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
This is the most abused term nowadays. Everybody seems to be always in pursuit of happiness. Happiness is something very temporary. It is the attainment of a short term goal. It is the satisfaction of the immediate needs of man. But is the pursuit of happiness beneficial to man in the long run? Remember, the pursuit of happiness is anchored in the immediate gratification of man's wants. People call it freedom to do what they want to do, without any restrictions , without any fear. They call it freedom from fear. But where does this pursuit of happiness leads man?
To tell you the truth, it leads man to perdition and eventually, to slavery to sin. Sin is something man enjoys for it is a violation of a restriction or command, and man loves to violate every command and every restriction there is. But John 8:34 says, "Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." Why? Because although sin is enjoyable at the start, it becomes addictive, and without man noticing it, it eventually becomes the master of the sinful man. It attains a life of its own. Man, who used to enjoy and wallow in sin, now becomes entangled in its deadly web and is unable to disobey the harsh voice of its tyrant master and break free from its strangle hold. And man becomes more miserable than when he first started.
Not only did he veer away from the dictates of his conscience, he has chained himself to slavery under the grip of the lord of this world- Satan. And in the end, the pursuit of happiness becomes a short cut on the road to hell. The Bible warns us about this when it says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) Let us be included in the few who enters the narrow gate and eventually finds eternal life.
Tags: Pursuit of Happiness, Freedom From Restrictions, Freedom From Fear, Narrow Gate, Destruction, Eternal Life
We will travel the paths of this world just once, so let us make the most of our short lives. Each moment is so precious to waste in idle talks, disparaging remarks and negative thoughts. Let us spend each moment of our lives doing positive things, contributing to the upliftment and welfare of our fellowmen. Let us flash that winsome smile to each person we chance to encounter. Let us help each person that seeks our help to the best of our abilities. Let us comfort those who are undergoing pains and sufferings. Let us spend precious times with our loved ones and show them how much we love and care for them. Let us make each precious moment count by being a channel of blessings for God's love, blessings and abundance to our less fortunate brethren.
We cannot always help others physically and financially, but we can always pray for those who are in need of them. We can pray for our brothers who are sick and destitute, especially those suffering from dreaded and incurable diseases. Prayer will cost us nothing, but it will open the very floodgates of heaven so that grace and blessings will pour down upon the people we will pray for. Let each golden moment of our lives count.
Tags: Precious Moments of Our Lives, Prayers, God, Love For Our Fellowmen, Brotherhood of Men
Yesterday, July 15, was my birthday. I thought all along that Facebook would notify my friends about it. But to my horror, it did not and I have to make an emergency post there to notify my friends. Alas, my other friends who do not regularly open their FB account were oblivious of it. So I have to make this emergency post to announce to all my friends and readers that yes indeed, July 15 was my birthday. The pictures above are those of my family, remnants of the few photos that survived that flash flood that inundated and destroyed most of our belongings including our precious photos and books. I thank all those who sent greetings and wishes at my Facebook wall. Special mention goes to Shiela Worthington (Shydub) and Demci Apdian Diaz (Dhemz) who sent me money via PayPal. I was shocked beyond words by their generous gesture. Thank you very much mommies. God bless you more for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Thanks to all who supported me and patronized my blogs all through these years. May the Lord bless us all and grant us all our hearts' desires.
Do not be misled by Satan and his minions. If you are born again, that is, if you have already accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, know the full benefits of His death and resurrection at Calvary. Claim these benefits for yourself and your household and begin to enjoy a truly victorious Christian life. What are these benefits which cost the life of the only begotten Son of God? They are:
1. Eternal life with God in His kingdom. 2. Co-heir with Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God. 3. An abundant and prosperous life on earth. 4. The holiness and righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed upon us. 5. Full forgiveness of all sins. 6. Full restoration of our original birthright as we reacquire our identity as being created in the image and likeness of God. 7. We receive the triple benefits from the Holy Spirit which are power, love and wisdom. 8. We become the temple of the Holy Spirit. 9. We exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. 10. We are seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father. 11. Freedom from sickness. 12. We are justified before the Father. It is as if we never sinned at all. 13. We are transformed from glory to glory until we reach the whole measure of the fullness of Jesus Christ. 14. We are more than conquerors and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. 15. God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 16. We will enter God's rest and we will have abiding peace, joy and love in our hearts.
These and so much more promises we can claim in the name of Jesus who has given us freely by His amazing grace. Let us start living the truly victorious Christian life and become a trailblazer for those who are still deceived by the enemy.
Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Victorious Christian Life, Abundant Life, Freedom from Sickness, Fruit of the Holy Spirit
We always identify ourselves with our physical body. When our body is sick, we say we are sick. When our body is healthy and we are happy, we say we are happy and in the best of health. We function as though we only have body and soul in us. And as the soul takes the driver seat in our lives, we become emotionally high strung, victims of the prevailing moods of our emotions.
The Bible said, we were created in the image and likeness of God. And that image and likeness is the spirit and not the soul nor the body. The problem was, our spirit died when our first parents fell into sin. And the death of the spirit of man and the accompanying curses meted out to our first parents have been the bane of mankind ever since. We all have been born in the state of depravity.
But Jesus Christ redeemed us from these tragedies. Acceptance of Him as our Lord and savior enables the Holy Spirit to revive our long dead spirit. Now, the secret of power living is identifying with the spirit and not with the soul or body. Let the spirit take its reign over our lives and align our will with the will of the Father and we will see wonders unfold in our lives one after another.
First of all, we must concentrate on God's unwavering love for us. We claim the full benefits of Calvary. We must remember that we are co-heirs with Jesus Christ in the kingdom of heaven. The holiness and righteousness of Jesus Christ were imputed upon us when we were born again. And we are seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father. Whatever we ask in the name of Jesus, in agreement with the will of the Father, and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that we shall receive.
Nothing is impossible with God. So let us start to identify with our spirit and enjoy the benefits of power living. I am a living witness to this. I have been terribly sick for more than two decades now, and I always claim health instead of sickness. And I am well and able today, praise God. I have been retired from active work for so many years now, but God had supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. In all of these, all I can say is TO GOD BE THE GLORY now and forevermore.
Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Power Living, True Self, Spirit, Body, Soul
The lifestyle of the now generation is fraught with so much danger and peril. The sedentary lifestyle of most people are such that there are no more room for balanced exercises. Thus, they eat a lot, sit and relax most of the time in front of the computer, TV, video game machine, DVD, or their ipod or MP4 players. Thus, they consume so much food but let them stay in their bodies and they become so lethargic and dull due to lack of exercise. And to compensate for their feeling of heaviness and lethargy, they drink a lot of energy drinks or even indulge in mind awakening drugs such as shabu, cocaine or marijuana.
Have we ever wondered why there are so many obese people especially in rich and developed nations? It is because they have so much of everything, and as everything in nature, excess of anything can kill. The remedy to this is the old fashioned style of exercising to relax our body and to replenish the stale air in our lungs. But most people are averse to exercising outdoors. They have their usual litanies of excuses.
If you cannot or do not want to go outside, then you can exercise inside. You can do stationary jogging for one hour. Or you can sweat it out in your own room by dancing your way to your favorite disco music. Be sure to close all the windows and shut off the air conditioner and voila, you have your own sauna room where you can exercise and sweat off your excess poundage. It is not only good for the heart and lungs but good for the bones too. Our bones absorb the calcium that we take in through exercise.
So you want a healthy body? Exercise your way to a better health and a younger, more self confident you.
"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?
