Erskine
Live For God
‘He wants your heart,’ chaplain tells students Interim Chaplain Joshua Chiles led an Erskine College chapel service Oct. 1, speaking on the role personal charac- ter plays in a relationship with God.
“He wants your heart,” Chiles told the students, add- ing, “God wants to use your life.” Chiles preached from 2 Chronicles 12, examining King Rehoboam’s lack of character. In the scripture account, Shishak, king of Egypt, takes away the golden shields Re- hoboam’s father, Solomon, had made, and Rehoboam re- places them with bronze shields. The passage explains that this happened because Rehoboam turned his back on the law of God after inheriting the kingdom of Israel from his father and grandfather.
Speaking about the shields, Chiles told his audience that they should strive to be like gold, a precious metal, rather than like bronze, a common and less valuable alloy. Too often, he said, people settle for the common so they can be accepted by others. Believers should live in a way that is worthy of their inheritance in Christ. “Do you want to be popular with people, or do you want to be popular with God?” he asked. God: “divine power over human effort,” “committed liv- ing over carnal living,” “genuine over generic,” “examples over excuses,” and “repentance over appearance.”
Joshua Chiles was appointed Interim Chaplain in July 2020. He previously served Erskine College as Assistant Director for Recruiting and Athletics Chaplain. A graduate of Gardner-Webb University, he earned the Master of Divinity degree at Erskine Theological Seminary. In addition to conducting chapel sessions, counseling students, and serving in other capacities as needed, the interim chaplain sends out a scripture-based devotional for students, faculty, and staff each Monday morning, offering wisdom and encouragement for the week. Currently working on a Doctor of Ministry degree at Erskine Seminary, Chiles serves as lead pastor of The Life Center in Abbeville, South Carolina, and is a certi- - ents of two children.
Chiles said that God must be the driving force in the Chris- tian’s life. The believer should not try to live independent- ly of God’s power because “you will never be in a place where you do not need God.”
Chiles also exhorted students to be committed to the eternal God rather than to temporary pleasure. This com- mitment will lead believers to stand out in the culture; however, it is better to be “genuine” in faith, pleasing God, should strive to lead by example, not making excuses or blaming others for their problems. appearance.” He used a story from his childhood to dem- onstrate that people should be less worried about their appearance and popularity. When Chiles was a teenager, he wanted a gold chain to impress his friends but could not afford one. To keep up appearances, he bought a fake chain that looked genuine. This chain caused his neck to break out in hives. Chiles explained that this was the mo- ment he realized that appearance is not important. Popu- of our lives. Instead of focusing on outward appearance, believers should focus on repentance of sin and relation- ship with God. “Are you giving yourself to God?” Chiles asked the chapel audience.
Glorifying God as a Christian Academic Community January/February 2021 11
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