Hearts Walking

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 28
Dear Friend, In his remarks at the prayer vigil held December 16 in Newtown, Connecticut, President Obama quoted Elizabeth Stone:  "Making a decision to have a child – it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." That has been one of my favorite sayings for a long time. It makes no difference how old you are, how old your child may be, whether your child is alive on this earth or with our heavenly Father. Your child is indeed, your very heart, walking around outside your body. The mystery of the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - is that while they are “one,” they are also three distinct persons. On Christmas day, God the Father knew what it is to have a Son “walking around” as did Mary, the mother of Jesus. So we know immediately the depths of anguish of the families in Newtown today and the depths of anguish felt by many families following the birth of Jesus, “When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.” Matthew 2:16* The very darkness of the world in our day and in the darkness of the day of the birth of Jesus makes the words of the prophet Isaiah and of the Apostle John incredibly significant. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;  those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” Isaiah 9:2 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12 The light is Jesus. Open your heart to him for his heart is open to you. Indeed you are his very heart walking around!
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
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Living

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 27
Dear Friend, Some years ago Bob Oerter, then pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Boulder, Colorado, led a retreat in which I heard him say, “Learn to live with the load of the unfinished!” That phrase has stuck with me ever sense. His point was no matter how much you and I do there is always more to be done. The society we live in has become ever more manic, ever more driven with a sense that we have to, “get all of this stuff done.” Bob’s point was not to get all the stuff done but to learn to live with reality of the unfinished and to deliberately take time to be with our Lord and with those we love. Life isn’t about finishing the do list. It is about getting on with our relationships. Jesus certainly lived a rather busy life. At one point Mark describes what was going on around Jesus this way, “For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” Mark 6:31a* Clearly Jesus knew what the load of the unfinished felt like. In the very midst of this crazy time with no time even to eat, Jesus said, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” Mark 6:31a May you learn to live with the load of the unfinished in your life this Advent season and take the time to center yourself on the Lord who loves you and the people God gives you!
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
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The Voice

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 26
Dear Friend, Late one afternoon I was jogging around a high school track and let's just say I wasn’t exactly flying around that oval. On the other side of the track the high school track coach was working with one student. I could hear the coach holler to his runner: "Square your shoulders!                 Lift those knees and step higher!                                 Lengthen your stride!                                                 Pick up your pace!" I suddenly realized I was flying around the track at a terrific rate of speed (for me)! I’d squared my own shoulders, was lifting my knees and stepping higher, lengthening my stride, and picking up my pace. The voice of the coach prodded me into action! The Voice of the Spirit of the God is prodding you in a similar way: “Seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13                 “Come to me, all you who are weary and                       burdened.” Matthew 11:28                                 “Therefore let all the faithful pray.”                                        Psalm 32:6 May you hear the Voice of the Spirit prodding you to draw near to the Lord who loves you dearly and who has already drawn near to you!
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NIV
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God Can

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 25
Dear Friend, I was flying a Southwest flight from Orlando to New Orleans. We were belted in and picking up speed as we raced down the runway. Suddenly the pilot’s voice broadcast in the cabin. My ears perked up since I had never heard the pilot speak during take off. What he said was, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” We all had a good laugh as the plane lifted into the air and turned towards New Orleans. That moment has often come back to me when facing some challenge in my life and I find myself running harder and faster. Like the “Little Engine that Thought He Could," the words of that pilot come to mind, “I think I can. I think I can!” Except the pilot couldn’t fly by himself.  While he had a part to play, he was merely along for the ride aboard a massive plane trusting in its power to take him and all of us aloft. When you start thinking it all depends on you, know that our Lord works with, in, and through our efforts yet, we, too, are along for the ride. We, too, have our part to play in the endeavor before us, yet we trust in our massive God’s power to be the wind under our wings. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7* I trust God can!
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NIV
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Generous Thanks

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 24
Dear Friend, Driving with my daughter in the neighborhood in which I grew up, we paused by my childhood home so she could take a picture. A young man came to the door obviously wondering what we were doing. My daughter called to him, “My Dad lived here forty years ago.” He went back inside the home and out came his mother. After my daughter told her the same thing, that lady said immediately, “Would you like to see the house?” Not even, “Just give me five minutes to pick up a few things, “ but a “Please come right in.” She took us into every room in the house. Memories came flooding in. I could see my Mom and I decorating the Christmas tree, my sister standing by the plate glass window before her wedding dress, the room I shared with my brother and so much more. Can you imagine what I feel every time I think of the generosity of that dear lady in offering that kind hospitality to strangers? Thanksgiving simply overcomes me! As the Apostle Paul wrote, “You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us.” 2 Corinthians 9:11* So this Thanksgiving, think of the many acts of generosity that have been shown to you in the last year – by the people in your life – by the Lord of your life – and give thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving - E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
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Eleven Years

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 19
Dear Friend, Eleven years ago this morning I boarded an airplane going from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles. We landed in Kansas City since every airplane in the air was required to land when the reality of the tragedies unfolding in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania began to hit home. For me the day became a simple adventure of making my way home with other stranded travelers. In a moment of extreme crisis, in a day when many believed America to be spineless, we saw amazing valor in three different locations involving thousands of people. In the midst of all of the horror, it felt good to be an American that day. It still does. In the days following 9/11, I was convinced that God was calling us to four specific actions. I still am. First, we are to comfort the grieving. For the families of those who died that day and in the conflicts abroad since then, life has been turned on its head. May our hearts go out to them. Second, we are to resist prejudice. Say “no” to the temptation to treat with less than dignity those people living in our country of Middle Eastern descent and especially those of the Muslim religion. We are Americans, however before we are Americans, we who follow Jesus are the people of grace. May we think, act, and speak as the people of grace. Third, we are to confess our sin to the Lord. If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14*). Our news is filled with stories of unethical behavior in our midst. We have absolutely no future as a nation if we say we fight the evildoer abroad while perpetuating deliberate sin within our own camp and among ourselves. Fourth, we are to be prepared. Preparedness in a time of uncertainty means remaining alert to the possibility of evil and choosing not to yield completely to the false security of “life as usual.” The most quoted scripture I heard in the days following 9/11 was Psalm 46:1-2. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea.”
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
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The Questions

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 18
Dear Friend, The Apostle Paul made a revealing assertion to the Christians of the ancient city of Corinth, ”For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” I Cor. 4:15* The word guardians variously translated can mean tutors, instructors, teachers, and trainers. The original word referred to those who walked a child to school and kept an eye on the child. Such a person was not a parent but more like a babysitter. “Though you have ten thousand babysitters you only have one father, one mother in the faith.” So Paul claims his unique role by urging his spiritual children to, “be imitators of me,” what all parents ask of their children. Also, like every parent he urges them to remember what he taught them, “of my ways in Christ Jesus, as I teach them everywhere and in every church.” I Cor. 4:17 This leads to a number of profound questions! Who is the person who had the most to do with shaping your heart for and understanding of the Christian faith? A Mom, a Dad, a grandparent, someone at church, a friend, or someone else? For whom are you not merely a spiritual babysitter, but a mom or a dad? Are you having a Christ-forming influence in the life of another person (who may be a child or may be an adult)? Are your core convictions about our Lord and our Lord’s church clear enough that you consistently live them and can teach them regardless of where you are – everywhere and in every church? Such questions lead to gratitude for the spiritual parents in our lives and challenge us to be spiritual parents in the lives of others.
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
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