Desert Experience

DESERT EXPERIENCE
We have come to a dead end. We thought that when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior and have been born again, our lives would be a bed of roses filled with blessings and abundance. But now, after the initial bursts of small miracles and favors from God and men, we find ourselves in the midst of a trial so burdensome that sometimes we doubt that God was faithful to His promises. Don't lose heart. We are just entering a phase of our Christian lives that all Christians have to traverse before they can reach the Promise Land. That phase is called the desert experience. This is where God subject us to the process of purification. It is just like a gold ore that must pass through fire so that the dross in it will be removed and the purest substance will remain as pure gold. Yes, we have been completely forgiven and even the memories of our sins were completely erased by God as though we never sinned at all. But the consequences of sins still remain. God's absolute requirement for justice demands retribution for all our transgressions. We are of little value to God if the remnants and residues of our sinful lives still remain clinging to our character. God wants to transform our character to approximate the life of Jesus so that His Son will be glorified in our lives.

So, if you are suffering pains and extreme trials although you feel that you are walking in the ways of the Lord, never lose heart. You have just entered a dark tunnel. But at the end of it, the radiant light of God's deliverance and blessings will come shining through like the luminous rays of the majestic sun. After the burdensome desert experience comes the triumph and deliverance on the way to the Promise Land.



Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Desert Experience, Promise Land, Dead End, Lord and Savior, Born Again, Bed of Roses, Blessings, Abundance, Process of Purification , Consequences of Sin, Requirement For Justice, Retribution, Transgressions, Sinful Lives, Transformation, Pains, Extreme Trials, Ways of The Lord, Dark Tunnel, Grace, Love, Joy, Peace, Eternal Life, Word of God, Holy Bible

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational/Motivational

Temple of The Holy Spirit

TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior and became born again, our bodies became the Temple of the Holy Spirit. There, in the inmost chamber of our hearts, is the seat of the Holy Spirit indwelling in our lives. That is why we must keep our bodies clean and free from all filth- physical, moral and spiritual. Strong emotions like anger grieve the Holy Spirit. Remember, He is a Person, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity and is not just a force or an energy bereft of any feelings or emotions. In fact all of the sublime and ecstatic feelings and emotions we receive from God comes from Him. He is God's direct contact to us, doing everything so that we will reflect the glory of God in our lives. What He earnestly desires is to transform us from glory to glory until we reach the whole measure of the fullness of Jesus Christ so that we will glorify God in our lives.

We must be very careful that we do not use our bodies to sin against God. We must never be involved physically with prostitutes because we become one with them if we have sexual relationship with them. We must be aware at all times of the nature of our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. We must be pure in spirit, mind and body. We must keep our bodies physically fit and must avoid indulging in fatty and starchy foods lest we make our bodies sick. We no longer own our bodies. They have been dedicated to the Lord when we became born again and the Holy Spirit made our spirits alive again. When the Lord returns, He will transform our mortal and fragile physical bodies to glorified bodies very much like the body of Jesus Christ when He resurrected from the dead. Let us learn from Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."



Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Temple of The Holy Spirit, Lord and Savior, Born Again, Innermost Chamber of Our Hearts, Indwelling, Strong Emotions, Grieves the Holy Spirit, Physically Fit, Avoid Fatty and Starchy Foods, Sick, Mortal and Fragile Physical Bodies, Transformed to Glorified Bodies, Resurrection From The Dead, Galatians 2:20, Word of God, Holy Bible

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational/Motivational