Two Lives!
Pastor Jim Kilby • April 21, 2023
Imagine two lives for a moment. At the end of each life, which do you believe would be accepted into God's heavenly presence?
Life #1. Betty has been in church every Sunday since she was a little girl. She tries her best to treat other people well, and she goes out of her way to help those in need. Betty is a sweet woman and is revered by her pastor. No doubt when Betty passes away, she'll have a church pew engraved in her honor. Betty isn't absolutely sure she's going to heaven when she dies, but she figures if she can't get there just treating other people well, then nobody will get there.
Life #2. Sam hates church! Sam has been a thief and a liar since he spoke his first words. He's done everything he can to "get over" on others. After all, those who "have" deserve to give to those who "have not!" Since Sam "has not," he just helps himself! Sam is also a drunk, and spends every cent he has on booze. One evening, in a drunken stupor, Sam fell and cut his wrist severely on a beer bottle. In the hospital, someone handed Sam a small but powerful pamphlet... as Sam read how Christ had died for his sins, he wept silently and asked God for forgiveness.
Confused? Let's ask Jesus to answer this one Himself...
"Jesus said to them [the chief priests and other religious people], "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John [the Baptist] came to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him." Matthew 21:31b-32
I find it quite interesting that this account was penned by Matthew. Matthew was a disciple of Christ, but when we initially find him in the Bible, he was the worst sort of thief and sinner found in the Biblical text--he was a tax collector!
Pastor Jim Kilby
Your donation spreads good news!
Share This Article
If you really give it some thought, do you think any demons know your name? If so, it could be for two reasons. One, because you don't know Christ and they are quite often able to use you to do their develish work. Or two, because who you work and your commitment to that work is tearing their world apart! I've heard it said this way: "When you're feet hit the floor in the morning does a bell go off in hell and do demons start to scream, Oh, no! They're up! If not, then you're not busy doing the Lord's work! "One day, the evil sprit answered them, 'Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?'" Acts 19:15 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
From the Roman Governor to the Jews to every day Americans in the here and now, everyone seems to be arguing about who killed Jesus. The bad news is that we all did! Every person who's ever breathed a breath is/was a sinful creature, save one--Our Lord Jesus! We all are responsible for Him having to die to save us from our sins, and our heavenly Father is the one who loved us enough to allow it to happen. Fortunately for us all, we can stop arguing because He's not dead and because the same power that brought Him back from the grave gives us hope for life eternal! Glory be to God! "When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. 'I am innocent of this man's blood,' he said. 'It is YOUR responsibility!'" Matthew 27:24 (Emphasis mine) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
If you don't accept Jesus as your Lord, is He any less Lord of Lords? If you choose not to believe He is the Son of God, is He any less God's Only Begotten? If you choose not to acknowledge God at all, does that in any way diminish His power, His glory, or His Godliness? I think we've got a real misconception about who we are to God. To quote my own senior pastor, "We don't 'accept' Jesus as Lord, we 'acknowledge' Him." So, who's the Lord of your life? "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Do you ever speak of Jesus to others, or are you one of those people who are more quiet about their faith? My understanding of the way the Holy Spirit works is not that people become obnoxious with their faith, but that they certainly get a huge desire to share their faith with others when that faith is genuine. So, if you've not gotten the desire to speak to others about your Savior, you need to work on your faith. Start spending more time praying and getting to know Him through His Word--He wants you to tell others about Him! It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 2 Corinthians 4:13-14 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
My daughter informed me that she is sure that Mary Magdalene didn't walk slowly once she learned that Jesus' tomb was empty! "Daddy," she said, "I'll bet she ran like crazy to tell EVERYBODY!" It made me wonder, since He's still risen from the grave and desperately wants to reach a lost world, why do so many of His followers drag their feet as if they're not in a hurry to tell anybody that He's alive? "Early on the first day of the week, while it was till dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter..." John 20:1-2a Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Suicide remains the second leading cause of death among teens (12-19) and although the explanations as to why seem to span far and wide, they really all do it for the same reason. They are searching for an escape because they feel they have no hope! Fellow believers, if these teens have no hope, is it not in some ways our fault? We are the "clay pots" that contain the only endearing hope there is! Peter put it this way: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" 1 Peter 3:15 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
I know church can sometimes seem boring, but my bet is that if you're bored very often at your place of worship, the Holy Spirit is either not there or you're not paying attention! God is anything but boring! Sometimes "man" inserts himself into the mix, making things more about himself than about God, and then the boring stuff starts. If you're not finding the place you attend is helping you to grow maybe it's time to either look at what you're putting into it, or maybe even look for another place of worship. But either way, absolutely do not do what most people do. They judge all places of worship based on the one or two they've seen, then they stop attending all together. Before you know it they've stopped reading their Bibles, stopped praying, and then everything else begins to break down, too! When that happens, only Satan wins. Get into a church where Christ is glorified every day; your Lord is calling! "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Often the enemy brings bad things our way to drive us away from God, and sometimes God even uses them to test our faith. Those who truly love the Lord will hang on all that much tighter when troubles come. Those "fair weather Christians" will move farther away, blaming God for their circumstances, no doubt claiming they deserve better. For those who truly trust in the Lord, their faith will increase through these tough times and they'll wind up even stronger than before. For those who turn their back on Him and seek comfort elsewhere, they wind up even worse off than they thought they were. “The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods." Psalm 16:4a Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
How do you act when someone corrects you in front of your friends? If you're the typical teenager (or even the typical adult) you'll get an attitude bigger than the room you're in and even if you're in the wrong, you'll set them straight. The typical Christian surely struggles with pride in the same way, but God calls us to a higher standard. One of the best examples I've seen was when David (the one who killed Goliath and who eventually became King David) was treated very badly by someone he had blessed over and over. David flew into a rage and swore he would take revenge. Fortunately for David's newfound enemy, his enemy's wife was a wise woman and went out to beg King David to reconsider. David's response showed how a true child of God immediately listens to God's voice, even if He uses someone else's voice to speak. David said to Abigail, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands." 1 Samuel 25:32-33 David's example of humility: Thank you, God! Bless you, friend! I was a fool! You saved me from my own stupidity! Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
