Auntie's Full Shelf Challenge 20

Book: Good News of Great Joy.

Author: John Piper

Info: Copyright 2013.  Minneapolis: Desiring God.

Where acquired: Free download from author.

Rating (on a scale of 1-4 hashtags): # # # #

What it's about:  Piper carries the reader through the Advent season by giving fresh perspective on the familiar Christmas story.

Favorite Quotes:  Note:  Page numbers refer to the PDF version of the book.  The MOBI (Kindle) version only had location numbers.

“The key that unlocks the treasure chest of God’s peace is faith in the promises of God. So Paul prays, ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing’ (Romans 15:13). And when we do trust the promises of God and have joy and peace and love, then God is glorified.” - p. 12

“I feel so strongly that among those of us who have grown up in church and who can recite the great doctrines of our faith in our sleep and who yawn through the Apostles Creed—that among us something must be done to help us once more feel the awe, the fear, the astonishment, the wonder of the Son of God, begotten by the Father from all eternity, reflecting all the glory of  God, being the very image of his person, through whom all things were created, upholding the universe by the word of his power.” - p. 45

“Christ will really help us in our fight. He really will help you. He is on your side. He didn’t come to destroy sin because sin is fun. He came to destroy sin because it is fatal. It is a deceptive work if the devil and will destroy us if we don’t fight it. He came to help us, not hurt us.” - p. 53

What I Liked:

• The author challenges the reader.  It's not simply, "God is love.  Love is God.  Let's color a picture about it."  The reader is given solid biblical evidence of the first advent of Christ and is challenged to be ready for the second advent of the Messiah.
• The readings were short, but meditative.

What I didn’t like: 

• Unlike most Bible based books, this volume does not include a notation of which Bible version is used.
• Some of the selections tended to be a little repetitive and could have been combined into one entry while some of the additional information could have been included as a daily reading. 

To sum up:  This devotional was very helpful to me since I know next to nothing about Advent.  I plan to use this devotional again to celebrate next year's holiday season.  I would recommend it to a new Christian or a seasoned veteran of the faith.

If you are interested in this book, it is available for free download at www.DesiringGod.org