One of my friends from law school founded a politically oriented non-profit and was invited to attend the inauguration this week. He took his three teenaged children and his mother and even the kids seemed to understand that this was the trip of a lifetime. I have followed his posts on Facebook, and Jonathan, wearingContinue reading “The Inauguration and the Wisdom of Solomon: 2 Chronicles 1:8-10.”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
Talk to God Honestly. The Psalms of Asaph.
God wants us to talk to him honestly, to speak the truth of our situation and our feelings to him. And in response, God speaks to us with honesty. As the old saying puts it, this is not religion but a RELATIONSHIP. Like any other relationship, your relationship with God grows through honest communication. DavidContinue reading “Talk to God Honestly. The Psalms of Asaph.”
Give God Your Heart and Every Emotion You Find Therein. Psalm 88: a Paraphrase.
Psalm 88. —By Heman, son of Korah, of the tribe of Levi, servant to King David. Oh, God who saves! I’ve been crying to you day and night! Listen to me! My soul is filled with trouble. I can feel my life slipping toward the grave. I’m as good as dead. Might as well callContinue reading “Give God Your Heart and Every Emotion You Find Therein. Psalm 88: a Paraphrase.”
King David Pours His Heart Out to God: Reading the Psalms as a Journal Entry.
David could hear the crowd before he could see them. The streets of Jerusalem were crowded with well-wishers, children, and families, all of them cheering. The king had seen it so many times before. He was surrounded by his people: runners out front, then his sons on black horses, and then David, riding a hugeContinue reading “King David Pours His Heart Out to God: Reading the Psalms as a Journal Entry.”
Psalms: Songs About the Rhythms of Life. Psalm 30:5.
“The waves crash in/ The tide rolls out/ It’s an angry sea/ But there is no doubt/ That the lighthouse/ Will keep shining out/ To warn a lonely sailor.” –Rich Mullins, “Ready for the Storm.” We live in constant rhythm, like a beach beaten by crashing waves. You cannot escape rhythm. Breathe in, breathe out.Continue reading “Psalms: Songs About the Rhythms of Life. Psalm 30:5.”
Introduction to Psalms: The Song Book That Teaches You How to Relate to God. Psalm 23:2.
As a young college student, I once had a conversation with both an Old Testament professor and the dean of our humanities department. I wanted to build a research paper around the works of C.S. Lewis. The dean spoke up: “Well, I don’t know.” He looked at the Old Testament professor. “I think Lewis isContinue reading “Introduction to Psalms: The Song Book That Teaches You How to Relate to God. Psalm 23:2.”
THE MAJESTY AND GLORY OF A NAME: DISCOVERING MY FATHER IN AN ITALIAN CATHEDRAL.
(After posting some 1,200 Bible studies and/or devotionals, this is the first that is simply a personal narrative. A true story/ memoir. Yes, it makes a nice story about David’s Psalm 8. But it’s a story. Posted here for fun.) I was a father myself when Mama hit me with serious questions about my father,Continue reading “THE MAJESTY AND GLORY OF A NAME: DISCOVERING MY FATHER IN AN ITALIAN CATHEDRAL.”
David Wrote 72 Psalms: Claim God’s Promises. Psalms 4 – 16.
David is named as the author of seventy-two psalms, or nearly half of the book of Psalms. That is an impressive collection for a man as busy as he: shepherd, warrior, fugitive, king. And the idea that one of the manliest men in Israel was also a shepherd, composer, poet, and harpist is hard toContinue reading “David Wrote 72 Psalms: Claim God’s Promises. Psalms 4 – 16.”
SHOCK AND AWE: the Lord in Heaven Laughs. Psalm 2.
When Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, the world was outraged. On January 17, 1991, a coalition of 42 nations invaded Iraq in order to beat the Iraqis back into Baghdad. The people in Arabian lands have come a long way from the days of camels and tents. But Saddam wasContinue reading “SHOCK AND AWE: the Lord in Heaven Laughs. Psalm 2.”
Household Words: 