POWER

Vol. 15 No. 11

 

Dear Friend,

Consider the final words of the Lord's Prayer: "For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen."

Every time we pray it, we re-affirm our conviction that our God is indeed a God of power.

God's infinite power means that God is infinitely capable. He can do anything he wants to do.

"Now unto him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us" said the Apostle Paul (Ephesians 3:20).

God uses his power to lead us to Jesus Christ, to shepherd and sustain us, to guard us, and to take us to heaven.

He uses his power to bless us because he loves us and we love him.

            "Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him;

            I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

            He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble,

            I will deliver him and honor him.

            With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation"(Ps. 91:14-16 NIV).

Call upon His name.

            Trust Him to work in your life with his mighty power.

                        Expect him to do more in your life than you ask or even imagine.

Joy to you - 
E. Stanley Ott                                 

STRENGTH

Vol. 15 No. 10

 

Dear Friend,

In this season of football playoffs, you can tune in and watch exceedingly strong men tossing each other around like so many toothpicks. Their strength is remarkable.

Consider the various kinds of strength people have in addition to the strength of their physical bodies:

            strength of character,

                        strength of will,

                                    and strength of conviction.

We have many kinds of strength,  yet we also know there are times and situations that appear to demand more strength from us than we  have to give.

David wrote, "He [God] rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me" (Ps.18:17 NIV).

God helps those who cannot help themselves!

That is grace.

After God delivered David from his enemies, David sang, "It is God who arms me with strength" (2 Samuel 22:33 NIV).

Trust God to arm you with strength and to sustain and guide you through every situation of your life.

Take a moment to offer to the Lord the strength you do have as your means of serving Him.

Trust Him to serve you and supply you with His strength according to your need.

Joy to you -
E. Stanley Ott        

CHANGE

Vol. 15 No. 9

Dear Friend,

Sometimes we love changes in life... a newborn baby, a new season, a new friend.

At other times we dislike change... something becomes different about a friend or our home or work or church that we preferred the way it was before.

We embrace the changes we choose for our own lives... a re-decorated room, a new hair style, a new car.

We easily resent changes that someone else chooses for us, that is imposed upon us, such as a change in work schedule, a new house chore, or the way something is done in our church.

We tend to experience imposed change as loss, the loss of something or someone we liked. We grieve. Sometimes we are angry about it.

Consider this: our God is a God of change... not change for its own sake but change that builds life, the changes that growth must bring, the changes that accompany anything new.

Be alert to the changes God is bringing or wants to bring into your life.

In all humility, invite Jesus Christ to work in your life, allow Him, in fact to implore Him to bring about those changes in your life that will enable you to better love and serve Him.

Joy to you - 
E. Stanley Ott    

SPEECH

Vol. 15 No. 8

Dear Friend,

One of most beautiful things written about speech may be found in the Book of Proverbs: A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver [Pr 25:11 NIV].

Wow!  To be able to say the right word, the helpful word, the encouraging, correcting, guiding, blessing word is like apples of gold set forth in a stunning and beautiful way.

There is something incredibly powerful about our words.

Reflect for a moment on the nature of your own speech.

Do your words reveal you to be a believer, a blesser, a builder, an encourager, a teacher, a counselor, a consoler?

Do your words show you to be a curser, a grumbler, a complainer, a blamer?

Perhaps you are a little bit of all of these things, the up-builder and the tear-downer.

James wrote, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers, this should not be" (James 3:9-10 NIV).

The way we manage our mouths is in itself a "good work" by which we give evidence that we are believers in and followers of Jesus Christ.

Allow the Holy Spirit become the Master of your tongue so that what you say and how you say it may build people and honor the Lord.

Joy to you - 
E. Stanley Ott                                 

THE ROCK

Vol. 15 No. 7

  

Dear Friend,

Ever walked in a swamp? I have many times and the question is always, "where is a firm place for me to put my foot down for my next step?'

We need a firm place, a solid place to place our foot, to build a building or construct a road. 

We need a firm foundation upon which to base and build our personal lives.

Jesus spoke of the person who built a house on sand and the wind blew and rains came and the house fell.  Wind, rain, and uncertainty do come into our lives. 

We need a solid place, a place of security and shelter, a place of promise upon which to base our lives.

The psalmist wrote, "The Lord is my Rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge" (Ps. 18:2).

The apostle Paul spoke to the Corinthian church of, "the gospel I preached to you, which also you received and on which you have taken your stand."

Jesus Christ is the Rock of Ages, the absolutely reliable dependable Son of God who offers you a place to stand. 

Whatever currents of activity and demand swirl around your life, what ever presses you from without or within, remember the Rock, and find refuge in him.

Joy to you - 
E. Stanley Ott