Stephen De La Vega

  Tell my feet not to falter Tell my lips what to say Tell me walk on these waters Tell my hands what to pray Overwhelm, when I’m overwhelmed Overcome, when I’m overcome These are lyrics from a song called Companion by Tom Mottershead . Sometimes life overwhelms us. It overwhelmed Job whose experience with naysayers was featured in Resolution 9, Rise Above the Naysayers . We ended Resolution 9 with encouragement to entrust ourselves to God. Job realized: He doesn’t have the perspective to understand the why. Nothing can compare to the authoritative power of God. His limitations should be accompanied by humble trust in God’s wisdom and character. And he said this in response: My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6 Job bowed in humility. He lost everything and he would never fully understand why. We don’t understand the why behind the winding in the ...

Sometimes I get distracted in my service to God. He placed me in some clearly-defined ministries during this phase in my life, but I negotiate plenty of competing priorities and distractions. Many times, the ministries take second place. I lead 2 Bible study groups, I’m a faith blogger, and I write Bible study guides for small groups. My primary spiritual gift is teaching and these ministries make up the road God paved for me. Besides the typical daily distractions, even other ministries could steer me away from the path God laid out for me. I can do other things that He may not have reserved for me. I could teach in other ways, like helping out in Sunday School. Or, in lieu of direct teaching, I could support leaders of a variety of care ministries. I could also join the choir and participate in church musicals. I’d really enjoy that. I can do these other things in self-sacrifice for God and people, but they may not be what God wants me to do. They would be parenthetical – th...

That’s my son with me in the picture. My hope for him is that he will continually: 1. Dig deeper into the study of God's Word 2. Draw nearer to God with more understanding 3. Grow fonder of God as you see His truth unfold Dig deeper.  Draw nearer.  Grow fonder. That’s my slogan.  It is my aim and my writing will reflect that.  Why?  It is the path God designed for me.   As a small group Bible study leader, my role is to lead people to increasingly grow fond of God.  We grow fonder when we understand Him and realize how much He is involved in our lives. Dig Deeper.   It goes without saying:  the more our heart is in it (Bible study), the more we gain.  How much we learn and understand depends on how deep we dig.  I read the Bible nearly every day.  Regular Bible reading is necessary for spiritual growth, and doing so daily offers an invaluable collection of knowledge and insight.  Add to th...