Fill Yourself With Joy

So, it has been almost a year since the last time I posted anything! Time has gotten away from me. Since my last post "Adopted Sons," I have graduated high school, worked at a summer camp, started my first year of college, committed myself to a wonderful, long distance relationship with my lovely girlfriend, and most recently I finished my first semester of school! Long story short, I have learned a few things this past year. More specifically, I have learned to find joy in just about everything I do. The ironic thing is that I have been really struggling to do this the past few weeks, which is honestly why I feel the need to talk about it.

We live in a world full of sin and it is so easy to get caught up in the "patterns of this world." Sadly, we live in a world full of judgment, discrimination, unhappiness, and low self-esteem. Left and right we are being told we are not good enough, not pretty enough, that we are not the best. Honestly, living in this world is tough. As we go throughout our day, living life, these negative messages are constantly fed into our brains. If you look in from the outside, its hard to imagine how anyone can find joy in this. I am not saying that every body's life is unhappy and depressing, but I am saying that we live in a very negative and sinful world.

Everyone has a reason to be happy. No matter what people are going through in life, there is always something or someone that provides people with the happiness they desire. As Christians, we have all the reasons in the world to be joyous!

"You will live in joy and peace.

       The mountains and hills will burst into song,

       and the trees of the field will clap their hands."

                        - Isaiah 55:12

 

As cliché as it sounds, God loves us, which in and of itself is a reason to rejoice forever. The one thing I have really learned about joy over this last year, is that you can find joy in everything God puts in your life. Whether it has been a hard day, your child is acting out, or your plans do not go according to the way you thought them out.

 

 

"All things work to the good of those who love God..."

                       - Romans 8:28

 

 

I have learned to find joy in everything, even if it is bad because I know every little thing is going to be alright (Bob Marley reference, I could not help it). Really, it is going to be okay. I do not know what you are going through, I do not know your life, but you will get through the trials and struggles. God is here for you, and because of that, we get to live in joy and peace. He gives us that peace and joy because nothing else can.

Adopted Sons

"...he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,..."

           - Ephesians 1:5

Isn't that beautiful? Adopted. A very strong word that means so much here, and has much to say about how God loves us. It specifically means "to bring a person into a specific relationship, esp to take on one's child as your own." In this verse Paul describes Jesus' love for us as an adoption! How great is that. God wants to adopt us into his family. 

Ever since the beginning of time people have thrived on acceptance. People will do anything in their power to be accepted somewhere. Teenagers will go to great lengths to change the way they look or act, just to fit in. Kids doing whatever it takes to play with the "cool kids". And to be honest society is brutal.To fit in you have to be perfect. You need money, women/men, the car, the job, and the attitude to be on top. And if you fall short, well you may as well get in line and wait for your shot at glory. But God isn't like that. Paul says "us", that means everyone. God predestined ALL of us for adoption. He wants ALL of us to be in his family. But just like adoption today, we have a choice. We can stick with him and join his family or we can wait around till the "right family" comes around. 

Just like if you were to become a part of a family, you would be entitled to the things the rest of the family has, Paul says in verse 7 that we will have"redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, and the riches of his grace." God wants to give all of us this, we just need to be in his family. I don't know about you, but that sounds great! We are all different, but we are all the same in this: We are all sinners. And Jesus came to save us because of that. He wants you to join his family. 

Your Brother in Christ,

               Derek Tilt

Less Than Normal: Whats Holding You Back?

Less Than Normal: Whats Holding You Back?: Why do people push Christianity away like its a sickness? Or avoid it like it is a crazy ex-girlfriend? Is the idea of grace and forgiveness...

Whats Holding You Back?

Why do people push Christianity away like its a sickness? Or avoid it like it is a crazy ex-girlfriend? Is the idea of grace and forgiveness really something to be shunned and put off? Why? Why are you (or your friends) tip-toeing around the subject of Jesus as a weird or crazy thing?

If you are a Christian (avid church goer) ask yourself; who is to blame? The "non-believer" or is it the church?

If you are not a Christian, tell me what it is. Is it because we believe in "a man in the sky bossing us around"?

Lets start at ground zero. I, as an avid church goer, blame the church. There I said it. IT IS THE CHURCH. By the church, I mean the congregation, the people who run it, CHRISTIANS.

Here is why:

• We preach love, but we act judgmental
• We are flying hypo critics

Christians are so judgmental! We are not welcoming. I firmly believe that ANYONE can get into heaven.

**God accepts you the way you are, but wants you to change for Him**

(Loves you but doesn't mean what you do is okay) 

"...but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,..."

          -Romans 12:2

And even I have been very judgmental at times, but the church has done a HORRIBLE job at accepting people into church. For example; the gay, bi, lesbian community. The church pushes these people away like they are the sickest people on earth. SHAME ON YOU... How the heck are we going  to fix the people we want to fix if we don't allow them into the ONE PLACE ON EARTH where they can be forgiven and helped.. Now that I have said that, I don't believe that homosexuality is okay. It is a sin. But there is forgiveness and healing. We cannot help those that need help if they can't even make it to our doorstep. We do not reach out with love this way.

I apologize to those who have been pushed away from the church because of me or any other christian.

So now, you Christians, we need to now ask ourselves how we can be more accepting and loving. Practice what we preach, and grow the church of God. 

So to you non-believers. I know we may be judgmental and off putting, but put aside the people for a moment. What is it about the christian faith that puts you off? The "morals" we try to abide by are not unreasonable. Forgiveness, love, peace, and kindness, are all by society's point of view, great to uphold and make you generally a "good person". Is the idea of sacrifice hard to grasp? Is it because we believe in an all powerful God? Or is it a fear of rules? I really don't know what you think because I have never been on your  side. But please tell me or if you have a Christian friend ask them! 

Your brother in Christ,

              Derek Tilt

Let It Go

I find myself often frustrated with the fact that I all ways mess up. I feel like everywhere I turn I'm doing something wrong. Don't get me wrong I have had some great successes this year, getting accepted to the school of my dreams (with a great scholarship), I've kept my grades up despite my senioritis. I have behaved well, not getting into trouble. But still, why do I feel the constant weight of being not perfect, on my shoulders?

The answer is pretty simple and I feel stupid because I didn't realize it sooner. I need to let it go. Three short words. LET IT GO. We find ourselves in these struggles, big and small, but we as human beings try to hold on to them and fix them ourselves. But the honest to God truth is WE CANT. We can't fix everything. No tool, no doctor, no inspirational quote, can help us let go of something forever. So many people hold onto things for far to long. Bad relationships, unhealthy addictions, objects, lost loved ones, all plague our minds.

 Why can't we stop?

We put emotions into everything whether or not you think you do. Every facebook post, instagram picture, person you see, and even the objects you touch, you feel a certain way. Some are outright emotions while others are more subliminal. But the fact is that you FEEL. Often times we feel and we get connected to these things. Once again this is not a bad thing, but how we handle what we get connected to, is very important. The things we get most connected to are what cause the most trouble.

Here is where I will raise another question. Why do we need to let go? Why is it so important? 

 Well here are several reasons:
                 1. They cause an unnecessary weight on our shoulders.
                 2. They can turn into "worth"ship.
                 3. They are unhealthy.
God sent Jesus to carry the sins of the world on himself when he died on the cross. I fully believe that he did this and that it was for a reason. God calls us to give up our worries to Him. By doing this our focus turns to him and he deals with it the way he wants to. See, if we are to give everything up to God and LET GO, we are doing what He says! When we connect with people or things we are giving them "worth" in our minds. While this is not bad, often times we give things too much worth, then these worries or objects become first in our hearts in place of God. This all together causes unhealthy stress and just takes up space in our minds.

As the New Year begins, I will be taking a step back and letting go. I encourage you to do the same! Instead of coming up with these "resolutions" and putting more weight on your shoulders, let go of things and start fresh. Give it all to God.

Your brother in Christ,
                   Derek Tilt

Grace is a Gift

Well, I was driving in my car when a song came on that brought up the question, "What would you say to God if He was right in front of you?" Here it is:

"Why me? Why us? WHY?! After EVERYTHING we've done.. You didn't have to, but you did. I will put aside everything they have done, but look at me! A screw up. I've sinned so much. Nothing I can do will make any of that up! Yet you did it anyway! Why? I want to do better, I want to have more strength, but the world is pulling me away from that. I fall short every time. And even if there was something I could do to make it all up, I wouldn't be able to accomplish that, without ruining it five minutes later. Forgive me, give me your grace, without it I would not be here, and I would certainly not be walking into Your Kingdom when I die. Save me.."

So why? Why did he do it? So many people think that they can earn their way into heaven by their good works. But its not possible, "Grace is not a paycheck, its a gift." No matter what you say, think, or do, NOTHING can pull you away from the love of God. And because he loves us, He invites us into His family, and gives us His GRACE. Grace is receiving something though you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you don't deserve it.

People who run themselves ragged trying to do good works (which is great), sometimes miss the fact that God's work is what gets us to heaven, not what we do. He died on the cross FOR US, to SAVE US from Hell. If we had to do works to get there then what was the point of Jesus' death?!

Lean on God, let Him carry your cross, accept the Grace He is GIVING you.

As a brother in Christ,
            Derek  

Class of 2013

I can't believe its here. Really. We are seniors. When they said it would go by fast I really didn't think it would go this fast. The many days put into school, hours of pain enduring homework, and the countless memorable moments shared with friends will come to a close in 9 months.

We have 9 months to make memories and build even greater friendships that will last a life time! As much as I want this year to be over with and begin a new stage of life, I can't hide the fact that I am a tad bit scared and excited! Some of us will move on to bigger and better things while some of us will take a slower road. This year lets make memories and come out strong.

CLASS OF 2013