Cultivating life on the Inside
Graham Beynon

IVP, 2014, £8.99, 174pp, ISBN 9781783591718

Reviewed by Stefan Gleeson, Consultant Psychiatrist based in Hampshire

The 'heart' is referred to some 830 times in the Bible. As Graham Beynon puts it, 'God is deeply concerned with who we are, not just what we know… God wants his truth to shape us.' The gospel is central to Beynon, who makes clear from the beginning that the heart attitudes he wishes to explore are to do with our relationship with God rather than with others. Of course, we know that if you get the former right, the latter follows.

I took this book on holiday, half expecting to put it aside at some point, in favour of some novels I had brought along. Instead, I found myself reading it from cover to cover, mesmerised by disarmingly accessible prose laced with stories, practical examples and beautifully succinct chapters on love, fear, joy, peace, humility, confidence, thankfulness, contentment and hope. I felt challenged by the contrast between the hedonistic Riviera culture I was immersed in and Benyon's incisive focus on the gospel.

The highlight for me is how the author addresses some fundamental questions we don't always get right as Christians. We can live a life that is in name 'Christian' but in practice continues with a worldview and heart attitude infused by the surrounding culture. Beynon rightly focuses on what God is conveying in the gospel. I cannot recommend this book enough.