Stephen De La Vega

  I’ve been a Christian for over 40 years. I’ve attended church very regularly for each of those years. I was much more than a Sunday Christian - very involved in ministry. But I was also a closet Christian. I didn’t always speak up for Jesus. I still don’t. Too often I shrink in silence. When the guys in the locker room carry on about girls, I do my own thing. When they exclaim, “Jesus Christ!,” I keep quiet. Sure, they know I’m a Christian. They even know I published some Bible studies, but when they occasionally comment about going to church or recite a Bible phrase, I clam up.   Why? Am I ashamed of Jesus?   The short answer: Yes, I am ashamed of Jesus. I’m a member of Christians Anonymous . Sometimes I prefer to sit on the sidelines and just watch instead of following through with the Great Commission that Jesus expects of us: Do what we can to help people everywhere follow Jesus, who in turn will do the same ( Matthew 28:19-20 , Acts 1:8 ). Who a...

  “Life is a mess.” “Things are spiraling out of control.” “We’re at our wit’s end.” “Nothing we’ve tried seems to work.” These are phrases we use when life becomes unmanageable. But we don’t usually express them as a nation, or worse, as a global population. Things got bad. We fight a pandemic. Its reach continues to haunt. We might hear the curve is flattening or trending toward healthy communities, but it doesn’t seem that way. We’re in this fight for a while. Racial injustice violates our screens and holds captive the tears and fears of all colors. We say enough is enough, yet it’s still not enough. We’re still at odds. It’s still us and them. We still perpetrate our agendas within our circles, our communities, and our societal systems. This is a letter to all of us who carry the banner of Jesus Christ. While we are eager for a new “normal,” have we spent enough time considering how God may be shaking us up for His greater purposes? Let’s reflect before we charge ...

I took a few major road trips with family this year which included visits to 21 different National Parks in 8 different states. That’s a lot of nature and far too many miles. We spotted a variety of wildlife: grizzly and black bears, moose, elk, a fox, bison, bighorn sheep, pronghorns, deer, prairie dogs, jack rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and scores of flying animals, including, an owl, turkey vultures, quail, and even a bat. We had our share of adventures, too! We hung from cables to hike a rock slab mountain. We navigated snow cover in search of marked trails. And, possibly the most rewarding, we began a hike in the rain to see one of the most photographed natural arches in the world. And, on a typical day, there are tens and sometimes hundreds of people surrounding the arch, but we managed to get sun-shiny pictures without anyone else in the frame! But that hike to the arch was not for the faint of heart, and some of the other trails and trail heads were anyth...