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Building One Another


E. Stanley Ott

Vol 14 No 4

January 27, 2015

Dear Friend,

Are you feeling dry? Parched, empty, exhausted, depleted, even degraded?

Ezekiel describes the famous valley of dry bones, “The hand of the Lord… set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones… there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry” Ezekiel 37:1-2.* 

Our country is a land of people of dry bones, of deep weariness. As I travel the country and ask people, “How are you?” a common answer is, “I’m tired.” It's no wonder books like “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown and “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown are best sellers as they offer ways to address our weariness. 

At the same time we realize the reason the ancient nation of Israel was dry bones wasn’t because they didn’t manage their daily lives. They had sinned, plain and simple. 

God spoke through Jeremiah saying, “I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices” Ezekiel 7:3 NIV. The people of God report their own experience, “Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!” Lamentations 5:15-16 NIV.

Dry, dry bones!  The ultimate path out of dryness into fullness is offered by our loving Lord, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28.

I love the words of Dennis Jernigan’s song, “You are My All in All: When I fall down, you pick me up, when I am dry, you fill me up, you are my all in all.” Indeed!

Fill up!   

Joy to you - E. Stanley Ott
Copyright 2015 E. Stanley Ott
*Scripture from the NRSV