ODB: Spitting Image

During an outing, we met a woman who had known my husband’s family since he was a child. She looked from Alan to our son, Xavier. “He’s the spitting image of his daddy,” she said. “Those eyes. That smile. Yep. Looks just like him.” As the woman delighted in acknowledging such a strong resemblance between father and son, she even noted similarities in their perso

ODB: Sending Out an SOS

When the hut of a settler in a mountainous region of Alaska caught fire, the settler was left without adequate shelter and with few provisions in the coldest state in the US—in the middle of a frigid winter. Three weeks later, the man was finally rescued when an aircraft flew over and spied the large SOS he had stamped out in the snow and darkened with soot.The psalmist David was certainly i

ODB: Something New

Farming is difficult in areas that lack fresh water. To help solve this problem, the Seawater Greenhouse company has created something new: “cooling houses” in Somaliland, Africa, and other countries with similar climates. Cooling houses use solar pumps to drizzle saltwater over walls made of corrugated cardboard. As the water moves down each panel, it leaves its salt behind. Much of t

Love Like He Does

John has already established the fact that Jesus has perfect knowledge, even of things that haven't yet happened. In this last night with His disciples, before His trial and death, He draws on this knowledge to tell them about what is about to happen, so that when it does, their faith will be strengthened (see John 13:19; 16:4; 16:29-33).

ODB: A Joyful Celebration

My friend Sharon passed away one year prior to the death of my friend Dave’s teenage daughter Melissa. They both had been tragically killed in car accidents. One night both Sharon and Melissa were in my dream. They giggled and talked as they hung streamers in a large banquet hall and ignored me when I stepped into the room. A long table with white tablecloths had been set with golden plates

His Act Of Love

This new section, called ″The Upper Room Discourse″, records the words of Jesus to His disciples immediately prior to His death. It begins with what many scholars consider an ″acted parable″ (John 13:1-17) and ends with Jesus' prayer for His people (17:1-26).

ODB: The Ticking Watch

A group of workers were cutting ice out of a frozen lake and storing it in an icehouse when one of them realized he’d lost his watch in the windowless building. He and his friends searched for it in vain. After they gave up, a young boy who’d seen them exit went into the building. Soon, he emerged with the watch. Asked how he’d found it, he replied: “I just sat down an

Why Don’t We Believe?

Jesus' public ministry now draws to a close. In John's introduction (John 1:10-11), he tells us that Jesus came to His own people and they neither recognized nor received Him, but that there will be some who would receive and believe in Him (v. 12).

ODB: Waiting in Hope

In the movie Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, a college professor befriended a stray Akita puppy named Hachi. The dog expressed his loyalty by waiting at the train station each day for the professor to return from work. One day, the professor suffered a fatal stroke. Hachi waited hours at the train station, and for the next ten years he returned each day—awaiting His loving maste