We are a storytelling people. Or rather, we are a storytelling species. Every people group on earth tells stories. We tell them to children. We tell them to adults. The only time we stop telling stories is when someone is telling stories to us! Look at the popularity of movies and television. Before TV thereContinue reading “Stories We Tell Ourselves. Deuteronomy 26.”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
Paul, the Great Teacher of Grace, Did Not Hesitate to Place Great Demands on Christian Behavior; Good Behavior is Not Legalism. Galatians 5:4.
“I spent my whole education degree studying how Jesus taught. He never asked anyone to memorize anything.” That was my friend James talking. James is focused on grace. He only reads the New Testament. He says things like, “Well, I’m not really an Old Testament guy.” James considers the idea of spiritual disciplines to beContinue reading “Paul, the Great Teacher of Grace, Did Not Hesitate to Place Great Demands on Christian Behavior; Good Behavior is Not Legalism. Galatians 5:4.”
Grace is Amazing, But You are Peculiar. A Rambling Conversation About Grace and Legalism. Deuteronomy 14.
Are you peculiar? You should be. More on that below–first, a word about grace. Grace is incredible. It is similar to forgiveness, but not the same. You might say forgiveness falls under the umbrella of grace. But grace is more than forgiveness. Grace is restoration. God does not simply forgive your sins. He restores yourContinue reading “Grace is Amazing, But You are Peculiar. A Rambling Conversation About Grace and Legalism. Deuteronomy 14.”
Addie Presley Gives Dating Advice. Deuteronomy 7.
“And you know, I just told her, ‘don’t date a boy you would not be willing to marry.’” We were in Portland, Texas at the home of my mother’s aunt and uncle, Addie and Norman. Their daughter Kay, probably a senior in high school at the time, was out on a date when we droveContinue reading “Addie Presley Gives Dating Advice. Deuteronomy 7.”
DISCIPLESHIP: Grow With G.R.A.M.P.S. Deuteronomy 2.
“Steven, you got a telephone call,” my dad announced one Saturday morning. He was oddly excited about it, eager to tell me the whole story. I had just crawled out of bed, a college student coming in the kitchen at 9 o’clock looking for some cereal. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” “Well, he calledContinue reading “DISCIPLESHIP: Grow With G.R.A.M.P.S. Deuteronomy 2.”
Leadership is a Group Project. Deuteronomy 1.
Image from an article on Medium.com: https://kevin-gordon.medium.com/hierarchy-of-leadership-f5a82b589342 Leaders like to complain that it’s lonely at the top. We think a leader is a one-man band. A single conductor leads the entire orchestra. A single quarterback leads his team. A single pilot flies a plane. A single teacher leads a classroom. Nations are often led byContinue reading “Leadership is a Group Project. Deuteronomy 1.”
Why Do Some Societies Develop into Complex, Modern Civilizations While Others Do Not? Numbers 36.
Just before the Israelites moved into the Promised Land, a group of tribal leaders came to Moses with a question. All had agreed that the daughters of Zelophehad would inherit the land that was to have been assigned to their father. But the leaders of their tribe feared that if those daughters should marry outsideContinue reading “Why Do Some Societies Develop into Complex, Modern Civilizations While Others Do Not? Numbers 36.”
Moving into the Promised Land. Numbers 34.
Painting: the Prayer at Valley Forge, by Arnold Friberg. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries: … Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea, cross south ofContinue reading “Moving into the Promised Land. Numbers 34.”
Conflict Resolution. Numbers 32.
“Breakfast Table Political Argument” by Norman Rockwell, on permanent display at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum. (The husband and wife appear to be arguing over the 1948 presidential race in which Harry Truman (right) defeated Thomas Dewey in an upset. My mother reports that 1948 was the first year her widowed motherContinue reading “Conflict Resolution. Numbers 32.”
Voidable Contracts and Voidable Vows. Numbers 30.
Here’s a conversation I have every semester: “If my sixteen-year-old son goes to the Ford dealership and convinces them to sell him a Ford Mustang on a payment plan, there may be problems. What are some of those problems? “First of all, as a tenth grader, Marshall doesn’t have any money. But what ifContinue reading “Voidable Contracts and Voidable Vows. Numbers 30.”
Household Words: 