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!

Ch 2: You Might Not Finish This Chapter

Well Pastor Chan really served it up in this chapter! The story of Stan was incredible ... and the legacy of Brooke literally took me to tears. But the big idea for me in this section was:

P. 44: "...When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God. Psalm 73"

Our society pushes intellect over faith - and I'm embarassed to admit how many times I've gotten "analysis paralysis" from desperately trying to think through a situation ... to understand it. That simply is not God's plan!

Father - please forgive my ongoing desire to find supernatural peace in my human understanding. Instead, may I find rest in your faithfulness.

How about you - - - what was your big idea?

Ch 1: Stop Praying

So many statements to expound on! Loved 2nd sentence p. 30 .... and what about last sentence p. 31? But the most resonating word for me was convicting, and held me to my promise of vulnerability and transparency as I author this weblog.

Last line, p. 33: "Could it be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation?"

Ouch! While I wince at the thought of being arrogant, I cannot deny the times my life has been an "if/then" experiment with God.
'If you open this door, I'll praise you for it'.
'If you give me revelation, I'll honor you with it.'
'If you show me my destiny, I'll worship you in it.'

Granted, my motives may be pure - but I am still asking for explanations from a God who owes me nothing. As the video on www.crazylovebook.com declares, He is far greater than my teeny-tiny mind can comprehend. Yet I often request explanations in my prayer life instead of simply asking Him, how can I honor you with my life today?

Your turn - Ch 1, pgs. 25-38 - what moved you most?

Preface: Our View of God

Crazy Love: page 20 - "I grew up beliving in God without having a clue what He is like". This statement lept off the page at me. My walk with Him began as a 12 year old girl, the only believer in my family. As I reflect on my early years as a Christian, I realize there was tremendous emphasis placed on perfecting the practices of my denominational rituals. Great efforts were made on understanding my doctrine and the ability to successfully suppport it. "If you can intellectually understand God, you can better explain Him to others" .... that was my perception. But He is not to be explained...He is to be introduced.

Now - I realize how little time I spent trying to seek the heart of my Heavenly Father.
Now - I want to share an unexplainable yet undeniable Savior.
Now - I truly want to know what He is like .....

What sentence, idea or concept of the preface (pages 19-23) stood out to you?

What do you expect?

First book post coming in 48 hours or less. What are you expecting from God as you enter this journey?