Is every moment in life already planned out by God, or do we make it up with our choices and decisions and then God makes His will work through it? This question has long been debated by people a lot smarter than me, so I'll spare you my thoughts on the subject. I will, however, make what I believe to be even a more practical observation. It really doesn't matter to me! I guess I'll have to wait until the next life to find out because we are all still forced to make decisions each and every day, regardless of whether God already knows what we're going to do! The bottom line is that God is God, and even if everyone in the world is against us, even if they do their best to stop us, God will make His perfect will come to live in each of our lives if we simply follow the Spirit's urging. I don't know if He's involved in every single decision, but I know He's involved in making exactly what He wants out of my life come perfectly true! "At this they tried to seize him [Jesus], but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come." John 7:30 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

"the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7 I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but for all the science we boast of in this world, not one scientist has ever created life from dirt. In fact, they've never created life from anything, unless they've used the egg, sperm, of something that was already created. Sure, they can take some DNA that was already created and then duplicate it, but we can't even create a single cell amoeba unless we use God's building blocks! To those who suggest that human life begins after a child is born, I argue vehemently that life, even at the first splitting of the fertilized egg into two cells, is life indeed! In order to stop if from growing into a full-grown human being, it's got to be terminated! Thanks to science, for today's teens "terminating a pregnancy" has become increasingly easy. The morning after pill will terminate a pregnancy up to about 72 hours, then RU-486 (the abortion pill) can be taken up to 9 1/2 weeks into pregnancy. Of course, little thought is generally given to the fact that the mother will then be forced to "give birth" to a dead 9 1/2 week human fetus and then flush it down the toilet. I read just today that pro-choice groups are having a hard time recruiting young people into their ranks. The pro-choice group was suggesting that teens just don't care enough about the issue anymore. I suggest that maybe teens are much more educated today and aren't duped into believing the pro-death movement's "it's just a lump of cells" or "it's your right to choose" arguments. Defend life in all it's stages--you'd want the same done for you if you were helpless! "You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Going to college was a long and painful experience for me, but as I look back now, it wasn't the degree but the process that was so valuable. Now that I think about it, so were high school, grade school, and my years in the military, etc. Although there were moments in each experience where I learned great and valuable things, the real value came when each of the segments ran together to make me who I am today. As short-sighted humans, we often miss the simple truth that God uses the "processes" in our lives to make us who He wants us to be. We far too often look at the circumstances (like one particular class, one particular individual, etc.) and figure the world is just out to get us. When that happens, we lose heart and then we lose focus! Remember, it's the process, not the specific situation that you may be facing at the moment. Sure, you're flawed, but God sees you as the finished product. Although it may not look like it in the instant, things WILL work out for God's glory in the end. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

These days if people don't like their job, they quit. If they don't like their bosses, they talk bad about them and even steal from them. If they don't like the town they live in, they gripe about it endlessly, and when they're old enough they move to a new city and learn to gripe about that one. Don't like your girlfriend/boyfriend/or spouse, leave them and find another one to hate! Is it just me, or are we just not happy anymore? If not, it's because happiness is our goal and happiness is always fleeting. Instead, the "joy of the Lord" should be our goal. Life is difficult and you can be sure that much will come against you to rob you of happiness as the years go by. But if true joy is your goal, like that found only in Jesus, even the worst of circumstances won't shake you. "Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets." Jesus of Nazareth (Luke 6:22-23)  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

The first thing a person must do before they can begin to heal is admit their faults. Alcoholics who deny they are hooked cannot be helped, and sinners who deny their sin are on their own with that sin. In my estimation, this is one of the major reasons the church is so powerless in many situations today. Far too many of those who call themselves part of the Body of Christ are caught in sin and deny it to His face. We all sin, and we need to acknowledge that fact. Then, we need to confess our specific sins to the One all sin offends! Then, and only then, will we see true healing in the Body! If we proceed with anything less than honesty, then we are not Christ-followers. This leaves only deceived Saints or willful liars. "For I know MY transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge." Psalm 51:3-4 (Emphasis mine) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

There are a lot of people who are willing to debate whether or not Jesus is the Christ--the Savior of mankind. But, there are few who are willing to debate it using any real data. Most folks believe unbiblical things about who Jesus is and choose to essentially make Him up from what they "think"... which is generally made up from what they've heard on the streets and what they've decided to make up on their own. Any real student of the Scriptures and of history will easily determine that He was and is who He said He was--God's only Son! Anyone who chooses to believe otherwise has been blinded by Satan. "For he [Paul] vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ." Acts 18:28 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

The average Christian is ever alert to obvious moral failures in others, quickly pointing to them as the work of the evil flesh of man, or of Satan himself. When we commit them ourselves we are less apt to see them for what they are before much damage is done, but even then the Spirit in us is often able to bring them to our attention. What is the most rare of all, however, is for us to see that the moral failures we (or others) may commit are not the cause of our impurity, but actually the effect. Disaster rarely comes in one deathly storm of immorality, but generally as the result of a sequence of events that begins in a hard and prideful heart. Sure, watch out for moral failures in your life, but if you protect the heart from pride those stumbles will never come. If they do come, they are the result of a heart that long ago desired to be its own god. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

It would be nearly impossible for most wealthy and healthy Christians to understand this, but many people in the world are actively being persecuted for putting thier faith in Jesus. Most of us never face anything worse than a gossip at church or a non-believer at work or school. If we do come up against something difficult, many Christians just plain quit! Can you see why it's often important for the Lord to allow us to be persecuted by Satan so we can grow in our faith? Stand firm in the little things and you'll grow strong for the day the tough stuff comes! God needs us to be strong for others! "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." Jesus of Nazareth (Revelation 2:10b) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate