Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith (Kindle Location 807). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book) I know we just looked at this but I still think there is more to say.   I t seems that we need to really be reminded of this fact. Larry goes on to say, “His goal was to expand the kingdom, to bring salvation to people who previously were excluded. He came to seek and find the lost, including a large group of folks no one else wanted to invite to the party.   Everything about Jesus’ ministry was designed to make salvation and the knowledge of God more accessible.”   He came to make it more accessible not more exclusive. He says, “Even at the point of Jesus’ death, the heavenly Father sent a message of accessibility. The moment Jesus died, the temple curtain that had isolated the Holy of Holies from everyone but the hi

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith (Kindle Location 745). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book) Back when I was young, a hundred years ago it seems, I set as a goal to not accept two things in myself personally.   One was being negative and the other was accepting mediocrity. Worthy personal goals for me.   I didn’t want to settle for mediocrity.   But in the church “ there is something worse than settling for mediocrity. It’s exclusivity.” Larry says, “Everywhere I turn, I find well-meaning speakers, authors, and other highly committed Christians raising the bar (and taking pride in keeping it high) by redefining what it means to be a genuine Christian. Their teaching seems to suggest that a real Christian is someone who always chooses the harder path and then piles on a bunch of extra burdens for good measure. The

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith (Kindle Location 673). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book) But we think it should be.   I mean, I want to receive some credit for my obedience. Right before this thought Larry asks a question, “So why is it that so many of us find pride in superior obedience?”   And we do don’t we? He then answers it, “I think it’s because we misunderstand God’s commands. We think of them as difficult and burdensome. We hear sermons and read passages about counting the cost, dying to self, and leaving all behind, and we assume that God’s commands are designed to separate those of us who have what it takes to become a true disciple from those who don’t.” And then he says, “But God’s commands are not burdensome. They’re beneficial. With the power of the Holy Spirit, they’re not that hard to kee

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-04) from his book, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith (Kindle Location 649). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book) That is so true.   And we have a list of questions that we want to ask God when we make it into his presence, don’t we?   But the truth is there are reasons why they are unanswered.   God doesn’t think that they are important enough to spend the time on them.   He has more important truths to tell us.   And maybe we spend so much time on the unanswered because we don’t like the answers he does give us. Larry says, “Another way of avoiding the discomfort of looking at ourselves in the mirror of Scripture is to turn the Bible into a springboard for speculation. For instance, when I first became a Christian, I was excited to discover all the Bible had to say about God, sin, grace, and how I was supposed to live. But it wasn’t