right time
A few weeks back I did something I hate. It's happened at least a couple dozen times, and it's always untimely!
I'm talking about spraining an ankle. Most of my episodes, like this one, have occurred on the basketball court. I was playing ball with some guys, went up for a rebound, came down on someone's foot, and the rest…
imagine
Imagine there's no heaven.
It's easy if you try.
No hell below us,
above us only sky.
As a boy, John Lennon attended church far more than the other future Beatles. Yet he wrote the most despairing and cynical lyrics of the four. Perhaps the hypocrisy he witnessed in the church soured his mood.
"Imagine" is as close to authentic hope as…
March 10th, 2009
What's the most spiritually uplifting movie you've seen recently? How did it affect you and your faith in God?
the many faces of God
In their "American Piety in the 21st Century" study, Baylor University and the Gallup Organization asked 1,721 survey participants about God's character and behavior. They discovered that contemporary Americans worship at least four versions of the Almighty.
First, there's Authoritarian God, who is seen as highly involved in believers' lives and in world affairs, but who is ready to throw the…
knowing who you are
I love the beginning of the film Les Miserables. The peasant Jean Valjean has just been released from prison after 19 years of hard labor. His crime? Stealing a loaf of bread. Cold, starving, and broke, Valjean enters a small village where a local bishop gives him a meal and lodging. During the night, however, he steals the bishop's silverware and…
it’s not all about you
Prior to moving to East Africa, I lived in Washington, DC, just a few miles away from Walter Reed Hospital. This is the treatment facility for the American soldiers who have been most severely wounded while serving in the Iraq War.
Three friends and I were invited to visit Walter Reed on a semi-regular basis to offer encouragement to the…
cancel my subscription
I was browsing through a rack of T-shirts. Each one featured a sassy one-liner across the front. One shirt read: Cancel my subscription. I'm done with your issues! I chuckled to myself. But as I thought about it, I realized the wisecrack sums up today's attitude toward those of us who have more "issues" than others. So, why should we "continue…
beneath His hand
Swimming in the pool, walking on the beach, playing games—a vacation with children is rarely without activity. However, with the kids now tucked in bed, my husband and I settled on the couch to watch a little television.
We soon found ourselves riveted to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, watching as the crew built a house for a family who had faced…
who, not why
Not too long ago, I visited a friend whose wife had just died of cancer. The two had been strong believers in Jesus, actively serving in the church. Then cancer struck. For 6 months, the church prayed earnestly for healing. But God didn't seem to care. The man felt that God had abandoned them at the time when they needed…
giving to grasshoppers
Aesop's fable tells the story of a busy ant that slaved all summer to store up food for winter while a fun-loving grasshopper played in the sun. When winter came, the panicked grasshopper came to borrow food from the ant, but the ant replied that if the grasshopper wanted to eat now, he should have worked hard then.
I remember…
yes, you can touch your world!
Did you know that when you give to ODJ you're also touching people's lives around the world? That's because ODJ is more than an online community, there's also a print version distributed in Africa, Europe, and Asia.
ODJ is provided by RBC Ministries and is supported by friends like you. Giving a gift will help people go deeper with God, both online and…
true freedom
Many countries annually exercise their freedom to literally change time. I experienced this timely change when I was in the US a few years ago. During my visit, I witnessed Daylight Savings Time—a national law that calls for all clocks to be set back by one hour. It's designed to save energy, and it also leads to lighter mornings for…
from every tribe . . .
When World War II began, thousands of African-Americans volunteered to fight for the United States. But discrimination was in full force. Black soldiers were at times placed in more dangerous jobs than white soldiers. Black troops were denied entry into army specialist schools. They were served lower-quality food and forced to ride separate military buses.
But on December 26, 1944,…
Jesus-food
My wife Miska and I have two young boys, Wyatt (5) and Seth (4). They can, of course, be a bit picky about their food. They often tell us, with groans suggesting they are at death's edge, "I am soooo hungry." However, they regularly rebuff healthy choices we offer (grapes, pretzels, bananas with soy butter) with scowling, wrinkled faces. What…
