Monthly Archives: September 2018

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How the Pool of Siloam Helps us Connect Sukkot and the Messiah

Jesus' invitation on the Feast of Tabernacles offers life abundantly.

If you’ve ever camped, you know that camping requires we forgo a lot of conveniences. The Feast of Tabernacles required similar sacrifices. In fact, it remains a timeless reminder that everything we possess—both physically and spiritually—comes from God.

The Pool of Siloam Helps us Connect Sukkot and the Messiah

(Photo: Western Wall at Sukkot. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Of all places, an ancient pool in Jerusalem—the Pool of Siloam—helps us connect Sukkot with its ultimate fulfillment.

A statement made by Jesus—really, an invitation—makes it clear.

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Why God Closes Doors On Good Plans In The World

Paul's time at Troas reveals why God's plans forward begin with closed doors.

Sometimes our path to next level includes what seem like setbacks. But they aren’t. God simply uses these tensions to propel us forward. Like an arrow pulled back against the bow. Paul’s time at Troas proved it true. 

A paved road at Troas

(Photo: A paved road at Troas. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)

Paul’s second missionary journey began, it seemed with two steps back. He and Silas passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, because the Holy Spirit forbid them to share the Word in Asia. Then the Lord didn’t permit them to share in Bithynia either (Acts 16:6-7). 

Strange, isn’t it? God kept them from sharing God’s Word in places that needed it. 

But why? 

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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.

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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