Featured Devotionals

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ODJ: worry less


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According to the World Health Organization, Americans are more prone to anxiety than people in other nations. The study revealed that 31 percent of Americans suffer from this disorder at some point in their lifetime. The chief culprits that lead to this anxiety are money, work and the pressure to achieve and succeed. According to the study, Americans’ anxiety is five times higher than that of pe

ODJ: make the time


Are you busy? We can easily become overwhelmed with all the responsibilities that loom over us on any given day. We have calendar apps, appointment reminders and handy lists to keep us organised. I enjoy finding new ways to use my time wisely and stay on task, but I have to be careful not to put my trust in my plans over the One who holds the plan. More importantly, I need to understand that while

ODJ: judgement of justice


An acquaintance of mine, who is highly intelligent and has a philosophical leaning, also carries antipathy toward God and religion. He enjoys being provocative, recently quoting the second-century philosopher Epicurus who said: “There is no such thing as justice in the abstract; it is merely a compact between men.”


If Epicurus was teaching that viewing justice as an ideal disconn

ODJ: the greatest gift


My 9 year old Ugandan son and I often list the things he’s done the past few years—activities that he could not have done if he were still orphaned and living in extreme poverty. In his village he never would have received a formal education, eaten sushi, gone surfing, read books, flown in an aeroplane, played tennis or even had running water and electricity in his home.


Wasswa

ODJ: where are you looking?


Saulo was 16 when he drove the getaway car for a robbery that ended in murder. Now 32, Saulo says, “I remember sitting in the county jail, and it really sunk in:‘Wow, I’m not going home,’ and [I] realised what I did. I didn’t want to live. I couldn’t believe what I did.”


Today Saulo leads the chapel’s praise band in prison and is studying to be a minister. He doesn’

ODJ: relative peace


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A 60 year old man, atop a tractor, charged at his 69 year old brother in law who was harvesting hay astride his own tractor. The collision resulted in a damaged tyre and the tractor-crasher’s arrest. One law enforcement official commented, “We’ve responded on prior occasions to calls because of differences between the families.” While it’s a bit unclear what the man hoped to accomplish b

ODJ: knowing our place


I recently read of a man who started a church and saw it grow and flourish over the years. But unlike some pastors whose fingers have to be pried from the pulpit, this man began grooming a younger man to take over his church. Why? Because he felt God was calling him to do so. And, at just 51 years old, this healthy, dynamic pastor humbly moved on as his 30 year old protégé took his place.


ODJ: not broken


As someone who has spent a lot of time in the coastal waters of Florida, America, I’ve always enjoyed seeing bottlenose dolphins up close in the wild. That’s one reason I was particularly drawn to the film Dolphin Tale.


Based on a true story, the film is about a fatherless and disheartened boy named Sawyer who finds great joy and meaning in the rehabilitation of an injured bottle

ODJ: youth ministry 101


If you read some recent books on youth ministry, it’shard not to get the sense that this part of churchministry is experiencing some major struggles. And nearly everyone has an opinion about how youth ministry should be improved. Parents, youth workers and young people themselves have expectations and demands that don’t always agree. So, what should we do?


In Acts 2 we read about