Forgotten God

From the Publisher: As Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to send the Holy Spirit – the Helper – so that we could be true and living witnesses for Christ. Unfortunately, today’s church has admired the gift but neglected to open it. Breakthrough author Francis Chan rips away paper and bows to get at the true source of the church’s power: the Holy Spirit.

I was really challenged as I listened to this book and I recommend it to all the people of Peace. Chan attempted to reach the person who knows little or nothing about the Holy Spirit and I think he has succeeded admirably. He is an engaging speaker and this comes through powerfully in the this audiobook. As much as I enjoyed listening the book I am little frustrated by Chan’s lack of precision when it comes to dealing with some significant theological/Biblical issues such as his position on the continuation of the miraculous spiritual gifts.

As always I encourage you to do some additional reading and reflection. A good place to start is the Bible, especially the books of Acts. You should also read the section on the Apostles Creed from the Large Catechism (HERE). I also found some of my thoughts about the book echoed in two brief book reviews, one by Tim Challies (HERE) and another by Michael Kallenberg (HERE).

The fact that christianaudio, Oasis Audio, and David C. Cook have partnered together to bring you the audiobook download of Forgotten God for FREE is a really big deal..take advantage of this generous offer while you can.

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Instructions: Add the download format to your cart and enter the coupon code JUN2010 when prompted during checkout. This free download is available in MP3 & M4B formats.

Click HERE  to begin your download.

These videos should give you a feel for Chan and his perspective…

How do I know God exists? from A Passion for Life on Vimeo.

How can God allow suffering and evil in the world? from A Passion for Life on Vimeo.

Luke 1:46-48

Mary, therefore, calls God her Savior, or her Salvation, even though she neither saw nor felt that this was so, but trusted in sure confidence that He was her Savior and her Salvation. This faith came to her through the work God had done within her. And, truly, she sets things in their proper order when she calls God her Lord before calling Him her Savior, and when she calls Him her Savior before recounting His works. Thereby she teaches us to love and praise God for Himself alone, and in the right order, and not selfishly to seek anything at His hands. This is done when one praises God because He is good, regards only His bare goodness, and finds his joy and pleasure in that alone. That is a lofty, pure, and tender mode of loving and praising God and well becomes this Virgins high and tender spirit.

But the impure and perverted lovers, who are nothing else than parasites and who seek their own advantage in God, neither love nor praise His bare goodness, but have an eye to themselves and consider only how good God is to them, that is, how deeply He makes them feel His goodness and how many good things He does to them. They esteem Him highly, are filled with joy and sing His praises, so long as this feeling continues. But just as soon as He hides His face and withdraws the rays of His goodness, leaving them bare and in misery, their love and praise are at an end. They are unable to love and praise the bare, unfelt goodness that is hidden in God. By this they prove that their spirit did not rejoice in God, their Savior, and that they had no true love and praise for His bare goodness. They delighted in their salvation much more than in their Savior, in the gift more than in the Giver, in the creature rather than in the Creator.”

Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 21 : The Sermon on the Mount and the Magnificat, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, Luther’s Works (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999, c1956). 21:309.

Reflect: What is it like for you when God seems hidden? How often are you tempted to equate faith with positive feelings? Read Colossians 1:15-20. How is God revealed in Jesus Christ?  Pray that God would lead you to focus on the divine attributes of Christ, and put your trust in Christ no matter what your emotional reactions might be.

Rather, instead, I will reflect the image of God in that I feed on love; grow certain on faith and hope; strengthen myself on the virtue of patience; grow tranquil by humility; grow beautiful by chastity; am sober by abstention; am made happy by tranquility; and am ready for death by practicing hospitality

It is with such inscriptions that God imprints his coins with an impression made neither by hammer nor by chisel but has formed them with his primary divine intention. For Caesar required his image on every coin, but God has chosen man, whom he has created, to reflect his glory.

Anonymous..The Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 42.

There are many books available in the marketplace that seek to promote a thing called "Christian living". Most of these books end up driving us away from God’s grace because they put the focus on what YOU can do to overcome obstacles while finding greater wealth and prosperity in this life. Books that put the emphasis on YOU, YOU, and YOU are bound to sell well because we love to hear about new and improved ways of find self-fulfillment. As you read this book you will find all your self-centered approaches to believing and living cut off at the knees. Instead you will find yourself led to a more deeply satisfying focus on who God is and what God  is doing as a result of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

I wish the author would have spent even more time proclaiming the compassion of God demonstrated on the Cross, but Christ is central to Tripp’s work and for this we can be grateful. He also does an important service by drawing our attention to the importance of humble Christ centered communities, the necessity of a life marked by "groaning", and how asking for forgiveness reveals the goodness of God. If you are the kind of  person who works hard to succeed  or does whatever you can to ensure that your loved ones have every advantage, and yet still find that something is missing, then this book will be very helpful. God willing you will consider reading this book and take time to ponder the ways that the Glory of God is greater than the cheap imitations offered up by this world or by our own sinful nature. You will be humbled by what you read here, but I’m willing to bet that you will also be refreshed once again by the beauty revealed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Read a book review HERE

Order the book, read chapters 1-3 in PDF format, and view a video of the author discussing how transcendence figures into being a disciple by clicking HERE

If you would like to borrow our copy of this book please let me know.

John Stott

We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us according to the flesh. We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal [Romans 14:8; 1st Corinthians 6:19]…. Let this therefore be the first step, that a man depart from himself in order that he may apply the whole force of his ability in the service of the Lord. I call “service” not only what lies in obedience to God’s Word but what turns the mind of man, empty of its own carnal sense, wholly to the bidding of God’s Spirit.

John Calvin (1509 -1564) Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, Chapter 7, Par.1.

“We have enough Bibles for every household in America a couple of times over.  We have churches galore; religious organizations; educational institutions; religious presses that never stop pouring forth books, Sunday school materials, and religious curricula; and unparalleled financial resources.  What don’t we have?  All too often we don’t have what the Old Testament people didn’t have.  A due and weighty sense of the greatness and holiness of God, a sense that will reach into our lives, wrench them around, lift our vision, fill our hearts, make us courageous for what is right, and over time leave behind its beautiful residue of Christlike character” (pp. 132-3).

Tim Challies wrote an excellent review over at Discerning Reader. Read it here.

Timothy Keller, The Reason For God , p. 219.