Recently I began listening to the book “Forgotten God.” This is a book written by Francis Chan and I am listening to an audio version while I run. I am now on chapter 5. It is a very good book with the basic idea that we forget the Holy Spirit. What do you think? Do you think we forget the Holy Spirit? I have to agree.
The audio version begins with an interview with Francis Chan and he points out that so many times we talk about knowing God’s will but are we willing to follow? For example, what if God’s will is for you to talk with your neighbor? In one of the first few chapters Chan gives the illustration of speaking with a close friend about God’s will and the Holy Spirit. His friend said that he is honestly afraid to know God’s will. Yet, we have the Holy Spirit and Chan laments that, though we have the Holy Spirit with us, why are we no different than those who do not have the Holy Spirit. He gives an illustration of basketball. What if we had a great basketball player with us and in us? Wouldn’t we play better?
I am enjoying this book. You can find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=forgotten+god&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4644125067&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8248215081865792886&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_26evt91xuj_e
I was able to download the audio version for two weeks from the library.
I have to admit that my church background has neglected the Holy Spirit. Others would say we have to have balance. Chan points out, “I have never met someone with too much of the Holy Spirit.” We must avoid the mistakes of “balance” in the Christian life. I think community and the Holy Spirit are struggling in our American Christianity. Over the last year, my belief of tongues as a spiritual gift has been challenged, challenged by God. This is because I experienced it in several prayer meetings. Someone spoke in tongues and Meagan interpreted. The Spirit is active and we must not put Him in a box. He is God, not an “it.” God is with us. (John 14-17)

On another note:
This past week I have dealt with a sick child. Mercedes Grace has graced us with her vomit, repeatedly. It all started on Wednesday night and it was a long night. (I am getting to an application.) Mercedes went to sleep at about midnight after vomiting all her drinks and food. We went to sleep soon after. But just after 3 she woke up screaming. She went back to sleep for a minute, but soon woke up again screaming and screaming and screaming. We got her out of her crib and she went for the refrigerator. The poor child was so thirsty as she had nothing in her. We gave her three ounces of pedialyte. She drank it up and guess what? Within a few minutes Meagan was wearing it. Mercedes went back to sleep until just after 7 AM. She woke up thirsty. This time Meagan gave her a tablespoon of pedialyte and we waited for 10 minutes and then gave her another tablespoon and then an ounce and then more. But in between those small doses she screamed and screamed. She wanted more. Poor Mercedes didn’t know, nor could she know why we couldn’t give her more. Here is the point: How big is your view of God? Do you really believe that He alone knows what is best? We knew that we couldn’t give Mercedes that much at once, but she couldn’t understand. God knows what is best for us, even when we cannot understand. Do you trust God? Mercedes has to trust us, and hopefully we will trust God. This past week I read something very interesting: (This is from James MacDonald)
John Piper’s book, Let the Nations Be Glad, says, “Charles Misner, a scientific specialist in general relativity theory, expressed Albert Einstein’s skepticism over the church with words that should awaken all of us to the shallowness of our worship of God. The design of the universe is very magnificent and shouldn’t be taken for granted. In fact, I believe that is why Einstein had so little use for organized religion, although he strikes me as basically a very religious man. He must have looked at what the preachers said about God and felt that they were blaspheming. He had seen so much more majesty than they had ever imagined and they were just not talking about the real thing. My guess is that he simply felt that religion he’d run across did not have proper respect for the author of the universe.” He goes on and gives some details. “Scientists . . . know that the galaxy of which our solar system is a part is 100,000 light years across, about 587,000 trillion miles. It’s one of about a million such galaxies in the optical range of our most powerful telescopes.” And every time they get a more powerful telescope they go, “Oooh! There’s more?”
We who believe the Bible know this even better than scientists. If there is a personal God who spoke this universe into being, then there is a certain respect, reverence, wonder, and dread that we should have when we come together to talk about Him and to worship Him. But the tragic fact is that we have been deifying man and humanizing God for so long that we see worship as just kind of a step up. We’re worshiping a God who’s just slightly more exalted than us. And that is such a painful and small way to live our lives. It’s time for the people of God to rise up and recognize the foolishness of living for our own exalted nonsense. Instead, we can live for God’s agenda, which is the exaltation of Jesus Christ. There are only two kinds of people in this world: those who are seeking to exalt themselves, and those who are living for God’s agenda. We are most alive when we live for God’s agenda and most miserable when we do not.
—James MacDonald
Have a blessed week!