Renovation of the heart

Today is proving a purple patch for me blog wise! I guess I have had a lot of stuff builidng up that just has to come out!!

I want to encourage any of you who are feeling that your quite times are getting stale to investigate the writings of Dallas Willard. Dr. Willard specialises in writing about the spiritual disciplines (prayer, meditation, fasting, solitude etc.) and his background is that he spent many years as a philosophy professor. I am currently looking at his book Renovation of The Heart In Daily Practice. Jan Johnson has taken Dr. Willard's book Renovation of the Heart and devised activities for every chapter to help you apply the ideas that the author wants to convey.

The first chapter is called Kingdom Possibilities and it talks about the tantalising promises of a life beyond our wildest dreams spoken about in the Bible, especially the New Testament. Willard's very vivid description in this chapter of what drinking the living waters that Jesus offers so that we will never thirst again means particularly struck me. He says it means that "He (the Holy Spirit)will keep [us] from...being driven and ruled by unsatisfied desires." How many of us as Christians can say that loneliness or envy or frustration in work never drives us? Yet it is Jesus' promise to us. This book does not offer quick fixes to such problems but does offer practical guidance of helpful practices and strategies for spiritual growth. The Protestant faith, as a reaction against Catholic acetisism I believe has thrown the baby out with the bathwater in terms of spiritual disciplines. The Puritans were ardent advocates of meditation and look at the books they produced. I believe any book such as this by Williard which offers the prospect of revitalising our spirituality and causing us to long for all that the Bible promises can only be commended and if we read it with an open mind and receptive heart it will be a great blessing.

Love in Christ.

Andy.