Re-learning the basics

If you haven't had a chance to check out Francis Chan's latest book Forgotten God, run, walk, or skip to your nearest bookstore of choice and partake! Chan seems to be all about revisiting basic truths in order to take them seriously, and Forgotten God is all about the Holy Spirit and our tragic, and sometimes ignorant, neglect of Him. I've typed up a section of the chapter "Theology of the Holy Spirit 101" ... it's loaded with truths that are easy to overlook but important to grasp. They've challenged me, and I hope they'll challenge and encourage you, as well.

• · The Holy Spirit is a Person.
• · The Holy Spirit is God.
• · The Holy Spirit is eternal and holy.
• · The Holy Spirit has His own mind, and He prays for us.
• · The Holy Spirit has emotions.
• · The Holy Spirit has His own desires and will.
• · The Holy Spirit is omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (present everywhere), and omniscient (all-knowing).

• · The Spirit helps us speak when we are in precarious situations and need to bear witness (Mark 13:11; Luke 12:12).
• · The Counselor teaches and reminds us of what we need to know and remember. He is our comforter, our advisor, our encourager, and our strength. He guides us in the way we should go (Ps. 143:10; John 14-16; Acts 9:31; 13:2; 15:28; 1 Cor. 2:9-10; 1 John 5:6-8).
• · From the Spirit we receive power to be God’s witnesses to the ends of the earth. It is the Spirit who draws people to the gospel, the Spirit who equips us with the strength we need to accomplish God’s purposes. The Holy Spirit not only initially draws people to God, He also draws believers closer to Jesus (Acts 1:8; Rom 8:26; Eph. 3:16-19).
• · By the power of the Spirit we put to death the misdeeds of the body. The Spirit sets us free from the sins we cannot get rid of on our own. This is a lifelong process we entered into, in partnership with the Spirit, when we first believed (e.g., Rom. 8:2).
• · Through the Spirit we have received a spirit of adoption as children, which leads us into intimacy with the Father, instead of a relationship based on fear and slavery. The Spirit bears witness to us that we are His children (Rom. 8:15-16).
• · The Holy Spirit convicts people of sin. He does this both before we initially enter into right relationship with God and as we journey through this life as believers (John 16:7-11; 1 Thess. 1:5).
• · The Spirit brings us life and freedom. Where the Spirit is, there is freedom, not bondage or slavery. In our world that is plagued with death, this is a profound truth that points to real hope (Rom. 8:10-11; 2. Cor. 3:17).
• · By the power of the Holy Spirit, we abound with hope because our God is a God of hope, who fills His children with all joy and peace (Rom. 15:13).
• · As members of God’s kingdom community, each of us is given a manifestation of the Spirit in our lives for the purpose of the common good. We all have something to offer because of what the Spirit gives to us (1 Cor. 12:7).
• · The fruit of being led by the Spirit includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These attitudes and actions will characterize our lives as we allow ourselves to be grown and molded by the Spirit. The Spirit is our sanctifier (2 Cor. 3:18; Gal. 5:22-23).

Loving at Arms Length?

Lately I've really been examining in my own personal walk the idea of wholeness in Christ - the idea of really being truly, fully satisfied by and defined by Jesus. It's been an eye-opening and exciting journey, really. One thing that I've learned that has really struck a chord with me is the importance of friendship and community. My first impression of wholeness in Christ was being completely self-sufficient. While I do believe wholeness in Christ involves complete reliance on Him, we do know that it is not good for man to be alone. My good friend Kayla Beth and I were discussing this, and I came to this realization that we really do need other people. No, we don't need people the same way that we need God, but we do need people nonetheless.

So this got me thinking about the friends that I have been blessed with. I wonder - what would it look like to really love self-sacrificially? By that I mean, what is it like to love outside of my comfort zone? Sometimes I think we tend to love at arms length rather than face the awkwardness, unfamiliarity, and discomfort of loving sacrificially. The main thing I'm learning about love is, "It's not about me." So what if I don't have the right words to say ... so what if I don't know how to offer comfort: these things don't lessen the need of comfort and friendship, they merely slow down God's working in and through us. God never said to offer comfort and friendship when we felt like it ... Jesus simply impressed upon us in the Word the importance of community and friendship.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

- John 13:34-35

Loving like God? That's a tough command; that means loving beyond what we think we can love, and pushing our limits of comfort beyond what we're used to. While I know I'll never truly love like Jesus, there's no harm in working my butt off trying. It may hurt, and it may even get a little awkward ... but I don't think Jesus was ever one for staying in security bubbles.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

- 1 Peter 4:8