Thought 4 Today

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

When I was a young boy, my mother's two favorite sayings seemed to be, "Brush your teeth" and "Did you wash your hands?" No doubt she was trying to teach good hygiene and to keep me from getting unneeded sicknesses, but it's a good thing for her I was too young to find or understand this verse! Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?...You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' " Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' " Matthew 15:1-11 Oh, yea... I just remembered another of my mother's favorite sayings. I think it was "Watch your mouth!" Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." Hebrews 5:7 When Jesus prayed it involved emotion, reverence for the Father, and obedience to His will. When we pray, He's our example. Our Heavenly Father wants to have a deeply personal relationship with each of us. He wants us to know Him intimately, and... He wants us to submit our lives to Him. For this reason, the Holy Spirit is here... waiting to help us pray. Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate