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...

Its garbage day but I hardly noticed when I left the house this morning. A rainbow overshadowed the trash bins. It was a delightful rainbow against an otherwise dreary sky. When we see rainbows, we probably remember that God will never flood the world again. But did you know rainbows are reminders for God Himself? He actually designed these colorful displays so He Himself would remember His promise to us and all animals. That’s right. When water is in the air, God remembers that He will never again use it to destroy all life (see Genesis 9:14-15 ). That’s how much he cares about us.  No matter how much garbage is in our lives, God loves us. God spoke this promise directly to Noah and his sons – the first generation to walk the earth after the worldwide flood. But it didn’t take long for Noah’s descendants to turn away from God and begin to generate the garbage of sin. We are people characterized by sin. Even what is surely good in our eyes is considered filth by ...