Tag Archives: renewal

QR Codes

QR code

Everywhere I turn these days, there is a QR code to scan. A QR code (short for “quick-response code”) is a type of two-dimensional matrix barcode consisting of black squares arranged in a square grid on a white background. QR codes were invented 1994, by Japanese company Denso Wave initially for labelling automobile parts. Now QR codes are used almost universally to display text to the user, to open a webpage on the user’s device, to connect to a wireless network, or to compose an email or text message. The QR code is used because of its fast readability and greater storage capacity compared to standard UPC codes and has become one of the most-used types of two-dimensional code.

But this was not always the case. There was a time when QR codes were being used less and less by marketers and consumers. But then the pandemic hit and COVID restrictions increased the use of QR codes substantially because paper material was largely removed from restaurants, retail stores and churches. Now scanning a QR code is de rigueur in almost any place we visit.

I find this fascinating on two fronts. First, you never know when something might hit big, and second, you never know what you might get used to doing.

I think these insights apply when to the Christian life. We may get the sense that our Christian witness is not making a difference, but like with the QR code, something may happen in the future (in a positive sense, not like the pandemic) that will spark a renewal in Christianity. Who knows what the Holy Spirit has in store?

Also, there are many things in Christianity that we may at first have thought that we could never do, like talk to a stranger about Jesus, pray in public, invite a friend to church. But the more we do these things, the easier they become.

St. Paul must have had these ideas in mind we he said, “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3). Remembering what Jesus did for us gives us strength to carry on and never give up. There’s probably a QR code out there that you can scan that tells you that, too.

Showers

shower

Recently my shower in my bathroom was not working properly. Water was only dribbling out of the shower no matter how far I turned the faucet on. The culprit? Clogged holes in the shower head. After many attempts to unclog the holes, I ended up buying (and installing, believe it or not!) a whole new shower head with completely unclogged holes. The result? A strong and steady flow of water that pours out immediately with a simple turn of the faucet handle.

The experience made me wonder how many other things are clogged up in various ways in my life that need to be unclogged. I think of sadness that clogs up the flow of joy. I think of anger that blocks the way for love to pour out. I consider the frustrations of the past that stop me from freely springing forth with attempts to try again.

How do we get unclogged? The prophet Hosea puts it to us this way: “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (Hosea 6:3). We need to keep going, to keep flowing, to let our God unclog what is preventing us from moving forward. He showers blessings upon us that break through the barriers to a happy, holy life. Sometimes that unclogging means an entire system replacement of our former way of life, leading to spiritual renewal by the Holy Spirit (like changing out the whole shower head). And sometimes it means daily having Jesus dig out the gunk of sin building up in individual little aspects of our lives (like taking a toothpick to every shower head hole each morning).

Either way the end result is a release of constant streams of goodness from above that enable us to be free of sin and refreshed for new life in Christ. Be made clean in him today!

Restart

restart

We have all been there: Our computer stops working and we are at a loss as to what to do to remedy the situation. We ask computer experts what elaborate protocol might be necessary to fix the problem. Inevitably, the question comes back, “Have you tried restarting?” Ah, the simplest act of turning your computer off and on again is sometimes all that is necessary to resolve the glitch. It is often the easiest solution that is the best.

When we are stuck or broken down or just not working as we should in our lives, the psalmist tells us to restart:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Psalm 103:2-5).

Renewal comes to us when we remember what God has done for us. Remember that we are blessed. Remember that we are forgiven. Remember that we have healing in God. Recall where we once were and how far we have come by God’s grace. Remind yourself that love and mercy from God sustain us. The good gifts from God we may have let slip from our minds can make us soar again.

Make it a practice to restart in your remembrance of God every time you are forced to restart your computer. The benefits are abundant.

Renewal

manger and tomb

Thank you, loving Father, for restoring our joy in you through the birth of your Son, Jesus. May his presence among us resurrect in us a new sense of peace and liveliness in living our lives refreshed by our Savior’s forgiveness and renewal. Amen.

The prayer above is something that I wrote recently for an Advent 2020 product, but was ultimately not used. So let’s enjoy a little Christmas in August by giving this prayer some thought.

For me, it’s nice to remember during any time of year that Jesus brings renewal and restoration. There is always a chance to start over again with Jesus. He is reborn in us each and every day. and any time we feel down and out, Jesus can lift us up and into his arms.

The concept of resurrection is a reminder that with Jesus alive in us, we have nothing to fear and we should be at peace. Living in him should be lively and active, something that moves us forward in our faith.

From manger to empty grave, our Jesus has moved forward for us. It’s our turn now to move forward for him with acts of forgiveness, love and service.

Feeling Blue?

blue candleOver the Christmas season a few months back a story ran on the national news about “blue” Christmas services that some parishes were offering for those who were feeling lonely or grieving the loss of loved ones during the holiday season. The service included lighting candles, listening to comforting words of Scripture and soothing music, surrounded by the presence of loving and caring people.

I found the story heart-warming and touching and something that we can consider doing all year-round in our churches at various times.

The church is designed to be a place of comfort, care and healing for those who are feeling blue. The funny thing about the color blue is that in modern-day vernacular in this turn of phrase blue means sad. But in the church blue is a color of hope, renewal and a future in the heavens above.

Therefore, let us do all we can to help those on their journey from sad to glad through the hope they are given in the love and salvation of Christ our Lord.

Brain Hacking

brainA recent segment on 60 Minutes detailed the activities of “brain hacking” taking place among computer companies in the designs of their social media platforms and apps.

Programmers have developed algorithms that take advantage of the brain’s desires for pleasure, Responses to status updates from other users are often spaced out over a period of time to drive us to check our devices more. And “likes” are sometimes bunched up together so that our brains feel a greater sense of reward when they are revealed.

Beyond making me somewhat mad at Facebook and the like for playing with our minds like this, the story reminded me that there are many things that have a greater influence over our brains than we realize.

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The Benedict Option

BenedictIn their March 2017 Christianity Today did a cover article on the Benedict Option and I was recently in an acquisitions meeting in which the Benedict Option was discussed. So I did some digging into the topic and here is what I found:

The “Benedict Option” means partaking in a communal withdrawal from the mainstream, for the sake of sheltering one’s faith and family from corrosive modernity and cultivating a more traditional way of life.

Now I am getting a better sense of why this concept is being discussed with more frequency as our secular society is tending to go more and more off course from traditional Christian values.

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Recovery

fontThe image above appeared beside the article “The Church and Recovery,” in the February 2017 issue of Living Lutheran. It is a unique baptismal font at Common Ground Recovery Ministry based in Wyomissing, PA.

The shattered pieces of glass used in the design of the font represent “booze, bottles, glass syringes and other paraphernalia that separated us, not only from God, but also from all that sustains life,” according to the ministry. The light blue cross represents the waters of baptism in which we are all washed clean and given new life in Christ.

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