What do you do when life overwhelms you? Even the happiest people can be overwhelmed with grief. Things happen. Circumstances can blindside you. You may be the most hopeful, optimistic person, and suddenly you wake up with only darkness in your soul. It is awful. When the children of Israel were taken captive by KingContinue reading “Ecclesiastes is the Book for Those Overwhelmed With Life’s Disappointments. Psalm 137.”
Author Archives: Steven Wales
Don’t Jump the Gun. Genesis 23:16.
One Thanksgiving Day, a single man with nowhere to celebrate the holiday was invited to eat with Debbie’s family. During the meal, the Holy Spirit spoke to him: This is the woman you are going to marry. Mark barely knew Debbie—they had never dated. The voice he heard stunned him, like a lightning bolt outContinue reading “Don’t Jump the Gun. Genesis 23:16.”
The ‘Good Enough’ Work Ethic. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14.
Image: the cockpit of an airbus. The World War Two generation understood how to fight to the death. They knew what it was to live through a world at war, and to fear how things would end up, should the Allies lose. Life for the WWII generation (often called “The Greatest Generation”) must have beenContinue reading “The ‘Good Enough’ Work Ethic. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14.”
Dust in the Wind. Jeremiah 47:6.
Image: The 1951 Golden Anniversary photo of Carl and Gertie Stadtlander, my wife’s great-grandparents who lived so recently, historically speaking, yet about whom we know so little–and our children or grandchildren will know nothing according to Ecclesiastes 1:11. The rock band KANSAS recorded a perfect little song in 1977. “Dust in the Wind” is slowContinue reading “Dust in the Wind. Jeremiah 47:6.”
Diminish Not a Word. Jeremiah 26:2.
It is easy to imagine the prophets as charismatic heroes, as if they were celebrities or movie stars. I picture them something like Charlton Heston playing Moses in the old TEN COMMANDMENTS movie. In my mind’s eye, each prophet—Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and others—is a great orator, a handsome, bearded man standing on a rock, robesContinue reading “Diminish Not a Word. Jeremiah 26:2.”
The Awe of God. 1 Samuel 6:19-20.
Israel disobeyed God by bringing the Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield. Israel lost the battle to the Philistines, and they lost the Ark of the Covenant too. The idol-worshipping enemies of God then brought the Ark to their own temple. The next morning their idol, Dagon, had fallen down. They stood him up.Continue reading “The Awe of God. 1 Samuel 6:19-20.”
Heroes and Villains. Jeremiah 42:19-22.
Old western movies employed the hat-color device: good guys wore white hats and bad guys wore black hats. There is even a Wikipedia page discussing the trope.[1] But the reality is not always so simple, particularly in the Bible. These are real people, not fictional characters, and the heroes seem to let us down atContinue reading “Heroes and Villains. Jeremiah 42:19-22.”
The Captain of the Guard Comes for Jeremiah. Jeremiah 39:4-6.
Image. Corrie Ten Boom being released from Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. (This is a still from the 1975 film the HIDING PLACE starring Jeannette Clift as Corrie Ten Boom.) Jeremiah had reason to be scared. The pagan king Nebuchadnezzar had no regard for Jeremiah or Jeremiah’s God. The Captain of Nebuchadnezzar’s Guard “came … unto JerusalemContinue reading “The Captain of the Guard Comes for Jeremiah. Jeremiah 39:4-6.”
King Washington? Judges 8:23.
The story goes that George Washington turned down a chance to be king—that but for his amazing self-restraint, the United States would be a monarchy today. Like so many stories of our heroes and villains, the tale of Washington refusing the crown has been oversimplified. As the Revolutionary War neared its end, an older officerContinue reading “King Washington? Judges 8:23.”
The Beautiful City. Ezekiel 27:3.
Image: Santorini, Greece. I LOVE living in the country. But few things are as amazing as a world-class city. Don’t believe it? Think of it this way—with the exception of natural wonders, every incredible thing you can think of can be found in the world’s greatest cities: London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Cairo. ThinkContinue reading “The Beautiful City. Ezekiel 27:3.”
Household Words: 