I just am diving into Forgotten God by Francis Chan. I am really excited because after reading the first few chapters I engaged Tom in a conversation about what we think the Holy Spirit is and how it effects our lives. It is especially interesting being that I went to a more charismatic church growing up and Tom's church was more conservative. Let me just say that I am not here to debate who is right or wrong, but I believe so far as I am reading this book that it is trying to equip us with who the Holy Spirit is and allow him to work in our lives.There are a few things that have really impacted me in chapter three alone. The first being: the simplenessof what it means for the Spirit to come into you (and I am not looking to oversimplify) . Chan explains when his daughter came up to him after a sermon and said, "Dad, I want to repent of my sins and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." This left me saying wow. This is a simple task that many are over looking. Obeying Scripture.
The second is: "But consider this truly amazing fact: Because the Spirit is holy and dwells in us, our bodies are holy sanctuaries from God's vantage point. Too often we disdain our bodies as the source of sin and our fallenness; yet they are precisely where God the Spirit chooses to dwell!" - Chan. This one hit me deep, because it is crazy to understand that the Spirit choses to dwell in our brokenness. His home, His temple, is amongst our rubble.
Finally: Chan gives us several things that should be apart of your life if the Spirit dwells among you... helps us speak when we bear witness, guides us on the way to go, draws us closer to Jesus, sets us free from sin continually, reminds us we are His children, convicts us of sin, brings life and freedom, gives hope, purpose of the common good, and gives us the fruit of the Spirit so we may grow and be molded by the Spirit (sanctifier). I know this list is long and would make more sense in context, but reading this helped me to see what the Spirit is doing in my life and what it could be doing. Chan enourages readers to pray that God would make these apart of our lives.
I am looking forward to continuing to read this book and see how the Holy Spirit comes a live in me. I pray that God would allow me to see His work within me. That my relationship with the spirit would grow.
2 comments:
like tom i come from a conservative background.
for me the holy spirit always seemed so abstract. even in my prayer life i tended to acknowledge God the Father, and God the son, but failed often to comprehend God the Spirit.
however, the Spirit is such a beautiful thing, a true gift from God. Jesus even tells his disciples before his death, how important it is that he dies so that the spirit could come and dwell within us.
"the forgotten God" is an amazing book. i read it this past fall, after finishing "crazy love" and it totally opened my eyes to the importance of the Holy Spirit. it was so needed for me, because it was something i didn't really understand or realize the importance. :-D
thanks for sharing what you have been learning so far. def. a great reminder! :-D
love you guys.
Love love love this book! I even used a quote from it when I did a sermon at church this past Sunday! Hope you enjoy it:-) If you haven't read Crazy Love, you have to read that next!
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