What can walking with God do for your physical appearance? Quite a lot, it turns out. Have you ever seen the way some people look angry all the time—their faces permanently unhappy? When King David was depressed, he turned to God: “Why are you in despair, O my soul? Hope in God, for I shallContinue reading “Forget “Beauty Rest.” Get Your “Beauty Prayer.””
Author Archives: Steven Wales
The Invisibility Cloak.
Harry Potter had an invisibility cloak—and it was AWESOME! He and a friend or two could hide under the cloak and escape detection. That blanket saved Harry so many times. And wouldn’t it be FUN?! I would love to get my hands on that serape. Unfortunately, I know of only one Invisibility Cloak, and rightContinue reading “The Invisibility Cloak.”
“But I Can’t Believe in Something I Cannot See.”
Since when do we not believe in the invisible? Do you believe in radio waves, TV signals, or WiFi? Do you believe in electricity? Can you see X-rays or magnetism? God’s invisibility may be the first point raised by unbelievers: “How do I know God is real if I can’t see Him?” Jesus answered that:Continue reading ““But I Can’t Believe in Something I Cannot See.””
The Best Prayers. Exodus 33:3.
Is there one prayer that God hopes to hear from you more than others? What is the best thing you can pray for? Consider these prayers. Eleven times in Ps. 119, David prayed, “Teach me your statutes…Teach me the way of your statutes…Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes… Teach me your ordinances…AndContinue reading “The Best Prayers. Exodus 33:3.”
God Loves Arts, Crafts, and Mechanical Devices.
Never think God is only interested in preachers. Most never preach. Does that mean we laymen are second-class citizens in God’s Kingdom? No. “Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. AndContinue reading “God Loves Arts, Crafts, and Mechanical Devices.”
Aaron and Moses: Two Kinds of Leaders.
When the Israelites complained, Aaron made an idol and they partied like drunken frat boys. God told Moses: “Go down at once! For your people you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted wickedly. They have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bowed down to it, sacrificed to it,Continue reading “Aaron and Moses: Two Kinds of Leaders.”
Passive Voice of Biblical Proportions.
You know what passive voice is? It’s the opposite of Jocko Willink’s “extreme ownership.” Writers and English teachers deride passive voice because it is an attempt to conceal the cause of things, such as when you say, “the lamp fell and broke,” rather than “I broke the lamp.” In Exodus 32, Aaron employs passive voice.Continue reading “Passive Voice of Biblical Proportions.”
Integrity is More Than Telling the Truth.
You can WORK with integrity. How? By doing your best, by not cutting corners. Give it your all. You can also READ with integrity. Integrity requires not giving up until you fully understand. That may mean reading over and over or looking things up, or asking for help. When you read with integrity you grabContinue reading “Integrity is More Than Telling the Truth.”
The Bible is Full of Practical, Everyday Wisdom.
College professors love theory. One favorite question is “How many angels could dance on the head of a pin?” But when profs talk theory, students lose interest, answering “So what? What does that have to do with my life?” Some think the Bible is like that too: ALL THEORY, and that scripture is all deepContinue reading “The Bible is Full of Practical, Everyday Wisdom.”
WORK. Exodus 26.
I heard an interesting conversation on DOWNTON ABBEY. The new heir, a distant cousin from the city who is not used to being waited on, talks to Lord Grantham, suggesting he does not need servants. “Perhaps not. But would you take from a man the dignity of his work? Would you cast the cooks andContinue reading “WORK. Exodus 26.”