Posts by Wayne Stiles related to meditation on Scripture.
Today you will be told to face the facts. Usually, that means bad news.
Facing the facts is a hard part of life.
(Photo by alexeys, via Vivozoom)
But think about it: facing the facts isn’t our problem. It’s that we fail to face all of them.
God has facts to factor into our thinking as well.
The connection between between the first steps we take in making a decision and its final outcome often seems unrelated.
Walking the path of wisdom or the way of foolishness has domino effects far greater than we can imagine.
(Photo by Indy Kethdy. CC-BY-SA-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
For us, a disciplined intake of Scripture certainly promises wisdom. But wisdom offers a course of action, not just a course of instruction. (Tweet that.)
The book of Proverbs reveals the outcome of the pathways we are walking.
And it tells us how to stay on the path of wisdom.
In my previous post, I wrote about a Christian’s struggle with sin and 4 lies we believe about our sin.
Let’s take it a step further.
(Photo by Tech. Sgt. Dan Neely. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
In addition to taking a defensive mindset against the lies we often believe, we need to take an active approach to sin and temptation.
Here are 4 basic strategies to help you battle the tug of temptation and sin on your heart.
Where there is water in Israel, there is life.
And where there isn’t water? The rule in antiquity was simple. Dig a cistern.
(Photo: Water reservoir beside Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Photo by Vladimir Naykhin, IAA)
While excavating a first-century drainage channel and street that led from the City of David to the Temple Mount, archaeologists recently found a massive water reservoir dating from the First Temple period. The discovery of the reservoir, just west of the Temple Mount, gives silent testimony to the importance of water in the spiritual lives of God’s people.
The Jewish holiday today, Shemini Atzeret—and Simchat Torah—offer a fascinating connection to this ancient cistern.
More importantly, they reveal a truth we live by every day of our lives.
Who would have ever thought to use stairs as a memory-trigger?
At the southern edge of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, a 200-foot wide flight of stairs represents both original and restored steps from the Second Temple period.
(Photo: Reading the Psalms of Ascent on the Southern Steps. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.)
Millions of sandals (including Jesus’) shuffled up these steps in antiquity as Jewish pilgrims came from all Israel and the Diaspora to worship the Lord for the annual feasts.
Some suggest the pilgrims sang the Psalms of Ascent on these steps. If so, the place brought to mind critical themes.
The place echoes of our need to be reminded of what we already know.
Years ago, my grandmother’s 1909 house got a fresh layer of wallpaper.
But only weeks later, I noticed in a high corner the wallpaper had buckled, and in some places, it had even split.
When I asked her about it she said: “Oh, the house needs foundation work. Every time the seasons change and the wind blows a different direction, the whole house shifts.”
That made sense. For years I shaved inches off most of the doors trying to get them to close. But the repair only lasted until the wind shifted again.
Look closely at the lives of your friends and family. Maybe even your own life.
You’ll see this old house’s problem in vivid display.
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.
Modern commuters along Israel’s Route 1 motor by the site every day, their minds on their routines. Even tour buses rarely point to the place, much less stop there.
(Photo: Kiriath Jearim, Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.)
The tourists who do pull over often do so only to snap pictures at the Elvis American Diner (also known as the “Elvis Inn”). A 16-foot-tall bronze likeness of Elvis Presley greets every visitor. Inside the diner, Elvis music is all they hear as they eat their Elvis Burgers. But Elvis isn’t what makes this hill noteworthy.
Around the corner from the offbeat diner, near the modern Israeli Arab village of Abu Gosh, sits the site so few see and even fewer visit—the biblical site of Kiriath Jearim.
You’d never know by looking, but the physical symbol of God’s presence in Israel rested for about a century on this overlooked hill. (Tweet that.)
Sometimes reading the Bible can get, well—can I say it?—boring.
Yeah, I know that sounds really unspiritual. Yes, I understand that statement is more of a commentary on me than on the Bible. But it’s true.
And that’s the whole point.
(Photo: By William Hoiles from Basking Ridge, NJ, USA (CC-BY-2.0), via Wikimedia Commons)
How can a book that has changed the lives of billions ever seem boring?
A man in an Arizona circus used to train animals for the movies. Somebody asked him: “Hey, how do you tie down that 6-ton elephant with the same sized stake you use for a baby elephant?”
“That’s easy,” the trainer answered.
Photo by SuperJew (CC-BY-SA-3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
“When they’re babies, we stake them down. They pull and tug thousands of times until they figure out they can’t jerk loose. At that point, the elephant’s great memory kicks in, and they remember for the rest of their lives they can’t pull away. So they quit trying.”
I’ve discovered that you and I think a lot like elephants.
Especially when it comes to sin.
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.
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 Jesus resist temptation here?
I love connecting the Bible and its lands to life. This is my personal blog where that happens. Here's some more about me . . .
WAYNE STILES
Hi, my name is Wayne Stiles, and I love connecting the Bible and its lands to life. This is my personal blog where that happens. My goal is to deliver practical content to encourage you in your relationship with God. I believe that a life lived well needs a growing and intentional connection with God through Jesus Christ. I write on the devotional life, Bible lands, understanding the Bible, and resources I have found helpful on these topics.
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