Steven Wales

Old Testament Mercy. 2 Chronicles 33:12-13.

When I was a little boy, a girl down the street told me that God the Father was mean and angry, and that only Jesus the Son was merciful.[1] Have you heard this idea? It goes hand-in-hand with the oft-repeated trope that the Old Testament tells the story of a God of vengeance, and theContinue reading “Old Testament Mercy. 2 Chronicles 33:12-13.”

This Cellophane Life. Isaiah 65:17-25.

Image: cellophane. Cellophane is the original name for clear plastic wrap or “shrink wrap.” Our lives on earth are like cellophane: thin, see-through, and not particularly durable. C.S. Lewis argued long ago that in heaven our lives will be “made of solider stuff,” and weighty, powerful, and filled with meaning. Rather than being flimsy andContinue reading “This Cellophane Life. Isaiah 65:17-25.”

Fasting and Prayer. Isaiah 58:3-9.

Do you ever wonder why God does not answer your prayers? Do you blame God or assume that he must be ignoring you? God always hears our prayers. God can certainly answer our prayers. “Behold, the Lord’s arm is not shortened, that it cannot save. Neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. ButContinue reading “Fasting and Prayer. Isaiah 58:3-9.”

The Great Stork Derby. Isaiah 54:1,4-5.

Image: The Timleck family, one of four winners of the Great Stork Derby. One of the craziest contests in history was the one Canadian journalists dubbed “The Great Stork Derby.” In 1926, wealthy Toronto lawyer, businessman, and practical joker, Charles Vance Millar died, leaving behind a will that included several practical jokes. “Millar started offContinue reading “The Great Stork Derby. Isaiah 54:1,4-5.”

That One Distasteful Subject. Isaiah 48:17.

We don’t speak of it in polite conversation. We don’t think of it as a spiritual topic. No seeker climbs to the top of a mountain in the Himalayas to ask a Guru about it. Wall calendars with photos of sunsets and rainbows will never feature a poetic line on this theme. Yet, Jesus spokeContinue reading “That One Distasteful Subject. Isaiah 48:17.”

Observing the Idol Worshipper in His Native Habitat. Isaiah 44:12-20.

Image: Long-Billed Curlew, by John James Audubon, one of 435 life-sized, realistic watercolor paintings in his BIRDS OF AMERICA, 1838, a staggering masterpiece of documentation. A naturalist is a kind of hybrid scientist-reporter-artist-categorizer, such as John James Audubon, John Muir, and Jane Goodall. They publish their findings in books with simple titles like THE REDContinue reading “Observing the Idol Worshipper in His Native Habitat. Isaiah 44:12-20.”

When the Breaking News is Terrifying. Isaiah 36 and 37.

[Imagine the following newspaper story.] ASSYRIANS WARN OF COMING INVASION: Foreign Diplomats Speak Hebrew to People of Jerusalem, Warn Them Not to Trust King, Promise Warm Welcome in New Land. Jerusalem. 701 B.C. Three top officials from Assyria arrived today with a message for King Hezekiah: Surrender to King Sennacherib of Assyria and you andContinue reading “When the Breaking News is Terrifying. Isaiah 36 and 37.”

Leadership Problems. Micah 3:3.

My dad used to threaten my brother and me with a joke: “I’ll skin ya’ alive!” We barely knew what that meant. We just knew he was being silly, tickling us and teasing us. He would never have said such a thing in anger. If we were behaving badly, he would be serious and handleContinue reading “Leadership Problems. Micah 3:3.”

When You Are Online: Don’t Cast Your Pearls Before Swine. Isaiah 39:4-6.

I am trusting and open. I tell everyone everything. My wife is the same way. We are talkers and deep communication draws us together. Indeed, communication is essential to all relationships. But social media does not play by the normal rules. On Facebook, I share more victories than defeats. Does my online presence create anContinue reading “When You Are Online: Don’t Cast Your Pearls Before Swine. Isaiah 39:4-6.”

The Bible is the Story of Human History. Hebrews 4:12.

The Bible is not some dusty, ancient book about some forgotten land, none of which is relevant today. The Bible is a cross-section of human history, a cross-section of humanity. When we get to heaven and look back on all of human history, we will see the Bible differently: it is a detailed record ofContinue reading “The Bible is the Story of Human History. Hebrews 4:12.”