A Chain Reaction of Truth

Share a comment

A single footprint in the sand can change everything. We open with a milestone: The Wisdom Journey is launching on satellite TV in Arabic, bringing verse-by-verse Bible teaching to millions across the Arabic-speaking world. That global step sets the stage for a message drawn from Psalm 77 and Psalm 78—where God’s hidden footprints meet a very public assignment to pass on truth.

We sit with Asaph’s poetry in Psalm 77, tracing how God moves through storms and seas in ways we cannot fully see, yet cannot miss. The imagery is vivid: thunder, lightning, waves, and a way through the waters that leaves no trace but rescue. From there, we turn to Psalm 78, which reads like a relay race—fathers to children, children yet unborn to their children—so the story of God’s mighty works does not fade. We share a simple framework anyone can use, whether you are a parent, mentor, teacher, or friend: help the next generation know who God is, train them to think biblically, and show them how to live wisely.

You will hear real questions kids ask—about the Trinity, grief, justice, and angels—that prove young hearts think deeply about God and life. We talk about forming minds that love Scripture, not with clichés, but with clear categories and honest engagement. Wisdom then moves from knowledge to practice, warning us not to copy the stubbornness of past generations but to choose obedience that builds a faithful life. Along the way, we connect the dots between local discipleship and global mission, inviting you to pray for and support the Arabic broadcast so truth keeps moving from heart to heart and home to home.

If this conversation encourages you, subscribe, share it with a friend who is investing in the next generation, and leave a review to help others find the show. Have a story of God’s faithfulness you are passing on? Tell us—we’d love to hear it.

The Christian's Compass is a companion study guide that corresponds to each of these lessons along The Wisdom Journey. Download a copy for free, or cover the cost of printing and shipping and we'll mail you a booklet.

Learn More: https://www.wisdomonline.org/mp/the-christians-compass

Support the show

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (01:16):
Hello, we are so glad you've joined us today on
this wisdom journey with StephenDavey.
You know, Stephen, just beforeyou start your lesson, we've
been working behind the scenes,expanding the reach of the
Wisdom Journey, and there's somereally exciting news coming.

SPEAKER_01 (01:32):
Yeah, there really is.
Scott.
In just a few weeks, friends,we're going to be launching the
Wisdom Journey on satellitetelevision in Arabic.
And that means millions ofpeople across the
Arabic-speaking world, well,they're going to be able to hear
God's word taught verse by versein their own in their own
language.

SPEAKER_00 (01:48):
Aaron Powell That's really incredible.
Yeah.
We have the first 200 lessonsready, and that was the minimum
that the station needed for usto launch.
So we have a long way to go toget all 780 lessons done and
ready for broadcast.

SPEAKER_01 (02:04):
Trevor Burrus So if the math is correct, we have 580
more lessons to produce tofinish this three-year journey
through the Bible in Arabic.
And we're trusting the Lord toprovide what's needed to keep
that moving forward.
The door is open, thetranslators are at work.
People are waiting to hear thetruth of God.

SPEAKER_00 (02:24):
Aaron Ross Powell And friend, anyone who's
listening, if you want to helpmake this possible, you can give
toward this Arabic project rightnow at wisdomonline.org.
And every gift helps keep thisbroadcast going.

SPEAKER_01 (02:38):
Yeah, that's right.
God is using uh this teaching toreach people in every country
now on earth.
And well, for the first timewe're gonna be on TV.
Yeah.
Well, not me.
I'm not gonna be seeing, whichis good news.
I, you know, have a face forradio, I like I like to say.
There's a television station inJordan.
There's an Arab believer, uh, anorganization that's translated

(03:01):
these transcripts into Arabic,and he is the face and the voice
in this new program.

SPEAKER_00 (03:08):
This is really exciting, and if you can help
us, we'd be grateful.
Well, Stephen, should I pray forthis opportunity real quick?
Lord, thank you for thisopportunity to go on television
across the Arabic-speakingworld, and we pray that it will
reach millions of hearts withthe truth of God's word.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.

(03:28):
Well, with that exciting update,let's turn to today's lesson
from the wisdom journey.

SPEAKER_01 (03:36):
Now, as we open Psalm 77 today, you'll notice
the superscription, that's theheading at the very top of the
psalm.
It tells us that this is a psalmof Asaf.
This is one of Israel's leadingcomposers.
We're also told here that thepsalm was sung according to
Jedothan.
Now, Jedhan was an assistantmusic leader in David's time.

(03:59):
We're told that over in 1Chronicles chapter 25 and verse
1.
He evidently wrote the musicalscore for this psalm.
Now we don't know what that tunesounded like.
I wish we did, but God didn'tleave us the melody line in
these musical scores, but he didleave us the inspired lyrics.
Now Psalm 77 is going to reflecton the mystery of God as God

(04:23):
walks through history.
His footsteps in the waves ofthe sea are mysterious and most
often hidden.
Asaph writes here, starting inverse sixteen.
The sound of your thunder was inthe whirlwind, the lightnings

(04:44):
lit up the world.
Your way was in the sea, andyour paths in the mighty waters,
and your footprints may not beknown.
You know, you could kind ofparaphrase those final words,
and nobody saw you come or go.
Yet the Lord's presence wasevident.

(05:04):
It kind of reminds me of thefirst English novel entitled
Robinson Caruso, written byDaniel Defoe, is published way
back in 1719.
It's a novel about theadventures of a young man
shipwrecked on an island nearthe coast of Venezuela.
Before the ship completelybreaks up, Robinson is able to
salvage some tools and somesupplies and a Bible.

(05:28):
He soon figures out how to huntfor food and grow barley and
rice and even he even makespottery.
He reads that Bible, and heeventually gives his heart and
life to Jesus Christ.
He keeps a journal of hisadventures over the course of
the next twenty eight years onthis island.
He records all sorts of dangersand hardships.

(05:51):
Now believing that he is allalone on this island, he's
shocked one day to see afootprint in the sand.
He's immediately terrified andsomewhat mystified.
He's evidently not alone afterall.
Now eventually he discovers anative who had escaped from
cannibals.
Robinson and this native becomelifelong friends, and eventually

(06:14):
they're both rescued and sailback to England together.
Now from a mysterious footprintto becoming his best friend.
That's what I thought of when Iread this psalm.
That's the idea here with Asaphas he writes about God's
mysterious footprints in thesands of time.
Asaph writes here in the finalverse that the Lord becomes a

(06:35):
faithful shepherd, leading him,guiding him all along the way.
He also went from that footprintto a best friend.
Now in the very next Psalm,Psalm 78, Asaph wants the truth
of what he's learned to bepassed down to the next
generation.
Like Robinson Carusa's journalthat told of his adventures and

(06:57):
the faithfulness of the Lord.
Well, Asaph doesn't want to keepall these adventures and the
Lord's faithfulness a secret.
So he writes here in verse one,give ear, O my people, to my
teaching, incline your ears tothe words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in aparable, I will utter dark
sayings from of old, things thatwe have heard and known that our

(07:19):
fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from theirchildren, but tell to the coming
generation the glorious deeds ofthe Lord and his might and the
wonders that he has done.
See, you get the idea of a chainreaction here.
Our parents taught the gloriousdeeds of the Lord to us, and now

(07:40):
we're going to teach them to ourchildren.
ASAP writes here in verse six ofGod's purpose in all of this.
Listen that the next generationmight know them, the children
yet unborn, and arise and tellthem to their children.
You see, this chain reaction isto continue and not break apart

(08:01):
in at any link in anygeneration.
And this psalm is going toprovide some clues on how to do
that.
Now, if you're married and youdon't have any children, don't
change the channel right now.
The responsibility to influencethe next generation belongs to
us all.
It's a commission of the church.
Even if it's simply telling, bythe way, that neighbor or or

(08:23):
that coworker, or or maybe it'sthat fellow student you go to
school with, the truth about theLord.
This is your commission from theLord.
Now let me give you threepriorities for all of us.
And they're found here in Psalm78.
Priority number one is this weneed to help the next generation

(08:44):
know who God is.
ASAF makes this aim ofinstruction very clear here in
verse 7, so that they should settheir hope in God and not forget
the works of God.
See, people can't place theirhope in God unless they've seen
the hand of God.
In other words, the gloriousworks of the Lord where?

(09:05):
In creation and throughouthistory.
Let's repeat that to the nextgeneration.
Priority number two, we need toteach the next generation to
think biblically.
He goes on to say here in verse7, so that they should set their
hope in God and not forget theworks of God, but keep his
commandments.

(09:25):
Not only do children need toknow who God is, they also need
to know what God has said andwhat they what they know about
God's word, about God'scommandments, about his
instructions for living.
Well, they need to be encouragedto obey.
One author writing on this textoffered a pretty good reminder
when he said the best educationis education in the best things.

(09:51):
You see, children don't justneed a good education.
They need an education in goodthings, and that has to include
the truths of God's Word.
Now you might be thinking thatchildren don't think all that
deeply about God or life ingeneral.
Oh no.
They got a lot of questions, andtheir questions just might
surprise you.

(10:13):
Through the years of mypastorate, our children's uh
minister would often have thechildren in third through fifth
grades write down questions eachyear that they want to have
answered in the coming year.
Uh here are here are some ofthose questions.
How are God, Jesus, and the HolySpirit the same God?

(10:33):
How do I handle the emotions ofhaving someone in my family die?
If the person I marry one dayabuses me, can I get a divorce?
If people live far away andnever hear about Jesus, can they
go to heaven?
If God knew Satan was going tosin, why did God create him?

(10:55):
Do angels have a free will?
Did God create girl angels?
Well, that that question's easy.
The answer is yes, there aregirl angels.
I know because I married one ofthem.
Well, I'm just trying to makesome points here.
Let me tell you something.
These young children are askingdeep questions about God and His

(11:17):
Word.
How about we make it a priorityto teach them how to think
biblically?
Priority number three, we needto teach the next generation how
to live wisely.
Asaph writes here that biblicalinstruction is designed to do
just that.
He says here in verse eight thenext generation should not be

(11:40):
like their fathers, a stubbornand rebellious generation.
Now ASAF is referring to hisdisobedient Israelite
forefathers who rebelled againstGod.
So let's remind those in ourfamily, in our world, how to
live wisely.
And that means you're not you'reyou're going to avoid wasting
your life through disobedienceto God's word.

(12:01):
This is the chain reaction, bythe way, described over in the
New Testament by the ApostlePaul.
He tells Pastor Timothy, whatyou've heard from me, entrust
that to faithful men who will beable to teach others also.
Second Timothy chapter 2 andverse 2.

(12:21):
We need to keep this chainreaction of truth going.
Let's teach the next generationto know God, think biblically,
and live wisely.
I I love the story about the kidwho was fussing in church and he
wouldn't sit still.
He was talking out loud, he hedropped the hymnol, he dropped
his crayons, and started cryingat one point.

(12:44):
And his father finally hadenough and picked him up and put
him on his shoulder and marchedout of the sanctuary.
And that boy knew he was introuble now.
Just before they got to the backdoors, that kid hollered out,
Pray for me.
Well, at least he learned thevalue of prayer.
Well, let me tell you, here arethe ultimate priorities for us

(13:07):
today.
And let's pray for thesechildren.
Let's also show them.
Let's show the next generationthat God is worth knowing, that
God's word is worth learning,and God's will is worth obeying.
Well, until our next journey,beloved, may the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ and the loveof God and the fellowship of the

(13:31):
Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.

SPEAKER_00 (13:50):
Before we close, this wisdom journey is launching
soon on satellite television inArabic.
Please pray for us.
And if you want to help makethat possible, visit
wisdomonline.org forinformation.
Join us next time on the WisdomJourney.