TRANSFORMATION- THE KEY TO LASTING CHANGE
Every year as the new year approaches, we make a list of our new year's resolutions. At the advent of each new year, there is always a stirring in our souls to break free from our wretched past. But after only a month or so of futile attempts, we always end up a miserable failure. Why? Because by nature, we are weak and prone to sin. By nature, we are prone to violate our own moral standards. And even if we honestly want to change and take on a new path in life, it is almost impossible for us to do so without assistance from a higher supernatural source.
True transformation, wherein we finally break free from our wretched and sinful existence, is done only through the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can effect a genuine and lasting change in our lives where we choose to live a godly life rather than a sinful existence. This is what is termed a born again experience and it can be effected only if we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, confess our sins to Him and let His most precious blood wash clean all our sins in life.
By doing this, we invite the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and our long dormant spirit suddenly becomes alive and active. Thus we become a new creation. Our old sinful selves are dead in transgressions and we are now alive in the grace of God and declared holy by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That is true transformation wherein we live a new life dedicated to loving and serving God and becoming a vessel and a conduit of God's blessings and grace to others.
THE HARVEST IS PLENTY BUT THE WORKERS ARE FEW. WILL YOU HEED THE CALL OF THE LORD TO BECOME A WORKER IN HIS VINEYARD?
Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational
24 comments:
Good afternoon Mel,
I have been coming to your site every now and then having found your link at Sylvia's Prosperity blog.
I am inspired by the message you left today and your two quotes "But I will restore you to health and will heal your wounds, declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 30:17)
"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you, He will never let the righteous fall." (Psalm 55:22).
I'm going through some personal difficulty and these two verses bring me comfort at this time.
All the best for the upcoming year and may you and your family enjoy the best of times.
Sincerely,
Enid from Belize City
hi Mel, what a beautiful salvation message. so true--we can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do all things thru Christ who gives us the strength and ability to do so. not only can i NOT live without Him; i DON'T WANT TO live without Him.
i pray for you and your family all of the comforts and blessings of the Lord Jesus in the coming New Year. i pray healing and good health always for you and your loved ones. i pray prosperity in every area of your lives, and may all that you do and say continue to prosper in the Lord. may every place that your feet trods upon be claimed as good ground for the Lord. we thank God that His Word does not return unto Him void, but accomplishes EVERYTHING that He says it will, and propers in EVERY place that He sends it.
have a great weekend Mel!
Hi Mel!
This year you were as apostle Paul, who said:
"I am not ashamed of the good news. It is God's power. And it will save everyone who believes".
Love your posts always.
Keep up next year your wonderful work.
I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas! I wish you a Happy New Year!
God Be with you and your family as the New Year approaches and thoughout the year...
its like a blessing to talk to you my friend - you are right I am and was somber - and some of the things mentioned in this post is what I am guilty of - there was a great conflich between my heart and mind this past year and I let my heart take over - result - obviously not very good - got hurt and hurt some - but i think it is all part of the greater picture and someday hopefull all this makes sense - till then have to go thru this process - just my viewpoints - correct me if I am wrong please - (we discussed our age difference before) so will be glad to get your viewpoint.
I dont beleive in surrendering to the Higher Power - rather make it my friend - for me some people here including you are messaengers sent by HIM.....once we surrender then I feel that we get lazy and blame every little thing onto HIM..
Hi Enid aka belizegial,
Thank you for visiting my blog and for the wonderful comments but as always, TO GOD BE THE GLORY. Feel free to visit me anytime or to email me regarding your personal problems. I will pray for you my friend and I will treat with the strictest confidentiality whatever you will relate to me. I sense that you are troubled in the spirit. I suggest that you turn to God rather than to man. There is always a danger that you might stumble with an individual because we are all humans, subject to all the frailties and inconsistencies
of being human. Not so with God. His lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 30 days a month and 365 days a year. In fact His lines are open for all eternity. And He never have any day offs. We just have to learn to trust and love Him once more with all our hearts, mind and soul and peace and joy will return in our hearts and soul. Here's a special verse for you my friend, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverb 3:5-6)
Believe you me, it brought wonders to my life. In essence this verse epitomize my philosophy in life- "I live by faith not by sight." I would have died so many times over in the past if I relied on my mind and senses and not on faith. Nowadays, faith is a commodity so rare as a perfect diamond. Strive to develop it by hearing the word of God. Thanks again for your visit and I will pray for you. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. God bless and have a wonderful time in Belize. (Or are you in the US?)
Oh Sylvia aka Heiresschild,
You brought tears to my eyes by your fervent prayers. Thank you so much my sister in Christ. I know the value of prayers especially by a child of God. And in humble gratitude, I pray that the Lord will return to you a hundred fold all the prayers that you uttered for me. We're both workers in God's vineyard and we know for a fact that the harvest field is teeming with such an abundance of harvests but alas, there are but a few workers for the Lord. We pray that the Lord of the harvest will send more workers to the field to reap what others have already sown before. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. God bless you on your ministry of comforting those who are sick and suffering. Have a wonderful and pleasant day in the US.
Hi Krystyna,
Thanks for your visit and for your inspiring comments but as always, TO GOD BE THE GLORY. I was so touched by your article on Kevinek and I am praying hard for his spiritual healing and deliverance. He's too young to undergo such pain and suffering. I will spiritually link with you in prayers for Kevinek's total recovery from sickness. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. God bless and have a wonderful and peaceful day in the US and your beloved Poland.
Hi Mississippi Songbird,
Thanks for your visit and for your warm greetings. Happy New Year to you and your whole family too. God bless you with the very best this coming New Year. Have a wonderful and warm day in the US.
Hi Ceedy,
Thanks for your visit and for your usual intelligent comments. I was actually avoiding discussing beliefs with you as they may affect the views of others but I feel I must share with you my former beliefs and what transpired in my life. When I became disillusioned with my Catholic faith, I became a seeker of truth and studied different religions and beliefs. I studied Eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism and esoteric teachings and philosophies like Gnosticism, Theosophy, Rossicrucians and Masonry as well as Mysticism and the occult. I believed then in evolution, karma and reincarnation and lived my life according to these beliefs. I thought then that evil was just the absence of correct knowledge. I considered the Bible as just one of the inspired books of God. I considered Jesus Christ as just one of the double millenial avatars (saviors of man) that descend to this world every two thousand years to teach and propagate a new religion or belief system. I believed then in a spiritual government wherein all the gods of this wold congregate and plot the destiny of mankind. I believed then in UFOs and other physical and spiritual planets inhabited by other creatures. I have studied the Bagavad Ghita and other esoteric books. But my life was like a roller coaster ride to an unknown destination. One day I'm in the heights of spiritual ecstasy and the next day I felt like I'm burning in the fire of my own evil existence. Two forces, good and evil, were at war inside me and it left me miserable and schizophrenic
(double personality). It was by the miraculous intervention by the Holy Spirit that brought me to my senses as I surrendered my life to Jesus and in the process 13 demons were supernaturally cast out of me by the Holy Spirit. I threw out my voluminous collections of esoteric books and turn to the Bible for my spiritual sustenance as I savored my new found freedom in Christ and His words. Now, I have complete peace of mind and joy in my heart as I share the message of the Gospel truth to the world. Oh the Lord has been so faithful to me all through my Christian years and I just live to please Him and give glory to His name. I don't know how these revelations will affect you. But that's my life. No frills. Thanks again. God bless and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. Have a wonderful and peaceful day in the US and your beloved India.
awesome testimony Mel.
really a nice post mel. blv me.
btwn how r u dear fren?.. i wish u a belated merry christmas and happy new year in advance. thnx 4 ur good wishes 2 me 2. m bk aftr my xms. how is ur health ?
tk cr fren
:) :) :)
Hi Heiresschild,
Thanks but TO GOD BE THE GLORY.
Hi Preetilata,
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year too, to you and your loved ones. I'm sure glad that your exams are over now and you can enjoy the best of the holiday season. I'm okay now both physically and spiritually, praise be to God. Thanks for your visit my friend. I wish you all the best for this coming year. God bless you with the realization of all your fondest dreams in your heart. Have a wonderful and pleasant day in India.
HI MEL
It is true indeed that we should get help from God at any time.
..should really trust Him with all of our heart and soul, acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths.
Really inspiring post Mel.It's OK to have set new year resolutions as long as associated with mission on how to accomplish it!
Have a wonderful day and wishing you happiness, joy and may God bless you and beloved family always.
Hi Noushy,
Thanks for your visit and for your usual inspiring comments. Happy New year too and Happy Birthday on the 31st. I wish you all the best for your life in the coming year. God bless you with the realization of all your fondest dreams in your heart. Happy Birthday and Happy New Year again my wonderful friend. Have the best Birthday and New Year celebration in London. Cheers.
very inspiring :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I hope it brings all the happiness your way! :-)
Coincidentally,I penned down similar thoughts today morning but not in such a beautifully spiritual way like you my friend.What we need is a change within to have a brighter exterior.
Happy New Year to you and your family dear friend.God Bless you always.TC.Have a wonderful start of 2008 :)
hi bro.mel~
thank you for sharing this reminder with us particularly these lines: "True transformation, wherein we finally break free from our wretched and sinful existence, is done only through the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can effect a genuine and lasting change in our lives where we choose to live a godly life rather than a sinful existence."
Yes, human beings as we are, we can't change bad habits if we won't allow the Holy Spirit to work on us, and polish us into better people.
I really like your blog. Your entries nourish me spiritually.
Hapi New Year~
hi Mel,
I PRAY ALL OF GOD'S BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY IN THE COMING 2008 NEW YEAR. MAY YOU CONTINUE TO GROW IN HIS LOVE AND GRACE, AND BE BLESSED WITH ALL OF THE ABUNDANCE THAT HE HAS FOR YOU!
Hi Raaji,
Happy New Year too. May this coming year bring you all the joy and happiness that you seek for in your life. God bless.
Hi Sameera,
Happy New Year my dear friend. I hope you are enjoying a wonderful vacation in beautiful India. Savor all the inspiration in your exotic country so that when you return to Dubai you can churn out again your beautiful masterpieces. God bless.
Hi Fingertalks,
Thanks for the very generous comments but as always, TO GOD BE THE GLORY. I always consider man as a branch and God as the tree. Apart from Him, can we really do anything that is acceptable to Him? No, we will just fail miserably and will only walk the path of our own destruction. Only the Holy Spirit can effect lasting and progressive change in man. From a scum of the earth to a righteous man, that's how He transform us from glory to glory until we reach the whole measure of the fullness of Jesus Christ. But this is done only if we are truly born again in Spirit and truth. Thanks for your visit. Happy New Year and have a wonderful day in your place of work. God bless.
Hi Heiresschild,
Amen to that my dear friend. Thanks for your generous prayer. Happy New Year and God bless you with all the showers of blessings and graces that God has stored just for you in His great storehouse of blessings. Have a warm, and cozy day in the US.
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