Footsteps to Zion

How often have we thought to ourselves “ there’s a wall standing in my way” ? It is in those moments that we want to so move forward in life but we just can’t seem to do so. It’s because right before our very eyes lies something much bigger than us blocking our way. While these are not physical, visible walls, these are tougher to penetrate as they are spiritual roadblocks set by the enemy. These walls are intended by the enemy to intimidate us and keep us away from God’s promises and breakthroughs. THE WALLS OF JERICHO The Israelites knew these walls very well. At one point in their lives, God finally brought them to the Promise Land. However, when they stepped into that land, they faced a mighty wall built by their enemies – the walls of Jericho. These were the walls that stood in the way of the Israelites and their land of inheritance. As intimidating those walls may have been, God encouraged them by revealing the end of the matter – the Israelites were going to win! And...

Based on the message of Rev. Norman Holmes Each person has his own identity and personality. And the more that we understand the ways of a person, the more we know how that person will think and act in different situations. The same goes with our God and our relationship with Him. He has His own ways of thinking and acting. David prayed to the Lord in Psalm 25:4 to show him God's ways and teach him God's paths. He wanted to know God’s very heart. If we become like King David who knew God's heart , we will begin to understand His ways more.  Not only will we know what He does but we will also understand WHY He does certain things . We will then know how we can be co-laborers with Him. It is written that God made known His ways to Moses and His acts to the children of Israel (Psalm 103:7). Moses knew the heart and mind of God. He knew how God would react in different situations and why. He knew how he could work in harmony with God to lead the Israelites out o...

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...

The very well-known passage in the book of Psalm tells us how God created each one of us: Psalm 139:13-18 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How many of us, because perhaps of some discontent with our appearance or background or a lack of acceptance from others, struggle with this truth that we are fearfully and wonderfully created? Yet, the Scripture is clear. God carefully and beautifully crafted each one of us. And only with a firm grasp of this truth can we live to the fullest that God has for all of us. God wonderfully and fearfully made us f...

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...