Sometimes I struggle with the fact that some of the best guys (and gals) I know are not Christians. At one level I feel like many of them are probably even better people than I am as they seem to struggling with less of life's pitfalls. How could it be that I am worthy of salvation, and yet they haven't received it? At another level, it just seems like such good people shouldn't be sent anywhere but to heaven! Then, reality sets in because I know God's Word to be absolutely true, and He is very clear that only "perfection" will ever enter heaven. Even good people who haven't been made "perfect" by the blood of His Son will never approach God. Then it hits me. Maybe some of the "good" people I know are just good in their own minds that they will never seek Jesus' forgiveness for their sins. That's where I come in! God has saved my pitiful soul, and the way I approach life will be a testimony to my friends, both good and bad! "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I had a young female friend who recently tearfully confessed she was convinced by a couple of young men to strip for them on camera. She's devastated, now wondering what damage she's done to her relationship with Christ. She is also finding her guilt is hard to deal with on other levels, now wondering if she has any reason to live. I know a few things about this type of sin, and I can tell you with undoubted certainly that a few things are true. 1. The guys who convinced her are in more trouble with God than she is. 2. Her confession that "they said I looked beautiful" was a fleshly lie from the guys, as true beauty always comes from within. Even an idiot knows that God made a woman's body attractive to a sane man! And, 3. She has every reason to live, since even her tearful confession to me shows a heart that is looking for forgiveness and is ready for a stronger relationship with Christ. "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I'll admit I'm no big fan of country music, but I will acknowledge that many of the words I've heard to country songs have a firm grasp on life! Once, I accidentally had my radio on a country station and I heard some words that initially I thought were cool... Until I thought about them that is. The song went, "live your life as if you were dying." I was thinking how much different I would treat my family and other people if I thought I'd never see them again, and how many cool things I would want to do before I went, and how I would... And then I realized everything I was thinking about was all about "me." Even the part about treating people better was so they'd remember me fondly and cry a lot at my funeral! I think the words of the song would be better if they said something like, "live your life as if you were completely dead, and then brought back to life!" Then it could be all about the One who brought you back! But hey, I'm no country song writer! "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I don't know how Job felt when Satan took away his health, his family and all of his possessions, but I know that for all the mistakes he made, he did not quit and he didn't curse God for his condition. Later, God blessed Job beyond his wildest imagination. As a result, thousands of years later we are still taking about Job's patience and faith. The reality of being a Christian is that there will be good days and days that are full of difficulty. We praise God during both types of days, and all the days in between as well. Not because we expect blessings, but because He is our Lord and we trust Him in the good times and in the bad. His plans and His children will prevail in spite of how things may look. He's Almighty God, He's our Father and He loves us. Isn't that enough to make even a tough day better? "But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." Psalm 33:11  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Many world religions, some with literally billions of followers, believe people come back to life after they die. Christians also believe in life after death. Where we differ with these other religions is that we know from the Scriptures we do not come back as anything or anyone else. We come back as ourselves, and for some that will be quite unfortunate. There is no other life to live. The name we make for ourselves here will be our name forever. This is the only life we'll have, and then we will face the judgment. For those who are "born again," the blood of Christ provides eternal Salvation. Believe it or not, the whole concept of "dead" doesn't seem to even make sense to God in the sense that we see it. "Dead" to Him is reserved for those who are eternally separated from Him, very much eternal beings, but never to be in His Glorious presence. "But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." Jesus of Nazareth (Luke 20:37-38)  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

The Scriptures tell us that we're supposed to consider others more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3), but most of us have a hard time doing that. Although we've come a long way in accepting people with handicaps or those who are different from us, we can (and sometimes do) still look at them as if they're not quite as important as we are. And what about people who don't dress like we do or don't speak our dialect or our language or maybe those who are younger or older or maybe haven't been Christians as long as we have. Our tendency is to look down on all of them. That tendency is not of Christ. As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. "Lord," they answered, "we want our sight." Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. Matthew 20:29-34  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

On first blush it seems to me that "cursed blessings" is a huge oxymoron; on par with "jumbo shrimp" and "military intelligence." On second thought, however, I realize we have cursed blessings all around us. Marriage (a gift from God) is a total disaster once invaded by sin. Children (again, an incredible gift from God) are molested, murdered, abused in ways only Satan could imagine. Sex, invented by God himself, is used for everything but what its Creator intended. Once I thought about it more, I began to realize all of our blessings can be cursed if they are not consistently managed with the fear of the Lord. Since all Christians are called to be priests, and since all Christians have been blessed with many things, we'd do well to consider how priests were commanded to manage their blessings. With those two realities in mind, read and pray through this Scripture considering how some of your "cursed blessings" may actually be a result of your own actions or inactions with God. "And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the Lord Almighty, "I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me." Malachi 2:1-2  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

When my daughters were little, I asked two of them to spend some time cleaning their room. I told them I'd be in to take a look later, which no doubt had them scrambling. I was a little surprised when they returned not ten minutes later and told me everything was clean. Smelling a rat, I walked into their room and knew things just had to be hidden beneath other things. Sure enough, beds, toy boxes, doll strollers and the like had all become vessels for everything but what belonged in them. My daughters will one day come to learn that daddy spent more than 20 years in the military and knows a little bit about how to inspect things! What I hope sinks in even better, however, is the conversation we had about honesty and integrity. Even if your parents are the worst inspectors on the planet, God still knows what you're up to! A lie is still a lie whether you get away with it or not. "A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies." Proverbs 12:17  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate