Wayne Stiles's Blog, page 57

What are You Doing on Labor Day? [Snippet]

What are You Doing on Labor Day?

Here in the United States, today is Labor Day—a national holiday. (To me, that also applies to blogs.)

According to the US Department of Labor:

Labor Day . . . constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions [American] workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

I hope you also have the day off and can enjoy time with family, in the yard, or with a good book.

(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)

Question: What did y...

Kiriath Jearim—A Noteworthy Hill Nobody Notices

A reminder that God gave His Word for a reason.

It’s a place between important places. Few individuals, if any, journey there directly. Most would miss it, in fact, if they didn’t know to look. Yet Kiriath Jearim was profoundly significant.

(Photo: Kiriath Jearim, Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.)

Modern commuters along Israel’s Route 1 drive by the site every day, their minds on their routines. Even tour buses rarely point to the place, much less stop there.

The tourists who...

What Is Reformed Theology?: Understanding the Basics [Book]

What Is Reformed Theology?: Understanding the Basics by R. C. Sproul (Baker Publishing Group, 2016) This repackaged version of Sproul’s 1997 classic What is Reformed Theology? is, in Sproul’s own words, “a shorthand introduction to the crystallized essence of Reformation Theology.”

Much of what Sproul refers to as foundations of reformed theology might better be understood as the theology of the reformers—namely that it is centered on God, based on God’s Word alone, comm...

How to Take Your Accountability to God Seriously

Amos' words to Samaria offer wisdom to our lives.

We don’t like accountability. Oh, we like the idea of accountability. For governing officials. For pastors and priests. For bankers and doctors. But personally? Uh, no thanks.

(Photo: Ruins atop Samaria’s acropolis mark the kings’ administrative center. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

From the pages of Scripture, an unlikely prophet named Amos helps us learn why our refusal to accept personal accountability is more than simpl...

A Different Kind of Happiness: Discovering the Joy That Comes from Sacrificial Love [Book]

A Different Kind of Happiness: Discovering the Joy That Comes from Sacrificial Love by Larry Crabb (Baker, 2016) Larry Crabb has written one of the best books I’ve read all year. He describes the narrow way of Jesus’ teaching to include the hard work that true love requires –with a reward that is unmeasurable. In his own words:

I’ve written this book to think through what it means to really love and to explore the truth that sets us free to relate closer to the way we wi...

2 Essential Choices Help Destroy the Painful Void in Your Life

Everything else only deepens the chasm.

I love how some homeowners chose to deal with their drought-dried lawns. They paced their yards with green spray paint, and they had lawns to dye for. No more watering. No mowing. Just fake, green grass all summer.

(Photo courtesy of Unsplash)

Actually, such innovation applies beyond the front yard straight into the human heart.

On the surface, most of us look vibrant, successful, content, and happy. And except for the occasional “scene”—when the truth...

How to Resist Temptation Like Jesus

The Lord's strategy in the Judean Wilderness also works today.

Everybody faces temptation. And on some level, everybody has fallen to it. Everybody but Jesus. I have walked in the wilderness where Satan tempted Jesus.

(Photo: Judean wilderness. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Good grief, what a place. As far as my eye could see, it was empty, dry, and depressing. I tried to imagine the solitude and struggle Jesus would have endured for over a month. But I could not.

How did...

Why Your Life of Faith Has Gaps

What we must understand if we hope to maintain a life of faith.

The Bible doesn’t tell us everything. Not even close. That’s because there are huge gaps between most events. Oh, to be sure, the Bible tells us all we need to know. But it leaves out most of the details that scratch our curious itches.

(Photo: The Zin Valley in the Aravah of Israel. Picture by Noam Armonn)

For starters:

What did Jesus look like? Was Nehemiah bowlegged? Did Martha have a sidesplitting laugh? Was David more hands...

Get My New AUDIOBOOK Early-Bird Discount Now

This week only, I’m launching my new audiobook, Waiting on God: What to Do When God Does Nothing at a fantastic early-bird discount for my blog readers. I’m even throwing in a special bonus!

(The audiobook is a digital download only, giving you instant access. This image is for illustration purposes.)

GET IT NOW!

What do you do when the life God has promised you looks nothing like the life he has given you? We want to know God’s plan so that we can trust the plan—but often God hides his plan...

I’ve Been Waiting for This for a Year

My new Waiting on God Unabridged Audiobook releases Monday

Hard to believe, but my book, Waiting on God: What to Do When God Does Nothing, released a whole year ago. And for a whole year, I’ve been waiting to make available the unabridged audiobook. Why?

My publisher required I wait a year to release the audiobook, but the wait is over!

Next week, I’m launching the audiobook only to my blog readers at an early-bird price that represents a ridiculous savings off what retailers will sell the a...