Hi there friends! Are you as excited as I am to journey through this Crazy Love study?! The time is finally here!
This book was very difficult to section off into daily reading assignments. So if you have any questions about what to read and when, please leave a comment or email me at Jennifer@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.
On tap for today is reading the Foreword written by Chris Tomlin and the Preface written by our author, Francis Chan. There are so many convicting things just in these few pages. I practically highlighted every word! I thought about sharing some passages here with you, but I want you to read it for yourself first and soak in every word. Read through the foreword and preface a couple of times. Let it marinate. Ask the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and speak to you. Be open and willing to change; to think differently. This book very well could change your life.
So, without further ado, here is the rest of our week one reading assignment!
WEEK ONE
Sunday, January 6th: Foreword/Preface/Chapter 1 Reading Assignment (Jennifer)
Monday, January 7th: Chapter 1 “Stop Praying” pgs. 25-26 (Megan)
Tuesday, January 8th: Chapter 1 “Stop Praying” pgs. 27-28 (Martha)
Wednesday, January 9th: Chapter 1 “Stop Praying” pgs. 29-34 (end at Before the Throne) (Donna)
Thursday, January 10th: Chapter 1 “Stop Praying” pgs. 34-38 (start at Before the Throne) (Jennifer)
Friday, January 11th: Chapter 1 “Stop Praying” Weekly Review and Chapter 1 Study Video from YouTube (Megan)
Let’s pray: Father we bow before you, hearts and minds open and alive in hopeful expectation for what You have for us in this study. Please reveal to us each, individually, the crazy, powerful, immense love that You have for us. Help us to release our doubts and fears to You and receive this love that You so freely give. Show us how to live boldly for You and allow You to do amazing things in and through us. We are at your feet, Lord. In Jesus holy and precious name we pray, Amen!
Your Assignment: Tell us one part of the Foreword or Preface that tugged at your heart. It can be one line, one paragraph, or more. I’d love to know what the Lord brought to your heart as your read these pages. Once you comment here, head on over to our Facebook group and let’s talk some more!
Page 22: The core problem isn't the fact that we're lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Chrisitians. The crux of it all is why are we this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God. (I pray I be moved and removed into a place of a view of God I have never seen before in my lifetime – -I am hungry for more of Him.)
location 160 on kindle (not sure of page):You've probably heard the expression "I believe in God, just not organized religion." I don't think people would say that if the church truly lived like we are called to live. The expression would change to "I can't deny what the church does, but I don't believe in their God." ( I don't want to give anyone an excuse not to believe in God… The more hungry for him I am… the more I will love him… the more I will spend time with him… the more I will be like him…the more I will reflect him to others_ O Lord more of you)
Yes, yes! I underlined that one, too!! Less of ME, more of YOU. AMEN!
Amen Martha! That stood out to me, too! I stand in agreement with your prayer for each and every one of us!
In reply to Martha,
Page 22: The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Chrisitians. The crux of it all is why are we this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God. (I pray I be moved and removed into a place of a view of God I have never seen before in my lifetime – -I am hungry for more of Him.)
I believe this statement,, I feel too many people limit God in their lives, and don't realize how big He really is! They do not realize how much He loves us, having said that, it would keep our faith small,, we need to stop limiting God!
I have a Kindle Fire and there are no page numbers but it is location 132. Frances Chan says "I think it's far too easy to blame the American church without acknowledging that we are each part of the church and therefore responsible. But I think we all feel deeply, even if we haven't voice it, that the church in many ways in not doing well. I get nervous when I think of how we've missed who we are supposed to be, and sad when I think about how we're missing out on all that God wants for the people He loved enough to die for." This says a lot of why I am doing online studies. Our church has made some changes, not necessarily bad ones, but ones that I do not want to participate in so I am doing my growing through studies like this one. I believe that we are responsible for ourselves and how we get to this Crazy Love, not the church. The church is there to facilitate, it is up to us to do the thinking.
That is true, Jackie. We have to feed ourselves to grow in our faith. I'm so glad you are participating in this study with us. This is one of the sections that struck me, too. Praying we all find this Crazy Love and experience it to the full. <3
The part that spoke to my heart today was where he talks about how he believes that "God wants us to love others so much that we go to extremes to help them. I believe He wants us to be known for giving–of our time, our money, and our abilities–and to start a movement of 'giving' churches." Our church has been dying for several years and are in the process of retooling, but this is truly what we need to do for the people of our community. Looking forward to more.
one statement that pastor chan made that i SO appreciated was "Don’t worry—this isn’t another book written to bash churches. I think it’s far too easy to blame the American church without acknowledging that we are each part of the church and therefore responsible." yes, Lord, i am the way i am 'cause i have chosen to be the way i am. please, Lord, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me…restore to me the joy of Your salvation! (psalms 51:10, 12).
echoing your prayers, jennifer and martha! amen! <3
More of Him, less of Me! That's is truly my focus this year, and during this study!
Amen Christi!!
More of Him and less of me,, This is my prayer for this bible study and for my life in general,, I am excited to move forward with this study,, should be really good!
Page 18 location 140. " When ever I failed ( which was often), I'd walk around feeling guilty an distant from God. In hindsight, I don't think my church's teachings were incorrect, just incomplete. My view of God was narrow and small" I often use my own failings to pull back from God either due to feeling guilty that I don't do enough, pray enough, read my bible enough. I am starting to realize that I can't use these excuses to live in the world apart from God. I worry about being the example to my family and friends that I " should" be. What I need to focus on is my relationship with Him and the rest will fall into place.
I'm borrowing from Coleen's post above. It fits me perfectly. Lord, i am the way i am ’cause I have chosen to be the way i am. please, Lord, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me…restore to me the joy of Your salvation! (psalms 51:10, 12).
I have a Kindle Fire, so I hope my page numbers are right, it was location is 154, where it says I believe He wants us to be known for giving of our time, our money, and our abilities – and to start a movement of "giving" churches. In so doing, we can alleviate the suffering in the world and change the reputation of His bride in America. It made me think, how much am I "giving"? Giving of myself when I feel comfortable and in my church is easy, but what am I doing to give at all times, no matter what the circumstances? I have realized that I gotten comfortable and complacent in my walk.
The two things that stood out to me the most and made me think was the description of Francis Chan by Chris Tomlin, where he said that Francis is "the ultimate realist…someone who believes that God is really who He says He is and that the true reality of this life is to follow Him wholeheartedly"….I want to be an ultimate realist and for my Lord to see that I follow Him wholeheartedly and not just as someone who "manages to fit Him into their lives in some small way." If God is my life, why isn't He taking up more of it? Why am I letting the cares and stresses of this world weigh on me and prevent me from living up to who He wants me to be. The second line that just rocks my core is "But you will have a choice: to adjust to how you live daily or to stay the same." When I think of staying the same, I think of being stagnant. For me, being the same isn't a good thing. I need change. Want change. I want 2013 to be a defining moment in my life where I can pin point letting go and picking up my cross for Him.
So much conviction in your words, Melissa! You ladies are really amazing!! Loving this study already! I definitely let cares and stresses of the world weigh on me at times and it prevents me from being who I know He wants me to be. 2013 is time for a REVIVAL, a time for RENEWAL, a time for CHANGE! Let's do it!
Page 16 location 113…"absolute craziness to the world. Sure, it's fine and politically correct to believe in G-d, but to really love Him is a whole different story."
It would be nice if more and more people realize what they will have with Jesus.
Absolutely! We'll keep lifting them up in prayer and trusting that God is wooing them as I know He is!! 🙂
What stood out to me is when he said "We forget that God never had an identity crisis. He knows that He's great and deserves to be the center of our lives. Jesus came humbly as a servant, but He never begs us to give Him some small part of ourselves. He commands everything from His followers."
This is who I want to be. This is where I want God to take me. (if that makes sense.)
I loved that line. I love that God does not rely on me!
Yes, I totally understand, Becky! Jesus is a gentleman. He's not going to push His way into our lives. He wants us to give of ourselves to Him…all of us.
I have to share what spoke to me in a big way today. I was sitting in my husband's car reading the preface and listening to the radio at the same time. While I am reading page 17 "Change, as we know, is uncomfortable. It's up to you to respond ….." the song "Change" by Tracy Chapman came on. She sings "if you knew you would die today, if you saw the face of God and love, would you change? Would you change?
I guess God wants me to change! He always amazes me!
Wow! Chill bumps. I love when God shows up like that…that's amazing, Cathy!!
I actually started my reading about midnight last night (couldn't wait till day break:) Read the intro and forward. It may be hard for me to stay on reading plan due to fact I'm reading from my nook, not the book. So pages may be different. One part that really spoke to me was when the author stated that "my view of God was narrow and small". I think often, my (and probably most people) view of God is very narrow and limited to our human understanding. I am in awe sometimes when I stop and really reflect on the creation and all that God has done and is doing in our world. He is not limited or narrow in any way.
No He's not. And I think this book is going to reveal to us, at least in some way, how big He really is. We can just look at creation itself and see how big He is. That's just mind-boggling to me in itself! 😀 Definitely awe-inspiring!
On page 20, Frances states: "I get nervous when I think of how we've missed who we are supposed to be, and sad when I think about how we're missing out on all that God wants for the people He loved enough to die for." Maybe I am misunderstanding what he is saying, but how do we measure if we are missing out on who we are supposed to be? Has anyone attained who we are supposed to be? Who in todays world is an example of what Frances is saying? I stated a couple days ago on the fb page that what I have felt reading this book is guilt and condemnation from Frances, like we have not been good enough.. all lukewarm. I don't know.. I must be missing something. I know I have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, but I do love the Lord.
We all fall short. I just think it is important that we don't fall off. It is a journey and there are bumps along the way. We can't live in guilt of not being good enough or measuring up to others' standards, otherwise, grace has no place to work. God gives us grace.
Hi Karen <3 Christine is certainly on the right track. We are all a work in progress… we are human after all 🙂 What is important is that we always (every single day) strive to be our best and grow closer in our relationship with the Lord. The more intimate our relationship with Him, the more in tuned we will be to what His perfect will for us is and will live accordingly. We will mess up and we will fall short, but it is so important to always gtive our best and be quick to repent when needed.
What I love about these studies is that the Lord will speak to each of us individually and He will meet us right where we are. God created each of us with a plan and a purpose for our life and the closer we can walk with Him, the closer we will be to realizing His plan for us. That is how I interpreted the author's words. God does not measure us or condemn us for the blood of Jesus washed us clean. I think the author wants us to understand that God loves us SO much..that He has this CRAZY, unconditional love for us…the kind of love which led Him to send His Son to die for us…but oftentimes we just rush through the day and try to fit God in somewhere where it is convenient…when He should be our sole focus. That's what I got out of those words. Let the Lord speak to you through this study. No guilt. No condemnation. Romans 8:1. <3
What spoke to me is To Love is a commandment & should be honored we all need to take the time and learn just what love is. We can't blame or finger point until we deal with ourselves first.
Amen. Thanks for commenting and joining the study, Anne!
We are going to look at how the Bible calls us to live our lives. It is
important that we not measure our spiritual health by the people around
us, who are pretty much like us.To begin this journey, we’ll first address
our inaccurate view of God and, consequently, of ourselves.
But before we look at what is wrong and address it, we need to
understand something. The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re
lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians
YIKES if MY view of God and myself is incorrect, what am I "showing" others about God?
Patti….LOVE your last statement! Amen Sister!!!
It is definitely something to think about, for sure!! Thankful for His grace every day! 😀
What I truly loved is on Pg. 23 "but you will have a choice: to adjust how you live daily or to stay the same". I DO NOT want to stay the same…as I grow in The Lord and dig In His Word change will come from Him thru me….and I thank God for the new ways He has ready and set to show me in this new Year 2013
BEVERLY!! Hi girlfriend! I hope you are doing well. Yes, we do have a choice, don't we? I don't want to stay the same either!!! So happy to see your face! 🙂
Oh my goodness!!! I am blown away by all of these amazing comments! I am so thankful that each of you was lead to do this study alongside us! God is so good!!! 🙂
<3 <3 God is rocking our worlds… I'm loving it! <3 <3
highlighted. agreed upon.
The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. The crux of it all is why we are this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God. We see Him as a benevolent Being who is satisfied when people manage to fit Him into their lives in some small way. We forget that God never had an identity crisis. He knows that He’s great and deserves to be the center of our lives. Jesus came humbly as a servant, but He never begs us to give Him some small part of ourselves. He commands everything from His followers.
Chan, Francis (2010-01-01). Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (p. 20). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.
We started a sermon series today called "Breathing Room" … it's about life organization. Going through life with jam-packed schedules, paycheck to paycheck, with very little "room to breathe" is a definite sign of lack of trust in God. Fear is the biggest obstacle to that infinite, absolute trust in God. Fear of missing out. Fear of falling behind. Fear of not mattering.
God is bigger than anything we want to add to our plates. God is bigger than our imaginations. We limit God, therefore we end up missing out, falling behind, and not mattering.
So where are we going with our too-busy lives? When are WE (so including myself in that WE) going to realize that if WE put God first (Matthew 6:33), HE will give US everything else that WE need?
Amen, amen, amen Carlyn. He is bigger than all things! Beautifully said. I just keep reading your words over and over1
What really spoke to me was on page 21…" I believe He wants us to love others so much that we go to extremes to help them. I believe He wants us to be known for giving-of our time, our money, and our abilities-and to start a movement of "giving" churches."
The church is a wonderful place of love, but all too often we find that we love our fellow members and don't love those who really need to see and experience God's love. It is comfortable to do for our fellow brothers and sisters as we know they understand and appreciate our demonstration of God's love, but very difficult to face rejection or receive no appreciation for actions from those who may have never received an act of genuine love and compassion. We need to stretch beyond the comfortable and starting loving everyone who comes across our path.
Amen Cindy. This reminds me of Jesus and the woman at the well.. He reached out to the lost and to those in need. Our demonstrations of love flow out of our love for God and His love in us, regardless of who the person is He wants us to reach!
P23, the last sentence: "But you will have a choice: to adjust how you live daily or to stay the same."
My whole being screams, "I don't want to stay the same."
I think that's good! 🙂 Me too! Glad you are on the journey with us! I think we will all be changed by it!
This is twice today that I have heard the church is not doing its job. The sad part is, I think we often think of the church as "them" and really it is "us". We are the church, so what we need to see is that we aren't doing it right. I don't want to do things wrong, so I pray I begin to do right and hopefully by God's grace, we the church begin again to do things right.
Amen, Christine. <3
I think this study is going to move us into that place, Sherry. A place where we will see how big He really is! And even then, it may even be beyond our human comprehension!! Once we realize how big He is and how much love He has for all of us, we will be moved to worship and desire to live solely for Him! So excited for this study!!!
Absolutely… Jesus came to seek the lost and bring them to Himself. He went to extremes to help people when it was considered "crazy" at the time. Why not us, too? Thanks for your comment!! Glad you are joining us in the study!
Amen! Yes, Coleen…that one hit me right in the gut.. praying that prayer right along with you!
Amen!!! <3
We are so glad you are joining us!!! <3
Patricia, I loved what you said: "I worry about being the example to my family and friends that I "should" be. What I need to focus on is my relationship with Him and the rest will fall into place." WOW! I struggle with this so very much!! I really needed that reminder today. Thanks so much for sharing your heart. You really blessed me today. <3
It is so hard to step out of our comfort zone, but with God, all things are possible. Once we journey through this book together, I have a feeling we'll all be doing crazy things for Him our of awe and reverence for who He is! So glad you are joining us in this study, Nicole!! 🙂
We need to stop giving people excuses not to believe in God. You’ve probably heard the expression “I believe in God, just not organized religion.” I don’t think people would say that if the church truly lived like we are called to live. The expression would change to “I can’t deny what the church does, but I don’t believe in their God.”
Christianity was simple: fight your desires in order to please God. Whenever I failed (which was often), I’d walk around feeling guilty and distant from God. In hindsight, I don’t think my church’s teachings were incorrect, just incomplete. My view of God was narrow and small.
Chan, Francis (2010-01-01). Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (pp. 19-20). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.
I was first came to know God as a teen when my father and step-mother began going to church. That only lasted two years and my divorced family didn't model a Godly lifestyle or know God personally themselves thus they couldn't teach us children how to view God and how to develop a relationship with Him. You went to church to confess your sins, spending much of the time feeling horrible for being such a lousy person then gossiping about everyone who had a prayer request. It was best to have an unspoken request. As I teen I was confused by all these adults acting in contradiction to what the Bible said. Even in my early twenties when I found a church on my own I was hesitant to trust anyone. After I became very involved in the church I realized there were many double standards and hypocritical actions going on there as well. Both of my church experiences left me very confused and I was one of those whom said I don't believe in organized religion, but I believe in god and Christ died on the Cross for our sins. For these reasons and fundamentally not understanding who God is I was angry at Him for a lot of things that happened in my childhood. I turned my back on Him because I felt He had lied and turned His back on me. I had believed to the measure of faith He had given, I had confessed my sins, I needed Him, I wanted to know Him and there was nothing…..no mentoring people to grow me up in Christ, no accountability sisters, nothing when I read the Bible because I confused me so. It hasn't been until very recently that I have began to understand who God is and what this life is all about. I realize now that the church is for the sick, and we are all sinners, but we must do a better job of shepherding the ones God has called. My goal in doing this Bible study is tobetter learn who God is, to draw closer to Him, having a more intimate realtionship with Him. Thus better equipping me to share the Truth about who He is, that He is real and how He is real to others that He puts across my path.
The part that really spoke to me today was where it said What I find interesting is the simple thought that the Christians didn't name themselves. But rather they were called (or named) "Christians" by those watching their lives. I wonder if it would be the same today. Could someone look at my life and name me a Christian?
Does my outward life, actions, words, etc reflect the inward love for God in my heart?
"by surrendering yourself totally to God's purposes, He will bring you the most pleasure in this life and the next". Surrender is my word this year and just when I thought I had totally surrendered to Him 😉 Also "think biblically rather than conventionally". It's funny because our sermon today was about how we view ourselves, thru our own eyes or thru God's eyes. The pastor was encouraging us to change our perspective of ourselves to view ourselves biblically rather than conventionally
The statement that stood out to me in the preface was: "Jesus came humbly as a servant, but He never begs us to give Him some small part of ourselves. He commands everything from His followers.” This book is going to be good!
In today's reading, these words stuck with me. "The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him." The video made me say, "Wow God!"
Amen. I don't think God cares much for "religion" either, to be quite honest. He just wants us to love Him with all of our hearts and commit to follow Him with everything we have. I'm so glad you are joining this study with us. Thanks for sharing your heart.
That really struck me, too, Janet. What would someone say if they looked at my life?! Definitely gives me pause, for sure!!
🙂 I love it when we get the same message multiple times in many different places! I guess the Lord is trying to tell you something, huh?! 😉
It sure is!! I can't wait to dig in more and more!
“The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him.” – I liked/highlighted that statement. As I watched the video, I couldn't help but think, "What is man that thou art mindful of him"? Our God is an awesome God!
Definitely. It's incredible, isn't it?! It just leaves me speechless.
Yes! the video was awesome, it truly makes one be so humbled and think– just how small and insignificant we are in the whole scheme of things,, like my hubby would say,, It's not all about you, Sherry,, yeah, I can be pretty self centered at time 🙁 Our God is so big! Let us not put a limit on Him!
I know I am several days behind. All the comments I have read stuck out to me when I read the preface.
The statement that hit home for me was: It is important that we not measure our spiritual health by the people around us, who are pretty much like us.
I am always comparing myself to others and trying to measure up to their standards and not my own.
I'm late as well, but the major statement for me was also, "It is important that we not measure our spiritual health by the people around us, who are pretty much like us." I'm so guilty of that. I get so upset about not being able to pray like others. It really bothers me but I need to stop focusing on them.
The last paragraph on page 23 because as we learn more about our God through this study and in his word we and others should notice change in ourselves and NOT continue to stay the same. Thank you Lord for Change