November 25, 2024

Crazy Love: Chapter 6 – When You’re in Love (pgs 109-111)

February 14, 2013 by

Back when we were married for just a few years, my husband had to change jobs. It was a good move, but in the first month we were strapped for cash.

The bills came in and we were able to pay all of them but one. It was a daunting $100 (back then that was a lot of money to us)!  We didn’t have it.

So we prayed and told God that we wanted to be good stewards of our money, but we just couldn’t pay that one. We went to church that week and told God that we couldn’t do it without Him.  We made a plan to make up for it in the coming weeks, but the bill would be late.

It was hardest on my husband as he was never late with his bills. While we were discussing how we were going to pay this bill in the future, I kid you not, there was a knock on our door.

It was one of the deacons from our church. He handed us an envelope and said someone was told by God to give this to us anonymously. He said the person wanted nothing in return except that, when we could afford to, we would bless someone else who needed it! We were stunned!! I mean we never told anyone about our need! How did they know?

This was a good lesson on how faithful God is to His children. We prayed and thanked God for His provision for us in that time. We have also  been able to do this a few times since and know the joy that person must have felt when they gave it to us. You can’t out-give God! We’ve learned that over the 35 years that we have been married.

YouCantOutGiveGod

The seasons that we go through in life are a testament to  God’s faithfulness. We can be real and cry out to him and hold nothing back.  He already knows our needs and what we feel anyway.

What does God need from us? Absolutely nothing!! He has everything He could ever need; after all, He created it! Including us!!  So what can we give that means anything to Him?

We can give Him ourselves…that’s what He truly wants! Our heart, given to Him willingly, open, and truly waiting for God to fill it. Wanting God is the thing He wants from us, and we need Him too.

In Christ,

Donna

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Let’s Pray: I like the prayer at the end of the chapter that Francis Chan writes so let’s pray that prayer:

“Jesus, I need to give myself up. I am not strong enough to love You and walk with You on my own. I can’t do it—I need You. I need You deeply and desperately. I believe You are worth it and that You are better than anything else I could have in this life or the next. I want you, and when I don’t, I want to want You. Be all in me. Take all of me. Have Your way with me.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Your Assignment:

What holds you back today from giving your all to God? He wants you and you need Him. If you can, list those things; and let’s pray for one another to let go of them and live full on for God.

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If you are interested in joining this amazing online Bible study for Crazy Love, click HERE to sign up. Once you are registered, you will receive an email with further details.

If you would like to email a private message to Donna in regards to this blog, please email her at: Donna@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.

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Crazy Love: Chapter 6 “When You’re In Love” – Help! I Don’t Love You (pp 103-109)

February 13, 2013 by

I’ve talked a lot in my blogposts about how we absolutely have to be WILLING to let God change us. So, when Chan started this section of the chapter talking about this very topic, I had to laugh. I think many of us make it much harder than it really is. Let Go, Let God. Right? Easy as pie.

<pause for laughter>

Oh, if only it were so simple. We are all running after something. It could be a dream God laid on our hearts. It could be our own selfish desires that are interfering with God’s divine plans for us. Either way, we are chasing after something. Do you want the race you are running to be worth it and bring glory to our Lord? Have you talked to God about your race lately to make sure you are following His Will and not running in another, safer direction? Do you even know the race that God wants you to run? We are only human. We want the easiest path; the less painful road; the one that will cause us the least amount of stress. It is just human nature.

But, my dear girlfriends . . . Jesus did not die so that we could live a complacent Christian life. He died so that we could live a full, rich life . . . walking alongside HIM! Jesus says that we will have trouble in this world. It is not a question of if, but when it will happen! When we take our eyes off of our Savior, our lives lose focus. Things get foggy. All of a sudden, the race gets a bit muddy and we have no idea which direction to turn. And sadly, this is when Satan can get a foothold into our lives and draw us even further away from where we should be.

“As we begin to focus more on Christ, loving Him and others becomes more natural. As long as we are pursuing Him, we are satisfied in Him. It is when we stop actively loving Him that we find ourselves restless and gravitating toward other means of fulfillment.”

(Francis Chan, pg 104)

BUT GOD IS ALWAYS RIGHT THERE! And He LOVES us SO very much!! We may stumble; we may even fall. But God is always there to help brush us off and get us back on the right track. When you lean into the Lord and put 100% of your focus on Him, He will make your path straight. That is a promise straight out of His Word.

Prov3_5_6

So, put all of your focus on loving the Lord with every single molecule of your being. Let God move into every area your life. Ask Him what race you should be running and commit to taking a step of faith for His glory. Let every word that you speak, every keystroke that you make, let all you do glorify your Lord today.

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Let’s Pray:

Father, letting You into our lives may not be easy. There are some areas that are just difficult and may even be strongholds for us. Lord, I ask that You tear down these walls. Show us a step of faith that we can take today to let You into an area of our lives that we have closed off to You. We want to run the race that You have set before us. We do not want to chase after something that is not pleasing to You. Help us to love You, Father God, with all of our hearts. Remove any obstacles or barriers that are interfering with our love relationship with You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

Your Assignment:

What is something that you KNOW God is calling you to do, but you have been afraid to take that step of faith and actually DO it? Commit it to the Lord today and pray for strength and courage to take that step. God is right with you. He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you. Share with us so we can pray with you.

If you are interested in joining this amazing online Bible study for Crazy Love, click HERE to sign up. Once you are registered, you will receive an email with further details.

If you would like to email a private message to Jennifer in regards to this blog, please email her at Jennifer@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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Crazy Love: Chapter 6 – When You’re In Love (pp 101-103)

February 12, 2013 by

Don’t Try so Hard is the topic of conversation on pages 101-103 in Crazy Love.  Don’t try so hard to do “what” is the question we might be asking.

Mr. Chan answers that with:  “God wants us to crave a relationship with Him as we crave all genuine love relationships.  He wants believers to desire Him and not be slaves who serve Him out of obligation.”

CrazyLove_Ch6_Martha

Chan then quotes Galatians 5:13, 14:  “You, my brothers, were called to be free.  But, do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather; serve one another in love.  The entire law is summed up in a single command:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

From this scripture, Chan points out that when we love, we’re free.  We don’t have to worry about a burdensome load of commands.  He then ask the question, “Do you feel free in your Christian life?”

Before, we can answer Chan’s question, I think we must take into consideration what Galatians 5:1 says:  “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

The word in that verse that is blaring out to me is entangled.  My handy on-line dictionary defines entangle as:  ‘to twist together or entwine into a confusing mass; snarl, to complicate; confuse, to involve in a tangle.’

Now back to Chan’s question:  “Do you feel free in your Christian life to genuinely love and desire God, and not serve Him out of obligation?”

I believe before we can answer that question, we must first take a look at things that might have entangled us.  May I suggest a few:

  1. Pay God Back:  Straight to the point, and excuse my English:  “It ain’t even possible to pay God back for what His Son, Jesus, did for us.”  No Scripture is needed as a reference.  If ever we should need a reminder, take a look at a picture of Jesus on the Cross; that should quench that little lie.
  2. False Guilt: A failure to trust God to forgive their sins may cause some people to try to serve God in order to work off their guilt, as in works of penance.  But, this is contrary to God’s promise of complete forgiveness to all who confess their sins.  (Colossians 2:13; 1 John 1:9)
  3. Inability to say No: Are you one who says “yes” every time someone from the church calls and ask you to fill a certain position?”  “Do you feel obligated, even though you don’t feel right for the job?”  “Are you left with feelings of guilt if you say, ‘No’?”  I fell into this category until I learned that God had placed within me certain gifts as to how He wanted me to serve Him. (Ephesians 4:11)  My pastor sums it up well:  “Our gift is the one we use with minimum effort, maximum effectiveness, and a maximum of joy.” Believe me, that took a load of guilt off me as I began to serve Him in love with the gift He had placed within me rather than out of obligation.

And the obligation list could go and on into more areas, such as:  legalism, self-seeking, performance-orientated, to name a few.

Sir Walter Scott, noted novelist and poet in the 1800’s said:  “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”

If we are serving God out of obligation, we have woven a tangled web, and we are the ones being deceived.  Let’s get untangled, so we can move forward and be free to serve God out of our Love for Him.  

Be blessed,

Martha

 

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Let’s Pray: 
Father God, first of all, we open our hearts to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to show us where we have felt obligated to serve You.  Help us to replace those motives and lies, so that we are free to love YOU with a genuine love as You desire.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

Your Assignment: 
Do you feel obligated in any way to love and serve the Lord?  If so, what has entangled you?

 

If you would like more information about Crazy Love Bible study, click HERE to sign up.  Once we receive your registration, we will email you further details.

If you would like to send Martha a personal message in regards to this blog, you may email her at: Martha@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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Crazy Love: Week 6 / Chapter 6: “When You’re In Love” (pp 99-101)

February 11, 2013 by

life-measured-by-love-crazy-love-francis-chan-T

I love love.

Seriously…. I really do! I love being in love, thinking about love, matching people up I know will fall in love…I love everything about LOVE!  I’m one of  those insanely passionate head-over-heels-in-love-makes-you-sick-to-your-stomach-to-watch-in-movies kind of characters who would rather DIE than be apart from my true love.

I know, I know…. it’s enough to make you vomit, but THIS is how God made me so I’ve decided to embrace it! I really am this way about anything I feel strongly about.  I’m one incredibly passionate person and THANK GOD that also translates to my love of Christ…although I have been in seasons where I am sad to say this wasn’t always the case.

As a Christian life coach, I have seen firsthand how intimacy issues here in-the-flesh on earth can greatly affect our relationship with God. Typically, if we keep people at arm’s length and not ever let them in, this also translates to how we interact with God in our relationship with Him. This causes us to not want to spend every waking moment with Him, or crave our time with Him.  But rather only to go to Him when we have no other option and then pick and choose the areas of our life we want to open up to Him.

As dangerous as this is for our in-the-flesh people relationships, this will 100% keep you from the type of intimate relationship God calls us to through being a Christ Follower. He calls us to Crazy Love. In my passionate life, I have held things I “loved” in 2 categories…

1. Reverence

  • A feeling of profound awe and respect and often love; veneration.

2. Intimate

  • Marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity. Relating to, or indicative of, one’s deepest nature: intimate prayers. Essential.

This week’s chapter is all about examining the love we have for God.  I really like this thought-provoking quote from John Piper that Chan shared in today’s lesson:

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this:

If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth,

and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed,

and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted,

and no human conflict or any natural disasters,

could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?” 

Well, could you?

This certainly has the potential to be a very convicting question for us to ask ourselves….

Blessings,

Megan 🙂

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Let’s Pray:

Lord, help us today to yearn to be with You as often as we can and not ever want to live without You! Some of us are struggling with obtaining this passion love for You, Father, but we do want it! We need Your help and we thank You in advance for wooing us closer to You and helping us to finally be free of anything that is keeping us from having this deep passion for You! We thank You in advance for all You will do. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen <3

You’re Assignment:

Balance in our relationship with God is important so that we don’t “humanize” God to the point that we infer the failures of humans on God.  How often do you think of God as more of a concept rather than a real person?  Which is more of a struggle for you:  intimacy with God or reverence for God?

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If you are interested in joining this amazing online Bible study for Crazy Love, click HERE to sign up. Once you are registered, you will receive an email with further details.

If you would like to email a private message to Megan in regards to this blog, please email her at: megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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Crazy Love: Chapter 6 – “When You’re in Love” Reading Assignment

February 10, 2013 by

We are over halfway through our Crazy Love journey! It’s been a tough road, a nail-biter really. We’ve looked deep into our spirit to see what we need to work on. The journey may not be easy, but it will be worth it. God loves each one of us SO VERY MUCH. He doesn’t want to leave us where we are! He wants us to be the people He created us to be! But He cannot do it if we do not let Him! We have to let Him into those hurtful areas, those closed-off spots. That’s where His best work will be done.

So, let us begin chapter six. Ahh…love.. <3

Monday: Chapter 6 “When You’re In Love” pgs. 99-101/Kindle LOC 1268-1282  (Megan)

Tuesday: Chapter 6 “When You’re In Love” pgs. 101-103/ Kindle LOC 1282-1318 (Don’t Try So Hard) (Martha)

Wednesday: Chapter 6 “When You’re In Love” pgs. 103-109/Kindle LOC 1318- 1372 (Help! I Don’t Love You) (Jennifer)

Thursday: Chapter 6 “When You’re In Love” pgs. 109-111/ Kindle LOC 1372-1406 (Jesus: Servant, Not Beggar/SomeOne I Can Be Real With) (Donna)

Friday: Chapter 6 “When You’re In Love” Weekly Review and Chapter 6 Study Video from YouTube (Megan)

And here is a sneak peek video for you from our author! Enjoy and have a blessed day!

Let’s Pray:

Father, we want to be SO in love with You and not just the STUFF You offer us! Help us as we study this week. Reveal anything in us that is not pleasing to You and ignite a renewed passion in us for YOU and YOU alone. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!

Jennifer

If you are interested in joining this amazing online Bible study for Crazy Love, click HERE to sign up. Once you are registered, you will receive an email with further details.

If you would like to email a private message to Jennifer in regards to this blog, please email her at Jennifer@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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Seeking Him – With My Whole Self

February 9, 2013 by

Each Saturday we have been looking in-depth at a few of the most important aspects of having a dedicated, purposeful, intentional, devoted quiet time. This week in our current series, Seeking Him, we are continuing to look at this joy and privilege of our relationship with our heavenly Father—our quiet time alone with Him.

May I ask you to think about something for just a moment?   What are some of the things you do with your body as you spend time and seek Him?  A few that I pictured in my mind were:

  • we sit
  • we stand
  • we kneel
  • we lay prone
  • we raise our hands
  • we clap our hands
  • we walk
  • we lift our eyes

Perhaps you are thinking, “Oh, that is NOT for me, Coleen!  I am kind of reserved, y’know.  And besides, what might people think?!?”  Let me remind you, my friends, we are talking about YOUR quiet time with Your Father…most probably no one is around, right?

Let’s look at some examples given in the Scriptures of people who, using their bodies, gave voice to the cries of their hearts:

When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Daniel 6:10

While Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, an extremely large assembly of Israelite men, women, and children gathered around him. The people also wept bitterly.  Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, responded to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the surrounding peoples, but there is still hope for Israel in spite of this.  Let us therefore make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God.  Let it be done according to the law.  Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we support you. Be strong and take action!”

Ezra 10:1-4

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.  He said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing loving-kindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart…

1 Kings 8:22-24

To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!  Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.  Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us…

Psalms 123:1-3

O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy.

Psalms 47:1

Then He said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and keep awake and keep watch with Me.  And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire.

Matthew 26:38 and 39

And there are so MANY other examples throughout the Scriptures to show us that it is a good thing to physically express our adoration…our praise…our love…our great need for our Awesome and Great God!  Just as Daniel, David, Ezra, Solomon, and our Lord Jesus Himself prayed and cried to God, they used their physical bodies to express their hearts to Him.

So may I please encourage you to get up!  Allow your body to be an additional part of your expression of  the words in your heart during your quiet time with your Father!

Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind
Luke 10:27

Our heavenly Father has required that we give Him all of ourselves.  True worship and praise comes from the heart.  If our worship does not come from our hearts, it will not matter what posture, or physical expression of our praise, we use.  God requires all of you!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord!  As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!

Jeremiah 29:12,13
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Praying for each of you!  I know that the Lord will answer your heart’s cry as you are seeking Him with all your heart!

♥ coleen

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If you would like to send a personal message to Coleen concerning the series, Seeking Him, you may email her at:  Coleen@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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Crazy Love Week 5/ Chapter 5: Serving Leftovers to a Holy God Weekly Review

February 8, 2013 by

Chapter 5…. WOW!!!

On Monday, you and I talked about leftovers and how we give them to God. It was rough, but we were honest with ourselves and Him and we made it through to Tuesday.  We were challenged with Martha as we asked ourselves some tough questions about which areas in our lives our hearts might be hardening. On Wednesday, Donna journeyed with us as we were challenged to re-think what we are offering God and how much of it is really leftovers. Yesterday, Jennifer worked through with us about being willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants…no longer being complacent with giving Him our leftovers, but instead giving Him our best with a joyful heart!

Thank you for browsing this menu of leftovers with us.  I pray we not be able to continue to give God what’s left any more, but to give Him our very best…of everything!

Please watch this video from Francis Chan:

http://youtu.be/c0dXmWMwSb4

I’m not going to muddy it up by saying any words except to echo those of Chan….

“The solution to living a lukewarm life is not trying harder…it’s falling madly in love with Jesus Christ.”

Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord, we praise You for not letting us finish this chapter the same way we started it. Thank You for working your supernatural power through each of us! Transform us, Lord! Help us be different and more complete in You! We love You, Lord, and we thank You for the boldness you have given us through this study! May what we have through Christ be contagious! If we have any fear or anything holding us back from the fullness of your unfailing love, rid us from it NOW in Jesus’ name! AMEN!!!!!!

Your Assignment:

After reading this chapter, do you have any doubts about your salvation or your relationship with Jesus? Where does this chapter leave you? Please share with us below….

Blessings,

Megan 🙂

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If you are interested in joining this amazing online Bible study for Crazy Love, click HERE to sign up. Once you are registered, you will receive an email with further details.

If you would like to email a private message to Megan in regards to this blog, please email her at: megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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Crazy Love: Chapter 5 – “Serving Leftovers to a Holy God” (pp 95-98)

February 7, 2013 by

We all have a tendency to drift… away from God. It is just part of our sinful nature. Take the Israelites for example. They pleaded for God to rescue them over and over again. God heard them and He did rescue them; but then they grew restless and focused their eyes away from Him. They drifted. They looked only at the needs in front of them and not at the Promised Land to come. They even complained that they would have preferred to go back to slavery in Egypt rather than struggle through the desert period while getting to the coveted Promised Land! Can you imagine?! They witnessed numerous miracles with their own eyes, yet they still begged and asked for more.

(The Holy Spirit is screaming in my ear right now about the correlation between the Israelites and our present day lives.)

We do the same things that the Israelites did, don’t we? Our view is so limited that we can only see our present needs. It is so difficult for us to see beyond our difficulties sometimes, to know that this life is only temporary and we have our own “Promised Land” (Heaven) waiting for us. We just have to walk through these desert periods and fix our eyes on the Author and Perfector of our faith. And He promises we do not have to walk these desert times alone. He is with us through His Spirit. He will guide us and direct us. He will show us the path to take.

Exist-to-Glorify-crazy-love-francis-chan-F

With that said, it is so important to stress what our author talks about in the concluding pages of our chapter. Our faith must be intentional. Without daily, focused effort we will slowly drift away from our Lord. He is the only One who can help us through every trial we face, every fear we encounter, and each obstacle in our path. Chan suggests that spiritual drift is not a conscious choice, but it is happening because nothing else is propelling people toward Christ. If we do not make our faith intentional; if it is not a priority above everything else in our lives, then we should not be surprised when we wake up one morning and wonder, “where is God?”

God never moves. He never changes. He is always there. It is us that move and change and shift.

Does God take priority over everything else in your life? Does any earthly thing matter as much as your relationship with the Lord?

These are some tough questions. Many things in this chapter are convicting my heart and igniting a passion in me to dig deeper. How about you? Write out your thoughts. Journal what the Lord is speaking to you about. Answer these questions as the Holy Spirit moves you. Take the time to truly explore yourself, your time commitments, and your relationship with the Lord. If you want something to change, how can you be proactive and change it? Remember, with GOD all things are possible. Pray and commit your changes to Him and let Him have all the glory!

 

Have a blessed day!

Jennifer

——————————————–

Let’s Pray:

Father, this book is opening up deep cuts and wounds that we have only covered with flimsy band aids. Help us to fully heal those wounds and to come to You in repentance for anything that we are discovering that is not pleasing to You. We all desire a full, rich, deep, abiding love relationship with You, Lord. Please reveal to each one of us the next step of faith we can take in pursuit of that relationship. We love You so much, Lord, and our heart’s desire is to please You always. Rid us of anything that is interfering with our time with You. Invigorate our quiet times with You. Renew a passion in us for Your Word and for living the full Christian life that Jesus speaks of in the Gospels. It is in HIS Holy, Precious, Matchless Name that we pray, AMEN!

Your Assignment:

What earthly things are currently taking precedence over God in your life?

 

If you are interested in joining this amazing online Bible study for Crazy Love, click HERE to sign up. Once you are registered, you will receive an email with further details.

If you would like to email a private message to Jennifer in regards to this blog, please email her at Jennifer@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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Crazy Love: Chapter 5 – Serving Leftovers to a Holy God (pgs. 90-94)

February 6, 2013 by

In this part of the chapter Mr. Chan really challenges us to re-think what we are offering to God. Are they leftovers? Or are what we offer truly given out of a heart solely wanting to give the best of everything we have to God, our first fruits? Is it the best we can give? I know I was really convicted when I read this! I am examining everything.  I was thinking about when I get up in the morning,  Do I quickly pull out my Bible and give God the first minutes of my day before everything comes crashing in? Or I do I think about what’s on my plate today and put it off ’til later when I think I might get a minute? (Honestly, I never find that minute!)

I grew up in a family of seven people. Because my dad grew up on a farm, dinner was always a big meal. Lots of meat, boiled potatoes and veggies. Most of the time both parents had to  work and we had five growing kids. There was always a little something left over to put in the refrigerator for another day. Once a week at our house was “leftovers night.” YUK!  I hated leftovers! Not all things you warmed up the second time tasted good. In fact, I didn’t like most of them. It was always a race with my brothers to get the best of them. Dry meat, soggy vegetables and fried potatoes were not my favorites. Sometimes I just skipped dinner because I didn’t really care for anything on the table. To this day I try to cook just the right amount of food, so there won’t be any leftovers. Can you tell I’m not a fan??

If I am giving to God the kinds of things I don’t like or skip because I don’t even like them, what does that say about how God feels about them? What does it say about me? I think it says that I’m serving Him things that are sub-standard. OUCH!!! It calls into question my commitment and love for Him. Do I really love God and put Him first in all I do and say? Or do I feel like a liar, as Mr. Chan says? If I am to represent what love is to other people, how can I truly do that when I haven’t first given the best to the Author of love?  It’s very humbling when you think that God has already given us His sacrificial best in Jesus, doesn’t it?

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 we read the example of what God means by real love. Francis Chan challenges us to put our names in place of the word “love.”  How do we measure up against these words? I’m afraid I fail miserably at times in this. I am committed, though, to work at this more and more. I want to love like God loves me. With an abandon and an unreserved feeling!  I want “Perfect Love” to reflect out of me…so people know it’s God.

Mr. Chan also shares a line from Mark Buchanan’s writings. He says, “Physical sickness we usually defy. Soul sickness we often resign ourselves to.”  Did any of you get the flu this winter? How many of you got a flu shot? There is no vaccine for soul sickness. I had the stomach flu for a week and a half. By the time I was done I was weak, tired, and just wanted to be done with it. I fought it every step of the way. I didn’t want to be sick! Why don’t I fight “soul sickness” with the same resolve? Why don’t I come out with my spiritual dukes up and fight it with all my might? I don’t want to be like the church in Laodicea, I need to acknowledge that I desperately need what Christ has offered. And what Christ has offered is a real commitment, real love—no leftovers! It’s the “shot” for soul sickness that is there for the asking. Can we ask Him for it? Who knows what could actually happen when we are giving God all the first fruits of our life without holding anything back? It gives me “Holy Ghost Shivers” just thinking about it! Now to put it into practice….

In Christ, Donna

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Let’s Pray:

Father God, today we pray for our hearts to be willing to give You our first fruits not our leftovers. We pray for Your cure for our Soul Sickness. We dedicate ourselves to truly love and show love to others the way You have authored it. Touch every woman reading this today and help us all to renew our commitment to You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Your Assignment:

Substitute your name in the verses in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.  Pray over it and have God reveal to you how you can change the way you measure yourselves in these verses. Ask Him to show you how it can be done. It could be life changing. Share with us, if you wish, how God is leading you.

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If you are interested in joining this amazing online Bible study for Crazy Love, click HERE to sign up. Once you are registered, you will receive an email with further details.

If you would like to email a private message to Donna in regards to this blog, please email her at: Donna@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.

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Crazy Love: Chapter 5 – “Serving Leftovers To A Holy God” (pgs. 88-90)

February 5, 2013 by

Poor Rich People is what Francis Chan is talking about on pages 88-90.  He begins this section with a story about a young man name Ronnie from Uganda who is poor, as well as blind.  Ronnie’s closest friend is a girl who is deaf.  But, what stands out about these two isn’t that they are handicapped or very poor, but that they are totally content and in love with Jesus.

In the following paragraphs, I agree with Chan’s thoughts in regards to our society being filthy rich in comparison to poverty-stricken countries.  Chan goes on to say that, in reality, being rich is a serious disadvantage spiritually.  He then points out that WilliamWilberforce, an English politician and philanthropist in the 1700-1800’s said, “Prosperity hardens the heart.”

With all due respect to Mr. Chan and Mr. Wilberforce, their statements disturbed me. And yet, the scriptures in Luke 18:22-24 clearly point to the words of Jesus when He told the wealthy person to sell all he had and give to the poor, and he would have treasure in heaven, then “come, follow me.”  But, the man chose not to do so, and walked away.  Jesus responded:  “How hard it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God!”  He said (verse 25) it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.

I wanted to get a handle on the statement Mr. Chan, and Mr. Wilberforce made, as well as what the above Scripture was saying.  So, hang with me while I talk this out with you and, above all, ask God to clarify it for you.

First of all, I believe that an entire doctrine cannot be based on one scripture, such as Luke 18:22-25.  Jesus did say that, but the Bible also says in 3 John 1:2:  “I wish above all that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.”  So, it appears as though God does want us to prosper in our soul, as well as in health and financially.

Now let’s take a look at another scripture in regard to wealth in 1 Timothy 6:10.  “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”  Now, didn’t that say the love of money?

Think about this:  Could it be that the rich man’s (Luke 18) soul was not prospering, not because he had wealth, but because of his love of money?  Could it be that his soul was not prospering, not because he had wealth, but that his wealth had him?

The old saying:  “You can’t come back from where you ain’t been,” is why I felt so compelled to look at the topic Poor Rich People from another angle by sharing a personal experience.

You see, I was put through the test about 20 years ago with those very words from Jesus:  “Come, follow me.”  Without going into all the specifics and details, to follow Him meant leaving the teaching profession I had been in for years…a job I dearly loved.  I was okay with that but, to follow Him meant facing other issues also.  So, I made my excuse list to God.  For example:

  1. Your timing is all wrong; ask me again in 10 years, and I will follow You.
  2. What You are asking is way out of my comfort zone.
  3. It will bring opposition, and I don’t like facing conflict. 
  4. I went to college for four years to be a teacher.  Sounds like such a waste to give all that up.
  5. Public schools need Christian teachers like me.
  6. My identity will be gone; I will not be able to call myself a teacher.
  7. And besides, and besides, and besides—the list went on and on.

These things were hardening my heart.

The beauty of all of this was that God kept pursuing me to follow Him, even in the midst of all my excuses.  I have to believe it was that Crazy Love for me that Mr. Chan talks about.

One of the scriptures that finally helped me make my decision was:  Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.  Now, I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.  Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!  (Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT)

May I quickly point out that we are no longer under the curse, so I knew that God was not going to cause a great calamity to come upon me if I chose not to follow Him. So, I began to see that He had a plan for my life, and He had a path He wanted me to go down in order to fulfill that plan.  But, it was up to me to make the choice.

And, yes, I answered His call to “Come, follow me,” and turned in my resignation and started my journey.  My journals are filled with that time period in my life.  If I may borrow a phrase from Mr. Chan:  “It was CRAZY!!!”

In conclusion, I’d like to offer my own personal opinion about what Poor Rich People means: 

Our heart can be hardened by things other than wealth.  Mine was.  Only as I humbled myself before the Almighty God to trust where He was leading me, did I become Rich in Spirit. And may I add:  He is still working on me in other areas to become ‘more rich’ in Him.   

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Let’s Pray: 

Father God, first of all, we open our hearts to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to show us where our hearts might be hardening.  We ask Your forgiveness, and help us to turn from those things and follow You.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Your Assignment:   

Do you see anything that has hardened your heart?

Be blessed,

Martha

If you would like more information about Crazy Love Bible study click HERE.  Once we receive your registration, we will email you further details..

If you would like to send Martha a personal message in regards to this blog, you may email her at: Martha@girlfriendscoffeehour.com.

 

 

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