Crazy Love.

I bought the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan back in July!  I had every intention of beginning the book as soon as I finished reading the Old Testament.  Well, it took me until the very end of the year to finish the Old Testament.  So, I didn't actually put off starting the book that long.  I am now reading the New Testament with this amazing book.  I read the first chapter and then decided it would be nice to have someone read along with me to converse about this book with.  Just to Talk about the things in the book and have someone to pray with.  Well, I invited my friend, Megan, to read the book with me.  She bought the book, and I'm pretty sure we've both read through Chapter 2 and we haven't been able to get together to talk about the book yet.  My schedule is INSANE!  So, I thought I would type out some of my hand written notes from my notebook on Chapter 1 here.  Some of this, (MOST of this), of course, is Francis Chan's words, straight out of his book.  I am not taking credit for any of his words here.  He is an amazing Christian man.  And this is an amazingly well written book.  I highly recommend it to you all. 
Here goes!
{ Chapter 1}
Stop Praying -  Stop talking at God and take a long hard look at Him before you speak another word.  Don't rush into God's presence with words.  The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him.  Romans 1:20 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and devine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."
Video 1- Amazed that God created such a massive universe with such detail to our tiny planet in the grand scheme of things.  My response is, "Who do I think I am?" "Why should I be worthy?" It blows me away to think of the details God put into little things-like insects and a leaf.  God definitely has a sense of humor!  Think of all the different laughs your friends have and then think about them all laughing together!  God's art speaks of Himself, reflecting who He is and what He is like.  Psalm 19:1-4 "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the works of His hands.  Day to day pours forth speech and night to night reveals knowledge .  There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.  Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world.  In them He has placed a tent for the sun."  This is why we are called to worship Him.  His art, His handiwork, and His creation all echo the truth that He is glorious.  There is no other like Him.  He is the King of Kings, the Beginning and the End, the One who was and is to come.
Video 2- Just stop and think.  On some mornings I don't feel like loving God, or I just forget to.  Hundreds of things distract us from God. 
We forget that we already have EVERYTHING we need in HIM. 
What is God Himself like?  And, how do we learn to know Him?  What are His characteristics?  How are we to fear Him?  To Speak to Him? 
God is holy. We don't get to decide who God is.  God said to Moses, "I am who I am" (Exodus 3:14)  God is set apart, distinct from us.  Our words can not contain Him. 
God is eternal.  Each of us had a beginning; everything had a beginning but God.  He always has been, since before there was an Earth.  God is so much bigger, so far beyond our time incased, air/food/sleep-dependent lives.  Psalm 102:12 "But you, O Lord, abide forever, And Your name to all generations."  Psalm 102:27 "But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end."
God is all knowing- Isn't this intimidating?  We can fool our friends and family, but you can never fool God.  He knows each of us, deeply and specifically.  He knows our thoughts before we think them.  We can not escape Him, not even if we want to.  David wrote Psalm 139, that even in the darkness he couldn't hide from God; that while he was in his mother's womb, God was there.
Hebrews 4:13 "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him  with whom we have to do."
It is sobering to realize that the same God who is holy and eternal, the maker of the billions of galaxies and thousands of tree species, that this same God takes time to know all the littlest details about each of us.  He doesn't have to know us so well, but He chooses to. 
Psalm 139 is a favorite of mine and I wrote it OVER and OVER while I was pregnant with Kaden.  It just REALLY speaks to me.  Here it is:
"O Lord, You have searched me and known me.  You know my sitting down  and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.  You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.  You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain.  Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?  If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.  If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,"  Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You, but the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.  For you formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.  I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.  My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.  Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.  And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.  How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!  How great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.  Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!  Depart from me therefore, you bloodthirsty men.  For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain.  Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?  And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?  I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.  Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting." 
I just LOVE Psalm 139 for SO many reasons!  I hope you can find special meaning in it too!
God is all-powerful
Colossians 1:16 "For by Him all things were created both in the heavens and on the earth,visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Don't we live instead like God is created for us?  To bless us, to take care of our loved ones?  I heard something this week that REALLY stuck with me, "Don't tell God how big your mountain is, tell your mountain how big your God is."Amen!  Isn't that the truth?  And don't we all need that reminder from time to time???  I LOVE that saying, I will use it FOREVER!
God has more of a right to question us, than us Him.
Daniel 4:35 "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, "What have You done?"
God is fair and just
God is the only Being who is good, and the standards are set by Him.  God hates sin, He had to punish those guilty of sin.  (This is portrayed over and over and over again in the Old Testament, which I just spent the last year reading.)  God says in Proverbs 8:13 "I hate pride and arrogance."  God never excuses sin.  Whenever we start to question whether God really hates sin, we have only to think of the cross, where HIS SON was tortured, mocked, and beaten because of sin.  Our sin.  No question about it:  God hates and punishes sin.
Many facets of God expand beyond our comprehension.  He can not be fully explained by our vocabulary, or grasped by our understanding.   Revelations 4 & Isaiah 6 describe a Heavenly Throne Room.  In Revelations, when John recounts his experience of seeing God, its as though he is scrambling for earthly words to describe the vision he was privileged  to see.  He describes the "One" seated on the throne with two gems, "jasper and carnelian,"' and a rainbow that looked like an emerald.  God resembles radiant jewels more than flesh and blood.  Imagine the most beautiful sun set you've ever seen and the lack of words to describe it.  John describes flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder coming from God's throne, there were 7 blazing torches before the throne and a sea of glass that looks like crystal.  He described those who surrounded God, 24 elders dressed in white wearing golden crowns.  Four 6-winged beings with eyes all over their bodies and wings.  One has the face of a lion, one an ox, one a man, one an eagle.  It would be terrifying to see one of these creatures out in the woods.  He tells us what the beings are saying.  24 elders cast their golden crowns before the One on the throne, fall on their faces before Him, and say, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."  At the same time the four creatures never stop day or night saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!"  Just imagine being in that room.
The prophet Isaiah also had a vision of God in His throne room, "I saw the Lord seated on the throne."  Isaiah saw that and lived?  The Israelites hid themselves whenever God passed by their camp because they were too afraid to look at Him.  They were scared they would die if they saw God.  But Isaiah looked and saw God.  The bottom of God's robe filled the whole temple and the seraphin appeared above Him.  Each had six wings similar to John's description.  Isaiah says they called out to one another, saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Alimghty; the whole earth is full of His glory!"  Then the foundations shook and smoke filled the house.  His words to God,"Woe is me...I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."  And then one of the seraphim brings Isaiah a piece of burning coal that had been smoldering on the altar.  The creature touches Isaiah's mouth with the hot coal and tells him that his guilt is taken away. 
John's description helps us imagine what the throne room of God looks like, while Isaiah reminds us what our only response to such a God should be.
May Isaiah's cry become our own.  Woe is me!  We are a people of unclean lips! 
This is how we should approach God, I am unclean...
Go read Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4. 
Stand in awe of God, stand in silence before God who's tremendous worth becomes even more apparent as we see our own puny selves in comparison. 

This concludes Chapter 1.  Chapter 2 notes to come very soon.  I also bought this book for my best friend, Hilary last night and gave it to her.  She is going to be reading as well.