Forgotten God

Forgotten God, by Francis Chan

... having LOVED Crazy Love (his first book) - I knew that this couldn't be a bad read and having just read Crazy Love I figured just by the title that this book had to be about how we get so wrapped up in ourselves and our own lives that we forget about God and His role in our life.

...I was WRONG

...Forgotten God isn't about how we forget about God ... its about how there's a third part of the Trinity that we forget ... the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit and I have quite a history ... you see ... I knew He existed, but I had NO IDEA who, how, why, what, etc He fit into the Trinity.  I'm not quite even sure I understood that there was a Trinity.  I wasn't really raised in the church and only began attending as I entered my high school years. 

It was a Southern Baptist Church. 

To say the least, Southern Baptists are fairly conservative when it comes to the Holy Spirit - He's there, but they'd just prefer to keep Him in a box acknowledge His work in the big moments and contribute the rest to the skill of the preaching, programs, etc.

My first day of college was the first time I had ever had the Trinity explained to me.  I knew at that moment that I was WAY over my head and knew absolutely nothing about the Bible, Jesus, God, and especially the Holy Spirit.  I spent the next four years learning about all those things, but have still preferred to keep the Holy Spirit in the box that He's always been in - safe - right where I have the control.

I began reading Forgotten God on the plane earlier this week and in the first sixty pages it has already challenged me about my understanding of the Holy Spirit.  Not only that, but it has challenged me to ask myself the question of "am I allowing the Holy Spirit to control my life ... or am I controlling it?"

It's a question I'm working through as I read the rest of this book, but for now if you would like to take a fresh look at the Holy Spirit ... maybe even learn about Him for the first time - check out Francis Chan's new book Forgotten God - it is well worth the read!