Image: the square in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. “Marisela, listen to me. I understand that you left your homework at home. I get it. But I’m required to take points off for late assignments.” I was a first-year English teacher. Marisela was a sophomore in a border town. I had been hired to replace aContinue reading “God Hears. Psalm 120:1.”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
God’s Court is a Court of Equity. Psalm 98:9
Professor John Mixon standing in front of some of the cartoons that he used while teaching classes at the UH Law Center. He retired in 2013 after a 60-year career as a law professor. I was scribbling notes as fast as I could—like eighty of my law-school peers. Suddenly, the professor tossed out one ofContinue reading “God’s Court is a Court of Equity. Psalm 98:9”
Nothing is Really That Remote. Psalm 89.
Statue of Liberty During Pink Sunrise. Copyright Matthew Chimera Photo. Prints available online. “I can’t believe it. I mean, there she is! It’s really her!” My wife was so excited. We were bouncing gently on the bow of a Circle Line Tour boat in New York Harbor. Everyone around us had camera phones pointing atContinue reading “Nothing is Really That Remote. Psalm 89.”
Barking Dogs. Psalm 59.
“Daddy, I can’t sleep. The dogs won’t stop barking!” my drowsy daughter said. “I’ll take care of it.” I sighed. I was quickly growing tired of this. I stepped into my boots, went outside, turned on the water hose, and began spraying. The neighbor dogs took off running. But we had been doing this forContinue reading “Barking Dogs. Psalm 59.”
Do You Have a Target on Your Back? Psalm 54.
Image: an alley in the Old City of Jerusalem off Lion’s Gate street. Notice how time has worn down the ancient stone steps. Little David was the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons, a nobody from a nobody-family. Then one day the prophet Samuel came to the home. Samuel instructed Jesse to round up his sons,Continue reading “Do You Have a Target on Your Back? Psalm 54.”
Eliphaz Reports a Vision. Job 4:12-21.
What if you could travel back in time thousands of years. It is 2000 B.C.–that’s 2,000 years before Christ. Five men of God are sitting around a fire talking. Let’s imagine they conveniently happen to be speaking English (a language that will not be invented for 3,000 years!). The men in robes invite you toContinue reading “Eliphaz Reports a Vision. Job 4:12-21.”
Buy a Cemetery Plot. Then Go Celebrate! Proverbs 31:25.
As I twisted free of my mother’s hand and ran under the trees, I saw the gate approaching and read the words. Could it really be true? A sign above a little square of grass deep in a Pine forest made me feel like part of some royal family. Who am I, the king ofContinue reading “Buy a Cemetery Plot. Then Go Celebrate! Proverbs 31:25.”
Joseph Wept. Genesis 42:24.
One of the greatest stories in the Bible is the record of the life of Joseph. Until Benjamin was born, he was the youngest of eleven boys, and he was his father’s favorite son. People criticize Joseph for being proud, suggesting he indulged in the fact that he was his father’s favorite. But I amContinue reading “Joseph Wept. Genesis 42:24.”
Islands, Elevators, Cows, and Crops: Migration Economics. Genesis 36:6-8.
The island of Manhattan must have seemed huge to the Dutch who first arrived in 1626, securing the rights to farmland by paying the Lenape people $24 in beads and trinkets for the area that would come to be known as “Manhatto.” Forty years later the British took over and the island would grow soContinue reading “Islands, Elevators, Cows, and Crops: Migration Economics. Genesis 36:6-8.”
Economy of the City. Genesis 34:20-21.
Everybody’s got to eat. And find shelter. And pay bills. The fact is, you need money. Even if you don’t want money, you need it. How does one amass wealth? By selling something for which people will pay. This is true whether you live in a culture based on barter and trade, or whether youContinue reading “Economy of the City. Genesis 34:20-21.”
Household Words: 