Footsteps to Zion

In the Bible, there is a beautiful passage sung by Mary, the mother of Jesus, which we now call as the “ Magnificat .” The word Magnificat literally means “an utterance of praise” (Merriam-Webster). Mary sang this after the Angel Gabriel revealed to her that she will conceive and give birth to the Christ Jesus. As we read the Magnificat in Luke 1:46-55 , we can easily sense Mary’s joyful spirit as she sang this. However, what we often fail to realize is the challenging situation in which she was praising God. At that time, she was just a humble teenager engaged to marry but also about to bear a child. People could have easily thought of her child as one born out of wedlock. That could have even been considered adultery which was punishable by stoning in Jewish law. Mary could have feared for her own honour and dear life. Yet in spite of all these, she chose to magnify the Lord. And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, a nd my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour."...

Based on the message of Pastor Dick Carumba Throughout world history, man has fought countless battles to conquer peoples and lands. But while those battles may be intense, the greatest battle man faces is the one that is spiritual. It is that constant battle against temptations, wrong thoughts, and negative emotions that truly torments man. It is this invisible war in the mind of every person that seems the hardest to fight and win. But for every believer in Christ, God has promised victory according to His Word. “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 However, we often forget this truth. ‭We must hold on to the several Scriptures which testify to us that whether in the past, present or future, we are victorious through Christ:‬‬ We became victorious in the past through what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross according to Colossians 2:14-15 (NLT): “ He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by...

In Revelation 14:12, the Bible talks about a specific kind of patience – particularly, the “patience of the saints.” Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This tells us that there is a kind of patience that is not of this world. There is a patience that is found in mature, real Christians that could only have been imparted from the very nature of God. So what is this true patience? And how can it be developed in us? TRUE PATIENCE IN TRIALS AND DELAYS All of us must be pretty familiar with the word “ patience .” As children, we’ve probably heard from our parents and teachers that we need to be patient when waiting for our food or when waiting in line. We’ve basically been trained to define the word “patience” as simply, the ability to wait. But true patience is much more than that. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (...

A “promise” is an assurance that one will do or give something. Have you ever experienced waiting for something promised to you to be fulfilled? What if it will take 45 years for that promise to come to pass? Will you be willing to wait that long? Caleb was a man of God who was able to do exactly that. God promised to give him Mount Hebron as an inheritance but he had to wait 45 years before it finally became his. Mount Hebron was a mountain in Canaan, the land that God promised to the Israelites. But before they could possess Canaan, they needed to face enemies who were dwelling in that land. To conquer Mount Hebron itself, they needed to defeat the descendants of Anak - strong giants whom the people feared. Caleb first saw Mount Hebron when he was sent by Moses to spy out Canaan with 11 others. After spying the land, 10 of them got so afraid of the enemies they discouraged the Israelites from conquering Canaan. But Caleb was not one of the 10. He had a very different respon...

The Scripture says for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and this means that no one is excused from sin. We all struggle with sin which may be rooted in failures, weaknesses, or even bondages. But the Scriptures have also given us keys on how to overcome sin in our lives. In Revelation 12:11, we are told of how Christians overcame the enemy in the last days: “ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death .” The first key is the blood of Jesus .  The precious blood of Jesus is powerful to cleanse us from all of our sins and iniquities. Hebrews 9:22 says “ …without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. ” It is by the blood of Jesus that people are saved. Nothing is of any effect unless the blood of Jesus is applied on us. We face struggles every day, so it is important to always pray for the blood of Jesus to cover us from the attacks of...

Based on the message of Rev. Norman Holmes Before Jesus ascended to the Father, we read in Matthew 24:14, “ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come .” One of the conditions to Christ’s return is the fulfillment of this verse. Thus, the Lord Jesus commanded us in Matthew 28:18-19, we read, “… Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. ” This is the Great Commission . We must not minimize our part in fulfilling this marching order from Jesus. Something that looked like utter foolishness when Jesus said to His disciples, “ I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it ” has become a success today when Jesus took a handful of ordinary fishermen to start a worldwide movement. He began something not by might, not by human wisdom, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. And now, what...

There will be moments in our lives when we will make decisions that can become great turning points , changing almost everything . In history, the Israelites needed to make a choice when they were about to enter into the promises of God. After seeing the challenges that they were going to have to face to conquer their inheritance from God, their hearts melted and they wanted to turn back. They hesitated to believe the promises that God gave to them. Even after entering into the Promised Land, they found themselves against walled cities and giants and faced the same question - do they turn back or move forward with God? Do you have any promise from God that you believe He will fulfill? God has resolved it in His heart to do what is good, to do what He has promised. But have you also resolved it in your heart to believe that it will happen? We cannot turn back just because Jericho has walls. We cannot fail to believe on the promises of God just because we think they are impossi...