Posts
ODJ: the big chill
Recently, scientists discovered the answer to why we
occasionally experience that dreaded ‘brain
freeze’ when eating ice cream. The piercing pain in the temples is caused by an increase in blood flow and the enlarging of the anterior cerebral artery—located in the middle of the brain behind the eyes. This phenomenon occurs when our icy, sweet treats come into contact with the roof of
ODJ: needing God
When Palestinian Tass Saada was just 17 years old, he joined the Fatah movement in the West Bank. Tass hated Jews and engaged in guerilla warfare against them. He was known as “Butcher” due to the many Israeli soldiers he killed as a sniper. But later, Tass surrendered His life to Jesus and now loves God and the Jews. With his ministry, Seeds of Hope, Tass works to provide modern necessities f
ODJ: in God's presence
During a military operation in Iraq in 2003, military
chaplain Cary Cash served with the American military’s 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment as they battled their way to Baghdad. After the regiment secured Saddam Hussein’s Almilyah presidential palace, a young marine—ministered to by Cash—bowed and received Jesus as his Saviour. Later the chaplain baptised the young man in the inner
ODJ: guilt and grace
One of the exciting milestones I witnessed in my
daughter’s development was when she first
learned to walk at 9 months. She pulled herself up to a standing position while holding onto a coffee table and took her very first step! Learning to bend her knees to sit after standing, and then mastering the standing position, she was soon cruising around the house. She was walking independently
ODJ: correcting blind spots
In The Call to Joy and Pain, Ajith Fernando, a Christian leader from Sri Lanka, wrote: “The church in each culture has its own special challenges—theological blind spots that hinder Christians from growing to full maturity in Christ. . . . I think one of the most serious theological blind spots in [today’s] western church is a defective understanding of suffering. . . . The ‘good life’
ODJ: opening up
Recently my wife and I had the privilege of speaking on Loving One Another at a marriage retreat. Attendees included couples of all ages—those who had been married just a year to a ‘golden’ duo who had spent 50 years together. That couple, Joe and Arlene, blessed the younger couples as they transparently revealed some of the struggles they had experienced in their marriage. They candidly ack
ODJ: rebuilding the altar
I love knowledge. As a child, after stumbling across a picture Bible in the library, I wanted to read the real Bible. I had the impression that it was simply a thick book with tiny words, full of information like an encyclopedia. But as I read the real Bible I realised that knowledge is good but wisdom is much, much better.
Their first step was not to rebuild the temple. Instead they chose to r
ODJ: true value
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Johannes Gutenberg had an idea that would change the world, but he needed money to finance it. He contacted his neighbour, Johann Fust, who loaned him the cash to build his first printing press. Gutenberg initially made money for his loan payments by printing indulgences for the Catholic Church. The job paid well, but Gutenberg had higher hopes for his new machine. He wanted to print Bibles—ma
ODJ: dying for Jesus?
The director at a missions conference challenged the participants to consider fulltime missionary work—calling for those who were willing to die for Jesus to stand up and to receive prayer. No one did. Discouraged, he complained to the senior pastor. The pastor said, “Don’t fret if no one is willing to die for Jesus. Worry if no one is wanting to live for Jesus!”