because it was on the shelf at a home where I happened to be babysitting. It changed the way I thought about many things, and was radical and hard to wrap my mind around.

I hadn't realized how much it had changed my thinking until I re-read it this past week. Things that were difficult for me to grasp, accept or imagine have become part of how I see the world, the idea of seeking my joy in God and coming to a right view of His blessings has been imprinted onto my heart. I'm certainly not perfect at it, but words I read nearly a decade ago have continued to inform my walk with God today.

I have also done a lot of other reading in the interim. I have taken classes on philosophy, gone to many different churches and been a part of many church traditions. I have found that there are no works of theology with which I completely agree and there are few that I fully comprehend. However, at its heart, this book speaks what I believe to be a profound truth: delight is okay.

As a person who often experiences delight (and other strong emotion) I needed to hear this. For years, I've been reading about the importance of staying even-keeled and taking life as it comes. There is truth to this as well, but for me, part of taking life as it comes is to recognize the great blessings, the times, people and experiences that come along just as I need them, and see them for what they are: gifts of God handpicked for me.

As I delve further into God's word (chapter 5) and prayer (chapter 6) as I think about how to spend my money (chapter 7) and think about how to love people and God the way I need to (chapters 4,8) I am struck by the encouragement of this book.

Read it. You won't love every word (well, you might) but I think that you will find something to take away and to make a part of your perspective. May it bring you joy.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Find the joy in Desiring God!

DESIRING GOD Mediations of a Christian Hedonist By John Piper The purpose of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him. We are to approach Him with the wonder of a child and take pleasure in Him. It is human nature to seek happiness and pleasure and this in turn leads to true praise and worship. True worship of God is spontaneous and from the heart not just the mouth. God delights in the fellowship of the Trinity and His delight flows down to those who thirst after Him. He delights in His creation and shows His love by giving Himself to us; we must do likewise and give ourselves to Him. We should desire to share this gift of fellowship with others; it should be a joy not a duty or an obligation that we feel is forced upon us. True joy comes from bringing joy to others (a spouse, parent, friends, or co-workers) which is accomplished by sharing the gift of salvation. Willful sinning is an act of contempt against God, a sign of disrespect. Many people today believe in Jesus just as they believe in Buddha or Santa Claus, but they don't KNOW Jesus and they don't delight in Him. The ultimate goal of the Christian is to pursue the joy of God in everything we do! This book is perfect for individual study or for a group setting. There is a Study Guide in the back, as well as; a Scripture index, a Person index and a Subject index and a Resource Guide. This is a book that is very thought provoking and helpful for a deeper personal examination of one's own personal life. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Explosively good.

There is not enough room to write about all this book has meant to me. It changed the way I viewed God and what my walk with Christ is all about. The basic premise of the book is this: We are most satisfied when we are find our ultimate joy in God. God wants us to be happy and He knows that we find it in Him. And the reason for God is to enjoy Himself forever. In our self centered world of Christianity it is very refreshing to see a God centered theology not a man centered theology.



John Piper has dramatically changed the way I see God and the way I teach God. John covers the basics of Christian hedonism and then shows how it applies to different aspects of the walk with Christ: worship, marriage, missions, scriptures, suffering... those only name a few. Having an updated version of the book adds to the relevancy of the book to today's culture. It also has a great study guide. Get it now.

BEST BOOK EVER - How to find happiness IN GOD

I swear this book is the BEST book I've read in like ever! I never quite understood how God worked and this book make Him seem so simple to understand - in human terms! I highly recommend this book to any young Christian and also any Christian who has some unanswered questions about God.

Once I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down! The writing is pretty easy to understand, but even though some of the concepts are normally difficult, the author makes them easy to grasp for the lay person. This book is about FINDING HAPPINESS IN GOD BY MAKING HIM YOUR #1. My Mom was turned off by the word "Hedonism" when she saw me reading the book, but I can assure you, there is nothing to worry about. This book is about how God designed the world in such a way that God becomes our highest happiness. It truly fills in so many questions I had about Chrisitanity. Like about God's will and sufferring and salvation.

This book is fully 5 point Calvinist and you will see why when you read it. it is beautiful! It makes sense and your heart understands an embraces it! Who would imagine theology could be make simple? Great book! I am going to buy one for Mom, my sister and my sister in law! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My disclaimer - I received this book from the publisher Thomas Nelson free of charge but I always give honest reviews. I want you to be able to choos the best book based on stars because I know you have limited time and energy to read. I would not recommend this book to you and your friends

Great Read!

I believe that this book is highly relevant for today. The book's layout of each chapter as a mini subject on joy makes it easy to read. It is also relevant as he uses scripture to illustrate how God created us for His enjoyment but also so that we can find the desire, joy, and pleasure that a life with God brings.

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