Revenge- The Way of The Unspiritual

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." This has been the maxim of old and is still being used today to justify one's cravings for revenge. But where did it lead the world? It led the world to a brutal state of existence. Do we please God by this? No, we only please our brutish nature and the master of this world- Satan. As innocent children and the elders die by the wayside, the laughter of Satan reverberates around the world as he feeds from the passions of people crazed for more revenge, violence and killings.

Such is the sad affairs of the world today. But this is not the will of God. God said, "vengeance is mine." He who persists in treading the road of revenge is putting himself under the law of the sword. God said, "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword." And what is the admonition of God? God said, "love your enemy, do good to those who oppress you." Why would God admonish man to do this? Because by doing so, we put ourselves under the mantle of God's protection and love and He will surely annihilate our oppressors before our very eyes.

Do you want to see genuine peace in this world? If we do, let us immediately stop the cycle of revenge, killings, oppressions and hatred in our world. Let us learn to love our enemies and pray for them. If they still persist in continuing their insatiable quest for more violence, hatred and killings, let us then witness the unfolding of God's wonderful and amazing ways as He destroy and annihilate our enemies before our very eyes. THINK ABOUT THAT.

Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational

Personal Change- The Secret To A Stress Free Life

When we changed a stressful situation- our work, our spouse, or anything else that give us stress, did that make us happy? No, it only made us happy at first but later on, the same symptoms reappear and we are back to square one where we wallow once again in stress and unhappiness.

Why? Because changing the situation is never the solution. Remember, we can never change another person. That person will change because he likes to change and not because we caused him to change. Have we not noticed that life is never constant. It is always a case of ebb and flow, high and low, happiness and sorrow. One day you are up there in the clouds in happiness and the following day you are down there in the dumps. Why? Because life is like that. The only person who is truly happy and joyful in life irregardless of his external situations is the person who has learned to make a personal change within and accepts whatever fate hands down to him. He can live in extreme equanimity through the good days as well as through the bad days. He does not attempt to change people, he adjusts to them. He does not attempt to change situations, he rides them through. He is like the bamboo tree that bends down when a fierce storm is present. Then he regains his full stature as soon as the storm is gone. The sturdiest trees are those that survived the strongest and fiercest storms in life.

Let us take counsel from the words of the Book of Psalms in Psalm 1: 1-3 "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

You want to be truly happy in life? Then learn to trust God with all your heart and accept everything that He gives you whether good or bad. In the end, when we have passed His tests, we will surely attain true happiness and joy in life.



Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational

Light of The World, Salt of The Earth

God admonished us to become the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Why? Because there's so much darkness in this world that people are groping for the true light that will illuminate their perilous paths through life. Man's life has been so drab and tasteless that God needs people to become the salt of the earth to give flavor to an otherwise tasteless existence of mankind. Man has lost his true perspective in life. Man has associated himself with worldly pursuits in life where everybody else wants to get ahead and to be on top at the expense of others. It does not matter whether he steps on the lives of so many people just so he can reach the summit of success, fame and fortune. But once he reaches the top, man realizes that it is so lonely up there, bereft of the true happiness and contentment in life.

Yes, God needs more people to become a light of the world and a salt of the earth. Would you rather be included in the Guinness Book of World Records or in God's Book of Life? Think about it, my friend.


Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational

Be Like Christ

If you are a Christian, then why are you not following Jesus Christ? Christians mean followers of Jesus Christ. If so, are we not supposed to be like Christ so that people will see our good works (our sweet fruits) and glorify our Father in heaven? We can not be Christians and still immersed ourselves in the licentiousness and rapacity of the world. "What has God have in fellowship with Belial." We can live in this world but not of this world. We can not use other people as standards of spirituality. If we have to compare ourselves, we have to compare ourselves with Christ. In any situation that we may face, especially if we are in doubt, let us ask ourselves this question: "If Christ were here, what would He have done in this situation?" Then we can be assured that our decision will be right and in accordance with His will. How can we do this? The answer lies in Romans 12:2 which says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will."

The will of God is for us to be holy like Him and to dissociate ourselves from the sinfulness and carnality of the world. We can not have our cake and eat it too. The verse above said that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. That means, our minds must think only godly and sublime thoughts, thoughts that edify, thoughts of loving unconditionally, thoughts of selflessness, thoughts of hope and joy, and thoughts of peace.

Let us not run our races to win worldly prizes, they are like steel weights that chain our souls. Instead, let us run our races to win the heavenly prize- to be with the Lord forevermore.

You want to be a good Christian? Be like Christ and follow Him.

Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational

The Big Bully On The Block (The Height Of Hypocrisy)

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In a few days from now, three Pinoys convicted of carrying illegal drugs to China will be executed with lethal injections. No amount of cries for mercy from the whole Filipino nation represented by our government could move the Chinese government to stay the execution and commute their sentences to life imprisonment. They mouth about justice for the poor people of China victimized by drugs brought by these drug couriers. They did not even consider that these drug mules were just victims of international drug syndicates who lured them with drug money. Now they preach us about victims of drugs. But their nationals who operate multi billion shabu laboratories and who run most of the drug syndicates in our country are summarily deported after being caught. They do not even serve prison terms and if they do, they easily escape because of the corruption of our jail officials. How about their fishermen who poach in our territorial waters for endangered species and when caught were just deported to China. The big bully on the block is flexing its muscles and we, small fries as we are, shiver in fear and shame. Shame on us as we are bullied by the big boys on the block. These are bullies Taiwan, Hongkong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and others who always knock us down whenever they see us walking in the block. Even the biggest bully of them all, the US, treat us with contempt giving us outmoded war materials and hand me downs while they pour billions of dollars to their favorite proteges.

When will we learn to stand on our own two feet and defend our inalienable rights as equal citizens of this world. People of the Philippines unite before it is too late.

Vignettes From The Pearly Gates (Part 11)

Day 11

Do we please God or do we please men? Do we seek the approval of men more than the approval of God? If you are suffering even though you are doing the will of God, take heart,

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully
committed to Him." (2Chronicles 16:9)

Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational

Moving On- The Path To The Future

You want meaningful change? A change that can alter your life forever? Then choose a solid starting and ending point for your life. Start and end with something that you can really die for. Make Jesus Christ the Alpha and Omega of your life, then you have a solid starting point. Focus on Jesus Christ for it is He who was sent to save us from all the prison cells of our lives. He was sent not only to save us from eternal damnation but also to give us a victorious and abundant life.

Throw away all the bitterness from the past. Gather all the grudges, hurts, pains and bitterness in your lives and flush them down the toilet bowl and never let them bother you again. Forgive those who have hurt you before. You yourself have hurt others before. As far as you could, mend fences with those you have offended before and make restitution for your offenses. Unforgiving people always end up wallowing in their own prison cells of anger, guilt and depression. You would not want that for your life, do you?

As we begin to change and alter the circumstances in our lives, and as we turned from a mere spectator to a mover of life, we become channels of His divine blessings and grace for those who are still too weak to learn to walk by themselves. We become the eyes, ears and feet of those the Lord will give us to minister unto.

Moving on is the path to the future. Shall we commence our journey?



Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational