Stephen De La Vega

  We often see the path we’re standing on, but not always the path around the corner. Sometimes it seems we’re on the wrong path because we don’t see what we hope to see or we’re walking farther than we wanted to walk. We question the decisions we’ve made along the way. We even question the published trail guide sometimes. Can we trust the guide? Of course we can. So, why do we question it? Sometimes we struggle to trust the truth. Sometimes we struggle to trust our Savior even though He is altogether trustworthy?   In our third and final visit with Jesus in this series, we join Him when He appeared to His disciples after He defeated death. Satan and his organized, world system could not keep Jesus and His truth locked away in a tomb . He rose from His grave just as He foretold and promised ( John 2:18-22 , Matthew 16:21 ). He told His disciples many times that He would rise on the third day. On one occasion, as we studied in Resolution 12 , the mother of James and John change...

  The Parthenon. Not the famous one in Greece, but “the world’s only exact-size replica of the original Parthenon in Athens” ( https://www.nashvilleparthenon.com/ ). You can visit it in Nashville, Tennessee. It seems like the one in Athens would’ve been a great place to exchange wisdom. It certainly looks like the perfect venue, but the Parthenon is not known for that. There is a place where wisdom and truth was taught at a temple where similar columns once stood. It’s called the Second Temple, a rebuilding of Solomon’s Temple. It’s also known as Herod’s Temple, and it’s where Jesus taught at times when He was in Jerusalem. There, at the Second Temple, Jesus shared His perfect wisdom with Jews and Gentiles alike, depending on where he was on any given day. He spoke about life as He expressed the truth of God to eager listeners ( Mark 12:41 , Mark 14:49 , John10:23 , Luke 19:47-48 ).   I’m pleased that we have the opportunity to hear from Jesus in a few resolutions begi...

  A mountaintop high. Indescribable. The view. The air. The freedom. Above it all. Breathe in… Exhale…   Now step back down for a moment. Let’s consider the mountain top high of a despicable king who somehow decided to obey God. In our walk through every 20:24 and 20:25 verse in the Bible, we find ourselves in the middle of a 3-part look at our responsibility to God as we consider kings and kingdoms in the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. Part 1 was the prior post: I Will Stand for God’s Government . Next time, we will Let God Win Our Battles . Today, we resolve to Follow God through Highs and Lows . Our story is found in 1 Kings 20 . At this point in history, Israel had been a divided nation consisting of a northern kingdom called Israel, and a southern kingdom called Judah. Jerusalem was the capitol city of Judah, and Samara was the capitol city of Israel where King Ahab reigned as its seventh king. He was ungodly – not a role model in any way for the king...