Steven Wales

JESUS WAS A GOOD TALKER. Matthew 22:22,33,46.

Do you ever wish you knew what to say? When Jesus confronted the Pharisees, He left the crowds speechless. “When they heard this, they were amazed.” Matthew 22:22. “And when the crowds heard this, they were astonished.” 22:33. “No one was able to answer Him at all, and from that day, no one dared toContinue reading “JESUS WAS A GOOD TALKER. Matthew 22:22,33,46.”

JESUS, THE WHIP, AND THE TEMPLE. John 2:15.

Jesus felt defensive and protective about God’s Temple. He was offended by the men selling animals for sacrifice at high prices, ripping off the poor. He was offended by the CAMBIO (Spanish for exchange)—those were the folks exchanging dollars for pesos (or maybe Roman money for Israeli money?) because they took too much off theContinue reading “JESUS, THE WHIP, AND THE TEMPLE. John 2:15.”

JUSTICE. John 2:15-17.

Have you ever cheered when the bad guy gets it? When Commodus dies in GLADIATOR, or when Tavington dies in THE PATRIOT? Everyone loves justice. God loves it even more than we do. He IS just. So He cleansed the temple. The bad guys had taken over the Father’s House—and Jesus had swallowed His indignationContinue reading “JUSTICE. John 2:15-17.”

Jesus Was Not Defeated by the Lethargy of Senioritis. Luke 19:41-46.

After my 17 years of poor-motivation and a general lack of achievement, God dramatically led me to make the most of twelfth grade. That fall, I studied like never before, and though my spring grades would not count toward class rank, I kept at it, motivated by my own goal of making a 4.0 forContinue reading “Jesus Was Not Defeated by the Lethargy of Senioritis. Luke 19:41-46.”

THE WHITE-STALLION MOMENT. Matthew 21:5.

Have you felt a moment of glory? Circling the bases after a home run? Walking into a room, knowing you’re the best dressed? Playing a leading role on stage? Driving an amazing car. Or riding up on a crowd while sitting atop a magnificent horse—that feels like glory. Do you know that feeling? Riding anContinue reading “THE WHITE-STALLION MOMENT. Matthew 21:5.”

Leave Things Better. Matthew 21:18-22.

My Boy Scout troop went camping one weekend of every month. As we packed up to go home on Sunday mornings, we would “police the area,” picking up even the tiniest specks of trash. Some bits of trash—such as cigarette butts—were clearly not dropped by any of us, but we picked them up anyway. OurContinue reading “Leave Things Better. Matthew 21:18-22.”

REVIEW SHEETS. John 12:48; 2 Corinthians 5:10.

How do you respond when professors give you review sheets? Do you study with them, or do you ignore them and study what you want? If you have not figured it out yet, let me tell you: FOCUS ON THE REVIEW SHEET. Don’t be distracted by your usual habit of outlining your notes. That’s anContinue reading “REVIEW SHEETS. John 12:48; 2 Corinthians 5:10.”

PREPARE. Mark 14:33-38.

Before cooking, you prepare ingredients. Before a battle, you prepare a battle plan. Before a test, you study. We know preparation matters. And sometimes you have to stop in the middle of something to prepare. Remember the cliché—if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. When Jesus faced the final hours of His life,Continue reading “PREPARE. Mark 14:33-38.”

DON’T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE.

In high school, my brother Dennis and I talked about our faith a few times with the boys on our street. One of them said the Bible was too boring to read. “I’m waiting for the movie to come out.” We answered by talking about the chorus of a Christian song that had just beenContinue reading “DON’T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE.”

Sing. Matthew 26:30.

Think of the film THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Jesus was a tough, courageous warrior who went to the cross for you and me. He was scared enough that He sweat blood (an actual condition known as hemahydrosis)—but He did not run. He did not call 10,000 angels to rescue Him. He went forward boldly,Continue reading “Sing. Matthew 26:30.”