The Life of Sarah Jean Cobb

Title: Accidental Pharisees

Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith

Author: Larry Osborne

How did I get this book: A complimentary review copy was provided to me by Cross Focused Reviews (A Service of Cross Focused Media, LLC).

Why did I read this book: After becoming nauseated with ‘arguments’ over specifics in ‘the law,’ seeing some ‘Christians’ harshly judging others, and as the author puts it, people being ‘more focused on thinning the herd than expanding the Kingdom,’ just seeing this title alone was more than refreshing.

My initial impulse to review Accidental Pharisees was to figure out how a person goes from loving Jesus to becoming ‘over zealous’ and ‘accidentally’ becoming a ‘Pharisee,’ so that I could learn from their their mistakes in hopes of avoiding the same fate.

Although if I am being truly honest, the fuel behind my desire to find out more on this topic was also inwardly so that I would have ‘ammunition’ to confront these people and convince them of the error of their ways in hope that they would change. What I ended up receiving, however, was a lot more than I bargained for.

Review: When I first opened Accidental Pharisees and read all of the gushing, glowing reviews spilling over the first few pages, I thought to myself, "Okay, there's no way it can be that good," and I was right, it was better.

"Who were the Pharisees? How did their name become associated with hypocrisy and misguided zeal for God? And exactly how short (and subtle) is the journey from high commitment to high treason?" This work addressed these and many more questions, and the answers you receive, are surprising.

With Bible-based, sound Christian teaching, this thin book packs quite a punch. At the end of each chapter, there are sets of questions for the reader to answer on his or her own. The writing style is easy to read, very down to earth, and even at times brings forth laughter, but as valuable as this 'new' information is to the reader, it gets better still. The very best part about this book is what it shows you about yourself.

Some of the reviews in the front of Accidental Pharisees state with all conviction that this book should be read by everyone in church leadership. When I first read that concept and began to see it resounding again and again, I was skeptical, and now I disagree. Accidental Pharisees should be mandatory reading for all Christians.

If you know someone else who needs to change, this book is a great place to start, because without it, we would only see the spec of dust in their eye, and not the log in our own.

Thank you Larry, for providing believers with the knowledge to protect themselves from becoming an Accidental Pharisee, and for giving us knowledge to bring forth compassion and empathy instead of initial judgement, so what when we see a brother or sister who has crossed the line, we can pray for them instead of following suit to show them the error of their ways.

Notable Quotes/Parts:

Chapter 1 - Accidental Pharisees: The Dark Side of Overzealous Faith:

“It’s about accidental Pharisees-people like you and me who, despite the best of intentions and a desire to honor God, unwittingly end up pursuing an overzealous model of faith that sabotages the work of the Lord we think we’re serving.” (p. 17)

“You’ve probably known a jerk for Jesus, someone who thought they were advancing the cause of the kingdom when in reality they were simply embarrassing the King.” (p. 18)

Chapter 4 - The Curse of Comparison: What T-Ball Taught Me About Pride:

“I have no idea what tempts you to feel superior. I have no idea what kind of people you’re tempted to look down on. But most of us have a list-or at least the beginnings of a list. And most of us have no idea how dangerous that list is. If left in place, it can nullify all the good that we do; it can put us at the top of God’s “I hate it when you do that” list.” (p. 48)

Chapter 8 - The Reason Jesus Came: Why Thinning The Herd Can Be a Bad Idea: “Jesus didn’t come to thin the herd. He didn’t come to recruit “special ops” Christians. 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.” (p.74-75)

Chapter 11 - Extra Rules and Extra Fences: The Danger of Adding to God’s Word: “That’s how legalism works. It takes our desire to be scrupulously faithful to Scripture and turns it into subtle additions to Scripture. It focuses our attention on what we think Scripture means rather than what it actually says.” (p.98)

Chapter 14 - Learning From the Past Without Idolizing the Past: An Honest Look at the New Testament Church: “As long as we are being brutally honest about the New Testament church and its leaders, we need to note one more thing. The apostle Paul planted some pretty lame churches. That’s why he

had to write all those letters.” (p.128)

“All of this helps to explain why I consider our idolization of the New Testament church to be a rose-colored memory. It’s why I always ask people who deride the present-day church and long for a return to the New Testament church, “Have you actually read the New Testament?”” (p. 129)

Reading Next: Christ and the Desert Tabernacle by J.V. Fesko

About the Author: “Larry Osborne is one of the senior pastors at North Coast Church in northern San Diego County. North Coast is widely recognized as one of the most influential and innovative churches in America. Osborne speaks extensively on the subjects of leadership and spiritual formation. His books include Sticky Teams (Zondervan, 2010), Sticky Church (Zondervan, 2008), 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe (Multnomah Books, 2009), and Spirituality for the Rest of Us (Multnomah Books, 2009). He and his wife, Nancy, live in Oceanside, California.” –Cross Focused Reviews Media Kit

· Twitter: @LarryOsborne

· Facebook: Facebook.com/LarryOsborneNorthCoastChurch

· Website: LarryOsborneLive.com

More About the Book: “Zealous faith can have a dangerous, dark side. While recent calls for radical Christians have challenged many to be more passionate about their faith, the down side can be a budding arrogance and self-righteousness that 'accidentally' sneaks into our outlook.

In Accidental Pharisees, bestselling author Larry Osborne diagnoses the most common traps that can ensnare Christians on the road to a deeper life of faith. Rejecting attempts to turn the call to follow Christ into a new form of legalism, he shows readers how to avoid the temptations of pride, exclusivity, legalism, and other common errors.

Larry reminds us that attempts to fan the flames of full-on discipleship and call people to Christlikeness should be rooted in love and humility. Christians stirred by calls to radical discipleship, but unsure how to respond, will be challenged and encouraged to develop a truly Christlike zeal for God.”–Cross Focused Reviews Media Kit

Genre: Religious nonfiction, Publisher: Zondervan

Released: October 9, 2012, Softcover: 208 Pages

ISBN: 9780310494447, USD: $14.99

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Inner Struggle, Pain & Suffering, Beauty for Ashes

As most of you know, I have been dedicating my life towards improving my health physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. God has been doing a lot of healing in my life. He has been showing me past hurts, and helping me not only bring what I was unaware of to the surface, but helping me heal, as well. The LORD is so faithful!

I have been through so many terrible situations, and done horrible things, yet when I ask for His forgiveness, and try to improve, He overwhelms me with His love, and carries my burdens for me that before were too heavy to bear. Jesus has been such a dear friend to me and as I start to seek His presence more instead of just what He can do to me, He draws near to me in return and gives me comfort, strength, courage, and direction.

A lot of you know about my 5 pain conditions including Fibromyalgia, Scoleosis, Degenerative Disk Disease, Degenerative Joint Disease, and Hypermobile Joint Syndrome. You are also aware of how my medication (but mostly inner pain and struggle) caused me to gain a tremendous amount of weight.

My body started to show on the outside the suffering I was experiencing on the inside. I knew the weight added to my depression and anxiety, but because of the pain, and not believing my worth and identity in Christ, I believed that it was literally impossible for me to lose weight, and that I would be destined to continue to gain, have more bad pain days, and more days being unable to get out of bed.

On Father’s Day of this year, back in the middle of June, my scale told me I weighed 305 pounds. I felt helpless and disgusted, but that day was also the day that I had my breakthrough. In whatever we are dealing with, sometimes it takes reaching the point of 'enough' to fight back.

Well, 305 was my 'enough' point. I couldn't handle anymore oppression, and my body couldn't handle anymore weight. My spine had become so compressed that everything was painful and my skin even felt like it was burning because of the pressure on my nerves. I knew because of a near lifetime of failed attempts that I couldn't do this on my own, but that it had to be done, so I turned to God and prayed.

It was time to fight for my life and I knew going in the direction I had been headed wasn't an option. It was time to change. I started reading the Bible daily, and God transformed me from the inside out. I used to see myself as a 600 lb person, so I ate like one, and my weight increased. (the Bible says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”)

I started to read about my value and worth, my identity in Christ, and who God says I am. Whenever I was confronted by feelings that didn't match up with His word in the Bible, I would speak the truth out loud. (I have 2 sheets of paper with everything that the Bible says we are typed out, if anyone is interested.)

I started eating healthier, and five small meals a day (every 2-3 hours). Then came the challenge: God told me to start working out and exercising 5 days a week. At the time, I didn’t have the energy to support sitting in my recliner five days a week, let alone going to the gym. But I don’t live by feelings, I live by faith and obedience to the LORD.

I reasoned that even though I didn’t think my body could do it, God would not tell me to do something that He had not equipped me for. So I started exercising in faith. Was it more difficult than I thought it would be? Yes. Did it hurt even more than I imagined it would? Yes. There were times when I was fighting for each second of cardio. But I told myself that I am fighting for my life, and would just imagine my newborn niece and 2 & 3 year old nephews cheering me on, saying, "You can do it, 'Auntie Sarah,"so I pushed harder. Many times I was moving by prayer asking God for more strength to sustain me. And you know what, He did.

Through this experience, my faith has greatly been increased. God has shown me he will supply all of my needs for each day in order that I may do what He has asked me to do. I may not have the ability on my own, but the joy of the LORD is my strength.

It has been a little over three months now since I started this journey with Jesus, and I have less pain, I move more easily, I have a greater hunger and thirst for righteousness, and as of today when I showed up to do my weekly Monday weigh in at my sister’s house, her scale said I weighed 272.8 lbs.

I have lost 32.2 lbs in the past three months! I have 122.8 lbs to go, and I expect to be in the 250’s by Christmas. Don’t worry, I’ll post pictures so that you can see less of me.

I honestly never thought I’d see the 270’s again three months ago. Now I know I won’t, but it’s because I’m breaking through it, instead of it being not achievable. I really can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and you can too.

God loves you and longs to be close to you, you’re precious to Him. The only thing separating you from God is sin. The Bible, God’s Word, says that the wages of sin is death. Since we have all sinned, that means we all deserve to die, because we can never be good enough on our own to be in the presence of a Holy God. Thankfully, because He is also loving, sent His son Jesus to die for you, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Life does not have to be this difficult or seem empty. All you have to do is pray. Out loud say something like this: “Jesus, I’m sorry for my sins, please forgive me. Thank you for dying for me and paying the price for my sins so that I can go to Heaven when I die. Please come into my life.” If you prayed this prayer, you are forgiven and when God looks at you, instead of your faults, He sees the perfect life of Jesus, who took the punishment of death in your place.

I encourage you to read your Bible every day, as it renews your mind and transforms you from the inside out. Talk to God about everything (pray). He’s always there, and He is faithful. He’s the best friend you could ever have.

I love you, and so does the LORD! Thank you for reading, may God bless you.

Love in Christ,

Sarah Jean Cobb

'The School of the Seers' by Jonathan Welton

'The School of the Seers' by Jonathan Welton is a life-changing book that I purchased through Amazon this month. As someone with the gift of discernment, I longed for more information about, as well as training for my gift. However, it seems impossible to try to find a Godly Bible-based source of real information on the topic. I also didn't know the difference between a Prophet, a Seer, or the levels in which the Gift of Discernment operates. In 'The School of the Seers,' Jonathan Welton addresses all of these topics and more.

This book is Bible-based, having an abundance of scripture and examples to back everything up. It shares the revelations and visions that Jonathan and his friends have seen, as well as some wonderful experiences where he was able to ‘see’ God at work. It is not slanted or written from an ignorant bias, either, as it also addresses the main complaint of Americans with the Gift of Discernment: sensing mostly evil, and not good. In addition to this, the author not only honestly addresses it in a refreshing way, but provides an explanation as well as a solution to the problem, which has helped me in my personal life, especially my relationship with the LORD.

So what else can you expect within this literary work? Expect lessons, wisdom, and knowledge on each topic, followed by practical application, and exercises to increase your own ‘seeing’ ability at the end of each chapter. From reading this book, the level of my faith has increased drastically, and I can’t recommend it strongly enough. As believers, we should all have some level of discernment, and I believe this book will be helpful to everyone who reads it.