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An Encapsulated View of the Best from Christian Publishers

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Volume 4 . Issue 19
July 2008

COUNCIL OF REFERENCE
Crazy Love:
Dr. Richard Averbeck Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
Rev. D. Stuart Briscoe

Dr. Paul Cedar A Quick Focus


Mr. Dave Coleman The Book's Purpose
Dr. & Mrs. Larry Crabb
Challenge believers who embrace the
status quo of a society that searches for
Mr. Roger Cross
economic, political, and emotional
Dr. Kenneth
Rev. SamuelO.Farina
Gangel security and ends up with spiritual
Rev.Kenneth
Dr. & Mrs. O.
Lud Golz
Gangel
complacency
Dr.
Rev.Howard
& Mrs.G.Lud
Hendricks
Golz Inspire a search into the essence of the
Dr.Mr. OlanG.
Howard Hendrix
Hendricks
one true God, and in so doing, inspire
a discarding of every false, preconceived
Dr.
Mr.David Jeremiah
Olan Hendrix notion of God that hinders
Rev.David
Dr. KnuteJeremiah
Larson
Motivate followers of Christ toward a
Dr.
Rev.John C. Maxwell
Knute Larson wild, crazy, intimate relationship with
Dr.John
Dr. Bruce
C.McNicol
Maxwell
the Most High
Mr.Bruce
Dr. DeanMcNicol
Merrill The Book’s Message
Mrs. Elisa Morgan
Mr. Dean Merrill “This book is written for those who want more
Jesus. It is written for those who are bored with
Dr.Elisa
Mrs. Luis Morgan
Palau
what American Christianity offers. It is for those
Dr. Dr.
Gilbert A. Peterson
Ray Ortlund who don’t want to plateau, those who would rather
die before their convictions do.”
Rev.
Dr. Wes
LuisRoberts
Palau by Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski
God is our source of love and he relentlessly David C. Cook
Dr.Rev. & Mrs.
Gilbert Jamie
A. Peterson pursues us. God’s love is immeasurable, and though
Rassmussen
our minds are finite, when we grasp the smallest ISBN: 1434768511
Rev. Wes Roberts
Mr. Jim Warren fraction of who God really is~the Creator of all
Rev. & Mrs. Jamie that we see and of the galaxies that we can’t, the
Dr.Rassmussen
Rick Warren Savior who gave His Son to die in our stead, and Six Main Points
Mr. Jim Warren
the Spirit who catches every tear~we’ll live out Inaccurate Preconceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
the radical life of love He’s mapped out for us in
His Word. Spiritual Amnesia: Forgetting the Awe of His

VI
Dr. Rick Warren
Publishers Majesty and the Conviction of Our Smallness . . . .2
Catherine & David While American Christianity may have con-
Publishers
Martin ditioned us to think and live complacently, God’s Now or Later? Living for Eternity Instead of the Here
Catherine & David Word doesn’t make room for our comfortable, and Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Martin
Editors safe interpretations. As I encourage you to look It’s Crazy Because It’s Countercultural . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Cheryl & Michael through the Scriptures yourself, I’m confident that
Chiapperino
Editors The Lukewarm and the Leftovers: God Hates Both 5
Cheryl & Michael
you’ll find what I’ve found on my spiritual journey~
Chiapperino there’s only one kind of love that God wants and Love is an Obsession: The Simple, Yet Profound
accepts from His followers, and it’s all-out crazy. Answer to It All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
22
demands that we make Him the
center of our lives if we choose to
follow His footsteps. After all, that
is how Jesus lived every moment,
and when we grasp the truth in this

Inaccurate
and we apply it to our daily walks,
those who don’t know Christ will
no longer be able to use the church
as their scapegoat for disinterest in

Preconceptions
“I believe in God, just not organized religion.” This is a familiar state-
Christianity.
Instead, they will have to reject
God Himself because they won’t
ment from people who choose to hurl insults at the church and to avoid be able to fight with the way the
it like the Plague. Sadly, this attitude is often so commonplace that we as church carries His name. No longer
believers shrug our shoulders and barely notice it. But hearing these words will they see a body of people so
should cause us to assess why so many people struggle with organized re- uninviting, seemingly no different
ligion. from themselves, but they’ll see a
love that’s practical, a joy that is
It’s time to look above and then look within to evaluate what~and who~ far more than happiness, and a God
the church really is. As believers, we are the Church, and we need to boldly that is the source of all things good.
and honestly look in the mirror. This process will require dependence on CBS
God as we take risks, look inside ourselves, and cultivate a willingness to
change.
Why does the established church have such a poor reputation among
unbelievers? In trying to find these answers, it is crucial that we not play
the comparison game with other Christians. We ought to measure our
faith and our relationship with Christ not by our closest believing friends,
Spiritual
but by God alone through His Word and His communication with us.
The crux of the problem~the reason people make such disheartening
statements toward us~is that many of us view God through a distorted
Amnesia:
lens. Though we still live in this carnal world till we enter heaven’s gates, Forgetting
we don’t have to live with such distortion just because we’re human. We
can allow God to correct our vision to see Him more accurately and more the Awe of
completely as He longs to be seen and understood.
His Majesty
and the
“The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re Conviction
lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. of Our
The crux of it all is why we are this way,
and it is because we have an inaccurate view Smallness
of God.” Before continuing, take a moment
and log on to www.crazylovebook.com
and watch the “Awe Factor” video.
Wrapped up in our inaccurate preconceptions of an all-knowing, all- Then stop and sit in silence for a
powerful, sovereign God, we think that God and His angels should give while. Stop praying, even. Just
us a standing ovation each time we read a verse of the Scriptures or allot meditate on the bigness of God.
30 minutes out of our traffic-filled days to spend time with Him, praying
and reading and meditating. Those disciplines are all good, but I think we It has to grieve the heart of
forget that God has given us a choice to love Him. In fact, it wouldn’t have God when He sees how few people
been real love if He hadn’t given us a choice. really understand, develop, and
exemplify a true fear of Him.“We
However, we must understand “that God never had an identity crisis.” are slow to listen, quick to speak,
He is the great I AM, always has been and always will be. He knows who and quick to become angry.” But
He is, every facet, every marvelous, minute intricacy of His being, and He
is complete within Himself. He doesn’t need us, but He wants us and continued on page 3
3
SPIRITUAL AMNESIA: Forgetting the Awe of His Majesty We must grasp the fact that
and the Conviction of Our Smallness God is fair and just. He determines
continued from page 2 rewards and penalties, and because
no man or woman or child is right-
after seeing such an awe-inspiring video, don’t you grasp the fear of God eous, He defines the law. Why? Be-
more clearly? After all, why would God have created far more galaxies than cause He’s God, because He’s holy,
the human mind can ever hope to fathom? Places that we’ve never seen because He won’t tolerate sin and
and some that we never even knew existed until recently? How is it that must punish it, and because He
carbon dioxide is fatal to humans though plants need carbon dioxide to must be consistent with who He
survive, and then plants produce the very thing humans need to survive~ is. Sometimes we disagree with His
oxygen? How creative! And how unfathomable is our God! judgment. However, “when we
disagree, let’s not assume it’s His
But no matter how much we read amazing statistics, or watch awe-inspir- reasoning that needs correction.”
ing videos or drive through a beautifully painted sunset or see a newborn
baby’s first movements, we are still hardheaded and we still forget how big Revelation 4 and Isaiah 6 shed
the God whom we serve is. light on the glory of God and tell
what our subsequent response
should be. In Revelation, John
describes the throne room of God
“We shouldisbean
“There ready to explain who
epidemic that Son of
of spiritual metaphorically, though likening
God is and be able to articulate and defend the God and the area surrounding Him
truth ofamnesia goingmission,
his unique claims, around,and work on to the most precious gems. John
our behalf, so that the much-loved people of this is awed by the glory he witnesses,
and
worldnone
will beof
ableus is immune.”
to believe in Him.”
yet no human vocabulary can ever
capture it. Isaiah gives less of a de-
tailed description of the throne
So what is the cure for this amnesia in a world where culture conditions room in chapter 6, but the reader
us to focus on everything we don’t have instead of being grateful for all sees his humility as he cries to God,
we’ve been given? In a world in which the pervading attitude toward God “Woe is me … I am ruined! For I
is one of either total rejection or mere toleration for His existence? First am a man of unclean lips, and my
of all, we must be acutely aware of this: eyes have seen the King, the Lord
Almighty.” If we truly witness the
glory of God as we allow Him to
reveal His real nature to us, there
is no doubt that we will cry out to
“God will not be tolerated. God in much the same way. CBS

He instructs us to worship
and fear Him.” Now or Later?
The cure is to understand His nature, the very characteristics of His be- Living for Eternity
ing God. He is holy, meaning He is perfect. Set apart and completely other
than anything else in heaven above or the earth beneath. He is eternal, not Instead of the
bound by the needs and limits that restrict us. He is “so far beyond our
time-encased, air/food/sleep-dependent lives.” He is all-knowing. He chooses
Here and Now
to know everything about us because He wants to, not because He is obli- Most days, if we’re honest, we
gated, and there is no hiding from His sight. He is all-powerful. Colossians don’t contemplate God or eternity
1:16 tells us that “all things were created by him and for him.” But doesn’t that much; at least, not in compari-
it seem instead that we have it backward? son to how much we stress over
our jobs, our checking accounts,
our families, or our 401Ks. Scrip-
ture tells us that our lives are like
vapors, and though we may claim
“Don’t we live instead as though God is created we believe this intellectually, do
for us, to do our bidding, to bless us, and to we really live it out? If we truly be-
take care of our loved ones?” lieved that our heart could stop
beating and our arteries stop pump-
ing blood in the middle of this
We ask Him so many questions about why so many things have gone paragraph, would we live as we are
wrong in the world, without realizing that He has every right to turn those living now?
questions back on us! continued on page 4
4
NOW OR LATER? Living for Eternity Instead
of the Here and Now
continued from page 3

For instance, take two commonly justified sins: worry and stress.
Worry shows a lack of trust that God is powerful enough to handle what- “If life were stable,
ever life throws our way. Stress implies that everything we’re involved
in, whether ministry-related or otherwise, is significant enough to allow I’d never need God’s
our tight, controlling grip on our lives and rudeness to others when they help. Since it’s not,
block our agendas.
I reach out for Him
Both worry and stress, however, show what skewed perceptions we regularly. I am
have of God and our relation to Him. There’s a story being written, a
movie being filmed and played out. It has no beginning and no end be- thankful for the
cause God is the source of it~the author of the story and the central char- unknowns and that
acter in the film. How do we so often mistakenly assume that the central
character is us? I don’t have control,
because it makes me
run to God.”
“We have only our two-fifths-of-a-second-
long scene to live. I don’t know about Living each day running to Him,
embracing the unknowns, refusing
you, but I want my two-fifths of a second to take his blessings of health and
family and financial provision for
to be about my making much of God.” granted, loving Him to our fullest
capacity, will put us in the safest
and most fulfilling standing with
To be forthright and blunt, this means we all need to get over our- our Creator: ready at any moment
selves. We need to point to God and focus on Him through good times for heaven, aware that we are per-
and bad. No matter where we are in this moment, we must realize that haps facing the brink of eternity
the story isn’t ours; it never was, and it never will be. And this is actually today.
the Good News! That it’s not about us. That it won’t end with the pain CBS
and the suffering of this world when we know Christ and follow Him.
Once we realize the story is all about bringing glory to the great I Am,
then we have two choices: turn to ourselves as our own gods, in a futile
attempt to control things the way we want them to be, or turn to our
Maker and admit that we desperately need Him.

It’s Crazy
because it’s Countercultural
“I am just an
earthly, sinful
father, and I love
Since God is someone so totally other than us, it is easy to understand
my kids so much
why we all, to some degree, have a hard time fathoming His incredible it hurts. How
love for us. For different people, there are different reasons why they could I not trust
find it so difficult. For me, it was my relationship with my own father
who passed away when I was 12 years old. My mother died giving birth a heavenly, perfect
to me, and since then, my father beat me whenever I disobeyed or some- Father who loves
how got under his skin. I definitely understood the “fear” of my father,
but comprehending a father’s love was beyond me since mine never me infinitely more
seemed to show it. Thus, just like I walked on eggshells with my father,
I tiptoed around in my relationship with God, fearing His majesty~but than I will ever
only out of true fright~and trying my hardest not to anger Him. love my kids?”
Then I had my own children, and my perception of God changed
dramatically for the better. Suddenly, I began to understand how much continued on page 5
He cherishes us, how much He enjoys us and loves our attention.
5
IT’S CRAZY BECAUSE IT’S COUNTERCULTURAL
continued from page 4 I should have said, if God is some-
one totally other than us~we may
Just as my small daughter bounds out of the house every day as I pull be made in His image, but He is
into the driveway, coming home from work, God desires our love to be complete perfection and is made
bold and fervent. Daily, He wants us to show it through the way we act, up of so many characteristics we
the words we speak, the thoughts we think. I would never want my can’t fathom~then we can’t inter-
daughter to run out and hug me every day out of compulsion. Because pret His actions as we would those
my wife or I told her she must to receive love from us. No. Of course, of another person’s.
I’d love her whether or not she chose to hug me every day. But as her
father who loves her so dearly, who is so proud of her and wants to pro- For instance, if a friend of ours
vide her with the best of everything, I look forward to those times. Be- tried to manipulate and force us
cause I know she’s not greeting me in her adorable, childlike way out of to love him, we’d consider that to
guilt, I know it’s genuine~from her heart. be arrogance on his part. Who does
he think he is? we’d ask. But God
In the same way, “Jesus didn’t command that we have a regular quiet is not a human. He is not arrogant
time with him each day.” Rather, he tells us that the greatest command or self-seeking, at least in the boast-
is to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37-38). ful sense in which we think of those
Studying the Scriptures and powerful praying will follow without question. terms. He is the only God, Someone
who knows who He is, knows that
Ephesians 1:8 calls God’s followers His “glorious inheritance.” Can our relationship with Him is what’s
you imagine? A God so great, so majestic, all powerful, everywhere pre- best for us, and knows that He must
sent, who doesn’t need us at all~who actually desires us? Yet, how sad pursue us to the end to be consis-
that the irony of our indifferent response still exists from Adam and Eve tent with His loving nature. His
till today: crazy love means that He can’t just
let us go our own carnal ways with-
out allowing us to choose Him. If
He did, when Judgment Day comes
“He treasures us and anticipates our departure and all is revealed, wouldn’t we be
from this earth to be with Him~and we wonder, angry at God for not “forcing” us
indifferently, how much we have to do to love Him through any means
possible? Nevertheless, God doesn’t
for Him to get by.” force. He only nudges through
His Holy Spirit. The choice to
How dreadfully sad that is. Consider a recent question I received from accept and pursue Him is ours.
a college student: “Why would a loving God force me to love Him?” At
the time, I didn’t answer as completely as I now wish I would have. CBS

The Lukewarm and the Leftovers:


God Hates Both I offer the following descriptions
of the lukewarm, only partially com-
mitted person, who throws her
leftovers to God, to express what
may be hard to swallow~that luke-
“The American church is a difficult place warm and Christian do not belong
in the same phrase. Biblically, “luke-
to fit in if you want to live out New warm Christians” cannot exist.
Testament Christianity. The goals of They may be going to church but
not going to heaven. But don’t
American Christianity are often a nice take my word that such a phrase
is actually an oxymoron. Please test
marriage, children who don’t swear, and the Scripture for yourself. Take it
good church attendance. Taking the literally, and don’t necessarily base
your conclusions on what the ma-
words of Christ literally and seriously jority is saying to you. The truth
is, the majority can be wrong.
is rarely considered.”
continued on page 6
6
THE LUKEWARM AND THE LEFTOVERS: GOD HATES BOTH
continued from page 5 After doing so, wouldn’t you
Search your heart, and honestly assess where you are today in your agree that the current state of Am-
relationship with Christ. erican Christianity is rather discon-
certing, to say the least? It seems
According to Scripture, lukewarm people: “we’re willing to make changes in
our lives only if we think it affects
▼ Attend church, sometimes frequently or even every week (Isaiah salvation.” We ask questions that
29:13). show how little we’re willing to
▼ Give tithe to the church and to worthy causes, but only if it doesn’t give up, how much we crave con-
hinder what they consider a comfortable lifestyle (1 Chronicles 21:24, trol, and how misinformed we are
Luke 21:1-4). about who God is. “[Our ques-
▼ Desire to fit in, both inside and outside the church, more than they tions] demonstrate that our con-
care to hold up what is right~popularity wins over morality (Luke cern is more about going to heaven
6:26, Revelation 3:1). than loving the King.” It is possi-
▼ “Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they ble, then, to do “Christian-y
want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genu- things” and still not be a believer.
inely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it” (John 10:10, Romans “To call someone a Christian simply
6:1-2). because he does some Christian-y
things is giving false comfort to
▼ Feel moved to hear about radical followers of Christ and their radical the unsaved. But to declare anyone
stories, but they don’t think the “extreme” Christian life is for them who sins ‘unsaved’ is to deny the
(James 1:22, 4:17; Matthew 21:28-31). reality and truth of God’s grace.”
▼ Seldom share their faith with those in their sphere of influence because
their fear of man trumps their fear of God (Matthew 10:32-33). It must be understood here that
we are all still saved by God’s grace.
▼ Measure how moral they are by weighing their own sins against those None of our works can earn us any
of the secular world (Luke 18:11-12). favor from God; only His sacrifice
▼ Say that complete surrender and dependence on God is only for the and our choice to accept His sacri-
ultraspiritual like those whose paid vocation is ministry (Matthew fice and believe in Him allows our
22:37-38). salvation. But, if we truly believe~if
▼ Love themselves more than they love others (Matthew 5:43-47, Luke we desire Him, not just the heaven
14:12-14). He can give us or the hell He can
save us from~we won’t be one of
▼ Serve God and people, but only to the extent they feel comfortable the lukewarm or one of the ones
with (Luke 18:21-25). throwing his leftover offerings to
▼ Think much more about the here and now, the temporal realm, a holy God.
than they do about the eternal realm (Philippians 3:18-20, Colossians
3:2). It’s not that I want you to read
this in fear that you aren’t a Chris-
▼ Often don’t consider the possibility of giving as much as they can to tian~fear that you’re doing things
the poor (Matthew 25:34, 40; Isaiah 58:6-7). wrong, fear that you sin too much,
▼ Do whatever they need to do “to be ‘good enough’ ” to keep them fear that you fit too many of the
from feeling plagued by guilt (1 Chronicles 29:14, Matthew 13:44- descriptions of lukewarm living.
46). Here’s the truth: We all sin. All
▼ “Are slaves to the god of control,” would rather steer their own life, of us fall short of the glory of God
and don’t believe in risk taking for God (1 Timothy 6:17-18, Matthew (Romans 3:23). All of us, there-
10:28). fore, suffer from our carnal nature
▼ Feel a false security because they are known and labeled as Christians and exhibit these traits of the luke-
and do “Christian” activities~like attending church, voting Republican, warm here and there, without want-
getting baptized (Matthew 7:21, Amos 6:1). ing or meaning to. None of us are
immune to these behaviors, and
▼ Live lives so structured that living by faith is out of the question (Luke we’re all actually prone to these
12:16-21, Hebrews 11). behaviors. But it’s about lifestyle.
▼ Only differ from the average unbeliever by perhaps drinking and
swearing a bit less (Matthew 23:25-28). Are we continually throwing
God our leftover sacrifices~what-
When you refer to the passages listed after each of the above points, ever love we didn’t spend on our
you see God’s perspective on each matter. families or our friends, whatever
acts of service our energy can afford
after a busy week at the office~or
“Pray. Then read the Gospels for yourself. Put this book do we think of Him first, and crave
down and pick up your Bible. My prayer for you is that glorifying Him as we were created
you’ll understand the Scriptures not as I see them, to do? Do we consistently compare
but as God intends them. continued on page 7
77
THE LUKEWARM AND THE LEFTOVERS: GOD HATES BOTH
continued from page 6
like me, you’ll start feeling like a
ourselves to the secular world, or even other members of the church, liar after a few verses and realize
and sit contentedly as we think how holy we are in contrast? how very much you need God to
build this love and make it more
The truth is, we are kidding ourselves if we don’t acknowledge that real in your everyday life.
following Christ requires active pursuit of Him. If we just sit back and
assume that we can love Him with all of our heart, soul, and strength, But to love Him with all that
without engaging in conversation with Him, without reading His words we have and all that we are, and
to us, and without loving those who are most difficult to love, then our to love others the same way, it’s
thinking is extremely flawed. going to require a decision set in
stone, a faith unrestrained, and
The crux of the Gospel is love. Love for God. Love for people, fearlessness about people thinking
only through God’s power so that all glory goes to Him. So read we’re downright crazy.
1 Corinthians 13 as a test for yourself, substituting your name for every
mention of love. “For me, ‘Francis is patient . . .’ ” If you’re anything CBS

Love is an Obsession:
the Simple, yet Profound Answer to It All

“Personal experience has taught me


that actions driven by fear and guilt are “When you are
not an antidote to lukewarm, selfish, running toward
comfortable living. I hope you realize Christ, you are
that the answer is love.” freed up to serve,
love, and give
Following Christ isn’t about “a burdensome load of commands.”
Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He was talking thanks without
about the fulfilling freedom you find through letting go of everything
and giving God control over all areas of your life. He was talking about
guilt, worry, or
freedom from obligation. Freedom from rules and regs. Freedom from fear. As long as you
sin. are running, you
When we start feeling like following Him has become an obligation, are safe. . . It is
like doing our homework, or taking out the trash, then there is something
terribly awry. We must immediately pray for Him to give us that longing when we stop
again, that hunger and thirst for Him, that desire to see His fame spread
throughout the earth. And He will. actively loving Him
As we pray more, we will love Him more. As we love Him more, that we find
we will see others the way He sees them, and, in turn, see them more ourselves restless
clearly and love them better. As we see the miracle in this, we’ll spend
a greater amount of time in prayer, and we’ll continue to love people and gravitating
more and more. And it will grow and prosper into the most crazy, com- toward other
pelling, fulfilling, unearthly kind of love we’ve ever known or witnessed.
means of
And, while you’re growing in this direction~understanding God
better, loving Him, and loving people more~it will be nearly impossible fulfillment.”
to sin! If you’re actively pursuing Love Himself, you won’t be able to
hate. You won’t be able to hold a grudge. You won’t be able to lie. continued on page 8
You won’t be able to make decisions that you know will be grievous to
the heart of God. Because now His heart and your heart will be aligned.
8
LOVE IS AN OBSESSION: THE SIMPLE, YET PROFOUND
ANSWER TO IT ALL
continued from page 7 ▼ Realize they are just sojourners
in this world and think about
In the end, God promises that our love for Him will result in rewards heaven more than earth
in heaven that we can’t even fathom. But I don’t want to spend time
with Him because I view it as a chore. “When I look at my relationship
with God as a chore, a sacrifice, then I am getting the glory~not God.”
What we need is to be consumed. What we need is to be dissatisfied
with our current state. What we need is to aim for knowing Christ and
Show
the power of His resurrection. What we need is to be obsessed~with noth-
ing and no one else but God.
“committed,
“Obsessed: To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single
settled, passionate
emotion or topic.” Many times, we mistakenly assume that being “nice”
will prove to others that we follow Christ. However, I know several
love for God,
nice, upstanding citizens who don’t have a relationship with God. There’s above and before
got to be more. Something that sets Christians apart, that truly emulates
the life of the Savior. every other thing
It’s love. “True love makes you stand out.” It allows you to love and every other
someone who has so deeply hurt you that, if you didn’t have Christ,
you might do something rash to that person and be incarcerated for being.”
a lifetime. It requires faith, and it’s the kind of love that others see as
unbelievable~crazy, in fact!
▼ Pray honestly as raw and
vulnerable children who need
their Father as a guide for life
▼ Nourish themselves through
“Having faith often means doing the Word continually as they
what others see as crazy. Something meditate on it throughout
the day
is wrong when our lives make sense ▼ Cultivate joy as a discipline
to unbelievers.” and something they know
will weather any circumstance
since they know God is more
These are the characteristics, then, of the Christ-obsessed. Those concerned about building our
obsessed with God do the following: character rather than our
comfort level
▼ Give without holding back, “love those who hate them and can’t love
them back” ▼ Cherish being children of God
and thank Him for His faith-
▼ “Care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their fulness to them, without
own lives being shielded from pain or distress” pointlessly seeking to earn
their salvation through good
▼ Minister and befriend the poor works
▼ Aren’t concerned with the priorities that our culture uplifts, but ra- George Mueller was no one
ther, seek to obey God even if that means making unpopular choices of consequence~in the beginning.
He drank, he gambled, he lived
▼ Desire to make themselves less so that God can be greater; don’t immorally. When Christ took
seek personal recognition hold of his heart, however, all that
changed. He was inwardly trans-
▼ Serve as if they can’t wait to serve again, because they genuinely love formed, and it showed outwardly.
to serve and don’t see it as a duty He moved to England to become
a preacher, got married, and de-
▼ Are known as givers instead of takers cided to spend the rest of his days
with his wife helping the orphans
▼ Know God cares about others just as much as themselves so are off the streets free of charge, with-
aware of hurting people surrounding them
continued on page 9
9
LOVE IS AN OBSESSION: THE SIMPLE, YET PROFOUND
ANSWER TO IT ALL
continued from page 8

out raising support. At his death, “in 1898, over ten thousand orphans
had been housed and cared for in the five orphan houses they built.”
The recognition they received from newspapers revealed how incredulous
unbelievers were because of their crazy love and their relentless faith to
trust God for everything through prayer. But George was an ordinary
man, who chose to let God use Him to do extraordinary things.
Volume 4, Issue 19
Publishers
Catherine & David Martin
Editors
“A friend of mine once said that Cheryl & Michael Chiapperino
Christians are like manure: spread them Published on the World Wide Web at
ChristianBookSummaries.com.
out and they help everything grow The mission of Christian Book
better, but keep them in one big pile Summaries is to enhance the ministry
of thinking Christians by providing
and they stink horribly. Which are you? thorough and readable summaries
of noteworthy books from
The kind that reeks . . . or the kind Christian publishers.
that trusts God enough to let Him The opinions expressed are those
spread you out?” of the original writers and
are not necessarily those of
Christian Book Summaries
or its Council of Reference.
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a
Relentless God by Francis Chan with
CBS Danae Yankoski, copyright 2008 by
Francis Chan. Summarized by per-
mission of the publisher, David C.
Cook, 4050 Lee Vance View, Colorado
Springs, CO 80918. 186 pages. $13.99.
ISBN: 1434768511. Available at
your favorite bookstore or online book-
seller.
The authors: Francis Chan is pastor
of Cornerstone Church in Simi
Valley, California. He is also the
founder of Eternity Bible College
and sits on the board of directors
of Children’s Hunger Fund and
World Impact. Francis spends much
of his time speaking to students
around the country. Francis lives in
California with his wife, Lisa, and
their four children.
Danae Yankoski, a graduate of
Westmont College, is a freelance
writer who lives with her husband,
Mike, in Sisters, Oregon.
Summarized by: Kristyn
Chiapperino, a graduate of the
University of Colorado at Colorado
Springs, is a freelance writer and
a Starbucks barista.

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