Overwhelmed (The Day The Music Died)

It was a very sad and tragic day for the Philippines and the Filipinos. On September 26, 2009, typhoon Ondoy hit Metro Manila, Southern and Central Luzon with such magnitude of waters that caused flashfloods and inundated the area with tons of floodwaters up to the rooftops of most houses.

We were also hit by floodwaters in Bocaue, Bulacan. Water was waist deep inside our house and five to six feet in the streets outside. Good thing we transferred to a house with a 2nd floor still remembering our sad experiences with another typhoon and flashflood two years ago where we lost almost half of our hard earned resources. We were marooned at the 2nd floor of our house and was without power for two days. Only when we got our power back that we learned about the devastation brought about by typhoon Ondoy to our countrymen in Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Bulacan and Pampanga.

The devastation, death and destruction were so overwhelming that I could not help but cry when I saw the video footages of it all. Ondoy was no respecter of persons. Both rich and poor, young and old, male and female suffered the brunt of that typhoon. Scenes of people crying atop their rooftops shivering in cold and darkness, of people trying to wade through chest deep rampaging waters, of the heroic deeds of soldiers and volunteers who helped saved the stranded victims even at the cost of their own lives.

My losses were minimal compared to those who lost everything including their very lives. Ah, how I remembered when two years ago my family and I fought our way against similar raging waters to seek refuge to a neighbor's house with two floors as we abandoned our one storey house to the mercy of the elements. But the Filipino spirit is undaunted. The resiliency of the Filipino people was there. Tons of donations started pouring in and thousands of volunteers offered help to the victims. Tons of dirt, wreckages, debris, dead people and muddied vehicles littered the streets. It was a cathartic experience for the Filipinos. God showed the dirt and filth of the collective soul of Filipinos as typhoon Ondoy showed and washed away the collective morass of filth and dirt. And we can only hope for a better future where Filipinos will be united and help their brother Filipinos to rise above their woes.

Tags: Philippines, Filipinos, Typhoon Ondoy, Flashfloods, Floodwaters, Devastation, Death, Suffering, Hunger, Deprivation, Catharsis, Soldiers, Victims, Volunteers, Donations, Magnitude of Destruction, Calamity, Drama, Lives and Properties, Resiliency, Hope, Filipinos Unite

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla

Philippines

Current Events/Drama

He Departed In Ignominy, He Will Return In Full Glory

Jesus Christ was humbled all throughout His life as He became obedient to the will of the Father to save perishing humanity. He waived His godly powers and became like man, born of a virgin in a manger together with animals and was visited by shepherds. All throughout His life, He practiced humility and obedience to His Father's will. And when the time came to sacrifice His very life to save perishing humanity, He gladly accepted His cup of suffering from the hands of His Father. He suffered insults, terrible beatings, curses, betrayal from His most trusted allies and an excruciating death on the cross. He suffered death by the most humiliating and dishonorable way devised by the bloodthirsty Romans- an agonizing, slow death on the cross, insulted and pilloried by all who witnessed His total humiliation. And when He uttered the words "it is finished," His whole work of redemption for all eternity was completed.

But Jesus Christ, who was resurrected from the dead on the third day and ascended to heaven on the fortieth day after His death, will one day return to earth. It will be a totally different setting. He will come in full transcendental glory and will be announced by the trumpets of the angels in the four corners of the earth. All mankind will be spellbound by the sheer glory and magnificence of the returning Jesus Christ, who will come not as a humble servant, but as a conquering hero and Almighty God. All knees will then bow down before His very presence in heaven, on earth and under the earth. Even the demons and their cohorts will be subjected by the mighty swords of the archangels to kneel down before the King of kings and Lord of lords. Then all the inhabitants of the earth, both living and dead, will be judged by Him who have triumphed over the cross.

Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Ignominy, Full Glory, Second Coming, Self Emptying, Kenosis, Gospel, Salvation, Grace, Eternal Life, Love, Joy, Peace, Born Again, Conquering Hero, King of kings, Lord of lords, Eternal Bliss, New Jerusalem, Word of God, Holy Bible

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla

Philippines

Spiritual/Inspirational/Motivational

T C S (Testing, Compassion, Surrender)

1. Testing- Our God is a God of testings. He does not want blind followers. He wants people to obey Him from their own free will. He tested our first parents and they failed His test miserably. He tested Abraham with a promise and when Abraham believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness. He tested Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Daniel and even the disciples of Jesus. He tests all Christians for their faithfulness to Him and rewards them who pass the test.

2. Compassion- Our God is a very compassionate God. Because of His great love for mankind, He devised a plan to redeem fallen mankind from their own destruction and eternal death. Jesus died on the cross as a ransom for those who will accept Him as Lord and savior thus, gaining for themselves eternal life. Jesus had compassion for the people during His brief sojourn on earth, that is why He healed the sick who approached Him and fed a multitude of people. And even when He was dying on the cross, He was praying for His persecutors because they did not know what they were doing.

3. Surrender- Our response should be- total surrender to the Lord. Our God is a jealous God who will never countenance a rival king on our pedestals. He wants total love, obedience and surrender of the will of all His children to His divine will. And in return, He promises countless blessings and grace fro those who will obey His will. REMEMBER, OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S WILL RESULTS TO BLESSINGS AND DISOBEDIENCE TO HIS WILL RESULTS TO CURSES FROM GOD.

Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Testing, Compassion, Surrender, Will of God, Human Will, Free Will, Obedience, Disobedience, Blessings, Grace, Eternal Life, Curses, Destruction, Eternal Death, Word of God, Bible, Glory, Love, Joy, Peace

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla

Philippines

Spiritual/Inspirational/Motivational

Do You Eat Dinuguan? (Pork Innards Cooked In Pork Blood)

Do you eat dinuguan (pork innards cooked in pork blood)? It is so delicious especially with puto (rice cake). I used to love eating dinuguan in my younger days. I remember ordering dinuguan and puto from Goldilocks (a local delicatessen). But when I became a born again Christian in November 2000 and have studied the Bible thoroughly, I stopped eating dinuguan. It was expressly and clearly forbidden by God in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy to eat the blood of any living thing for the life is in the blood and God considered it sacred. We were asked once by my teaching pastor in our discipleship training whether we eat dinuguan. I answered vehemently in the negative. He was clearly upset by my answer and debated me vigorously on the issue. Perhaps I thought, he eats dinuguan and he wanted to prove that eating it was justified by God. He cited to me the verse where God declared all edible animals, clean and unclean, could already be eaten. I told him that animal blood was never considered as food and the prohibition still stood. I even told him that all viruses and bacteria that any slaughtered animal may be carrying are in the blood and may be transmitted to those who will eat it. (Certain viruses and bacteria withstand the heat of cooking and can still harm those who will eat the blood of the cooked animal). We ended our debate with the pastor clearly upset and agitated by my bold pronouncement and after that I was the object of his displeasure and indifference.

Lately, as I continued my thorough study of the Bible, my attention was caught by the ruling of the Council of Elders in Jerusalem in the time of Paul and Silas after the death of Jesus Christ. The council, counting James- the brother of Jesus, Peter and the other apostles, made this ruling for all Christians in the places visited by Paul and Silas. "You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality" (Acts 15:29). Ah, I feel vindicated after so many years.

Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Word of God, Holy Bible, Dinuguan, Blood, Pork Innards Cooked In Pig's Blood, Puto, Rice Cake, Biblical Prohibition, Goldilocks, Delicatessen, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Food, Old Testament, New Testament

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla

Philippines

Inspirational/Motivational

Testings

God is a God of testing. He tests those He wants to become His children and followers. We all undergo such testings from God. Our first parents were tested in Eden and they failed God's testing miserably. They were duped and deceived by the evil one who twisted God's words to make an enticing and tempting proposition to them. God warned them that if they eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, of Good and Evil, they will die. The evil one twisted God's words and assured them that they will not die but instead their eyes will be opened to the knowledge of good and evil and be like God themselves. They ate the fruit. Immediately their eyes were opened and they realized that they were naked and felt shame. But at the same time, God's words were accomplished in them. When they ate the forbidden fruit, their spirits, which were their direct link in fellowshipping with God, died and they lost their original birthright of being created in the image and likeness of God. It took God's great love and the sacrifice of the life of Jesus Christ to atone for man's sins and regained for mankind its lost birthright of being created in the image and likeness of God.

God tested all His beloved followers including Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel and even the disciples of Jesus. God is always testing us by permitting us to undergo predestined trials to see whether we will remain faithful to God by clinging to His promises to overcome such trials. If you are undergoing severe trials and carrying heavy burdens right now, take heart and be glad because God is putting you to the test. After you have overcome the test, God's blessings, strength and power will be bestowed upon you. If we are tested, that means God loves us so much He does not want to lose us.

Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Testing, Trial, Amazing Grace, God's Words, God's Promises, Deliverance, Blessings, Faithfulness, Persistence, Patience, Trust, Hope, Love, Joy, Peace, Power, Strength, Restoration

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla

Philippines

Spiritual/Inspirational/Motivational

BFF (Best Friend Forever)

True friendship is sweeter than honey. It is more lasting than one's fondest memories. True friends are indeed very rare like a perfect diamond. Have we remembered the friends we had since childhood? They were our playmates, our companions in our adventures through life. And when we grew older, true friends became our confidante, our immovable strength in times of troubles, the ever present shoulder we could lean and cry on. We cannot go on through life without the presence of our true friends who encouraged us in every new venture we seek in life, in every uncertain portals we were about to enter, and in every relationship we were about to enter. Theirs were the words of wisdom, love and caring that never fail to appease us in our moments of trials.

I had my own shares of friends in my life. They came and had gone as I traversed my own paths in life. But their memories lingered on. In my life, I have always been a drifter. I had moved from place to place, from one work to another. And whenever I closed a chapter in my life, it left a bittersweet memory in my soul. My wife has been my best friend forever. Through thick and thin, we held on to each other, braving the storms that came our way. But now she is in the US to work for our family. And I was left alone lonely and desolate. I know we have to make that sacrifice for our children's future. I have to be the father and mother of our children. And as I feel the pangs of death beckoning to me, I realized that I have a truly and constant best friend forever in my whole life who was always there for me through thick and thin, and through the lowest moments of my life. His name? JESUS CHRIST.

Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, BFF, Best Friend Forever, True Friendship, Inspiration, Encourager, Strength, Morale Booster, Constant Companion, Sympathizer, Fondest Memories, Childhood Playmates, Ego Booster, Loyal, Faithful, Generous, Patient, Loving, Caring, Thoughtful, Sincere

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla

Philippines

Inspirational/Motivational

Give Your Very Best To God

Give your very best to God, no more no less. That is acknowledging that everything comes from Him and we are only the steward of the blessings He bestows upon us. We say we believe in God, but oftentimes, we stop there. Many times we acknowledge God only in times of extreme trouble or in deep moments of sorrow where we often blame Him for the disaster that overtook us which was the result of our own mismanagement of His infinite love and resources. We treat God as a spare tire, there at the farthest end of our life where we remember Him only in times of life's "flat tires." We have to know God intimately to have a right relationship with Him. Yes, God is love, that is His very nature. But God is also just. He will never ever let a sin or transgression go unpunished either by the person who committed it or by vicarious atonement that was already accomplished by the death on the cross of His only begotten Son. The only price we have to pay for the remission of our sins is to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior and surrender our lives to Him. There is another trait of God that people seldom remembers. He is a jealous God. He will never ever tolerate any false god or idol that will stand in the way of our undivided worship and service to God.

So we offer our very best to God not only in terms of tithes and offerings but most of all, our undivided love, worship and service to Him. TO GOD BE THE GLORY.

Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Best, Steward, Blessings, Mismanagement, Resources, Infinite Love, Flat Tires, Just, Vicarious Atonement, Lord And Savior,

Jealous, Undivided Love, Glory

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla

Philippines

Spiritual/Inspirational/Motivational