Unity

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ODJ: generous unity

April 2013 marked a milestone birthday for me. To celebrate, we took a long trip to my old university. Numerous tollbooths, scenic beach views and city excursions marked our unforgettable holiday. The highlight for my husband and me, though, was a little unexpected: it was that our kids had actually enjoyed being together for an extended period of time.

Friction in any rela

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: released

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Eric Smallridge calls Renee Napier “an angel”. He says this because Renee forgave him for killing her daughter Meagan in a drunk-driving accident. Although Renee’s forgiveness took a long time, Eric says he “found his eternal salvation as a result”. What’s more, Renee’s pardon encouraged her family to follow suit. Together they petitioned the courts to have Eric released from prison

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: 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

ODB: Let's Stick Together

Most regions of the world are familiar with the amazing phenomenon of snow. Snowflakes are beautiful, uniquely crafted ice crystals. Individual snowflakes are fragile, and they quickly melt if they land on your hand. Yet, en masse they create a force to be reckoned with. They can shut down major cities while creating beautiful landscapes of snow-laden trees whose pictures decorate calendars and be

ODJ: we are family

We often say in the church that we’re a family, and we address each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. But what does that really mean? What implications does the word family hold?

We read in Ephesians 2:19, “You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” Note that the word you r

ODJ: relative peace


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A 60 year old man, atop a tractor, charged at his 69 year old brother in law who was harvesting hay astride his own tractor. The collision resulted in a damaged tyre and the tractor-crasher’s arrest. One law enforcement official commented, “We’ve responded on prior occasions to calls because of differences between the families.” While it’s a bit unclear what the man hoped to accomplish b

ODJ: youth ministry 101


If you read some recent books on youth ministry, it’shard not to get the sense that this part of churchministry is experiencing some major struggles. And nearly everyone has an opinion about how youth ministry should be improved. Parents, youth workers and young people themselves have expectations and demands that don’t always agree. So, what should we do?


In Acts 2 we read about