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Healing the wounded heart

Good, but too much water

HEALING THE WOUNDED HEART
By Dudley J. Delffs
Scripture Union. 122 pages. £5.99
ISBN 1 84427 060 2

How many of us deliberately take time out for repentant self-reflection? Healing the wounded heart ù A journal of discovery for the hurting has been written to encourage us to do just that! At first glance I thought this was a specialist book for those with particular hurts. I soon discovered its aim is to encourage and challenge us whatever stage we're at in our spiritual journey.

Dudley Delffs writes well and is frank, honest and refreshingly down-to-earth. He challenges us to 'let go of fixating on the past or obsessing about the future' with the reminder that 'our sanctification is a minute-by-minute process even though our salvation is complete in Christ'. The eight chapters or 'sessions' of this personal study journal deal with the subjects of self-reflection, confession, grace, forgiveness, gratitude, obedience, suffering and community.

The book can be used in a variety of ways. You can either read it alone, with a prayer partner or in small group study. To assist in the latter, there are leader's notes at the end of the book.

Each chapter follows the same pattern; it begins with the writer's personal comments or testimony to set the scene, followed by thought-provoking questions to help the reader relate to the material's focus. The rest of the chapter is centred around a relevant Bible passage with questions and comments to help in understanding and applying those passages.

Each chapter closes with a section called 'Spiritual therapy' with suggestions for putting into practise the central point of each chapter. Personally, I found some of these suggestions more of a distraction than a help.

An over-emphasis on the subjective watered down the truths of Scripture so helpfully highlighted. Otherwise it's a practical and very readable book that applies Bible truths to our lives today.

Kath Paterson,
Kensington Baptist Church, Bristol