Forgotten God

What the soul is in our body, the Holy Spirit is in the body of Christ, which is the church. - St. Augustine

In reading Chan's Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of The Holy Spirit, God has put into me a fresh and new yearning to be filled with His Spirit. Not just one time, but continually, day in and day out. With every diaper change and (unwanted) face-wipe of food gunk. With every stroke and sniff of his sweet head. With every desperate prayer that, "Oh God, draw his little heart to you." Every seemingly dull moment of my new and young motherhood is suddenly transformed in the light of living in the power of not my strength but His.

It's exciting. It's different. It's terrifying.

For some, it's going to a foreign country to daily risk life and limb to further God's kingdom and tell strangers about the Gospel. For all I know, that could be us in a few years. But for today, March 3, 2010, I need the same Spirit in order to love this little boy. To feed him green beans and peaches. And to feed him the truth that his Momma loves him no matter what.

It is easy to use the phrase "God's will for my life" as an excuse for inaction or even diobedience. It's much less demanding to think about God's will for your future than it is to ask Him what He wants you to do in the next ten minutes. It's safer to commit to following him someday instead of this day. -Page 120

That's my prayer - that I would be desperate for the Holy Spirit's leading every minute of my day. Not for me, but for His Body. For His Church.

"So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church" 1 Cor. 14:12