Thought 4 Today

When you hear "thou shalt not" quoted from the Bible do you think to yourself, "There's another thing I can't do!" When God says not to do something He's actually not being a colossal party-pooper, but actually a great Father and protector. Anything that's not readily allowed by God is undoubtedly dangerous to those who do it. Instead, read the "though shalt nots" as excellent ways to honor your heavenly Father by obeying Him, and great ways to protect yourself as well. In the Scripture below the words "blessed" can be translated "happy" or even better, "Oh, how very happy." Following God's commands does not make the Christ follower sad to "miss out" on what other people are up to, but rather, "how very happy!" "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statues and seek him with all their heart." Psalm 119:1-2 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I see a lot of young people who are into piercing their lips, noses, eyebrows (and various other things) lately. I wasn't a big fan at first, but I guess it's become so common now that I don't even notice it. Actually, it's nothing new. I've read that many nations have had similar ways of dressing themselves up for thousands of years. What is new is that many who are old enough to pierce their bodies simply lack the ability to act responsibly and make good decisions. They bad mouth everything and anything, talk garbage about their country, and what's probably worse, they think it's cool. What they have is a lack of what the dictionary calls "discretion." They also have a lack of what the Bible calls Jesus. "Like a gold rind in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion." Proverbs 11:22 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." Matthew 3:8 There's a nasty little habit some who profess to know Christ practice. They get to thinking that since they've gone to church, read the Bible and maybe even prayed for a while, that God will give them some leeway into sinful activities in their personal lives. Some decide that since they are "saved" they don't really need to do much of anything anymore. "Hey, isn't our God a forgiving God?" they might ask. The answer is absolutely, but those who truly love Him and have repented of their sinful ways no longer want to sin. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." Ephesians 5:8 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

When everyone seems to be telling you how to live your life, do you ever just want to tell them all to leave you alone? That usually happens to me right about the time people go from giving me good solid (biblically supportable) advice and start giving me opinions that are not in-line with my Christian faith. When that happens it's always a good thing to remember the life we live is not our own, but rather God's. If we are truly Christians, then we have died to our own selves and now live for God. With that mindset, it's much easier to sift through the endless amount of "helpful" advice we all get and to settle on the things that are of God alone. "And he [Jesus] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:15 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

The vast majority of people in the world today believe the Holy Bible is either irrelevant, or at a minimum, terribly outdated. The only time either is true is when WE fail to align our lives and our thinking with it. "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe." 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I get a real kick out of people who are in their teens and blame getting into trouble on the fact that they're "just kids!" While such a claim does seem to get some people out of trouble, it's also true that many try the same excuse late into their twenties and beyond. Honestly, even a child as young as six or seven knows what it right and what is wrong, and is more than often able to chose right. Somehow I doubt God is going to give common stupidity an age waiver! "Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years... He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left." 2 Kings 22:1-2 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I was chatting with a religion teacher at a school near our home when she said something that really piqued my interest. She had recently read the popular novel "The Da Vinci Code" and told me about it and how "cool" she thought it was. Having some familiarity with the unbiblical writings that spawned the book (which claims that Jesus didn't really die on the cross, but rather married Mary Magdalene, had children with her and lived a long life) I felt I had no choice but to have a serious conversation with her about how "uncool" I thought the book was. The truth is that if Jesus didn't die on the cross for our sins, then those sins remain on our heads to this day, leaving us objects of God's wrath. What's more, every word of Jesus and the hundreds of eye witnesses of His death and resurrection would all be liars. Satan's concepts often are dressed up like "cool" stuff. But I urge everyone who hears of such concepts to weigh them against the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If a religion teacher can fall for it, only those with a firm and unshakeable grasp of the Bible stand any chance against such lies. "If then He [Jesus] were still living on earth, He would not be a priest at all" Hebrews 8:4a (The Amplified Bible) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

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