Ch 5: Serving Leftovers to a Holy God

If you have not read a single chapter of this book - READ CHAPTER FIVE!
If I were a govning officer responsible for Believers in the Western Church, I would require all of us to read this chapter and sign off indicating we deposited it into our souls!

So much truth - so much to really examine our lives with. Pg 93: Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." Wow! This stopped me in my tracks! Because of my nature to be fast-forward-progress-driven, I realized how dangerous it could be to work fervently at the wrong task! Success would then be failure!

The exercise on pg 94 - replacing "love" with your name in I Cor 13 - well, I can't even talk about how convicting that was for me .... Pages 95-96 - all about faith without works is dead - - - yep, that hit home too.

I hope this is not defeating you but rather awakening your spirit to the true love we have for Jesus and the ways we can better demonstrate it to Him!

How are you doing? Is this book helping or hurting - - - - just wondering - - - -

Ch 4: Profile of the Lukewarm

Okay sisters - - I think I'm going to need to re-read this chapter a few times! The spiritual inventory required in the Lukewarm Profile section was like shining a flood light in my soul. And more than once, the eyes of my heart winced. Perhaps the best summary for my response to this chapter is top of p. 67:

"Do not assume you are good soil"

Often I am preoccupied with day-to-day (top p. 75), playing it safe, and oh yes, CONTROL ... feel like I've got to be in control. Lord - forgive me for being lukewarm! I want to be a fire for you - a bright light - salt that has not lost its flavor!

What spoke to you?

Ch 3: Crazy Love

P. 57 "This is how God longs for us to respond to His extravagant, unending love: NOT with a cursory "quiet time" plagued by guilt, but with true love expressed through our lives."

I grew up in a church culture that placed greater emphasis on legalistic rituals, such as morning quiet time, than on living a Spirit led life. Don't misunderstand - I do believe we need to read our Bible and have purposed time regularly with God. But I also believe we demonstrate the light of Jesus by loving others in radical, consistent ways.

We serve a creative, dynamic exciting God! Let's enjoy serving Him creatively!

...and by the way, if the dad and DAD section on page 54 sounded familiar based on your past, may I encourage you to seek out someone to process this with. Don't let a difficult experience with your earthly father rob you of a divine experience with your Heavenly Father!

- okay - - let's hear from ya!