Wayne Stiles's Blog, page 31
July 23, 2018
Land O Goshen! Why it Seems Like the Wheels are Coming Off
Hope for the day when God will again draw the line.
The curious phrase: “Land O Goshen!” is a way folks in the southern US expressed amazement or angst. As we look at today’s world, the biblical land of Goshen gives us good reason for amazement and frustration.
(Photo: Land of Goshen in Eastern Nile Delta. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
As Christians in a fallen world, it’s easy to feel like the wheels are coming off of God’s plan. After all:
Morality is optional. Truth is...
July 18, 2018
Valley of Achor: How to Change Your Trouble to Triumph
Why You Should Never Give up if You're in a Hopeless Place
Some places in life have hard memories. Maybe it was your hometown or even your home. The events associated with those places taint their memories. The Valley of Achor was such a site.
(Photo: The Wadi Qilt, perhaps the Valley of Achor. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
After Joshua’s victory at Jericho, the Israelites suffered defeat at Ai because a man named Achan had buried banned spoils of war under his tent (Joshu...
July 16, 2018
The Secret to Revealing the Lies of Temptation
Learning from Jesus at the Pinnacle of the Temple
Temptation is hard. That’s because the lies of temptation sound so convincing. When Jesus stood on the pinnacle of the Temple, He faced temptation with a wisdom we also can apply.
(Photo: Temple Mount southwestern corner. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
Some believe the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem represents the pinnacle where Satan dangled temptation before Jesus (Luke 4:9). Satan is the best markete...
July 9, 2018
Your Truth, My Truth, and The Truth
Why it all boils down to one question.
Are you pretty good at discerning right and wrong? It takes authority to figure that out. We all live under authority. Whether a government or an employer, a parent or a policeman, rules rule over us and disobedience has its consequences. It’s the truth.
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)
We may endure it and submit to it, because we feel we have to. Or because it’s easier than the alternatives—like, say, defecting to Canada or changing churches or jobs or fa...
June 25, 2018
Tel Arad—Israel’s Point of Impatience with God
How traveling along the path of the unknown gives us the chance to give God greater glory.
At Tel Arad, the whole land of Canaan lay before the Hebrews. They had waited and wandered forty years in the wilderness. The Promised Land was theirs for the taking. Right there before them!
(Photo: Arad Israelite fort, courtesy of Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
Instead, God led the Hebrews on a major detour.
Tel Arad in Israel’s Negev offers many benefits to its visitors. It’s an oasis of ancient a...
June 24, 2018
The Aging Brain: Proven Steps to Prevent Dementia and Sharpen Your Mind [Book]
The Aging Brain: Proven Steps to Prevent Dementia and Sharpen Your Mind by Timothy R. Jennings MD (Baker, 2018) Fascinating and enlightening, The Aging Brain opened my eyes to more reasons to choose a healthy lifestyle. The book focuses primarily on countering the effects of dementia, and the good news is that we needn’t necessarily surrender to inevitability with regard to this disease of the brain. Healthy choices make a difference. Exercise, proper eating and sleeping...
June 23, 2018
Why Forgiving Someone is Hard and How to Really Do It
2 truths remain essential if we hope to move on.
Would you like to hold a grudge with God’s blessing? Wouldn’t it be great to know exactly how much of the same guff you had to take from someone until you no longer had to forgive?
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)
The problem with forgiving is that the debt is real.
Your parents neglected or even abused you. Your spouse betrayed your wedding vows. Your best friends backstabbed you. Someone hurt you so deeply you feel you may never recover.The de...
June 18, 2018
How Jerusalem’s Mountains are Like God’s Presence in Your Life
Jerusalem's Geography Can Relieve Your Doubts
Life is full of moments that expose our doubts. In spite of all the Scripture we’ve learned and all the past victories the Lord has given us, occasionally something will happen that causes serious doubt.
(Photo: Jerusalem’s Temple Mount near sunset. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
Maybe it’s a financial situation that undercuts future security. Or it might be a miserable marriage. Perhaps it’s a pastor or a leader who has failed....
June 13, 2018
How to Breathe When God Steps on Your Air Hose
Habakkuk Helps Us Turn Our Panic to Peace
We aren’t surprised when we see people sidestep God. What shocks us, however, is when God seems to ignore people. The God of the Bible isn’t a far-off deity. So why does He seem so uninvolved?
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com)
God’s response to people’s non-response to Him seems conspicuous by its absence. For those of us who believe in God, it’s tough to breathe when it seems like God is stepping on our air hose.
A prophet with a funny name helps us t...
June 11, 2018
How to Apply those Odd Canaanite Names and Places
2 Lessons from People that Don't Seem to Matter (But Do)
All my life as I’ve studied the Bible and heard it taught, reading the odd list of Canaanite names feels like driving over potholes. I think, Why doesn’t somebody fill in those holes? Why should I care about the Canaanites this week?
(Photo: Megiddo’s Canaanite temple and sacrificial altar. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
In fact, most of the time when I hear preachers read the list of “Canaanites, Hittites, and Jebusi...
