God Prepares His Bride

Rev. Ira Lee Rosalita 
“God prepares his bride” 
Mark 14:1-9

One of the privileges of being a minister is the opportunity to solemnize weddings. I must confess that I had my share of surprising moments during weddings. I remember solemnizing a wedding where both myself, and the groom were having high fever. My head was aching and my whole body was shaking, but I had to go through the ceremony together with the groom who was also praying that the ceremony would end soon because he was also having a difficult time. There was another time where in the middle of the ceremony the bride collapsed, perhaps out of exhaustion from the heat or for lack of sleep and rest prior to the wedding. I had to pause for a while and asked the groom and the maid of honor to assist the bride until she gained consciousness. However, there is one thing I noticed in all the weddings that I solemnized, that is, the bride was always the center of attraction and attention. Most people do not really mind the groom and the other participants, but their eyes are glued on the bride.
The imagery of a bride in the Bible is unique to the followers of Jesus Christ. Only in Jesus do we find the relationship as between husband and bride. Prior to the incarnation of Jesus, the relationship between God and Israel was a relationship between a master and servant. Moses himself was a servant in God’s house and all who followed Moses were servants in God’s house. The reason why Moses and the Israelites were governed by laws, rules and regulations is because they were servants. As long as the servant is faithful in following the rules and regulations in the house, the owner of the house will reward him generously. However, when the servant misbehaves and becomes rebellious, the master will kick him out.

Jesus is the perfect Savior

Rev. Ira Lee Rosalita
“Jesus is the perfect Savior” 
Romans 5:12-21

Abraham Lincoln is remembered by most Americans as the president who emancipated the slaves. He led the northern states to fight against the southern states to end slavery in America. He sacrificed his life so that thousands of slaves will be liberated from bondage. The lives of the slaves were forever changed when they were given equal rights as citizens of the country. But Abraham Lincoln was only able to set the slaves free from the physical and material condition. There is another slavery which is far greater and more devastating to the human soul. This is the slavery to sin and death. No other person can save us from this bondage except the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why is Jesus the perfect savior?

The Law of Application

The goal of a teacher is teaching about life change. Application is the responsibility of the teacher. The teacher should make sure that the application has an impact influence. If a teacher feels that it has an impact on its personal life then surely it will tend to do the same with its students.

Teachers must explain the topic or lesson clearly, simple, and motivating.  It should go straight to the heart of the students so that they will apply it. Employ an appropriate style when calling for commitment and strengthen applications with students’ accountability. There are situations where the teacher prepares applications in relation to students’ needs. As a teacher, one should lead the students beyond general applications to specific step of obedience.

God Calms Our Troubled Souls

Rev. Ira Lee Rosalita
“God calms our troubled souls”
John 14:23-27

Some historians believe that the first world war was one of the bloodiest confrontations in modern history. Ten million soldiers and more than fifteen millions civilians died in that conflict. The protagonists were; Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey on one side, and England, France and Russia on the other side. This war devastated large portions of Europe and brought untold misery to nations involved in the war. After the war, leaders of nations came together to form the League of Nations for the purpose of avoiding similar confrontations in the future. After suffering so much from the war, the leaders of nations especially in Europe formed this body to monitor military activities of member countries so that differences could be resolved peacefully without trading bullets. Everybody wanted peace after seeing and experiencing the horrors of war. However, in 1936 the second world war broke out, and once again the world was thrown into a much bigger conflict with much more powerful weapons. The League of Nations was unable to stop the conflagration and countries were devastated because of the conflict.

God’s Presence is Everything

Re. Ira Lee Rosalita
“God’s Presence is everything”
Numbers 9:15-23

During the fighting between the government forces and the MNLF last September 2013, we saw on TV that the government forces were supported by tanks as they advanced towards their objective. The soldiers were using the tanks as shields so that the bullets from the enemy will not hit them. Whenever the tanks moved forward, the soldiers also moved forward. When the tanks moved to the right, the soldiers also moved to the right. When the tanks stopped, the soldiers also stopped. It would be dangerous for the soldiers to move when the tanks were stationary, and it would also be dangerous for the soldiers to stop when the tanks were moving. The safety of the soldiers depended on their movement with the tanks. As long as they stayed close to the tanks they had the protection, but when they were separated from the tanks, they were in danger.

God Guides Us Into True Spirituality

Rev. Ira Lee Rosalita

“God guides us into true spirituality” 

Colossians 2:16-23

One thing I noticed when I visit a bank is the poster on the wall giving warning to clients of the presence of counterfeit money. The public is cautioned against the use and exchange of counterfeit bills because they cause economic damage. When more paper money is circulating without corresponding reserve in the Central bank, the value of the money goes down and a lot of people will be affected. Anything that is extremely valuable will be counterfeited. Fake gems have been around for thousands of years, but as the technology for making them has advanced, fakes are now harder to detect with the naked eye.
Gem buyers today must be aware of three types of gems that are made to look more valuable than they are.

God Sets His People Free

Rev. Ira Lee Rosalita
“God sets his people free”
Numbers chapter 9:1-14

According to legend eight hundred years ago, ten Malay datus from the island of Borneo settled in Panay island. The Ati population which came earlier granted the new settlers access to the island and allowed them to cultivate the lowlands. After years of settlement, the Ati who lived in the highlands experienced famine. In order to escape starvation, the Ati decided to go down and seek help from the malay lowlanders. The malay lowlanders gladly shared their food with the Ati and the festival known as Ati-atihan started. Originally the festival was not associated with the Santo Nino, but with the harmonious relations between the Ati and the Malay. However, when the Spanish came, the festival was given religious significance. Today, I wonder if those who are celebrating ati-atihan remember the original meaning of the festival.

God’s Grace Makes Us Whole

Rev. Ira Lee Rosalita
“God’s grace makes us whole” 
Hosea 2:16-23

In medieval Japan, the Samurai held a high position in the society because war- lords depend on them to secure their territories. Feudal lords like the Shoguns, employ the services of thousands of Samurai warriors in order to keep their territories protected and keep the forces of the rival feudal lords at bay. When a feudal lord has many loyal and able Samurai warriors, he could control large areas and assert his influence and power over his subjects. The Samurai was indispensable part of the Feudal lord’s political power. At the same time, the Samurai is dependent on his lord for his honor, riches and power.

God’s Grace Focuses Our Vision

Rev. Ira Lee Rosalita
“God’s Grace Focuses Our Vision” 
Colossians 3:1-4
A story is told about a woman who lost her sight due to an accident. Doctors tried to look for a donor so that an operation could be conducted to restore the sight of the blind woman. After years of waiting, a donor was found and the operation took place successfully. The blind woman was able to see again, and she was grateful to the doctors and to the donor for allowing her to see again. However, after few days, the woman complained to the doctors that she was seeing things that she never saw before. She was scared and told the doctors to do something about her situation. The doctors did not have any explanation for her strange experience, but they had a theory; that the donor may have seen certain things that were unfamiliar to the recipient. The woman was seeing through the eyes of another person and that could explain why she was seeing strange things.

THE STORY OF MEDUSA

Many years ago there was a beautiful woman called Medusa. She lived in a place called Athens in Greece. She was a very kind and she obeyed her Greek gods and goddesses. There many beautiful women in Athens but she was the most beautiful woman among all of them. Because of this, she became vain and conceited. Every single day Medusa always boasted about herself. She says to other people she is the prettiest out of everyone in the whole wide world. On Sunday, Medusa told the miller that her skin is more beautiful than fresh white snow. On Monday, she babbled to the cobbler that her hair is brighter than the sun. On Tuesday, she commented the blacksmith's son that her eyes are greener than Aegean Sea. On Wednesday, she boasted to the public that her lips are redder than the reddest rose in the world. When Medusa wasn't busy she would brag about herself while looking in a mirror. She thought she was the prettiest woman in the whole wide world. She admired herself. On and on Medusa went about her beauty to anyone and everyone who stopped long enough to hear her. Until one day Medusa and her friends went to the Parthenon. It was Medusa's first time going to the Parthenon. The Parthenon was the biggest temple in Greece. It is the Great temple of Athena Parthenos on the Acropolis of Athens that was built in the fifth century B.C. (Parthenos, an adjective meaning “virgin”, was a standard epithet of Athena). In the Parthenon was the goddess of wisdom and beauty and that was Athena. (Athena is Zeus’ daughter that came from his head. She was born from a male.