ODJ: trading places
He shouldn’t have been there, but the pain and isolation made him desperate. Was this the sum total of his life—to scream “Unclean! Unclean!” whenever anyone came near him? To wear torn clothes to signal his diseased state . . . to feel so alone?He hadn’t been embraced in a long time. And to offer a hug himself would defile his wife, friends and fami
ODJ: inspired wisdom
A-poe-la-pi is an elderly Akha, a member of a hill tribe people who live on some mountain ranges in China. During a missions trip, my friends and I visited A-poe-la-pi. He said to us, “Due to the downpour last night, I couldn’t make it to the gathering. Could you share with me God’s Word?” You see, A-poe-la-pi is illiterate, so the weekly gathering is the only way for him
ODJ: bold bridges
Dale’s neighbourhood is home to many newcomers to his country. He loves the cultural richness but has felt a disconnection from it. So recently he prayed: “Lord, please use me to reach my neighbourhood.” And he felt God’s simple, gentle nudge: be a friend. While biking one day, Dale saw a new neighbour, so he stopped and said hello to the man. The surprised individ
ODJ: dynamite & self-idolatry
Alfred Nobel invented the detonator in 1863 and the blasting cap 2 years later. Then, in 1867 he invented dynamite—something he hoped would revolutionise the mining and construction industries. It certainly did that, but dynamite also became the basis of military weapons for a century, with variations of it used in wars even today. Nobel would probably be saddened to know that something h
ODJ: hold on
After reaching the top of Dog Tooth Peak in the Sierra Nevada National Forest in America, Larry Bishop began his descent. On his way down he took a tumble off the trail and landed on a slim ledge of granite. Staying on that perch required him to cling to the side of the mountain for 52 hours—the alternative was a 10,000-foot drop! Eventually Larry was airlifted to safety when a member of
ODJ: dreams deferred
Larry Carter was stunned at how much a child’s ability to dream had changed in just a few decades. When he was a boy, his school baseball coach asked him and his teammates if they had the dream of becoming a professional baseball player. Nearly every boy raised his hand. His coach said if they hoped to fulfil that dream, they would have to work hard now. The team was so inspired t
ODJ: as one
Starting as dancing droplets on the windshield, the rain increased in intensity as we drove down the road. My husband turned on the windshield wipers but then quickly turned them off. He did this over and over. When I looked at him quizzically, he explained that the passenger side wiper had stopped moving in sync with the one on the driver’s side. Turning them on long enough for both to move
ODJ: the danger of complacency
Complacency is one of the biggest dangers for people with severe allergies. I’m a prime example. It had been 10 long years since a severe latex allergy had seriously threatened to end my life. Believe me, it’s terrifying when you suddenly swell up like a balloon and can’t breathe. But then years rolled by and I forgot just how serious an allergic reaction can be.It didn’t s
ODJ: rather odd . . .
Apart from Me, you can do nothing.When I read John 15:5 the other day, the words of Jesus struck me as rather odd: “Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” I then wondered how these words might have struck the disciples when they heard them. Did they think of Jesus as a dictator, a type of control freak who wanted to keep