Forgotten God

I just finished Forgotten God by Francis Chan.  I have to tell you....my eyes were thrust open by his honesty and by his challenge to us as believers.

The church has forgotten about the Holy Spirit. 

We often don't hear people talk much about Him. I mean, He is God. Part of the Trinity. He cannot be separated from God.  He is who Jesus talked about before He was killed. The one who will come to those who choose to walk alongside Jesus. Our Helper and Companion.  Yet....we often forget about Him.

Francis asks this questions: When was the last time you experienced the hand of God? Really? When were you touched by God in such a way that no one could convince you it was a coincidence?

You want me to be honest? For me it has been awhile.  I have purposely grieved the Spirit. When He chooses to direct me, whisper to me, show me and teach me...I choose not to listen.  I try to do it all in my own strength.  It is no wonder that I fail so often.  I find myself on my knees pleading for forgiveness, mercy and strength.  When all I had to do in the first place was surrender to the Holy Spirit...to God's leading.....and I wouldn't be in such a mess.

But I guess that is the beauty of our messy lives isn't it?  Because we are so frail. Because we are so weak...we are dependent on Him. When we choose to depend on our own strength to live out our lives we become wasted and exhausted individuals.  Unable to keep moving and unsure of the next path to take.  The passion we started out with diminished.  God's voice is no longer audible to us due to disappointments and frustrations of life.

How do you know if the Holy Spirit dwells in you? Francis offers this:

*The Spirit helps us speak in certain situations (Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12)
*He is our comforter, advisor, encourager and strength
*From the Spirit we receive God's power to be witnesses to the world. 
*The spirit sets us free from sins and we put to death any misdeeds within the flesh
*We receive adoption as children of God through the Spirit
*Conviction of sin
*Brings life and freedom
*We have HOPE!
*Through the Holy Spirit we are each given a spiritual gift to be used for the Kingdom
*Evidence of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

I was truly blown away by this book.  I think my goal is to study more on the Holy Spirit.  Will you join me?

Have you read Forgotten God? If so, what did you think? If not, any other books on the Holy Spirit that you love and would recommend?

Tiff~