Featured Devotionals

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ODJ: Broken Instruments

A good friend broke my double bass—a large, expensive, stringed instrument used in orchestras and jazz bands. We were loading up the van before traveling to a gig and he carelessly set the bass down on an incline. The wind was blowing that night and the hollow, wooden instrument toppled, resulting in multiple breaks. “I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed and assured me he’d fi

ODJ: True Sacrifice

“The Giving Pledge,” formed in 2009 by billionaire founders Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, is a campaign to encourage the world’s wealthiest people to give away most of their cash to help others. Buffett himself is taking the lead and plans to donate 99 percent of his wealth by the time he dies. This is an incredibly generous act! But it’s interesting to note that his prese

ODJ: Jesus and the Junk

We all have that space in the home we would rather no one see—the messy garage, the cluttered study, or maybe, like me, it’s the yard. There are few things more beautiful than a well—kept lot with lush, perfectly mowed grass, neat hedges, and precision—trimmed roses. Our property’s hedges look more like an overgrown jungle and the grass is patchy and dry. So when our

ODJ: Changing Our Tune

When my friend received a traffic ticket for speeding in a construction zone, he decided to contest it in court. As he put it, he was driving below the posted speed limit when another vehicle raced past him. The police officer’s radar gun had recorded the other car’s speed. But the judge would have none of it. I know my friend is conscientious to a fault, so I believed his sto

ODJ: Blending In

While on vacation, my daughter and I strolled on the beach in the cool of the evening. Interrupting her mid—sentence, I tapped her arm and pointed. “Look over there!” What appeared to be sand moving back and forth proved—upon closer inspection—to be a tiny crab scuttling across the beach. Its beige color, tiny size, and quick reflexes provided protection against being

ODJ: Resilience

In recent years, researchers have begun exploring what leads to human resilience. What helps someone bounce back after physical, emotional, or spiritual trauma? Psychologist Martin Seligman suggests four main factors: Emotional fitness: having the ability to amplify positive emotions like peace, gratitude, hope, or love while managing bitterness, sadness, or anger. Family fitness:

ODJ: Demonstrated Faith

Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arch communities, has spent his life loving those often ostracized by society. L’Arch creates living communities for those with disabilities or those who, because of their need for intense care, would be institutionalized if they didn’t have such a home. Vanier talks about how the communities are centered around the most basic acts of caring for the

ODJ: The Last Stop

My friend says our lives are like trains. We make various “stops” for school, college, job, marriage, and family. At each stop we spend time with others who have stepped off. When we graduate or change jobs, we say goodbye to the people at that junction and step back onto the train. Only a handful of people stay with us all the way to the end. These are the most important people in our

ODJ: Worry & Anger

There’s a children’s song that goes, “Don’t you worry and don’t you fret, you know God has never failed you yet.” The same God who delivered the Israelites out of slavery can be trusted to go ahead of us—never failing or abandoning His children (Deuteronomy 31:6). But what happens when the stuff of life begins to sap our joy and fear comes calling? We can