The first Christian ever killed for his faith was a young man named Stephen. Believe it or not, he was dealing with the same thing God had been dealing with people about since the Garden of Eden. They just did not want to listen to God. And it's worth noting that these were not just your "run of the mill" folks either. These were the religious people, God's chosen people, which by the way will be the same people who often give pastors and elders a fit today. So what got Stephen killed? He told them the way it was and they didn't like it! We don't kill prophets for speaking God's will today, but we still like to ignore them if they say anything we don't like. "You stiff-necked people... You always resist the Holy Spirit!" Acts 7:51 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Are your friends keeping you from obeying God's laws? If so, you already know what you need to do. The only question is why won't you do it? I get a large amount of mail from teens who lament this issue. They want to be liked, and they want to keep their friends, but they find it hard to keep their walk with God pure because of some of their relationships. Please know that not doing the hard thing is almost always the wrong thing. Reach out to unsaved people whenever you can, but don't ever sacrifice your relationship with God for anybody. Doing so elevates yourself and your earthly relationships above God Himself. Committing such an act is the sin of idolatry, plain and simple. "I hate double-minded men, but I love your law. You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God!" Psalm 119:113-115 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Far too many Christians live life without much of a plan of attack. Can you imagine what would happen if even a great country rushed into a war without a plan? Disaster would certainly be the result. Making it through even one day without being caught up in some type of sin is difficult enough, but doing so without watching and keeping alert is impossible. If you've found yourself struggling more than normal, maybe it's because you're not starting your day with the realization Satan wants to make you trip and fall at every opportunity. Such a realization will help you remember to study, to pray, and to keep other Christians as close as possible. Only a strong walk with Jesus and a firm grasp of His Word can make your path safe. "Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery [doing bad stuff]. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." Ephesians 5:15-18 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

If you knew I was an expert on something and you were my close friend, would you go to a total stranger and ask them instead of asking me? If you did, not only would you be hurting our relationship, but you'd also be getting poor instruction. We live in a world where God is evident in everything good that we see if we only look intently, yet many look elsewhere for guidance about the very world and people He created. Christians who do this hurt their relationship with a God who loves them, and are led astray by what the Bible calls "blind guides." Seeking information from horoscopes, spiritists and other mediums is evil in God's eyes which makes it bad enough. What makes it worse is that in the end, those who seek this type of advice and counsel begin to blame God and government for all the problems in the world. What's more, they become blind to the very light they once knew. "When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their god? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king [government] and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness." Isaiah 8:19-22  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Are you being pressured to become sexually active? Many young people write me about these types of issues, and down to a one the person who's always concerned about it is the female. Men, once they have the opportunity to become sexually active, can typically only think about one thing--the next time they can have sex! God's plan is a simple one. Do not have sexual relations outside of the covenant of marriage. Females are often gifted with giving personalities, and men are quite often quite willing to provide the "but I love you" pressure or the "we'll be married one day" pressure to help convince the fairer sex to give in. Applying the pressure is sin, falling for the pressure is sin, and ANY sexual impurity is sin. I can't put it much plainer. But, if you've gone down this road, God's plan is equally simple and He is always forgiving if we do things HIS way. First, STOP today, agree with God that you've sinned and confess it to Him, THEN, remain pure until you are married. And... since we're on the topic, any man who says he loves you but is unwilling to sacrifice for you (and for God) is a liar. His love is only for himself. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." Colossians 3:5 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Recently, I spent some time chatting with a young woman who was regretting getting herself into a sexual situation with a young man. Although she felt bad about allowing him to do something she really didn't want to do, she confessed, "I just didn't know how to say 'no' to him." I sadly told her that situations like this were bound to happen again and again if she didn't learn to stand her ground. Not being able to say "no" could honestly have been a death sentence before she knew it because of the things she'd wind up saying "yes" to. Then I was reminded of a quote from a leadership conference I once attended that tried to help executives prioritize things better. The quote from author and leadership guru, Stephen Covey, goes like this: The way to say "no" to something is to have a bigger "yes" burning inside of you. The "yes" my young friend needed was a simple one: "Yes, Jesus!" "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him" Phillippians 3:7b-9a  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I've often told ministers who were down because they were forced to work extra jobs that it was fine to do that as necessary, "Hey, even Paul had a job making tents," I would say. There's even a name that's passed around Christian circles for a pastor's other work. The second job is called a "tent making job." Although I was correct about it being OK for the pastor or minister to have another job, I recently revisited the Scripture about Paul's tent making and noticed that I had missed something. Paul only made tents until there was sufficient help to relieve him of those duties. After that, he was able to devote himself more fully to what the Lord had called him to do. Not everyone is called to preach and to teach, but everyone is called to help forward the cause of the gospel of Christ. One is not necessarily more important than the other. In fact, for the majority of us preaching sermons will not be our calling. Instead, our calling is often to support our local church financially so that those called to serve there can devote themselves to their work. "Paul went to see them [fellow believers Aquila & Prescilla], and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ." Acts 18:2b-5 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

If you know much of anything about Christianity, you'll know that God has revealed Himself to humankind as a "triune being", meaning that He has three parts, each separate, but each one very much God. And, even though they are separate, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are also all one. Kind of like a whole family of "Smith's" would all be one as Smiths, but would also all be separate. Now, unlike the Smith's, can you imagine for a moment that three parts of the same perfect and holy God would have disagreements? Idiotic, I know! Then imagine for a moment how idiotic it must seem to God when WE, all parts of the same body (the body of Christ) have divisions and disagreements with one another and are not only happy to do it, but proud of it. Ridiculous as it sounds, if you look at any church you'll find divisions, and very few are founded on anything more serious than who took the other person's parking spot! Analyze your relationships in your church or youth group. If there are broken relationships, do your best to fix them. If you've done your best, then God knows you're on solid ground. If not, make another attempt. Divisions are not something that honors God and we need to do everything we can to stop them, or to fix them as necessary. "In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extend I believe it." 1 Corinthians 11:17-18 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate