Wayne Stiles @waynestiles - Tumblr Blog

I love this quote by Michele Cushatt on how real faith means letting go. http://bit.ly/2lDKxJg?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=tumblr&utm_medium=waynestiles&utm_content=quote%20by%20Michele%20Cushatt%20on%20how%20real%20faith%20means%20letting%20go%2E.

Archaeology combines with history to weave a unified story, supporting what Scripture says. During the ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah, the Babylonians laid siege to Judah's most important cites—including Lachish (pictured). Near the end of the invasion, only three cities remained. Jeremiah writes: "Jerusalem... Lachish and Azekah, for they alone remained as fortified cities among the cities of Judah" (Jer. 34:7). In 1935, archeologists discovered 18 ostraca (inscribed pottery shards), called today the "Lachish Letters." One revealed a draft letter to Jerusalem, written during the invasion: "We are watching over the signal of Lachish . . . for Azekah is not to be seen." This archaeological find perfectly harmonizes with Jeremiah's words that only Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah remained.

3 Questions to Ask Yourself in Making the Right Decision https://waynestiles.com/3-questions-to-ask-yourself-in-making-right-decisions/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=tumblr&utm_medium=waynestiles&utm_content=3%20Questions%20to%20Ask%20Yourself%20in%20Making%20the%20Right%20Decision

#decisions

How the land of Israel offers encouragement to our parched lives. https://waynestiles.com/praying-for-rain-in-a-texas-august/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=tumblr&utm_medium=waynestiles&utm_content=Praying%20for%20Rain%20in%20Your%20Searing%20Life

Praying for Rain in Your Searing Life

Summer. August. Texas. Stir those together and you get blistering days, muggy mornings, and sizzling evenings like a heat lamp over cheap pizza. But Wednesday morning, something amazing occurred. The forecast showed no rain at all. None. So I prayed something crazy. I told the Lord I knew He could make it rain in a […]

#prayer

Two overarching actions by the LORD ignite in us a passion to know Him. The Prophet Ezekiel told the exiles, "Then you will know that I am the LORD when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers... when I have dealt with you for My name's sake, not according to your evil ways" (Ezek. 20:42, 44). Even though the Jews have dealt with the fallout of their rejection of the LORD, God will act towards them in mercy. The LORD's faithfulness to keep His promises to all of His people, in spite of all odds and in spite of our sins, reveals His grace and motivates us to know Him, to serve Him, and to love Him.

"Go now to My place which was in Shiloh... and see what I did to it" (Jeremiah 7:12). The Lord reminded His people security didn't come from God's temple but from God. Just as "He abandoned the dwelling place at Shiloh" (Psalm 78:60), so the Babylonians would destroy Solomon's temple because of the sin of God's people . Jesus used Jeremiah's words about Shiloh to predict that the Second Temple would also be destroyed (Mark 11:15-17; Luke 21:6). In traveling to Shiloh, God's people could see what happened when a previous generation did not follow Him. So, let's stay faithful to the Lord that we may have continue the privilege of displaying His glory to a watching world.

Jerusalem's placement by God as "the center of the nations" (Ezekiel 5:5) had as its purpose to influence the nations that passed through the strategic land of Israel. Instead, God's people allowed the godless nations to influence them. Just as the Lord placed Jerusalem (pictured) among the nations in order to bear fruit—and as He appointed Ezekiel a "watchman to the house of Israel" (Ezek. 3:17)—so the circles of influence we have reflect God's sovereign call upon our lives. Christ wants us to influence those He has placed us among. He calls us to make disciples of the nations rather than to become disciples of the nations.

Are You Sure You’re Secure? [Podcast] https://waynestiles.com/are-you-sure-youre-secure-podcast/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=tumblr&utm_medium=waynestiles&utm_content=Are%20You%20Sure%20You%27re%20Secure%3F%20%5BPodcast%5D

While Moses was having his mountaintop experience on Mount Sinai (pictured), the LORD's people "made a calf… and exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass" (Ps. 106:19-21). Amazing, isn't it? In the shadow of God's grace, provision, protection, and promises, "they forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt" (v. 21). Why this fickle faith? Because Moses delayed to come down from Sinai (Ex. 32:1). God's work in our lives isn't always rapid-fire action and Red Sea partings. Sometimes we sit below Sinai and wait. In those seasons, don't allow the delay to sidetrack your devotion to God your Savior. Calves make lousy gods.

Why do we live godly lives? Paul wrote to Titus on the island of Crete (pictured) so that he would teach of the effects of God's grace upon lives: "bringing salvation... instructing us... looking for the blessed hope... zealous for good deeds" (Titus 2:11–14). Grace is unconditional in its offer of salvation, but it's abused if we assume it provides a license to sin. Instead, grace motivates us to live godly lives in response to the forgiveness the cross of Christ—with the hope of the coming of Christ. So why be good? The world does good deeds to point back to self. But we do them to glorify God out of gratitude for His amazing grace.

When God delays to fulfill a promise, it's often because He wants to give us more than we expect. Psalm 105 outlines God's program to give the Promised Land to Abraham, a plan that included "a famine upon the land" (Ps. 105:16), Joseph's imprisonment, during which "the word of the LORD tested him" (v. 19), and the Hebrews' bondage in Egypt. God's deliverance of His people, and His gracious provision along the way, served to motivate gratitude in them "so that they might keep His statutes" (v. 45). Part of God's plan to give the land of Canaan to His people included shaping their character to live there. The hidden blessing in our painful journey with God is the growth of our character.

The Roman Forum and God’s Surprising Ways in Your Life https://waynestiles.com/roman-forum-gods-surprising-ways/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=tumblr&utm_medium=waynestiles&utm_content=The%20Roman%20Forum%20and%20God%27s%20Surprising%20Ways%20in%20Your%20Life

#easter

The wilderness tabernacle restricted access to God. Only the high priest could approach the LORD's presence—and even then, only "once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people" (Heb. 9:7). This repeated system revealed its inadequacy to permanently deal with the problem of sin. The true, permanent way to God would come through the promised New Covenant, in which the Messiah would enter "through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (v. 12). As a result of Jesus' sacrifice for us, and our faith in Him, we now have direct access to God at any moment.

I love this bit of wisdom from Abraham Lincoln on the importance of preparation. http://bit.ly/2kmp6r6?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=tumblr&utm_medium=waynestiles&utm_content=Abraham%20Lincoln%20on%20the%20importance%20of%20preparation%2E.

#lincoln

I love this Quote by Lina AbuJamra on how we mistake God's favor with the present condition of our dreams. http://bit.ly/2kcN7G0?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=tumblr&utm_medium=waynestiles&utm_content=Quote%20by%20Lina%20AbuJamra%20on%20how%20we%20mistake%20God%27s%20favor%20with%20the%20present%20condition%20of%20our%20dreams%2E.

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Wayne Stiles