Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Hidden Talent...

On a winter afternoon Harry de Leyer returned from an auction with a big gray horse that his children named “Snowman.” He was a good riding horse, but when a neighbor offered Harry twice the amount he had paid for Snowman, Harry agreed. But he soon regretted his decision as did Snowman. And that’s when Snowman’s hidden talent showed up! The neighbor’s fences were high, but Snowman repeatedly jumped them to be with Harry and his family. So Harry decided to buy Snowman back - and the rest is history. Snowman kept winning championships until the ultimate dream, The National at Madison Square Garden, where he was named “Horse of the Year” two years running. Snowman was a jumper, but nobody would have known had it not been for the fences that separated Snowman from Harry. And Snowman had every reason to be grateful, because Harry had arrived late at the auction that day after the best horses were sold. The big gray gelding that became Snowman was rescued from the only other bidder…a man who intended him for the glue factory.

I just love this story and the fact that it's true makes it all the more amazing! The Psalmist said, “The Lord…redeems your life from destruction.” (Psalm 103:2-4) Amen for that truth! When others write you off, God sees what you can become. Andrew Bonar said: “Kept by the mighty power of God…every day we escape dangers we’re not aware of…if we…saw the snares the enemy lays for us…how we’d adore the Lord who enables us to escape them all.”

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Forgotten God by Francis Chan

Reading this book (Forgotten God) probably won’t be easy. No matter what tradition you come from, you likely carry baggage and harbor stereotypes when it comes to the Holy Spirit. It’s going to require laying aside your baggage and stereotypes so you can be open to what God is trying to teach you. Are you willing to do that? ~ Francis Chan

What Crazy Love does to challenge Christians to rise out of comfortable and lukewarm faith, Forgotten God does to upend Christians’ agenda for keeping the Holy Spirit tame and in-check. Throughout the book’s 7 chapters, I found myself making frequent stops to, literally, do a double-take, re-reading a paragraph or point and high-lighting it, or diving for my bible.

By the end of the book, I left Forgotten God with more desire, and more places exposed. This is not a spiritual self-help book, instead I think it's a ‘discover more about God’ book that, if approached honestly and openly, will result in a deeper understanding, a deeper relationship with God the Holy Spirit. I highly recommend this book!!

Here's a great take away quote:
Nowhere in scripture do I see “balanced life with a little bit of God added in” as an ideal for us to emulate. Yet when I look at our churches this is exactly what I see: a lot of people who have added Jesus to their lives. People who have in a sense asked Him to join them on their life journey and follow them wherever they feel they should go, rather than following Him as we are commanded. The God of the universe is not something we can just add to our lives and keep on as we did before. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives. Jesus Christ did not die in order to follow us, He died and rose again so that we could forget everything else and follow Him to the cross, to true Life.