This is the product of my fertile thoughts. I am recreating them here and am sharing them with you, dear bloggers, for whatever benefits, if any, you could derive from them. I wish you could be more open and share with me your comments and suggestions so that I can improve on my blog. Thank you, God bless and have a nice day. Mel Avila Alarilla
FROM GLORY TO GLORY Why is it that not all Christians experience the victorious Christian life? Why is it that some Christians are underground Christians and you can not detect any sweet fruits from them? Did not the Bible say that by the fruit you will know the tree? And did not the word of God promised all Christians that if they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior, they will be transformed by the Holy Spirit from glory to glory until they reach the whole measure of the fullness of Jesus Christ? Why is it that some Christians do not grow and mature in love, compassion and holiness? Why?
Because their being born again were only half baked. They probably accepted Jesus Christ with their mouths but not with their hearts. Or probably they did, but the allures of the world beckoned upon them and they forgot their first love and have backslided.
The Bible said in Romans 12 verse 2 that the way to our transformation is by the renewing of our mind and conforming it with the mind of Christ so that we will be able to test and approve God's perfect will in our lives. We cannot continue to do things on our own. Everything that we do must be done in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus' righteousness and holiness were imputed upon us when we accepted Him as our Lord and savior and we must focus on that.
So we focus on God's unfathomable love for us. Then we focus on Christ's righteousness and holiness that were imputed upon us. Thus, we are declared and appear to God as holy and righteous because of Jesus Christ not because of ourselves. If we do these things and continue to walk in God's will, we open ourselves to become His channels of blessings for His spiritual, financial and physical blessings to others. Thus streams of living water will flow from us to quench the thirst of those who seek God's truth. And yes, we will be finally transformed by the Holy Spirit from glory to glory until we reach the whole measure of the fullness of Jesus Christ.
"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." (Proverbs 4:18)
Tags: Jesus Christ, Lord, Savior, Righteousness, Holiness, Glory, God
FOCUS ON GOD'S LOVE FOR US To be able to get the maximum effects of the benefits of Christ's crucifixion and death on the cross, let us not focus on our own finite love for God. That love is imperfect and waning just like any other human emotions. Let us focus instead on the love of God for us, for that love is infinite, beyond measure and beyond comprehension.
Ponder this. If God did not hesitate to send His beloved and only begotten Son to save us, how could He ever withhold all the wonderful things that we ask from Him in the name of Jesus Christ? The problem is, we do not know how to ask. Most of the time, we ask impossible things from God and expecting nothing in return as if God is some sort of a modern day genie. And when we fail to receive the imperfect things we ask from Him, we say that God is unjust and does not hear and answer our prayers.
In order to get the things that we ask from God, let us be sure that the conditions for God's answering our prayers, as contained in the Bible, are met. These are:
1) God gives us what we need and not what we want. 2) When we pray, let us believe that God will hear and answer our prayers. 3) We must have a clean heart and soul. We must confess all our sins and accept forgiveness from God. 4) We must forgive the sins of others to us. 5) We must address all our petitions to the Father, in the name of Jesus, and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 6) We must focus on God's love for us and must maintain an expectant attitude that our prayers will be granted.
Do these and focus on God's immeasurable love for us and we can expect miracles to unravel in our lives.
Tags: God, Love, Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, expectant spirit
WHAT IS A LEVIATHAN? Scholars through the ages have debated the true identity of the Leviathan, the creature mentioned in the Book of Job (from the Bible) chapter 41. Verse 1 says, "Can you pull in the leviathan with a fish hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?" Verse 7 further states, "Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?" What creature could you envision in your mind than a huge creature of the sea, the whale? But wait, the author made further descriptions at the later verses that will throw your assumptions off.
From verse 14 to 31, the author made other descriptions of this creature that are totally out of this world. Let us summarize them: Verse 14, "Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth?" Verse 15, "His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together." Verse 18, "His sneezing throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like rays of dawn."
Verse 19, "Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out." Verse 20, "Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds." Verse 21, "His breath sets coal ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth." Verse 25, "When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his trashing." Verse 26, "The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin." Verse 27, "Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood." Verse 31, "He makes the depths churn like a boiling cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment."
What creature could you conjure in your mind with the above descriptions? Yes, a fire breathing dragon. It seems that chapter 41 of the Book of Job was mentioning two different creatures instead of one. The first one named the leviathan was probably a whale, but the second one which was unnamed was more of a fire breathing dragon. We can never discover the veracity of the second creature for we have not seem the remains of this fire breathing monster.
The Book of Job was the oldest written book of the Bible, even older than the Book of Genesis believed to be written by Moses. Genesis was placed ahead of every other book because it speaks of the beginning of creation.
There are so many legends around the world about dragons. Even China and medieval Europe have their own legends of this fire breathing monster. Are they myth and a pigment of man's imagination? But why would God mentioned the creature to Job? Was it just to impress him? It is not likely, for God does not boast nor indulge in tall tales. Who can ever solve this mystery?
Tags: Leviathan, whale, dragon, Book of Job, Bible, legends
"Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 4:7b)
DO YOU NEED HELP? ARE YOU IN THE DARK? CAN'T FIND YOUR WAY AROUND? NEED A FRIEND WHO WILL STICK WITH YOU THROUGH THICK OR THIN OR WHEN EVERYBDOY ELSE HAS DESERTED YOU?
