When it comes to the Holy Spirit there seems to be so many differing opinions about His (yes the Holy Spirit is a person not a thing) role in our lives. Some Christians are consumed with finding His presence and some seem to act like the Holy Spirit is not even needed for our daily life. Jesus was actually thrilled we would gain the Holy Spirit after he went to the cross. (Read John chapters 14-16) That alone is enough to make me want to come to a better understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in my life. Francis Chan uses this second book to help followers of Christ discover what God intended when He gave us this incredible gift of God’s spirit residing in our lives. I honestly believe that you should read this book before you read Crazy Love. There is not much contained in Crazy Love that can be accomplished apart from the guidance and empowering of the Holy Spirit. Francis is a pastor that has made a huge impact in my life through his teaching and writing and I hope you will check this book out. For many of us, we are scared to seek the Holy Spirit because we just do not understand who He is. Unlike any other book I have ever read, this book gives a clear glimpse into the depths of how God reveals Himself through the Holy Spirit. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book…
The church becomes irrelevant when it becomes purely a human creation. We are not all that we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Holy Spirit. – p. 18
The truth is that the Spirit of the living God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something that you wouldn’t normally want or choose to do….The Holy Spirit will mold you into the person you were made to be. – p. 50
It’s much less demanding to think about God’s will for your future than it is to ask Him what he wants you to do in the next ten minutes. It’s safer to commit to follow His someday instead of this day. – p.120
The God of the universe is not just something we can add into our lives and keep on as we did before. The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives. p. 122