True Devotion

1. Introduction 1

1.1. Our focus 1

1.2. A fascination with 'spirituality'  2

1.3. 'Critical openness'  6

1.4. Evangelical and Reformed  8

PART I: THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE GOSPEL  10

2. Beginning with the Gospel  12

2.1. 'Gospel' means 'good news'?  15

2.2. 'The Gospel': some key passages  16

2.3. 'The Gospel': some key expressions  21

2.4. 'Gospel' conclusions  23

2.5. Gospel focus  25

3. A Responsive Spirituality  30

3.1. The focus of spirituality  30

3.2. Gospel spirituality unpacked  34

3.3. A spirituality of grace  35

3.4. Appropriating God's word and work  42

3.5. Submitting to God's word and work  48

3.6. Conclusions and cautions  53

4. A Paradoxical Spirituality 56

4.1. The paradox of time  57

4.2. The paradox of focus 58

4.3. Living in tension 59

4.4. The duality of death and life  63

4.5. Already and not yet  69

4.6. Keeping the right balance  70

5. A Relational Spirituality  73

5.1. A personal relationship 74

5.2. A relationship of faith  77

5.3. A relationship of hope  81

5.4. A relationship of love  81

5.5. A unique relationship  82

5.6. A relationship of the heart  84

5.7. Conclusions and consequences  89

PART II: THE MYSTICAL WAY  93

6. Experiencing God  97

6.1. Questions about popular mysticism  98

6.2. Knowing God's presence  105

6.3. Fluctuating feelings 110

7. The Voice of God  114

7.1. Prayer as a dialogue  114

7.2. Listening to God 120

8. The Way to Pray  141

8.1. Contemplation  141

8.2. Silence and God 145

8.3. 'Deflected from the Word'?  148

8.4. Petition in prayer  152

8.5. Posture in prayer154

8.6. Repetitive prayer  156

9. The Inward Journey  159

9.1. Across the centuries  159

9.2. Where should we be looking?  162

9.3. Seeking God in the soul?  164

9.4. The location of revelation  170

10. Mystics and Reformers  172

10.1. Arguments from experience 173

10.2. The choices we face  179

10.3. The testimony of Luther 182

10.4. The testimony of Calvin  183

10.5. The goal of the Reformers  185

10.6. The 'simplicity of the gospel'  186

PART III: THE WAY AHEAD  191

11. The Missing Link?  193

11.1. Meditation  195

11.2. The focus of meditation  198

11.3. The aim of meditation  203

11.4. A right response  206

11.5. Meditation in practice  212

11.6. Principles and techniques  218

12. At the heart of it all 221

12.1. Making it clear  221

12.2. A responsive spirituality 223

12.3. Christ-centred spirituality  228

13. The End of the Beginning  236