Book 2 has begun. If you missed, check it out: Ch. 1 & 2: Genie , Ch. 3 & 4: Yoel,
Ch. 5 & 6: Stacie
Chapter 7: You're Best Life, Later:
Chan states that we need to make a distinct choice: to either just live life OR actively run to Christ. There is "Beauty in a deep walk with Christ."
I love that he bases a lot of this chapter off of Hebrews 11- The Hall of Faith. Woopee!!
What should or does our life look like daily? When we look at the "Hall of Faithers" :) do we feel that we would never be as "spiritual" as them?
Chan reminds us that all had their mistakes, failures, etc... but they ALL trusted and had faith in God. "By faith.."v. 17
Faith: doing what others see as crazy... And when we think of all the "hall of faithers" were called to do, it was a huge leap of faith.
Chan: "Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers"
Vs. 35-38: The martyrs... "the world was not worthy of them"-- read hebrews 11: man it is incredible!
Bottom line is these believers had faith in a real God; they obeyed to the end- even if they saw what was promised or not...they gained a better resurrection.
There is so much to write, but as condensed as possible, Chan shares what love is..It is based around Christ's two commandments: love God with all & love others. He talks about what if we take the Bible literally. Giving and loving. "As we love more genuinely & deeply, giving comes more naturally, taking becomes unattractive." Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. Just dwell on that for a while. Live a life of reckless abandon. Compassion. Loving the poor, the weak, the lost.
Chapter 8: Profile of the Obsessed:
Obsession: "to have the mind excessively pre-occupied with a single emotion or topic."
Lovers: obsessed with true love; a kind only found in Christ. [Luke 6:32-36; Luke 14:12-14] Be willing to forgive and LOVE those who have hurt you.
Risk Takers: obsessed with God's kingdom.
We have all prayed on a trip, "God protect us. Put your angels around this car..etc." We need to pray "whatever it takes" prayers.
Friend for All: obsessed to connect their lives to the poor in some way.
Chan saying here that we need to be intentional to meet people not like us who are in need.
Crazy Ones: obsessed to obey God rather than doing what is expected or fulfilling to status quo
Chan shares his selling of his house for a smaller one. Everyone thought he was crazy. But he asks "who really is the crazy one?" Those gladly sacrificing time, house, comfort are trusting in God's promises.
The Humble: obsessed with knowing the sin of pride is always a battle. Fight pride with focused prayer
Servers: obsessed with knowing that serving is not a burden.
Chan used to "work" hard to show commitment to God. Now he has realized he serves out of being madly in love with Christ.
Givers: obsessed with giving to those in need.. not takers
Soul Journers: obsessed with thinking about Heaven frequently.
Ex. of his wife's grandma: at a play. He asks her if she enjoys it. She answers "I don't know if this is where I want to be if Christ returns."
Engrossed: obsessed with a committed, settled, passionate love for God above & before every other thing & every other being [Deut. 6:4-9]
Unguarded Ones: obsessed with being RAW with God. To have true intimacy with God, we need to be "naked" before Him.
The Rooted: obsessed with meditating on the Word with delight, not out of religion or schedule.
The Dedicated: obsessed/more concerned with his/her character than comfort
Sacrificers: [Psalm 50:9-12;14] just being faithful to our Savior in every aspect of our daily lives
After listening to these chapters [free audio book here] I'm not sure how I felt. I don't know if I agree or disagree with some of the ideas shared. I appreciate Chan's heart to live a totally unselfish, abandoned life. I get what he is saying. Like he said, many accept salvation to get a spot in Heaven and forget that there is a life that needs to be lived for Him. Jesus told the disciples to leave ALL and follow Him. I guess I was torn between what is over spiritualized and what is just getting and living out the two commandments. Well, you decide if you want to read or listen to the chapters and expand your thoughts for discussion.
Follow Miguel's blog tomorrow as he ends the last two chapters.
7 comments:
That was my contention w/ this book too. Though I do rank it high in my list of Fav Christian Books, I struggled w/ the premise of super-spiritualizing my life, at the expense of not being approachable & real w/ lost & hurting sheep. I abhor the word "deep" - when I look at all the lost & hurting sheep around, they don't need someone to make them "deep sheep." They simply need someone to get them to Jesus.
The “Profile of the Obsessed” is interesting. We can’t be all things to all people. I think it’s important to identify which profile fits best and be the best at it for His glory.
Thankyou leadhers. I almost feel like I didn't leave much from for discussion, bit thanks for getting something. I'm glad the book leaves me asking questions and struggle with (in a good way) what it Really means to follow Christ and the stakes that it will take .. Even to death. Thanks!!
Not much room for discussion here ... j/k
I'm with ya on this Marcy ...
it's so tough to set a standard like Chan does .. and spiritualize it for the masses ... all the things he says are accurate and good --- but its a process of what God is doing in His life and at his church. Not a new standard or rule set for all churches , leaders & believers ...
If God is tugging at my heart to give more or to serve more ... then yes. Its God's work in me and the stage I'm in, the process.. ... but to discount all who dont or havent given as much or who haven't sold it all is unfair...
Its also difficult to be consistent with an approach like that ... I mean .. does Chan drive to conferences instead of fly , does he eat at fast food joints instead of sit down dinners , does he wear hand me downs instead of new clothes... I dunno ... our passion and motives must be authentic - and I'm sure his are. But it differs for all. Should i feel guilt if I do any of those things ? I dunno ... its a personal sanctification process and part of life stages.
I'm fired by Chan's passion .. and it is contagious because yes we are OVERWHELMED by a RELENTLESS GOD !
good review MArcy.
Thanks for your honesty on this one. I believe we always need to strive to be our best for God in all areas. At the same time I understand and see how some can struggle with Chan's take on some of this. We are all gifted in different ways and we should strive to reach our potential in all areas but especially the ones we are gifted in. Some of us will rise higher than others in specific areas. That is the beauty of God gifts for us. When we put it all together we make up this incredible thing called the church.
I think he meets his objective in that he has got all of us questioning and thinking through the "profile" - isn't that the point after all, to make us uncomfortable? I say think each one through carefully before dismissing or accepting.
Then we each must ask, Lord, what are you whispering to me right now?
The tricky part here is when we want to prescribe God's Rx to me, to others! Or to mix metaphors, I really think God has a personalized training program for each of us, and we get in trouble when we think everyone else should be doing the same exercises as us! And that goes for the entire spectrum of believers...
Im glad i wasnt alone in the mixed feelings of it all!? at the end of the day, it comes down to feeling & acting on those God nudges...& fulfilling the potential we each have in Him. -L
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