Affirmations

When I was not yet a born again Christian, I was fascinated then with the New Age group doctrines especially on affirmations. I believed then, as I still believe now, that the secret to do miraculous things was to unlock the powers of the subconscious mind. The only difference between my beliefs then and now was the very person that was elevated into the position of power. In my beliefs then, the I or ego was the center of my existence and all powers emanated from within. Whereas now, God is the center of my existence and all powers emanate from Him. Oh yes, I believed then that there was a God but everything was achieved through personal efforts and achievements. Some examples of my personal affirmations then were:

1. What the mind can conceived, man can achieved.
2. My mind and body are perfect. The forces of aging have no power over me. I am ageless. I am the master of my soul.
3. I am the captain of my ship, I am the master of my soul.

When I became born again in the year 2000, I discarded all the learning I gained from a lifetime of studies and search for the truth and just concentrated on the Bible and other Christian books. I enrolled in an International Bible College and immersed myself into the doctrines of the Christian beliefs. I now realize that I got more miracles in holding on to the promises of God than in those fine sounding affirmations that elevated only the self instead of God. Now, God is the center of my life and everything in it revolves around Him. Instead of affirmations, I hold on to the many promises of God to tide me over in these perilous times. I live and die by the grace of God. ALL WHO CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.



Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Affirmations, New Age Group, Doctrines, Born Again Christian, Subconcious Mind, Beliefs, Ego, Center of My Existence, Promises of God, Lifetime of Studies, Search For Truth, International Bible College, Word of God, Gospel, Holy Bible


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

The Earth Will Be Destroyed By Fire

THE EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED BY FIRE
Of all the posts I ever made in this blog, this post was probably the one I was very hesitant to make for it may instill fear among my readers. But this was inspired writing and I can never have any peace until I have posted this. This is an eschatological warning. The Book of 2Peter chapter 3 verses 10 to 13 says, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."

The first destruction of all life on earth was done by water in a universal deluge where all creatures of the earth, except those who were kept in the ark of Noah, perished. That was just a precursor of the final destruction of the heavens and the earth in a cataclysm of fire where all elements will melt. This is the fiery end of all life on earth where everything will be renewed when God will make a new heaven and a new earth. This is the Biblical account of the end of the earth in the Book of 2Peter 3:10-13. It is not for me to interpret these verses for the Bible clearly warned against self interpretations without the expressed will of the Holy Spirit. What I can do is just make a conjecture or hypothesis of probable scenarios on that day. Most probably, there will be meteorites that will bombard the earth and knock it out of its orbit and pull it nearer the sun. The sun would probably be bombarded too by asteroids that will result in widespread solar flares that will burn all planets especially the earth. Then everything on earth will burn out in a widespread conflagration that will kill all living things on earth. Nobody will survive that. This is just a possible scenario of that fateful day. As the verse above says, "You (we) ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming" (2Peter 3: 11b-12a). ALL WHO CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.



Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, 2Peter 3: 10-13, Earth, Destroyed, Fire, Eschatological Warning, Heavens, Elements, Holy and Godly Lives, Day of The Lord, New Heaven and New Earth, Deluge, Noah's Ark, Sun, Solar Flares, Meteorites, Asteroids, No Survivors, Word of God, Holy Bible

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

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