ODJ: incredible claim
People frequently leave advertisements on my doorstep for services such as landscaping, gutter cleaning and pest control. One day I found a different sort of pamphlet on my welcome mat—one full of Bible verses, all of which seemed to be correct. The leaflet also identified Jesus in its copy. But as I looked closer, however, I noticed that the words did not describe Him accurately. The publisher
ODJ: face the music
The wise pastor told his new worship director, “There’s one style of music I hope you never play in our church.” She grabbed a pen and asked, “What is it?” He replied, “I’ll never tell you. If we all insist on getting our own way, we’ll never sing anything.”
Few issues are more controversial in church than music. Some churches solve the problem by providing two worship options, a
ODJ: caedmon’s calling
During the eighth century, a farmhand named Caedmon served at Whitby Abbey in the north of England. One night he had an extraordinary dream. In the dream, someone asked Caedmon to sing a song about creation. Being a farmer and not a singer, he initially refused. But as the dream progressed, he did indeed compose a song praising the Creator.
The next morning, Caedmon found that he was able to recal
ODJ: outside the box
When I went to Bible college, I had a wife, two daughters and absolutely no money! We were confident that God had called me to attend college even though we weren’t sure exactly why. After we determined that we couldn’t afford a house near the college, we brought our need to Him.
God did answer, but in an unexpected way: He didn’t provide a home, so I lived separately from my family
ODJ: boiling water
In the classic tale of the two frogs, one is placed into a pot of boiling water and is so shocked by the experience that it quickly jumps out. The other is lowered into a pot of cold water over a low heat. The heat is gradually turned up to boiling point, but the frog doesn’t realise the subtle change in temperature and allows itself to slowly boil to death.
This well-known and somewhat gruesome
ODJ: divine diversity
If you’ve ever strolled through a botanical garden or an art museum, you know that diversity makes for beauty. For some reason, however, this doesn’t seem to work within the church.
As we grapple with how our local expressions of the body of Christ are separated by issues of culture, race, socioeconomics and theological distinction, it’s easy to believe that our diversity is the culprit for
ODJ: always
I was talking with a friend whose marriage had ended in divorce. For years he tried to apologise and to rebuild a relationship that was broken. His wife, however, was bitter over an event that she couldn’t forgive—or forget. The event involved a loving act he had done to help her, but she didn’t see it that way. And her heart became stone.
The prophet Malachi brought a message of love and fo
ODJ: words of life
Sitting on my back porch in the waning daylight, I enjoy watching as patches of grey, red and blue flit through the air. Busy wings then grow still as the birds gather on my newly acquired feeder. A few years prior, thieving squirrels thwarted my efforts to feed these feathered wonders. Moving its location and even oiling the pole was not enough to keep the wily rodents from robbing the birds of t
ODJ: a humble confidence
After helping his team win American pro football’s 2014 Super Bowl, a cornerback declared in a post-game interview that he was the best player at his position, and opposing teams should send only their best players against him. His comments sparked a national discussion on the role of courtesy in sports. Although his remarks offended some people, you can’t deny that he’s supremely confident