Stephen De La Vega

God’s gift of eternal life is worth celebrating. Our freedom from the leash of sin is better than any other freedom. The love and adoration we enjoy from our Heavenly Father is comforting beyond measure. Praise God for His ever-reaching mercy and grace. But the Christian life is not all fun and games. God didn’t intend for us to stop at celebration. When we start off on the road called Hope, we should quickly merge onto the road called Holiness. Do we Christians and faith communities (and even churches) cruise up and down Hope and steer away from Holiness? Do we celebrate and thank God for His forgiveness, glibly excusing our humanness as that part of life God no longer holds against us? God expects more. We’re not only saved because it’s good for us. We’re also saved to sacrifice for God. Timothy wrote that God “saved us and called us to a holy life” ( 2 Timothy 1:5-10 ). And, of course, we remember Romans 12:1: …I urge you…in view of God’s mercy, to offer you...

I'm happy to announce I was nominated again for this Sunshine Blogger Award , this time by 2 different fellow bloggers whom I appreciate greatly.  They are terrific writers, both dedicated to bringing the truth of God's Word into the real lives of people like us. They have done much for the sake of Christ, the gospel, and God's kingdom and I only scratch the surface of who they are here. Please v isit their sites to learn more about them and to read their fantastic blog posts. They are: Jessica Brodie  of  Shining the Light Wife, mother, and lion-walker. Yes, check out  that last fact  on her site. Here is  Jessica's post about her  Sunshine Blogger Award . Yvonne Morgan of Turning Mountains into Molehills Wife, mother, and grandmother, with one son who lives with Jesus. Here is Yvonne's post about her Sunshine Blogger Award . The  Sunshine Blogger Award  is a peer recognition for bloggers across all genres who inspire "po...

This blog post is a little different.  It's unplanned and not my regular, biblically-based writing.  I'm happy to announce I'm a Sunshine Blogger Award  nominee. The Sunshine Blogger Award is a peer recognition for bloggers across all genres who inspire "positivity and joy."  While there is no formal evaluation or vetting process, and no tangible prize, I am truly honored to receive this award because it comes directly from a fellow blogger who also puts pen to a page and appreciates the value of every post and every word.  So, much thanks to you, Tim Kiser of The Profit Dare , for nominating me. This is a good time to send appreciation to everyone in my blogging community.  We have developed a wonderful sense of community and mutual support and I appreciate you all.  There will be times I don't acknowledge a kind favor, but it's not because I don't care.  It's just too easy to miss things that file into my online activ...