Footsteps to Zion

Did you know that our God loves gardens?  In fact, the Bible says that He planted the Garden of Eden Himself (Gen. 2:8-9). He didn’t just create them in an instant as a fully-grown garden. Instead, He planted the trees there and made them grow out of the ground. But more importantly, do you know what is the most precious garden to the Lord out of all the gardens in the world? It is not a physical garden but a spiritual one – it is the garden in our hearts. In a sense, when we become Christians, God plants a garden in our own hearts. It is this garden in our hearts that He carefully tends, protects, and inspects. And as any good gardener, God looks at the garden of our hearts looking for certain characteristics that are well-pleasing in His sight. What then are these characteristics that we should cultivate in the garden of our hearts? 1. It should be enclosed. Song of Songs 4:12 A garden enclosed Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed. Satan ...

     In the last post , we have talked about joy as one of the keys in triumphing over difficult circumstances. Oh how we need the joy of the Lord!       But to whom is the joy of the Lord given? Psalm 45:7 tells us : You love righteousness and hate wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.        Here we see that those who LOVE RIGHTEOUSNESS and HATE WICKEDNESS are given the anointing oil of gladness by God! We need this two to be developed by the Holy Spirit in us because we are not naturally righteous, and we are very prone to wayward ways. Our love for righteousness is manifested if we choose not to compromise the standards that God has set in His Word even if it means having to pay a costly price. I have seen this happen to all the Christians I know who chose to come up higher in their walk with God. It is definitely not possible to mature as a believer o...

     JOY is one of the keys to triumphing over every trial, suffering, or tribulation. Paul in his letter to the Colossians (in Colossians 1:10-11) prays that the church there “ might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power,unto all patience and longsuffering WITH JOYFULNESS ”.      Nehemiah 8:10 tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength . It is joy that will cause us to have strength in the hard times! Habakkuk (in Habakkuk 3:16-18) also tells of this wonderful key to overcoming hardship : When I heard, my body trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered my bones; And I trembled in myself, That I might rest in the day of trouble. When he comes up to the people, He will invade them with his troops. Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the oli...