"I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten..." — Joel 2:25 (ESV) Friends, Recently my family returned home from a weekend trip to absolute devastation of our garden. Aaron heads up the gardening efforts, and this year he enlisted one of our boys, Isaac, to start some tomato seeds. He LOVES tomatoes and was all in on watching seeds sprout and caring for them. When we piled out of the car after our trip, it was clear that an animal, or family of animals, had enjoyed a small feast on the sprouts and starts we were hoping to harvest this year. Bean plants were reduced to stalks, tomato plants were completely eaten away, and even flowers were chewed down to stubs. It was frustrating. It still is frustrating. Something that had the potential to be beautiful ended up dry and lifeless. And, you guessed it, in ministry sometimes we have those very same frustrations. There have been people and situations that receive attention just like a garden—carefully planted, watered, tended, prayed over, and invested in. We celebrate signs of growth and begin to imagine what God might do. Then suddenly, circumstances change. People move away. Choices are made that break our hearts. Opportunities disappear. What seemed full of promise appears damaged or even lost. In those moments, it's easy to focus on what has been eaten away rather than on the One who gives growth, but what appears lost is not beyond God's ability to restore. While we don't always see the fruit immediately, we serve a God who specializes in bringing life from barren places, hope from disappointment, and growth from situations that seem unproductive. Thank you for partnering with Harvest Youth Ministries. Your prayers, encouragement, and support allow us to keep planting seeds of the Gospel, even when the results aren't immediately visible. We trust that God is at work, and will bring a harvest in His perfect timing. CELEBRATIONS!!! Mr F received a store voucher to make his home more comfortable and so he’d have the right items needed as he gains custody of his daughter. Ms S received some household items from an Amazon wishlist to make her home more suitable for her grandsons who are living with her now after the death of their mother. They are also receiving a mattress and bed frame so the boys can sleep comfortably and NOT on the floor! She says, “Praise Jesus!” Blessings, Elizabeth Kilby

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (KJV) Dear Friends, We often hear the expression, “Garbage in, garbage out.” While it may sound like a computer slogan, there’s an important spiritual truth behind it. What we consistently allow into our minds eventually influences our attitudes, our words, our decisions, and ultimately our lives. We live in a world overflowing with information. Social media, television, music, news, and endless online content constantly compete for our attention. Some of it is uplifting, but much of it fills our minds with fear, anger, temptation, and distraction. Scripture reminds us that our thoughts matter. Our minds are much like a garden. Whatever we plant and nurture will eventually grow. If we continually feed ourselves with negativity, impurity, and worldly influences, we shouldn’t be surprised when those things begin to shape our attitudes and actions. On the other hand, when we intentionally spend time with God, read His Word, pray, and surround ourselves with godly influences, our thinking begins to change. God renews our minds and gives us wisdom, peace, and discernment for everyday life. Paul writes: “””Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 (NIV) The question each of us should ask is simple: What am I feeding my mind every day? Just as our bodies require healthy food to stay strong, our spiritual lives require a steady diet of God’s Word. A few minutes spent reading Scripture each day can have a greater impact on our lives than hours spent consuming the voices of the world.  Truth in... truth out. God’s Word in... God’s character out. May we guard our hearts, renew our minds, and allow Christ to shape every thought we think. Blessings in Christ, Pastor Jim Kilby

I've done some crazy stuff in my life. Most of the stuff I did in my pre-Christian days I find difficult to even talk about. My testimony, no doubt a work of the Lord, is still difficult for me to spell out in great detail for people. I'm honestly too ashamed of most of my works there. What's interesting and definitely a sign of God's love is that even though I was up to no good for nearly three decades, one resounding thing never left my heart on my sober moments. God never forgot to inspire me to move beyond my ridiculous existence and see His face. "My heart says of you, 'Seek his face!' Your face, LORD , I will seek." Psalm 27:8 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

God is always at work helping those He loves to grow. One of the ways He does that is to present us opportunities to deny ourselves and sacrifice for either Him or others. What often happens is we see these God-given opportunities as drudgery or as too costly. We are selfish and prideful, often taking the easy way out. Either we ignore the problem or we help, but we do it grudgingly. Friends, not sacrificing for the Lord when He prompts us is a sin. It's what's called a "sin of omission." And, just like sins we commit (sins of commission), they immediately stop our growth in God and give the devil a foothold in our lives. "Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord's dwelling place and turned their backs on him. They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes." 2 Chronicles 29:6-8 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

There's an interesting bit of errant theology I repeatedly get questioned about by young people. They'll tell me they believe they are "saved" or "born again," then they ask me if I believe God will forgive them for the stuff they did last night! The answer is "yes," but the stuff you did last night might be giving evidence you never were "saved" or maybe that you've not grown enough in Christ to be self-disciplined like He commands. At any rate, if you are "in Christ," then you are forgiven for ALL of your sins. Forgiveness like that doesn't come cheap though and it doesn't give us a license to sin. Those who've been so forgiven should act like it and humbly share the miracle with others. "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Romans 5:9-10 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I get stacks of mail from young people who are struggling with sins of the flesh. Recently, one was so bold as to suggest to me that God either didn't exist or didn't care about sins like masturbation since He (God) wouldn't help him win the battle. This is a lie. Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have all the power they need to defeat sin. They also still have the incredibly strong desires of the flesh. And so the battle rages. The only question remaining is who wins the battle for your mind, and for your body? Are you calling Jesus "Lord" and still allowing your flesh to call the shots in your life? The Spirit of God is a Spirit of "power" of "love" and of "self-discipline." If you're not receiving each of these in dramatic fashion, you're still listening to the flesh. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

When you hear a Biblical truth that really attacks who you know you are inside, is your response a spirit of conformity with God's desires or a spirit of resistance? Do you immediately begin to pray to God to help you make the appropriate change or do you do your best to forget what you heard as soon as you can? Although these may seem like questions that are fairly simply, the truth is that the one who wants to conform is allowing Jesus Lordship in his/her life. The other is denying Jesus access, essentially removing any ability for God to grow him into something useable for His kingdom. What's more, a "crucified" attitude is one sign of the presence of God's Spirit in his heart. The other can be a sign of the absence of the Holy Spirit--someone destined to never conform in this life and to be eternally separated from God in hell. Today if you hear God knocking, don't turn away. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

"We love you Jesus. Now leave us alone!" While that phrase may seem harsh in it's treatment of Jesus, I believe it is a good representation of what many (if not most) of those who call Him "Lord" say with the way they live their lives. We cry His name in times of trouble, and quickly push Him away when we feel we don't need Him. All the while, we cry that we feel "so far away" from God. If you find the same thread in all of my writings, I pray it is this: As Christians, what we do and say should mirror each other, and WE should each do our best to mirror Jesus to a lost world. If one of my children was to tell me he loved me, give me a goodnight kiss, and then promptly sneak out the window and rob a bank after I fell asleep, his actions would deny his words. Loving the authorities over you means obeying them relentlessly. Loving Jesus means exactly the same thing. Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching." These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. Jesus of Nazareth (John 14:23-24) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate