Tag Archive for: God’s sovereignty

ODJ: the real boss
Seven months later, American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke some words in response to attacks on American diplomatic missions in the Middle East that echoed my son’s convictions.
“When Christians are subject to insults to their faith, and that certainly happens, we expect them not to resort to violence,” Clinton said. “The same goes for all faiths. . . . Refraining f
“When Christians are subject to insults to their faith, and that certainly happens, we expect them not to resort to violence,” Clinton said. “The same goes for all faiths. . . . Refraining f

ODJ: learning humility
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Last month, as my wife was using our riding lawn mower, she accidentally hooked the bottom of the mower on one of the swings of our swing set. It dangerously lifted the front tyres off the ground! So as I was recently cutting the grass, her scare reminded me to slow down to first gear. I confidently manoeuvred around the swing on my left—but I failed to see the one on the right. Suddenly the mow

ODJ: confronting the darkness
If we believe in the existence of heaven and hell, then we must also believe Scripture when it speaks of an active spirit world. Just as Jesus acknowledged that Peter did not receive his messianic revelation through ‘flesh and blood’ (God the Father revealed it), Paul reminds us that “we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen

ODJ: who’s seeking whom?
Zach was a lonely guy. If there was a party, he wasn’t invited. In fact, when he walked down the city streets, he could feel the hostile glares boring into his back. But his life took a turn one special day. Clement of Alexandria, one of the church fathers, says that Zach became a very prominent Christian leader and ended up a pastor of the church in Caesarea. Yes, we are talking about Zacchaeus

ODJ: stop trying
Alcoholics Anonymous, also known as “AA,” is a worldwide movement that attempts to helpalcoholics break free from their addiction to drinking. One of the first things AA leaders tell those who “can’t lay off the sauce” is that they have to come to the end of themselves. In order to break free from their addiction, they have to admit that they are powerless to stop—no matter how hard th

ODJ: dethroned
Muammar Gaddafi, Africa’s longest reigning head of state, used to pitch his infamous luxury tent at the end of my street whenever he was in Uganda for Africa Union Summit meetings. My son and I would attempt to count the number of soldiers and short-range missile launchers that surrounded Gaddafi’s canvas residence. It was clear that the Colonel feared for his life and went beyond standard sec

ODJ: not leaving
I am just 3 months into my elected role as youth deaconess in the local church that I attend, and I’ve already received three requests from people who want to step down from serving. A few have simply gone MIA (missing in action). So I feel like a general who’s trying to rally his army to fight a battle even as he’s losing his soldiers.
I was discouraged until I studied Amos 7:10-
I was discouraged until I studied Amos 7:10-

ODJ: arrogance and ingratitude
Fabiola Gianotti led one of two teams that discovered the Higgs boson, the most exciting feat of modern physics. Her team used a particle accelerator to crash protons into each other at nearly the speed of light. When they sifted through the microscopic debris, they found evidence of an energy field, which apparently permeates the universe. As other forms of energy pass through this “Higgs field

ODJ: one before the other
The question I felt needed to be answered affirmatively before I married Miska was this: Can I live without her? My intentions were romantic and chivalrous, but my focus was dead wrong. I discovered that there was probably nobody that I literally could not live without. In time I found the better question to ask myself: Do I want to live without Miska?
Moses discovered that finding the
Moses discovered that finding the
