Josh Ott's Podcast

The peace we experience guards our hearts and minds. Unfortunately experiencing peace these days is a difficult endeavor. Most of us experience more conflict, chaos, and stress than we we experience peace. Fortunately God lays out a path for us to experience more peace in our lives. It is directly connected to how we think, because what we think always plays out in what we do. So to experience mor...

What steals your peace is less about the external and more about the internal. It is connected to thoughts we stay on. And we get stuck on what we stay on. Letting go of those thoughts that trap us is way easier said than done. The key is to keep our minds stayed on something else. Big faith and big trust (the kind you need to get through what you need to get through or to let go of what you need...

We often don’t think about how we think, but how we think has a profound affect on our lives. Our thoughts drive our actions. To complicate things our enemy, the devil is constantly lying and trying to mess with our heads. What we need is to take a good look at our thoughts and start to take captive every though that has been keeping us captive. We need the truth. We can know the truth through Jes...

We all have areas of our lives or hearts we would love to see restored. And there are practical things we can do to set us in the right space to experience restoration, but the bottom line is God does the restoring. If you have been feeling overwhelmed or like you can't handle one more thing on your mental list, this is tremendous news. God himself will restore you and make you stronger than you h...

This is all about how we fight our battles, because when you fight wrong everything hurts more. So we don’t fight with flesh and blood, we fight knowing this is bigger than just what we see. We fight knowing we aren’t alone. We fight different. We look for the greater good. We look for the bigger win. We open up, we don’t close off. We carry each other. We pray and we worship, because a perspectiv...

You have to keep your head on a swivel. Because the attacks can come from anywhere and when we aren’t ready for them they sting so much more. It may be part of the reality we like to ignore but you and I have an enemy who only wants to swallow us up in despair, hopelessness, bitterness and pain. God’s got a better plan. A plan that leads to restoration. Pay attention. Find your balance. Stay calm...

Anxiety can feel like drowning and the water and waves are everywhere. If you are sinking in anxiety, please know you are not alone. There is help for you. Social media is full of anxiety hacks that help, but this message pulls an anxiety hack out of scripture and helps us get on God’s plan for walking through it and finding a fresh and better way to deal with anxiety when it springs up on us. Jus...

Stay humble...it sounds trendy and there are motivational posts all over social media preaching the stay “humble message”, but humility isn’t really trending in our world today. In fact it seems like what we see more and more of is Pride. Humility isn’t putting yourself down it is seeing yourself in your proper place. Deeply valued but not the center of the universe. Restoration in your life or re...

Help’s coming. Jesus wraps up this section of his instruction to his followers with encouragement that while He is leaving, He is sending them The Advocate. A helper. A difference maker. If you have ever wondered if God is for you, if you have wondered if He is with you this encouragement is for you. Deep dive with us to see who this advocate is and what He does for us.

Love will make you do some crazy things. It is the best motivator, and it is what is most transformative. That’s why it is so sad that so many people who believe in God don’t really know His love for us. It’s a crazy love that Jesus describes to us in this passage. We aren’t motivated by religious rituals, obligations, or a sense of duty. We are motivated by God’s incredible love for us.

It is worth repeating high value information and we need to hear some things repeated over and over again before they stick. Jesus is repeating some important stuff in this passage. Mainly that he is the vine and we are the branches and to experience all he has for us we need to remain or abide in Him. By the way, all that he has for us, the fruit, is really awesome stuff and everything we have be...

It is easy to miss stuff in the hectic pace of life. We get busy or distracted or pulled by the expectations of others and sometimes we can miss the best stuff. Jesus gives this invitation to found people, because found people can get distracted and become apathetic. The invitation is to abide and abiding is a choice.

Trouble can be unavoidable and sometimes life hurts. It can feel like waves of anxiety, worry, sadness, stress and grief are unending and buffet against our lives sweeping away our peace and joy. But, some boats don’t sink and you can trust Jesus even in the midst of your current storm. For people of faith we can find comfort in knowing Jesus is in our boat.

Have you ever prayed and felt like your prayers were unanswered. Maybe God was saying “No.” God says “yes” a lot, but occasionally God says “no.” It’s hard to understand and it can really test our faith. Sometimes, looking back, we can understand why God answered “no.” But we don’t always know the reason behind it. So, what do we do when God says “no.” This message looks at the bigger picture, the...

God is working. He isn’t far off, distant or uninterested. Instead he is working in and around us to draw us closer to Himself. But, life is complex and we often miss what God is doing in the complexity of our lives. You can miss it, but God is calling you to more. The Ethiopian eunuch is a great example of a complex life, searching and missing something. When he finds it in Jesus it changes every...

Victory is ours through what Jesus has done for us but experiencing that victory depends on how we approach our giants. Approach is everything. It gets scary as the giants in our life become unavoidable. They highlight our insecurities. But David in this moment was full of courage. A courage we can experience because of the victory Jesus already secured for us. David approached in the name of the...

Don’t try to fit the mold of what a broken system tells you you should be. Also, don’t try to be someone else. Comparison combined with your insecurities can demolish your spirit. But, God has a design for your life. He has equipped you, prepared you and gifted you for whatever it is you face. Don’t try to fit the mold. Be the person God made you to be.

Finding encouragement can be tough. Especially in a highly critical, fast paced, online life that is constantly throwing us discouragement. Your greatest encouragement won’t come from others, it will come from seeing God in your story and from learning to trust Him with your future.

As soon as you step out in faith or try to better your life you will face discouragement. We try to shake out off but it doesn’t always work. Discouragement hurts. It hurts most when it comes from the people who should be supporting us, the people close to us. This message helps us face discouragement. Know who you are and know whose you are!

Goliath was a huge problem. So are the giants you face. Some giants are external and some are internal but all are unexpected, intimidating, and intrusive. To face your giant you have to start with a spiritual perspective. The giant is standing between you and the future God has for you. It may be a big giant but God is bigger. Outsource your courage and confidence to God.

The hero had ordinary beginnings but the right kind of heart. Being faithful in the small things God places in front of you matters. Building character and practicing consistency and faithfulness is an essential step in experiencing victory. Learn to be content without being settled. Learn to find joy in where God has you right now. Learn to be faithful in the small things.

Prayer is such an important part of our spiritual health. It slows us down and reminds us of what is most important: who God is, what He has done for us, who we are to Him. It reminds us that we aren’t alone. It helps us grow, aligns us with what God is doing, and it changes things. Most importantly it changes us. Find your space to pray and create a new rhythm of prayer.

I’m holding on to hope. Sometimes we just need to declare that in the middle of difficult circumstances. Jesus is preparing His disciples for the difficult days ahead. I am going away but I’m coming back. Your moment isn’t forever and your current circumstances aren’t how your story ends. Hope is found in close proximity to Jesus.