This book is different than the typical Piper books that I have read. It has the same thought-provoking qualities, but not a united theme. Piper will make you think; you may agree or disagree, but you will think. In this case it is 50 meditations on a variety of subjects. They are an eclectic bunch, but that just means you can sit and read whenever you like or where you like. Some chapters will move you more than others, and it will likely be different for each of us. He has a few books of this type, but this one is the first I have read.

Consider these topics. Several are meditations on interesting Scriptures like Psalm 105:4, Galatians 4:18, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, John 1:7, and Matthew 10:16. He tackles tough life questions like “if God wills disease, why should we try to eradicate it?” Or imagine this question: does anyone standing by the Lake of Fire jump in? He has several on home issues including marriage and children. He has entries on our personal Christian life like fighting covetousness and making resolutions.

Some of the more unusual topics include an article on what he learned from a book by Chesterton, the meaning of clothing, Lincoln learning of divine providence, and most interesting to me, “The Sorrows of Fathers and Sons~Thoughts from the lives of C.S. Lewis and Robert Louis Stevenson.”

The volume is an attractive, hardback volume small enough to easily transport and keep handy. You will find quality devotional reading here.

I received this book free from the publisher. 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.

“When Jesus prays for His people” reads the subtitle of this volume published by EP Books that in six sermons covers the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in John 17. In that some call that Scripture the Holy of Holies of the New Testament, it is valuable to have some additional help especially for it. Mr. Milton is a seasoned pastor who likely preached these sermons to his own people first.

These sermons don’t wrestle with every phrase as some expository sermons might, but are strong in application. It is not of the depth of say, Lloyd-Jones, but its less than 100 pages might be ideal in many situations. Its emphasis of Jesus deep love for us makes for good devotional reading as well.

He says, “God has allowed you to listen to the words of this prayer. He prays for those who will believe through the testimony of those first disciples.” That is compelling!

I personally thought the last three sermons were even better than the first three. He draws out well how fantastic it is that Jesus prays for us. No matter how bad things are, He prays for us! Then, he traces the humility Jesus showed and the lessons we can gain from it. He says, “In the world of self-actualizing, success-driven athletes and business people, we must return to the Ross. No true greatness, nothing of eternal value can come out of the strength of man. We must rely on the strength of God, and this call for humility.” Sounds right to me.

He ends showing that if Jesus is loving and prays for us, we should trust Him. That is a great application to carry away from John 17.

This volume is short, but solid. For either study or devotions it could be beneficial.

I received this book free from the publisher. 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.

Here is a winner! This volume on the first half of Romans, and part of the new God’s Word For You series published by The Good Book Company, offers real help. Don’t let having only 200 pages fool you as the flow of thought in this portion of Scripture is traced with a deft hand. I felt issues were unraveled and explained in a particularly understandable way.

Mr. Keller carefully makes sure that we don’t confuse the Gospel with its masquerading saboteurs. May the Lord help us not to fall for the diabolical would-be gospels of either liberalism or license! I appreciate this volume’s consistency in dismantling equally these two errors. Arising from the ashes is the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ! For the record, that is what Romans 1 through 7 is actually discussing and so this commentary is right on track.

I am impressed too that this volume could help such a wide-ranging audience. Any layman or Bible student could greatly benefit while a pastor trying to unlock a passage for a sermon could as well. I personally love after reading in depth, exegetical commentaries to read some like this one for the grand sweep of the passage. You could hardly find one better than this one on that score. In my library of doubles stacked shelves, this is a front row volume!

This book works great as a reference tool, but was designed to be read straight through too. I read it that way and found it a devotional feast. Many volumes billed for such usage usually fail at one or the other, but where they failed this volume succeeds.

This series has great potential if the other volumes can hold this standard. Even here in Romans, we have to wait for a future volume to travel through the great battleground of Bible students in Romans 9-11. Still, I want to back up and get the two volumes already released in this series. I give this volume 5 stars plus!

I received this book free from the publisher. 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.