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."...

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...

We are all called by God to obtain our inheritance – both in the natural and in the spiritual. It is very important for us to obtain the inheritance of God so we need to really prepare for it. God’s promises are secure. The first principle in obtaining our inheritance is that we need to believe that God’s promises are secure . The Word of God is faithful and true. Psalm 119:89-91 says that His Word stands firm in heaven. His faithfulness extends to every generation and His regulations remain true to this day. The Lord’s desire is to fulfill every detail of His plans and promises in our lives and the lives of the generations to come. Sometimes we forget what God has promised to us so we need to be very careful in guarding His promises in our hearts. Yet even when we forget, the One who made the promise does not forget. One thing that we need to remember is that the fulfillment of the promises of God requires waiting. During the time of Moses, the Israelites waited for 400 yea...

The Lord promised that He will come back. But He tells us in James 5:7 that we ought to wait in patience like a farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth. In Isaiah 51:1-3, we are called to look to the rock from which we were hewn. The rock referred to is Abraham - a man who was given a promise of countless descendants and yet had to endure much waiting before the promise came to pass. These two passages are a reminder to us of how before fruitfulness comes, we are called to patiently wait. Isaiah 51:3 is an excellent promise of how Zion will not be desolate forever because a time is coming that her waste places and deserts will be like the garden of the Lord. We can look forward to a time when barrenness will be transformed to fruitfulness, sorrow into joy, and mourning into singing! Promises Come with Instructions In Gen. 12:1-3, Abraham was given a promise by the Lord that He is going to bless him and make him a great nation. God’s keeping will be upon him si...

© CreationSwap | Megan Isaacson 2012 In Luke 18:8, Jesus issues a question. When He comes, will he “really find faith in the earth?” While people can declare they have faith only when faith has been tried can one truly know that the faith proclaimed is for real. Our faith shall be tested. It has to undergo the fire to determine its genuineness because God is looking for genuine faith. And faith that is real is precious in the eyes of God. It is more precious than gold. This is the kind of faith that brings praise, honor and glory to God. 1 Peter 1:7 That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, Today we shall look at two examples of faith that were tested by trials and have prevailed. Amram and Jochebed The parents of Moses were included in the list of the men and women of faith in Hebrews 11. They are beautiful examples of fai...