Forgotten God

If I were to recommend some reading on the Person and work of the Holy Spirit I would not hesitate to recommend Francis Chan's book Forgotten God.  Basically he works from the premise of the Bible, imagine that, and then works out of that.  He dosen't tend to get lost in minutae in his writing which is refreshing as it is challenging.  I cannot believe that people could bore you with the Holy Spirit but that is what we tend to do in forgetting his work in our lives and trying to disect Him instead of worship Him.  Check out the book and don't be bored in church or outside of it anymore.

Some great quotes:

"We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God." (p. 18)

"It is true that God may have called you to be exactly where you are.  But it's absolutely vital to grasp that He didn't call you there so you could settle in and live out your life in comfort and superficial peace.  His purposes are not random or arbitrary.  If you are still alive on this planet, it's because He has something for you to do." (p. 92)

"The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives.  Jesus Christ did not die in order to follow us.  He died and rose again so that we could forget everything else and follow Him to the cross, to true Life." (p. 122)

"I believe He is calling me - and all of us - to depend on Him for living in a way that cannot be mimicked or forged.  He wants us to walk in step with His Spirit rather than depend solely on the raw talent and knowledge He's given us.
But instead of living this way, we've created a whole brand of churches that do not depend on the Spirit, a whole culture of Christians who are not disciples, a new group of "followers" who do not follow." (p. 143)

"No matter where you live and what your days look like, you have the choice each day to depend on yourself, to live safely, and to try to control your life.  Or you can live as you were created to live - as a temple of the Holy Spirit of God, as a person dependent on Him desperate for God the Spirit to show up and make a difference.  When you begin living a life characterized by walking with the Spirit, that is when people will begin to look not to you but to our Father in heaven and give Him the praise." (p. 156) [emphasis mine]

Your boasting friend,

Tim