Featured Devotionals

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ODJ: subversive hymn

We like to sing hymns in our church—the older the better. We often put new music to them, but sometimes we sing the songs as written. The power of the words, the beautiful melodies, the fact that Christians sang these truths long before us, make hymns an important part of our worship.

Colossians 1:15-23 is a poem and was probably an early hymn that Paul used in his letter. These lyri

ODJ: YOLO

Who wrote the oldest lyrics for a #1 hit song? In 1965 the folk rock band The Byrds covered Pete Seeger’s song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” That song made it to #1. Almost all the lyrics are straight out of Ecclesiastes 3, making them 3,000 years old. King Solomon, Ecclesiastes’ author, should get royalties!

The song’s success is indicative of the Bible’s timelessness. Ecclesiastes

ODJ: truth in love

Have you said something to someone that you later regretted? Perhaps you needed to speak hard words and the person needed to hear them, but you feel bad because of the way you communicated your message. So you’re saddened that you failed to “speak the truth in love”. But what does that really mean? Is it about honesty? Is it about sweetening the cold, hard truth to make it more pala

ODJ: leftovers

According to a study released in August 2012,Americans throw away 40 percent of their food every year, valued at roughly $165 billion annually. The average American throws away 240 pounds (110 kg) of edibles per person every year. Just a 15 percent reduction in this amount would feed 25 million people annually.

God promised to bless the Israelites if they would simply obey Him. They wo

ODJ: bring it on

Australian-born evangelist Nick Vujicic entered theworld without arms or legs. Throughout his life he’s had a deep desire for God to make him whole. Nick has even prayed that he would grow appendages. Once, he and some Christian friends fashioned arms and legs out of clay and prayed for the limbs to become flesh. Although it didn’t happen, Nick still prays, “Please give me arms and legs. But

ODJ: holy living

Our Father in heaven,” Jesus taught us to pray,“may Your name be kept holy” (Matthew 6:9). We affirm today that Your name, Yahweh, already is holy because it describes You—pure, perfect, far removed from evil, error and corruption.

And yet in praying, “May Your name be kept holy”, we acknowledge our part, as Your people, in revealing Your holiness to others. By ou

ODJ: the real boss

Seven months later, American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke some words in response to attacks on American diplomatic missions in the Middle East that echoed my son’s convictions.

“When Christians are subject to insults to their faith, and that certainly happens, we expect them not to resort to violence,” Clinton said. “The same goes for all faiths. . . . Refraining f

ODJ: learning humility

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Last month, as my wife was using our riding lawn mower, she accidentally hooked the bottom of the mower on one of the swings of our swing set. It dangerously lifted the front tyres off the ground! So as I was recently cutting the grass, her scare reminded me to slow down to first gear. I confidently manoeuvred around the swing on my left—but I failed to see the one on the right. Suddenly the mow

ODJ: unwanted and unloved

A pastor and his congregation, serving in an area known for addicts, alcoholics and prostitutes, haveprayed an interesting prayer for many years: Lord, send us the people nobody else wants. That prayer has been answered, as more than 800 church attendees are now involved in recovery programmes designed to help them break free from destructive lifestyles. Recently the pastor added this phrase to th