A Devotional Book Option

This last Monday I finished the book Daily Devotionals Inspired by Ninety Minutes in Heaven. I received this book as a Christmas gift. It, appropriately, had 90 devotionals which I broke up into two each week.

Each day began with one Bible verse, a brief devotional focused on the Bible reading, followed by a prayer.

It would certainly help to have read Piper's book before reading this devotional book, but it is not required. Many of his devotionals reflect on conversations that he has had with people at conferences, worship services and book signings.

Like the book, they all reflect on issues of heaven, the afterlife and what happens when we die. Given that this is often a hard topic for people to talk about, I felt as though this book continues the opportunity for us to reflect on those issues.

It is not that expensive and it is worth checking out. Contact me if have additional questions!

Do All Dogs Go to Heaven?

My father gave me a copy of Daily Devotions Inspired by 90 Minutes in Heaven for Christmas. There are 90 devotions total, so I read two each week, one to start my work week, and one to end it. I have found these reflections and devotions to be very meaningful. Today's devotion addressed something that I, and I think others, have thought about: Are there animals in heaven?

Piper writes, "People are confused because some say there are no animals in heaven because they don't have souls. Others say there are animals in heaven because they are mentioned in the Bible." Fair enough. I've heard arguments each way. He says that we can't say one way or other definitively that animals will or will not be in heaven.

I appreciate his perspective. From his own experience, and from what we know about heaven form the Bible, heaven is a place of perfection. If heaven for you would include pets or animals that were close to you, they will be with you in heaven. If you were in heaven and you missed your pets, then heaven wouldn't be perfect for you. You'd be missing your pets in heaven.

He writes, "We also know that God is the perfect host. Jesus Christ will be there. God will lavishly provide for every need we have. Nothing will be missing. After all, if anything is missing, it won't be heaven, will it?"

90 Minutes in Heaven

I know that this book has been around for a few years. I had heard folks talk about it. I was at the Oakfield Public Library during the Village-Wide Rummage Sale and found a copy of the book for $1.00. How could I go wrong? I added it to my reading list.

The book is an account of Don Piper's being dead for 90 minutes and during that time experiencing heaven. When he comes back to life, he talks about his long recovery process from a devastating accident.

I hate to begin my review by arguing semantics, but 90 Minutes in Heaven was not an appropriate title for this book. His actual account of experiencing heaven was but two chapters of the book. The rest of the book details his slow recovery and all the accompanying misery that goes with it. Later, he does talk about ho0w his experience has affected the lives of others. I was disappointed, because I expected the book to provide more details about his experience in heaven. That was the title.

That being said, his description of his recovery does give an amazing story of determination and the power of prayer. I was also amazed about how a community of believers came to rally around this one individual's recovery. We could all stand to learn from that.

I suppose the biggest struggle I have is with his account of heaven. I can't imagine why the author would lie about his experiences, and I'm sure that was his experience. But, was that heaven or a hallucination? I just don't know. And to think that he speaks at funerals saying he can speak with authority about what heaven is like is slightly disturbing to me.

I would recommend you read the book, if but for its story about the power of prayer and love for hope of recovery.