So often our reaction, when life "hits us in the face", is the very thing that quenches the abundant life God intended for us. God created life to be a daring, wonderful, and yes, fearful adventure. It's not a safe world we live in...that's why Jesus came and allows His Spirit to guide and direct us through. Yet we live, in our western world, with this mentality that life is about being safe...not getting hurt...always having enough...and never failing. This "dream" has crept into our church lives as well. We often mis-represent the "life" Jesus has promised us. Many come to church or Jesus expecting to be blessed, never being hurt again, forever protected, healed of all that ails them, and loved perfectly by the folks around them. Contrast that, versus the reality of life, a reality Jesus spoke of..."you will have trials and tribulation"..."you will be persecuted"... "the rain falls on the just & unjust"...and there will be "valleys of darkness you will travel through (and He will be with you)". This short video clip of Francis Chan illustrates how we often react "when life hits us in the face"...and how very different the "typical reaction" is, as compared to the life God challenges us to live. A life of daring...of challenge...of fear...of failure...of perseverance...a life of adventure, where we can experience far more than we ever could, than if we just lived "playing it safe"! At ECHO, we desire to live this type of life adventure...not the fairy tale of western church life...or the illusion of the American dream... but the wild, crazy, daring life of adventure God calls us to...a life willing to lay it all down for the One we love and to express His heart to others in hope they may discover He loves them too...
be God's!
Brian O
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO
2 comments:
I thought we were NOt supposed to live in fear? Doesn't the bible say "Fear Not"? Doesn't scripture tell us that "God has NOT given us the sprit of FEAR..."? Then why act as if our lives our embracing fear...isn't that unchristian?
Isn't the very mention and admonition in scripture to "not fear" an acknowledgement that our life here on earth is fearful at times? Why would Jesus say, "fear not...remember I am always with you...", unless He KNEW we would face fearful situations in life! Jesus is encouraging us to face fear...not back down from it. Because life will have its fearful moments, you can count on that! In fact this Francis Chan video speaks to the same thing...will you "back down...back off...play it safe"...or will you boldly "go for it" in spite of the odds againest you, the fear staring you in the face, and the possibility of failure. On this earth, that is a reality, and fortunately Jesus acknowledges it, and encourages us to persevere in spite of it..."for He is always with us...". In that ECHO is encouraged...and I hope you are too!
be God's!
Brian O
ECHO
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