Wayne Stiles

Tour the Holy Land and Experience the Benefits

I’ll be honest. I have never recovered from my travels to the Holy Land.

As many times as I’ve been to Israel, every trip impacts me. There’s a reason.

touring the temple mount1 Tour the Holy Land and Experience the Benefits

Our tour group on the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

After Cathy and I took our first tour to the Holy Land, the truth hit home harder than it ever had: my faith is rooted in events that occurred in real places.

My experience isn’t unique. The following video shows people whose lives have changed as a result of a tour to the Holy Land.

May 18, 2012 in Jerusalem, Relationship with God, Tours, Wayne's Books with 1 Comment

Who Cares about the Ascension of Jesus?

Today is Ascension Day.

The day commemorates the Ascension of Jesus into heaven 40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3-9). Okay, so this may sound like a dumb question, but here goes.

So what?

Christ the Redeemer Statue Who Cares about the Ascension of Jesus?

Photo: SqueakyMarmot, via Wikimedia Commons

Why is the world did Christ ascend to heaven? What difference does the Ascension of Jesus have for us as Christians today?

In a word: plenty.

May 17, 2012 in Devotional, Jerusalem, Jesus, Mount of Olives, Prayer with 4 Comments

How to Quit a Life of Compromise

If you think about it, King Solomon never started out to build pagan shrines.

It was his failure to deal with the tiny spiritual cracks in his heart that produced a life of compromise and dissatisfaction.

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Photo: Design Pics, via Vivozoom

The backwash from Solomon’s life reminds us how we only kid ourselves when we think we can have a healthy walk with God and still keep our hidden life of compromise on the side.

May 15, 2012 in Devotional, Jerusalem, Jewish People, Relationship with God, Wisdom with 4 Comments

Devotions on the Mount of Olives

One morning when I was in Jerusalem, I chose to have my devotions on the Mount of Olives at sunrise.

Making my way through the Old City’s dark and narrow streets, I passed beside the Temple Mount and exited the city on its east side—much as Jesus would have done the day He left the Temple for the last time.

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Overlooking Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. Photo: צולם ע, via Wikimedia Commons

After climbing the steep ascent of the Mount of Olives, I sat near its summit as the sun began to warm my back.

May 14, 2012 in Devotional, Images, Jerusalem, Jesus, Jewish People, Meditation on Scripture, Mount of Olives, Relationship with God, Scripture with 5 Comments

Christian Apologetics Resources

Have you ever been asked a tough question about your faith? I sure have.

Sometimes when Christians talk to people about God, or when people discover that we believe what the Bible says, they fire off a list of questions.

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Photo: Monkey Business Images, via Vivozoom

Tough questions, like:

How can you say Jesus is the only way to God?
What about the person who’s never heard of Jesus?
How can the Bible be the Word of God when it was written by fallible men?
How can a good God allow such evil in the world?

These questions, and many others, can be hard to answer. If you’re not ready for these questions, they can eat your lunch– the sandwich, the candy bar, and the note from mom.

May 11, 2012 in Apologetics, Audio and Video, Books I Recommend, Devotional, Evangelism, Links with 4 Comments

Dealing with Doubts and the Claims of Jesus

I had lunch with a young man not long ago who nursed serious doubts about the claims of Jesus.

Back and forth we talked. He raised objections. I offered answers.

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Photo: Design Pics, via Vivozoom

After each exchange, he would smile and shake his head and say, “I just can’t believe that’s true.”

“What if I answered all of your questions to your satisfaction?” I asked. “Would you believe in Jesus then?” His answer surprised me.

May 10, 2012 in Apologetics, Devotional, Evangelism, Jesus, Relationship with God with 3 Comments

Why the Wisdom of Solomon Isn’t Enough

Everybody likes to be an exception to the rule. No exceptions.

This paradox seems especially true for individuals who are exceptional. Like Solomon.

Old books Why the Wisdom of Solomon Isnt Enough

Photo: William Hoiles from Basking Ridge, NJ, USA, via Wikimedia Commons

“I have given you a wise and discerning heart,” God told Solomon, “so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you” (1 Kings 3:12). Talk about exceptional!

And yet Solomon became the exception to his own wisdom.

It started with two small compromises.

May 8, 2012 in Devotional, Jewish People, Obedience, Relationship with God, Wisdom with 1 Comment

The Secret of Choosing the Direction of Your Life

It’s always easier to react to life rather than to shape it.

After all, it’s one thing to respond well to what life throws at us. It’s another thing altogether to choose the direction of our lives.

Right Wrong Decision The Secret of Choosing the Direction of Your Life

Photo: Andy Dean Photography, via Vivozoom

I don’t mean we choose what happens to us in life. I do mean that God has given us the freedom to make significant choices.

May 7, 2012 in Capernaum, Devotional, God's Will, Jesus, Nazareth with 0 Comments

3 Ways to Beat a Complaining Attitude

Sometimes the new life God is leading you toward doesn’t seem as great as the one He has redeemed you from.

(Photo: vivozoom)

Remember the complaining of those redeemed from Egypt?

“We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic.” —Numbers 11:5

We all struggle with complaining. But in those moments, we betray our selective memories.

May 4, 2012 in Devotional, God's Will, Relationships, Suffering, Temptation with 5 Comments

2 Reasons Why Serving God isn’t Fulfilling

I hold as my single claim to fame the day I danced for the judges at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. But I’ll be honest: I never intended to dance.

2 Reasons Thumbs Down 2 Reasons Why Serving God isnt Fulfilling

I auditioned as a guitar player, yet when the judges called me back the next day, they asked me to dance as well! Oh dear.

End of audition. I immediately lost the job.

Why? They misplaced me.

May 3, 2012 in Devotional with 0 Comments

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