Thought 4 Today

Have you ever been absolutely convinced that you wanted something (or wanted to do something) when many others in your life were convinced you were wrong? That's the thing about close friends or relatives. If they truly love you, they'll risk you being upset with them to tell you the truth. That's what Jesus did for us, and that's one reason why reading the Bible has such a great effect on us. It allows us to hear the Truth, and to realize that much of what we want may seem good for us, but probably isn't. What's more, even wanting something for ourselves that costs something of those around us is not of God. Realizing that much alone will go a long way toward helping us keep our eyes off of ourselves. "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." 1 Corinthians 10:24 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I always get a kick out of the account of how Jesus met and called Matthew. Matthew was the scum of the Jewish society. He took a job working for the Roman government (something no self respecting Jew would ever do). Once he had this job, he did what every other tax collector did in those day--he overcharged people and kept the extra money for himself. Jews hated tax collectors. But..., Jesus loved them! In fact, Matthew wasn't the only tax collector Jesus hung out with. He hung out with lots of them! This really underlines why Jesus was here in the first place. Often, we think He came to make holy people "holier". The truth is that none of us are or will ever be holy without Him. Who of us is forgivable under our own merits? But what's great is that no matter what we've done, not one of us has done something unforgivable unless we continue to deny Jesus' Lordship over us until death. Sure, Matthew was a scumbag, but so are we! And when Jesus gets finished with us we'll be just as useable for the kingdom of God as Matthew became. As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:9-13 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Throughout the Old Testament, God looked after His people and brought them through one difficult time after another, even when they were unfaithful to Him. He was (and is) always the Good Father, looking out for His little ones. Repeatedly, He would warn them to stay away from something (or someone) and they inevitably would disobey. It's as if they were saying, "You don't trust us, but we're big now. We can handle this and we'll prove it!" As always happens when they disobeyed God, they got into big trouble. They just couldn't resist hanging out with the wrong folks. In the end, our allowing even a little sin to stay in our lives causes the same type of outcome. "The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you." When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD." Judges 2:1-5 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Here are just a few phrases that are thrown around the Church these days that I wonder if you've uttered? My quiet time My testimony My personal relationship with Christ My prayer life My church My youth group My Bible study While none of these things are a bad thing. I wonder when all of these things became about "me" and when they stopped being about Jesus. We're so consumed with our "personal, blah, blah" that few (if any) of us are willing to actually bow "our" lives to our Lord. Isn't it all supposed to be about Jesus? Isn't the whole point supposed to be about Him and none of it about us? Here's a few new phrases I'd like to start hearing instead. It would be even better if they were spoken truthfully and authentically. Time with Jesus. The story of how Jesus rescued me. Jesus personal relationship with me. Talking with and listening to God. The Bride of Christ; His Church. A group of young people passionate about Jesus. Being changed by time in His Word And if you don't like these, make up some better ones for yourself. Just try to leave "my" out of the equation. It is us who are His. That's why it's all about HIM! Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

People will line up to tell you that education, or hard work, or being born in the right time, right place, or with the right gender or right color of skin is the way to success. Success, however, true God-sized success is accomplished in only one way and with only One partner. Many who chase it through other means find taking time out to love the Lord to be a complete waste of time. I wonder though, no matter how hard their working, isn't it obvious who's really wasting time? "In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him." 1 Samuel 18:14 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Can you think of just one thing that is keeping you away from serving God more fully? Can you think of just one thing that is holding you back from giving God more of you? Even the prospect of change can be overwhelming. You don't need to start with everything (unless the Spirit is urging radical change), pick the biggest thing you feel is a problem and start working on it! Ask someone to pray for you in that area? Pray for yourself in that one area. Search the Bible and even ask for good solid Christian advice in that one area. You just might be amazed at how God moves through ALL the areas of your life! “They went out and preached that people should repent.” Mark 6:12 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

These days a lot of young people are fascinated with death, pain and things of that nature. Many are into cutting and burning themselves, but many more are into harmful things that do more damage on the inside than the out. You can see it on their t-shirts, if you read them, and you can see it in their eyes if you look hard enough. There's pain in there. There's a desire to escape, but no understanding of the means. That's where Christian teens come in. Do your best to love these folks and then earn the right to share the Hope you have in Christ. But be prayerful and aware. Many before have been fascinated with death and dying, and it is often demon driven. Sane people don't hang out in places of death. "When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs." Luke 8:27 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

You've probably heard it said that you are the only Bible some people will ever read. I heard the tag line, "and you'd better believe people read it" added by somebody one day. The Bible actually says that both of those things are true. So Christians need to always be aware of what they are saying and how they are acting. If we get a bad name then we give Jesus a bad name too. That's not love for Him OR for others. "You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate