Featured Devotionals

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ODJ: Voice of Reason

Except for technological advances, the first century AD wasn’t much different than the 21st. The human condition can be depressingly consistent: injustice, exploitation, oppression, violence. You’d think that in Jerusalem—the centre of the early church—justice would have been gaining traction. Actually it took a step backwards. The powerful but aloof Romans remained disinte

ODJ: Source of Truth

Often, when I search for something on the internet, I’m not sure I can trust the information I find. If I type a topic into a well-known search engine, I may end up on a website that features unverified information. Disclaimers warn that experts haven’t reviewed the content and so there’s no way to guarantee that it’s accurate, complete or unbiased. No matter how authentic

ODJ: Little Things

Reality TV and me? Not a good fit. No one is going to make a reality TV show about my life anytime soon. My life consists simply of loving and caring for my husband and daughters, working at my church part-time, doing some writing and trying my best to love others in my spheres of influence. From the world’s perspective, I’m not worthy of the bright lights. But that doesn’t mean

ODJ: Jesus the Reconciler

I live in a region and neighbourhood that share a tragic racial history. For instance, the daughter of one of my elderly neighbours was part of a civil suit to force area schools to obey federal law and desegregate. As I’ve spoken with my neighbours, I’ve had to grapple with the racial divide in my country, with the many ways people have yet to fulfil God’s mandate to be agents o

ODJ: Tasting Heaven

I wrote a book recently about recovering from broken dreams (Resurrection Year). It tells the story of my wife and I being unable to start a family. To our surprise, a TV producer read the book and sent a film crew to make a documentary of our story. The weeks leading up to filming were intense. There was so much to prepare, and the thought of describing our journey on camera made Merryn

ODJ: Possible

When my sister left a high-paying government job after 14 years, many people were surprised. I believe God led her to the job (a long story), used it to train and equip her (another long story) and called her away from it (yet another lengthy tale). In fact, she had to leave her work with no new job in place. There wasn’t time to ponder, because she had loads of projects to finish and hand o

ODJ: “Follow Me!”

Every year, hundreds of boys aged 3 to 8 play rugby in a tournament held across South Africa. Though it’s a tamer version of the adult game, children and parents still take it pretty seriously. For this is where a passion is forged for one of the most popular sports in South Africa. Young boys dream of one day playing for the national team. As they get older, however, the competition gets to

ODJ: Here’s Hope!

Amy Bleuel tried to end her life after years of mistreatment and heartbreak. She was 6 when her parents divorced and her stepmother began abusing her. At 13, she was sexually assaulted and blamed for the crime. At 18, her father committed suicide. Addiction and more personal trauma followed. Yet Amy’s faith in Jesus enabled her to survive. In time she founded a support group for people with

ODJ: Is Jesus Enough?

During the First World War, Oswald Chambers was walking past a woman’s house accompanied by his wife, Biddy. The woman was very sick, and Biddy asked, “I wonder what God is going to do?” Chambers replied, in essence, that he was more concerned about who God is versus what He would choose to do. Now these weren’t the words of a man indifferent to the suffer