"As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!' The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!' Jesus stopped and called them. 'What do you want me to do for you?' he asked. 'Lord,' they answered, 'we want our sight.' Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him." Matthew 20:29 Just a couple of questions to ponder. What is it that you are asking Jesus for? Are the things you ask/pray for within His will for you? Do the Scriptures support your position? If you got what you wish, would you truly use it to serve the Lord? If so, when Jesus answers your prayers (with either "yes," "no," or "wait") are you prepared to have your response be to continue to follow Him regardless? Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

When I was about 12, a rage overtook the country. Bell bottom pants, silk shirts and platform shoes were the accessories that simply every teen HAD to have. Many teenage rages had come and gone, but this one was mine! Believe it or not, nearly 30 years later I've seen every one of these things come back into style (some bringing back horrible style memories). To my amazement, even fat necktie knots have made a come back lately. What's not come back yet is something I did with many of my waking moments. "Decoupage" (pronounced Dec-koo-pazh) was the bomb! Everyone did it, and everyone loved it. Basically, we tore off (or scissored or burned off) the edges of pictures we liked and then stuck them on wood, cardboard, or some other type of background. The cool part, however, was the decoupage stuff. Once things were on the background, we simply painted this white looking (Elmer's glue-like) substance on the whole project and when it dried and turned clear, a beautiful and simply unique "decoupage" had been created. Now here's the cool part. Knowing what I know about the Bible, everyone should run out and immediately buy either stock in or lots of bottles of decoupage solution. Just like everything else in this world, it's only a matter of time before it comes back. "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Israel was always a little hard headed when it came to consistently obeying God. No doubt God used them as an example to us all in that we are all the same when it comes to sin--we desperately need a Savior. Israel had chance after chance to change her ways and do God's bidding. Inevitably she would fail. While Jesus was walking along one day he told a story about a vineyard and how it would be taken away and given to others who would bear fruit in it. The analogy was immediately understood by the religious leaders and they were furious. He used the story to prophesy that He would give His Spirit to the Gentiles. He also expected them to bear fruit--the fruit that would come from walking in the Spirit. The lesson here is that God expects all Christians to bear fruit, but it is often those who think they are the most "religious" who do not. Sitting around thinking that since you are "saved" God doesn't expect much of you is a serious mistake. Moreover, it's one of the signs that you don't have the Spirit at all. "Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures: '"The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes" 'Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone [Jesus] will be broken to pieces [become repentant and change], but he on whom it falls will be crushed." Matthew 21:42-44 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I do my best to live a righteous life, but as far as I can tell, I've never made it through a whole day without messing it up somewhere! Thanks be to God that the righteousness I wear is not my own, but that of Jesus Christ. Sure, I need to keep on trying and praying and reading and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead me, but even when I make a mistake I'm still righteous. All who trust in Jesus are righteous because it doesn't rely on our deeds. If we could have done it on our own, then Jesus would not have needed to give His life to make us right with the Father. "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:21-24 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Even though I'm a pretty solid guy, I cannot even come close to bench pressing 300 pounds. I have a good friend that is nowhere as big as I am that can do that (and more) in his sleep! He had a goal years ago to be a weight lifter and so he works out every single day. He's absolutely built! I, on the other hand, struggle to work out at all! If you want to build physical strength, then you'll probably want to go into weight training. As you push through the different thresholds of your weakness, you'll become stronger. Surprisingly, if you want to build spiritual strength, the process is quite similar. As you work out spiritually, you'll study and pray. Then as you seek to serve God you'll undoubtedly face situations where your body or your mind say you can't (or won't) make it. As you push through those thresholds you'll find that God gives you incredible strength. You'll also gain both strength and faith for the struggles to come. As the process continues, one day God will be able to use you for some seriously heavy lifting! "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Fasting is not something many Christians are very familiar with today. Maybe it's the fact that we're just too busy, that fasting is not really talked about much, or maybe that it involves planning and self-sacrifice. At any rate, even the thought of going without food for even a meal or two is not high on many lists. About 10 or so years ago I was challenged to complete my first fast with a group of people from my church. It was one of the toughest things I've ever done, and we didn't even fast that long. I remember the prayer time during that fast even to this moment. It was sweet, and the experience was a huge faith builder for me. Later, I started doing fasts by myself without telling anyone but the Lord about it. It's been a while since I completed my last fast and I've been troubled by my lack of desire to do another one. Whenever this happens (like with reading my Bible or praying), I've learned that it's time to make a plan to do it anyway--the love for the task will return soon! This week I realized that God had answered several prayers for my family and our ministry, and that although we've been making great strides, that's caused us to come under attack. What a great time to go to God in prayer, and fasting is an excellent way to punctuate the desire to deal with Him personally. I don't generally do this, but if you have prayer requests or would like to help me in this tough time in our ministry, please go to our website and download a personal letter and form I've put there just for you. "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." Daniel 9:3 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Is there something or someone that makes you feel more comfortable? When you're feeling stressed out is there a place you run to (either real, or in your mind) that seems to help? I took a class once where the teacher wanted us to imagine our "beautiful place" and go there in our minds whenever things were tough. I guess I wouldn't throw the whole concept out now that I'm a Christian, I just prefer to prayerfully sit and talk to Jesus about what's going on. After I've been at His feet, I always have a sense of what direction He would have me take in life. When I used to leave my "beautiful place", I would always find the situation I was avoiding was waiting for me and was often even worse when I got back. What's more, I was no more ready to deal with it. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I heard an interesting statistic on a commercial. It was for one of those weight loss clinics. They boldly stated that people who joined their program lost three times as much weight as those who didn't. My guess is that those who joined also kept the weight off as long as they had the support group in tact. If this is true for a weight loss clinic, it's also true for the church. Although people endlessly complain about some of the stuff that goes on in church, none of that stuff is caused by God. And yet if you belong to a Bible-believing church, joining in with the imperfect but growing brothers and sisters, you will find your faith will inevitably grow leaps and bounds over trying to go it alone. "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