Fabrications, Stories, and Self-Appointed Experts. It's called life.

I am always amazed at the fabrications and stories about me that I hear others have spread. I’m sure all of you have heard things about your life you had no idea existed until your personal self-appointed experts revealed it to the world. For example, I have found out through these experts that I

• was forced to marry because of Laci being pregnant
• was moving to a foreign country and leaving the church
• was a pastor from D.C. and commuted the 90 minutes every week
• had cancer and was dying
• demand money from grieving families to be paid to the church if I do their loved one's funeral

… and a 100 other stories that were as or more preposterous as the ones I mentioned above. Of course, none of them are true and would have been purely laughable if gullible people wouldn’t have believed them. However, before I feed self-pity and think I’m the only one to experience such a strange phenomenon, let’s see if it happened to Jesus.

Jesus was accused of being:

• A deceiver (John 7:12).
• An illegitimate child (John 8:41).
• Demon possessed (Matt. 9:34; John 7:20).
• Beelzebub, using the power of Satan to cast out demons (Matt. 10:25).
• Mentally ill (John 10:20).
• A blasphemer – witnesses were produced to reinforce this charge (Matt. 9:3; 26:65; Mark 2:7)
• A destroyer of the Temple in Jerusalem (Mark 14:58).
• An enemy to the Law of Moses.

Matthew 10:25 (KJV)

²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Jesus made it clear that as they falsely accused him and fabricated stories that were grossly untrue, so will they do the same to us as his followers.

Paul was not immune to these false theories concerning his life and purposes. He was accused of:

• Extorting God’s people (2 Cor. 2:17; 11:7-21).
• Being a false apostle (Gal. 1:11-2:10; 2 Cor. 11:16-12:12).
• Being a flatterer (1 Thess. 2:5).
• Blasphemy (Acts 24:6).
• Being a man pleaser and a coward (Gal. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:4).
• Being greedy (1 Thess. 2:5,9).
• Being a deceiver and a crafty manipulator (2 Cor. 6:8; 12:16).
• Seeking glory from men (1 Thess. 2:6).
• Being a “cult” leader (Acts 24:5).
• Being a criminal (Acts 16:20-21; 24:5; 2 Tim. 2:9).

These men dealt with these self-appointed judges almost on a daily basis. They realized that when you are in a position of authority and leadership, it will attract the ire of those in opposition. One thing the enemy knows – the power of words. Words can change a person’s reputation overnight and castrate the influence of that person from anymore opportunity to persuade others. If Satan didn’t understand this, he wouldn’t waste the time in influencing opposition to destroy reputations with the sabers of words.

What do we do to rise above the attacks? Live your life above reproach and with integrity so that when someone accuses you - no one will believe it.

Remember, you don’t have to answer every critic. A lion doesn’t turn around every time a dog barks. If you do attempt to answer every critic, your life will bog down in the unnecessary leaving your purpose unattended. Remain focused on why you are here and pray for those who have chosen dead-end lives with no production.

Learn to laugh, smile, and keep your faith alive in Christ. In the end, He is the only one that will matter. 

- Dr. Reuben Egolf 

Meet Mr. Pharisee

You Might be a Pharisee if… 

I’m sure you remember the iconic phrase made famous by Jeff Foxworthy some years back “You might be a redneck if…

• You ever cut your grass and found a car.
• You've ever used a weed eater indoors.
• You come home from the garbage dump with more than you went with.
• You fish in your above-ground pool, especially if you catch something!

These were just some to name a few. Recently, that phrase came to my mind while I was sitting in a revival waiting to speak. However, the word “redneck” was exchanged for “Pharisee.” Within in minutes I was writing on a sheet of paper the following statements.

You might be a Pharisee if…

• Love your religion more than Christ.
• You don’t practice what you preach
• You judge everyone by outward appearance
• You elevate man-made traditions to equality with God’s Word

However, this religious sect who were comprised by the most self-righteous religious leaders of the day were

• Religious but lost.
• They were good at converting people to religion but not to Christ.
• Good at making monuments and museums of the past but not life in the present.
• They couldn’t recognize Christ or an ordained move of God.

Pharisees were long on talk and short on practice. Jesus said: "All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not after their works: for they say, and do not" (Matt. 23:3).

Pharisees majored on minors. Jesus said that they "left undone the weightier matters" and "strained out the gnat, and swallowed the camel" (Matt. 23:23-25). Brings new life to the old saying “making mountains out of mole hills.”

I could go on and on about the Pharisee but the bottom line is that they were the epitome of hypocrisy. If they simply would have been sincere worshipers of the true and living God then all the infectious spiritual disease they were propagating would have been averted. However, their pride crushed any opportunity for humility to gain a foothold and they continued injecting their poison of man-made religion into the masses. People were turned off by their pompous rituals without life, and their attitude of arrogance sickened and repulsed those who otherwise may have come to the true God of Israel.

I began thinking of today, and wonder why more people are not wanting or receiving this wonderful free gift of salvation. It doesn’t take long to realize that the spirit (attitude – disposition) of the Pharisee is alive and well today. 

Is it possible these attitudes and characteristics that are listed above are still resident among God’s people? How many times do we judge the outward appearance and it hinders our response to that individual? How often has sinners said about the church “they talk one thing but they don’t live it.” 

I am thoroughly convinced that we hold the keys to opening the love of God to the masses of unsaved people in our communities. When we speak the Word in Love – what does that actually mean? 

It means we

• speak the truth without compromise
• realize our human weaknesses and it translates into such compassion towards them
• see them as more precious and valuable than anything else in the world
• guard our own life and practice what we preach

If we DO these things, the faucet of Phariseeism will be turned off and the true love of God will flow like a river. It will sweep the sinners into its flow of love and a true lasting revival will ensue. 

-      Dr. Reuben Egolf 

 Experience Life Today