Christian Stewardship

CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP
Christian stewardship is acknowledging that everything that we have and owned are not our own to keep and do as we please, but we are just faithful steward of the Lord who created everything seen and unseen. Even our children were just given to us by the Lord to protect, nurture and sustain in their growing and nurturing years but they belong to the Lord and not to us. By having this positive frame of mind, we should not be unduly attached to everything we have and own, and like Job, we can rightfully say, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised" (Job 1:21). Those who are attached too much to their so called riches and possessions never really have peace of mind and a good night's sleep because they are always fearful that their material possessions may be robbed or they may become bankrupt. How many suicides and mass murders were committed in the US and other advanced countries during the height of the depression that hit these affluent and powerful countries where the bubble burst in the make believe world of US economic invincibility? Many saw their lifetime savings and stocks securities vanished into thin air as the stock market took an almost irreversible free fall. Big and giant companies declared bankruptcies and hundreds of thousands if not millions of employees lost their jobs and their mortgaged homes as well. There was so much fear and uncertainty and people held on to their hard currencies instead of plunging into their accustomed buying frenzies. But those who look to God for their sustenance and provision never worried for the Lord was never amiss in providing for all their needs.
"AND MY GOD WILL PROVIDE ALL YOUR NEEDS ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES AND GLORY BY CHRIST JESUS" (Philippians 4:19)


Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Christian Stewardship, Divine Providence, Creator, Heaven, Earth, Possessions, Family, Children, Depression, Bubble Burst, Free Fall, Bankruptcy, Restoration, Gospel, Word of God, Holy Bible

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

Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The most important event that could happen to a Christian is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is the time when the Holy Spirit descends from heaven and enlivens the long dead spirit of man. This normally occurs immediately after a person accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior and become born again. Or a Christian can attend a life in the Spirit seminar and at the conclusion of the seminar, the presiding pastor or priest lay his hand on each participant who then receives the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is different from the water baptism whereby a Christian is immersed in water to symbolize his death to this world (and all things worldly) and a new life in Jesus Christ. The original baptism of the Holy Spirit was during the Pentecost wherein the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples of Jesus Christ and where all of them immediately spoke in tongues. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is characterized by the outpouring of His gifts to the newly baptized Christian for the edification of the church. The onrushing of the powers of the Holy Spirit is characterized by an indescribable feeling wherein people would simultaneously laugh or cry and feel elation and bliss all over. Their eyes are opened to the realities of heaven and God's kingdom. They receive wisdom in understanding the words of God in the Bible as though these words are alive with new found meanings and they leap straight out of the Bible into their hearts and minds. Their hearts sing in joyous expectations and in the knowledge of the reality of God in their hearts. They readily fellowship with other Christians as they feel their oneness with the whole body of Christ as they sing in one voice in joyous worship and praises of the Lord.


Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Baptism in The Holy Spirit, Water Baptism, Outpouring of Gifts of The Holy Spirit, Speaking in Tongues, Prophesy, Divine Wisdom, Gospel, Word of God, Holy Bible

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

Just In Time

When my wife was still here, she has the habit of not buying anything until we ran out of it like sugar or cooking oil. Then she would instruct our maid to buy from the neighborhood store whose prices were always a lot higher than the supermarket prices. I was the other extreme though. I would buy supplies from the supermarket that would last for two weeks to a month and would always look for bargains and volume discounts which most of the time bloated my buying budget . When my wife went to the US to work, I was left alone to tackle our budget and I had to be really judicious in spending because I had no one else to borrow from if I ran out of money.
Then I remembered the Japanese style of warehousing management called Just In Time. The Japanese style involve suppliers who will monitor the company's consumption of raw materials, packaging materials and other components of production and advise management when to buy new materials. I became adept at buying just the right amount of goods to last at almost exactly the next remittance date from my wife. Thus, I avoided my previous penchant for over stocking. I also trimmed down on non essentials and looked for cheaper substitutes without sacrificing quality. But this will not hold true for our salvation. We cannot wait for the last moment to repent from our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. We may not be as lucky as the thief on the cross who was able to attain salvation from Jesus Christ at the last moment before he died.



Tags: Just In Time, Japanese Style of Warehousing Management, Theory Z, Japanese Style of Management, Japan, Japanese, Affluence, Success in Business, Economics

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Management/Business/Economics

Victorious Christian Life

VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIFE
How can we attain a victorious Christian life? We can attain a victorious Christian life by totally surrendering ourselves to Jesus Christ. There should be no holding back. Everything that is near and dear to us should be surrendered to the Lord, to do as He pleased. There should be no rival in the throne of God. We can live a victorious Christian life by identifying ourselves with Jesus Christ in all aspects of our lives. We no longer use our faculties and abilities for our own benefit and glory alone, but everything we do, say and think, will be for the glory of God alone. All our actions and motives are done to please God and give glory to His name. And in order to triumph over all the wiles of the enemy, we appropriate unto ourselves all the power and strength of God. Then it is no longer us fighting the enemy but the Lord who fights our battles for us. God's strength then becomes our strength. God's holiness and righteousness become ours to share to others less endowed. God's purity and sinlessness become ours to overcome sins and temptations in this world. In fact, we walk through life bearing the breastplate of our Lord Jesus Christ as we become like Him- a light of the world and a salt of the earth. We do not worry nor fear for the Lord is in us and walks with us in every circumstances of our lives. We will never get tired nor will we backslide, for the glory of God beckons to us at the end of the race. Yes, to live a victorious Christian life, we have to walk the earth with our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.



Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Victorious Christian Life, Surrender, No Rival in God's Throne, Glory of God, Powers of God, Holiness, Righteousness, Purity, Sinlessness, Breastplate, Light of The World, Salt of The Earth, Crown of Glory, Gospel, Word of God, Holy Bible

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

Backsliding

BACKSLIDING
Backsliding is returning to your former way of life before you became born again and have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. Instead of moving forward in the grace of God and the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, the born again person slowly and almost imperceptibly backslides little by little to become hardened of heart and a disgraced follower of Christ. The backslider may not be noticeable on the outside. He may still be attending church services and fellowships with other Christians, but deep inside, he is wallowing in hidden pleasures and sin. The process of backsliding is not immediate and sudden. It may start with small sins that he readily confesses to God until sinning becomes too frequent and enjoyable that he becomes enslaved by it again. Because of resurgent pride, sins may remain unconfessed and a hardening of the heart will follow. At first, he will feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. But repeated disregard of this conviction and the still small voice will result in the hardening of the heart and the stifling of the conscience until he no longer hears nor feels any conviction from the Holy Spirit. Yes, God promised that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39) but He will not stop a person from deserting Him. Judas was the classic example of a backslider. Chosen as one of the elite apostles of Jesus Christ and ordained with power and grace from on high, he let his conscience be stifled by little sins of stealing money from the common fund of the group until he was finally enslaved by sin and Satan entered into him. That led to his betrayal of Jesus Christ to his enemies for thirty pieces of silver. He died tormented because of his sins but did not ask forgiveness from the Lord nor repented. The devil (his accuser) taunted him to end his life which he willingly did. If Judas was the classic example of a backslider, Peter was the classic example of a reformed sinner who rose from the ashes of denying Jesus Christ before men, to asking and receiving forgiveness from Jesus Christ and leading the early Christians before attaining his self desired martyrdom for the Lord. Be careful if you have already gained eternal life by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. The devil is like a roaring lion that wants to devour you. Your little and unnoticed sins may lead you back to the path of destruction and eternal death.


Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Backsliding, Backsliders, Hidden Sins, Disgraced Christians, Hardening of The Heart, Stifling of Conscience, Hidden Pleasures, Judas, Peter, Path of Destruction, Eternal Death, Grace, Repentance, Return to The Fold of Christ, Jesus Is The Rock, Gospel, Word of God, Holy Bible

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

Holy Is The Lord

HOLY IS THE LORD
Holiness is one of the attributes of God. Not only ordinary holiness but pure and perfect holiness. Due to God's very nature, no creature can ever approach Him who is not holy. Any tinge of sin or unholiness will cause the creature to shrivel and die before the perfect holiness of the Lord. If this is so, no unholy person can be with God in heaven. But wait, nobody can be holy before the Lord, for we are all sinners and were born in the state of depravity because of the fall of our first parents. God, in His extreme wisdom and mercy, remedied this situation by sending His only begotten Son- Jesus Christ to earth to pay the full price for our sins. Jesus, the only perfect and sinless person born on earth, died on the cross and freed man from the curses of sin and eternal death. Thus, Jesus Christ opened wide the gates of heaven for mortal men to enter the blissful abode of God and His angels. The only price we have to pay to have this extremely rare privilege is to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior and surrender our lives to Him. Then our sins, which we have committed since birth, will be washed clean by the precious blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on Calvary. Not only that, Jesus righteousness and holiness will be imputed upon the born again person as the Holy Spirit will make His dwelling in his heart. As he walks in the ways of the Lord, he is transformed from glory to glory until he reach the whole measure of the fullness of Jesus Christ. Thus, he is qualified to be with the Lord forevermore.


Tags; God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Holy Is The Lord, Holiness, Righteousness, Perfect Holiness, Sinners, State of Depravity, Born Again, Temple of The Holy Spirit, Redeemed By Jesus Blood, Salvation, Grace, Gospel, Word of God, Holy Bible

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

Satan's Doom And The Last Judgment

The New Jerusalem












SATAN'S DOOM AND THE LAST JUDGMENT
Revelation 20: 7-10 says, "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth-Gog and Magog- to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand of the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city He loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Revelation 20: 11-15 further says, "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Then the New Jerusalem will come down from the sky to be the new dwelling place of God and His people. Heaven and earth had already passed away and there was no longer any sea. God will be with His people and there will no longer be any death nor disease. There will be no more tears in the New Jerusalem.


Tags: God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Satan's Doom, The Last Judgment, Death, Hades, Great White Thrown, Dragon, Serpent, Book of Life, Lake of Fire, The New Jerusalem, No More Tears, Gospel, Word of God, Holy Bible

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