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

People Like You, Make Me Sick

You can't make anyone happy. Not one person in this society is happy with everyone around them. And pleasing people is just about as impossible.

You can bend over backwards for everybody you come into contact with, just to help or satisfy them, and people will still complain or need something else. There is this kid who is a full time student, pulling 2 flexible jobs, is involved with many extracurricular clubs and organizations, and pays for his own car and everything. This kid is pretty responsible, so much that a lot of people depend on him and ask him for help. This may not be a bad thing, but while this kid puts on a mask of happiness, he struggles. He is stressed, tired, but he can't stop what he does because if he does, a lot of people will begin to distrust him or disapprove. He feels like if he says no, people will be upset. So being the kind person he is, he just does what he is asked to do. Despite the fact that he runs around doing all he can without his head exploding, people (other kids) have the audacity to tell him he can't do it,he is under them for the fact that what they do "matters more".

I'm sick of saying yes. I'm sick of being the nice guy. I am so tired of all these lazy, helpless, arrogant, children that call themselves young adults. You don't have a job. You have a car your parents bought you. You get what you want without working a day in your life. Kids my age make me ANGRY. I am a happy loving person, but in all seriousness, I am FURIOUS when i get around these slobs. I get physically sick to my stomach.

I wanna stop my ranting for a minute, and applaud those of you who do work, and are involved. I am not mad at you, but I hope you feel the same way I do. But if you are reading this and you know I am talking about you, good. I'm sick of you. I really am. Don't claim you work hard, don't complain about your life and how its "SO HARD". Get real. We are in high school. You need to get mature and figure out what you're gunna do in your life.

Being A Christian Isn't All Rainbows and Butterflies

It really is funny how people, when they come to Christ, expect thier life to suddenly change into this happy land of perfection. There was once this testimony on KLove; "My life was terrible, but now that I have excepted Jesus into my heart, my life is PERFECT!" ...No. I do believe that by God's grace we are saved, and there is a transformation in your life when you come to Him and repent. But I don't believe that when we become a christian, that we are perfect, for many reasons:

1. "We are by nature, SINFUL and UNCLEAN."
2. Jesus' life on earth was HARD
3. Christians, all throughout history have been rebuked and mocked

First off, everyone has bad days, right? Bad, not perfect, bad. There is no getting around the fact that we humans have bad days. Why? Sin. As plain and simple as it sounds many people forget that. We, as humans, are naturally inclined toward sin. The desires of this world are sin! Its inevitable. We can not get around that.

Joel Olsteen had this sermon I watched, and he said "God made you to be successful, to live a stress free life." He said that... I respect him as a brother in Christ, but No!! This can be argued with the life of one man: Jesus. He wasn't rich, he was poor and most of the time homeless. He was put on a cross, to die the most horrific death known to man, that is not "stress free". Life will not be easier, but what are these 70-90 years on earth compared to an eternity in heaven or hell?

Hardships as Christians are inevitable, but we have the best weapon that gives us the Peace that passes all understanding: God. In today's messed up society, Christians get weird looks, or just avoided completely. It is sad but its true. It is very rare to find that the most popular kid in school, or the richest person in the world, to be Christian. But why is that? It just isn't "cool". So sad.

But to jump away from the negativity; think about the universe for a minute. It never ends.. How incredible is that?! So crazy to just imagine something that never ends. Now picture eternity, like the universe it never ends, however unlike the universe, eternity will have an effect on you no matter what. Everybody will be spending eternity somewhere, heaven or hell, no question. But where will YOU go?

Life is better with Christ, and without we are destined to perish in hell. I am here to tell you that you will be saved from hell, not to give you the false impression that you will become perfect.

Hands Can Do So Much

Hands are used by most people, all day, everyday. Hands do so much, give, take, recieve, touch, hold, love, and help. Among the good things they do, they also do bad things. Hit, harm, kill, flick (off), and hold an extremely discusting amount of germs. What are they meant for? You might say 'Derek, come on, they are meant to get the job done, nothing more.' But my response to you is, then what are we for? I guess you could compare our hands to ourselves; hard working, always moving around, and like us, when the job is done they rest. So if we, like our hands, are meant to just "get the job done", then what?

"No its different, we are people and they are hands". Yes, but cats are cats and dogs are dogs, the both do the same thing, entertain humans and keep us company. But they arent the same. If we like hands just got the job done then call it quits, then i might be questioning life. There is more to life then just the work of our world. God calls us to use our hands to work for Him. In all the things we do we must do it for Him.

If you think about it, sometimes our hands speak louder then our words. We greet each other with them, hold hands with that significant other, or hide ourselves by putting our hands in our pockets. There is no getting around the fact that hands, act like us. They shake and sweat when we are nervous. The clench when we are angry. And reach out to God in a time of need. Our hands do way more then you can imagine.

The purpose of our hands is to get the job done, but what job are you doing? God works in amazing ways, and He tends to show Himself though the actions of His people. Not that He doesn't do anything, but rather, we are the working hands of God. We can make a difference, and its always talk and no walk, change it. Make your hands do the work of God, because if you do it through Him, you WILL see a difference.




PEACE. LOVE. JESUS CHRIST.

My Life? Or GOD..

For those of you of you who are not Christians, I invite you to read along. For those of you who are, or claim to be, before you go on.. Take a moment to ask yourself (aside from God) what is the number one thing in your life?

Now how much does that have an effect on your relationship with Him?

Work, play, spouse, friends, money, and on and on and on, get in the way of Jesus Christ. As my favorite preacher Mark Driscol once said, "If you were to die, and be revived (more like a coma), what would be the first thing you would run too?" Some to your mothers, others your family, and tragically some would run back to work to make more money. This really shows where your heart is. Jesus didn't run to his mother, he didn't go to eat. After He was resurrected He went on preaching the Word of God. His heart was in God, for God, and He IS GOD!! Where should your heart lie..

My next question is this: Where are you?

Where are you in your relationship with the Father? Are you new to this Jesus thing? Or have you grown up in the faith? If you are new to this I invite you to grow, Jesus is the Peace that passes all understanding, and your life will be better with Him. It won't be easy, but it will be better. For you Christians, do you really have a relationship with God? If you go to church every Sunday,Good for you! Keep it up! But that is not enough.. You can go to church all you want and not gain a thing.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
                                                     ~Romans 12:2

Having a relationship with Jesus isn't only knowing, its not all Bible Trivia and memorization. Those are both GREAT things. But its NOT enough. Relationship with Christ is living. LIVING!!!! You must live in, through, and for HIM! You must renew not only your mind, but your heart. It is so easy to live for this world, a life of sin, the simple road. Yeah you might have a fun, nice, easy, sinful life, but you will crumble, you will burn, and you will die. BUT there is Hope, and that is in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Come to Him, change your heart, mind, and soul. You will never die, because in Heaven.. there is no death, sin, destruction, pain, or sorrow.

So, I encourage you friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, join me in living through Him. I can't lie and say that it is easy, but I can promise you that you will one day see Jesus face to face. You will have peace. You will have a hero, a Savior, a Father.

My Last Question: Is it you, or God?

In Christ alone, my hope is found,
                             Derek Tilt