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All things new

January 3, 2011 / / 1 Comment

Photo by Natanis Davidsen

The start of a new year reminds us that there is a chance for renewal.  New growth.  New life.  Fresh starts.

It’s a time of year that God uses to remind us that He’s in the business of renewing, changing, and making things (including our calendar) new.  Making you into who you were meant to be.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5)

But this whole “making everything new” concept, though it sounds fantastic, isn’t done yet.  And you know that to be true.

  • You work your tail off, and still only get a ‘D’ in your class.
  • You get sick.
  • You haven’t gotten that job you’ve wanted.
  • You can’t get pregnant and wish you could.
  • You are pregnant and wish you weren’t.
  • Marriage is more difficult than you anticipated.
  • You’re up to your neck in debt.
  • You’re in over your head with parenting.
  • Your friends abandon you when you need them the most.
  • Your car isn’t running right.
  • You need a new roof.
  • Your girlfriend just left you.
  • You try to do the right thing, and bad things keep happening.

So has God abandoned you?  Is the Bible just plain wrong?  Is God really not making things new?

We live in the already/not-yet tension of this present world.  This is a broken, messed up place.  But it won’t always be this way.  It’s just that we are, in one sense, already new…and in another, seemingly more real sense, not new.  Because all of God’s promises aren’t fulfilled yet.  He’s renewed your heart and place His Spirit within you, but your body continues to waste away.  He’s given you great relationships in the Church…but all around you, relationships are falling apart.

The start of our calendars is a great reminder.  God is still making things new!  He’s still renewing people.  He’s still changing cold hearts.  He’s still redeeming His children.

There’s no promise that it’s going to happen today, though.  He’s making things new.  He’s not done yet.

The new is coming. Hang in there.

The new is coming. Don’t give up.

The new is coming. That’s a promise.

The new is coming. But it’s not here yet.

Remind yourself of these things.  Dwell on them. (Philippians 4:8) Remember that, one day, all things will be restored.  Everything will be made new again.

What do you wish would be “made new” in 2011?

 

Kindle book loaning

January 2, 2011 / / 9 Comments

I love using my Kindle.  I wrote about why HERE.

One thing I complained about was that I wish there was a way to share a book with somebody.  Here’s what I said:

I love to share books and give them away.  But I can’t with the Kindle.  And I get the whole copyright deal…I do.  Authors work incredibly hard, and should be rewarded for their work.  But here’s how sharing could work: if I share a book with you on the Kindle, I lose privileges with viewing the book on my Kindle…until you “give” it back to me.  If you choose to keep it, I would never be able to view the book again, unless I purchased the book again.

Looks like Amazon listened to me.  Well…I know I had little to do with their decision.  But regardless, sharing is now a reality on the Kindle.

I can loan you a book (at which point I can’t read it…because I’ve loaned it to you).  And it’s really easy to do.  I’ll walk you through it.

How to loan a book on a Kindle

1. Buy a Kindle. (or get the app HERE).

2. Login to your Amazon account.

3. On the left side of the page, under “Shop All Departments,” move your cursor over “Kindle” (see below screenshot).

4. Click on “Manage your Kindle” (see above screenshot).

5. Scroll down the page, and at the bottom of the “Your Orders” section, you’ll notice a link to “View All Orders; ” click on that. (see screenshot below)

6. This will take you to a page (see below screenshot) of all of your past orders.  On the right side of the order, click “View Order.”

7. Click the link for the name of the book to view the order.

8. Under the title bar on the next page, you’ll see a yellow-ish highlighted section.  At the bottom of the highlighted section, you should see a link, “Loan this book to anyone you choose.”  Click that link. (unfortunately, some publishers have disabled their title from being loaned at this time)

9. This will take you to the loan form.  Fill out the loan form and click “Send Now.”

10. Your recipient will receive an email with a personalized message (if you so choose).  They should click the “Get your loaned book now” link in the email.  Your book will be automatically “returned” to you 14 days after the recipient begins the loan period.

Have any troubles?

Are you convinced that the Kindle is worth it?

 

11 on the 1s, #1

January 1, 2011 / / 3 Comments

In honor of the new year, I’m going to start a new series of posts for 2011 that are only 11 words long (posted on days of
the month ending in 1: 1, 11, 21, 31).  Ahh…the challenge of limiting my words.  Cutting out the fluff.  Creatively, and quickly, making a point.

Just something different here on the blog.

11s on the 1s

January 2011.

New day.

Month.

Year.

Decade.

Should you make changes?

 

When the service is poor

December 29, 2010 / / 3 Comments

When the service is poor, I ________


a. Tip the full amount anyway. Hopefully, that’ll turn things around for them and they’ll serve better for the rest of their customers that day.
b. Tip less. They need to understand that they didn’t earn the full amount.
c. Don’t tip. Tipping is based on performance, and since they didn’t perform, they don’t get the tip.
d. Consult with the manager on duty. Poor service is unacceptable.
e. Let the sever know that you are the reason they have a job.
f. …have got a different kind of tip for this server…
f. Never go back to that restaurant again.
Do you think we, as followers of Christ, have a responsibility to offer grace, even to servers?

Do you think we, as followers of Christ, have a responsibility to offer love and mercy, even to servers?
 

You’ve got a smell…

December 28, 2010 / / 2 Comments

…and you probably don’t even know it.

Your house smells a certain way.  So do your clothes.  Your car.  Your dog.  And your shoes.

But you’ve gotten used to it.

And you have no idea whether that smell is sweet or sour.

Over time, our sense of smell dulls when we enter our own home because it becomes “normal.”  Routine.  Habitual.

Which can be incredibly dangerous.

Whether it’s a good smell or a bad smell is irrelevant.  It’s our smell, so we don’t notice it.

And it’s the same way in our spiritual lives.

We get into routines, we find our niche, and we get comfortable.  And growing comfort lends itself to a lack of introspection.  And a growing sense that “normal” is good, whether it is or not.

Why not invite someone you trust to help you see (and smell) where things aren’t lining up?  Because other people see things you don’t.

Is there someone you can ask to come alongside you in 2011?

 

A Social Network Christmas

December 22, 2010 / / 0 Comments

What would it look like if Mary and Joseph had Jesus in the age of Facebook?

(HT: Greg Atkinson)

Merry Christmas!

 

Top 10 Blog Posts of 2010

December 22, 2010 / / 1 Comment

It’s been a great year here at the Life & Theology blog, and in case you missed some of the most highly-read posts, here you go.

10. Don’t Let it Expire

9. Did Rob Bell Offend You?

8.  4 Things Growing Churches Do

7. Should I Kick them out of my group?

6. Why Groups Fail

5. SmallGroups.com and Goofy Words

4. A Deep Bible Study

3. Matt Chandler, Philippians

2. Small Groups and Communion

1. Somebody’s Getting Fired

To subscribe via RSS reader, click HERE.  For email subscriptions, click HERE.

Thanks for reading Life & Theology!

 

The art of small talk

December 22, 2010 / / 5 Comments

As Christmas rolls around, you’re going to be spending a lot of time with a lot of people you don’t normally spend a lot of time with.  People you don’t know or care about remember much about because you don’t get to see them that often.  And for most, the holidays involve sitting around and…talking.

So what do you do when your random uncle plops down beside you and it gets awkward because he doesn’t say anything?  Or your grandpa’s younger cousin that you’ve never seen before…what happens when she insists on sitting in the recliner across from you, and you have nothing in common?

Enter the art of small talk.

Small talk can carry you through the thickest difficult moments.  And it can help you seem like a hero who knows everybody.

Or, just like years past, if you don’t do it right, it can make you look like the jerk that hates Christmas.  And nobody wants to be that guy.

The art of small talk

1. How’s work going? Not a bad leading question.  Since most people work, you’re pretty safe here.

2. Where’s the rest of your family? Whether they’re somewhere else in the house, or they didn’t make it down this year, you’ve got your bases covered.

3. Did you try that ______? (examples include ham, turkey, pork tenderloin, pecan pie, etc.)  In this, you don’t even have to say whether you like the item in question or not.  Don’t show all of your cards right off the bat.

4. Gosh, how long has it been? Classic.

5. How are the kids? Everybody likes talking about their own children.  Everybody.

6. Talk about your kids. Easy, no?  See…told you you could do this.  Remember, everybody likes to talk about their children.  You included.

6. So what keeps you guys busy these days? Hobbies, pastimes, TV shows, and movies are always easy to talk about.

7. How was the drive in? Since we’re in the Christmas season, traffic was probably bad.  The kids probably complained.  They probably left later than they wanted.  This is a guaranteed winner.  Trust me.

8. You guys have any snow yet back home? If you live in a warm climate (like I do), this is a time to lament not having any snow in your area.

9. It’s so _____ (either ‘cold’ or ‘warm’) outside! Think quick on your toes.  This one’s not so tough.

10. I see you’ve been all over Facebook lately. Oh, wait…that’s what my family tells me.  Scratch that.

11. How long are you guys hanging around?

12. The _____ (sports team from their area) is doing ______ (either ‘good’ or ‘bad’) this year. This is a dangerous one.  If you don’t remember where the person’s from, or don’t know which team(s) are in their area, just steer clear of this one.

13. Have you seen Uncle ______? He’s looking good this year, isn’t he? Gotta be careful here, too.  If Uncle _____ isn’t looking great, your cover will be sniffed out.

14. Look at all those gifts! By the time all of the family arrives, there will likely be lots of gifts under the tree.  Capitalize on it.

15. So what else is going on? Keep this one in your back pocket.  After all other questions are exhausted, you can come back and back to this one.

Now you’re ready for any Christmas moment that your family may throw your way.

Got any additions for me?

 

A generous Christmas

December 20, 2010 / / 2 Comments

(image by Dan Johnson)

Logan’s Roadhouse is running a holiday special right now.  Buy a $30 giftcard for a friend and get a $10 giftcard for yourself.

Great deal, right?!?

Great marketing, right?!?

It gets people in their restaurant three ways…once, for the person buying the gift card, once on their return visit (with their $10 giftcard), and once for the receiver of the $30 card.  Brilliant.  And I’m sure they’re going to sell lots of those this season.

I know why.  And it’s not simply because all of your friends love Logan’s.

It has to do with greed.

You see, it’s true that it’s more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).  But our human hearts are dark cauldrons that are deceptive, even to ourselves (Jeremiah 17:9).  And if there’s a way that we can get a gift at the same time we give one, we’re going to do just that.

What’s motivating the sales of these giftcards is the promise that your money won’t be solely spent on someone else.  That the joy you’ll get in giving isn’t simply in serving someone else, rather it’s in  getting a slice of the pie that you’re giving away.  This is a great way to give, expecting something in return.  In that process, you rip the true blessing out of the gift.

I’m not upset with Logan’s in the least.  They have no reason to promote generosity…their goal is to build a successful business, and their principles here violate no laws.  Their practices just happen to play into the tendency of our hearts.  “Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy…” (Ezekiel 33:31)

The Apostle Paul said it well, “…what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” (Romans 7:15)  As much as we strive for generosity, greed continues to creep in.  In subtle, seemingly insignificant, seemingly generous ways.  Like expecting something in return when you give a gift.

But I believe that it really is more blessed to give than to receive.  I’ve experienced it.  The joy in giving your resources to someone else who can never pay you back is unexplainable.  It’s in those moments that I feel as connected to my Maker as much (or maybe even more than) as any other time.  Because He’s done that for us.  He’s given (and continues to give) blessings “pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” (Luke 6:38)

So this Christmas, try being truly generous.  Give.  Share.  Sacrifice.  And don’t expect anything in return.  Not a return gift.  Or a returned hug.  Or even a “thanks.”

You’ll get your payment.  It’ll be in the form of joy.

Have you ever been given a gift, but known it wasn’t given out of a generous heart?

How are you serving someone this Christmas, expecting nothing in return?

 
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