Martin Wiles

Oscar Wilde said, "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation." I, on the other hand, didn't care too much what others thought when I was struggling through … Read more

When I think about mine, it sometimes appears pretty selfish. I have a general daily prayer list. While I don't adhere rigidly to it, for the most part, my prayers follow this schedule. Occasionally, I pause to consider who is benefiting … Read more

My parents cautioned me about it over and over again — especially my dad. When I became a middle-schooler, my parents began to warn me about whom I hung around with. "Bad company corrupts good morals," they would say. While both my … Read more

When the news came, I knew that the situation was beyond my control. I moved to the upstate of South Carolina in the early 1980s, and jobs were scarce. I had vowed never to work in a textile mill again. Unfortunately, this was about the … Read more

When it's easy or suits my purposes, I normally don't buck it. But when it goes against my grain and costs me? Well … There have been many occasions when I've struggled to discover God's will. But there have also been times when I knew … Read more

She was a shut-in; he was her only son. They were both pessimists. They attended a church I pastored. The mother had been a shut-in for a number of years. The son had suffered a failed marriage some years before and had lived with his … Read more

He loved to stray, and it often got him into predicaments. I once owned a stubborn rooster that loved to stay outside his pen more than he loved to stay in it. But when it was feeding time, all I had to do was open the gate, and he headed … Read more

Comfort zone: a behavioural state that doesn't fabricate anxiety because we're using patterns that we've learned will deliver an expected level of performance without risk. I wasn't in mine. Having recently graduated from Bible College … Read more

"Is there anything I can do for extra credit?" I considered the source and the question, one that I had been asked quite a few times. Occasionally, I consent, but most of the time, I utter a simple "No." What I really want to say is, "If … Read more

"It wasn't worth it," screeched the commanding officer. But it was. Combat was ferocious, and many soldiers were dying. They were friends in the thick of it. When one of them was injured and couldn't return to the trenches, the other … Read more