It has been a minute. It has been a minute since I blogged anything and this summer has been a whirlwind of mini adventures and many episodes with the Holy Spirit. I know I failed in blogging consistently on my website. I am praying this will change when the school year approaches and I am teaching again and I am on a tighter scheduler (I won’t have time to procrastinate).

Anyways, one of the devotionals I have mentioned on my blog often is “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan. Crazy Love is essentially about how our love for God should encourage believers to reach out to the unsaved and to bravely remove traditions from religion and live out Christ’s commands unhinged. This fiery passion, as the devotional reveals comes from understanding God’s love for humanity is so powerful that when absorbed transforms mediocre Christians. Enabling children of God to stamp out the idols and sins in our lives. It is God’s incomprehensible love for us and when we naturally and genuinely return this love, we then fully embrace the plans He has for us.

What makes God’s love in a word “crazy” is the lengths He went to bring us back to Him, after we failed Him, sinned against Him, and rejected Him. I started rereading the first couple of chapters, because I never finished it.

In the first chapter of Crazy Love titled, “Stop and Think” Chan instructs the reader to stop and think about who God is. To take a nice, long hard look and remember the God we serve is the God of the universe. He is the one true God. The moment we see God it should rouse the Christian spirit to worship God in light of His might, power, and glory.

What struck me during my quality time with the Lord is in the book, we’re instructed to watch this video, titled “Stop and Think.” In the video, Francis Chan the author and preacher explains the depths of God’s love. He explains how humanity fail short, how we’re all sinners and by God’s love we deserved death. In spite of the circumstances God did not give up on us. He became Christ Jesus, God in the flesh (incarnate) to set us free from sin’s bondage.

As I was watching the video, what Chan spoke stood out to me. He says:

“There are people all across America right now that say, ‘Yeah I believe in God. Yeah I follow Him.’ And then you look at their lives and it doesn’t show. Jesus said, ‘…if you really knew you would obey my commands.’” Chan continues to say, “It’s this idea of trustsaying you know what I trust this God, He’s done everything for my good. He’s given me life. He’s given me His laws. He’s given me forgiveness, so I believe His commands are gonna be for my good. And that will show by your lifestyle.”

Such a profound message. It struck my core like lightning and I had to pause and listen again, and again to what Chan had said. Do I really trust God? I am like thousands of Christians in America. I grew up in a Christian home. My parents are devout believers of Jesus Christ. I remember my mom teaching us about Christ at a young age, and knowing the stories of Daniel in the lions’ den, to King Saul’s murderous pursuit of David, to the faithful night of Jesus’ betrayal. Up to the past two years, I realized knowing is only half the battle. Obedience is truly where it accounts and your faith begins to manifest.

Yeah I believe in God.

Yeah I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life.

But do…I follow Him.

The best way to tell is to examine our lifestyle. Ask yourself: Does my lifestyle reveal your trust in God? Am’ I truly following Him as my mouth proclaims or is my lifestyle revealing how I have fallen short and complacent in my spiritual walk?

Francis Chan expressed some commendable points.

 

• God has done everything for our good. I wrote about this once recently on my Instagram page but it is so true. Romans 5:21 says, “²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin^[a]for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This was for our good, both our eternal and internal God. If sin is in the way, then there is no way we can see God. God is Holy. God absolutely hates sin for it is rebellion against His Holy law and will. Praise God! That He gave up His Son. Oh Beloved, do you realize salvation cost God everything and it costs us nothing? God did not have to look out for humanity. We were wicked and depraved of mind (we still are). Yet God demonstrated His love unto us out of His loving kindness.

 

• God has given us life through His Son, Jesus Christ. For it is written, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Jesus Christ is the way. He provided the way back to the Father. He is the truth. He spoke the truth in His teachings on Earth and the culmination of every prophecy and law in the body. He is the life that by believing in Jesus we’re given eternal life, not by good works, being baptized or having spiritual gifts. We’re saved by Christ Jesus’ work on the cross alone.

 

• God has given us His precious laws to protect us and show our need for Jesus. As I have written before on this blog, God’s law is not to eliminate the joy or happiness in our life. God’s perfect law reflects His Holiness and His conformity to His righteous character. God’s precious law reveals our fallacies as Christians, where we fall short. At the same time the law of the Lord creates a protective barrier or boundary around us. It’s like a fence, the law of the Lord stretches for miles and miles and it gives us limits about where we can go, who we can talk to, what we can do, and what we can say. God has put these constraints or this fence around us to limit us from indulging our freedom in the wrong So many of us act like we do not have regrets but sin has left its heinous mark in our pasts, and once we reconcile God’s perfect law with His perfect love for us. We then, embrace the grace He has provided us through His Son, Jesus. Psalms 19:8 says, “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.”

 

• God has forgiven us through Christ’s payment on the cross, though we did not deserve a second chance. Always remember saints, Christ Jesus’ death is what allowed God to forgive us. If Christ Jesus did not die then God’s justice would have been incomplete. Since God is Holy then that means He must always execute justice and satisfy His wrath. Sin is a crime. An insult against God’s holiness and when we sin it breaks God’s law, so broken law equals punishment. The punishment mankind deserved was eternal separation from God to experience hell and torment, but God mercifully looked upon us. “²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

So, I implore you Beloved, my dearly loved friends who are redeemed through Christ Jesus’ blood, to examine your lifestyle, see if it matches up with Jesus’ commands. Am’ I truly following Him as my mouth proclaims or is my lifestyle revealing how I have fallen short and complacent in my spiritual walk?

Check out Francis Chan’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnnSS0_-xoA

And Ask the Holy Spirit to convict where you have fallen short, trust God in where your faith is weak, and above else, seek change where it is needed.

Be blessed! 🙂

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