Author: Christian Hile

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).

John 18

This chapter of John’s gospel follows Jesus’ prayer for both you and I as believers in Him. Following this prayer in chapter 17, Jesus and His disciples got up and crossed over the Brook Kidron where there was a garden called Gethsemane. This garden was at the foot of the Mount of Olives where Jesus ascended to heaven and where He will return someday. This scene is where Judas’ betrayal of Jesus started to materialize.

Judas, along with a detachment of troops from the pharisees and high priests came to seize Jesus and to take him to be judged before Annas, Caiaphas (the high priest), and then Pilate (Roman governor). The religious leaders found Jesus as an “evildoer” (v. 30 NKJV), but they could not put Jesus to death according to their law (v. 31). Then they took Jesus before the roman governor Pontius Pilate, persistently seeking for Jesus to be killed. The first thing Pilate asks is, “Are you the king of the Jews?” (v. 33). Jesus answers Pilate’s question in verse 37 boldly claiming His kingship and His purpose for coming to the world: to “bear witness to the truth”.

Quite possibly one of the sadder quotations found in the Bible comes after this. Pilate asks, “What is truth?” and then left before he got the answer from the Messiah himself.

God has preserved His scriptures for thousands of years so that you and I may know the truth and this is it:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3: 16-21)

God took on flesh to dwell among us, to live a perfect life, to die on a cross, and to rise again conquering both sin and death. You are not too far gone. Read Paul’s words to Timothy,

“… Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. ‘However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” (1 Timothy 1: 15-16)

God is patient, He does not condemn. He does not throw shame and guilt. You haven’t strayed too far for God to forgive you. You don’t earn your salvation; you receive it as a gift. Don’t move on with your day before understanding and knowing the truth. Don’t leave without understanding it. Don’t be Pilate.

John 8

This chapter of John’s gospel has a multitude of themes from condemnation, legalism, and forgiveness (vv. 1-12) to Jesus’ indisputable ‘I AM’ statement declaring His divinity (v. 58). We see other truths throughout this chapter including how our sonship is characterized by our actions and our actions display who our father is, Satan or God (vv. 37-47). Don’t take this passage the wrong way. Just because you are a child of God does not mean you will be sinless, but as the individual matures in their walk, he/she should sin less as a byproduct of their faith. Within this chapter, Jesus also prophecies that the Jews (a term in this passage used for the pharisees) will be the ones who have Jesus crucified (vv. 21-30). For the sake of time, the remainder of this post will examine verses 1-12.

It is always important to start with the context of any passage so we can get the full picture. The setting of John 7 is the Jew’s Feast of Tabernacles (John 7: 2, 37) and as we continue reading into chapter 8, the celebrations had concluded, but no doubt many people had remained in Jerusalem for the night and then woke up at dawn to hear the Rabbi Jesus speak in the temple in Jerusalem (John 8: 2). Then here come the pharisees bringing a woman who was caught in the act of adultery trying to trap Jesus in his sayings (If only they knew Jesus was God and could not be trapped). This is the trap: if Jesus told them to stone the woman, He would have broken Roman law that disallowed the Jews to carry out their own executions (John 18:31), but if He told them not to stone the woman, then He would have broken Jewish law (Deut. 22:22-23. Note that this law is for both man and woman to be stoned and is for certain circumstances).

Jesus calmly starts writing in the dirt. It is unknown what He is writing, but some believe the ten commandments and others believe the accusers’ names and sins. Jesus upholds the Jewish law by permitting the stoning, but He found a loophole. Jesus, knowing the conscience He put in man states, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” One by one the accusers left. When Jesus and the woman were alone, Jesus confronted her sin with compassion, mercy, and gentleness stating, “neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” No doubt this is a staple for how we ought to display compassion and mercy to others, but it also shows us to not condone sin in others’ lives. This is the idea of speaking truth in love to our believing friends and family members who have fallen into a sinful lifestyle. We act and speak with grace and mercy, not in condemnation. It is the Holy Spirit’s responsibility to convict the person, but it is our responsibility to bear their burdens with them.

Tools to help us in confronting sin in our believing friends lives
1. Display Jesus’ compassion, mercy, and forgiveness (John 8: 11)
2. Act with a spirit of humility and gentleness (Galatians 6:1)
3. Be careful not to be tempted and fall into sin as well (Galatians 6:1)
4. Fulfill the law of Christ: Loving God by Loving your Neighbor (Galatians 6: 2)
5. The Truth is what sets a person free, not a set of strategies (John 8: 31-32)
6. Be patient and pray earnestly (2 Peter 3:9, Colossians 4:2)

My prayer for you all would be to not take my word for it, but to vigilantly search the scriptures like the Bereans in Acts 17!