Author: Christian Hile

Ephesians 1

Paul wrote this letter to the church at Ephesus. Not only did he write this letter to the church at Ephesus, but he discipled their first pastor, Timothy. Paul had a dear relationship with this church as well. He stayed in Ephesus for three years, the longest amount of time that Paul stayed anywhere on his missionary journeys. He is now writing this letter to them during his imprisonment in Rome.

As we read chapter 1 of Ephesians, we see it is dripping with foundational truths of Jesus’ love for you and for me. It is rich in theology and is the cause of much debate in the church today. Some topics we see are eternal security (v. 14), predestination (v. 5,11), and Jesus’ atonement (v. 7). The Bible teaches both predestination and man’s responsibility of free will by putting his/her trust in Christ for salvation. If we simply read verses 11-14 (NLT), we see the tension between God’s adoption of us (before the foundation of the world) and our responsibility to receive the free gift of salvation that he offers us:

“Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.”

By reading this text, we see that God both predestined us and gave us the ability to choose him or not. The evidence of our choice is that the Holy Spirit indwells us when we surrender our lives and trust in Chirst. So how do we reconcile these truths? Peter calls believers the “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:2). God the Father is omniscient, and He predestined those who would believe based on His knowing who would put their faith in Him. Now you may ask, how do I know if God predestined me? I heard Pastor Chuck Smith answer this question in a sermon saying something of this sort, “repent of your sins and turn to Christ and boom you were predestined!” God does not call us to reconcile every theological tension in the Bible; He calls us to believe and trust in Him.

I wanted to leave you with three ways God displays His love for you in this one chapter.

1. He Chose You (v. 4-5)
2. He Shed His Blood for You (v. 7)
3. He Sealed you With the Holy Spirit (v. 13-14)

Believer, rest in these three foundational truths that God chose you before the foundation of the world, He hung on a cross so you might be saved, and He sealed you with the Holy Spirit which is the guarantee of your inheritance. Rest in His love.

Galatians 4

The book of Galatians is a letter. When we keep that in mind, we should not be stumbled by the chapters and verses that were placed into this letter. It is a fluid writing and when we go from chapter 3 to chapter 4 and then on to chapter 5, Paul continues speaking about a main point and that is Grace v. the Law.
In chapter 3 Paul is sure to point out that the Law brings a curse on individuals and that we are justified by faith and not by the law. He also states that the Spirit of God came to men not by the law, but by faith. Paul is combatting an issue he has seen crop up in the Galatian church and that is that they are falling back into their old ways.

In chapter 4 Paul makes two declarative statements about the believer in Jesus Christ. First, he states, “we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free” (verse 31). He also states that we are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (verse 7). The only reason one could be called this is by faith, not by following the law because we can never be perfect. James, in his letter, mentions that if we break one part of the law, we are guilty of breaking the whole thing. The reason the Galatians are children of God is because they were given grace on account of their faith.

Paul’s fear is that the Galatians are “turning again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire to be in bondage?” (verse 9). The Galatians had been known by God, experienced His grace and were in danger of referring back to their old ways. I am not one to point fingers at them because how often do we fall back into trusting in our traditions? How often do we forget that our Salvation hangs on what Jesus did on the cross? How often do we want to say that Jesus + something = salvation? Paul could very well be writing the same thing to our church here in the United States.

So, what is the takeaway? The most important thing, when it comes to our Christian doctrine, is that our salvation is by grace alone in faith alone. Jesus + nothing = everything. We don’t add good deeds to our salvation. We don’t add baptism to our salvation. We don’t add confession or penance to our salvation. We stick to Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Now I will add that good works play a role in the believer’s life by means of sanctification, but that is a completely different doctrine. The believer should be baptized and should confess and repent of their sins individually or with another believer. But we must remember that our salvation is by our turning from sin and submission to Jesus.

Psalm 42

Psalm 42 is a classic psalm that has no doubt encouraged believers for thousands of years. This is a psalm people put on their fridge, hang on their walls, or even put on their church bulletins. The beautiful imagery and metaphor of the psalmist’s soul longing for God as a deer longs for water helps us understand foundational truths about God.

The Psalmist was far north of Jerusalem near Mount Hermon (v. 6) and the distance from God was making his soul downcast. To put christianese to these verses, the psalmist was feeling spiritually depressed. To further explain, he may have been feeling like he was in a spiritual dry spell. Not only is the distance causing the psalmist to feel downcast, but he has mockers and scoffers urging him to doubt the presence of his God saying, “Where is this God of yours?” (v. 3, 10). Lastly, in his sorrow he has a memory of how magnificent it was being in close proximity to the Lord and leading people in worship to the very temple where God inhabited.

How does the psalmist respond to his spiritual depression?

First, he questions himself. He searches himself and asks, “Why am I downcast, o my soul?”. Notice he doesn’t just roll over, cave and say, “Oh well. I am downcast and that’s all I’ll ever be”. Sometimes when we search ourselves, we can find the root of what’s causing this spiritual rut. But, this takes effort and a lot of us, myself included, have had times where we don’t want to have to deal with our own thoughts and put the work in to better ourselves. Second, he establishes his hope in the Lord (v. 5,11). This hope is not wishful thinking that things will get better. This hope is a confidence that things will get better because this hope is in a God who is a rock that is immovable. Lastly, the hope he has is evidenced by his action. He will praise the Lord even when he really doesn’t feel like it.

So how do you get out of a spiritual rut when it feels like you’re longing for God but can’t even get a drop of His presence? Crack open your Bible. It’s the same concept as when there is a person who is on a strict workout plan and they still go to the gym even when they are tired and don’t feel like it. The most important time to read your Bible is when you really don’t feel like it. Find your hope in a God who is immovable. Lift your hands in worship when you feel the resistance pulling them down. Please God.

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