Feeling Lazy and Neglectful

I just finished Chapter 5 in the book (a few weeks after I started it) and I am realizing how little time I have devoted over the past few weeks to this book I was so excited to read, and to this sweet blog Josh set up. More disheartening is the fact that I have shown a similar attitude toward seeking the Lord and the Holy Spirit. You guys have known me long enough to realize that this is my tendency... to start off excited and committed to something and then trail off and become distracted with other things. The good news (that each of you has reminded me of many times throughout our friendships) is that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. God is not holding my laziness and neglectfulness against me, and waiting until I learn to be disciplined before he lets me draw near to him, or before he showers me with love and kindness. He stands as a merciful Father eager to forgive and encourage me, to remind me of his love for me. But I believe he also looks forward to me pressing on to take hold of that for which he took hold of me! As I read Chapter 5 and read John 14, 15, 16, I was reminded of the significance of the Spirit being in us and how he has been given so that we could experience intimacy with God and bear fruit for His glory. But I am confessing to you guys that I feel like the man in James who looks in the mirror and then walks away and forgets what he looks like. When I am reading the book or the Word or in Church, and I'm faced with these truths about the Spirit, I feel compelled in that moment to seek him and experience him more. But when I leave that moment I become consumed with other things and don't feel like seeking him, or praying, or listening.

I feel like a broken record, but I need to share this with you guys because it's where my heart is right now. It is a strange feeling to know that I deeply want to draw closer to God and spend more time in prayer and fellowship with him, and believe that if I did I would discover more of who he is and his purposes for us, yet I know that I will choose not to because I will choose to do other things instead. DANG!! Pray for me if you think of it. Please let me know how you're doing and how I can pray for you.

I need to chew cause its hard to swallow.

Chapter 4 Chan serves the main course. I have highlighted stuff that stuck out to me. In particular, I thought the questions he asked are chilling and humbling. I will be digesting for sometime...if i get it swallowed.

A sure sign of the Holy Spirit's working is that Christ is MAGNIFIED, not people.

Miracles are never an end in themselves; they are always a means to point to and accomplish something greater.

The Spirit is GOD, a Being who requires that we submit ourselves to be led by Him.

Basically, what difference does my presence in this place at this time make?

If everyone gave and served and prayed exactly like me, would the church be healthy and empowered?

God didn't call me here to settle in and live out my life in comfort and superficial peace. If i'm still alive tomorrow on this planet, it is because He has something for me to do. I was placed here on Earth for purposes He orchestrated before I existed.

Do I believe I exist to help people know and experience the love of Jesus Christ and to come fully alive in Him?

The Spirit is here with us to accomplish God's purposes, not ours.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

The Holy Spirit fills us with God's LOVE and enables us to LOVE one another. (1st fruit Gal 5:20)

Do not become distracted from what is important. We are most alive when we are loving and actively giving of ourselves (for this is the purpose for which we were made)

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One. ( a beautiful mystery i do not understand )

"It is for your good that I am going away"

It is so good to be reminded of and challenged by the promises Jesus made and the realities he described in John 14, 15 and 16. He tells his disciples that it is good for him to go away. From our perspective looking back, we rejoice in his going away because we know that he was crushed for our iniquities and pierced for our transgressions. But Jesus highlights the additional benefit of his going away: his sending of the Counselor, the Holy Spirit. He knew the incredible gift the Holy Spirit was going to be to his disciples and to all believers, and he wanted to leave so that they could experience that gift – so that WE could experience that gift!

I love Chan’s description of the caterpillar’s metamorphosis, likening that to our experience in being new creations with the Holy Spirit living in us. “As the caterpillar finds its new ability to fly, we should be thrilled over our Spirit-empowered ability to live differently and faithfully. Isn’t this what the Scriptures speak of? Isn’t this what we’ve all been longing for? … I am tired of living in a way that looks exactly like people who do not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them.” Along with several other statements on that page that resonated with me, those words remind me of the incredible things that the Lord can do in us and through us when we recognize the source of power and love that he has placed in us.

I'd like to trade my crap for your Glory.

I have relied on my own strength that comes from the nourishment from food rather than the nourishment and strength of your Spirit and Word LORD.

I have listened to the world's advice rather than the guidance and direction of your Spirit LORD.

I have worshiped the praise of men and the wealth of riches rather than your Glory and Holiness LORD.

I have obeyed the lust of my flesh rather than the call of your Spirit LORD.

I have spoken words with anger and harshness rather than the Love and Gentleness of your Spirit LORD.

I have given my time and attention to everything but our relationship LORD

And yet you Love me, you want an intimate relationship with me; you have promised and blessed me with everything I need for life and godliness in this present age. It is my prayer that you LORD reveal yourself to us in Spirit and in Truth so that we may turn and worship you as such. We know (head knowledge) that there is no comparison to your glory, that if we truly see you for who and what you truly are that everything else will fade away. So I ask that we may taste your Glory, and be captivated by your Spirit that fills us.

Just cro-chiming in...

Guys,

I have read your posts - all of which, I think, have included some clause about making an attempt at writing coherently, while reserving the right to potentially abandon the ship of a logical flow in the event of cerebral flatulence. I am bucking the trend; I make no claim to an attempt at coherence. Read on, reader.

The reason I am excited about this book is because I think it is ultimately about obedience. In order for us to be obedient, we have to see the pathway - our obstinate nature has to be exposed, and our ignorance has to be dealt with. I think the Lord is using Francis Chan in my life to expose my stubbornness in wanting to live according to the flesh, and He is dealing with my blindness to the fact that there is more -there is better - available.

Imagine what life would be like if we had simple & continuous access to God. How different would our lives be if we could be in a steady flow of fellowship with Him? What things would we start to care about that we currently never even think of? What things would we stop caring about that currently consume so much of our mind's energy? I think that we would be so phenomenally different. To be honest, in some ways, I think we would be like my mom - or like John Piper - or like Mr. Matt from Pine Valley Bible Camp. I can think of people who live that way, and I can't think of anything that Christ has made available to them which He has withheld from me.

The Lord is so excessively kind to us. It's clear to me that it is on His heart to draw us nearer to Himself...so that we can see more of His kingdom in our time on the earth, and so that we can learn just how fantastic He is so that, in turn, we will experience the greatest joy man can know as we grow in love for Him. Because the Father loves us, He put it on the heart of a man to write a book about how we can know Him as He really is. I'm excited for this journey, and I'm mega excited that you're all taking it too.

It is my prayer that we would have more of God in our short time on the earth so that we might be better conditioned for eternity. Lord, give us more of Your Spirit!

The fruit of discipline is communion, the fruit of communion is transformation, the fruit of transformation is life.

John and I had a very encouraging and challenging discussion this evening and while the title is weird it simplifies the spirits revelation in our conversation. Until I can give details I just wanted to make some notes as to not forget.

With respect to the Spirit in our daily lives
The activities to which we are called or do may be the same with or without (our invitation to) the spirit yet when we yeild ourselves to let the spirit work in and through us our perspective and engagment in those activities is completely changed and so is the outcome as now it is not dependent on our human effort or anxious toil but on the mighty and powerful work of the Spirit.

With regard to our responsibility and the Spirits work
Much like it is our responsibility with lust to avert our eyes and stop looking at the object of our lust (discipline) and the Spirits work to transform our desire for our lust so it is our responsibility to be diligent and disciplined in our prayer life and in the Word time as it is the spirits work to transform us during those times that we yeild ourselves through reading the Word and prayer.

Marked by Confidence, Power and the Fruit of the Spirit

The Introduction definitely makes me eager to read the rest of the book. His description of churches being known for human accomplishments instead of the power of the Spirit reminded me of how unaware I am of the Spirit's role in the church body and my life already, let alone to long for Him to play a more significant role. I really don't know what that would look like. As you guys know, I struggle to figure out what the Holy Spirit is responsible for and human effort is responsible for, and how the two are combined to bring about God's Kingdom in our own lives and in this world. What role does the Holy Spirit desire to play in our lives? I hope that Chan uses scripture to paint a clearer picture of that for me. Along those lines, his explanation on page 19 resonated with me big time.

"By journeying honestly, I hope we can go beyond our current understanding of the Holy Spirit and begin to commune openly... that our experience with Him would be day by day, or even moment by moment. That by keeping in step with the Spirit, we might regularly fellowship over what He's doing rather what He did months or years ago. We'll be reminded of the strength and wisdom available to us in the Spirit and earnestly pray for more. As we trust in the promises of the Spirit, we will be led away from discouragement and into lives marked by confidence, power in the midst of our weakness, and the fruit of the Spirit."

He goes on to to say that his prayer for us is that our lives would produce the same kind of astonishment as Peter and John - that in interacting with those men, people "recognized that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13). I am encouraged because I already see such evidence of the Spirit in your lives, brothers. When I think about the growth I have witnessed personally in you guys - the victories that the Spirit has brought about, the fruit He has produced in you - I rejoice in His faithful presence with us and good intentions for our lives. It also makes me long for more! More of His presence, power, fruit, good works - which will mean less of our comfort, ease, pride, selfish ambitions. May we embrace all that He wants to bring about in us and do through us, believing that His will is good beyond description or understanding.