Stephen De La Vega

  Some countries have already celebrated Thanksgiving this year. My country will celebrate next week. It’s a time of looking back with family or friends to acknowledge our blessings (or harvest, historically). But it’s not always a positive reflection. Sometimes there’s baggage. Maybe often. Sometimes it’s our baggage or our shortcomings. We might even feel like walking away from God. Or maybe we already have. If we carry this into Thanksgiving week, or just in life, this Resolution 11 is for us.   We began our “ Journey to Resolve ” in July 2024. (Sorry it’s taking so long to cover all 15 resolutions!) The articles in this series have been New Year’s resolutions throughout the year, not just at the beginning. So far, we’ve enjoyed some very brief book surveys and stories that highlight important parts of Israel’s history. And our last two resolutions were drawn from two books of poetry and wisdom: Job and Proverbs. We circle back now to a sweeping look at Israel’s history...

  A new day is coming. Just like with Noah aboard the Ark who knew he would someday step onto dry land, everyday life will change. The sun will rise. Jesus will come again. The truth of God’s promise will ring clearly in the hearts of all people. All people!   This post is the final episode of an 8-episode series about boarding and deboarding Noah’s Ark. If you’re visiting this series for the first time, you should start at Episode 1: The Story of Our Lives and set aside time to read all 8 episodes. Otherwise, sit back and experience the final episode.   Episode 8: Jesus’ Return Do we believe Jesus will come again? His return is not good news for everybody. He will come to bring home those who trust Him as Savior and Lord, but He will also later judge and punish those who do not. This isn’t an arbitrary topic in this series. Noah and the Flood are mentioned in 3 of the Bible passages about Jesus’ return ( Matth...

  (image borrowed from my 1 st blog post: Even on Garbage Day, God Loves Us )   Finally! The episode where we talk about:   Rainbows There may be rain. Dark clouds may come. But God made rainbows to call attention to His promise. Did you know that the only planet in our solar system where rainbows appear is Earth? That means rainbows only appear on the planet that endured a worldwide flood. Another amazing fact is that we can never touch the rainbows we see, or interrupt them, or dismantle them. Rainbows are in God’s hands, not ours. We can’t change God’s promise. These two facts are extensions of God’s compassion. Why did God create the rainbow phenomena and what is His promise?   This post is Episode 5 of an 8-episode series about boarding and deboarding Noah’s Ark. If you’re visiting this series for the first time, you should start at Episode 1: The Story of Our Lives . Otherwise, sit back and experience Episode 5 .     Episode 5: ...