Have you ever had an opinion? Have you ever found yourself having an opinion based on partial information? Have you later discovered your opinion is wrong because you missed half the information about the subject? Sometimes that happens accidentally. Other times it happens on purpose. Sometimes it happens cause we're lazy. Other times because we choose not to see the real picture...because it may alter our opinion...because "our opinion" is so important. Unfortunately, in these cases its not based on facts...its based on our bias...so our opinion is just that..."ours" in our own little world...but not in the real world! As we celebrate Memorial Day in the great northwest... a time to honor the fallen soldiers and brave warriors of our country...our progressive bias here often clouds our opinions. Things get kinda fuzzy here...perspective wise sometimes. In Eugene especially...Berkley north...the land of progressive thought...all war is bad...thus all soldiers are not worthy of honor. Some actually believe this...though most temper that a bit. I see it in church circles as well. A rather naive view of God and war. Bumper stickers declare "who would Jesus bomb?", though obviously showing a political bias, some naively would nod in agreement. The subject of war, soldiers, and God is a touchy one. Obviously not all war is righteous. Clearly some are...that "stopping Hilter thing" seemed like a good move! Biblically God used war for His purposes. Other times scripture shows us battles that were clearly out of selfish ambition, revenge and ego. Yet is this new? Today some wars are selfish and purely about greed and power. Some are for righteous reasons, like protecting the downtrodden or impoverished or guarding against an ever growing tyrant perhaps. What is more righteous...allowing a tyrant to impoverish & enslave people for his ego's sake...or to defeat that tyrant to prevent it? Tough question. Tough answer. And let's face it, we do not have enough information to make these decisions. In a world of political agenda who knows? Sometimes nations go to war for political agenda...sometimes we don't go to war for political agenda, even when we should. Which is right or wrong? We don't know usually, but God does! But is this new? Hasn't man kind forever fought amongst itself for power and stuff? Sometimes have the brave fought boldly for freedom and to protect? Yes, is the obvious question. Yet some actually believe we, as a nation, are wrong for any war. That we are bullies. That we are too powerful. That we have taken our land from others, such as the Native Americian tribes...so thus we deserve no respect. This, I suggest is a clouded view, both realistically and spiritually. Consider, honestly, who are the first people...anywhere? OK, Europeans came to the Amercia's...took land in a variety of legit & not too legit ways. But the native American tribes also came to the America's from somewhere? Some say the south pacific...some Asia...some Europe...but they didn't originate here either. These tribes fought each other for land and stuff too. Some traded peacefully... others robbed, pillaged & raped there way. Where did the Europeans come from? Where did the Asian peoples come from? Well most DNA experts agree all people groups originally migrated from the northern Africa region &/or the Middle East. And as these tribes migrated... guess what...they sometimes traded peacefully... sometimes they warred! Throughout history every people group battled in war somebody! China's empire cost other weaker people groups a lot. The Roman Empire cost a lot of nations a lot. The Byzantine Empire, the Assyrian Empire, the Egyptian Empire...name it...they all fought someone...sometime. Sometimes for good reasons... other times for greed, power & ego. The point is this...every nation has fought wars...I would suggest, those wars were for both the right and sometimes the wrong reasons. But to suggest that God is against all war is naive. The bible is full of battles God asked to happen. The bible shows many good things coming from some of the wars depicted. Often evil nations or rulers were vanquished. Often God set the tables for some real good things by allowing people to be removed from oppression... due to their corrupt rulers losing in war! God, at times, even intervened on behalf of armies to lead them into victory...or defeat! At ECHO, we respect a persons right to their opinion...but be careful when attaching God's name to it. A blanket, God is a pacifist approach is not biblical. Jesus Himself will lead God's armies, on a white horse, in the battle to end all battles...so be careful in assuming God's a pacifist. Let's be honest...and lets be real. All nations have battled over history, and have taken & traded land for centuries...no one's innocent here. Even the small tribes of North America, Africa and Asia have battled each other. This isn't a big bully nation thing...its a people thing. The big question ECHO wants us to consider is this? Is it God's doing...or man's doing? Let's be honest...we usually don't know...so let's stop pretending we do! Sometimes it is...sometimes it isn't. This Memorial Day let's remember that...rather than judge those who have been lost. Their bravery and sacrifice should be honored regardless. Love would do as much, because their is no greater love than this...than to lay down your life for another! At ECHO we try to honor where honor is due...we pray you do too...in humility, knowing that you don't know as much as you think you do...and trusting a God who does know...even the hearts of men and nations! Sometimes we don't like how a story reads as it unfolds...and our choice is to trust the Author to complete the story as He intended, in spite of our opinion...or choose to disconnect from the story. Disconnecting from the truth, even the ugly truth, seems like a silly option...after all "history" is His-Story!. be God's!
BrianO
Lead Pastor dude, ECHO
Paradox. Two things that don't seem to go together. They seem out of place when united. They don't fit when in the same sentence or thought. We see them if life all the time. It creates a tension. It gets our attention. We notice that there is a disconnect here. It troubles us. It confuses us. It gets our eye or ear for all the wrong reasons. I think we see paradox often in how God's love is spoken of...and in how we depict Him. God is defined as Love...yet is often depicted as a cruel ruler, sitting on His throne, watching the innocent suffer. He is described as a Father who treasures His children. Yet, He is often seen as the One in whom you'd better please...or you're toast...quite literally, burnt toast! God is powerful. Yes, He rules the universe He created. Yes, He made the rules & systems we try to live within. Yes, He holds our very breath... even our eternity in His hands. But why, oh why, have we reduced Him to tyrant? The bible says, "His loving kindness leads us to repentance". Not that our fear of Him, leads us to repentance. Yet, we often use fear as a weapon to draw people into God's arms? Huh? What are we thinking? We see God's loving kindness displayed most perfectly in Jesus. He didn't come as a King to rule, though He had the authority to do so. He came as a child, who would grow into a servant, a man who would ultimately lay down His own life for those He loves. Loving kindness in action. He treated the outcast, the sinner, and the overlooked with the utmost respect and dignity. He loved first. Shouldn't we? At ECHO we see Jesus loving kindness as our model...our heart to emulate. Repentance is a word we don't like. It implies guilt doesn't it? It says I did something wrong and I need to admit it. Man, I hate when that happens. But why? Is it because I am afraid of a God I have let down? Am I afraid of a God that's ticked off at me? Or perhaps, if I take a close look at God's heart, I see a kind heart, one that desires to be in relationship with me, in spite of my mess. If I look closely, I will see a heart in Jesus that desires to forgive. A heart that makes "repentance" easy. One that simply says, "turn from that...and come towards Me...I love you!" Our heart at ECHO is to point people towards that invitation...to come close to the God that oozes loving kindness...and makes turning from our own ways...so much easier. That is God's heart...and Jesus was exhibit #1... may His people be exhibit #2! be God's!Brian OLead Pastor dude, ECHO
Some mother's are amazing! You know, you hear those stories of the mom who picks up her Buick with one arm, while pulling her child to safety with the other! Wow! I don't know if it's true...but I wish I had one of those kind of mom's! Now my mom is cool, and she's been a great mom...but I've never seen her pull off any super hero kind of stuff...has yours? As I reflected on mom's...cause it's Mother's Day... and well I guess you got to...or you are the scum of the earth... but you should...really you should! I began a process of thinking...and a friend spoke about Mother's Day...and we got around to how it was totally appropriate to appreciate mom's...even bad one's...even so-so ones...cause without a mom, where would be all be? After all without a mom...you don't exist! Ok, mom, I got to give you that one!!! But seriously, the impact of mom's is beyond that really...good and bad... I suppose. As we bounced things around in conversation, my friend spoke of King David...then I thought...so what's the deal with David's mom? I don't know much about her? She must have been something special...cause he was a dude who became "a man after God's own heart"! What could I glean from her? What could I appreciate in her? Well what I discovered was quite interesting. There isn't much about David's mom in the Bible...but she is mentioned in Jewish writings. She was married to Jesse, David's dad, as the bible tells us. And apparently Jesse was a big shot, a respected man. Yet, when David was born, this prominent family greeted his birth with utter derision and contempt...he was not well received, to say the least. As David describes quite literally in Psalm 69, "I was a stranger to my brothers, a foreigner to my mother's sons...they put gall in my meal and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst." He was such an outcast within his own family that David was not permitted to eat with the rest of his family, but was assigned to a separate table in the corner. Wow, that's harsh...permanent naughty chair...yet worse! Apparently he was given the task of shepherd because "they hoped that a wild beast would come and kill him while he was performing his duties" and for this reason was sent to pasture in dangerous areas full of lions and bears, as 1 Samuel chapter 17, verses 34 through 36 describe. Ok, now that's cutthroat! From your own family no less! Yet, only one individual throughout David's youth was pained by his unjustified plight and felt a deep, unconditional bond of love for the child whom she alone knew was undoubtedly pure. This was King David's mother, Nitzevet bat Adel, who felt the intensity of her youngest child's pain and rejection as her own. Torn and anguished by David's unwarranted degradation, yet powerless to stop it, Nitzevet stood by the sidelines, in solidarity with him, shunned herself, as she, too, cried rivers of tears, awaiting the time when justice would be served. It would take twenty-eight long years of assault and rejection, suffering and degradation until that justice would finally begin to materialize...and David would be crowned King! Wow, now that is a mother's heart! That is to be celebrated! In fact, that echoes God's heart really. Amazing! It's as if a God deposit was in that mother's heart. Isn't that awesome! Maybe that is the seed that was planted in David's heart that eventually grew into him becoming "a man after God's own heart". Maybe that is why David felt confident to constantly return to God in his failures, in his fears, and when facing the battles before him. Maybe that is why David loved God so much...because his mom loved him so much...first! I have a feeling God desires each of us to have someone like David's mom in our life story...because the impact can be so transforming...and eternal. At ECHO we hope that that is a reminder to each of us of the heart of God towards us...in solidarity with us...even weeping tears for us...in the midst of our pain, rejection and suffering! When it seems as if everyone is against you...maybe even your own family...know that God desires someone to journey with you through it...so that you may get a taste of His heart for you through them! May we appreciate those who journey with us...our mom's...our dad's...perhaps other near one's...for in that we often experience the love of God in ways that are amazing!be God's!Brian OLead Pastor dude, ECHO
Have you ever had an opinion? Have you ever found yourself having an opinion based on partial information? Have you later discovered your opinion is wrong because you missed half the information about the subject? Sometimes that happens accidentally. Other times it happens on purpose. Sometimes it happens cause we're lazy. Other times because we choose not to see the real picture...because it may alter our opinion...because "our opinion" is so important. Unfortunately, in these cases its not based on facts...its based on our bias...so our opinion is just that..."ours" in our own little world...but not in the real world! As we celebrate Memorial Day in the great northwest... a time to honor the fallen soldiers and brave warriors of our country...our progressive bias here often clouds our opinions. Things get kinda fuzzy here...perspective wise sometimes. In Eugene especially...Berkley north...the land of progressive thought...all war is bad...thus all soldiers are not worthy of honor. Some actually believe this...though most temper that a bit. I see it in church circles as well. A rather naive view of God and war. Bumper stickers declare "who would Jesus bomb?", though obviously showing a political bias, some naively would nod in agreement. The subject of war, soldiers, and God is a touchy one. Obviously not all war is righteous. Clearly some are...that "stopping Hilter thing" seemed like a good move! Biblically God used war for His purposes. Other times scripture shows us battles that were clearly out of selfish ambition, revenge and ego. Yet is this new? Today some wars are selfish and purely about greed and power. Some are for righteous reasons, like protecting the downtrodden or impoverished or guarding against an ever growing tyrant perhaps. What is more righteous...allowing a tyrant to impoverish & enslave people for his ego's sake...or to defeat that tyrant to prevent it? Tough question. Tough answer. And let's face it, we do not have enough information to make these decisions. In a world of political agenda who knows? Sometimes nations go to war for political agenda...sometimes we don't go to war for political agenda, even when we should. Which is right or wrong? We don't know usually, but God does! But is this new? Hasn't man kind forever fought amongst itself for power and stuff? Sometimes have the brave fought boldly for freedom and to protect? Yes, is the obvious question. Yet some actually believe we, as a nation, are wrong for any war. That we are bullies. That we are too powerful. That we have taken our land from others, such as the Native Americian tribes...so thus we deserve no respect. This, I suggest is a clouded view, both realistically and spiritually. Consider, honestly, who are the first people...anywhere? OK, Europeans came to the Amercia's...took land in a variety of legit & not too legit ways. But the native American tribes also came to the America's from somewhere? Some say the south pacific...some Asia...some Europe...but they didn't originate here either. These tribes fought each other for land and stuff too. Some traded peacefully... others robbed, pillaged & raped there way. Where did the Europeans come from? Where did the Asian peoples come from? Well most DNA experts agree all people groups originally migrated from the northern Africa region &/or the Middle East. And as these tribes migrated... guess what...they sometimes traded peacefully... sometimes they warred! Throughout history every people group battled in war somebody! China's empire cost other weaker people groups a lot. The Roman Empire cost a lot of nations a lot. The Byzantine Empire, the Assyrian Empire, the Egyptian Empire...name it...they all fought someone...sometime. Sometimes for good reasons... other times for greed, power & ego. The point is this...every nation has fought wars...I would suggest, those wars were for both the right and sometimes the wrong reasons. But to suggest that God is against all war is naive. The bible is full of battles God asked to happen. The bible shows many good things coming from some of the wars depicted. Often evil nations or rulers were vanquished. Often God set the tables for some real good things by allowing people to be removed from oppression... due to their corrupt rulers losing in war! God, at times, even intervened on behalf of armies to lead them into victory...or defeat! At ECHO, we respect a persons right to their opinion...but be careful when attaching God's name to it. A blanket, God is a pacifist approach is not biblical. Jesus Himself will lead God's armies, on a white horse, in the battle to end all battles...so be careful in assuming God's a pacifist. Let's be honest...and lets be real. All nations have battled over history, and have taken & traded land for centuries...no one's innocent here. Even the small tribes of North America, Africa and Asia have battled each other. This isn't a big bully nation thing...its a people thing. The big question ECHO wants us to consider is this? Is it God's doing...or man's doing? Let's be honest...we usually don't know...so let's stop pretending we do! Sometimes it is...sometimes it isn't. This Memorial Day let's remember that...rather than judge those who have been lost. Their bravery and sacrifice should be honored regardless. Love would do as much, because their is no greater love than this...than to lay down your life for another! At ECHO we try to honor where honor is due...we pray you do too...in humility, knowing that you don't know as much as you think you do...and trusting a God who does know...even the hearts of men and nations! Sometimes we don't like how a story reads as it unfolds...and our choice is to trust the Author to complete the story as He intended, in spite of our opinion...or choose to disconnect from the story. Disconnecting from the truth, even the ugly truth, seems like a silly option...after all "history" is His-Story!
