Author: Christian Hile

Psalm 89

God made a covenant with David that there would be a King who would come from his lineage. We see in Jeremiah and in Isaiah that God will bring a branch or a root forth from Jesse. God made a promise and then fulfilled that promise when He sent His own son, Jesus. When God made a covenant to David, He made an unconditional covenant. He didn’t say I will establish your throne forever if… He said I will establish your throne forever.

In verse 30-32 the psalmist writes, “But if his descendants forsake my instructions and fail to obey my regulations, if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands, then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their disobedience with beating.” It’s easy for us to read that and think, “So much for God keeping His promise.”

Israel was judged for their wrongdoing because God is just. God was being a loving God when He brought Babylon down to send Judah into exile. He was using Babylon to clear the idolatry from His wife, Israel. There must be payment for sin, it’s just a matter of who pays it, you or Jesus. In the Old Testament, souls were saved by trusting in the coming Messiah. In the Church Age, souls are saved by trusting in the Messiah that has already come.

Jesus paid the cost in full for our sin on the cross. In Hebrews, we read that He died once, for all. The work has already been done. Now does that mean we should keep on sinning so that grace may abound? Absolutely not! God still chastens and disciplines believers for their sin, but He does not require additional retribution (Romans 8:1). Jesus already paid the cost. It’s easy to associate God’s chastening and disciplining with His judgment, but it is His love.

Read verses 33-34, “But I will never stop loving him nor fail to keep my promise to him. No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said.” God loves you so much that he will discipline and chasten you so that you will be perfect and mature, lacking nothing. He does it from His lovingkindness. Praise God that He kept His promise to David. If He kept His promise to David, then we can trust His promise to every believer. That He is going to prepare a place for you and will come back to take you to that place. Amen!

Joshua 3

In order for us to appreciate what is happening in this third chapter, it is helpful to look back at the first chapter of Joshua. God spoke to Joshua and told him to lead the people across the Jordan river into the land which He had promised them. Joshua then told the people within three days they would cross the Jordan. When God promises something it will come to pass. Look in the New Testament at Romans 11:29, it states, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” When God says something, it comes to pass. He does not go against His Word.

Now fast forward to chapter 3. We see Joshua, speaking on behalf of God, tell the priests to take the ark of the covenant into the Jordan river first. The rest of the people were to stand back about a half mile. It was said they would walk on dry ground. Not on marshy, muddy ground, but dry. Surely Joshua was recalling when God split the Red Sea and led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt as he was about to experience a similar work of God. Additionally, we have a description of the river. This river was swollen with water as it was early in the harvest. Sometimes we forget that we serve a supernatural God who is not limited or bound by natural laws. Our finite minds can get in the way of our faith in God’s Word. This was not so for Joshua.

Joshua trusted God and commanded the priests evermore. The river may be gushing but God said we were going to walk on dry land. Joshua and Israel took a step of faith. Where do you need to take a step of faith? God says that He will never leave us nor forsake us. His word says that by one sacrifice He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Do you know that with faith you can move mountains? Do you know that with faith, all things are possible? Is God calling you to something and you are on the fence of obeying? Trust His Word. He esteems it even higher than His name. My pastor always says, “Love God, love His Word, and love His people”. Do those things and God will do some awesome things in your life!

Psalm 124

God is such a great help in time of need. In this psalm David is calling on Israel to think about what would have happened if God was not their defense. David uses imagery of a beast swallowing them alive or of a raging torrent overwhelming them. But blessed be the Lord who did not allow this to happen to His people! The psalm concludes saying “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

How often do you find yourself in need? I can speak for myself; it is nearly every single day. I’ll give you an example. I looked down at my wallet to pay for my emissions test this morning and my credit card wasn’t in its normal spot. This is seemingly a minor issue, but what was my first reaction? Where did I leave it? What time does that restaurant open so I can find it? What if it’s not there? How do I lock my card? I should have called on the name of my God. The One who created everything and is therefore the most powerful being, who is my defense. This is a minor incident where I need help.

Let’s take it up a notch. What do you do when you get that diagnosis, or worse when a loved one gets a diagnosis? Who do you call on when your spouse passes? Who do you call on when your boss calls you into the office and tells you to pack your things? I urge you to call on the name of your God. The One who is outside of space, time, and matter, yet He is within it at the same time.

Jesus Christ told His disciples that He had to go away so that he could send the Helper. The Helper is the Holy Spirit. He is the one who comes alongside us as individuals and works through the Church as a whole. Another way to translate the Greek word for helper (parakletos) is comforter. The Holy Spirit will be a comfort to you if you would just call on Him.

Did you know that in Romans 8 Paul is encouraging the believers that when you don’t know how to pray as you ought to, the Holy Spirit will intercede for you with groanings too deep for understanding? When you find yourself in times of trouble, don’t fall for the temptation to think that God caused this. Remember what His word says in Romans 8, “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”

When life gets messy and you need help, call on the name of Jesus. Don’t call on your earthly wisdom or knowledge, call on the One who gave you the wisdom and knowledge.

Psalm 108

The psalms were written as songs that should be meditated on. As I read and reread this psalm, the first line keeps coming back to me. David opens the psalm with, “My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!” (NLT). As I meditate and fill my mind with this scripture, I keep coming back to one word: confidence. David did not find his confidence or his steadfastness in himself or his own abilities, his confidence was in God. From that confidence in God and His character, David could rightly sing with all his heart.

We can have confidence that God is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow. God is steady, a firm foundation your feet can stand upon. David goes on to mention a few attributes of God’s character that we can be steadfast on. First, David praises God for His mercy. David uses the Hebrew word Hesed. This word means a little more than just our common English understanding of mercy. This word has the meaning of God’s loyal, unfailing love for His people. David uses hyperbole to try and describe this love as higher than the heavens (v. 4). God has a loyal love for His people, even when He disciplines. Not only does God have a loyal love, but He is faithful and true (v. 4). God is a man of His word. He does not pull back on His promises. He has fulfilled all his past promises and will fulfill all his future promises. 2 Peter 3:9 states, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” Lastly, we see a final attribute of God being His holiness. God is holy, set apart, and righteous (v. 7).

You can be confident in these attributes of God because He doesn’t change. He is a good, caring God. David was confident in these truths, so he left vengeance up to the Lord. David trusted in the Lord to be a just God as he stated, “With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes” (Ps. 108:13).

What do you need to trust the Lord with? Maybe you are switching jobs and need to trust God will make the decision clear. Maybe you are being tempted that God really isn’t real, and you need to come back to what you know is true about God. Maybe you have a decision to make and are trusting in your own abilities instead of finding your confidence in God. He is a trustworthy God. Find confidence in what you know about Him.

Psalm 102

This psalmist is clearly in distress. When you read the first eleven verses, you can hear the despair, and you can see the imagery of the deep emotion this person is feeling. He says that his heart is so sick that he doesn’t even have an appetite. There have been few occasions in my life where I am so distressed that I cannot even eat. The psalmist’s enemies taunt him day after day after day to the point that his tears fill his cup. The NLT has a subtitle for this psalm, and it reads, “A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the Lord”. This really does sum up the first eleven verses well.

This is not the only psalm out of the one hundred and fifty where we read someone in distress crying out to God for help. David, on multiple occasions, would pour his heart out to the Lord in despair and ask God these very deep questions like why the wicked prevail over the righteous. We should all take note of this. There is a time to ask God questions and to have raw emotion with Him. He wants real you, not fake you. With that said, we should not just stay in our emotion and questions. Likewise, we should not make master’s out of our feelings.

The psalmist does not only write from the emotion he is feeling, but he writes from His knowledge of who God is as well. In verse 12 he proclaims that God will sit on His throne forever and all generations will remember His name. In verse 17 he states that God will hear the prayer of the destitute. In verse 25 he remembers the power and majesty of God by recalling His creator status. Finally in verse 27 he exalts God as the eternal God whose years will have no end.

It is important for us to have raw emotion and to acknowledge it and share it with our God, but we should not sin against Him. Bring your questions during your suffering and pain, but remember Pastor Chuck Smith’s words, “Never trade what you do know for what you don’t know.” What he means is if God does not answer your questions remember the promises that He has given you in His word. That he cares for you and is preparing a place for you and if He is preparing a place for you, He will come back for you (John 14:1-3).

Psalm 97

God is King. Jesus is King. Holy Spirit is King. Does your life reflect that? Who calls the shots?

Psalm 97 is a royal psalm declaring God’s justice, sovereignty, and righteousness. The first five verses set the scene as you would in an intense thriller movie. Dark clouds are surrounding him, the base of His throne is righteousness and justice, fire spreads ahead of Him and destroys His enemies, lighting flashes, and finally mountains melt. If you don’t have a picture of the awesomeness of God after reading those verses, I’m not sure you ever will.

Verse 6 reminds me of Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s in all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein”. God is sovereign. The heavens declare His righteousness and all the people’s see His glory!

Idolatry has always been a practice throughout all of world history. The heart of flesh that we all have is futile and exceedingly wicked (Jer. 17:9). Humanity always wants to worship something they can see and handle. We know that any idol is utterly useless (Ps. 115:4-8). This same line of thinking is what led Israel to want a king and is what led Catholicism to have a pope. We want to see our “king” with our own eyes. We want him to protect us and to speak for us. We want to be able to actually see him, not just see the evidence of Him. Don’t put your trust in the pope, in any king other than THE KING!

Know that God still reigns and is still sovereign. The political climate may lead us to think that there can’t be a God who is directing all authority, but there is. His name is Jesus. Obey His commandments for He is King. You can’t call Him King if you don’t obey Him. Someday, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess. Don’t wait until that day, for it will be too late. Trust in Jesus today and obey Him.

2^nd Thess. 1

Both Paul’s first letter and his second letter deal heavily with eschatology, or the study of end times. Paul is trying to clarify some misunderstandings that the believers in Thessalonica had about the rapture and Jesus’ second coming to the earth. The emphasis of this first chapter of Paul’s second letter is to provide some comfort and hope for this church which is suffering some intense persecution. Despite the hardship, persecution, and suffering this church was facing, Paul commends them for their growing faith and love for one another. A common theme throughout the church in history is that when persecution runs rampant, faith grows. When persecution is nonexistent, faith is weakened. It is because persecution refines the faith of the church the same way that fire refines and purifies gold. It makes you worthy of the kingdom of God in the sense of sanctification, not justification (v.6).

Sometimes it is hard to trust that God is just when you are suffering persecution and you don’t see immediate vengeance. Passages like this help us to cling to the truth that God will make every wrong right when He returns. Sin requires a punishment. Either you pay that punishment or you let Jesus pay that punishment on the cross by surrendering your life to Him. God promises that those who do evil and don’t obey the gospel will suffer a painful punishment from Jesus’ presence and from the glory of His power. What does this passage encourage the believer who is suffering persecution to do?

1. Cling to the hope of eventual rest (v.7)
2. Consider your persecutions an opportunity to witness (v.4)
3. Count your persecutions as a purifier of your faith (v.5)

God will take vengeance. He is a just God. Be patient in your tribulation. He has overcome the world (John 16:33).

1 Thessalonians 4

Today we are reading and studying the fourth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica. This is where the theme of this letter shifts to the topic of eschatology, or the study of end times. I would be remiss to not talk about the first 8 verses because I think it sets a context that we all can learn from.

In the first eight verses Paul is calling the Thessalonians to purity. Jesus has made us pure by washing, cleansing, justifying, and sanctifying us. We ought to walk in that truth to honor and glorify our father in heaven. We live sexually pure lives not by striving, trying, and attempting, but by dying to ourselves and putting on Christ. God is not keeping you from something by demanding your sexual purity, rather He is giving you more freedom by calling you to live in the parameters He has created for you. God is more concerned about your sanctification than your satisfaction. He did not call you to passions of lust and uncleanness, but to holiness. You are to be set apart. This is important to remember as we move to the next topic in this chapter: the rapture of the Church.

The rapture is the removal of the Church from this earth, before the 7-year tribulation, which will occur in the end-times. Jesus’ return comes in two phases: the first phase is to collect His Church in the air (1 Thess. 4:15-17, 1 Cor. 15:51-54, 2 Thess. 2:6-7) and the second is to wage war at the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19:17-21). There are three different approaches to when the rapture will occur. The three stances are pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation. God does not appoint us to wrath (1^st Thess. 5:9), therefore I see it hard to imagine any other time for the rapture instead of a pretribulation stance. Additionally, we have OT examples of God sparing the righteous out of the unrighteous like in the story of Lot in Sodom & Gomorrah and Noah with his family on the ark. Additionally, the church is not spoken of from Revelation 4 until chapter 19 when Jesus comes back with the saints (the NT Church). Lastly, God uses other means to spread the Gospel during the tribulation (the two witnesses; 144,000 Jewish people; and an angel in the air). If the church were still around, why would God need these other people/beings to spread His word when He has used the church for over 2,000 years? End times prophecy is all about God waking up Israel along with the rest of the world. The time is near. Get right with God so you are ready for His return. Be wise.

It is His grace that He is still waiting for the fullness of the gentiles to come. There will be a final person who gets saved and then God will rapture His church. Come to Jesus. Be soberminded. Be alert. Be ready for the return.

Psalm 75

The title of this psalm in the NKJV is Thanksgiving for God’s Righteous Judgment. In the subtitle we see it’s a song written by Asaph. This is a psalm where not only are Asaph’s words dictated, but the Father’s words are dictated as well in verses 2-5 and 10.

The psalm starts with the people thanking God for His nearness to them. That is so important for us to realize that God is always near to His people. Sometimes we feel like He is far from us and there are two main reasons for this. The first is that He wants your faith to be in Him and His Word, not in your feelings or experiences. The second reason is because you have unrepentant sin in your life that is breaking your fellowship with God, and therefore you don’t feel His presence. Always remember that God is near and is drawing you closer to Him with chords of kindness (Hosea 11:4).

Then immediately in verse 2 God starts to speak. If you want to hear God audibly, read this verse out loud and boom you have heard him audibly. But His message is more important. His message is about his impending judgment of the proud and the wicked. God always chooses the “proper time” for his upright and fair judgment. Sometimes in our minds we think God takes too long to bring justice. Other times we think He is too quick. But God is sovereign, and He always picks the proper time for His judgment. The danger for us humans is we don’t know His timetable. It is dangerous because we often think, “I’m still young, I will deal with my sin later because it’s still fun right now. I will get right with God when I need to raise kids.”  Don’t delay. Humble yourself before God casts His judgment on you.

When God says in verse 5, “Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck”, He is using the imagery of a stubborn ox who doesn’t want to be yoked. God is saying don’t be stubborn with me and resist me. Humble yourself and take my yoke upon you because it is easy and light. The reason Jesus’ yoke is easy is because He is the one on the other side! I love you enough to tell you that there is a final judgment on those who don’t put their faith and trust in Jesus. The result of the Great White Throne Judgment is that all unbelievers are thrown into the lake of fire for eternal judgment which includes separation from God’s goodness (Revelation 20:11-15).

The beauty of verse 10, in this psalm, is that there is hope in the midst of impending judgment. It reads, “All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, But the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.” God exalts those who are righteous. How can we be righteous? By accepting the gift of salvation. When you repent of your sins and put your trust in Jesus (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 10:9-10, 13), Christ’s righteousness is accounted to you. You are then exalted as a Child of God with a future reward waiting for you in heaven (2 Cor. 5: 9-11). The first step is humility. You need to humble yourself and recognize your sinfulness, and therefore your need for a savior. Jesus is near. Repent of your sins and turn to Him and He will wash you as white as snow.

Psalm 68

This psalm was clearly a song that would have been sung in worship of God during David’s reign. We see in the title that the word “song” was added. In verses 7-10 of this psalm David highlights that God was ever present with Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. In other areas of this psalm we see that God is a father to the fatherless, a defender of the widow, a provider for his people, but most of all he is a fighter for His nation Israel.

Kings flee from YAHWEH because of His greatness and because of what He has done. God is a just God that hates wickedness. He went before His people in battle and was given the name Jehovah Nissi “The LORD is my banner”. Verses 20-21 read, “Our God is the God of salvation; And to God the Lord belong escapes from death. But God will wound the head of His enemies, The hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.” This verse is dripping with Truth that we can cling to. YAHWEH is a God who delivers his people; He delivers them not only from the physical enemy, but also the spiritual enemy Satan.

In Genesis 3:15, God spoke to the serpent in the garden of Eden after he deceived Eve and stated, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” God told Satan how his end would come. He gave the entire plot to His redemption story in a single verse in the first book of the Bible. Satan bruised Jesus’ heal on the cross, but Jesus crushed Satan’s head on the third day when He rose from the dead.

Although this psalm is David pleading with God to eliminate Israel’s oppressors, we can now look back and see Jesus all through this psalm. Jesus brought a final victory for mankind against their oppression. We now fight through this life from a stance of victory, not from a stance of defeat. David was still looking for the Messiah, but now the gentiles have access to the promises of God including Salvation because of the battle Jesus won. The Church today does not replace Israel, and God surely has a plan for Israel in the end times, but He has grafted the gentile into His family tree. We know that the God of the Bible fights for both of His beloved, Israel and the Church.