Look! It's the Second Coming!

And unfortunately I am right in the middle of it. Of course I am not talking about the second coming of Jesus. I wish I was, or maybe I don’t because that is a little scary considering my admission to guilt that I am about to post.

The second coming that I am referring to being in the middle of is the second coming of the Pharisees. We have mentioned the Pharisees numerous times in the past few months. These are the guys who had perfected following the law. We know that Jesus had some very harsh things to say about them and we hope to never end up like them. This is frustrating considering the fact that it is precisely where I found myself this morning.

As I skimmed through several blogs that I follow and a few new ones that I found today, I was reading a lot of people’s take on church planting and what the focus needs to be. I started thinking about my views on church and beliefs that I have developed over the past several years and it hit me. In my heart I am a Pharisee.

Now I am not a Pharisee in a sense that I am proud that I follow the law so well and I look down on all the sinners and think what a pity. I will admit that I break the law of God like everyone else. The way that I am a Pharisee is the sense of pride that I have in the way I envision church and the things I believe the church should be doing. I criticize the church for not doing what we are called to do and I have a sense of pride that I have it figured out. I look at churches that I disagree with and think when are they going to figure it out like I did?

This is not to say that I shouldn’t seek spiritual growth and that I shouldn’t pray for others’ growth and understanding in the word and in their walk with God. I just have to drop my pride and do my best to please God. Even in the things that I am so convinced that I have right, I need to realize that I may be wrong after all. The Pharisees were certain that they had religion and church figured out. And Jesus showed up and said, “Sorry Guys, you have it all wrong!” Actually his words were much worse than that. I don’t want the second coming of Jesus to be like this. Trumpets blast, Jesus appears, and I say “Look at what I did Jesus! Look at what my friends and I all had figured out while all of those other slacker Christians had it wrong!” And then Jesus turns to me and says “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

I am guilty of looking down my nose at other believers who I disagree with and I fear churches are guilty of that also. We sit around in our pews and bible classes and bash other denominations, other churches, or even members of our own church we disagree with and we are completely distracted from what we should be doing: worshiping God with all of our being, especially our hearts. It is sad that even in our attempts to please God, Satan has stepped in and helped us (with little to no resistance) find a way to take the focus off of God and put it back on ourselves.

I need to quit trying to build my resume and portfolio for God and just build God’s Kingdom. No Pride Attached.

Father forgive me. I have been wrong and I have taken what was intended to please you and turned the focus to me. I thank you for your patience with me. Help me as I grow in my faith be humble as I try to help others grow in their faith also.

I ask this in Jesus Christ.