I thought my friends at Northwest Academy had it made: they went to a Christian school. Sure, they had problems. But NWA was not SHS. At Sharpstown “the inmates ran the asylum.” Good kids were surrounded by kids so broken they could hardly function. It was brutal, a place of unrelenting violence. Vicious fights quicklyContinue reading “Are You Thirsty?”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
The Lifeguard.
My dad spoke often of the years he spent as a lifeguard at Ridgecrest in North Carolina. He remembered pulling some 75 people from the depths, most of them poor swimmers who had no business in the murky waters of a deep lake. Then one day I saw my father in action. When my brotherContinue reading “The Lifeguard.”
Revenge.
Can you think of a time when you desperately wanted vengeance? When someone did you wrong and you could not stop daydreaming about ways to get even? What does the Bible say about revenge? When David and his men were starving and requested food from Nabal, a rich man whose flocks David’s men had protected,Continue reading “Revenge.”
Sexual Abuse in the Church.
Though Saul had been trying to capture and kill David for years, David twice refused to lay a hand on him when he had the chance. But when Nabal repaid David’s protection with a refusal to feed David’s men, David gathered 400 soldiers and swore to kill Nabal by morning. Why the difference? David respectedContinue reading “Sexual Abuse in the Church.”
Be Prepared.
The Boy Scout motto is “be prepared.” It’s a code to live by, because urgent situations come up that require preparation. The moment when someone’s heart stops is not the moment to learn CPR. What will you do when you witness a car accident? What if your house is on fire? Being prepared means havingContinue reading “Be Prepared.”
David Asks God to Make Him Pure.
How much do you pray? Do you pray every day? For five minutes? Ten? Are any of your prayers unselfish? In Psalm 141, David prays unselfishly that God would make him more obedient, more pure-hearted, and more pleasing to God. “Lord, set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of myContinue reading “David Asks God to Make Him Pure.”
The Land of the Living.
There are two ways to improve your life with clearer vision. The first is to view everything with an eternal perspective. When your body is racked with pain, you need the vision to remember “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed” RomansContinue reading “The Land of the Living.”
Bittersweet: Joy During Pain.
“Bittersweet” indicates the odd mix of pain and joy. The death of a loved one may be bitter, but if death follows a long illness, the grieving sometimes consider it sweet that the suffering is over. God can bring sweet satisfaction during suffering. Just ask the persecuted. They sometimes experience an intimacy with God theyContinue reading “Bittersweet: Joy During Pain.”
He Sticks Closer Than a Brother.
Proverbs 18:24 says “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Can you imagine being betrayed by a brother? It happens sometimes. But if even a brother might betray you, a parent never would, right? Wrong. Parents fail children sometimes. Sometimes parents are foolish, immature, or addicted. Other times, parents are hurt byContinue reading “He Sticks Closer Than a Brother.”
The 911 Psalm.
TV preachers love to shout lines from Psalm 91: “Though a thousand fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, the pestilence shall not reach you”—DID YOU HEAR THAT, BROTHERS AND SISTERS?— “the pestilence shall not reach you!” Psalm 91:7. They will apply this verse to anything—cancer, heart attacks, etc.,—and they screamContinue reading “The 911 Psalm.”
Household Words: 