by Francis Chan
Wow! Talk about eye opening and challenging words from Chan. Just as good as his first "Crazy Love."The introduction offers a glimpse into what is to come in the following chapters...
"There is a gap between what we read in Scripture about the Holy Spirit and how most believers and churches operate today."
Chan dares to say - The light of the American Church is flickering and nearly extinguished, having largely sold out to the kingdoms and values of this world. Hmmm, interesting thoughts. I think he's on to something.
Here is a short 'lesson' from his seminary days:
Exegsis: an attempt to discover the meaning of the text objectively, starting with the text and moving out from there.
Eisegesis: to import a subjective, preconceived meaning into the text.
He says we can easily pursue just about any lifestyle and then find Scripture to show it's right...But, what would it look like to live exegetically? If we always start with Scripture and allow it to dictate our actions - how would we live? How would we represent His church?
Bottom Line -- you need to check out this book - it's a great read and will push you to examine how you're allowing the Spirit to work and live in your life - scary yes, but necessary to this Christian walk!
One example I want to leave with you (and it's something I'm focusing on too):
"This may be a silly illustration, but if I told you I had an encounter with God where He entered my body and gave me a supernatural ability to play basketball, wouldn't you expect to see an amazing improvement in my jump shot, my defense, and my speed on the court? After all, this is God we're talking about. And if you saw no change in my athleticism, wouldn't you question the validity of my 'encounter'?
Churchgoers all across the nation say the Holy Spirit has entered them. They claim that God has given them a supernatural ability to follow Christ, put their sin to death, and serve the church. Christians talk about being born again and say that they were dead but now have come to life. We have become hardened to those words, but they are powerful words that have significant meaning. Yet when those outside the church see no difference in our lives, they begin to question our integrity, our sanity, or even worse, our God. And can you blame them?"
In The Spirit,
~C
1 comment:
All I have to say is 'it's about time'! I was wondering when you were going to get around to reading this amazing book. Glad you enjoyed it.
I look forward to his next book.
Post a Comment