Stephen De La Vega

Angels Landing stands 1,488 feet above the valley floor at Zion National Park in Utah, United States. It is perched behind me in the photo. I stood on Scout Lookout , the turnaround point of my hike with my wife and son. There were good reasons we didn’t continue to Angels Landing:   1.     My son was only 10 years old at the time and one misstep could’ve been fatal. 2.     We would’ve had to file within a string of hikers, so the rest of the way would’ve been at the pace of the crowd. 3.     We were exhausted! Whew!   So, Scout Lookout was where we celebrated and looked forward to the remaining, mostly downhill, 1.9 miles. A 3.8-mile round trip doesn’t sound long, but this hike was strenuous. Very strenuous. The trail was 81% paved, but that doesn’t mean the steep elevation gain with an incline of up to 23 ° under nearly continuous sun exposure was easy. The only hike that was more difficult for me in terms of physical e...

  “ Naysayer: one who denies, refuses, opposes, or is skeptical or cynical about something” ( Merriam-Webster ). We’ve all experienced naysayers to some degree. Sometimes they band together – maybe even carry signs! We can walk the other way most of the time, but when they target us, it might be difficult to rise above their offensive attacks. Job was a godly man who had it all, then suddenly lost it all. And, to add insult to injury, his friends caused him much heartache and torment...continually. Maybe we won’t have as many catastrophic afflictions as Job, but we certainly will experience people like Job’s friends. Let’s call them naysayers. Even those who mean well can be naysayers. They are simply a part of life. Let’s venture further into Resolution #9: I will rise above the naysayers . After Job’s extreme loss, three of his friends sat with him. They were sure God had punished him for disobedience, and they laid into him. Insult after insult – all based on a presumption ...

  This intro is a disclaimer: I recognize there is significant dissatisfaction with governments across the globe. It is not uncommon for citizens to distrust and even despise certain government officials and government organizations. I don’t intend to discredit our varied opinions, positions, beliefs, value systems, or ideologies. I also am not writing to promote one political position over another, or even to promote a political position at all. However, I do intend to share, at least in part, a biblical perspective on God’s involvement in government and how we should respond in light of it. Resolution #6: I Will Stand for God’s Government Our 20:25 verse in this resolution brings us to 2 Samuel . (Remember, I am walking through every 20:25 verse in the Bible, and a few 20:24 verses since I started this last year.) 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel were originally written as one book. The same is true for 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles. These books were so long, early scribes coul...