Here is a little book report of the preface and first chapter of a book by Francis Chan (yes, Clint, he's a real person!). The book is called Crazy Love and you should all go buy it and read it and live what it has to say. I pray that this summary is motivating and encouraging to all of you in your desire to see God for who He truly is. God bless!
First off, I find Francis Chan to be incredibly motivating. One thing in particular that i admire is his ability to meditate on God's Word and really pull out the full meaning behind the words. It's something I will continue to aspire towards.
Page 21 "I hope reading this book will convince you of something: that by surrendering youself totally to God's purposes, He will bring you the most pleasure in this life and the next." This has been the cry of my heart for several months now. God has shown this to be true and shown Himself to be faithful in blessing me with unspeakable joy as I continue to seek Him more and more fully. I don't know where it is leading yet, but I know the journey will be a very blessed and joyful one as i seek to know Christ before and above all else!
On page 22 I find it very interesting that Francis gets to the root of the problem. We have an inaccurate view (or at least incomplete) that prevents us from being fully sold out for Christ and the Gospel. As I grow, I see how for so much of my life this was the case and it prevented me from knowing God as He desired me to and also prevented me from sharing Christ and His love with others. What a shame. The reality is, as Chan says, that God demands our everything (Romans 12:1-2). We cannot be half-hearted and we cannot love anything even remotely close to as much as we love God. We must revere God and stand in awe of Him if we ever hope to be useful to the Master.
Chapter 1: Stop Praying
Stop and just stand silently in awe of an unfathomably (I have trouble saying that word, but I can type it easily) big God. He put the stars in the sky, created the Heavens and the Earth, and yet spared no detail when creating the simple caterpillar with 228 separate and distinct muscles in its head! (pg 26,27) God is in control of the macro things, the big picture, and He is in control of the minute details and intricacies of all life on earth! How can we not be floored when we think about how big God is?! And yet I'm with David when he said in Psalm 8:4 "What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" Is it amazing that God not only created us, but He loves us and desires a relationship with every last one of us? How can this be? Because God is that loving! It sounds "crazy!"
Francis asked "Have you ever marveled at it?" I believe this is such a fundamental necessity of a passionate walk with the Lord. If we aren't constantly being reminded of how marvelous God is, how do we sustain a passion for Him, His Word, and the work of His Kingdom? God has shown me just how important it is to stand in awe of Him and His goodness by blessing me with too much to comprehend at times. All things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28) Going forward, I desire to continue to be filled with awe of my God so that I never cease to serve Him with every fiber of my being. Francis says on page 29 that we must be intentional and consistent in reminding ourselves of God. I'm reminded of 2 Peter 1:5-8...if we are adding to our faith virtue and righteousness and brotherly kindness and love and self control...if we possess these and are increasing in them we will not fall. That is comforting and challenging to consider!
Pg. 28 "know this: God will not be tolerated. He instructs us to worship and fear Him." We need to move beyond the comfortable complacent lives that America gives us so readily. They don't let us see God for who He is and they certainly don't allow us to bring Him the glory and honor that He jealously desires.
Pg 30 Francis echoes what I think to be a huge problem: "Because we don't often think about the reality of who God is, we quickly forget that He is worthy to be worshipped and loved." That's the root. The real issue. Let's fix it!
I liked the quote on 30 from Tozer. Portentous...I had to look it up. The thought that illicits the most awe is the thought regarding a man's view of who he perceives God to be. "But what is He like?" Who is God? What are His attributes?
On page 31 Francis says "so to call God 'Holy, Holy, Holy' is to say that He is perfectly set apart, with nothing and no one to compare Himself to." I'm trying to let this sink in. God is that big and I am that small. "He must increase; I must decrease." God is all that matters. His glory, His fame, His love, Himself. If we lose that, we lose everything "for what good is it if a man gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?"
From pp 31,32 the thought that came to me was that we cannot lessen God simply because our feeble human minds are unable to comprehend Him as we want to. It is pride and arrogance to think that we can define who God is...the finite defining the infinite. How stupid can we be? But yet we do this all the time don't we?
There are several other interesting things within the qualities of God that I find amazing. I just keep coming back to how foolish the human race is to put God in a box and redefine the eternally defined Creator because He doesn't fit with what our sinful hearts require Him to be. We already stand condemned and I'm sure this will because brutally honest on the Day of Judgement for those who did not bow in this life to Jesus Christ. It's quite the reason to get to work and share the Gospel, isn't it?!
What was Isaiah's response when he saw God? He fell on his face and he cried out just how sinful he was. Is there any other option when we come before the throne? Thankfully, God loves us too much to allow us to wallow in that misery. He picks us up. Wipes the tears away. Forgives us. Justifies us. Redeems us. Adopts us as sons (and daughters). Wow! Amazing.
So...ending this summary in any way other than the way Chan ends the first chapter would be wrong: pg 38 he writes "The appropriate way to end this chapter is the same way we began it--by standing in awed silence before a mighty, fearsome God, whose tremendous worth becomes even more apparent as we see our own puny selves in comparison."
I've been asking myself this question. Do I desire the kind of love that only God can offer? Am I willing to give up anything and everything that He calls me to surrender for the sake of Him who gave His life for me? As I continue on this journey, I become more and more bold to say "yes!" without hesitation through the power of Christ working in me.
First off, I find Francis Chan to be incredibly motivating. One thing in particular that i admire is his ability to meditate on God's Word and really pull out the full meaning behind the words. It's something I will continue to aspire towards.
Page 21 "I hope reading this book will convince you of something: that by surrendering youself totally to God's purposes, He will bring you the most pleasure in this life and the next." This has been the cry of my heart for several months now. God has shown this to be true and shown Himself to be faithful in blessing me with unspeakable joy as I continue to seek Him more and more fully. I don't know where it is leading yet, but I know the journey will be a very blessed and joyful one as i seek to know Christ before and above all else!
On page 22 I find it very interesting that Francis gets to the root of the problem. We have an inaccurate view (or at least incomplete) that prevents us from being fully sold out for Christ and the Gospel. As I grow, I see how for so much of my life this was the case and it prevented me from knowing God as He desired me to and also prevented me from sharing Christ and His love with others. What a shame. The reality is, as Chan says, that God demands our everything (Romans 12:1-2). We cannot be half-hearted and we cannot love anything even remotely close to as much as we love God. We must revere God and stand in awe of Him if we ever hope to be useful to the Master.
Chapter 1: Stop Praying
Stop and just stand silently in awe of an unfathomably (I have trouble saying that word, but I can type it easily) big God. He put the stars in the sky, created the Heavens and the Earth, and yet spared no detail when creating the simple caterpillar with 228 separate and distinct muscles in its head! (pg 26,27) God is in control of the macro things, the big picture, and He is in control of the minute details and intricacies of all life on earth! How can we not be floored when we think about how big God is?! And yet I'm with David when he said in Psalm 8:4 "What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" Is it amazing that God not only created us, but He loves us and desires a relationship with every last one of us? How can this be? Because God is that loving! It sounds "crazy!"
Francis asked "Have you ever marveled at it?" I believe this is such a fundamental necessity of a passionate walk with the Lord. If we aren't constantly being reminded of how marvelous God is, how do we sustain a passion for Him, His Word, and the work of His Kingdom? God has shown me just how important it is to stand in awe of Him and His goodness by blessing me with too much to comprehend at times. All things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28) Going forward, I desire to continue to be filled with awe of my God so that I never cease to serve Him with every fiber of my being. Francis says on page 29 that we must be intentional and consistent in reminding ourselves of God. I'm reminded of 2 Peter 1:5-8...if we are adding to our faith virtue and righteousness and brotherly kindness and love and self control...if we possess these and are increasing in them we will not fall. That is comforting and challenging to consider!
Pg. 28 "know this: God will not be tolerated. He instructs us to worship and fear Him." We need to move beyond the comfortable complacent lives that America gives us so readily. They don't let us see God for who He is and they certainly don't allow us to bring Him the glory and honor that He jealously desires.
Pg 30 Francis echoes what I think to be a huge problem: "Because we don't often think about the reality of who God is, we quickly forget that He is worthy to be worshipped and loved." That's the root. The real issue. Let's fix it!
I liked the quote on 30 from Tozer. Portentous...I had to look it up. The thought that illicits the most awe is the thought regarding a man's view of who he perceives God to be. "But what is He like?" Who is God? What are His attributes?
On page 31 Francis says "so to call God 'Holy, Holy, Holy' is to say that He is perfectly set apart, with nothing and no one to compare Himself to." I'm trying to let this sink in. God is that big and I am that small. "He must increase; I must decrease." God is all that matters. His glory, His fame, His love, Himself. If we lose that, we lose everything "for what good is it if a man gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?"
From pp 31,32 the thought that came to me was that we cannot lessen God simply because our feeble human minds are unable to comprehend Him as we want to. It is pride and arrogance to think that we can define who God is...the finite defining the infinite. How stupid can we be? But yet we do this all the time don't we?
There are several other interesting things within the qualities of God that I find amazing. I just keep coming back to how foolish the human race is to put God in a box and redefine the eternally defined Creator because He doesn't fit with what our sinful hearts require Him to be. We already stand condemned and I'm sure this will because brutally honest on the Day of Judgement for those who did not bow in this life to Jesus Christ. It's quite the reason to get to work and share the Gospel, isn't it?!
What was Isaiah's response when he saw God? He fell on his face and he cried out just how sinful he was. Is there any other option when we come before the throne? Thankfully, God loves us too much to allow us to wallow in that misery. He picks us up. Wipes the tears away. Forgives us. Justifies us. Redeems us. Adopts us as sons (and daughters). Wow! Amazing.
So...ending this summary in any way other than the way Chan ends the first chapter would be wrong: pg 38 he writes "The appropriate way to end this chapter is the same way we began it--by standing in awed silence before a mighty, fearsome God, whose tremendous worth becomes even more apparent as we see our own puny selves in comparison."
I've been asking myself this question. Do I desire the kind of love that only God can offer? Am I willing to give up anything and everything that He calls me to surrender for the sake of Him who gave His life for me? As I continue on this journey, I become more and more bold to say "yes!" without hesitation through the power of Christ working in me.
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