Think like Toys R US

Martin Luther wrote, “Christ is the kind of person who is not ashamed of sinners—in fact, he even puts them in his family tree! Now if the Lord does that here, so ought we to despise no one … but put ourselves right in the middle of the fight for sinners and help them.”


I think we all agree with Martin Luther’s quote. Jesus came to this earth to save sinners, and He did it by aggressively inserting himself into our world. Jesus knew that the best way to reach sinners was to bring God’s love to them, to reach out to the hopeless and give them hope. The business world understands that if you want to reach people with your products, you can’t wait till they come to you, you must go to them if you want to be successful. Please read the following article from Mae Anderson:

“Toys "R" Us will be reaching out to you soon. Due to the economic downturn and tough competition, the toy chain has started to change their strategy. Specifically, in 2010 Toys "R" Us plans to "invade" shopping malls around the country by opening 600 express stores and hiring 10,000 part-time seasonal employees. Rather than waiting for customers to come to their traditional stores, they are finding ways to reach out. It's all part of their big vision to share their products with the world. According to CEO Gerald Storch, "We've been very aggressive [about reaching people] during the economic downturn, and this is another aggressive action." Spurred on by last year's success, they're not asking, "How can we survive this year?" Instead, they're trying to make an impact by asking, "How big can we make this?" It's an impressive display of creative, visionary thinking about how to reach people where they're at.”

In life, business, and in church we are never successful when we sit and wait for people to come to us. That is why the great commission doesn’t say “Sit and wait for the world to come to you”, instead it says “Go into all the world”. As a new year begins, let us commit to follow the example of Jesus by reaching out to sinners and sharing with them the truth, love, and grace of God. Merry Christmas & Get - R Done!

Babies Change Everything!



Abby & Jack at Lamberts Restaurant in Sikeston, Mo 

 When Abby was born, a friend of mine made a very prophetic and true statement; he said everything in your life has changed. I said “I know”. He said, “no you don’t. Not just your schedule and activities will change, but who you are will continue to change. Your love for that child will change you, and transform you.” My friend was right; every day I am reminded that my life has changed, that things are different now, not because of one but two babies have come into my life. I’m not talking about little changes like stepping on Lego’s, waiting in car rider lines, cleaning weird carpet stains, going to choir concerts, or soccer games. With the arrival of children I have learned patience, forgiveness, love, and responsibility. Children can change us for the better.  Two thousand years ago a baby arrived and did just that for whole world. When Jesus came to this earth, He changed it forever, because of Him our world will never be the same again. He grew into a man, into a healer, a teacher, and a savior. As He walked on this earth, Jesus demanded that we would change our ways and become more like Him and less like the world. When Jesus met people, He changed them forever. In a few weeks, many people will celebrate the birth of Christ. When Jesus came to this earth, He came to connect us back to God. At Christmas & New Years, many people evaluate who they are and where they are going in life. That is not a bad idea. Jesus came to this earth to restore us into holy and blameless people who make room for those who are in need; we should use this time to recommit to the changed life He has called us to.

Into His Likeness

"18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
When Moses came down from Mt Sinai with the 10 Commandments, his face was so bright that it overwhelmed everyone who saw him. Therefore they put a veil over his face. The idea is that when one comes into contact with God they are changed (transformed), even if it is just temporary.
What Paul is saying here in 2 Corinthians 3 is that too many people are living outside of Jesus, their hearts are veiled. Another wards they can’t see or comprehend the blessing and freedom that is found in a love relationship with God. Jesus removes all separation, and brings us closer to God. The main focus of verse 18 is that if you are connected to Jesus your life will change. The idea is that if we spend time with Jesus, if we take time to get into His word, if we pray in His name, and if we stay connected to Him, we will be changed. You may ask “change into what?” Verse 18 says change into His likeness. When Moses came into contact with God, his faced shined brightly. When we come into contact with Jesus we too shine a light of hope that blesses everyone we encounter. Transformation into spiritual maturity should be the norm rather than the exception. May God bless you each moment as you allow Jesus to transform and bless your life each day!

Inception (part 2)

When Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was released as a movie I decided that I would take the middle school portion of our youth group to see it on opening weekend. It had been scheduled in our youth group calendar for a few weeks, I didn’t think it would bring a large group, and it didn’t, we only had about six kids come out that Saturday morning. As we were about to leave, another car pulled into the parking lot, it was a visitor named Mary. She was a 16 year old who had visited us with a friend at the previous Wednesday Night Bible Study. When I saw her I told her that I was impressed that she wanted to watch a movie with six middle school boys. Without hesitation she said “I love Harry Potter, and you’re the only church in town that hasn’t made me feel like I’m evil because I’m a Harry Potter fan.” Mary was searching; she came from a Buddhist / New Age background, she had been visiting different youth groups in town, she was looking for a place that would be patient with her as she was searching for a spiritual identity. I told her that we as Christians do not practice witchcraft yet we can identify with qualities such as love and friendship that are found in the Harry Potter series. Mary liked being with our group and she kept coming. It took a year, but eventually she gave her life to Jesus, her mother made the same decision the following year.


Inception of an idea is a like a seed that is planted in the ground, eventually it grows up to be a fruit bearing tree. God used our willingness to find common ground in a Harry Potter movie to plant the seed in Mary’s mind that the love and acceptance she had been looking for was found in Jesus.

As Christians we are often known for what we are against rather than what we believe. We of course oppose witchcraft, but we can find a bond with unbelievers on the strongest elements of each Harry Potter book; elements such as love, friendship, and loyalty. The apostle Paul did the same thing in Athens when he complimented the Athenians for their desire to be religious; in doing so he was able to convert many to Jesus. What I am saying is that God’s people have an opportunity to bring people to Jesus, simply by finding common ground with them, showing them that maybe they already have Jesus working in their lives. When unbelievers witness Christians living with God’s love and righteousness, a seed is planted in their minds, it can grow into an idea, and possibly into the belief that life with Jesus is the best life there is.

Wizards, Vampires, & Jesus

We saw the new movie "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" today. It was pretty good (I give it 2 1/2 stars). I guess it is hard to ignore all of the wizard and witch movies, books, an TV shows that are out these days. If it isn't about wizards it probably is about vampires (for some reason those are more exhausting to me). The one thing that many of these stories have in common is that most of them have a "chosen one". What I mean by chosen one is that early in the story there is a prophecy of a hero (a messiah) who will save all of humanity. This hero just so happens to be a vampire, witch, or wizard. Maybe the reason so many stories follow the same formula is that we all have a basic need to have a savior who will be there to save us.

I think we all have this spiritual side that needs to be part of something that is bigger than ourselves that connects all of us into a community that is filled with acceptance and love. As cool as wizards and vampires are they seem to have a need to be hidden, disconnected from the rest of humanity.

Jesus does not desire to be hidden like a wizard; he has no desire to be disconnected from humanity like a vampire. In fact did He not die for our sin so that we could connect with Him? Jesus is superior to these man made messiahs in that He wants to connect with humanity not hide from it.

"6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." 2 Corinthians 4:6-12 NIV

Our savior desires to strike down evil and has more power than any wizard we could ever imagine. Our savior is eternal, He has no need of our blood to offer us eternal life, because He offers His. Our world is looking for a savior, we have a real one to offer them. He has no desire to hide from humanity, in fact He partners with us every day to show the world that He loves them and that He has the power to save them.