Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
I read this book in March/April 2016. Short of the Bible, this is my favorite book to-date. I read one chapter at a time and really tried to focus on each chapter for a day or two before I moved on to the next chapter. If you are serious about changing your heart and putting on the character of Christ, you won't be disappointed.
"Our soul is like a stream of water, which gives strength, direction, and harmony to every other area of our life. When that stream is as it should be, we are constantly refreshed and exuberant in all we do, because our soul itself is then profusely rooted in the vastness of God and his kingdom, including nature; and all else within us is enlivened and directed by that stream. Therefore we are in harmony with God, reality, and the rest of human nature and nature at large."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"Some losses are so great that nothing on earth can make recompense for them."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"Spiritual formation in Christ is an orderly process. Although God can triumph in disorder, that is not his choice. And instead of focusing upon what God can do, we must humble ourselves to accept the ways he has chosen to work with us."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"Spiritual formation in Christ is the process leading to that ideal end, and its result is love of God with all of the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and of the neighbor as oneself. The human self is then fully integrated under God."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"One of the amazing things about the human being is that it is capable of restoration, and indeed of a restoration that makes it somehow more magnificent because it has been ruined."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"Now, the simplicity of spiritual formation lies in its intention. Its aim is to bring every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God and the kingdom of God. This is the simple focus. We must keep it constantly before us and not be distracted by other things, no matter how good they may appear."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"To bring the mind to dwell intelligently upon God as he is presented in his Word will have the effect of causing us to love God passionately, and this love will in turn bring us to think of God steadily. Thus he will always be before our minds."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"In fact, if we are to use our minds rightly, we must live in an attitude of constant openness and learning. Before we make judgement on any serious matter, have we looked into the facts of the case and have we carefully considered all their bearings? This is especially important with reference to those we disagree with or think we disagree with."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"We must pray that God will lead us to others who can walk with us with Christ — whoever and wherever they may be. And then in patience stay with them."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"Healthy feelings, properly ordered among themselves, are essential to a good life. So if we are to be formed in Christlikeness, we must take good care of our feelings and not just let them “happen.”"
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"Those who are wise will, accordingly, never allow themselves, if they can help it, to get in a position where they feel too deeply about any human matter. They will never willingly choose to allow feeling to govern them. They will carefully keep the pathway open to the house of reason and go there regularly to listen."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"How often we have to deal with someone whom we know at the moment to be simply working out how he or she is going to mislead us."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language, and every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators: some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. But God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall be open to one another."
― John Donne – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"The simple program of Christ for winning the whole world is to make each person he touches magnetic enough with love to draw others."
― Frank Laubach – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
"Our beliefs and feelings cannot be changed by choice. We cannot just choose to have different beliefs or feelings. But we do have some liberty to take in different ideas and information and to think about things in different ways. We can choose to take in the Word of God, and when we do that, beliefs and feelings will be steadily pulled in a godly direction."
― Dallas Willard – Renovation of the Heart: Putting On the Character of Christ
0 comments: