Christian Mythology | Wayne Stiles

Archives For christian mythology

The Garden Tomb— Contemplating the Resurrection of Jesus

Beside a busy street and noisy bus station in Jerusalem, a tall rock wall encircles a garden.

An oasis of sanctity and cessation in a city that feeds on frenzied tourists.

garden tomb stiles The Garden Tomb— Contemplating the Resurrection of Jesus

Photo: The Garden Tomb in Jerusalem

After entering, I felt the tension of my hurried pace leave me. I traded the noisy city and dirty streets for flowers, butterflies, gravel pathways, and stone steps. Everything lovely about a garden filled my view.

It’s no wonder many believe the Garden Tomb to be the tomb of Jesus. Like the tomb described in the gospel accounts, the Garden Tomb lay outside the city walls and along a road. It is hewn out of the stone and has a rolling stone entrance. A garden surrounds it.

Based on its tranquil setting, it has a lot going for it. But then there are the rest of the facts.

Impatience at God’s Drive-Through Window

I hate drive-through windows. There’s just something so incongruent with “fast-food” that’s not fast.

Once with my family in the car, I got so frustrated with the individual behind the unintelligible speaker who couldn’t understand me when I ordered, “pickles and cheese.”

So I repeated it with passion: “I want chickles and peas!”

799px Drive thru night Impatience at God’s Drive Through Window

Photo: by Derek Jensen (Public Domain), via Wikimedia Commons

After I realized what I said, I turned to my wife and daughters. They burst in laughter. For them, it was better than the meal.

I’m not sure what “chickles” are, but I ordered some, and the cashier gave me a price.

Since that day a question has nagged me: Why do we treat God like the cashier at the drive-through window?

Expect God to Test Your Vision

I sit still with my face in a brace, wide-eyed and waiting for that imminent blast of air in my eyeball.

“Now sit still,” the optometrist says. “Don’t blink.”

POW! I know it’s coming, but my whole body still jerks. I feel like an idiot.

visiontesting Expect God to Test Your Vision

Photo: Design Pics, via Vivozoom

Then we do it again with the other eye.

This unpleasant procedure has to happen each year. Without it, my vision isn’t all it can be.

The Lord does a similar thing with the vision He gives us in the Bible. We think we see it clearly until a blast in the eyeball jerks our whole frame of reference.

Your Rededication to God Can Begin Right Now

Anyone who has visited the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC has seen the etching engraved on the top of the steps.

The inscription marks the spot where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” Standing on those steps, in the shadow of the great emancipator’s memory, gave greater force to the words Dr. King spoke that day.

The place of the message intensified the words.

rededication Your Rededication to God Can Begin Right Now

Photo: warrengoldswain, via Vivozoom

I’m convinced that’s why Joshua gathered the young Hebrew nation to Shechem. The geographical context of his words played a significant role.

What he said that day still applies to us.

How to Resist Temptation Like Jesus

Everybody faces temptation.

And on some level, everybody has fallen to it. Everybody but Jesus.

Resisting temptation How to Resist Temptation Like Jesus

Photo: Tyler Olson, via Vivozoom

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?

Starting Over with God

Sometimes we feel like we’ve blown it so bad that God should toss us aside and start over with somebody else.

Whenever I feel that way, I travel in my mind to the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee. To a place I’ve been many times.

Starting Over Starting Over with God

Photo: Design Pics, via Vivozoom

A place called Tabgha teaches us a wonderful truth.

Instead of starting over with someone else when we blow it, God wants to start over with us. (Tweet that.)

It’s true.

Send a Thank-You Note Today

Think about one person who has inspired you, encouraged you, or helped you. Got that person in your mind?

Now, let me ask you a question: Have you ever sent a thank-you note to that person?

Thank you note Send a Thank You Note Today

Photo: Monkey Business Images, via Vivozoom

Not long ago a client sent a thank-you note to the editors in our department, expressing appreciation for their excellent work. The client told me of the editors’ surprising reply: “No one has ever thanked us before.”

That tragic statement got me thinking.

Revealing the Lies of Temptation

Congratulations, Mr. Stiles, you’ve just won an all-expense paid trip to Hawaii!”

“No thanks.”

“You mean . . . you don’t want it?” I hung up. It was a short conversation.

No soliciting Revealing the Lies of Temptation

Photo: Design Pics, via Vivozoom

A solicitor does not call to give anything—unless he or she ultimately gets more back in return.

I have discovered the devil is the same way. Satan knows how to market to people. He’s been doing it a long time. From the beginning, in fact.

Dealing with Struggle in the Christian Life

We had no idea what following Jesus would demand when we started out.

We thought we knew.

vivozoom 97229493 w small1 Dealing with Struggle in the Christian Life

Photo: Tyler Olson, via Vivozoom

We thought the Christian life meant that once we believed in Jesus, if we walked obediently, God would bless us, protect us, put us at ease—basically dote on us as His children. To some extent, we still expect that.

But God wants to give us something greater than those things.

Hope from the Upper Room and David’s Tomb

One of King David’s most poignant prayers came after one of his greatest mistakes.

“Do not cast me away from Your presence,” he prayed, “and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11).

King David statue on Mount Hope from the Upper Room and David’s Tomb

(Photo: Statue of King David on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, near “David’s Tomb”. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Pieces of Hebrew and Christian scripture come together in an ancient building on Jerusalem’s Western Hill. In this one small structure, events of history and tradition combine to offer the ultimate answer to David’s prayer.

In fact, the place offers hope for all of us.

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.

Here's some more about me ->

Email Address :

RESOURCES I RECOMMEND

Home

About

My Books

Products

Podcast

Archives

Contact

© 2013 Wayne Stiles — Standard by 8BIT

Get my new E-book FREE! Click here.