Forgotten God

I’ve read two books by Frances Chan lately, but this is the one that intrigued me more and it did not disappoint.
Seeing as our pastor is doing a series on the Holy Spirit, this book fits right into the conversation. According to Chan, the Holy Spirit is the forgotten God. Of course, he is writing from a western context.
I’ll just share a couple of nuggets from the book, which really made me think about where I’m at spiritually. Who knows, you may want to read it, too.
“The church becomes irrelevant when it becomes purely a human creation. We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God.”
“ Given our talent set, experience, and education, many of us are fairly capable of living rather successfully (according to the world’s standards) without any strength from the Holy Spirit. Even our church can happen without Him. Let’s be honest: If you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative events, people will attend your church. Yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming. … People are more likely to describe  the quality of the music or the appeal of the sermon than the One who is the reason people gather for “church” in the first place.”
“I don’t want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn’t be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I am desperate for Him to come through. That if He doesn’t come through, then I’m screwed.”
“If you have not known or experienced God in ways you cannot deny, I would suggest that you are not living in a needy or dependent way.”
There are no formulaic answers in Chan’s book, but he does mention it has a lot to do with spending time with God and listening, asking the Holy Spirit to change us, knowing His Word personally (not just what others say about it), looking to God for answers, not spending so much energy and resources trying to figure things out for ourselves, and it’s about being willing to look foolish to others (even our Christian brothers and sisters).
This was a great read. I hope that I won’t forget about what’s struck me and carry on as usual.