Friday, September 17, 2010

Lukewarm

Chapter 4 is about searching yourself and asking yourself the tough questions about if you are a lukewarm believer... there are a lot of questions and comments-all being straight from scripture regarding lukewarmness... way too much to type- please go check out this book and dive into it for yourself. if not- hopefully some of these quotes do reach out to you as they have to me!

"Doesn't His courting, luring, pushing, calling and even 'threatening' demonstrate His love? If He didn't do all of that, wouldn't we accuse Him of being unloving in the end, when all things are revealed?"

"The greatest good on this earth is God. Period. God's one goal for us is Himself."

"Do you believe that God is the greatest thing you can experience in this whole world? Do you believe that the Good News is not merely the forgiveness of sins, the guarantee that you wont go to hell, or the promise of life in heaven?"
"The best things in life are gifts from the One who steadfastly loves us. But an important question to ask ourselves is this : Are we in love with God or His stuff?"

"Our love for Him always comes out of His love for us. Do you love this God who is everything, or do you just love everything He gives you? Do you really know and believe that God loves you, individually and personally and intimately? Do you see and know Him as Abba, Father?"

"He persists in loving us with unending, outrageous love. "

"He knew what what he had stumbled upon -the kingdom of heaven- was more valuable than anything he had, so he went for it with everything in him."
"A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions, or commitments are piled on top of it."
"Are you satisfied with being 'godly enough' to get yourself to heaven, or to look good in comparison to others? Or can you say with Paul that you 'want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in death" Phil 3:10

"Would you describe yourself as totally in love with Jesus Christ? Or do the words halfhearted, lukewarm, and partially committed fit better?"
"Lukewarm people call 'radical' what Jesus expected of all His followers."

"Jesus didn't say if you wanted to follow Him you could do it in a lukewarm manner. He said, 'Take up your cross and follow me."

"Jesus asks for everything. But we try to give him less."

Crazy Love of Christ

Crazy Love is such an easy read.. Ive already read 2 chapters since my last post and that's with me taking it slow and meditating on it during my quiet time with the Lord.
so this might be another long post- but I hope you keep reading and if you have already read the book-its still so important to re-read key points that he makes and really meditate on them! that's one reason why I'm thankful for this little blog- typing out my underlined points has been so helpful in remembering what I have read and trying to apply it.

The last of chapter 2 is entitled 'Thank God we are weak'
"If life were stable, I'd never need God's help. Since its not, I reach out to Him regularly. I am thankful for the unknowns and that I don't have control, because it makes me run to God."
"You never know when God is going to take your life. At that moment, theres nothing you can do about it. Are you ready?
"You could be the next person in your family to die, I could be the next person at my church to die. We have to realize it. We have to believe it enough that it changes how we live."

"Friends, we need to stop living selfish lives, forgetful of our God. Our lives here are short, often unexpectedly so, and we can all stand to be reminded of it from time to time. That's why I wrote this chapter, to help us remember that in the movie of life, nothing matters except our King and God. Don't let yourself forget. Soak it in and keep remembering that is is true. He is everything."

Chapter 3- Crazy Love
Just so you realize if you arnt reading the book- I skip a lot of the book... stories he tells that are really powerful are just way too much to type and I'm not good with getting points across... so if you haven't been intrigued yet-hopefully you will soon and go get the book for yourself! =)

"Over time I realized that when we love God, we naturally run to Him-frequently and zealously. Jesus didn't command that we have a regular time with Him each day. Rather, He tells us to 'love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Matthew 22:37-28
"The results are intimate prayer and study of His word. Our motivation changes from guilt to love.
"After reading Jeremiah 1, I meditated on it for the next four days. It spoke of God's intimate knowledge of me. I had always acknowledged His complete sovereignty over me, but verses 4 and 5 took it to another level 'The word of the Lord came to me saying, 'before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born i set you apart."
"take some time to really think about it God knew you and me before we existed."
"Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we were created 'to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

"My existence was not random, nor was it an accident. God knew who He was creating, and He designed me for a specific work."
"When Jeremiah voices his hesitation and fear, God- the God of the galaxies-reaches out and touches his mouth. Its a gentle and affectionate gesture, something a loving parent would do. Through this illustration I realized that I don't have to worry about not meeting His expectations. God will ensure my success in accordance with His plan, not mine."
"This is the God we serve, the God who knew us before He made us. The God who promises to remain with us and rescue us. The God who loves us and longs for us to love Him back.

"Gods mercy is free, yet costly, gift. It cannot be earned. Our righteous acts, just like menstrual garments, certainly don't help us deserve it. The wages of sin is death. But because of God's mercy, sin is paid for through the death of Jesus Christ, instead of the death of you and me."

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Crazy Love

I started Crazy Love by Francis Chan last week. Our Sunday School class has decided to go through it on Wed. nights as a small group bible study. I wish I was better at this blogging thing-truth is-it makes me nervous and it takes me forever to write one little blog post... not so much the part where I'm just typing the quotes but when I feel like adding my own words or this part at the beginning when I type to whomever may be reading... i reread it over and over! sometimes I wish I was a natural writer (funny thing is when I was little little I wanted to be a writer-that quickly went away as reality set in when I got just a little older) =) But this blog- almost like a journal is very freeing.. being able to express your thoughts even if they arnt very articulate.
I wish i would have blogged last week about the beginning of the book- its pretty good... its another book I would recommend to everyone! The website has videos that go along with it... Theres just something about watching and listening to Francis Chan speak and there is one video in particular that is really interesting and makes you think about how BIG God is. http://crazylovebook.com/videos_awe.html

"I hope reading this book will convince you of something:that by surrendering yourself totally to God's purposes, He will bring you the most pleasure in this life and the next."
"the core problem isn't the fact that were lukewarm, half hearted, or stagnant Christians-the crux of it all is why we are this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God."

"This is why we are called to worship Him. His art, His handiwork and His creation all echo the truth that He is glorious. There is no other like Him. He is the King of Kings, the Beginning and the End, the One who was and is to come. "
"In our world, where hundreds o things distract us from God, we have to intentionally and consistently remind ourselves of Him."
"To say that God is holy is to say that He is set apart, distinct from us. And because of His set apart-ness, there is no way we can ever fathom all of who He is"

God is eternal.
"everything, that is, but God. He always has been, since before there was an earth, a universe, or even angels. God exists outside of time, and since we are within time, there is no way we will ever totally grasp that concept.

God is all-knowing.
"Hebrews 14:13 says' Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.' This is the God who takes the time to know all the little details about each of us. He does not have to know us so well, but He chooses to."

God is all-powerful.
"Collossions 1:16 tells us that everything was created for God:'For by Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him."
"Don't we live instead as though God is created for us, to do our bidding, to bless us, and to take care of our needs?"

God is fair and just.
"God never excuses sin. And He is always consistent with that ethic. Whenever we start to question whether God really hates sin, we have only to think of the cross, where His Son was tortured, mocked, and beaten because of sin. Our sin."

"He cannot be contained in this world, explained by our vocabulary, or grasped by our understanding"

If you haven't already- go check out the awe factor video.

Ch 2
"On the average day, we live caught up in ourselves. On the average day, we don't consider God very much. On the average day, we forget that our life truly is a vapor"
James 4:13-14
'Why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.'

Frederick Buechner writes "intellectually we all know that we will die, but we do not really know it in the sense that the knowledge becomes a part of us. We do not really know it in the sense of living as though it were true. On the contrary, we tend to live as though our lives we go on forever."

"When I am consumed by my problems-stressed out about my life, my family, and my job- I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a 'right' to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities."

"Both worry and tress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we've been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we wont be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God's strength, our problems are small, indeed."

"so many of us think and live like the movie of life is all about us"
1 Corinthians 10:31 says 'So whether you ear or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

"to be brutally honest, it doesn't matter what place you find yourself in right now. Your part is to bring Him glory-whether eating a sandwich on a lunch break, drinking coffee at 12:04 a.m. so you can stay awake to study, or watching your four month old take a nap."

"THE POINT OF YOUR LIFE IS TO POINT TO HIM"

"Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His. It is His movie, His world, His gift."

Im debating on if I should keep typing or not... I have a million thoughts running through my mind- Am I pointing others to Him? Am I doing what He wants me to be doing? Should I be serving over seas as a missionary in order to serve Him better? Does my life as a photographer point to Him? Has growing up in church made me ungrateful to how big God is after hearing it my whole life?
For what I think is the first time ever Ive had doubts in my mind- not my heart but in my mind.. His vastness and the fact that He has been since before time is mind boggling and incomprehensible and for the first time I find myself saying-how can this be? is God real? it just doesn't make sense that He would create us on this tiny little planet where all we do is sin and forget about Him and that He would even desire to know us personally and when we are just a vapor that He spent time with us, caring for us, comforting, protecting, guiding us....it just doesn't make sense!! then I hear His still small voice reminding me of His love, His Spirit inside me-speaking to me-how Ive felt Him hold me and have seen Him work in ways that cannot be explained by any other way. How grateful I am for His peace that surpasses understanding!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Sarah

So Ive finished going through Forgotten God and Im really looking forward to starting Crazy Love on Wednesday nights with our small group... Francis Chan blows my mind!
I got some new bookcases and am putting my old ones in a garage sell this weekend-come take a look if your interested =) I realized I have a ton of books!! a lot of which I have not gone through or didn't go through entirely... One that caught my eye is Women of the Bible by Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda... Its pretty interesting to read and learn in depth about each woman and so Ive kind of started reading it during my quiet time with the Lord.
Today's couldn't have been any more perfect for me and where Im at. I actually cant believe Im about to type what Im about to type... some of you might know already- that Chris and I have been 'trying' (trying as in not preventing) to get pregnant again for coming up on a year now. I don't talk about it because I dont want people asking me 'are you pregnant yet' or trying to give me advice on 'how' to make it happen.. Ive wrestled with God and I know He has a plan for us and whatever it is I whole heartedly trust Him that it is perfect.

Today's section was over Sarah and Genesis 17:1-22
"But it is heartening to realize that God accomplishes His purposes despite our frailties, our little faith, our entrenched self-reliance"
"How hard it was for Sarah (and is for us as well) to remember God's promises and to wait for Him to fulfill them. God's promises are revealed and fulfilled in His timing, which is often on a calendar different from our own."
"Waiting patiently for God to work may be one of the most difficult experiences of our Christian walk. We live in an age of the immediate. We think waiting, and doing so quietly, is somehow less worthy, perhaps even a bit lazy. Were great 'do-it-yourselfers' and we often get in God's way when we take things into our own hands"
"Whatever the circumstances, God's timing is the best timing. When your tempted to step in and make things happen on your own, think of Sarah. Her attempts to fulfill God's promise of a son through her servant Hagar had disastrous results. REMEMBER THAT GOD HAS HIS OWN TIMETABLE, AND REST IN THE ASSURANCE THAT HE LOVES YOU AND WILL FULFILL HIS PROMISES TO YOU."

Promises in Scripture:
Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you, He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are who wait for Him. Isaiah 30:18

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7

"Father, thank you for loving me despite the fact that my soul still contains shadows and sometimes block the light of your Spirit. As I grow older, may I trust you more completely for the dreams you've implanted in my soul, the promises you've made to me. Like Sarah, may I be surrounded by laughter at the wonderful way you accomplish your purpose despite my wickedness."