sooo, in the last year or so i have tried to pick up my reading a bit…i’ve never been one that just loves to read…but i know that i need to…it keeps my mind churning…makes me think…and the books i read really challenge me in my walk with Christ…the book i am reading now is no acception!!!
i’m reading crazy love by francis chan…francis is well known for pastoring cornerstone church in simi valley, ca…he has also spoken at several passion events…and is an author as well…i watch his video podcast regularly!!!
but i wanted to share a few thoughts that are really challenging me this week…these will give you a glimpse of how good this book is…they are part of chapter four “profile of the lukewarm”…
LUKEWARM PEOPLE say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives.
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LUKEWARM PEOPLE are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers.
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LUKEWARM PEOPLE feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America. Just as the prophets in the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel, so we are not safe just because we wear the label Christian or because some people persist in calling us a “Christian nation.”
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LUKEWARM PEOPLE probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong.
i know that there have been times in my life where these statements were true of me…especially that last one…i chose which areas of my life to keep “sanitized” and then others i could’ve cared less about…and usually the sanitized parts were the ones that were visible to everyone else…
i’ve been challenged this week to make sure that these words do not describe me…to step back and look at my life once again…
i highly recommend this book to you…and i’m only in chapter four!!!
CRAZY is good!!!
