Thought 4 Today

To a lot of young people, drinking as much alcohol as possible is just plain sport. It's fun to try to out drink your friends and still "maintain". Of course, many a young person who decides to drink to excess will be the old person of tomorrow with DUI arrests, liver problems, and all the other things that can come along with drinking. All that, plus God isn't happy about it either! Hmmmm... You think it's worth it? "Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine." Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks," Isaiah 5:22 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I hated to do it, but I kind of had to scold a young woman in front of a Bible study group today. She chose to say something unfitting about her parents in front of the group, and when I tried to stop her, she added "Anyway my older brother's a strong Christian and he completely agrees that they are jerks!" Since she chose the time and the place, I didn't feel like I had any choice. My response: "You are not honoring your parents with that kind of talk, and if your brother is bad-mouthing your parents to you, he's not half the Christian he thinks he is." You may not always agree with your parents, and in fact there will be hundreds of times when you don't agree with them at all. This fact does not give you the right to disregard the Lord's command to honor your mother and father. Tell them you disagree. Pray for yourself and for them. If necessary, talk to a pastor or youth leader about the issues in private. But never, never, speak ill of your mother and father in front of others. It does not honor them and it does not honor God. "Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord." Colossians 3:20 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I've found that that majority of people who want nothing to do with religion are still interested in having their children learn the values and ethics that come along with it. For most Americans, that means that parents are usually not opposed to allowing their children to attend Vacation Bible Schools, youth groups, etc. This is interesting to me because one of two things generally occurs. Either the young person begins to believe that religion is only for children, and outgrows it as they begin struggling with sins, OR, they give their lives to Christ and have a dramatic effect on their homes, some even leading their parents to the Lord. As a father, if there's one thing I want for my children it's that they have a strong relationship with Christ. For the non-Christian father, unfortunately even the good things they want for their children will be worthless unless Christ creates a miracle in them! "The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again." Isaiah 14:20b  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Mosquito's are a drag! This time of year they keep me from even being able to sit and read in my own backyard. Why can't they just leave me alone? Can't we come up with something to kill them all? And while I'm at it, what about these moths that fly around the light near my back door. I can't even open the door without a flock of them getting into the house. Can't they see I'm just trying to live my life without being bothered? As you re-read the paragraph above, insert "God" wherever you read the name of an insect. Is God just bugging YOU? Has the Lord Almighty become an irritant to the way YOU want to live your life? Not to worry, you're in good company--or should I say, bad company? Everyone who wants to control his life considers even the slightest mention of God a real drag. Those who want to give Him their lives can't get enough of Him. "I [God] am like a moth to Ephraim, like rot the people of Judah." Hosea 5:12  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Of all things you've ever been given, ever accomplished, or ever learned, what is your favorite thing? What one thing stands out in your mind as the biggest, best or brightest possession you have, whether tangible or intangible? As a Christian, that one thing is supposed be your relationship with your Lord. If it's anything else, if it's anything other than what you have, then whether you realize it or not, you've been foolin' around on your God. I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." Psalm 16:8  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

It seems weird to me that anyone would even want to be worshiped. I guess I'm not even fully able to understand God desiring our worship because I cannot fathom being God or even god-like. I'm not a guy who's ever wanted anyone to worship me. The most I've ever wanted was for people to like me. I've even wondered if that was bad and often I've thought that maybe I should care less what people think about me. What seems even weirder than all that is that people would actually worship Satan. Don't they understand what he stands for? Don't they understand that he's never wiped a tear, but he's created nearly all of them! And then I recently got a shock when I learned that I often do worship Satan. How? He gets me to do it by prompting me to worship myself! When we put ourselves on our homemade thrones, we deny our God His rightful place in our lives, and we worship Satan (and the flesh) by proxy. His throne elevated above God's in our lives. And wasn't that the sin that caused him to be thrown from heaven in the first place? "You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Dating is not a concept you'll find in the Bible, so I'm constantly contacted by Christians who want biblical advice on dating. I'm not very well liked when I respond, but hey, the advice is free, they can take it or leave it! So, why don't they like me? Because I always say that dating is something you should not do until you are ready to marry, AND... that a Christian should NEVER date a non-Christian. Now for the reasoning... Dating is something Americans do to see if the other person fits their needs and desires. Christians should be trying to find out if GOD would have them meet the OTHER person's needs. And why not date non-Christians? Because people who date can fall into "like," and then into "love," and since you cannot marry a non-Christian, then why date one? "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Do you find that you only pray when times are tough? When you are praying, do you tend to focus on the problems or issues that are in YOUR life? While going to God with your troubles is a good thing, I find that most people seem to spend a lot of time focusing on themselves and their wants and needs and little time on prayer for others. I've found that I have a keen sense of focus in my prayer life if I shorten the parts about me, and focus more on prayers for people who I know need God's help. Become a servant in your prayer life and you'll see miracles in the lives of those you pray for, as well as in the way you see the world and God's work in it. "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers." Ephesians 1:16 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate