Suffering

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ODJ: had to go there

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Author Elizabeth Berg once wrote, “You know thephrase ‘It’s always in the little things’? In writing,it is always the little things—it’s the details . . . that make a character and a story come alive.”

The gospel authors knew the importance of details. For example the apostle John wrote that Jesus “had to go through Samaria” as He was travelling from Judea to Galilee (

ODJ: backslap back?

When I lived in China I had an American friend who was radically committed to bringing the gospel to that nation. He mastered the Chinese language until even the Chinese thought he spoke exactly like them, with no foreign accent; and he aggressively shared Jesus at every opportunity. Once he was attacked by thugs, and rather than use his larger size to fight back he obeyed Jesus’ command to turn

ODJ: bwana asifiwe!

Bwana asifiwe!” is Swahili for Praise the Lord! As I travelled from the dry place of Tala to the slums of Kawangare to the densely populated and dangerous ghetto of Korogocho in Kenya, this is the way every believer greeted me.

Living under the constant pitch of despondency, Bwana asifiwe? Surrounded by the dark shadows of squalor, poverty and destitution, Bwana asifiwe?Living in the

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: that name


Back in 2001 Mark Cuban, owner of an American basketball team called the Dallas Mavericks, offered radio sports show host David Kaplan more money than he would make in a year to change his name legally to “Dallas Maverick”. When Kaplan politely declined, Cuban sweetened the offer. Cuban would pay Kaplan double his original offer and also donate the same amount to Kaplan’s favourite charity i

ODJ: amenities


Amenities. Surprisingly I heard someone use that word in describing a church they had chosen to attend. I understood that the individual was referring to the different ministries the church had to offer, but I was also reminded of the big difference between a fishing boat and a cruise liner.


In His last words to His followers, Jesus commanded them to “go and make disciples of all t

ODJ: the body of Christ


Two nights before I moved to Africa 5 years ago, I panicked. As much as I believed the Lord was calling me to Uganda, I feared that by going there I would forfeit my friends back home. I thought they would forget me and that we’d quickly share nothing in common after I journeyed to a new continent, culture and life.


To take my step of faith I had to cling once again to Romans 15:13

ODJ: the critical move


Mystery novelist Agatha Christie once suggested that the best way to tell a story that will leave an audience guessing to the end is to conceal the “critical move” with a “big move”. A mysterious film that stumped me till the end is The Sixth Sense. 
 The big move was a therapist who started to see a young boy who claimed to see dead people. The critical move that took countless viewers

ODB: Strengthened Through Suffering

Church services often end with a benediction. A common one is taken from Peter’s concluding remarks in his first epistle: “May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10). Sometimes omitted in the benediction is the phrase “after you have suffered a while.” Why?