One of my favorite authors went to Heaven on Wednesday.  One of his passions was to help people have a "fresh hearing of Jesus."  Dallas Willard certainly helped me with this.  I remember reading "Hearing God" and "Divine Conspiracy" for the first time (I have read both of those books a number of times), it was like meeting Jesus all over again.  Willard's writings on the Sermon on the Mount and his understanding of the Kingdom of God have helped me more than I can put into words.  I will be quoting him a couple of times this coming weekend because he says things in ways that help me understand more clearly what I thought I already knew!  It was Willard who really helped me think of Jesus as "brilliant", he helped me think much about the phrase, "what life is about and how to live it."  Willard helped me with the whole idea of hearing God and how discern whether I'm listening to my own voice or the Spirit.  I am happy for Dallas Willard that he is in Heaven...I am a bit sad for his family and the rest of us.  This should not stop us however from a "fresh hearing of Jesus."  Jesus did not leave us orphans.  He sent the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus and bring life to His words.  If we will be quiet with Him, the Spirit will help us understand and this should bring repentance and assist us as apprentices of Jesus.  This coming weekend, Lord willing, we'll be thinking together about daily bread and mercy.  Because we know the "Lord's Prayer" and have recited it often we may think there is nothing new to learn.  Let's come with a heart open to a fresh hearing of Jesus instead of a mindset of analysis.  Let's not become masters of the "text", let's let the Author of the Text feed us, nourish us and make us like Himself.