Wisdom for the Heart
Stephen Davey will help you learn to know what the Bible says, understand what it means, and apply it to your life as he teaches verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. Stephen is the president of Wisdom International, which provides radio broadcasts, digital content, and print resources designed to make disciples of all nations and edify followers of Jesus Christ.
On the Playing Field of Life (2 Peter 1:6)
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The “secret” to spiritual growth is usually the thing we least want to hear: go back to the fundamentals and stop looking for shortcuts. We connect Paul’s fruit of the Spirit with Peter’s call to “make every effort,” showing how Christian maturity grows where God’s provision meets our daily decision to surrender and obey. If you’ve ever felt stuck, inconsistent, or spiritually numb, this is a reset built on Scripture and plain honesty.
We spend most of our time unpacking one word from 2 Peter 1: godliness. Not as a church-only vibe...
Keep Swimming! (2 Peter 1:6)
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Pressure has a way of stripping life down to what’s real. We start with Paul’s blunt, relieving honesty: believers can be afflicted, perplexed, and even struck down, yet not crushed, not forsaken, not destroyed. That tension sets up a bigger question: how do you stay under the weight without giving up your faith, your obedience, or your hope?
We tell a gripping story from church history in France, when the Huguenots were hunted and forced into hidden worship. The life of Marie Durand brings the theme into sharp focus: imprisoned at 1...
Getting a Grip on Life (2 Peter 1:6)
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“Just say no” sounded simple, looked impressive, and still didn’t change hearts. We dig into why those famous behavior campaigns failed and how that same mistake shows up when we treat self-control like a slogan instead of a deeper kind of formation. If you’ve ever thought, “Why do I keep snapping, scrolling, or spiraling when I know better?” this conversation is for you.
We work through 2 Peter 1 and the call to “supplement” saving faith with virtue, practical knowledge, and self-control. We talk about what self-control actually means in the Bible: dominion over yo...
The Right Kind of Gold Rush (2 Peter 1:5a)
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Every day, people make choices that look “normal” on the surface but add up to a life that quietly falls apart. We start with sobering youth statistics and the raw question behind them: if you believe you’re an accident in an accidental universe, what real reason is there to say no to the easy escape, the quick thrill, or the crowd’s approval?
From there, we pivot to the California Gold Rush and the surprising detail most folks miss: the biggest fortunes often went to the people who equipped the miners, not the...
The Passionate Pursuit of Excellence (2 Peter 1:5a)
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Politicians love to talk about “values,” especially in an election year, but that word can hide a problem: what we value is not always virtuous, and what feels “right” can quietly be deadly. We start with a simple reframe that cuts through the noise. The biggest question isn’t how long you’re going to live. It’s how you’re going to live, and whether your life is actually meaningful.
We open 2 Peter 1 and treat Peter’s list like a divinely designed supplement program for spiritual growth: faith supplemented with virtue, knowledge, self-co...
Rafting On Whitewater (2 Peter 1:3-4)
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White water will tell you what you really trust. We open with a rafting story that feels uncomfortably familiar: the raft flips, panic hits, and the “safe” move looks like swimming to the calm edge. Then comes the twist. The quiet water is where the danger hides, and the rough water is where protection and forward motion actually live. That picture becomes a direct challenge to how we respond to pressure, suffering, and temptation in everyday Christian life.Â
From 2 Peter 1:3-4, we lay out two solid assurances for believers who feel displaced, squee...
The Crowded Life (2 Peter 1:2)
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Noise is not just annoying, it is formative. When the headlines never stop and the notifications keep buzzing, our minds and hearts get pulled into a current of the sensational, the trivial, and the temporary. We want peace, but we often chase it by trying to quiet the world, and the world will not cooperate. So we go to Peter’s opening prayer in 2 Peter 1:2 and ask a better question: what if the answer is not less trouble, but more grace and peace, multiplied?
We unpack what Peter means by “multiplied” and why he...
What to Remember With 30 Seconds to Live (2 Peter 1:1b)
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Saying “Jesus is Savior” can sound harmless until you say it like the apostles meant it: Jesus Christ alone. That single word exposes why culture can tolerate vague spirituality but lashes out at biblical Christianity. We talk candidly about what happens when a believer takes a public moral stand, from angry emails and workplace complaints to legal pressure and, at the extreme, violence. The point is not fear or outrage. The point is readiness.
We reflect on how Christians respond when the temperature rises: we learn the truth, we speak with boldness, we s...
The Real Thing! (1 Peter 1:1)
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Peter is near the end of his life, and his words have the weight of someone who knows what failure feels like and what grace can rebuild. We open 2 Peter by watching him do something unexpected: he signs his name in a way that admits both his old story and his new identity, then he plants his flag on a single claim that confronts every counterfeit gospel, every spiritual brand, and every would-be authority figure. He belongs to Jesus Christ, and that belonging reshapes everything.Â
We talk through Peter’s journey from the...
The Final Song Part 2 (1 Chronicles 28-29)
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The hardest spiritual test is not hearing God say “no” to a bad idea, it’s hearing Him say “no” to a good one. We sit with King David at the end of his life as he looks straight at an unfulfilled dream: he spent years planning a temple for God’s glory, only to watch the assignment pass to Solomon. Instead of bitterness, David gives us a rare picture of maturity: honest desire, real disappointment, and a steady “yet” that keeps trusting God’s wisdom.
From there, we move into a surprisingly pract...
The Final Song Part 1 (1 Chronicles 28-29)
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The hardest kind of disappointment is not failing, it is watching someone else live the dream you carried for years. We sit with David at the end of his life as he admits, without spin, that building God’s temple was “the intention of my heart” and then names the ache: God gave that assignment to Solomon. Instead of bitterness, David offers a surprising gift to anyone facing unanswered prayer, delayed hopes, or a future that does not match the plan you thought was faithful.
From there, we widen the lens to the po...
Do Babies Really Go To Heaven Part 2 (2 Samuel 12:14-23)
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The question isn’t academic if you’ve ever held an ultrasound photo, walked out of a hospital empty-handed, or wondered what God does with the smallest lives. We take the most tender and controversial question head-on: do miscarried, stillborn, aborted, and newborn children go to heaven, and what does the Bible actually say?
We start with Romans 5, tracing the contrast between Adam’s disobedience and Jesus Christ’s obedience, and why Paul’s “many will be made righteous” can’t be reduced to a narrow, adult-only category. From there we tackle the foundational...
Do Babies Really Go To Heaven Part 1 (2 Samuel 12:14-23)
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One sentence can stop a grieving parent cold: “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” We start there, with David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12, because the death of a child forces honest Christians to face the hardest pastoral question people ask through tears: did my baby go to heaven?
We don’t reach for a Hallmark answer, and we don’t pretend the Bible offers a single easy proof text for the miscarried, the aborted, the stillborn, or the severely mentally disabled. Instead, we do what careful biblical...
Telling The Truth To God (Psalm 51)
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Shame makes smart people act like fugitives. Sometimes the hiding is obvious, like a new name and a new city. Sometimes it’s quieter, like a carefully managed story, a tight smile, and a private fear that the truth will catch up. We start with the real account of Katherine Power, who lived for decades under an assumed identity after a bank robbery went wrong and a police officer was killed. When she finally turned herself in, she explained why: she was tired of living with shame, hiddenness, and guilt. That one sentence opens a...
Caught Red Handed Part 2 (2 Samuel 12)
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A king hears a simple story about a stolen lamb and explodes in rage, sure he’s defending justice. Then the prophet looks him in the eye and says the line that collapses every excuse: you are that man. We trace the turning point in 2 Samuel 12 where David, exposed after Bathsheba and Uriah, finally stops managing the narrative and tells the truth God has been waiting to hear.Â
We dig into why Nathan’s parable works, how guilt quietly eats away at peace, and why we’re often quickest to judge the very si...
Caught Red Handed Part 1 (2 Samuel 12)
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A year of silence can look like success on the outside and feel like slow collapse on the inside. We pick up the story of King David after 2 Samuel 11, when adultery and murder seem safely buried, and we ask the question nobody wants to answer: what does hidden sin do to a person over time? Pulling language from Psalm 32, we talk honestly about guilt and shame, sleepless nights, and the heavy hand of God that won’t let a true believer settle into the mud.Â
Then we follow the moment God breaks the...
The Cover Up Part 2 (2 Samuel 11:6-27)
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One bad choice rarely stays lonely. We walk through the David and Bathsheba narrative in 2 Samuel 11 at the exact moment David tries to outsmart consequences, and we watch his options shrink until he starts sacrificing other people to protect his image. The result is a clear, unsettling map of how a cover-up actually works, not in theory, but in real decisions that compound fast.Â
We break the spiral into the episode’s four moves: stay calm, apply pressure, conspire to kill, keep up appearances. Uriah becomes the unexpected mirror in the story, a m...
The Cover Up Part 1 (2 Samuel 11:6-27)
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The most unsettling scandals aren’t the ones that start with failure. They’re the ones that continue with planning. We take a hard look at the definition of a cover-up and why the attempt to hide wrongdoing so often becomes more reprehensible than the original act, then we connect that pattern to everything from corporate deception to the Bible’s most famous leadership collapse.
We walk through 2 Samuel 11 as King David responds to Bathsheba’s pregnancy, and we track his choices through four clear steps: staying calm, applying pressure, conspiring to kill, an...
Governed By Lessor Passions Part 2 (2 Samuel 11:1-5 )
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Temptation doesn’t walk into your life carrying a warning label. It shows you the highlight reel, then asks you to decide fast. We start with that brutal reality and follow it straight into one of the most sobering moments in Scripture: King David, at the peak of success, choosing comfort over duty, boredom over vigilance, and desire over wisdom, until one look becomes a chain of choices he can’t control.
We slow down in 2 Samuel 11 and connect the dots: why idleness makes us vulnerable, how lust escalates, and why David’s priv...
Governed By Lessor Passions Part 1 (2 Samuel 11:1-5 )
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A single line can expose an entire life: “Forbidden lust is like someone dying of thirst while begging for salt.” We start there, then zoom out to a headline-worthy cautionary tale, Marcus Antony and Cleopatra, where desire doesn’t stay personal. It rewrites priorities, fractures trust, and leaves empires and families paying the bill long after the thrill is gone.Â
Then we turn to the story that still grabs readers thousands of years later: King David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. One reason this passage hits so hard is that the Bible suddenly shifts...
At The Table Of Grace Part 2 (2 Samuel 9 )
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A new king usually cleans house. David does the opposite. He calls for a nationwide search to find a living relative of Saul, the very house that once hunted him, and he names his motive without flinching: he wants to show “the kindness of God.” That single choice turns 2 Samuel 9 into a masterclass on grace, covenant love, and what it means to be welcomed when you expect to be rejected.
We walk through the tension of the search, the slippery role of Ziba, and the haunting detail that the last heir is “crippl...
At The Table Of Grace Part 1 (2 Samuel 9 )
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A king goes looking for the family of his enemy, and what he plans to do with them flips every instinct about power on its head. We walk through 2 Samuel 9 and David’s decision to show covenant kindness to Mephibosheth, the surviving son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, a man hiding in fear and living with a disability he can’t undo. Instead of asking who is worthy, David asks who is left, and that single question becomes one of the clearest pictures of biblical grace anywhere in the Old Testament.Â
We al...
When The Answer Is No Part 2 (2 Samuel 7)
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God says “no” to David, and it’s not because David’s motives are wrong. That’s what makes the moment so unsettling. David wants to build a house for God, a temple that would feel like the ultimate act of devotion, and then Nathan returns with a reversal: you will not be the one. If you’ve ever had a dream that looked right, felt right, and still got denied, you’ll recognize the punch of that kind of disappointment.Â
We follow the story all the way through the emotional turn of one small wo...
When The Answer Is No Part 1 (2 Samuel 7)
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The word “but” can crush a plan in seconds. David is living the dream: peace in the land, a secure throne, a cedar palace, and a holy desire to honor God by building a temple. He asks the prophet Nathan, gets an enthusiastic yes, and you can almost hear the blueprints unrolling. Then God speaks, and everything shifts.
We walk through 2 Samuel 7 and the moment God closes a door on something that looks good, noble, and spiritually motivated. That’s what makes it so personal. Most of us don’t struggle with God sayi...
The Last Meal Part 2 (1 Samuel 28 & 31)
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God’s silence can feel mysterious until you realize what King Saul refuses to face: you can’t demand closeness with God while you’re actively protecting the sin you already know needs confession. We walk through Saul’s final descent and why his complaint “God won’t answer me” isn’t a puzzle, it’s a mirror. Along the way, we use a painfully funny illustration about a man hiding a lit cigarette from his pastor to expose how often we try to “stuff” disobedience out of sight while still asking for guidance, comfort, and clarity.<...
The Last Meal Part 1 (1 Samuel 28 & 31)
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One person with the wrong theology and the right access can tilt a whole nation. We start with a surprising historical thread, Rasputin’s shadow over the Russian monarchy, and use it to spotlight a timeless pattern: when a culture gets “all aflutter” with mysticism and the occult, deception doesn’t stay on the fringe. It moves inward, shaping decisions, weakening trust, and leaving real damage behind.Â
Then we open to one of the darkest scenes in the Bible, the Witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28. King Saul is terrified as the Philistines mass for...
Misled By A Misguided Heart Part 2 (1 Samuel 27, 29, 30)
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Panic loves to sound like wisdom. It tells you to move fast, trust your gut, and do whatever it takes to feel safe again. That’s exactly where David is in 1 Samuel 27 to 30, and we follow the chain reaction as his “perfect plan” seems to work at first, then traps him: conniving in enemy territory, cornered into an unthinkable battle, crushed by loss at Ziklag, and finally corrected when he seeks God instead of his own instincts.
We talk through why “listening to your heart” can be dangerous, especially when discouragement is twisting y...
Misled By A Misguided Heart Part 1 (1 Samuel 27, 29, 30)
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Discouragement isn’t just a feeling, it’s a lever. When it gets under the edge of your heart, it can pry you open and start rewriting what you believe about God, yourself, and the future. We start with a stark reminder from Scripture: even when we are faithless, God is faithful. That truth doesn’t erase consequences or discipline, but it does give us a solid floor when fear tells us we’re finished.
Then we walk through David’s nearly fatal slide in 1 Samuel 27 to 29. Under real pressure, David stops bringing h...
Beauty and Two Beasts Part 2 (1 Samuel 25:1-44)
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One careless insult can light a fuse that years of faithfulness never triggered. We watch David, the future king of Israel, go from steady endurance to a sword-strapped march of revenge after Nabal dismisses him with contempt. The shock is the point: character isn’t only tested by massive crises but by smaller slights that poke our pride. If you’ve ever been cheated, overlooked, or repaid with harshness after doing good, you’ll recognize the “disease of me” that turns pain into payback.
We follow the story of Abigail and David in 1 Samue...
Beauty and Two Beasts Part 1 (1 Samuel 25:1-44)
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A single insult can reveal what’s been building in the heart for weeks, maybe years. We start with a haunting phrase, “the disease of me,” and track how selfishness and resentment can spread through a team, a family, or a church until people who should be grateful become petty, reactive, and hard. To make it concrete, we retell an unforgettable sports moment from the 1981 Los Angeles Lakers: the team rallies without its star, then falls apart when the spotlight returns. It’s a picture of what happens when recognition matters more than character.
The Cat and the Mouse Part 2 (1 Samuel 23-24)
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You know the moment, the one where you finally have the upper hand. The text in front of us is 1 Samuel 24, and David is hiding in a cave at En Gedi while Saul hunts him with 3,000 elite soldiers. Then the impossible happens: Saul walks in alone, completely vulnerable. David’s men whisper that it’s destiny, that God has handed David the chance to end the threat and take what he’s owed. David chooses something far harder than revenge, and his conscience won’t even let him enjoy a small victory.
We talk...
The Cat and the Mouse Part 1 (1 Samuel 23-24)
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One moment. Two completely different conclusions about what “God’s will” must be. That’s the tension we sit in as we follow David’s flight from Saul through 1 Samuel 23 and 24, where the chase feels nonstop, the accusations are unfair, and the danger is real. If you’ve ever felt hunted at work, misjudged by family, or punished for doing the right thing, David’s story meets you right where you are, not with slogans, but with a gritty, lived-in faith.Â
We walk through David’s decision to rescue Keilah even while he’s a fugitive...
The Original Robin Hood (1 Samuel 21-22)
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David’s story takes a hard left when fear takes the wheel. He’s hungry, hunted, and making split-second choices that don’t look like the fearless giant-slayer we remember. We walk through 1 Samuel 21 to 22 as David lies at Nob, eats the holy bread, and then reaches for the one symbol that should have been unnecessary: Goliath’s sword. That moment becomes a mirror for the way our own “past wins” can turn into a crutch, while present-day trust quietly drains away.Â
Then things get even more unsettling. David runs to Gath, enemy headqua...
Storm Clouds Part 2 (1 Samuel 19-20)
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Have you ever felt like life turned against you for no good reason? You did the right thing, obeyed God, and served faithfully, only to watch storm clouds gather where the sun had just been shining. What do you do when doing right leads to being hunted?
In this episode, Stephen Davey opens 1 Samuel 19 and 20 and continues his series on the life of David. The pretense is finally over. King Saul openly orders his son and servants to kill David. Stephen walks you through the crushing losses David absorbs in rapid succession...
Storm Clouds Part 1 (1 Samuel 19-20)
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Have you ever felt like life turned against you for no good reason? You did the right thing, obeyed God, and served faithfully, only to watch storm clouds gather where the sun had just been shining. What do you do when doing right leads to being hunted?
In this episode, Stephen Davey opens 1 Samuel 19 and 20 and continues his series on the life of David. The pretense is finally over. King Saul openly orders his son and servants to kill David. Stephen walks you through the crushing losses David absorbs in rapid succession...
Behaving Wisely Part 2 (1 Samuel 18:1-30)
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Have you ever wondered what wisdom really looks like in the middle of ordinary life? Not the wisdom of clever answers or shrewd strategies, but the kind that shapes how you respond to praise, criticism, promotion, and setbacks. What does godly wisdom actually look like in flesh and blood?
In this episode, Stephen Davey opens 1 Samuel 18 and continues his series on the life of David. Fresh from defeating Goliath, David is suddenly a national hero. Songs are sung in his honor. Jonathan gives him his own robe and sword. Everyone loves him...
Behaving Wisely Part 1 (1 Samuel 18:1-30)
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Have you ever wondered what wisdom really looks like in the middle of ordinary life? Not the wisdom of clever answers or shrewd strategies, but the kind that shapes how you respond to praise, criticism, promotion, and setbacks. What does godly wisdom actually look like in flesh and blood?
In this episode, Stephen Davey opens 1 Samuel 18 and continues his series on the life of David. Fresh from defeating Goliath, David is suddenly a national hero. Songs are sung in his honor. Jonathan gives him his own robe and sword. Everyone loves him...
David and the Sitting Duck Part 2 (1 Samuel 17)
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Have you always heard the story of David and Goliath as a message about overcoming your personal giants? What if that popular reading actually misses the whole point of what happened in the Valley of Blood?
In this episode, Stephen Davey opens 1 Samuel 17 and walks you through one of the most familiar accounts in Scripture with fresh clarity. Israel is not just facing a military crisis. They are facing a spiritual one. The armies are paralyzed by fear because they have forgotten their God. Even King Saul, once head and shoulders above...
David and the Sitting Duck Part 1 (1 Samuel 17)
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A story you think you know can still confront you. David and Goliath gets retold as a motivational underdog win, but that version can miss the sharpest edge of 1 Samuel 17. We dig into the line that changes everything: the soldiers describe Goliath as defying Israel, while David insists Goliath is defying the armies of the living God. One group sees a giant. David sees a blasphemer. That shift reveals the real issue is not tactics or confidence, it is whether God’s honor still matters enough to shape our courage.
We also zo...
An Unlikely King Part 2 (I Samuel 16:1-13)
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A king is chosen while another king still rules, and almost nobody in the room understands what just happened. We head to Bethlehem with Samuel as God stages a decision that feels backwards to human instincts: not a warrior, not the most impressive brother, not the obvious résumé. The tension is real, too. Saul’s reign is unraveling, enemies are nearby, and a public announcement would look like treason. So the whole moment comes wrapped in the ordinary cover of a sacrifice and a meal, with a quiet conversation between God and his prop...
