Starbucks failed

Starbucks failed while it still continues to be successful. I wanted to share an excerpt from Creature of the Word that hits today's society right on the money. We need to make sure this does not happen in our churches.

“Since the day Adam searched for a suitable helper, people have always longed for community. So it would seem our era is a great one in which to live, seeing as how connectivity is so much easier now than it’s ever been. Facebook currently claims more than 900 million active users who visit their social networking site at least once a month. Thanks to Twitter, we can constantly bombard each other with even the most boring details of our everyday lives. You can take a picture of the sampler you ordered at Applebee’s, and then tweet it to all your friends so they can be jealous of your potato skins. Technology has enabled humanity to be more connected, more informed, and more social than at any other time in history.
But connectivity does not equate to community. Being able to make quick connections with people doesn’t automatically require any depth to the relationship.
All you have to do is take a look inside your local Starbucks to see something strange going on in the midst of all these “connections.” Starbucks was founded to be a gathering place for relationships. Sure, they serve a million combinations of coffee and pastries “but it was also intended as a place where people could get their coffee not “to go” but to stay. And stay together. Starbucks was built to capitalize on the intrinsic human desire to relate.
But as you look into your local Starbucks, notice that many people are in there—together in one place—but they’re also alone. They’re sitting at tables with their headphones on, working on their computers or fiddling with their phones. Not that” “it’s the fault of Starbucks. This “all alone, all together” phenomenon is merely symptomatic of what’s at play in human relationships throughout our culture.
So although we are more connected than we’ve ever been, we also feel more alone and unknown than at any other time in human history. We relate without relationships, all together but all alone. Thus, without the gospel forming community, we are doomed to connectivity and aloneness in the midst of crowds. Only the gospel forms deep community.”

Excerpt From: Matt Chandler, Eric Geiger & Josh Patterson. “Creature of the Word.” B&H Publishing Group, 2012. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/creature-of-the-word/id560382548?mt=11

Not satisfied?

Note to Self by Joe Thorn is a book that I now use as a daily devotional. Each day I will share the scripture passage and an expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts as part of my blog.

Scripture passage Philippians 4:11-13

¹¹ Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. ¹² I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. ¹³ For I can do everything through Christ,^[c] who gives me strength. ¹⁴ Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

Section from the book

Are you satisfied? It is pretty obvious that the answer is often no. I am not saying it is wrong to want things in this life, but why do you find yourself so frustrated with the absence of those things? The problem is not that you want evil things. The things you want are generally good, or at least harmless in themselves. But more than wanting, you become frustrated by not having. You become jealous, envious, and discontented with your life. It is true; you need what you lack, but what you lack is satisfaction in Jesus.

 Simple thoughts

I could not help but use this now infamous picture of Mckayla Maroney that has went viral. I will be the first to admit I am not sure the reason behind this now famous face. I can only assume that she was not satisfied with the silver medal. The fact that she worked her whole life (like 17 years) for Olympic gold and came up short left her disappointed and frustrated. Who could blame her? Before you answer, remember what you just read in today’s scripture and the excerpt from the book. It’s really okay to want things but the problem comes when you become dissatisfied without them. When this happens you slowly become jealous, envious, and discontent. When this happens the good things you want become bad things. The reason, because you have elevated them above Jesus. My kids used to get frustrated with me when I’d to explain the differences between the wants and needs in their life. We need air, food, water, and shelter but after that most things are wants. To me the most noticeable change in my life since becoming a Christian is that my wants have dramatically decreased. As Philippians 4:11 say I have learned to be content with what I have. Now I would be lying if I said at now I never wanted anything, but hopefully when my wants start leading me to not being satisfied or discontent I will remember what I am truly lacking in is my satisfaction in Jesus. When you have Jesus silver is more than enough and gold still does not compare to the value of knowing Christ.

Don't be a turkey?

Time to fire up the blog again, I have found a book that I think is very good, a book that besides the Bible I can use as a daily devotional. The book is Note to Self by Joe Thorn, so each day I will share the scripture passage a expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts.

Scripture passage Psalm 100: 4-5

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Section from the book

Does gratitude characterize your thoughts of God? Thankfulness is a good test of your faith. Its absence demonstrates that your faith is more lip service than experiential knowledge. Your days, whether easy or difficult, should be filled with thanksgiving because while life changes drastically, your God remains the same forever. He is constant—constantly good, loving, and faithful.

Simple thoughts

Is the only time you give thanks at the beginning of a meal or on a Thursday in November in front of a turkey? If so you are a turkey. Thankfulness should be automatic for the believer, and for those who are ungrateful or downright unhappy all of the time where is their faith? Do they stop and think about what God has done for them? You have to wonder? No matter what you are going through give thanks to the fact that God never changes and is never wrong and that EVERYTHING works together for the good of those who love him. Don’t be a turkey thank God early and often throughout every day.

Happiness, not all what it’s cracked up to be

Time to fire up the blog again, I have found a book that I think is very good, a book that besides the Bible I can use as a daily devotional. The book is Note to Self by Joe Thorn, so each day I will share the scripture passage a expert from the book and a few of my own thoughts.

Scripture passage Pslam 100

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
² Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.^[a]
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation

Section from the book

But let’s be honest, the reason you do not experience the joy you read about in Scripture is because your heart is divided, and your interests are spread thin.

Simple thoughts

I have said it before but it is worth repeating that there is a huge difference between happiness and joy, happiness is so very temporary. Happiness is much like a drug once we get it, the more we want and it usually takes more to get the same high that you experienced before. Therefore it’s hard to stay happy. One the other hand joy is much more lasting and maybe even in a sense permanent. If the truth were to be known everyone would be searching for joy and not happiness. It is joy and not happiness that we read about in the Bible. When we are searching for happiness we miss out on joy. In most cases the happiness we seek does not contain the LORD and joy is found in the LORD. A divided heart is a vulnerable heart and a heart focused on the LORD is a joyful one.  Ask yourself is it happiness you seek or is it joy? In the face of trouble happiness runs like a coward but joy will stick with you still the very end, happiness is not all what it’s cracked up to be. If you do want to experience joy just remember you will find it in Jesus.