“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40, NIV) Friends, I heard a story once about a woman who served the “at risk” community around her because her own child was caught up in substance abuse but would not accept any help from her family. It broke this woman’s heart to think of her own child on the street, so she tried to love others well and make a difference in other people’s lives. She hoped that, somewhere, someone would love her daughter well, too. That story came back to me recently after a conversation at the thrift store. Someone tried to donate a couch with large rips and missing cushions, explaining to Aaron that a poor person would certainly want it. I understand the sentiment behind that. If you have very little, something is better than nothing, right? But it made me think about something we don't always consider when we talk about serving people in need: the people we serve are somebody's sons and daughters. They're somebody's family. We would never want our own child to be defined by their circumstances—to be told, directly or not, that because they're struggling, they should be grateful for what most people would turn down if given the option. I know that ruffles some feathers, and I hope you hear my heart in this, because Harvest is SO grateful for the generosity of so many people in this community. The store and ministry would not exist without the people who clean out their closets, donate their furniture, drop off household goods, volunteer their time, and give financially. The retelling of that conversation was such a great reminder for our team of who we are serving and why. We want to treat people with dignity and respect—not simply because they are in need, but because they are people. Someone’s son or daughter. Someone’s child. Someone’s family. And maybe that is what I keep coming back to from the story of that woman. She knew what it felt like to wonder where her own child was and whether someone would love her well. So she chose to love someone else’s child well. That is a beautiful picture of what we hope Harvest Helps can be: not simply meeting a need, but seeing the person behind the need. Because every person who walks through those doors is someone’s son or daughter, someone’s family—and ultimately, someone Jesus tells us to see and serve as though we were serving Him. Celebrations! Ms K received a bicycle to get to work! Mr. R received a bus pass and groceries to help while his family deals with illness. Ms H received a bus pass to get to work! Blessings, Elizabeth Kilby

The Scriptures tell us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom (Psalm 111:10). "Fear" in this sense can be more accurately translated as "reverence" or maybe better put in today's terms as "profound awe" (from which we get the word awesome). That being said, we can conclude that seeing God rightly, in total reverence and awe, is the first thing we must do if we are to ever be wise on His terms. I have a lot of people who come to me with questions about God. They quite often get irritated and sometimes even angry when they don't understand what I'm trying to communicate. Often, the lack of understanding is not in my explanation, or even in their ability to think rationally. It's in the fact that they don't hold God in high esteem. Look at it this way. If you think God is a colossal kill-joy, looking to keep you from any fun you're looking to have, then you'll never understand why He would send His only Son to die on a cross. Not starting with "the fear of the Lord" keeps you from understanding anything about Him. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise." Psalm 111:10 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

The power of suggestion is an amazing thing. I'm not a psychologist or even an elementary practitioner of the science. I do, however, remember being led astray by all types of crazy suggestions by the young people I grew up with. Young people today face even more of an indoctrination of devilish ideas, and not just from other young people. Teachers, professors, people of other religions, and even some sections of the Christian church are busy giving young people a fire-hose dose of whatever they think about God. They make suggestions that make itching ears feel good. "A God that won't judge you!" for example. Be very careful about who you take suggestions from, and weigh everything with the Scriptures before you consider it factual. Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the Lord. Jeremiah 29:8-9 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Those of the Jewish faith, some of other religions, and even some Christian denominations still consider some foods "clean" and "unclean" based on Old Testament Scriptures. I've read up on this a little, but being a Christian living in the Church Age (after the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus), we now have a better understanding of many of the principles God was trying to teach us in the Old Testament. There were many burdens the Lord laid on people to teach them that they, as sinners, could never completely obey and obtain a righteousness of their own. They were "unclean" inside even when they practiced every religious doctrine. We can give thanks to God for the understanding we gain from the Old Testament Scriptures, and give more thanks we are now free from the burdens of the Law. We can also give Him praise we are made clean not because of what we do or do not eat, but because of His incredible Grace! He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' Jesus of Nazareth (Mark 7:20-23) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

We live in an age where people demand respect. If some don't get the amount of it they think they deserve, they'll strike out at those who aren't giving it. No doubt people have been killed and even wars have started because of the perception of a lack of respect among people, races, countries, etc. Suffice it to say that although there are clearly some biblical positions some Christians are called to hold that do demand some level of respect from brothers and sisters (pastor, elder, etc.), those who fill these positions are rarely those who demand respect. They focus on serving instead of being served, and the Lord tells us to respect them. We've all heard it said "vengeance is the Lord's," but there's even more to it than that. When someone strikes us, we're supposed to praise God and turn the other cheek. When someone calls us a name because of Jesus, we are to pray for them and bless them. And even if we are disrespected to the point of death, those truly operating by the power of the Holy Spirit will be beseeching the Lord on behalf of those who are doing them evil. If you demand respect from anyone, you just might be proving you don't deserve it. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep." Acts 7:59-60 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Jesus loves His bride. He cannot wait for the day when He comes to bring her (the Church) home. Unfortunately, the bride is often a runaway. Endlessly slowing His coming instead of speeding it. She says she loves Jesus, too, but often she's doing anything but focusing on Him or the work He left for her to do. I don't think it's ironic that Jesus cries out to the churches in the Book of Revelation seven times -- "Repent!" Which literally means, agree with your God and turn from your wicked ways! "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from it's place." Revelation 2:4-5 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Many people do not believe in a literal place called "hell." Some will tell you it is a myth. Others will tell you God would not make such a place, and He certainly would not cause people to go there for eternity. There are even denominations of the Christian church who hold these untruths as doctrine. There's just one little problem with their theories. The Bible completely disagrees. God speaks of hell twice as much as He speaks of heaven. Today I saw a young woman with two bumper stickers on her car. The first read, "Born Again Pagan”. The second, "It's Your Hell--You Burn In It!" As I prayed for her, I thought to myself, "Actually, if you don't believe God's Word, it's YOUR HELL, and you will burn in it." While this Scripture is not speaking of hell, it certainly does have a gripping word picture of fire, and it's aimed squarely at those who don't believe God's word. "Therefore as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 5:24 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

My mother was a stickler for telling my brother and sisters and I to wash our hands before we ate. I'm less concerned about that with my children, but I still routinely pass on my mother's command, "Dinner's ready! Go wash your hands!" I guess I do it mostly out of concern for their health, but at least a little of it comes from my desire to see them "looking" clean at the dinner table. The truth is that I often faked washing my hands when I was young. I honestly don't know why, but it probably had something to do with the fact that I was told to do it. At any rate, parents, religious leaders, teachers, and a host of others are often more concerned with how things look than how they really are. One day some religious leaders were a little shocked at the fact that Jesus failed to wash His hands before He ate. He gave them a serious earful about being more concerned about how things looked than about how they really were. The religious leaders looked great on the outside, but their hearts were as dark as coal. Here's a line or two of a long speech he threw on them. As you read it, consider whether you are more concerned about how you look to others, or about how you really are inside. "When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him. 'Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not he one who made the outside made the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.'" Jesus of Nazareth (Luke 11:37-41) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate