I am, for lack of better terms, intoxicated with the teachings of Francis Chan right now. God has been opening my eyes to be seeing like this man is speaking. As I read a chapter tonight, I kept underlining and commenting in the margins...I want to quote a few sections that I probably could have highlighted in 5 different colors...this is all from his 7th chapter of Crazy Love, "your best life...later":
"Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy. Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers."
"If we allow ourselves to live recklessly for Him, then we, too, will see His glory. We will see Him do the impossible. Christians today like to play it safe. We want to put ourselves in situations where we are safe 'even if there is no God.' But if we truly desire to please God, we cannot live that way. We have to do things that cost us during our life on earth but will be more than worth it in eternity."
"When it's hard and you are doubtful, give more."
"Pride tells you that you've sacrificed more than others. Fear tells you it's time to worry about the future."
"Jesus was forcing His disciples to trust Him. God would have to come through for them because they had nothing else to fall back on. This place of trust isn't a comfortable place to be; in fact, it flies in the face of everything we've been taught about proper planning. We like finding refuge in what we already have rather than in what we hope God will provide. But when Christ says to count the cost of following Him, it means we must surrender everything. It means being willing to go without an extra runic or a place to sleep at night, and sometimes without knowing where we are going." (Amen! This is a way to live!)
"But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through."
"The thing that matters most is how we use what we have been given, not how much we make or do compared to someone else. What matters is that we spend ourselves."
Today, I talked with my coworkers about our weekends. I shared that my church small group/prayer group had come to deliver Christmas cards that we made. I remember the expression on my co-worker's face when I told her how sick the 2nd floor was...and that it didn't stop us. She was shocked that the nurses let us even come to that floor. I was almost scolded for being so reckless...but I sit here still unharmed with the flu. You know why? Because my God is bigger than any flu bug, and He can keep me healthy. There is no way in the world I couldn't have gotten it with all the exposure I've had to it...but God is amazing!
I want to be able to walk down a dark alley alone and know God is protecting me. If He called me to walk alone in a risky trailer park, I want to trust Him to keep me safe. I want people to look at me as "reckless" as long as I am doing it for God's glory. I don't know what God is preparing for me, but the more I reflect on where I have been, the more excited I get for where I'm going to go next!
Are you willing to risk it all for God? Are you willing to give of your gifts and talents to a flu-infested environment? How about to strangers in an area you've never been before? Would you take the call to love on people this holiday season that need extra loving? If you answer the call, God will get you through it. You have nothing to fear when you know that the worst possible outcome is that you come out clean and live another day down here on earth...the best outcome is your Heavenly Father takes you home into His presence. With an ending like that, how can you say no?
"If we allow ourselves to live recklessly for Him, then we, too, will see His glory. We will see Him do the impossible." Take a chance of faith today.
No comments:
Post a Comment