Author: Christian Hile

Revelation 1

This final book of the Bible is a prophetic one. John says that whoever reads this book and whoever hears it will be blessed by it. Yet many people don’t want to crack it open because of all the symbolism, the doom, and the gloom. It is also important to note that this is the singular Revelation of Jesus Christ. This book, while it does display God’s wrath and judgment, is a book of God’s grace and mercy to an unbelieving world.

This book is about Jesus, the One, “who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (Revelation 1:5-6). This Jesus I speak of has made us a royal priesthood by atoning for our sin. Jesus is the beginning and the end. He is God. He is infinite and eternal.

One of the greatest promises of the Bible is that Jesus is coming back for us. The theme of Revelation is found in verse 7, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.” The Old Testament connections in Revelation are beautiful. Read Daniel 7:13-14, “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.” Sounds like Jesus to me.

But why is He delaying? Why doesn’t He just come back now on the clouds? Jesus is waiting for the fullness of the Gentiles to be saved. In other words, let me plagiarize what Peter has to say, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). This mercy and grace are what God is displaying all throughout Revelation. He breaks the seals, blasts the trumpets, and pours the bowls trying to wake up a people who are dead in their sin without Jesus. Many people will be saved in the tribulation, but many will shake their fists at God. In the fourth bowl judgment one of the saddest Bible verses reads, “And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory” (Revelation 16:9).

Our God is one who is just, merciful, gracious, and loving. Trust in Him today and receive the grace that He is offering to you. Read Revelation and you will be blessed by it.

Philippians 3

Repeatedly in Philippians, Paul gives reasons to rejoice. He even starts this chapter by saying, “For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.” The NLT says it in simpler English; Paul uses repetition to safeguard the readers faith. There is so much wisdom in this practice. There are times when I feel like I am hearing the same things from the pulpit that I already know. The repetition of hearing the elementary principles of the Christian faith will safeguard the very faith that we have. This is not to say that we should not desire spiritual meat instead of spiritual milk, but we should be constantly reminded of the Truth of the Gospel.

Paul then goes on telling the church at Philippi to be watchful for any work’s based, legalistic salvation doctrine to creep into their church. He gives a list of reasons of how he could be confident in his flesh, but states that he counts it all as garbage. He doesn’t trust in his own efforts to be righteous for salvation, because He realizes that Jesus already achieved that positional righteousness for him by living a perfect life and offering Himself as the spotless lamb who took away the sin of the world. He then talks about striving towards the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Paul ends this chapter with an awesome reminder. He says, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” Paul said a similar thing to the Corinthian church when he said, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). This is a call to young and old people alike. The exhortation for the subjective “older” followers of Christ is this, be a worthy example of Jesus so others wouldn’t be ashamed if they imitated you. This should be done by middle schoolers to elementary aged children, by high schoolers to middle schoolers, by young adults to high schoolers, and by adults to young adults. This is not the role of pastors or church employees, but it’s the role of the Church at large. Meaning it is my job, your job, and everyone who professes Jesus’ name’s job. One aspect of this is setting a holy standard for the next generation to follow, but it is also investing your time and talents into the next generation. This is called generational discipleship and Paul commands it in Titus 2. The call to the subjective “younger” person is to be seeking out discipleship from those who have more experience, wisdom, and knowledge. Every mature believer should be discipling someone while being discipled themselves.

Luke 7

This chapter of Luke is packed with some awesome stories that show the compassion, love, and grace of our amazing God. The passage starts with a centurion recognizing and trusting the authority of Jesus. Jesus mentions that He hasn’t seen this kind of faith, not even in Israel. Jesus heals his servant from afar displaying the power of God.

The very next day, Jesus is heading into this town called Nain. As he is walking into the town he sees a funeral procession for a young man, the son of a widow. The love of Jesus is on display here. This widow, without a son or husband would have an extremely hard time providing for herself, if she could at all in this culture. Jesus not only has compassion on her because she was weeping, but because Jesus recognized what this woman’s life would be like without a protector and provider.

The very next passage contains Jesus’ cousin’s disciples asking a pointed question; “Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?” Jesus then quotes prophesy from Isaiah indicating He is the Messiah and has fulfilled the prophecy that the blind sees, the deaf hear, the lame walk, and the lepers are cleansed.

One of the coolest passages of scripture in this chapter is the last one. The subtitle is a Sinful Woman Forgiven. Jesus was asked to share a meal in the home of a pharisee. At some point in the evening, a sinful woman shows up. We can conclude that this woman was a notorious sinner and likely a prostitute. This prostitute showed up to the pharisees house, an act of courage and faith, and wept at the feet of Jesus. She then used her hair to wipe His feet and anointed His feet with an alabaster flask of fragrant oil. Someone who was once an outcast and notorious sinner was now broken by an encounter with Jesus. Jesus teaches us a simple lesson. He who has been forgiven much will love much. This woman had Faith that her sins could be forgiven so she went to Jesus and worshipped the Messiah who would take away her sins.

You are not too far gone. Your children are not too far gone. Your coworkers are not too far gone. The lesson to learn here is to keep praying for those people in your life that have hard hearts toward God. Keep praying for those prodigals who need to come home. When they come home, they will no longer be enemies of God, but important vessels of love for God and His Church. The second lesson is to not think lowly or put down “notorious” sinners in your life. God is a much bigger God than you think. In fact, He is infinite. So don’t count certain people “out” because of a pattern of sin. God is a forgiving God who stands at the door and knocks. Whoever opens the door, God will come in and dine with. Pray the radical prayers and fix your eyes on the Lord to see what He will do!

Luke 22

Our passage starts on a Thursday when the Passover meal would be eaten. We see some interesting things happen within the vicinity of this day. First, Judas is possessed by Satan. He is one of two people in the bible that is possessed by Satan himself. The other person is the future Antichrist. The next thing we see is a plot starts to form to kill Jesus. While all of this is happening, Jesus sends Peter and John to go make preparations for the Passover meal, which Jesus fervently desired to share with His friends.

During this weeklong feast of Unleavened Bread, the mood should be remembering and celebrating the great things God did bringing His people out of Egypt. This is not so for Jesus. In these last few days, Jesus would deal with betrayal, isolation, and denial.

Let’s start with betrayal. There is not much more pain that can be felt from a friend than being stabbed in the back. When we look at Matthew’s gospel, Judas not only plotted to have Jesus killed, but he did it for 30 shekels of silver. His greed was greater than his love for his friend and teacher of at least three years.

Not only was Judas leading the chief priests, captains, and elders to Jesus, but the other eleven were sleeping in Jesus’ greatest need of prayer. When we compare the Gospel of Matthew, this was not just one occurrence, this happened three times on Jesus’ last night with His friends. He asked them to pray but they slept instead. They isolated Jesus in his last night of prayer and then scattered after He was arrested.

Lastly, Jesus was denied by one of His closest disciples, Peter. Betrayal hurts, but so does denial. Imagine pouring so much into a friendship that you spend three straight years together through thick and thin. These men were bonded by hardship, sleepless nights, and impact moments (essentially miracles upon miracles). The pain Jesus must have felt to know one of His closest disciples would not just deny being an acquaintance but would deny even knowing Him. Peter denied the friendship, the closeness, and the bond that they experienced. Don’t think that Peter is such a bad guy, you and I would do the same thing if we were in that situation.

Jesus wasn’t just plagued by physical suffering in His last days, but was also dealing with the pain of betrayal, isolation, and denial from his closest friends. Let’s look at the strength of Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prays, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” His prayer shows strength in time of suffering. Jesus recognizes the pain, but His love for you was of more importance in the garden. He submitted to the Father’s will so that He could have relationship with you. He was obedient where we are not. Put your trust in Him today.

Joshua 1

The book of Joshua starts with some sad news on the banks of the Jordan river outside of the promised land. The leader of the people, Moses, was now dead and it was time for God to raise up the next leader. Moses struck the rock in Kadesh and because he did not hallow God in the eyes of the children of Israel, he would not enter the promised land (Num. 20:12). Moses is a type of the Law. The Law is a good teacher for us to see our sin, but it will net get us into heaven. Joshua is a type of Christ who leads us to the promised land.

God speaks directly with Joshua as He did with Moses. In verse 3 He states, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.” In verse 5 God states, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” God will keep His promises. Using Paul’s words (Rom. 3:4), “Let God be true and every man a liar.” God doesn’t just make promises with His people, but he also makes commands for them. Let’s look at a couple.

In verse 2 the first command is to arise and to cross the Jordan. The second command is a major theme in the book of Joshua: be strong and courageous. The third command God gives to Joshua is to keep the law and to not turn to the right or left. This command is extended. God says that the book of the law should not leave their lips and they should be meditating on it day and night. God concludes this section of commands by telling Joshua to not be afraid nor dismayed. Let’s look at some promises that aid Joshua in keeping these commands.

God tells Joshua that He will never leave him nor forsake him. This is the key promise. Joshua could go and conquer in Canaan because God would not leave them nor forsake them. Joshua could be strong and courageous because God would not leave them nor forsake them. Joshua could keep the law while having a relationship with God because he knew God would not leave them nor forsake them. God tells Joshua that his obedience to the law would lead him to success. God’s law has a good and wise design, so it should not surprise us to hear that if you keep his commands things will go well for you. This is not to say that there were not times when Joshua faced suffering and pain, but there is a blessing when you keep God’s commands. And no, don’t think this is prosperity gospel. You must do some gymnastics to interpret this as a promise for financial blessing.

As you read through the Bible yourself, look for specific promises that you should take hold of and commands you need to keep! Be strong and courageous!

Romans 8

This chapter in Romans is one that I always come back to when I need a refresh of who I am in Christ. I even have a 3×5 index card on my desk to always remind myself that I am a son. It is easy, at least for me, to lose sight of this truth. For me, the time when I need a refresher on my identity in Christ, is when I wind up feeling like just a servant or a tool that God is using. It is important to have that word “just” in the previous sentence. Why? Because I am a servant of the King and I am a tool that He uses, but I’m not “just” those things. Satan will use mostly true statements to tell blatant lies against my identity.

The first 11 verses of Romans chapter 8 talk about being free from the power of sin and no longer walking in the flesh but in the Spirit. Paul mentions that if the Spirit is not in you, you are not Christ’s. That is the bad news. The good news is that if the Spirit is within you, and you know He is by seeing the effects of Him (righteousness and the death of your flesh), then you are His. Notice that the effects are not what save you, but what show you are saved.

Let’s keep going. If I know I am saved by the presence of the Holy Spirit, what does the Holy Spirit show? Let’s look at verse 14. Paul states, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” So, let’s keep tracking. I can have confidence of my salvation because I’m filled with the Holy Spirit. I can have confidence I am filled with the Holy Spirit by seeing the effects of Him in my life. I can have confidence I am a son because I am led by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s go a step further. Verses 16 and 17 show us some more Truth that we ought to cling to. Paul claims, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Lastly, I can have confidence of my inheritance in heaven because I am His son. I hope you see the importance of your identity in Christ. We used some simple reasoning to track some very important Truths about our position in Christ.

Nehemiah 9

My wife and I have grown up and now live together in northern Virginia. If you have spent more than a week in our stomping grounds, you will understand how bipolar the weather can be. Last weekend we were running in 80-degree weather and then Monday I was hunting turkeys while getting snowed on. The one thing I do love about this time of year is we start to get a taste of those summer nights. You know what I’m talking about. 75 degrees, windows down, and country music blaring down back roads. It’s on these drives that I enter the throne room and get to work with the Lord. A quarter of the drive I’m thinking about scripture, a quarter I am confessing sin & worshipping, and the other half of my attention is spent trying to stay on the road (Neh. 9:3).

We need to understand the context of what’s going on here. Nehemiah heard about his people who entered back into their land. He was grieved and asked to return to Jerusalem to put things in order. They rebuild the wall and in chapter 8 are revived by the Word of God. The people are now becoming obedient to God’s law because they are devoted to Him.

It is interesting what happens when you truly confess sin and receive God’s forgiveness. I’m not talking about the moment you prayed the sinner’s prayer and were saved. I’m talking about the Tuesday evening when you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and you get on your knees and ask God to forgive you of your sin. What happens is you feel this overwhelming sense of God’s mercy on you. When you reflect on your life you see God’s mercy all over the place. From childhood to adulthood to parenting to grandparenting, God’s mercy is in every season of your life.

When you understand God’s justice system, you understand that God using Babylon to judge Judah was His mercy. He was cleansing the idolatry from the land of Israel and still had a plan for them instead of completely wiping them out. Nehemiah goes back through the major events in the history of God using Israel and if you look carefully, you will see a pattern. God works, Israel is amazed, Israel forgets, Israel sins, God warns & judges, Israel repents, God works and then the cycle starts over again. What do we notice about God through all of this? He is a patient, forgiving, & long-suffering God. Read the latter half of Nehemiah 9:17 with me, “But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.” Make that last verse personal. Through your whole life of ups and downs in your relationship with God you have been the one changing. Not him. He has not forsaken you. Let that Truth sink in. I don’t know what your thing is, but maybe you need to go on a windows down long country road drive and approach the throne of grace with confidence. Don’t delay. Read God’s Word, confess sin, and worship Him today.

Jonah 4

I remember one summer my mom signed me up for vacation bible school at our small country church on the top of the mountain. We had water balloon fights, we ate pita and hummus, and one 100 degree day we did a smelly object lesson… Our bible teacher turned the back corner of the basement into the “belly of a whale”. I mean canned tuna in a small country church in the middle of the summer with no A.C. The devotion was real.

What I don’t remember from that VBS was getting to chapter 4 in the story of Jonah. This is where we really see Jonah’s heart towards the Ninevites. This is where we see the reason for Jonah running when God called him. Jonah knew that God was a merciful, loving, gracious God. Good. But him knowing that God would relent of the destruction of the city in response to their repentance is what caused Jonah to flee to Tarshish.

You see Moses and Jonah had completely opposite worries when God called them to be prophets. Moses didn’t feel adequate. He was worried that he wasn’t going to be effective because of his speech impediment. Jonah was worried that he was going to be too effective and God would relent of the judgment he would bring on the people.

Jonah wanted justice at whatever the cost! He hated the Assyrians for what they had done to Israel and wanted God to judge them, not to spare them. Don’t get me wrong, we need justice in our society. The common adage is true, “Evil prevails when good men do nothing.” We need men and women who do what is right even if it isn’t popular in our culture or society. Just as importantly, though, we should be praying and sharing the mercy, grace, and lovingkindness of Jesus Christ. If there is one person that knows a thing about injustice He is Jesus Christ, who took all the sin of humanity without doing anything to deserve the punishment.

Did Jonah want God to be just when dealing with him or just with Nineveh? Do you want God to be just when dealing with you or just with your enemies? I think the answer would be just with my enemies. We all want God to be forgiving when dealing with us. We constantly seek justice when we are wronged without realizing the infinite mercy God has for us. Our society wants justice so bad we don’t even let umpires call balls and strikes anymore because it is an injustice. We ought to be just people while acting with love and forgiveness even for those who are the hardest to love and forgive.

Psalm 90

This psalm is attributed to Moses as a prayer. Scholars believe that this was likely written as a prayer during the wilderness wandering. Imagine Moses is seeing God judge people all around him and at some point, he would even receive his own judgment; being denied entry into the promised land.

The beginning of this psalm shows Moses’ grand view of God. He is the dwelling place of all generations as Moses says. God is the author of life and death. He was who He was even before He ever created. God is infinite and eternal. He is not bound by space and time as we are. How can 1,000 years to us be like a day in the past to God? He is outside of time. For us to have time there had to be a starting point. For there to be a starting point, there had to be an outside cause. That outside cause is Yahweh.

Moses then compares the grandeur of God to the simpleness of man. Read verse 10,

“The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

Our lives are but a vapor as James would say in his epistle. When we realize how short life is, how just and amazing our God is, and how our iniquity is before His face; we should have a healthy fear of God. Thank you Jesus for nailing my public and private sin to that cross 2,000 years ago.

God teach us to number our days. Maybe when we learn to number our days, we will live with a, “If God will’s it” attitude (James 4:15). Maybe we will wake out of our slumber. Maybe our life would be marked by Romans 13:11-14 (NKJV),

“11And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

When we really learn to number our days, God gives us some urgency. If you find out you are terminally ill, you try and do all that you can with your time left. What if I told you that your days are numbered, and it motivated you to do all that you could for God. It wouldn’t be so embarrassing to tell the grocery clerk that Jesus loves them and wants a relationship with them. Clinging to the job and keeping your mouth sealed from talking about Jesus doesn’t make much sense anymore. Let the shortness of your life motivate you to live for Jesus today, not later. Don’t keep pushing it off, get in the game.

Ecclesiastes 3

Soloman starts this chapter of scripture off with the idea that there is a time or a season for everything. What he is trying to say is that life is so monotonous. We go from one thing to the next and then back around again in this monotonous circle. There is real wisdom in trying to understand what season you are in so you aren’t “kicking against the goads” if you will. Sometimes God directs us into something difficult and it’s our time of weeping, mourning, or tearing down. Use discernment as you are in the different times of life seeking to understand what God is trying to teach you, instead of always asking for the next season of life.

In verse 11, Soloman writes, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”

God has put eternity in the hearts of men. There is something more than just the monotonous seasons of life that we experience under the sun. There is more than just laboring and enjoying the here and now. We should live in the present; honoring, glorifying, and thanking God for everything; without forgetting about the eternity that He has put in our hearts.

I am thankful for the second part of verse 11. I’m glad that I don’t always understand what God is doing. That shows me He is a big God. If I could pinpoint everything God was doing all the time and could “read” His moves like I do a silly rom com with my wife, is He really a God deserving of my worship? I’m glad I can’t find out the work God is doing from beginning to end. This makes us reliant on Him through His miraculous and providential hand. It makes my faith grow because I know the foundation of His throne is righteousness and justice (Ps. 97).

Sometimes life just feels like a constant cycle of seasons that ends in 80 years when we return to dust. There is far more than just toiling and enjoying the fruit of your labor. God has put eternity in the hearts of men. God’s work endures forever. He doesn’t leave something unfinished. He is the captain of your salvation and the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 2 & 12). Would you place your trust in Christ and rest in the fact that there is nothing more you need to add to His work, but to simply receive the grace He is offering to you? After you do this, live for eternity and keep looking up. He is coming back soon.