Image: Johnny Derouen’s first day at FBC Houston, spring of 1984. Also pictured, Joel Nettles. Photo courtesy of Lance Vinson. The story goes that in the early ‘80s, Associate Pastor Felix Wagner interviewed 70-some people before he found the right man for the job. Let’s call it 77—the perfect number. After a two-year quest, FirstContinue reading “THAT’S PRACTICAL. My Johnny Derouen Story. Psalm 27:4.”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
‘Thou Shalt Decree a Thing and It Shall Be Established.’ If You Can Name it, You Can Claim it!
Image generated by A.I. Bob turned on the television at the end of a long day. He walked across the room and fell into a recliner, exhausted. His wife Julie was seated next to him, using her phone to play an online game of Scrabble with one of her girlfriends. As the television came on,Continue reading “‘Thou Shalt Decree a Thing and It Shall Be Established.’ If You Can Name it, You Can Claim it!”
Job’s Friends Preached the Prosperity Gospel and God Rebuked Them. Job 42:7.
My friend Pete was rich. As a child, he had the newest, hottest, best bicycle around. In the mid-80s, he not only had an endless supply of Polo shirts, but was the only guy in our high school wearing Polo jeans. He had a car before anyone else. Sports cars. Spare cars. After a semesterContinue reading “Job’s Friends Preached the Prosperity Gospel and God Rebuked Them. Job 42:7.”
Do You Complain or Do You Lament? Lamentations 1:1.
Do you know the difference between a lament and a complaint? Modern English dictionaries may show little distinction, but Old Testament scholars argue a Biblical lament is more than just a complaint. “A complaint is an accusation against God that maligns His character, but a lament is an appeal to God based on confidence in HisContinue reading “Do You Complain or Do You Lament? Lamentations 1:1.”
Selfishness vs. Enlightened Self-Interest. Ecclesiastes 6:7.
Have you ever run across the “professional-student,” a college student who is too indecisive to complete a degree and has been hanging around the campus taking classes for five, six, or even ten years? He is older than everyone else but because the money never runs out he can avoid committing to a course ofContinue reading “Selfishness vs. Enlightened Self-Interest. Ecclesiastes 6:7.”
We Need Friends and Family. Proverbs 14:4.
When you have a houseful of children it is easy to daydream of a life alone. All the rooms are clean and Mom slips into a bubble bath whispering the old slogan, “Calgon, take me away!” People are tough. In Jean Paul Sartre’s play NO EXIT, the characters, now dead and condemned to hell, realizeContinue reading “We Need Friends and Family. Proverbs 14:4.”
Understand Old Testament Wrath in Light of Luke 20:38 and Ezekiel 33:11.
Reading Old Testament highlights can give the impression God loves to pour out his wrath. In fact, there is a popular notion that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. Some personify it: God the Father is angry and full of wrath, but God the Son isContinue reading “Understand Old Testament Wrath in Light of Luke 20:38 and Ezekiel 33:11.”
The Queen of Sheba: A Skeptic Convinced. 2 Chronicles 9:1-8.
Pictured–audio cover of a recent novel. I have not read the book but I enjoyed a different book by this author. One couple I know recently decided the earth was flat. That shocked me. Perhaps it shouldn’t have. But at the time, the odd conspiracy theory had not really caught on. I was shocked. HowContinue reading “The Queen of Sheba: A Skeptic Convinced. 2 Chronicles 9:1-8.”
Building Temples and Building Homes. 2 Chronicles 7:1-3.
Pictured: “Topping Out Bear Stearns, New York City,” image copied from https://millersamuel.com/with-a-flag-an-i-beam-and-a-christmas-tree-the-party-is-just-getting-started/ I grew up in a boomtown. During my childhood, Houston was America’s fastest growing city.[1] One day my friends and I might be in a field flipping over scrap wood to find snakes, and a year later it would be a 10-story IRSContinue reading “Building Temples and Building Homes. 2 Chronicles 7:1-3.”
Jesus Showed Up at the Same Place Thousands of Years Apart. 2 Chronicles 3:1-2.
When I was a small child, my family visited both the White House and Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home in Virginia. The White House impressed me only with its officialdom. We were part of a guided tour, trapped behind red velvet ropes. It was like walking through a modern-day office building but with quality artContinue reading “Jesus Showed Up at the Same Place Thousands of Years Apart. 2 Chronicles 3:1-2.”
Household Words: 