Thought 4 Today

If you're a Christian for long you'll quickly get the feeling that the world just doesn't understand you. What's more, when you speak of the things of God, many will think you're flat-out stupid! Don't do like some folks and argue with them because you'll be wasting your time. Pray for them, and ask the Lord to open their eyes. Without the Holy Spirit, the things of the Lord will always seem like foolishness. "The world cannot accept him [Holy Spirit], because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I [Jesus] will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:17b-18 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Can you imagine if all of your thoughts and private sins were broadcast across the big screen at your church? There's not a person alive who wouldn't have things on the screen that would cause people to gasp in horror! I know I wouldn't want my thoughts up there. But then again, if they were broadcast across the big screen or on the television during primetime, a friend of mine recently said, "It would be the best thing that could ever happen to any one of us. It would leave us with nothing left to do but run to Jesus!" "Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me." Hosea 5:15 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

What is your first reaction when things aren't going your way? When you've had one of those days where nothing seems to go as planned and you just feel attacked from every side, where do you turn? Most people will complain, wail to anyone who's listening, or even strike out in anger. In the end, when things are really bad, most do the same thing--they go somewhere no one will see them and they cry and blame God. What we really need to do is to go to God in the first place and put it all in His hands. He's the only one who can handle it anyway! "They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds." Hosea 7:14 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I was chatting with a young friend once when the news came on about the war in Iraq. We listened to the headlines for a minute and then he exclaimed, "We should not be in this war!" When I asked him why, he didn't really have any reason other than the same one's I've heard coming from the same television for a couple of years. Most of them were far beyond his ability to even understand, and so I assume he's most likely just developing his opinion from things he's heard. With just a few probing questions from me, I had him questioning everything he believed. I've got plenty of other friends who are on the other side of the political realm and they don't have much more of an understanding of "why" than he does--They just hear things and repeat them. When it comes to Christianity or even things of other faiths, most people do exactly the same thing. They hear things, begin to believe them, never really investigating the truthfulness for themselves. When it comes to a time of testing (like high school or college for sure), they have no real foundation for their beliefs and they begin to doubt their faith. Friends, being a Christian means allowing the Spirit of God to change us from the inside out, teaching us every thing about Himself. That is most typically done through His Word. If we're never really reading it, how will our faith stand a chance in the time of testing that will soon come? "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Romans 10:17 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Have you ever said to yourself, "Why doesn't God do something about this?" Maybe it was in response to a huge problem that would seemingly take hundreds or thousands of people to deal with. Or maybe it was something smaller you might have been able to do yourself if you really put your mind to it. I believe many of the things God would have us do are either not done or wind up being done by another servant because instead of just asking Him to send us, we beg Him to send someone else. We're actually refusing to do it but pretending to hide behind our questioning or our doubt that we're qualified. No matter whether the task is huge or something small, with God we have enough resources if we'll just ask Him to send us! "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here I am. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Years ago, there was a tragedy in Atlanta, Georgia where a man killed a judge (among other people). A pastor friend of mine pointed out that the guy was obviously desperate, believing he was going to be convicted of another terrible crime. So he struck out when he saw the moment, killing who he believed was the person responsible for his situation--the man sitting in judgment of him. No doubt the criminal's conscience wouldn't let him see that HE was in fact the one responsible for his situation. He undoubtedly felt hopelessly trapped by the very situation that he got himself into. The truth is that although he may have gone to prison for a long time, there WAS HOPE! And that hope was (and still is) found only in Jesus! And while all of this may seem terrible far away from wherever you are in your life, the truth is that ALL of us will one day stand hopelessly guilty before the One who will judge the world--unless the Judge finds that Jesus has already paid for our crimes, that is! "For I, the Son of Man, will come in the glory of my Father with his angels and will judge all people according to their deeds." Matthew 16:27 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

"Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" Luke 9:23 Sometimes when I read the Scripture references where Jesus says, "Follow me," I get the picture I'm supposed to be like one of those people who walked around the hills of modern day Israel and listened to His teaching. The accurate picture He intended is undoubtedly quite different, since He tells us to first "Deny ourselves and pick up our cross." Denying one's self seems hard enough, but do we really have to pick up a burden that huge and walk around with it on our shoulders? And if that's not bad enough, He then adds, "daily" to the command! Can't we even take a break Jesus? This is too hard? Denying ourselves and then carrying our cross means that we are being led to a place where we will be crucified. We don't want to die... and that is specifically the problem. We hold too firmly to the things of this life and forget that they are in danger of keeping us from our Lord Jesus eternally! Here's the next sentence from Jesus' own mouth: "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." Luke 9:24 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

After I'd been in the workforce for about ten years, we had an amazing thing introduced to us. The "PC" as we would learn to call it was sure to revolutionize our lives. After a few years of awkwardly learning to work with the earliest programs, "Windows" came along and again things were revolutionized. The Internet finally brought the whole world together as connecting geographically separated offices and peoples had never been easier. And then I was introduced to a new use for the Internet. Without warning one day I opened an e-mail attachment from a co-worker to find a picture of a nude woman in a pornographic pose. Quite an interesting thing to send me since he knew I was a Christian and a minister. Since those days I've sat with countless men as they confessed their struggles with pornography, most finding it on the Internet. The e-mails I've received on the issue are also countless, but they don't just come from men. Women, too, are finding themselves addicted to pornography and other fantasies. So I ask you, if this is your struggle, what would Jesus have you do? "Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 18:7-9) I don't generally recommend killing anything, but if this is your struggle it may be time for you to kill your computer. Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate