Wayne Stiles's Blog, page 40
October 16, 2017
Chorazin—Sitting in the Seat but Missing the Message
Jesus explains why leadership remains a privilege, not a prerogative.
Leadership in any form is a place of honor because of one reason only. You won’t see that reason in the world’s system where leadership often stands upside down. A small town in Galilee reminds us how to keep it upright.
(Photo: Chorazin’s ruins hide at center left. Courtesy of Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
From a distance, Chorazin seems like it’s hiding. I don’t blame it for trying. After all, it remains one of the t...
October 11, 2017
How to Show Love When Others Don’t Love You
The motivation has to come from somewhere else.
Who is the person you struggle to love? Let me ask it another way. How do we show love when we don’t feel like it? We reach out with the goal of love without expecting any love in return. That’s hard.
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)
Some years ago I found myself at odds with another person after a conversation went south. This individual spoke severely to our daughter, and I confronted this person with the truth—but in anger, and I failed to speak...
October 9, 2017
How the Pool of Siloam Helps us Connect Sukkot and the Messiah
Jesus' invitation on the Feast of Tabernacles offers life abundantly.
Do you like to camp? Anybody who has ever gone camping knows that we forgo major conveniences. The Feast of Tabernacles required similar sacrifices. In fact, it remains a timeless reminder that everything we possess—both physically and spiritually—comes from God.
(Photo: Western Wall at Sukkot. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
Of all places, an ancient pool in Jerusalem—the Pool of Siloam—helps us connect S...
The Pool of Siloam Helps us Connect Sukkot and the Messiah
Jesus' invitation on the Feast of Tabernacles offers life abundantly.
Do you like to camp? Anybody who has ever gone camping knows that we forgo major conveniences. The Feast of Tabernacles required similar sacrifices. In fact, it remains a timeless reminder that everything we possess—both physically and spiritually—comes from God.
(Photo: Western Wall at Sukkot. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
Of all places, an ancient pool in Jerusalem—the Pool of Siloam—helps us connect S...
October 4, 2017
The Beautiful Garden of Eden that Will Make You Sad
It's probably not where you think it is.
Do you like snakes? Me, not so much. Whether it’s a “good snake” or a bad snake, I tend to err on the side of caution (especially with ladies in the house). After all, even the Garden of Eden had snakes.
(Photo: Euphrates River. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
Have you thought about Eve, standing there in paradise, conversing with a forked-tongued reptile with no eyelids? Ew!
But it’s essential we remember even Eden had snakes. Why s...
October 2, 2017
How to Look Past Monday to Eternity
This life is only the foyer to forever. God made us for eternity.
It’s hard to look past Monday to eternity. But Monday will be better if you do. The road of our lives leads to death. Yes, but it never ends there. Our soul bounces and it never slows down.
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)
Heaven will have the bright streets of gold and the pearly gates and the awesome beauty of an unspoiled place. But these things are only the stage upon which the joy of eternity occurs.
Perhaps you have discovere...
September 27, 2017
The Eye-Opening Results You’ll Discover by Using Maps in Your Bible Reading
How a good atlas can serve as your biblical GPS
How do you know which way to go when your smartphone has no service? Just this week, Cathy and I faced this problem as we drove through Glacier National Park with some friends. So, we used something I hadn’t used in years. An actual roadmap.
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)
Amazingly, the roadmap worked! We made our way just fine. (Back to the service of our smartphone satellites.)
It struck me how we don’t have a GPS for our understanding of Bibl...
September 25, 2017
When God Finally Gives You Want You’ve Begged For
Remember that some of the Lord's most gracious answers are nos.
Got any unanswered prayers? That may be a good thing. Sometimes the only thing worse than God refusing to give us what we want occurs when He gives us want we want.
(Photo by Photodune)
Many years ago, our young daughter had only one thing on her mind.
She knew we planned an Easter egg hunt, and she asked if she could eat lots of candy on Easter. We told her no, but she kept after us, day after day. Easter came and she continued...
September 20, 2017
God’s Incredible Plan Includes Your Ordinary Days
The Dothan Valley shows how our God wastes no experience in our lives.
Sometimes the ordinary days make us wonder if God has forgotten us. After all, when we read the Bible (or Facebook), it all seems so exciting. God is working! Our lives, on the other hand, seem exceedingly boring.
(Photo: Dothan Valley, where Joseph’s brothers sold him. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
But the events in Joseph’s ordinary day in the Dothan Valley revealed God behind the scenes.
Jacob’s 10...
September 18, 2017
The Amazing Blessing of Your Average Life
Sometimes the blessing comes with a simple change of perspective.
Would you say your life is average? More ho-hum than awesome? You’re not alone. You’ve probably noticed, but very few people attain stardom status in life. That’s probably a good thing.
(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)
Solomon’s words, “money is the answer to everything,” come from an earthly perspective (Ecc. 10:19). Among the rich and famous, so few find satisfaction—even in their success.
For some reason, it seems uncommon for...
