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You Need To Know Only One Place Of Sacrifice Remains

How a Final Sacrifice Near the Temple Mount Points Us Forward

For centuries, it was holy ground. The Dome of the Rock, the icon of modern Israel, sits atop a large, flat prominence in Jerusalem identified by Christians and Jews as the “Temple Mount.” Here Solomon built his magnificent sanctuary some 3,000 years ago.

Only One Place of Sacrifice Remains Today

(Photo: The Dome of the Rock on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

In building the Temple for God, Solomon recognized, “Who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?” (2 Chron. 2:6). Solomon’s question gives a principle that extends to our lives.

Only one place of sacrifice remains today.

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3 Reasons You Need to Journey to Israel Soon

What Touring the Holy Land Gives You That's Like Nothing Else

More than any other experience, a tour to Israel puts the real in “reality.” How? The experience changes the way you read your Bible. I’ve personally seen in the lives of hundreds of Christians. It absolutely can happen for you as well. Watch this video and see what I mean.

Come to Israel with Wayne Stiles

(Photo: On the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem’s Temple Mount)

Here are 3 iron-clad benefits you will receive when you journey to Israel.

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When Struggles Strain Your Relationship with God

Here’s what to think and what to do when you feel like Gideon.

You will face disappointment today. I will too. When these frustrations shove their way in as unwelcome guests, the promise of God’s presence with us often feels thin. That’s just what Gideon thought.

When Struggles Strain Your Relationship with God

(Photo: Ophrah, where the Lord met with Gideon. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Frequently, we respond to these disappointments like Gideon did while at Ophrah:

If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? (Judg. 6:13).

We say this (or think it privately) because we have a firm opinion of what God being “with us” looks like.

No pain.

But such a view treats the Bible like a buffet lunch where we pick and choose what we want to swallow about God. When we do that, the plate we hold in our hands represents a god in our image—a freak unlike the God whose tells us His ways are not like ours.

Why would we want to worship a God we can control or understand? Where is the awe in that?

There’s a better way to think about it—and a better way to respond.

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Surrendering Your Will to God in Difficult Times

How Jesus' decision in Gethsemane is the only path to peace.

I have discovered that the most difficult battles in life simply mirror Jesus’ struggle in Gethsemane. His words to the Father remain the most challenging words we could utter:

Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done. —Luke 22:42

Surrendering Your Will to God in Difficult Times

(Photo: Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus surrendered His will. Courtesy of Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.)

Surrendering your will to God in difficult times is often harder than the trial itself.

Our greatest challenges come not from those circumstances that press in upon us, but from the internal struggle to surrender our will to God. We enter Gethsemane daily and have to drag my will to the Father in prayer.

Here’s how.

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When You’re Ready—But Nothing Happens

Peter's experience at Caesarea may explain why.

You’re ready for a change. You’ve asked God to open a new door in your life, and He has taken years to prepare you for it. Finally, you’re ready. There’s just one problem. Nothing happens. You just hover. 

Caesarea, where Peter met Cornelius

(Photo: Caesarea, where Peter met Cornelius. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

The plan of God includes preparation and waiting. But why do you have to keep waiting once God has prepared you? What else must you do for God to open the door?

The Apostle Peter experienced something at Caesarea by the Sea that may explain why your progress is delayed.

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One Massive Gate Jesus Absolutely Refuses to Enter

The keys are in a surprising place.

The Old City of Jerusalem has a lot of gates. On the eastern side of the city walls, the Golden Gate stands bricked closed. It reminds me of the one massive gate Jesus refuses to enter. 

Golden Gate

(Photo: Golden Gate at Jerusalem’s eastern side. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

In front of the Golden Gate lies a massive Muslim cemetery. In fact, dotted along either side of the Kidron Valley lie thousands of graves. Some Muslim. Most Jewish.

Ironically, both cemeteries lie there, in part, because of the Messiah.

Here’s why. 

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How to Take a Tour of Jerusalem Using Google Maps

Discover the Holy City without leaving home.

Most of us use Google Maps to find directions to somewhere new or to estimate the time a trip will take. But search the Web site for Jerusalem and the advantages take on a whole new level. 

How to Take a Virtual Tour of Jerusalem Using Google Maps

(Take a Virtual Tour of Jerusalem Using Google Maps)

You can take a virtual tour of Jerusalem. Obviously, you can sight-see anywhere in the world using this method. But Jerusalem offers unique benefits for Christians.

I suggest as a starting place searching for “Temple Mount, Jerusalem” in Google Maps. When you do, you’re screen will look something like the following image. 

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Surprising Ways Bible Lands Boosts Your Spiritual Life

How the land of the Bible helps you understand the Bible.

We live in an age where avoiding obstacles, traveling great distances, and finding something to drink no longer prove a challenge. With a transportation system that requires little more than a basic understanding of road signs and airline gates, our world gives little attention to the importance of geography. But think about the times you visit a place you’ve never been before. It’s all strange.

What Biblical Geography Can Do for Your Spiritual Life

(Photo: Mount Arbel and Sea of Galilee. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

The unfamiliar landmarks, the sudden turns, and the unexpected potholes are impediments to your progress. It’s the same with Bible study.

Those of us who seek to understand the meaning of the Bible strongly believe in interpreting a passage in its context. But context is more than words. When one reads the Bible, it becomes clear how geography is the stage on which the redemptive narrative takes place.

The land God chose was not arbitrary, for He designed even the land itself to develop the spiritual lives of His people. The land was never intended to be just a place to live.

The same is true where you live.

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How to Give Your Child Back to God

Hannah's decision at Shiloh shows us how to prepare.

Giving your child back to God can be a tough decision for parents. Eighteen or more years of sacrifice, commitment, and training suddenly bring you to a point of no return.

How to Give Your Child Back to God

(Photo: Shiloh, where Hannah brought Samuel. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Whether it is for college, for the military, or in the natural course of growing up, giving your child back to God is a point every parent has to face.

Hannah’s story shows us how to prepare for it, and then, how to do it.

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3 Truths You May Have Missed about Struggle in the Christian Life

How to release the life you want for the one God wants to give you

We had no idea what following Jesus would require. Oh, we thought we knew. We had great ideas. The disciples had the same hopes one day in Capernaum. It didn’t include struggle in the Christian life.

3 Truths You May Have Missed About Struggle in the Christian Life

(Photo: Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

That day in Capernaum, Jesus set straight some people who intended to make Him king by force, and He spoke some hard words. Afterwards, many no longer followed Him.

Jesus then turned to His disciples with a question.

It’s also a question for us. 

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