HE LIVES

 Vol 13 No 6

April 15, 2014

Dear Friend,

When Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome arrived at the tomb of Jesus early in the morning they were stunned to discover the rock in front of the tomb had been moved. A young man dressed in a white robe told them Jesus had been raised and was not there. Mark 16

The various translations of the Bible use several words to describe the feelings of these women such as alarmed, terror, amazement, trembling, astonishment, and bewildered.

I find these words are in themselves a wonderful testimony to the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Someone writing a nice starry-eyed ending to the story would have pictured the women overcome with joy and happiness. Instead they experience raw shock.  

The huge stone was moved. Their beloved Jesus was gone. They are told not only that Jesus lives but also that he is going to Galilee ahead of them and that they would see him again.

These women knew something very exceptionally out of the ordinary had occurred.

Jesus is alive – right here right now with you wherever you are reading this. Allow this to be the Easter of your life. Open your life anew to this Lord who loves you and know and experience the love he has for you.

A joyous Easter to you  -

E. Stanley Ott

DEAD CALM-LIVE GOD

 Vol 13 No 5

March 25, 2014

Dear Friend,

One day Jesus taught until evening and then stepped into the boat with his disciples, saying, "Let’s go to the other side (of the Sea of Galilee)." He was exhausted and promptly fell asleep. 

A terrible storm came upon them and as Mark described it, "The waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped." They woke Jesus up saying, "Don’t you care that we are dying?" Jesus rebuked the wind and the wind ended.

If that was the whole story, people could contend it teaches that Jesus is Lord of all creation, but then others would argue it could have been pure coincidence that the wind died down just as Jesus rebuked it. 

It’s the next phrase that changes everything. Jesus said to the sea, “Peace! Be still and there was dead calm!”   

To understand the significance of this you have to know a little physics. There is tremendous energy that is stored in giant waves as they roll and roil. When the wind dies down, the energy in the waves keeps the waves thrashing around for a long time.

For crashing waves to become immediately a “dead calm” is totally unnatural. It happened because Jesus spoke with power of the actual infinite, almighty creator God of the universe. 

It was a real miracle and they knew it. “And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’” Mark 4:41

“I sing the mighty pow’r of God.”  Join me!

With joy –

E. Stanley Ott

WITH-ME

 Vol 13 No 4

February 11, 2014

Dear Friend,

This is one of my very favorite verses in the Bible, “He [Jesus] went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him.” Mark 3:13* 

While Jesus continued to speak to large crowds and heal those whom he encountered, at this point in his ministry he began to “focus on a few.” We can apply that to our own lives because you and I also have the opportunity to focus on a few, no matter how many our many may be.  

Our “few” are the people we spend more time with, invest our lives in, and trust our Lord to be working in their lives. If we say that we invest ourselves in everyone we know, the probability is that we are not investing enough of ourselves in people deeply enough to actually change their lives and our own lives in the process.

The process Jesus used is both simple and intensely profound. We call it the with-me principle. Jesus called twelve to be with him in order to send them to serve. As we spend time with Jesus, we discover ourselves growing to know, love, and become more like Jesus. 

At the same time, if Jesus invited a few to be with him, so we too may practice the with-me principle as we invite family members, friends, church people, and others into our personal lives – that we might grow to know and love not just one another but also our Lord who invites us to be with him.

So the next time you attend worship, go to a movie, go out for supper, or watch some special event on television, whom will you invite to be with you?

With joy –

E. Stanley Ott

Stretcher Bearers

Building One Another -  Vol 13 No 3

Dear Friend,

I love this portion of the famous encounter between Jesus and a paralytic:
“Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.  When Jesus saw their faith…” He forgave the paralytic and healed him!  Mark 2:3-5*

It was my teacher, Chuck Miller, who opened my eyes to this text when he asked the simple question, “Who are the stretcher bearers in your life?”

Who are the people – when you are down – physically, emotionally, and spiritually or in any other way – who carry you into the presence of Jesus? Who will stop at nothing to lift you up? Whose faith Jesus sees – not even glancing at your own faith or lack of it in the moment – and raises you up? 

These are people to treasure. Consider who they are – and thank them. In turn be a stretcher-bearer to those people our Lord puts into your life! 

With joy - E. Stanley Ott
Copyright 2014 E. Stanley Ott
*Scripture from the NRSV

Purpose

Vol 13 No 2

Dear Friend,

The flow of events in the first chapter of Mark’s record of the life of Jesus sets up a remarkable statement by Jesus.

One evening the whole town of Capernaum seems to show up at the place Jesus is staying bringing their ill and suffering. Jesus heals and helps them in what had to be a long evening for him.

Yet he jumps up while it is still dark and goes to a quiet place to pray where his disciples eventually find him and say, in essence, “Come back to Capernaum, there are more sick people.”

You would think Jesus, given his compassion, would go back to town with them. Instead he says, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Mark 1:38*

Now we see his heart of compassion because in the very next story in Mark we see Jesus heal a leper. However, we get the point. Jesus knew why he came, knew what he was about and understood his purpose.

Do you?

“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” John 12:26

With joy - E. Stanley OttCopyright 2014 E. Stanley Ott*Scripture from the NIV

New Adventure

Building One Another - Vol. 13, No.1
Dear Friend, The news early Monday morning carried a report that the day is known as “Blue Monday,” the most depressing day of the year! After a bit of holiday down time, the ideas of reentering the rat race, missing loved ones, and the prospect of losing some holiday weight gain are not among our most motivational thoughts! On the other hand, Jesus isn't a Blue Monday person! He cries, "follow me," and leads us in the adventure of a lifetime! Many of our regular routines may be a bit on pause over the holidays. Now is a great time to clarify the rhythms of your life such as daily time with our Lord, weekly worship with God’s people, diet, exercise, fellowship gatherings, and other patterns that care the for body and soul. This is an especially good time to renew your adventure with Jesus. I love the line from a song by Ken Medema and you can just hear Jesus singing it to you, “Come with me, walk with me, run with me, fly with me. We will roam the Father’s land together.” Jesus’ heart’s desire is to refresh your heart and for you to experience the joy of merely being with him. “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:11*
With Joy - E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2013 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
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Getting Ready

Building One Another -  Vol 12 No 28

Dear Friend,

A lot of the country has already experienced severe winter weather and the season is barely underway. How did you go about preparing for an event you knew was coming?
in getting ready for winter, my mind runs through a quick checklist.               
                Are the hoses coiled and indoors?               
                Are the outside faucets turned off?               
                Has the deck furniture been stacked?               
                Is salt or its equivalent ready in case of ice?               
                Does the car have an ice scraper?

 The season before Christmas, known as Advent, is a season of preparation – a time of getting ready.

 So we have some version of another mental checklist.
                 Is my/our home decorated?                 Do we know what events I/we will attend or host?                 Have I/we obtained gifts for Christmas?

Advent is especially the time to prepare our hearts. “Let every heart prepare him room!”

Spend some time alone this busy season. Prepare yourself, get ready, to open your heart more widely to Jesus. Focus your mind on this Lord who loves you. Acknowledge and confess your sin and rely on our Lord’s forgiveness and cleansing. Formally offer room in your heart to him. 

Make Worship with God’s people a priority.  Allow the joyful music of the season and the power of our Lord’s Word to speak to your deepest heart – and share that heart with the Lord who shares his heart with you! 

“Come thou long expected Jesus” – E. Stanley OttCopyright 2013 E. Stanley Ott