Do you ever find yourself forced to listen to godless idiotic talk and wish you could just tell people to "shut up!"? Doing so would first require you to judge the world, which we are commanded not to do and then you would have to speak in anger, which might feel great for a moment, but would be sin in the end. Believe it or not, God knew we would have times when we felt this way, so He gave us instruction on how to silence the idiots. Once again, it involves us simply being faithful to follow God's Word and God's will--it's He who will close their mouths for us! "For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom to cover-up for evil; live as servants of God." 1 Peter 2:15-16 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I've been reading a book about the marvels of science over the last couple of weeks and frankly, it's starting to make my head hurt. It's not the first book I've read on the subject and I'm beginning to think that maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand the physics & math the authors are describing from their studies of nature (and that's with them trying to make it simple for the reader). What's interesting is that with so much indescribable beauty in things we can see with our eyes, and even more wonderful precision in the way cells, atoms, and even the universe is put together, how could such intelligent people then claim, "there is no God"? The fact is that many of them (although there are a large number of Christian scientists, too), are using every bit of their intellect desperately trying to prove that God does not exist. My guess is that they don't want to believe He exists because then they will have to acknowledge His Word! What's funny (or sad) is that with all those years of experience, schooling, and vast amounts of intelligence, they are all just simple fools--unable to see what a small child can see--God's hand is in everything! "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good." Psalm 53:1  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Have you ever been really sick? So sick that you just couldn't eat anything,even if someone marched into your room with the perfect helping of your favorite food? Yea, me too! When you're sick, it just doesn't matter how great the food is--you don't want any! And that's exactly why people who aren't spiritually healthy are not interested in a steady diet of the Lord's Word. The only cure is for them to confess their sin to God and then to a close brother or sister who is solid in the Lord. After that, they will soon feel better and be chomping at the Word again before you know it! "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

If you and I were at lunch together and I tried to leave with a big "honkin" chunk of lettuce on my tooth, would you tell me or just let me leave? If you truly were my friend, you wouldn't hesitate to tell me! Now for the tough one! If you and I were brothers (or brother and sister) in the Lord and I called you on the phone and told you I needed to talk to you right away--that I desperately needed to rebuke you for something, would you be excited about our next meeting? You would be if you were truly facing our relationship and your walk with Christ in a humble manner! As "human-kind" we really struggle with both of these issues. We don't want to say the tough things that need to be said, and... we have a hard time accepting the tough things that are brought to our attention. Jesus absolutely promises He will rebuke us if He loves us, and to be "Christ-like" and a member of the Body of Christ, means to be humbly, carefully, and lovingly involved in this ministry to one another. Without it we'll all look stupider than me with a chunk of salad on my tooth! "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent." Jesus of Nazareth (Revelation 3:19) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

When my youngest sons were little and in a room together, they'd be fighting within seconds. Whatever one of them focuses on, the other immediately wants! It could be a toy, a cookie, or something as small as a cookie crumb, but one thing is for sure, they will both be in one mind about what they want. Although I could write for hours on human nature, original sin, the selfishness of the flesh, etc., I'd like to take a totally different approach this time. As I was praying today I realized that without prayer, I consistently make poor decisions--essentially becoming separated from the "head" and floundering on my own. Imagine though, if I were able to have the mind of Christ (being focused on absolutely the same thing as Him), my decisions would mirror His, my motives would be perfect, and the results of my endeavors would consistently give glory to God. Unlike my two sons, focusing on the same thing at the same time with Christ would lead to harmony with God in my life and in the ministry He's called me to. Doing anything less leaves me fighting for crumbs with the demons and anyone else whose work is not aligned with God's. With these truths in mind, prayer takes on a whole new life, and Scripture reading or Bible study become a sort of check and balance system to further focus the Christ-follower. "Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow." Colossians 2:18b-19 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

The ministry Jesus gave the Church is essentially a bridge building ministry. We build bridges to those who don't know Him, present the Gospel to them and teach them everything He taught us. Unfortunately, many Christians are involved in one of two other ministries. I'll call the first one "island building." Essentially, this is a ministry where the church takes care of itself, but ignores the world outside. And the second I'll call, "mote digging." This is where the church not only ignores the world around them, but even does everything they can to remain separate from them. Although there are times when we do need to withdraw for prayer, focus, etc., Jesus did not give us a ministry to serve ourselves. Our ministry is to reach a lost and hurting world. When you think about how you approach your faith, are you a bridge builder, an island builder, or a mote digger? Although bridge building can be a scary thing, we need to remember that we were not only commanded to do it, but we are not alone in it either! "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 28:19-20) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I quite often get mail from teens (and even some from adults) who are wondering if the new love of their life is Mr. or Ms. Right. Generally, it's hard for me to make determinations with such little information, so I like to ask a few questions to get the person thinking. My first question is always the same. Maybe it's a question you need to ask yourself... Is the person drawing you closer to Christ, or driving you away from Him? At its root level, anything or anyone who (no matter how good them may look) is drawing you away from Jesus is doing the work of the antichrist. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I have a close relative who is a member of a strong church in his community who recently told me an interesting story. As it turns out, he had a friend he hadn't heard from in years call him not long ago and ask him for financial help. My friend has some financial means, so, being a good friend, he flew to his friend's state, bought him a car, and then gave it to him. While he was there, he met some members of his friend's church who told him that, because he was not a member of their church, he was not going to heaven! In fact, he was going to hell for sure! At this point, my quite shocked relative remarked, "Well, if you're so good with God, why did I have to fly thousands of miles to help a relative stranger while he's a member of YOUR church? The question for today is: Which group was wrong? The answer is that both of them were! My relative is not a member of the Body of Christ, as he has never given his life to Christ and believes all religions have merit. His church often allows for all types of faith and therefore is "pluralistic" in its doctrine, and not a true Christian church. The members of the other church are wrong because even though they are possibly right about my relatives' condition with Christ, they are also far from living out their faith in love. "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:14-17 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate