Steven Wales

IS BELIEF ENOUGH? James 2:19.

No. Salvation is more than accurate beliefs—more than “head knowledge.” Something has to change. Your life is transformed and you are born again—THAT is salvation. The old dies and you receive a new life. Everything changes, like the caterpillar that ceases to be a caterpillar and is reborn a butterfly. James agrees. “You believe GodContinue reading “IS BELIEF ENOUGH? James 2:19.”

AN ACCOUNTING LESSON. James 1:2-3

Since Adam began naming animals, humans have categorized everything in nature: evergreens and hardwoods, volcanic rock and sedimentary rock, mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians. The 19th-century saw the world briefly explode with naturalists. Explorers and artists like John James Audubon traveled with sketch pads, measuring tools, and boxes of specimens, seeking undiscovered animals to name,Continue reading “AN ACCOUNTING LESSON. James 1:2-3”

WISDOM. Hebrews 4:12-13.

The year 2020 was a year of searing pain. I talked to a friend at work during the summer of 2021 about the year of 2020, and about politics, riots, COVID, vaccines, and suffering. If you measured the greatest amount of pain distributed to the greatest number of people, the pain of 2020 must haveContinue reading “WISDOM. Hebrews 4:12-13.”

THE BIT AND BRIDLE. James 1:26.

Horses are huge, yet we expect to hop on and give orders. How? How can we control this force of nature? Most of us take it for granted, forgetting the power beneath us. When the majestic beast drags us under a low-hanging limb, or crow-hops to drop us, we get angry don’t we—as if bossingContinue reading “THE BIT AND BRIDLE. James 1:26.”

HUSH. James 1:19.

Do you talk too much? When you see your friends and family, are you more determined to talk or to listen? Do you feel compelled to get your story told, or can you be patient and listen? Would people describe you as a listener or a talker? There is wisdom in LISTENING. You learn soContinue reading “HUSH. James 1:19.”

How can you measure maturity in Christ? Consider speech. James 3:1-12.

James writes, “If anyone thinks he is ‘spiritual’ but does not control his tongue, then his spirituality is useless and he deceives himself.” James 1:26. Do the people you know choose their words carefully? Do they stop themselves from saying certain things? Do they take their time with their words? Or does everything they thinkContinue reading “How can you measure maturity in Christ? Consider speech. James 3:1-12.”

INVEST IN YOURSELF BY GROWING YOUR FAITH. James 1:2.

There’s a great old joke that may be new to the youngest among us: A man stops a musician on the sidewalk in New York and asks, “Sir, can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” The musician answers, “Practice.” How does a runner increase his speed? By practicing. How does a weightContinue reading “INVEST IN YOURSELF BY GROWING YOUR FAITH. James 1:2.”

PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY. Acts 14:22.

I once made daily trips to LA Fitness. The people-watching was entertaining—not only do some “gym-rats” develop odd physiques because they work out one part of the body to the exclusion of all others, but some have peculiar habits, such as spending three-solid hours on the stair master machine, a circular spray of sweat puddlingContinue reading “PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY. Acts 14:22.”

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME. Acts 13:36.

“But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son” Galatians 4:4. The Cross is the intersection, the ‘Crux’ of history (‘Crux’ is Latin for ‘cross’). All the eyes of history look either forward or backward to the Cross. The Cross is the focus of history and Israel is the focus of geography. ThisContinue reading “ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME. Acts 13:36.”

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER. Acts 10:11-16.

The 1967 film, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, tells the story of an engaged couple, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton. Joanna (Houghton) takes her fiancé, Dr. Prentice (Poitier), home to meet her parents, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Joanna and her parents are white. Dr. Prentice is black. It is 1967. Joanna’s parents are shockedContinue reading “GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER. Acts 10:11-16.”