Wayne Stiles's Blog, page 72

Tel Dan Stele—Providential Ironies in Favor of King David

How a stone inscription offers encouragement to your spiritual life.

Sometimes archaeology offers marvelous vindications to biblical history. The ancient site of Tel Dan has a large, rock wall—a city gate from the time of Solomon’s temple.

(Photo: Tel Dan Iron Age gate near where the stele was discovered. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Likely built by King Ahab in the 9th century BC, this Iron Age entrance helped to fortify the city of Dan. And for good reason. The ninth an...

Get the Best Pictures of the Holy Land

Today only you can save 25% off all volumes!

When people ask me where to find the best pictures of the Holy Land, I have only one answer: the “Israel Collection.” Today only, the Pictorial Library of Bible lands is available to you at a bargain.

GET 25% off— with this coupon code: STILES25

Keep reading this post. Better still, get my full posts the easy way when you SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG. When you do, I’ll also send you my FREE e-book!

Parables: The Mysteries of God’s Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus Told [Book]

Parables: The Mysteries of God’s Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus Told by John MacArthur (Thomas Nelson, 2015) The most significant chapters of John MacArthur’s book on Parables are the first two—plus the introduction. These explain why Jesus taught in parables—or rather, why He switched from direct discourseto parables. The controversies in Matthew chapters 12-13 show the Pharisees attributing Jesus’ miracles to Satan rather than to the Holy Spirit. Jesus, und...

My New Audiobook—Going Places With God

I am celebrating the release of my new unabridged audiobook, Going Places with God. Give it a click for more information on how you can get a copy!

Each of these 90 audio devotionals (read by me) will help you enjoy:

A daily devotional on a biblical site An inspirational quote from well-known authors A personal prayer to jump-start your day

This complete 90-day unabridged audiobook also allows you to experience a 45-minute devotional travelogue with applications from firsthand travel in th...

Black Friday Special: My New Audiobook—Going Places With God

Get 40% OFF before midnight Sunday!

I am celebrating the release of my new unabridged audiobook, Going Places with God, by offering a deep discount to you, my blog readers. If you buy the audiobook this weekend only, you’ll save 40%.

(This unabridged audiobook is a digital download—giving you immediate access to the content.)

Amazon will sell this audiobook next week for $17.00. But I’m offering it to you this weekend only for $10.20. That’s a 40% discount!

Just apply this discount code at ch...

Thankfulness Comes from One Simple Word

How your loss carries with it perspective that brings gratitude.

This week we tend to focus on thankfulness for all we have. But sometimes it helps also to think about what we’ve lost. Loss carries with it a perspective that makes us grateful like few other things can.

(Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com)

I’ve come to understand how loss in life is one of God’s greatest ways to cultivate a grateful heart.

Have you lost something important? Thankfulness comes from one simple word.

Keep reading thi...

Why Being Around Smarter People is a Good Thing

4 Reasons It’s Good to Put All the Eggheads in One Basket

We livein a world of image, ego, and selfie sticks. Social media allows us to hide the truth that we don’t have it all together. The worst place for this feeling (other than church)? Conferences.

(Photo by Photodune)

Whether I go to a conference on writing, theology, broadcasting, or blogging, I fight the selfie stick syndrome. You probably do too. Smarter people are everywhere.

Here’s why it’s good for us to struggle with being aroun...

Chorazin—Sitting in the Seat but Missing the Message

Jesus explains why leadership remains a privilege, not a prerogative.

From a distance, Chorazin seems like it’s hiding. I don’t blame it for trying. After all, it remains one of the three cities in Galilee that Jesus rebuked for failing to respond to His message.

(Photo: Chorazin’s ruins hide at center left. Courtesy of Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

The basalt ruins of Chorazin appear little more than a pile of rocks among so many thousands of others. Clumps of grass and volcanic rock off...

The Question We Ought to Ask When Hurting

And why asking "why" never goes far enough.

The book of Psalms repeatedly asks God where He is in the midst of our pain. After all, we’d really love it if God would stop the hurting since He can.

(Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com)

Amazingly however, the book of Job never answers the questions: “Where is God in my pain?” nor “Why does God allow such struggle in our lives?” Even Job himself received no answers to these questions—only elsewhere in the Bible do we discover their solutions.

When we’...

Lydia—How to Honor a Generous God

You can express love for God with anything you choose to offer Him.

Lydia made her way outside the city gate. A short stroll led her and a group of women to a familiar spot beside theKrenides River. For a synagogue to be established, ten Jewish men had to be in regular attendance. But there weren’t ten to be found in Philippi.

(Painting of Lydia at St Lydia chapel in Philippi. Courtesy of Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

That didn’t keep these women from worshipping together, though. They ga...