The Oasis
3794 Diamondview Rd K0A 2H0 Ottawa, ON, Canada

February 26, 2021 Empty? Dear Oasis Family and Friends, When we call an ambulance for a medical emergency, we don’t want paramedics arriving with textbook in hand scanning their textbooks hoping to find your particular symptoms. When we arrive at the ER we don’t want them checking their ‘how-to’ manuals for the instruments they’ll be using. No thanks. I want them prepared, studied, equipped, on top of their game, ready and knowledgeable. ... When a crisis catches us off guard, we don’t know where to turn. It happens. We search hoping to find reasons, we peer and scan for spiritual answers, only to realize how spiritually empty we are. Just as an engine sputters when working through its last reserves of fuel, so we sputter, spiritually, as inexplicable trouble looms. Sometimes it’s not just the unexplainable crisis, other times it’s the realization of our complicity in the dilemma we face. A diagnosis ends in death sooner than expected. A nodule reveals stage 4 cancer. A vacation turns into disaster. Or, stress and depression develop into lifelong battles. At times there are answers, sometimes there are not. The base truth is that God never leaves us. Family, friends, trusted leaders, and close advisors will, I repeat, will, fail us, but God will not. Is there a way to walk through times of unbearable loneliness, brokenness and pain, and not be on ‘spiritual empty’? I think there is. It’s not a feel good panacea, just diligently taking care of spiritual business. First, stop hanging on to the idea that you know best. You don’t. In the Bible, those who thought they knew best usually failed spectacularly. If you think you know it all, you're a fool for sure; real survivors learn wisdom from others, (Proverbs 28). Second, find a way to stay in the Word, any way. Find. A. Way. To. Stay. In. The. Word. Make it as much a part of your day as breathing. I once heard that those who have frayed Bibles, are rarely frayed themselves. Stay in the Word. Pray, and when praying surrender yourself to God, Thy will be done. Amen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAmh3yvmzXs -- Pastor Mario Sassi

February 25, 2021 Ready Dear Oasis Family and Friends, In 1907, Baden-Powell, an English soldier, devised the Scout motto: Be Prepared. He published it in Scouting for Boys in 1908. In Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell wrote that to Be Prepared means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty. Baden-Powell wanted young people equipped to react quickly to an emergency. The Great War loomed, and soon the Boy Scouts not a military organization but ...a service-minded one would be called upon to play their part. Their keen eyes were added to the watchers along the coasts, Winston Churchill wrote in a piece published in Scouting magazine in 1955. In the air raids we saw the spectacle of children of 12 and 14 performing with perfect coolness and composure the useful function assigned to them in the streets and public offices. This is from the 13th latest edition of the Boy Scout Handbook: Scouts should prepare themselves to become productive citizens, strong leaders and to bring joy to other people. He wanted each Scout to be ready in mind and body and to meet with a strong heart whatever challenges await him. How about us? Are we ready in mind and body to meet with a strong heart whatever challenges await us? Do we bring joy to other people? In the Bible we are urged to be ready in heart, mind and spirit to give reason for our faith. To live life so that at any moment we can meet God. To steep our hearts in the Word of God, to keep our souls in sync with the Spirit of God, to do due diligence in our faith journey. We prepare for our future on earth, do we for our eternal one in heaven? Jesus told his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them and would come again to take them so that where He would be, they could be. Are we ready? I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzLd2MDAHK8 -- Pastor Mario Sassi

February 24, 2021 Junk? Dear Oasis Family and Friends, I have watched people take pieces of what I thought was unusable material, (read junk), and wondered why in the world they would hold on to these pieces. Next time I saw them they showed me wonderful pieces of art, you guessed it, made from those very pieces I thought were junk. We have all at one time or another watched some of the television shows about renovating, taking old dilapidated houses and literally renewing ...them from the ground up. Their work is stunning. I have been the recipient of reduced, reused, and recycled materials and they have astonished me. The creativity, ingenuity, thought, and resourcefulness that went into them was amazing. I am reminded of God’s creativity, ingenuity, thought and grace when He takes a life that we think is shattered and in pieces, thinking it has not much value left. Time and again I have observed how God took that life and began his re-forming, re-molding and re-making. Taking all the marred and broken, jagged and fractured, dull and dim, pieces and begin to make a work of art out of them. Revelation 21:5 says that God makes all things new how true. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul writes about how when we submit ourselves to Christ, He takes the old and makes our lives new. And there’s the rub. Before that old house can be renovated and restored it has to be turned over to those who can do the work. Before that box of junk pieces can be made into a beautiful piece of art, it must be given over to the artist. Before we can become new, for real, we must submit ourselves to Christ. Thank you Lord, you know every piece of me, here I am, Amen youtube.com/watch?v=EmckCz1rRGc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1spkhp41ig4 -- Pastor Mario Sassi

February 23, 2021 The Sword GUEST POST Dear Oasis Family and Friends, One lesson that I’ve re-learned through reading through the entire Bible is the utter necessity of staying grounded in the Word. Time in God’s word is no more optional for spiritual health than drinking water is to physical health. I am in a fight, we all are. Our enemy is relentless, constantly looking for an opportunity to destroy us. Our only protection is the armour that God provides:... Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray with the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:13-16) Though all of the armour is important, I note that our only offensive weapon is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. When the enemy comes with lies, nipping at our heals with doubt, fear and affliction, we need an offensive weapon to ward him off. That offensive weapon is the Bible, the word of God. We need to be in it daily, marinating in it, meditating on it, committing it to memory and hiding it in our hearts. Otherwise, we will find ourselves unarmed for a battle that we’re in whether we choose it or not. When I read this, in the process of reading through the Bible, I was struck with God’s relentless pursuit of me. Even when I let my guard down, setting aside my sword for earthly pursuits and leaving myself vulnerable to attack, he comes after me. Sometimes it’s a harsh pursuit marked with discipline, other times a tender reminder that I am missed. But his pursuit is every bit as relentless as the enemy’s advances. In everything I do, may I carry God’s Word in the forefront of my mind. Amen. ~ Stephen Peterson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=johgSkNj3-A Pastor Mario Sassi

Feb. 22, 2021 The Ticket Dear Oasis Family and Friends, A poor man who lived in Eastern Europe in the early 1900s scraped together enough money to buy a third-class ticket on a steamship to New York City. Because he had spent most of his money on the ticket, he subsisted for the twelve-day journey on cheese and crackers. On the final day of the voyage, the man stood at the railing beside one of the ship’s stewards. Why have we not seen you in the dining room? asked the stew...ard. The traveler explained his lack of money. The steward responded with shock, Did you not know that three meals a day were included in your ticket? We set you a place every day, but you never came. We can peel that story back in so many ways, but I want to simply ask, Why? in a ‘tongue-in-cheek’ way. Why is it that when God has given us a clear way, a path, that we insist on making our own? I think I understand the concept of a ‘road-less-travelled’, but isn’t it a bit ridiculous to forge ahead into an unmarked way all because we think we know better and after all, why would we take advice from a God we can’t see, hear, touch or sometimes even understand? Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105 Why would we think that Truth comes from the God of all Truth? Isn’t it better to make up our own truth? After all, we can alter truth to be what we would like, in case we need to defend the way we have taken. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17 Why go to the Author of life to learn about my life? Do we use the refrigerator manual to fix our washing machine? Of course not. But we try to learn about living life in every way possible except by going to the Author of Life. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 God has provided all we need to live life His way. He has ‘set you a place at the table’. All we have to do is avail ourselves. Heaven knows, we need the help. And heaven knows, the help is here. AMEN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOzsJlk8p6I Pastor Mario Sassi

January 21, 2021 Transformation of the Mind Guest Post Dear Oasis Family and Friends, The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow our minds to dwell upon. It is in our thoughts that the first movements toward the renovation of the heart occur. Thoughts are the place where we can and must begin to change. There the light of God first begins to move upon us through the word of Christ, and there the divine Spirit begins to direct our... will to God and his way. We are not totally free in this respect, but we do have great freedom here. We still have the ability and responsibility to try to retain God in our knowledge. And those who do so will surely make progress toward him; for if we truly do seek God as best we can, he, who always knows what is really in our hearts, will certainly make himself known to us. Clearly our thoughts are one of the most basic sources of our life. By thoughts we mean all of the ways in which we are conscious of thingsand it includes our memories, perceptions, and beliefs. Thoughts determine the orientation of everything we do and evoke the feelings that frame our world and motivate our actions. Interestingly, you can’t evoke thoughts by feeling a certain way. However, we can evokeand to some degree controlour feelings by directing our thoughts. Our essential nature as active and creative beings depends upon our ability to envision what is not the case, as well as what is. Our ability to plan for the future must constantly run ahead of reality. And this we do in thought. A will that runs ahead depends, of course, upon our ability to think; and what we think, imagine, believe, or guess sets boundaries to what we can or will choose, and therefore to what we can create. As our senses present a landscape for our body and its actions, so our thoughts present the lifescape for our will and our life as a whole. Within that thought lifescape, which includes our perceptions, we make the decisions that determine what we will do and who we will become. Dallas Willard (From Renewing the Christian Mind: Essays, Interviews, and Talks) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHeEytocJVY -- Pastor Mario Sassi

January 20, 2021 What are you leaving around? Dear Oasis Family and Friends, Would you ever let anyone just come off the street and take what they wanted off your property? What kind of ridiculous question is that, you ask. We have all seen them, video clips taken by hidden cameras of people seeing a package laying on the front porch and helping themselves to it. The caption under them usually reads, Does anyone recognize these faces? Some, in an effort to catch these bur...glars are employing all manner of tactics; filling a box with glitter that explodes upon opening and covers everything with glitter that is near impossible to get rid of Why do people feel that what is not theirs is free to take from someone else’s porch? Most people would never think of doing that. Just as we need to be careful with our earthly goods, we also need to be careful that we don’t leave other ‘things’ laying around that the enemy of our souls can come and poach and then use against us. At times we carelessly leave words and thoughts lingering in the air, floating around in our hearts and minds knowing that these are not conducive to anything good in our lives or the lives of others. Words that are unhealthy, disparaging, destructive, drivel out of our mouths hurting others. Ungracious thoughts, unkind things about ourselves and others, loiter on the edges of our minds for the ‘enemy’ to run off with and use against us. Yes, we do that. It may not be the same as leaving our Amazon packages laying on the front porch for the taking, but how different is it really? The enemy of our souls is not concerned with what is yours, or in your best interest. He is interested in taking our joy and gentleness, robbing us of peace and kindness, planting doubts in our minds, and wreaking havoc with mercy and love. There are many valuable things to be taken from us that are not his to take. Proverbs 4: Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life. Don't use your mouth to tell lies; don't ever say things that are not true. Keep your eyes focused on what is right, and look straight ahead to what is good. Be careful what you do, and always do what is right. Don't turn off the road of goodness; keep away from evil paths. Forgive me, Lord, for carelessly leaving things around for the enemy. Give me wisdom to fortify my words, and thoughts, Amen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMmmbJlWhtk -- Pastor Mario Sassi

January 19, 2021 Leading Dear oasis Family and Friends, Christian leadership of any and all kinds is a product of following Christ. Christian leadership emerging out of any other context is suspect. It’s unsurprising how quickly any kind of power, small as it may be, wells up and goes straight to the head bypassing the brain. At the last supper table, the disciples were arguing as to who would be the greatest! Were they talking about Jesus type leadership? A little power a h...uge mess can make! By looking to the business world for characteristics and qualities of Christian leadership we immediately get it wrong. Jesus led by dying not surviving. The disciples found out after their ‘follower-ship course' that when given the mantle of leadership it meant they needed to be ready to follow their ‘leader’ to the same end. At that very table where the disciples got it all wrong, Jesus showed them by example a true leader, So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13 Father John Orban from St. Michael’s, Successful leadership will gather people together, strengthen and unite them and lead them toward the promised land. A failed leadership will lead to division and chaos, to a greater separation and isolation than they began with. Leadership without personal integrity cannot last. Anyone seeking justice and fairness, who themselves are not just and fair, will ultimately lead people away from these goals rather than towards them. Healthy leadership happens when the qualities of what they demand of others is evident within their own character. Long after people stopped following Jesus because of what he could give or do for them, they realized that he was the very embodiment of the peace and reconciliation that they sought. Thank you Lord for your shepherd-leadership, Amen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpYM6Et_hVY Pastor Mario Sassi [email protected] + Add to contacts

January 18, 2021 Contentment Dear Oasis Family and Friends, Along with her husband and children, Ella worked as a missionary with the pygmies in Africa for 52 years. She had left her family, her country, and all that was familiar. Primitive doesn’t begin to describe her living conditions in the scorching heat and humidity of the African bush. But Ella found no relief because electricity, air-conditioning, and other modern conveniences were only a dream. Some days it was so ...unbearably hot that she had to bring the thermometer inside because it couldn’t register past 120 degrees without breaking. Ella’s daughter, Mimi, is my friend. Mimi wondered how her mother had done it how she had lived a life of contentment when her circumstances would have caused the hardiest to complain. Recently Mimi unearthed a treasure, a much more significant find than gold or silver. In an old diary of her mother’s, she discovered Ella’s prescription for contentment: *Never allow yourself to complain about anything not even the weather *Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else *Never compare your lot with another’s *Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise *Never dwell on tomorrow remember that [tomorrow] is God’s, not ours (From Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow) Remind yourself that you are right where you need to be. Not in someone else's shoes or walking a different road. Right here. Now. Today. For this moment. Yes, even amidst all the falling and getting up you’re doing, you are where you need to be. Contentment is much more choice than it is feeling. May you find contentment today, now, wherever you find yourself to be I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Philippians 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L68Zie1gpnk -- Pastor Mario Sassi

January 17, 2021 Followership? Dear Oasis Family and Friends, We hear much about leadership these days, in fact in the last 30 years leadership has become a multi billion dollar business, and not just in the secular world. It’s become so much of ‘Christian speak’ that one would think Jesus said, Whoever wants to be my disciple must take up leadership courses to lead like me! But we know that is not what he said. He in fact said, _Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny ...themselves and take up their cross and follow me._ How far back does this binge on ‘Leadership’ go? Susan Cain in a NY Times article of March 2017 writes, In 1934, a young woman named Sara Pollard applied to Vassar College. In those days, parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire, and Sara’s father described her, truthfully, as more a follower type than a leader. The school accepted Sara, explaining that it had enough leaders. (Not Leadership? Good. The World Needs More Followers) While I believe deeply in the importance of leadership, somewhere we have lost sight of an equally important aspect, followership. Someone posted, It is grossly overlooked, if not looked down upon. We've made the term almost derogatory, and elevated the ideal of leadership as the pinnacle of success. Ain’t that the truth. Very few have ever said to me, I am a follower. But the reality is stark; I cannot be a good leader if I have never been a good follower. Imagine society without followers ... imagine the Kingdom of God without followers! We are called to follow Jesus, that is not second rate, second fiddle, or second best. That is the call, to follow Jesus. We are not called to follow a man, a woman, a personality, an organization, the mantra of a charismatic leader; we are called to follow Jesus. Following anyone or anything else will eventually lead to despair and disillusion. Jesus reminds us that if we follow Him, and remain in Him, only then can we thrive in Him. Come, follow me, Jesus said Matthew 4 Thank you Lord for calling out to me, Amen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LraPDltKlvI Pastor Mario Sassi