90 Minutes in Heaven Book Review
Without a doubt the past two years have been less than kind to me and my family as we lost many loved ones. More often than not in my time of grieving I have had to power through in survival mode as I was entrusted to handle many of the obligations that go along with someone passing. These experiences of heartache are never easy and they shift your mind to thinking more and more about life, the meaning of existence, how quickly life passes, how quickly someone can pass away, and plenty of thoughts about death and Heaven. I believe all of these thoughts are normal and to be expected, but they can feel overwhelming.
In my attempts to counter those thoughts and questions that would arise I started to listen to sermons about Heaven which filled my heart with reassurance and peace. I believe Heaven is real and that we’re promised to see our loved ones again if we believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. But, in moments of heavy grief, the mind and emotions take us to dark places.
I was blessed when our friend, Chris, reached out to me shortly after my father passed to let me know that Pastor Don Piper would be speaking at his church for a series on hope. Given the schedule of things I had at that time and also my emotional state I wasn’t quite sure I could handle being in public for the sermon(s) so I listened to them each week when the service aired. His messages made me cry but filled me with so.much.hope.
When I say that God uses us as His servants during our time here in Earth, please trust and believe that Pastor Don Piper is on an assignment for Jesus Christ.
Here is the background and my review about Pastor Don Piper’s experience and my “review” of 90 Minutes In Heaven. Make sure to pin this to Pinterest to save it for later!
“Some may not believe my account; they may think it was some kind of wish fulfillment during a point of severe trauma. I don’t have to defend my experience. I know what happened to me. For those of us whose faith is in the reality of heaven, no amount of evidence is necessary.”
Summarizing what happened to Pastor Don Piper isn’t easy and I also do not want to detract from the book itself because I wish everyone would read it.
Don Piper was a pastor in Alvin, TX and attended a conference north of Houston in January 1989. When we left the conference on the last day it was cold and raining and he decided to take the back-road route back to Alvin instead of driving down I-59. While driving across a two lane bridge a truck driving too fast hydroplaned and drove head on into him totaling the car.
The EMT’s and first responders arrived on the scene and pronounced him dead because he had no pulse. His body was mangled and they couldn’t get him out of the car wreckage. Well, in order to be declared officially deceased they would have to wait until a coroner could arrive at the scene.
Meanwhile, another pastor leaving the conference was stuck in the traffic waiting for the bridge to reopen. He decided to walk up to the site and asked the State Trooper what had happened. When he was told that it was a deadly accident he asked if he could go pray for the person, not knowing who it was. The State Trooper told him it was too late to save him, but go ahead…
After placing his hand on Pastor Don Piper’s shoulder and praying for him to come back to life, start breathing, and to have no brain injuries, he began to sing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” Then, Pastor Don Piper started breathing and awakens to singing along with him (albeit feebly). This stuns everyone at the accident site and they were able to extract him from the car to drive him to the Houston Medical Center.
During these approximately 90 minutes, Pastor Don Piper had died on impact and immediately went to Heaven. His story recounts the accident, his injuries, his recovery, his anger, his pain and frustration, his disappointment from being taken away from Heaven to return to Earth, what he experienced during his time in Heaven, and every lesson he humbly learned along the way.
“Unworthy as I am, He allowed me to go to Heaven, and I know the next time I go there, I’ll stay.”
It is powerful. It is eye opening. It is reassuring. It is helpful. It is honest. It is true.
He frequently notes that he is not a writer, and I would say he’s correct in that. 😁 His story is more bare bones than an easy novel or even biography. However, it is everything you or someone you know might need right now in your time of grieving OR even if you find yourself wanting/needing reassurance that Heaven is real.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for you and to give it as a gift.
I followed up reading this with reading another one of his books titled People I Met at the Gates of Heaven.
I think these should be read and given together. I won’t write a full review of People I Met at the Gates of Heaven so that I don’t overlap the stories, BUT - this book follows up on who he tells us met him at the gates of Heaven in the book 90 Minutes in Heaven and why he believes God sent them to meet him versus other loved ones he didn’t get to see (yet) during his 90 minutes there. He also answers questions others have asked him through the years such as: Will there be pets in Heaven? Where were the loved ones that didn’t come to greet you? and much more.
It is very enlightening as to our purpose here on Earth, the impact we should be making on others as Christ followers, and who has been a significant impact in our lives so far.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
In summary, I couldn’t have been more blessed to have been introduced to Pastor Don Piper’s story at the exact time I was. Ironically, when I was listening to sermons on Heaven in September 2021 I was listening to Peace By Believing which is the broadcast from the SAME church Pastor Don Piper spoke at in January 2022. He is a guest speaker there frequently and I have no doubt that God was leading me to find his message as I would need it very soon.
Have you ever been lead to read something and it is exactly the message you needed Jesus to fill your heart with?
If you or anyone you know is grieving or even questioning Heaven, these books will help reassure them. I hope they bless you as they have blessed me.
I'm happy to answer any questions about this book or the others I have listed on my page that I have read. Feel free to email me or comment below. You can find my previous book reviews here that I am slowly adding to my site. I haven’t been able to add many through the years but hope to make this a more frequent post.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you use them to make a purchase I will earn a small commission at no cost to you.
XOXO
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