Book Review: Fogotten God

I finished reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan...what a great book! Right from the start, through solid scriptural support, Francis brings us back to the Holy Spirit as the Bible portrays Him. He explains how we have missed a huge blessing in the Holy Spirit and our neglect is causing disastrous results. Not only does he point out where we are missing the Spirit, but he also address how we can bridge that gap.
In between chapters he also gives examples of people he thinks are truly living by the holy spirit. That is very encouraging to have examples who are living by the Holy Spirit and how that has impacted their daily lives.
This book challenged me in my daily living. One part that has stuck with me, Chan addressed how some people say "I wish I knew God's plan for my life." Chan explains that a lot of Christians today use that more as an excuse not to have faith in God. He points back to the Bible and asks how many people in the Bible does God lay out a 5 year plan for their lives. More often than not, God asks us to follow him by faith, not because we know exactly where we are going. That has really stuck with me and challenged me to live by faith on a daily basis.
Another part that I am still thinking about, Chan says what if you heard God's voice say to you "Sell all your possessions, give them to the poor, I have a plan for you." What would you do? Chan says before we start making reasons why God wouldn't do that, try and answer honestly. I have been wrestling with that, I would like to think that I would follow God, but there are a lot of "things" that I really enjoy in my life, Chan reminds us that although God may not ask that of us, it is not out of God's character to ask us to surrender things in our lives for Him.

A little bit about the author: Francis Chan is senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Calley, CA. I subscribe to their podcast and as I was finishing this book I listened to one of his sermons and then for this interview on Catalyst website.

Francis Chan is stepping out in faith... from Catalyst on Vimeo.

It is pretty amazing and encouraging to hear that Francis Chan is willing to follow the Spirit even if that means leaving his position as senior pastor at his church. He is following by faith as he describes in his book.

This book is a great read, I would highly suggest it. Francis Chan is a great writer and he writes with such transparency, I feel like a know him and I can't wait to read his next book, Crazy Love.