Footsteps to Zion

There is that sense of fulfillment within when you have completed something that you have been working on for a long time. It’s even more rewarding when you know that you have given your best and you end up with a grand finish! Probably for most of us, school graduations may be one of the most memorable moments in our lives. You may still remember the best in class give his or her valedictory speech. Everyone is excited and looking forward to the next chapter of their lives. From that day on, you know that you are starting on a new journey in your life. In Second Timothy 4:6-8, we can read a valedictory message of someone who persevered until the end. Apostle Paul, for the latter part of his life, had experienced numerous hardships, persecutions, and near-death experiences. He was whipped five times, beaten with rods three times, stoned, and left for dead outside the city gates. He even survived a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea. These he endured for the sake of the Gospel of...

Man is composed of three parts – body , soul , and spirit (Caram 75). The body is the tangible part of man while the soul and the spirit are the intangible parts. But even though the latter two are intangible, the soul and the spirit are actually very different. The spirit is our very life and heart.  It is the part of us which God breathed into when He first created man. It is the part of us which is able to truly worship God and communicate with Him. In contrast, the soul is the seat of our emotions, moods, personality, imaginations, and biases. Being “soulish” means being controlled by our emotions. It is being easily swayed by emotional highs and lows. This is why “soulishness” can lead to feelings of depression, discouragement, and self-pity (Caram 77). Oftentimes, it is the soul and the body ruling over our spirits. But this is not how it is supposed to be. What God meant for us is that His Holy Spirit would rule over our spirits, which would then control our soul...

Have you ever wondered what your purpose is in life? Have you ever asked God why you are where you are right now? First John 3:20 tells us that our God is omniscient. He knows exactly what He is doing. He knows the very reason why we are where we are right now. There is a divine purpose for the family we are raised in, the neighborhood we live in, the job and office we work in, the country we are based in, and even the generation we are born in. Nothing is ever an accident with Him. He has ordained everything for a purpose. The testimony of minister Ken Gaub tells us of how God used him to minister to a woman he talked with in a phone booth in Dayton, Ohio. He was just passing by a road when a phone in a nearby phone booth kept ringing which he felt so compelled to answer. When he picked it up, the operator on the line said it was a long-distance call for Ken Gaub which is exactly who he is. The woman on the line confessed that she was on the verge of committing suicide and...

How often is it that when people try to visualize God they see Him as a commanding figure of a king sitting on a great high throne who is quite distant to men? While He truly is the King of kings who is to be revered, do we also recognize and appreciate another aspect of His person, which is that of a father? Yes, God is a Father and the love expressed by our earthly fathers, may it be natural or spiritual, is but a reflection of the love of our Heavenly Father. He protects and provides for us; and gives us His peace . In Psalms 68:5, God is shown as the Father to the fatherless and Defender of widows. Some may have never known their natural fathers but God is saying that He is a Father to such people. In Psalms 27:10, King David speaks of God as the One who takes care of those who are abandoned. We, too, can be assured that when everyone else has turned their back on us, God will take care of us! In Romans 8:15, we are told that when we receive God as our Savior, He also ...