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True Devotion

In Search of Authentic Spirituality

Allan Chapple

5.0

5.0

True Devotion

In Search of Authentic Spirituality

Allan Chapple

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This book is about how God’s Word shapes and rules our devotion to him. What is the best way of talking about this? ‘Spirituality’ is what many people call it, but this is not the ideal word. It can mean a great many things, some of them very far removed from anything the Bible teaches. ‘Piety’ is another possibility, but this is sometimes used in a rather negative way. Preferable is ‘Devotion’. When we speak of a couple being ‘devoted’ to each other, we mean that their relationship is strong, loyal, and loving – which is how we should relate to God.

All three words are used in this book. In each case, it is talking about how we relate to God, that is, how we express and exercise a personal relationship with him. The aim is to examine what the Bible teaches about knowing God and living with him. Why ‘True Devotion’? For two reasons: we must be truly devoted to God – our relationship with him must be real and deep; and we must be devoted to him truly – our devotion must be grounded in and governed by the truth, by the teaching of the Bible.

This book draws on both the Scriptures and the writings of Christians of the past. Part 1 unpacks ‘Gospel Spirituality’ as responsive, paradoxical and relational; Part 2 critiques ‘The Mystical Way’, discussing experience of God and his voice, prayer, the inward journey and the testimony of mystics and reformers. Part 3 looks for ‘The Way Ahead’, focussing on meditation and concluding with a call to a Christ–centred, responsive spirituality.

  • Title

    True Devotion

  • Author(s)

    Allan Chapple

  • ISBN

    9781906327279

  • Format

    Paperback

  • Publisher

    Latimer Trust

  • Topic

    Holiness

  • Pages

    248

  • Published

    01/12/2014

Overall rating

5.0 based on 1 review

True Devotion

A couple of wise friends recommended this book to me as a December read, and so I went with their suggestion (despite a slightly dull cover!). And Chapple has surpassed my expectations. This is a truly brilliant book that gets to the heart of true devotion with clarity, rigorous reasoning and Jesus-pointing writing. His opening chapter places the gospel at the heart of any definition of spirituality and makes the excellent, and often forgotten point, that spirituality and therefore devotion must be responsive to the gospel rather than constructed and conjoured up from any other place. Chapple speaks into the heart of misconceptions and misguidances regarding our devotional relationship with God. With rigorous explanation and exegesis, he makes it clear that we have all we need in God's revelation of himself, his works and his promises in his Word and that anything that does not 'conform' to the Bible is misleading and damaging. He particularly challenges the 'mystical' ways that are espoused in various circles - those which encourage the inward journey to discover more of God, those which push for contemplative emptying of the mind to get closer to God, those which cite the 'God feeling' as an indicator of how our relationship with Him is going..and various other traditions and methods that may well have been passed down through church history. Chapple is direct and to the point as he challenges, but the tone of the book is not one of judging and lecturing but a desire for every Christian to love what they have in Christ and to grow in their secure and wonderful relationship with God. Having exposed the non-word conforming ways of various traditions, Chapple goes on to positively demonstrate and argue for meditation that is fuelled by the word, works and person of Christ and all that is found in God's word. The last chapter is brilliantly practical as he unpacks what true devotion is based on and what it might look like. The final pages offer rich Christ-centred praise that wonderfully lifts the reader's eyes to the Saviour who is at the heart of all true devotion. This book has leapfrogged up my list of books read in 2015 and sits comfortably in the top 5. I think it is a very well written, important book that made me want to grow in devotion to God and lifted my eyes to Jesus. It made me more aware of temptations to go down misguided paths that claim to enhance devotion and pushed me back to the gospel and how it is at the heart of our walk with God. Definitely worth picking up...and persuading others to read too.

Felicity Patterson

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