There were quite a few amazing prophets of God in the Old Testament, but in my estimation the most colorful of all of them was Elijah. The way God used Him makes any serious reader of the Scriptures laugh, then cry, and then just sit in amazement! One day, however, even Elijah succumbed to what will inevitably hit every follower of the Lord who for even a minute takes his or her eyes off of God. Elijah got burned out. This immediately left him afraid of things he had never considered being afraid of before. The devil's tools of "fear" and "doubt" found a resting place in Elijah's heart leaving him powerless before men and worthless before God. Fortunately, God intervened on Elijah's behalf. When Elijah could go on no further, he finally called out to his Lord. God comforted him, sustained him, and when Elijah was ready, he put him back on course. There's great hope for all of us in this because we serve the same awesome God! "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. 1 Kings 19:4b-5a  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

We live in New Testament times. Although we've been relieved from the strict rules laid out in the Old Testament Law, many of the principles found there still apply to our times. One of the most applicable in these days is the way we deal with our money. Specifically, how we provide for the Lord's work is at issue. I do not believe a "tithe" (tenth) is a mandatory requirement that moves from the Old Testament Law to New Testament times (actually, it was 33.3% anyway), instead, God allows us to give as much as we can joyfully give. He simply asks us to give Him our hearts, and when He has our hearts, we find ourselves excited about being able to help in any small way with His work. Unfortunately, in times where commercials, advertisements and keeping up with everyone else rule the day, even the Christian who's decided to joyfully give to the Lord's work can sometimes feel "buying" or "owning" pressure. "Stuff" can own our hearts in a second, and when it does it can cause us to re-adjust (read, "steal") from what we were planning on giving as an offering. Such activity not only proves He does not own our hearts, but is also a sin that greatly angers our Lord. Many who write me about their inability to win sinful struggles in their lives could find amazing help from the Lord if they would simply be faithful in their giving. Their hearts would soon follow (since where your treasure is, there you're heart is also). Dear friend, anything that competes for His love is sin--root it out of your life! "Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their bans and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you any more unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction." Joshua 7:11-12  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Jesus no doubt grew up enjoying the Passover feast with friends and family. Undoubtedly, He also knew that one day He would replace this celebration of the Old Covenant with a new and more powerful celebration. He told the disciples that He looked forward to eating the Passover with them on the evening before He was to be slain. They had no idea that Jesus was in fact going to be the "sacrificial lamb" or that His many references to shedding His blood were explanations of how God was going to use Him to establish the New Covenant we now celebrate. Thanks be to God for the institution of the Eucharist (or the Lord's Supper). As we give thanks this week, don't forget to give thanks for the Body and the Blood of our Lord. If you want to introduce something really special into your Thanksgiving feast this year, try reading this Scripture. Have people search their hearts to ensure they are right with the Lord, and then break bread and pass the cup both in rememberance of His amazing grace toward us. "While they were eating, Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now until the day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom.'" Matthew 26:26-29  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

A young woman walked up to me one day in the middle of a parking lot, called me by name and asked me if I was still a pastor. When I told her I was, she began crying out for help right there. Her eyes frankly told the story better than her words did. She's tried everything to get out of the trouble she'd gotten herself into and it's gotten her nowhere. She's involved with a bad crowd, drugs, sex and more. She's near suicidal and finally decided to seek out someone who knows God. It was humbling beyond belief, but I was troubled deeply when I realized a carload of teens was driving up to get her. They all know me well and no doubt could tell I was sharing with her the one and only answer I've ever found to be right in every situation -- "Seek Jesus”! In a moment she was in the car with her friends and they were squealing tires to get out of there. As I was left to say a quiet prayer, this verse about a blind man calling out to Jesus came to my mind! "When he [Bartimaeus] heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" MANY REBUKED HIM and told him to be quiet" Mark 10:47-48a (Emphasis mine) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Many Christians dabble in and even preach things they believe to be completely harmless and fully accepted as "science" that are in fact cultish. One popular example is the art of Feng Shui (A religious "science" for the balancing of Yin and Yang in the environment - from watchmen.org). Feng Shui was originated by farmers some 3,000 years ago and developed within Taoism which asserts that there is no personal God. Although it is ancient, it is still an active part of what is called the New Age Movement. Feng Shui teaches that there is an energy called Qi (or Chi) flowing throughout the universe, and in this world through lines, sometimes called channels or meridians, to which one must be properly aligned for optimal health, fortune, and quality of life. The position and alignment of structures and objects in one's environment affects the flow of this energy and one's own ability to harmonize with nature. Practitioners therefore arrange household and office furniture, design rooms and even whole buildings, their grounds and gardens, etc., to properly align with the flow lines of earth's energy. They thus hope to improve the balance of nature around them, not only for their own benefit, but for the benefit everyone in the area. Similarly, in Yoga many practitioners seek this same harmonization with nature. As a portion of Taoism, the concept of Yin and Yang asserts that there are opposing forces (equal forces) i.e., good and evil, male and female, etc. Also, that there is a little bit of good in evil, and a little bit of evil in good. This is not square with the Bible. First of all, there IS a God! Secondly, there is NO evil within God. And thirdly, there is nothing good within evil. The forces of evil and good are opposing, but they are certainly not equal. God is almighty... He's only tolerating Satan's antics until the number of Saints to be numbered with Christ are secured by His blood. If you are numbered with the Saints, then stop dabbling in the occult! "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Some people just can't leave well enough alone! They bother others with their religious talk, if given a chance they'll go on and on about their "God" and how they love Him. They'll "share their faith" with you without even taking a breath. They pray over absolutely everything and serve others until everyone else is left uncomfortable. When things are happening that are not of God but maybe are being done in His name, they can't keep their mouths closed then either. Some people! They just make everyone who wants to live life for themselves totally uncomfortable! When he [Ahab] saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?" 1 Kings 18:16 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

C.S. Lewis, the author of the "The Chronicles of Narnia," wrote many other awesome books. Some of the most inspiring Christian books I've ever read were penned by him after he gave his life to Christ late in his life. Today, I was looking through some notes and found this quote: "The man who has God and everything has no more than he who has God alone." As I pondered this thought I realized that Mr. Lewis was (during at least some parts of his life) quite wealthy. Like the Apostle Paul, C. S. Lewis grew in Christ and then began to count as loss everything he once counted as gain. The bottom line is that money and possessions aren't worth pursuing. Their pursuit will always leave a person empty at the end of the day. A personal, living and growing relationship with God is worth more than anything this world has to offer. It's no doubt been preached more than a million times. I only wish more of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ believed it were true! Fifty percent of Jesus' parables are directed toward the dangers of chasing money and possessions and still our actions prove who our real "god" is. "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 6:24)  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate