Recently, I spent some time chatting with a young woman who was regretting getting herself into a sexual situation with a young man. Although she felt bad about allowing him to do something she really didn't want to do, she confessed, "I just didn't know how to say 'no' to him." I sadly told her that situations like this were bound to happen again and again if she didn't learn to stand her ground. Not being able to say "no" could honestly have been a death sentence before she knew it because of the things she'd wind up saying "yes" to. Then I was reminded of a quote from a leadership conference I once attended that tried to help executives prioritize things better. The quote from author and leadership guru, Stephen Covey, goes like this: The way to say "no" to something is to have a bigger "yes" burning inside of you. The "yes" my young friend needed was a simple one: "Yes, Jesus!" "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him" Phillippians 3:7b-9a  Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

I've often told ministers who were down because they were forced to work extra jobs that it was fine to do that as necessary, "Hey, even Paul had a job making tents," I would say. There's even a name that's passed around Christian circles for a pastor's other work. The second job is called a "tent making job." Although I was correct about it being OK for the pastor or minister to have another job, I recently revisited the Scripture about Paul's tent making and noticed that I had missed something. Paul only made tents until there was sufficient help to relieve him of those duties. After that, he was able to devote himself more fully to what the Lord had called him to do. Not everyone is called to preach and to teach, but everyone is called to help forward the cause of the gospel of Christ. One is not necessarily more important than the other. In fact, for the majority of us preaching sermons will not be our calling. Instead, our calling is often to support our local church financially so that those called to serve there can devote themselves to their work. "Paul went to see them [fellow believers Aquila & Prescilla], and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ." Acts 18:2b-5 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

If you know much of anything about Christianity, you'll know that God has revealed Himself to humankind as a "triune being", meaning that He has three parts, each separate, but each one very much God. And, even though they are separate, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are also all one. Kind of like a whole family of "Smith's" would all be one as Smiths, but would also all be separate. Now, unlike the Smith's, can you imagine for a moment that three parts of the same perfect and holy God would have disagreements? Idiotic, I know! Then imagine for a moment how idiotic it must seem to God when WE, all parts of the same body (the body of Christ) have divisions and disagreements with one another and are not only happy to do it, but proud of it. Ridiculous as it sounds, if you look at any church you'll find divisions, and very few are founded on anything more serious than who took the other person's parking spot! Analyze your relationships in your church or youth group. If there are broken relationships, do your best to fix them. If you've done your best, then God knows you're on solid ground. If not, make another attempt. Divisions are not something that honors God and we need to do everything we can to stop them, or to fix them as necessary. "In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extend I believe it." 1 Corinthians 11:17-18 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

Imagine for a moment that Jesus walked into the room you're in right now and looked right at you. Immediately, you feel like He's looking right into your deepest, darkest secrets and understanding every motivation of your heart, both good and bad. You don't know what to think, but you know there's no use to hide the truth--you are evil inside and you know it. The only hope is to drop the pretense and simply accept the hand that Jesus is now offering. He offers it in spite of what He knows about your soul. As you take His hand, He doesn't care about your sin any longer; He died for that sin too! "Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?'" John 4:28-29 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34 Those of the Jewish faith had (and still have) a serious problem with Jesus. Not only did He rock their religious establishment, but they were looking for a different kind of savior. They interpreted Scriptures that indicated the Messiah would come to destroy their enemies as proof that no "passivist" could be their long-awaited Messiah. Even though He sometimes talked about destruction of their enemies, He seemingly did nothing! Where was the sword? Where were the mass graves filled with Israel's enemies? Although there are some fringe groups who believe otherwise, true Christians (like the Christ they follow) do not need to kill or mock those who don't believe like they do. We are not like governments around the world who put those of other faiths to death. We live in and among many who think and believe differently than us. We don't drive airplanes into buildings to kill many and intimidate others. None of us are called to machine-gun others because of their faith! We are called to use a different type of sword. It's the one that Jesus brought that remains largely unnoticed by an unbelieving world. Oh, His enemies will fall by the sword alright, but not by one made of steel! They will fall by the sword He left for us to read, study, and become experts at yielding! Honestly, have you picked up your sword lately? "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:17 "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:12-13 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate

God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us. (Ephesians 3:20) Friends, Last month, I hesitated to include all four sticky note stories at the bottom of my newsletter—I had a moment of panic. What if next month is slower and I don’t have any stories to share?! But y’all… last month’s newsletter highlighted the overwhelming number of people in the Dayton area who need help—and then God showed up in a big way. In addition to regular funding, we received another generous donation specifically designated for Harvest Helps, allowing us to serve even more people! What a blessing it was to write down their names, fill out their sticky notes for my wall, and tell them, “Jesus loves you.” Aaron reminded me there would always be people who need help and people who want to help. It was a timely reminder to stay the course! Please join me in praying for this month’s Harvest Helps recipients and ask God to continue pouring out His blessings on the Dayton area. Right now, we’re working to meet needs related to transportation, housing, clothing, and food. Hopefully, those are the names I’ll be sharing with you next month! Some More Sticky Notes: Ms V - Received clothing needed for her grandson Miss L - Trafficking survivor who needed a bus pass and clothing Ms B - Received a car payment and a grocery order Mr A - Received some personal hygiene items Unknown - Received clothing to meet an immediate need Blessings, Elizabeth Kilby

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV) Dear Friends, Have you ever asked, “Why is this happening to me?” or “Why do the righteous suffer?” If so, you’re not alone. This question echoes through the ages—from Job’s cries in the Old Testament to the quiet prayers of believers today. Jesus never promised us a life free from hardship. In fact, He said quite the opposite: like in John 16:33 (above). We often expect that doing good should shield us from pain. But Scripture reminds us that suffering is not a sign of God’s absence—it’s often where His presence is most deeply felt. The Apostle Paul, who endured beatings, imprisonment, and shipwrecks, wrote: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed... struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) Why does God allow suffering? Sometimes it’s to refine our faith, to draw us closer to Him, or to allow His glory to shine through our weakness. Other times, we may not understand the reason this side of heaven. But we can trust that our pain is never wasted. Jesus Himself, the only truly “good” person, suffered more than we can imagine. He was betrayed, beaten, and crucified—not because He deserved it, but because He chose to bear our burdens. His suffering brought us salvation.  So when trials come, remember: you are not alone. Christ walks with you. And though this life brings sorrow, it also brings hope—hope anchored in the One who overcame the grave. Blessings in Christ, Pastor Jim Kilby

What do you spend most of your time fighting? In the course of any given day I'll wind up fighting the craziest stuff; my copier for example, traffic, people who don't see things my way, and I even seem to fight with myself a lot, too. But is that where Christians are supposed to be waging war? In this life there's not going to be any end to the stuff we need to put up with day-to-day, but win or lose, is any of it really important in the spiritual sense? And, if we are fighting against the world, then why are we doing it with anything less than spiritual weapons? If we could have fought the Satan and his angels by ourselves, Jesus wouldn't have had to die to break the bonds of sin! I'm convinced that we (the church today) has a very shallow view of prayer and of the powers of darkness in this age. It's almost funny that just about any New Age, Buddhist or Wicca follower would know more about the spirit world than we would. Forget about your worldly troubles and get serious about praying for God's will to be done. You just might be blown away at how God breaks down what lies before you! "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate