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

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