Do you give? Are you giving to God’s kingdom the way He directs you to? You have to start now. It’s so much easier when you are young and you have no bills and few expenses. Pray and ask God what He wants you to give. God asked the children of Israel to give rightContinue reading “I’ve Never Seen a Hearse Pulling a U-Haul: You Can’t Take it With You.”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
Would You Stop for the Burning Bush?
While Moses was shepherding his father-in-law’s sheep, he saw a bush that was burning, but not burning up. Moses said “I must turn aside and see this marvelous sight…!” Exodus 3:2-4. Burning but not burning up is an indication of holiness. This was a special fire, a holy fire, a fire that lit up theContinue reading “Would You Stop for the Burning Bush?”
Do You Still Think Like a Slave?
Remember when Moses went up the mountain and God gave him the Ten Commandments? Moses was up there for forty days. And what did the people do? They worried. They fretted about the absence of their leader and told his brother Aaron, “Come, make us a god who will go before us, because we don’tContinue reading “Do You Still Think Like a Slave?”
Foreigners.
In the 1980s, Sharpstown High School welcomed a sudden influx of refugees fleeing the Communist government of Vietnam. The students showed up knowing no English and carrying a pass that entitled them to free lunches. Every day three of the loudest non-English speaking Vietnamese girls would cut the line in the lunch room to grabContinue reading “Foreigners.”
Divorce and Abuse.
Paul teaches that husbands and wives can be witnesses to unbelieving spouses and should not seek to divorce them: “If a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife…. But if the unbeliever leaves, letContinue reading “Divorce and Abuse.”
How Does God Describe the Exodus?
If you had to describe the Exodus, what phrases would you use? Miraculous Deliverance? God Rescues His People? God’s Grace in Action? If I were a cynical newspaper-headline writer from Ancient Egypt, I might describe it this way: God describes the Exodus differently. He performed ten amazing miracles. He sent plagues to prove He wasContinue reading “How Does God Describe the Exodus?”
Family.
How often do we say, “the apple does not fall far from the tree”? Or we call a child “a chip off the old block”? Family friends are forever telling children “you’re just like your dad” or “you remind me of your mom.” It’s more than physical features. Children learn behavior from their parents. TheyContinue reading “Family.”
God is Not a Cruel Taskmaster.
Long ago I was warned “the law is a jealous mistress.” It’s true: lawyering can consume your life. I know lawyers who work seven days a week and never take vacations. Things could be worse. Millions in Asia work 16-hour days in sweatshops for a few dollars a day. Prisoners in communist nations suffer terribly. Continue reading “God is Not a Cruel Taskmaster.”
Busy & Rich or Lazy & Poor? Try Moderation.
Some are obsessed with accumulating wealth. Others seem determined to do as little as possible. God wants a balance. We work for God—and we rest for God. He should be our focus. When the Israelites left Egypt and marched into the desert, they composed the largest exodus in history—between 1 and 5 million people! ImagineContinue reading “Busy & Rich or Lazy & Poor? Try Moderation.”
The Role of Old Testament Law in Health.
Jesus redeemed us from the law. However, Old Testament laws continued to serve an important purpose, because many of them protect people from dangers science would not discover for centuries. Here are examples in addition to the recently mentioned hand washing and burying of “night soil”: “All FAT belongs to the Lord. This is aContinue reading “The Role of Old Testament Law in Health.”
Household Words: 