Higher Power?
Pastor Jim Kilby • February 6, 2024
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14, NKJV)
Friends,
I’m working with a young person who has been hospitalized three times during the last few months. They have really strong anxiety issues which drive them to a place where they feel completely out of control. When I dig down to understand what’s the catalyst for all of this anxiety, the reasons are myriad: Gender identify issues, suicidal ideation, unresolved anger against parents, siblings, friends, teachers, etc., etc. During their hospital stays, psychiatrists and counselors recommend one drug or another to solve the problems. As you can imagine, drugs won’t help with the real issues behind the anxiety. The bottom line is this young person refuses to even consider a thought of a “higher power”. Talks of Jesus’ are met with laughs and smug replies. They seem to think they’ve got it all figured out, when in reality, they have nothing figured out. Their life is a mess!
When I think about all this further, I realize this exact situation seems to be where the whole world is. Young people are surrounded by drug abuse and addiction. The recent legalization of marijuana in many States, including Ohio, isn’t helping with that either. Instead of looking to God for knowledge, many young people are happier to spend their days vaping, drinking and fornicating. And why wouldn’t they? Isn’t that what virtually every media source points them to? Godlessness abounds! Thanks to laws rapidly changing in Ohio and other states, abortion is now a constitutional right and abortion pills are “on demand”. Last month in Ohio, our Republican Governor went against his own party, vetoing a bill that would have made gender reassignment surgery illegal. Now, the opposite is true. When you think about it, hardly anything is getting better for young people. Potential jobs are being automated. The economy seems to be in crisis. The cost of higher education doubles again and again. Thanks to hard hearts and no-fault divorce, families are as broken as they’ve ever been. Even those raised in good churches are not immune. And so, our mission continues. And while we can’t help everybody, we can help those the Lord brings into our circles. The Gospel remains the only answer that will change a heart, a soul, and an all eternity! Thank you for your prayers and support in so many ways.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Jim Kilby
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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
There is a sizeable chunk of Christianity who believe that they need not share the good news of Jesus' saving grace with the rest of the world. They believe that since the Spirit of God draws men to Himself, they need not be involved in the process. Some of them simply wait in their churches for lost souls to show up and ask them what to do. While I'm absolutely positive that not only does God draw people to Himself and that He can bring a person to walk through the doors of a church, I am also absolutely convinced that He intends to involve His Church, the Body of Christ, in this mission. That's why He gave it to us quite clearly in the Great Commission (Matthew 28). Moreover, I believe that most of the desire not to be involved is selfish, fearful, and possibly even racist, judgemental, or worse! If you're not involved in building focused relationships with unsaved people with the express purpose of leading them to Christ, then I believe you should reconsider your involvement! Truly, what is it that holds you back? It cannot be God, because He's the one pushing you forward. "As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom thy have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" Romans 10:11-15 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
We live in a world where if you don't like your parents, you can tell them to "go to hell" and nobody will care. If your parents aren't happy about being pregnant with you, they can have you killed without the slightest backlash from humanity. If your parents don't like each other, they can divorce and not get ostracized by anyone, and often "anyone" includes the church where Jesus is supposed to be Lord and whose prophets cried out, "God hates divorce!" Practically every form of sin is on the rise, and "love" is often the first casualty, even among believers. I ask you, is this the world you want to live in? If not, then two things need to be done immediately! Call on Jesus and make Him your Lord, in word AND in deed. Whatever He says, do it! Make what's left of this world a better place by following Him. And secondly, set your mind not on this world, but on things unseen! What you see here will be over before any of us know it. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Virtually all of those who said they would follow Jesus anywhere left Him as soon as the trouble started. Today, things have changed little as many of those who call themselves Christian won't follow Him much further than the first tough decision. Sure, "feelings" about how wonderful Jesus is are great, but what good are they if they don't last when the flesh starts calling. As a dad, I love it when my children tell me they love me, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING is as good as seeing them show it by their actions. And conversely, all the talk in the world about love means nothing if they walk out and do what I've lovingly asked them not to do. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
If you ask the average person what the worst thing that could happen to them would be, they would tell you something that would involve their personal suffering. Humans don't like suffering much, and we will do just about anything to avoid it. That's unfortunate for the well-meaning Christian because suffering is quite surely part of our calling. God draws us into all types of difficult circumstances so we can pull others from eternal fire, to teach us different things, and to even help relieve the sufferings of others. The answer to the "worst possible things that could happen to us" question is not "suffering," but rather "disobedience." From that there is simply no hope if we remain in it! Now. honestly, how many openly disobedient Christians do you know? Believe it or not, the answer is not many, because true Christians, those that love the Lord like He loves them, would die suffering before they would openly disobey the One they love. Most "suffering avoiders" are just faking "Christian." "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him." Hebrews 2:1-3 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
"'Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Bring your sacrifices every morning and your tithes every three years,. Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings--boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do,' declares the Lord." Amos 4:5 This passage may seem a little weird to the average person living in 2000-something, but it will make perfect sense when you think about this? Have you been bragging about the things you've done for others, or things you've supposedly done for God, when you were clearly doing things He wouldn't approve of in the mean time? Of all the things God shows us that He hates in the Scriptures, this is one of the greatest--a sinner who likes to brag about all their good deeds while they continue in their sin. The right thing to do is quite simple; stop your sin, and give without looking for anything in return--even from God Himself. Only deeds done with this type of heart and covered by the Blood of Jesus make any sense at all to God. Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
When Jesus walked this earth in bodily form, do you think He ever broke a blade of grass as He strolled along? What about the fish and the bread He ate, did they not give of themselves so that His purposes would be fulfilled? Did anyone cry for them, or did they simply do what they were created to do? The Scriptures are filled with examples where God's creation calls out to Him, praises Him, and brings glory to Him--all but one member of His creation that is! Man took on a sin nature the very moment we decided to go against His will. Now we have to struggle and cry out just to do what once was natural for man. Now, because Satan has blinded us, we don't want to die for God, we want to live for ourselves. Now, only through the hope we find in Jesus Christ is there even the slightest chance of us ever being able to bring Him Glory again. Only after we allow ourselves to be broken by His Spirit and redeemed by His blood can we ever really be alive again--alive and bringing Him Glory with every action, every thought, and every motive! And that's what we hope to do for all eternity! "He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water." Revelation 14:7 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
When you pray, whose agenda are you praying for? Are you praying to God and hoping He'll start working your list of miracles? If so, you'll be waiting a loooong time! That's not how God works at all. God has an agenda, and He's inviting us to join with Him in HIS work. The goal of prayer is not to advance our agendas, but to make us senstive to His agenda. Surely God is near us when we pray, but our prayers are only answered when they're in alignment with His will. "the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? Deuteronomy 4:7b Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
