I’m always surprised at the most popular posts on my blog each year. Both in 2012 and in 2013 I listed the Top 10 posts. But 2014 surprised me.
(Photo by Photodune)
The popular posts range from the practical “how-to” to the rich, devotional emphasis the lands of the Bible offer us.
Here are the Top 10 posts from 2014. And just for grins, I’ll also include the Top 5 posts of all time.
Is there another one you would include?
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Last year I tried something I had never done before. I tried to read 50 books by the end of the year (and amazingly, I did). But I wondered if my strategy would work again this year.
(Photo by Photodune)
I thought perhaps last year was a fluke, so I tried it again this year. Guess what? It still works.
Because your life, like mine, is busy, I’d like to share with you 5 ways I’ve found that you can read more books—and 5 ways you can even find some free ones.
(If you’re curious, I’ll also share the 50 books I read—and tell you my favorite.)
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For years I have loved this quote by St. Augustine on the mystery of the Incarnation (quoted from his Sermons for Christmas and Epiphany):
Maker of the sun, He is made under the sun. . . .
In [the Father] He remains,
From [His mother] He goes forth.
Creator of heaven and earth,
He was born on earth under heaven.
Unspeakably wise, He is wisely speechless;
filling the world, He lies in a manger;
Ruler of the stars, He nurses at His mother’s bosom.
He is both great in the nature of God,
and small in the form of a servant,
but so that His greatness is not diminished by His smallness,
nor His smallness overwhelmed by His greatness.
From the Stiles home to yours, Merry Christmas!
Tell me what you think: What fascinates you most about the Incarnation? To leave a comment, just click here.
(Photo: By Wolfgang Sauber. Own work. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Years ago some American missionaries stayed in our home. They told us about an animated evangelist they saw try to communicate to a Russian audience—through a less-than-animated translator.
(Photo: The Moscow skyline, by Dmitry Azovtsev)
The evangelist began, “Okay folks, tonight I want you to tell the Holy Spirit something! I want you to say, ‘Yeeessss!’” (pronounced with three syllables).
But instead of translating the passionate “Yeeessss!” the interpreter flatly translated, “Da.” And when the evangelist hollered, “Now, give God a hand!” the interpreter translated the words literally—and the audience stared at one another in confusion. (“Give Him what?”)
The words were translated, sure, but their meaning failed to connect.
Jesus, on the other hand, was a perfect translator. Here’s how.
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My birthday is in December. Growing up, I often heard: “Wayne, this is your birthday-Christmas gift.” I thought, Hey, gee, thanks. December birthdays are tough on kids.
(Photo by Photodune)
As a boy, I also felt a little disappointed getting clothes for Christmas (though now I love it). Some people just don’t know how to give age-appropriate gifts to kids.
When we read the Christmas story, it seems the three Wise Men didn’t have much experience shopping for children either.
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I’ll never forget my first visit to Bethlehem. In the city of Jesus’ birth, we spent the bulk of our time shopping. Sounds like Christmas, doesn’t it?
(Photo: Bethlehem olivewood shop. By ecjones)
Gold jewelry set with opals and diamonds sat alongside bowls, oil lamps and other imitation artifacts. Olivewood statues filled the interior of the large establishment, coloring the whole room light brown.
Name any biblical character or animal, and there was an olivewood statue for you! Favorites included:
And the tourists fell upon the plunder.
One wooden figurine caught my eye, a bust of Elvis Presley, and I had to grin. Elvis in Israel? I called over the owner, a proprietor who can smell a tour bus a mile away, and asked him my question.
He corrected me and told me who it really was.
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If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.
(Photo: Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
Why is it so hard in the moment to dare to choose what is essential over what is nonessential? One simple answer is we are unclear about what is essential.
This video by my friend, Dr. Charlie Dyer, affirms what I have experienced many times. Traveling to Israel is safe.
I know, I know . . . I watch the news as well. But think about it: if all we knew about America came from what we learned on the news, we would have a very distorted perspective.
I have traveled to Israel 9 times in the last 14 years, and I have never felt unsafe. Not once.
I hope you’ll consider taking a trip to Israel. It will forever change how you read your Bible!
Tell me: If you have traveled to Israel, did you feel safe? To leave a comment, just click here.
