Crazy Love Chapter 8: Profile of the Obsessed

Obsessed: To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic.

"The Bible teaches us to be consumed with Christ and to faithfully live out His words. The Holy Spirit stirs in us a joy and peace when we are fixated on Jesus, living by faith, and focused on the life to come." Below are some key concepts that distinguish an obsessed Christian to one that is normal. Let us all strive to be so obsessed with God that our whole being, mind and soul is lived for Him.

Obsessed Christians are:

1. Lovers- There is more to our faith than friendliness, politeness, and even kindness. Jesus teaches us in Luke 6:32-36, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to your? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lent to 'sinners', expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. True faith is loving a person after he has hurt you. True love makes you stand out. We are commanded to love our enemies and do good to them. Who are your enemies? Or, in terms we connect with better, who are the people you avoid or who avoid you? Who are the people who have hurt your or hurt your friends or hurt your kids? Are you willing to do good to those people? To reach out to them? God commands that we give without expecting anything in return. Christ gave us something for which we can never repay Him, and then He asks us to keep giving like He gives." People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure. Obsessed people love those who hate them and who can never love them back.
2. Risk Takers- Before leaving on mission trips, retreats, vacations, business trips, etc. we often pray a prayer like this, "Lord, we pray for safety as we travel. We ask that no one gets hurt on this trip. Please keep everyone safe until we return, and bring us back safely." "We are consumed by safety. Obsessed with it, actually. It's not wrong to pray for God's protection, but we have to question how we've made safety our highest priority. "We've elevated safety to the neglect of whatever God's best is, whatever would bring God the most glory, or whatever would accomplish His purposes in our lives and in the world. Would you be willing to pray this prayer? God, bring me closer to You during this trip, whatever it takes..." People who are obsessed with Jesus aren't consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God's kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.
3. Friends of All- Strive to be friends with people that aren't like you, that might come from different walks of life. "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have good and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of al kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Timothy 6:6-13). People who are obsessed with Jesus live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another. Obsessed people believe that Jesus talked about money and the poor so often because it was really important to Him (1 John 2:4-6; Matthew 16:24-26)
4. Crazy Ones- How might you react if someone close to you chose to move into a house that was half the size of their previous house or gave more of their possessions away or spent more time for others? Would you think them as being crazy? "When people gladly sacrifice their time or comfort or home, it is obvious that they trust in the promises of God. Why is it that the story of someone who has actually done what Jesus commands resonates deeply with us, but we then assume we could never do anything so radical or intense? Or why do we call it radical when, to Jesus, it is simply the way it is? The way it should be?" Obsessed people are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status quo. A person who is obsessed with Jesus will do things that don't always make sense in terms of success or wealth on this earth. As Martin Luther put it, "There are two days on my calendar: this day and that day" (Luke 14:25-35; Matthew 7:13-23; 8:18-22; Revelation 3:1-6)
5. The Humble- Francis Chan said in this chapter of a time where after he spoke at a summer camp several students came up to him and told him he was their "favorite speaker." Chan felt good about the compliments and thanked God for helping him speak well. While he was praying he realized that the students were actually talking about him not God. Chan said that "I was standing before a holy God and robbing Him of the glory that was rightfully His." It says in Isaiah 42:8, "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols." Chan realized that any attention he received belonged to God. "It's pride, plain and simple, that keeps me from giving God all the glory and keeping some of it for myself. It is a battle we all fight, in some form or another, some of us daily or even hourly." One of the ways to fight against pride is through focused prayer. "Before saying one word to God, take a minute and imagine what it would be like to stand before His throne as you pray." A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the sin of pride is always a battle. Obsessed people know that you can never be "humble enough," and so they seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known (Matthew 5:16).
6. Servers- People who are obsessed with Jesus do not consider service a burden. Obsessed people take joy in loving God by loving His people (Matthew 13:44; John 15:8).
7. Givers- "The Scriptures are filled with commands and references about caring for the poor and for those who cannot help themselves. The crazy part about God's heart is that He doesn't just ask us to give; He desires that we love those in need as much as we love ourselves. That is the core of the second greatest command, to "love your neighbors as your" (Matthew 22:39)." People who are obsessed with God are known as givers, not takers. Obsessed people genuinely think that others matter as much as they do, and they are particularly aware of those who are poor around the world (James 2:14-26).
8. Sojourners- "Most Americans think about life on earth way too much. Much of our time, energy, and money are channeled toward that which is temporary. Paul writes, "For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:18-21)." A person who is obsessed thinks about heaven frequently. Obsessed people orient their lives around eternity; they are not fixed only on what is here in front of them.
9. The Engrossed- "Here, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door-frames of your hoses and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)." "In Moses' time, the heart was understood to be the seat of a person's emotions, the very center of his being, the place where decisions are made. The soul was considered the basis for a person's traits and qualities, or his personality. Strength refers to physical, mental, and spiritual strength. So within this command to love God with "all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength," every fiber of humanity is addressed. Our goal as people who follow Christ should be no less than becoming people who are madly in love with God." A person who is obsessed is characterized by committed, settled, passionate love for God, above and before every other thing and every other being.
10. Unguarded Ones- "God wants us to be open with Him. He definitely doesn't want us to 'season our wretchedness' as we would raw meat. He knows what we are, that we are disgusting, that all we are doing is trying to make ourselves better. God desires true intimacy with each of us, and that comes only when we trust Him enough to be fully transparent and vulnerable." People who are obsessed are raw with God; they do not attempt to mask the ugliness of their sins or their failures. Obsessed people don't put it on for God; He is their safe place, where they cane be at peace.
11. The Rooted- "The average Christian in the United States spends ten minutes per day with God; meanwhile, the average American spends over four hours a day watching television." "God doesn't want religious duty. He doesn't want a distracted, half-hearted 'Fine, I'll read a chapter...now are You happy?' attitude. God wants His Word to be a delight to us, so much so that we meditate on it day and night. In Psalm 1, He promises that those who do so are 'like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does propers' (verse 3)." People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with Him. They are nourished by God's Word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain them for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternatives messages.
12. The Dedicated- "We tend to think of joy as something that ebbs and flows depending on life's circumstances. But we don't just lose joy, as though one day we have it and the next it's gone, oh darn. Joy is something that we have to choose and then work for. Like the ability to run for an hour, it doesn't come automatically. It needs cultivation. When life gets painful or doesn't go as we hoped, it's okay if a little of our joy seeps away. The Bible teaches that true joy is formed in the midst of the difficult seasons of life." A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character than comfort. Obsessed people know that joy doesn't depend on circumstances or environment; it is a gift that must be chosen and cultivated, a gift that ultimately comes from God (James 1:2-4).
13. Sacrificers- "There is no way we can contribute or add to God. he has everything and is complete. When we are in God's presence, all we can do is praise Him. Romans 11:35-36 says, 'Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.'" A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the best thing he can do is be faithful to his Savior in every aspect of his life, continually saying "Thank You!" to God. An obsessed person knows there can never be intimacy if he is always trying to pay God back or work hard enough to be worthy. He revels in his role as child and friend of God.

I hope this will give you a glimpse of how we can be fully surrendered to God in our lives.

*Quotes taken from Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By A Relentless God by Francis Chan

Crazy Love Chapter 7: Your Best Life....Later

Faith.

I sensed this throughout this chapter.

In Hebrews 11, it speaks of people in the "hall of faith." They were great men and women of the Bible that exemplified great faith in Christ even through their sins and flaws. God was able to use Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, Rahab, etc. to do incredible things. I love how Francis Chan says how our faith should look like which is, "Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy. Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers." God calls us to be salt and light in this world so there should be a difference in our lives compared to non Christians. "If we allow ourselves to live recklessly for Him, then we, too, will see His glory. We will see Him do the impossible." Don't live your life safe or stuck in your comfort zone but live your life that will cost you during your life on earth but will be more than worth it in eternity.

"The ultimate example of sacrifice and surrender is, of course, Jesus Christ. He had everything but still chose to surrender it out of love for His Father." Our attitudes should be the same as Christ.

"Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -Philippians 2:6-11

One way we can show our tangible love for God is through how we care for the poor and those who are suffering. If you actually saw Jesus starving, how would you react?

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presences whenever our hearts condemn us. -1 John 3:16-20

"True love requires sacrifice. And our love is shown by how we live our lives: "Let us not love with words or tongues but with actions and in truth."

Walking intimately and fully surrendered in Christ requires great faith. "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). Life can be very comfortable when we separate ourselves from people who are different from us, but God doesn't call us to be comfortable. "He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through." "We are each given different gifts and talents by our Master. The thing that matters most is how we use what we have been given, not how much we make or do compared to someone else. What matters is that we spend ourselves" Where are you storing your treasures at? On Earth or in Heaven? Live and walk by FAITH!!

Spirituality at Nyack College

One of the most important reasons I chose Nyack College for my college education was that it had a strong Christian foundation that I could continue to grow my faith on. Since being here God as truly spoken to me in so many ways. The chapel experience is interesting here because it has opened me to a whole different kind of worship. Nyack College is a very diverse school so there are people here from all different backgrounds and they each bring their own style of worship. I have been exposed to gospel music much more here but the contemporary music is still here. Even though the praise and worship is so much more diverse than what I am a custom to, the passion for glorifying the Lord is still there. The speakers that come in to share their messages are great as well. They each have their own style of teaching to us but I can always take something away from their messages.

Besides chapel, there are so many different small groups available here as well. I am currently in the small group called Crazy Love. In the small group we are discussing the book by Francis Chan called Crazy Love and it has been a great experience for me as you can tell from all of my recent posts.

There are also different events that Nyack holds to further our spiritual growth on a deeper level. I've experienced the Deeper Life Series, the Hallelujah Fest, and even Worship and the Word.

I am thankful that I have found a local church that I can attend on Sundays to keep me spiritually fed. I am currently attending Living Christ Church in downtown Nyack.

Overall I am thankful that God has brought me to a place that I can grow and learn from Him. He has touched my heart and has even broken me down into tears. I know that there is so much more God has in store for my life and I can't wait for it. One thing that God has taught me so far here at Nyack is to totally and completely surrender my life to Him so he can do His will. I ask that you continue to keep me in your prayers and that God will continue to open up my mind, eyes, and heart to His will and seek His ways.

Crazy Love Chapter 6: When You're In Love

Have you ever met someone who was utterly and desperately in love with Jesus?

"When you are truly in love, you go to great lengths to be with the one you love. You'll drive for hours to be together, even if it's only for a short while. You don't mind staying up late to talk. Walking in the rain is romantic, not annoying. You'll willingly spend a small fortune on the one you're crazy about. When you are apart from each other, it's painful, even miserable. He or she is all you think about; you jump at any chance to be together."

"In his book God Is the Gospel, John Piper asks whether we are in love with God: The critical question for our generation-and for every generation-is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?"

Love. Don't we all love it? Don't we all crave it? And isn't that what God wants for us-to crave this relationship with Him as we crave all genuine love relationships? "Isn't that what brings Him glory-when believers desires Him and are not merely slaves who serve Him out of obligation?"

God wants to change us; He died so that we could change but the answer lies in letting Him change you. "Come near to God and he will come near to you" (Revelation 3:20). What Francis Chan is trying to share with us is that we all need God to help us love God. And if we need his help to love Him then we will definitely need help to love others. It is a continuous cycle: "Our prayers for more love result in love, which naturally causes us to pray more, which results in more love..." When we are pursuing Christ, running toward Christ, we are free to serve, love, and give thanks without guilt, worry, or fear. "As long as we are pursuing Him, we are satisfied in Him. It is when we stop actively loving Him that we find ourselves restless and gravitating toward other means of fulfillment." But there will be times when we gravitate away from Christ but Jesus reminds us that he has come to overcome the world.

"From the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations." (Malachi 1:11 NASB) God deserves excellence and he doesn't need to beg or plead with us to receive it. In other words we are the ones that should be begging to worship in His presence. An incredible promise we get from God is in Malachi 3:10 where it says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouses, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts, 'if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." God is telling His people to test Him, to try to out-give Him. He knows it is impossible, that no one can out-give the One from whom all things come. God knows people will realize that "we have given you only what comes from your hands" (1 Chronicles 29:14) Take on this challenge: If you really want to experience God's supernatural provision, then do as He says. Test Him. Give more than you can manage, and see how He responds."

"If you merely pretend that you enjoy God or love Him, He knows. You can't fool Him; don't even try. Instead, tell Him how you feel. Tell Him that He isn't the most important thing in this life to you, and that you're sorry for that. Tell Him that you've been lukewarm, that you've chosen________ over Him time and again. Tell Him that you want Him to change you, that you long to genuinely enjoy Him. Tell Him how you want to experience true satisfaction and pleasure and joy in your relationship with Him. Tell Him you want to love Him more than anything on this earth. Tell Him you want to treasure the kingdom of heaven so much that you'd willingly sell everything in order to get it. Tell Him what you like about Him, what you appreciate, and what brings you joy.

I leave you with something to reflex on and maybe even pray to God about.

"Jesus, I need to give myself up. I am not strong enough to love You and walk with You on my own. I can't do it, and I need You. I need You deeply and desperately. I believe You are worth it, that You are better than anything else I could have in this life or the next. I want You. And when I don't, I want to want You. Be all in me. Take all of me. Have YOUR WAY WITH ME."

*Quotes taken from Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By A Relentless God By Francis Chan

Academics at Nyack Collge

My academic experiences at Nyack College has been great! I enjoy all the classes I am in and my professors are very knowledgable. The classes I am in are: College Writing 1, Foundations of Education, Elementary Spanish 1, World Civilization 1, Intro to Spiritual Formation, and Freshman Seminar in Education.

The pace of my classes is fine and I have no problem keeping up with all of my work. I do have a lot of reading in many of my classes but the amount I am given each day is fair. The papers I have written have gone well too. I am glad that Nyack offers the Writing Center because I go there often to get my essays read and fixed.

All of my professors are very good and passionate about what they teach. I really enjoy Professor McDuffie's class because of the discussions we have in class, his teaching style, and the way he expands our minds to new things. Professor Harrigan's class is fun as well. He is very funny and makes the class time go by fast.

Overall I am very happy about my academic experiences at Nyack. I am learning so much and I love how I can bring my personal Christian beliefs into class as well.

Crazy Love Chapter 5: Serving Leftovers to A Holy God

In Revelation 3: 15-18, Jesus hates Christians who are lukewarm that he will literally spit them out of his mouth. In reality being "lukewarm" is an oxymoron because there is no such thing. In the Gospels, Jesus is clearly telling us that "he wants all or nothing." Try to pick one book from the Gospels and read it objectively, like reading it for the first time. Hopefully by reading that way you will see what Jesus is telling you to do. I am taking on this challenge myself and reading the Gospel.

"God wants our best, deserves our best, and demands our best." He doesn't want our leftovers but often times we fall into this trap by mumbling a quick prayer before bed or putting a few dollars into the offering dish because of guilt. In Hosea 13:6 it creates a great picture of people giving leftovers to God and it says, "When I fed them, they were satisfied; whey they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me." "Leftovers are not merely inadequate; form God's point of view, they're evil. Let's stop calling it 'a busy schedule' or 'bills' or 'forgetfulness.' It's called evil." God is holy and he deserves excellence, "the very best I have."

The passage in Revelation where God speaks of lukewarm people was geared to the church at Laodicea. Jesus was instructed them "to buy from Him the things that really matter, the things they didn't even realize they needed." The people of Laodicea were wealthy but Jesus was trying to teach them that they needed to turn to Him for what was valuable and what really mattered. "God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love." Apostle Paul wrote, "I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2-3 ESV). "According to God, we are here to love. Not much else really matters."

Following Christ and loving him can't be done halfheartedly or on the side. It isn't a label we can display to others or when it seems useful. "It must be central to everything we do and are." If life is a river, then pursuing Christ requires swimming upstream. A question I really want you to think about that made me think was,

"How many of us would really leave our families, our jobs, our education, our friends, our connections, our familiar surroundings, and our homes if Jesus asked us to? If He just showed up and said, "Follow me"? No explanation. No direction"

What would you do? Would you straight up leave your work and follow Him or would you hesitate? Would you second guess yourself? This question above becomes tough when we come to realize how we spend our time, what our money goes toward, and where we will invest our energy because it is equivalent to choosing God or rejecting Him.

"Are you willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants? Do you believe that wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other things or person in your life? Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made?

True faith means holding nothing back; it bets everything on the hope of eternity. Are you willing to swim upstream towards God, pursue Him, take up His cross, and count the cost for Him?