Church

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Tag Archive for: church

ODJ: how we know

My sons are picking up on the way TV advertisers play games with viewers, twisting statistics and making outrageous claims. I fear it won’t be long before my boys become jaded and are slow to trust. Many of us struggle with this in our faith:How can I believe anything at all? How can I trust what God says?
The apostle Paul spoke directly to this concern, telling the Colossians th

ODJ: location matters

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During a recent fishing trip, my brother in law andI were reminded that you have to fish in the right location. We claimed a spot near a wooden fishing pier. Unfortunately, it was not a good choice. The bait fish, which attracted the schools of the desired Spanish mackerel, were on the other side of the pier. Anglers less than 50 yards away were easily catching their limit while we struggled to ge

ODJ: runaway garden

Last summer I tried to grow tomatoes (yet again). Ibought heirloom starter vines and a wooden troughplanter. I talked to farmer friends about best practices and even concocted an organic fertiliser mixture that was supposed to make my plants flourish. The growing season ended, however, and I had plucked a grand total of one tomato—a scraggly, little fellow, slightly larger than a golf ball.

ODJ: isolation

In a state of exhaustion and despair, at the 5th yearanniversary mark of serving in Uganda, I sent an email to friends and ministry partners pleading for prayer. In response to learning of my struggles, a small army of brothers and sisters in Christ lifted me up in prayer and helped me walk through a difficult time.

I’m glad that I didn’t let my pride keep me from reaching out for

ODJ: cross ‘n’ dagger

Heavy metal music, motorcycles and muscle cars. All of these things were present at the annual Cross ’n’ Dagger church service held at the Life Bridge Church. The congregation created this special service for people who might not attend a ‘regular’ Sunday morning meeting. Senior Pastor Bill Campbell said, “[People] can come in their leathers, if they’re bikers . . . . However they’re

ODJ: speaking of Jesus

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While waiting for a mechanic to change my car’s tyres, I struck up a conversation with a man in the waiting area. Troy was visiting my town for a few days and had discovered that his vehicle needed repairs. After some small talk, the Holy Spirit prompted me to go deeper and I was able to express my faith in Jesus to him. We exchanged contact information, and later I received an email from Troy t

ODJ: truth in love

Have you said something to someone that you later regretted? Perhaps you needed to speak hard words and the person needed to hear them, but you feel bad because of the way you communicated your message. So you’re saddened that you failed to “speak the truth in love”. But what does that really mean? Is it about honesty? Is it about sweetening the cold, hard truth to make it more pala

ODJ: holy living

Our Father in heaven,” Jesus taught us to pray,“may Your name be kept holy” (Matthew 6:9). We affirm today that Your name, Yahweh, already is holy because it describes You—pure, perfect, far removed from evil, error and corruption.

And yet in praying, “May Your name be kept holy”, we acknowledge our part, as Your people, in revealing Your holiness to others. By ou

ODJ: unwanted and unloved

A pastor and his congregation, serving in an area known for addicts, alcoholics and prostitutes, haveprayed an interesting prayer for many years: Lord, send us the people nobody else wants. That prayer has been answered, as more than 800 church attendees are now involved in recovery programmes designed to help them break free from destructive lifestyles. Recently the pastor added this phrase to th