Did you know there are not only 10 Commandments in the Bible, but rather 1050 of them!? What's more, there are thousands of pages of prophecy and instruction given us by prophets for thousands of years. How could you or I ever keep up with such an exhausting list? How could we ever be sure we'd obeyed everything? Believe it or not, that's pretty much the whole point of Jesus coming and giving us this Scripture (Hey, if we could have done all that stuff, we wouldn't have needed Him in the first place!). "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 7:12)  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Some people are great about telling people of their faith and even at leading others to Christ and other great church work. Unfortunately, a number of those same people often seem to have little regard for the "little people" they run into. Believe it or not, the Bible actually casts some serious doubt on whether or not a person who cares little about meeting the needs of those "less fortunate" around them are even Christians. Being "saved" is evidenced by a lot more than talking about your faith--it is "doing" the will of your Father in heaven. "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

Do you envy all the fun the people around you seem to be having? If you're a Christian, does it seem like God has forbidden you to have any fun at all? Although it may seem like the things that God forbids us to be involved in might be a lot of fun, the truth is that those things are always destructive, no matter how much fun they may seem to be. God does not forbid things because He hates us! He forbids things that will hurt us because He loves us! If the people you're hanging around with are trying to get you to do things that are against God's commands for you, then they are not your friends. Remove yourself from the situation as soon as you can and spare yourself the temptation and the injury. "Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!" Psalm 108:115  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

"If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?" (James 2:15-16, ESV) Dear Friends, In the book of James, we are given a simple but challenging picture of what real faith looks like. (See James 2:15-16 above). It's a question that cuts straight to the heart. Faith was never meant to stop at words. It was always meant to move - to act, to serve, to step into the needs right in front of us. I find myself reflecting on that passage often, because it so clearly describes the kind of ministry we are called to be. We are now in our 28th year, and the need for the gospel has never been stronger. Some of you have been faithfully giving and praying with us for all of those years, and I want you to know how deeply grateful we are. I am proud of much of the work we are doing together at Harvest Youth Ministries. Through our Second Harvest Thrift Store, we not only provide affordable clothing and essentials, but also offer job training and meaningful employment - helping individuals build confidence, develop skills, and take real steps forward. Through Harvest House, we give stability, safety, and care. And through Harvest Helps, we step into urgent situations with practical assistance - meeting real needs in real time. Just this week, we were able to help pay bills for a former thrift employee who recently suffered a stroke and is still in recovery. Moments like that remind us that this work is not theoretical - it is deeply personal. None of this happens without you. Your generosity turns compassion into action. Your prayers matter deeply - and when those prayers are paired with giving, they become a powerful force for change. Together, we are living out what James describes - not just offering words of encouragement but delivering hope in tangible ways. Thank you for being part of a ministry where faith is not only believed - it is lived! Blessings in Christ, Pastor Jim Kilby

“Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to their own town, 2 in company with Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum and Baanah): The list of the men of the people of Israel:” (Ezra 2:1-2) Friends, I always feel a temptation to skip over lists of names in the Bible. Reasonably, a quick scan usually gives us the information we need in those more detailed sections. But every once in a while, I like to slow down and let some of the names roll around in my mind… Rehum, Baanah, Mispar. I have no idea how to pronounce them, so I give them my own pronunciations and start wondering about who they might have been. What were their days like? What were their roles in their communities? Who were they? They were real people with real lives, doing the work God had set before them. Last night, Aaron and I had the opportunity to share about Harvest at our local church. They are planning to host a clothing drive for the thrift store, and we were able to share a little bit about the heart behind the ministry. Afterward, I chatted with a few people, including Mrs. W, who told me she had been donating for years and reads these newsletters. (Hi, Mrs W!) Of course, my awkward response was, “Well, then we’re basically best friends!” For a long time, I was the one who put these newsletters into envelopes, sealed them up, and dropped them off at the post office. I became so familiar with the names on that mailing list. Even though I didn’t know most of them personally, I knew they were real people who cared enough about Harvest to support the work. Just like those names in the Bible were real people, so are the people who quietly make ministries like Harvest possible. Every donation, every bag of clothes, every prayer, every person who chooses to care about the needs of others — they all matter. Their names may not appear in a list in Scripture, but they are known to God, and their faithfulness makes a difference in the lives of the people we serve. And sometimes, when I see those names or meet someone who has been supporting the work for years, I am reminded again that ministry is never the work of just a few people. It is the quiet faithfulness of many.  CELEBRATIONS!!! Ms L – Received Second Harvest Thrift Store, store credit so she could get a couch, making her home more comfortable for herself and her five children. Ms B - Received help with gas and electric bills, as well as some counseling resulting in payment plans with both companies so her family will be able to cover the bills going forward! Blessings, Elizabeth Kilby

My dentist has been trying for years to get me to consistently book appointments with him. For whatever reason, I just find it easier to reschedule him and take care of more pressing things first. Over the last week I've been having some pretty serious pain in one of the teeth he's been at me to get capped for years. Now my dentist isn't calling me--I'm calling him! I need to get in there right away, and I'll clear anything off of my calendar to make it happen! I'm having trouble sleeping. I'm having trouble thinking about anything other than my tooth and the throbbing pain within it. The truth is that God often has to act similarly to get us to pay attention to serious problems in our lives. He humbles us through the process of suffering, and he tests us within that process. Our heavenly Father would love to do things the "easy way" but in our sinfulness, we simply will not pay attention until He turns up the heat! Then, and only then, will we even stop to listen. "Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands." Deuteronomy 8:2 And by the way, my toothache has convinced me that for the foreseeable future I'll be doing whatever my dentist tells me to do.  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

The Lord's prayer is often repeated, but not often understood. When Jesus answered the disciple's request to "teach us how to pray," He gave them a model prayer that included the phrase, "your Kingdom Come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Although it may appear so, this prayer has nothing to do with the future time when God will recreate the earth. It actually is asking the Father to allow His Kingdom to come right now. When you pray and mean those words, God can and will actually use the praying Christian to do His will on earth right now. Essentially you'll be saying, God, bring your Kingdom to earth TODAY and use me to do it. Use me in spite of anything I may be planning today and no matter what it costs me. This, then is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 6:9-13)  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I believe the phrase, "I gave my heart to Jesus" has a couple of serious and humanistic problems with it. First of all, "I" never really had anything to do with my salvation. The Scriptures are clear that not one of us ever sought God (Romans 3:11). He sought us without us deserving a bit of it, even giving us the faith to believe (Ephesians 2:8-9). Secondly, what would God want with our hearts? Our hearts are sinful and warped (Proverbs 20:9). The Scriptures say that we are "dead in our transgressions" (Ephesians 2:1). Unless God gives us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), we are utterly hopeless. I think a phrase that would be more appropriate would be something like, "Jesus gave me life!" If you agree, start using it instead of the other one. I pray that God will use it to cause others to ask you what you mean by it. I pray He'll give them life too! "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it." John 5:21 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate