Theme of the year

In a recent letter, author John Eldredge outlined how he starts out each year. (Hint:  It's not with New Year's resolutions.)

Eldredge asks Jesus, What is the theme of this year, Lord? Here's what Eldredge has to say:

I do this every January 1st, and it has proven a mighty rescue many times over. Usually Jesus will say one simple thing. Three years ago it was, 'Love.' And all through the year, I found myself needing to return to the simple truth of love. It helped to orient me; it helped me to interpret things. Two years ago it was, 'Restoration,' and that proved to be the year I took a short sabbatical and sought the restoration I needed. Last year it was, 'My glory,' and wow -- it was the year of Beautiful Outlaw and I could say a hundred things about how 'My glory' proved true. So ask Jesus, What is the theme of this year, Lord? And when he speaks, write it down! Post it somewhere you will see it often. In very big letters.

So, what is the theme of 2012 for you?

Jesus makes all things new

Happy new year, everyone! At my church on New Year's Day, the executive pastor gave a message about how Jesus makes all things new.

He started out his sermon with an amazing story (you can hear it here) about God bringing him a new perspective. In 1999, the pastor worked as an executive at a consulting firm in Bloomington, Minn. The job brought much prosperity to his family, but was draining the life out of him. So he quit.

He started working part-time at the church as well as teaching graduate classes at Bethel University. To accommodate graduate students in the southern metro, Bethel decided in 2009 to open a location in Bloomington. It turns out that the new classroom space was on the exact same floor that the pastor's former employer was located on!

When the pastor asked God what to make of this, God replied, "I make all things new." Since the pastor really enjoyed teaching, this same location now was filling him up instead of draining the life out of him.