Footsteps to Zion

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 watched a boxing match wherein both fighters were on the defensive? How long will you think the match would last until somebody finally gets to score? CH Spurgeon once said, “To be a Christian is to be a warrior. The good soldier of Jesus Christ must not expect to find ease in this world: it is a battle-field. Neither must he reckon upon the friendship of the world; for that would be enmity against God. The Christian’s occupation is war.” Christians were given the armor of God to be used in war and these weapons are to pull down strongholds, to cast down every high thing that exalts itself against God. It brings every thought into submission and obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). The “belt of truth”, “breastplate of righteousness”, “feet shod with the gospel of peace”, “shield of faith” and “helmet of salvation” are all used as a defense against the attacks of the enemy. But there is one piece of the armor that is offensive, the “Sword of the Spirit”. Th...