Author: Christian Hile

2nd Corinthians 4

Have you ever felt that there is no way you can keep pushing in your own personal ministry? If your answer is yes, you are not alone. 2nd Corinthians is famously known as the letter where Paul defends his ministry to those who were slandering his name and his heavenly work. Sharing Jesus can be difficult when you have a defense you are playing against, this was Paul’s case, but it can also be difficult when you are not seeing the fruit of your work. I am here to encourage you that your value and your success in personal ministry is not based on how many decisions were made for Christ, or how many lives were changed, or how many people you impacted. Your success in sharing the Gospel is doing just that… sharing it. That is what Jesus calls us to do. He does not call us to save peoples souls (He does that work), but He calls us to be obedient when the Holy Spirit tugs our hearts to share the gospel.
In verse 3-4 we read,

“If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

Sometimes people do not respond to the gospel. It can be discouraging, but your success is in your obedience, not in their response.
Paul said that he was hard-pressed on every side but not crushed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down but not destroyed. Why did he and his ministry team have this perspective? Why did they always find the positive? The answer is in verse 14, “We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.” Their hope of heaven shifted their perspective on their current challenges.

Paul finished this section, and chapter, describing his present circumstances simply being a “light affliction” when compared to the glory that they will experience for eternity.

So, what’s the point here. When things are hard in personal ministry. When you are struggling breaking through to someone, when you are being persecuted, when it feels like you are being pressed from all sides, focus on eternity. It will shift your perspective and help you to continue to push through your negative circumstances currently. Don’t be ingenuine and deny that your life is hard. Rather, recognize that your circumstances are hard, and change your outlook by realizing they don’t compare to the blessing of spending eternity with Jesus.

Psalm 35 – Lessons from David

This psalm is a cry for vengeance. David has been slandered, offended, accused, and sinned against and this psalm is one where he is crying out to God to “make even” with his adversaries. The first lesson we see here is that David did not take matters into his own hands.

In our day and age, it is so easy to be accused or offended and immediately we reach for a sword to slash back. Go read any comment threads on Facebook or any other social media platform and you will see people getting vengeance. We need to learn from David and ask the Lord to do it on our behalf and to trust that someday Jesus will make His enemies (which are our enemies as well) His footstool.

Jesus states in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matt. 5: 38-39).

The context of this statement is in verbal accusations. Some passivists will use this as an example that people should not defend themselves at all. What this is trying to say is if someone insults you, turn your cheek and let them throw more insults. Don’t repay an insult with an insult. Speak life.
Read verse 13 and 14 again, “’But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart. I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.”

David mourned for them, he fasted on their behalf, and he interceded for them in their trials. He didn’t just turn his cheek, but spiritually, David went on offense for his adversaries.

To sum this all up, practically how do we respond when we are accused, shamed, or treated poorly by the world? In some cases, we need to defend ourselves and defend the faith, but in other cases it is better to relent and to actively show our love for those who persecute us (Matt. 5:44).

1 Corinthians 8 (Wednesday June 4th)
To preface this entire post, I want us all to read 1 Cor. 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Be above reproach. Be a man or woman of good reputation because you represent our great God.

If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, you have had the question okay well what do I do if the Bible doesn’t talk about a certain topic? For example, the Bible doesn’t always give us specific verses on if you can or cannot take in certain media, to smoke, to drink alcohol (the Bible clearly warns against getting drunk Eph. 5:18), and many other hot topics in our culture. So, what do we do?

This passage of scripture was specifically for the Corinthian church. There were many pagans turned Christians in this church. Something that they would have done in their previous worldview was to sacrifice meat to the various idols they worshipped. Then that same meat would be sold in the market. So, the Christians are now asking okay now that we worship Jesus, can we still eat this meat, or should we not eat this meat? Paul’s answer is simple. He says that some people have the knowledge in their heart and mind that all other idols are not true gods, therefore their conscience is not weak when they eat the meat that was offered to these idols. Then there are the people who may have practiced the actual offering before and their conscience is weak towards this practice because it reminds them of idolatry they previously committed.

So, let’s make this more personal. Say you had a sin struggle with getting drunk before you came to Christ for salvation. Now after you are a Christian, you understand that just having a drink is okay, but because you have abused it, your conscience is weak towards even having a drink. Obviously that Christian should not drink because going against their conscience would be sin.

Now, Paul goes back to everyone and clarifies some things.

1. Our freedom should not be a stumbling block for another Christian (v.9).
2. Give up your freedom for the sake of others (v.13).

So, to put this all together, there are some areas where you have freedom to trust your conscience that God created in you and the Spirit He put in you. BUT you should never favor your liberty over your brother and sister in Christ. AND you should be willing (not that you must) to give up your liberty, even though your conscience is not weak, for the sake of someone else.

Psalm 31

This psalm is very applicable to every single person who calls earth their home. You may ask, why are you wording it this way… Well, we live in a fallen world that was cursed back in Genesis 3:17, and not only was the ground cursed then, but sin has abounded in our world. Cancer, greed, heartbreak, covetousness, and every evil (or imperfect) thing is a result of the sin that Adam committed. So let’s study this Psalm and see how one of the greatest earthly kings of Israel handled his anguish.

Just by means of breaking this Psalm into chunks, we see in the first 5 verses David is requesting protection from the LORD. He exclaims truths that God is his rock, his fortress, and that God is faithful. The next three verses, (6-8) David is portraying his trust and faith in God as his protector. God listens and hears the cry of David.
Now, in verses 9-13 David starts to explain some of the symptoms of his life. He explains:
1. His body and soul are withering away
2. Sin has drained his strength
3. He is wasting away from within
4. His enemies are conspiring against him, plotting to take his life.

Through these verses, David explains both internal and external suffering and anguish. He mentions that his sin has drained his strength. In Psalm 51, David asks the Lord to restore to him the joy of his salvation. There are two truths here. The first being that our own sin can cause us suffering and internal anguish. The second truth is that our sin steals the joy that we once had… But God is faithful to forgive you when you come to Him and He is faithful to restore that joy to you.

The external suffering David faced, and that we face today, is often a result of other people sinning against us. We must remember that sin is simply missing the mark of God’s righteousness and holiness.
Now let’s apply this to our own lives.
1. When we sin and face internal anguish, we must keep short accounts with God (James 5:16, 1 John 1:9, Ps. 32:1-5).
2. We must forgive others so we can also be forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15).
3. We must continuously praise God and seek Him as our refuge and rock (Ps. 31:3,21)

Romans 12
This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but forgive me for getting to it today. This post will be on Romans 12 and all that Paul writes within this chapter.

Paul starts off by telling us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service. Now why is this our reasonable service to Him? Well, first we must remember that we are a royal priesthood as Peter would describe us in 1 Peter 2:9, and one of the roles of the priests was to offer sacrifices. We must not think that we offer ourselves as a sacrifice and therefore work for our salvation, but it is our reasonable service because of the sacrifice that Jesus already offered. In Romans 11:33 Paul says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out?” This verse lays the context of why we worship God by sacrificing our bodies and our lives to Him. I have heard it said before, if we knew everything about God and understood everything about Him, then He would not be a God worth worshipping. A sacrifice as substantial as our own bodies is reasonable because of God’s holy, just, righteous, merciful, and gracious character (to name a few of His attributes). 
Paul then adds that we should “…not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Now, as we sacrifice our bodies to God, submitting to Him, and as we renew our minds with things above (Phil. 4:8), there should be results. We should notice that the gifts given to us by God’s grace are used for the sake of other people. We should notice a unity within our Christian community with Jesus as the head. We should notice that we are carrying out vv. 9-21. Lastly, we should be people who love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul and mind; and people who love their neighbor as themselves. It all starts with humility.

The Lords Ways are Higher
Acts 28:1-10

The context of this passage of scripture is that Paul, along with other prisoners, had started their voyage to Rome. Shortly, after they had started their voyage, Luke describes a tempestuous storm arising. It is likely that Luke was with Paul at this time as we see him use the words “we” and “us”. The seas raged and the boat went shipwrecked. We see that the soldiers had planned to kill the prisoners because they didn’t want any of them to escape, but there was a centurion who wanted to save Paul. We see that this centurion made sure they all survived and made it to land safely.

This sounds like a rough situation and things are not going according to plan, but we must read this passage, and go through life, with a higher perspective. Paul ends up on an island called Malta, and we see again something drastic happens. The NKJV says in verse 3 that a viper came out of a bundle of sticks and bit Paul on the hand. The natives viewed Paul as a murderer because he couldn’t seem to escape death. Miraculously, Paul was okay and the natives quickly shifted their view of Paul to being a god.

As we continue reading our passage, we see that a certain leading citizen’s father was very sick. Paul laid hands and prayed, and the Lord healed the man. Many others then came and got healed as well.

Sometimes our circumstances don’t make sense to us, but they make complete sense to God. Isaiah 55:8-9 reads, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Maybe something is going very south in your life and you just don’t quite understand why. Maybe you felt an urge to move somewhere, and you don’t get it. Maybe you lost your job, and you feel like the world is crashing down around you. God’s plans are greater than our plans. His will is better than our will. He loves you and will always take care of His kids. He is a good God and holds all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3 NKJV). Have perspective as you face tumultuous circumstances and submit yourself to God’s will.

*Written by Delaney Bandy

Acts 24 covers approximately 2 years of time surrounding Paul’s trial before Governor Felix in Caesarea Maritima.

Paul’s accusers made their case against him by standing before Felix, the governor, and his wife, Drusilla. They condemned him for being the “ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” Deeming him as dangerous, they claimed that he had defiled the temple (v. 1-7).

Once the governor allowed Paul to speak, he defended himself by sharing his testimony. He explained that he had not been there long and that there was no evidence of their claims, but he confessed to being a follower of Jesus, that he agreed with the Jewish Law and what the Prophets spoke (v. 10-21).

Felix decided to delay his judgement of Paul’s case as he wanted to wait for Lysias, the commander, to make a decision. In the meantime, he opted to keep Paul in custody, with the exception of seeing his friends (v. 22-23).

A few days passed, and Felix sent for Paul concerning his faith in Christ. Paul shared his faith, about righteousness, self-control, and the judgement to come. Felix was scared of impending judgement, and he sent Paul away. He told him that he would summon him back (v. 24-25). Felix’s motives surrounding the situation were to be given money for Paul’s release, so he often called him back to converse. After 2 years, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and to do the Jews a favor, Felix decided to leave Paul in prison (v. 26-27).

We can glean a lot from this chapter as Paul remains steadfast in his defense of the gospel, even in the face of criticism and false accusations. Acts 24:14-16 says, “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.”

Paul describes Jesus in verse 14 as “the Way.” He believed that Jesus’ claims were consistent with the Law and the Prophets. In John 14:6, Jesus states “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

In the divided, pessimistic world we live in, may we stand firm in the faith by sharing our testimonies and sticking to our convictions even in the face of criticism. Putting ourselves in the position of Paul, nothing is more frustrating than being deemed a liar or being punished for something you did not commit.

The Lord is a keeper of His promises, and although the Christian walk can feel lonely and isolating, our Father in heaven desires for us to endure in suffering and give Him glory.

John 15:18-25, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

*Written by Delaney Bandy

Acts 18

This chapter of Acts shows us some characteristics of a godly marriage. Before we talk about that, lets first set some context. Verse 1 tells us that Paul arrived in Corinth after he had left Athens. He was in Athens preaching Christ to certain philosophers and then left Athens on a somewhat good note… Getting mocked is the least of Paul’s concerns on his missionary journeys.

Corinth was a very influential roman city best known for its immorality. It was a very wealthy trade city that had a significant cultural influence. The last thing to mention on Corinth was that this was also a very pagan city. Just as Paul is getting acquainted with this city, he meets two people Priscilla and her husband Aquila.

The rest of this post will focus on these two individuals. We see from our passage in verse 2, Aquila and Priscilla were Jews who left Italy because of an order from Claudius Ceaser that all Jews must leave Rome. Once again, we see God turn what the enemy meant for evil into something very good. Our first point to notice is that Priscilla and Aquila displayed their love for Jesus through their hospitality to their brother, Paul. Aquila and Priscilla not only worked with Paul, but they opened their home to him. As I first read this I think, “well that’s so kind of them for hosting him so he can get on his feet!” And then I read verse 11, realizing that Aquila and Priscilla hosted Paul for a year and a half. That is hospitality.

I keep reading and see that in verse 18, Aquila and Priscilla leave their post in Corinth to continue on Paul’s missionary journey. They established churches in Corinth (Acts 18:1-11; 1 Cor. 16:19-20, Ephesus (Acts 18:19; 2 Tim. 4:19, and Rome (Romans 16: 3-5). The second point to mention of this couple is that they were fully devoted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In Romans 16:4 Paul mentioned that they had “risked their necks” for his life. They were willing to put everything on the line for Jesus, even their life.

The last point is that Aquila and Priscilla were devoted to the teaching of proper doctrine! They met an eloquent speaker named Apollos in Ephesus. The NKJV states in Acts 18:25 that Apollos was “instructed in the way of the Lord” and “taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.” Aquila and Priscilla took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

To conclude, Aquila and Priscilla give us three traits that make a godly marriage. The first is being hospitable, the second is being fully devoted to the Gospel, and the third is being devoted to the teaching of proper doctrine. If you are married, evaluate your marriage with your spouse. If you are engaged prepare with your future spouse. If you’re single or dating use these characteristics to evaluate if your potential spouse will be your partner in a godly marriage!

Acts 8

The eighth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles comes shortly after a very tragic event. This chapter shows the aftermath of a massive persecution that began to take place in the early church, namely Jerusalem. Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5), was one of the seven deacons chosen to help solve the neglection of the Hellenist (Greek) widows in the daily distribution. Stephen, a wise man of good reputation, was giving a sermon to those Jews who opposed Christianity, and let’s just say it was not taken well. Stephen stated in Acts 7:51, referring to these Jews, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” The word says that they were cut to the heart and actually gnashed at Stephen. They stoned Stephen for the words he faithfully said to them, and this marked the start of a vast persecution with a man named Saul at the center of it.

Now that we have set the scene, lets dive into our text for today! We will be looking at Acts 8:1-8! Please go ahead and read this passage now!

Now that we have our context, we see that Saul was the one consenting to Stephen’s death and a leader of this “great persecution”. The NKJV says that Saul was making “havoc” of the church, the NLT states that Saul was “destroying” the church, and the ESV states that Saul was “ravaging” the church. However you want to describe it, we can recognize that this was a major persecution. This wasn’t just name calling or boycotting Christian marketplaces, this was separating Christian homes and dragging men and women alike to prison. Often, similar to Stephen, Christians were killed for their faith. I don’t want to belittle the pain caused by name-calling or other forms of persecution, rather I want to emphasize the magnitude of this persecution in Acts 7 and 8. I want to fast forward to Acts 9:4 and share what Jesus said about this persecution. He stated, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Now you may be thinking, what does this have to do with anything. Well, it gives us the comfort knowing we are not alone in our persecution because the persecution is against our Father also. Additionally, Jesus states in John 15:18, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first” (NLT). You are not alone in persecution!

Acts 8:2 states that this great persecution scattered Christians throughout the regions of Samaria and Judea. The main lesson to learn from this passage is that God will take even the worst things in this world and use them for His glory! Read verse 4. It says that as people were being scattered because of persecution, the Word was preached. Jesus used this debilitating experience to fulfill his prophecy in Acts 1:8 when He said, “…and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” We see the result of the faithful, sacrificial preaching of God’s word was people being saved, healed, delivered, and encouraged! I want to leave you with this verse from Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Nothing can ever separate you from the Love of God. You are not alone in trials, tribulations, and persecutions. You never know how God will use your circumstances for His glory!

Psalm 10

Most scholars believe that Psalm 10 and Psalm 9 were originally 1 psalm in the Greek Septuagint, and somewhere along time, they got separated into two different psalms. This psalm should be attributed to David and is another great psalm of him crying out to God to avenge his oppressors. He starts the psalm by asking God, “Why do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do you hide in times of trouble?” David then spends the better half of this psalm explaining the character traits of the wicked. They are proud, boastful, deceiving, cursing, workers of iniquity, unrighteous, and oppressive. Maybe worst of all, David describes them as people who do not believe God will require an account of them. This displays their actions and motives holistically. If someone does not believe that there are consequences for their actions, then they are their own judge and will do whatever they want. Let me be straight with anyone reading this. Your sin will find you out, and if you die separated from God, with no atonement, you will be punished for your sinful activity by reaping eternal punishment in hell. The beautiful thing is that you do not have to die separated. Jesus provided the way out when He bled and died on a cross 2,000 years ago!

For the rest of this short post, lets focus on how David feels during this oppression. Often when bad things are happening in the world, we ask a couple of questions. Where are you God? Why is this happening to me? Why do these horrific things happen to such good people? My mentor always says, “bad things are not indicative of a bad God, but a bad world.” I believe this is true. Sometimes we can’t find Him because we aren’t looking or listening. Other times it’s because we are looking or listening to the wrong things. Still, other times, God wants us to remain under trials for the strengthening of our faith.

God is working on His own timeline called eternity. We humans are very fickle, and we want things a certain way. We want oppressors punished right now! We want the Lord to handle this family strife right now! We want our food right now, so we throw it in the microwave! God works things out for our good and for His glory, only in His timing. He will avenge the oppression, but in His timing.

So how can there be so much evil if God is the King forever and ever? Well, the Bible portrays Satan as the prince of the air (Eph. 2:2) and as the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). Satan’s goal is to steal, kill, and destroy everything you own, love, and cherish. Go read Job’s story for more information. His goal is to drag as many people to hell with him as he can. So, the result of that is sometimes our world can look like hell. But for us as believers, this world is as bad as it gets.

Now quickly read verses 14-18 with me. David trusts the Lord even when he doesn’t hear God or see Him acting. God is observing our trouble and grief, He is the Father of the fatherless, He is King forever and ever, and He hears every single prayer that you pray. Sometimes we cannot explain why God allows certain things to happen, but we have faith and trust that He is still a good, sovereign, trustworthy God because He works all things together for good to those who love God and who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8: 28).