Clear Conscience

Conscience is the still small voice calling our attention whenever we are doing what is contrary to the will of God. But conscience can be seared and desensitized. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us the warning to avoid displeasing God . But continuous disregard of that still small voice can result in the hardening of the heart and the deadening of our conscience. Hence we developed a so called warped conscience. What is a warped conscience? A warped conscience is a conscience that has actually no relation to the will of God because it has already been compromised. It is a pseudo conscience that has replaced the will of God in our lives to that of our own biased ideas of what is right or wrong. It is formed by a process similar to brain washing. Whenever a person sins or does something contrary to the will of God, he usually justifies his actions with all sorts of justifications just to escape the warnings of that still small voice. At first, he becomes uneasy in his sins, but as he regularly commits the same sin, he becomes enamored to it and virtually becomes a slave to it. Heartless murderers will tell you that the hardest and most difficult killing is the first one because they have to wrestle with their conscience. But after that, the killings become an orgy of sheer delight because the conscience has been thoroughly checked. This is also the case of philandering husbands. It is usually the first tryst that is so hard to enjoy because the person has to wrestle with his conscience. But after he has excused himself with all sorts of justifications, the succeeding tryst are all pure delight because they are stolen pleasures that overshadowed whatever is left of the faint voice of his conscience. That is why people invent all sorts of philosophies and spiritual dogmas in life to justify their warped conscience.

But a clear conscience is one who follows the dictates of that still small voice that convicts us whenever we go astray or commit a sin. It is a conscience that is ever aware of the presence of God in his life. It is a conscience that acknowledges God's complete dominion over his life. It is a conscience that has a reverential fear and awe of God and the person lives in order to please God and give glory to His name. What do you choose, a warped conscience or a clear conscience? "ALL WHO CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."


Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Conscience, Clear Conscience, Warped Conscience, Still Small Voice, Hardening of The Heart, Deadening of Conscience, Pseudo Conscience, Will of God, Orgy of Sheer Delight, Philandering Husbands, Tryst, Justifications, Presence of God, Fear and Awe of God, Call on The Name of The Lord



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

Doubt- Antithesis Of Faith

Doubting Thomas



There will never be any miracle or success for those who are perennial doubters. Faith requires a believing heart and doubters do not have this. In this fast changing world and the ever increasing pace of society, where people cannot just trust anybody, it is always safe to doubt the motives of others. That's fine! But in terms of one's advancement in any aspect of one's life, a single iota of doubt in one's mind has already inflicted defeat in him even before he can get started. Many are those who say they believe in God and in His promises, but at the back of their minds, doubts linger. The Bible describes these people as unstable in mind who will accomplish nothing. Remember the whole Israelite people whom God led to freedom from Egypt? They wandered in the desert for forty years and all of them except Moses, Joshua and Caleb perished because of their unbelief as they doubted that God can deliver to them the Promise Land. Even if the various situations in our lives appear to contradict the promises of God, we must persist in our faith in His words and in His faithfulness to keep His promises and we must never doubt. Doubt is a negative trait inflicted by the enemy to those whose hearts are weak. It is the twin sister of fear that wrecks havoc to one's faith. But to the men and women of God, they hold fast to the promises of God for God is ever faithful and never lies.



Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Doubt, Antithesis of Faith, Miracle, Success, Perennial Doubters, Faith, Believing Heart, Fast Changing World, Ever Increasing Pace of Society, Motives, Advancement, Single Iota of Doubt, Unstable Minds, Israelites, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, Promise Land, Negative Trait, Men and Women of God, Promises of God, God is Faithful, God Never Lies, Word of God, Holy Bible

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

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

The Christmas Story

As we partake of the sumptuous dinner on our table, as we exchange gifts and greetings with friends and loved ones, as we celebrate the yuletide holiday in some winter resort, as we make merry during this holiday season, let us pause for a moment to remember the Christmas Story. That Mary and Joseph had nowhere to spend their day while Mary was on the threshold of labor pains; that they were forced to stay in a humble stable and there on the manger, the new born Baby Jesus was lain; that angels heralded the triumphant birth of the Messiah-Son of God; that shepherds were the first to witness the Babe in the manger; and that three wise kings from the East visited the new born King to pay homage and obeisance and to present costly gifts.

The story still continues to this very day. As we partake of the sumptuous meal on our dinner table, millions are starving with nary a food to eat. As we exchange gifts and pleasantries with our loved ones, millions have no place to sleep nor clothes to wear. As we go to our favorite malls to shop and to our favorite winter resorts to enjoy the best of the holiday season, millions are shivering in fear and despair as the sounds of war reverberate in their ears. As we do our things on Christmas, let us pause for a moment to pray for the less privileged of our brothers. The Christmas Story has not ended, it has begun again in our hearts.


What Child Is This - Mercy Me



Tags: God , Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Christmas, Christmas Story, Nativity, What Child Is This, Emmanuel, Manger, Bethlehem, Israel, Joy To The World, Peace, Freedom, Prosperity, Love, Righteousness, Salvation, Eternal Life, Baby Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Born Again, Word of God, Holy Bible

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

Find Us Faithful

I could never understand then why the Lord took me out from a flourishing ministry of teaching salvation seminar, part of our Divided Bible Seminars, at a local church of the biggest Christian church in our country. I also handled Bible Studies at the houses of cell groups. But the Lord took me out from all these and placed me in a ministry involving the internet. I started then groping for light in the darkness of the cyber world. I felt then that the entire system was evil, full of sin and self exaltation, ranging from outright pornography to vain people whose only concern were to strut their own greatness in the internet. I turned to counseling to the sector which I felt needed them most- the sicked people of the cyber world. And I got nothing but tongue lashing and ridicule from most of them. I continued to persevere even when it seemed that my whole efforts were going down the drain. It was really a thankless job. And slowly but surely, I found a niche in the blog world.

We are called by the Lord to be faithful up to the end, doing His will and purpose in our lives. The process may be painful and burdensome most of the time, but the reward comes when we realize that we share in the ministry of those who point the way to the kingdom of God through His Gospel of salvation and hope. And even when the enemy brings down upon us the full fury of his hatred and might and our physical bodies become drained almost to death, we are strengthened by the Lord with His promise that, "when we are weak, then we are strong." I marveled at the resilience and strength of Shiela of Bluebirdy- Life- 4 Hours At A Time and Amrita of Yesu Garden who, although besieged with terrible physical pains and burdensome trials, stood tallest and brightest in the firmament of the blogging world to share the message of the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord to the very end. May the glorious blessings and grace of the Lord be showered upon them to the very end. As the foreword on my blog says, "it is better to light a single candle than to curse the whole darkness." TO GOD BE THE GLORY.



Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Faithful, Salvation, Divided Bible Seminar, CyberWorld, Internet, Pornography, Self Glory, Vain Conceit, Niche, Shiela, Bluebirdy, Life-4 Hours At A Time, Amrita, Yesu Garden, Physical Pains, Burdensome Trials, Stood Tallest and Brightest, Glorious Blessings and Grace, A Single Candle, Whole Darkness, Word of God, Holy Bible

Posted by Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Spiritual/Inspirational/Motivational

Know Your Enemy

KNOW YOUR ENEMY
As we go through this battlefield of life, we must know our adversary- our enemy. He is our accuser, the deceiver, the tempter, the beguiler, the father of all lies and he masquerades as an angel of light. He was once an angel, the highest ever created by God in the highest rank and order of seraphim. He was the most beautiful creation of God, exuding beauty and intelligence far beyond those achieved by any creature of God. In fact, he was the contemporary and intimate friend of Jesus Christ. But he was deceived by his own beauty and intelligence. He loved himself so much that he began to adore himself. He began to hate God and rebel against God to become God himself. He was able to deceive 1/3 of the angelic host and they battled against the remaining faithful angels of God. God's faithful angels were led by a lowly archangel by the name of Michael. Archangels and angels are among the lowest ranked angels among God's angelic host. And to show the awesome power of God against the rebellious group, Michael and his faithful angels defeated them. They were cast off from heaven and were thrown down to the earth and the seas. They were frothing and seething with anger and revenge by seeking to enslave mankind whom they envied because mankind still had the chance for redemption if they are washed by the blood of the Lamb. They enslaved the elementals of the earth, the seas and underneath the earth to do their biddings and to oppress mankind. They have manipulated the minds of men so that men will set themselves up against God just like what they did before in heaven. They became the beguiling pied pipers of this world, enticing men to follow their hypnotic tune down the road to destruction and doom. His name? Satan. "All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved."



Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Enemy, Accuser, Deceiver, Tempter, Beguiler, Father of All Lies, Masquerades As Angel of Light, Seraphim, Highest Order of Angels, Most Beautiful Creation of God, Most Intelligent Creature, Self Adoration, Rebel Against God, Deceived 1/3 of Angelic Host, Archangel, Michael, Cast Off From Heaven, Thrown Down To Earth, Anger, Revenge, Envied Mankind, Save By The Blood of The Lamb, Elementals, Pied Pipers, Hypnotic Tune, Road To Destruction and Doom, Salvation By Accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, Eternal Life, Word of God, Holy Bible

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