worship and the cross
This video, the gift of worship, has a potent message about what worship is and what it is not. The featured song, Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle, points us to the cross . . . and to a place of brokenness before Jesus. As Gordon Borror and Ron Allen have written, "Worship is an active response in which we declare God’s worth."…
March 31, 2009
Are you a young-earth or old-earth creationist? Why?
magic
We were engaged in a refreshingly serious conversation about the origin of things, deep stuff you won’t get to discuss with every teenager. (Him, not me. I’m, uh . . . older.) Shy, brilliant (again, him), he was searching for BIG answers to BIG questions. “I see two basic options,” he said thoughtfully. “Either it all started by random chance,…
odj comes to Sri Lanka
A team of volunteers are introducing the ODJ print version to people in Sri Lanka through a special distribution project. Thanks so much for helping us reach this part of the world for Jesus!
March 30, 2009
What was something inspiring that happened in your local church this weekend?
inconvenient compassion
It's 10:00 at night her time. Just finishing my lunch, I wonder if she's safely asleep or if she's still working. Time zones away from each other, we are worlds apart. I don't even know her name. Probably, neither do the men who seek her out. She's just a little girl—used again and again for the price of shelter and…
March 29, 2009
What were Jesus' priorities as He ministered on earth? How are they different from/similar to your own?
high hopes
What do the following have in common? An unemployed man flees his life of poverty by becoming a suicide bomber. A soldier unable to defend his homeland hugs a grenade to his chest in one final act of "honor." A new mother guilt-ridden over the accidental death of her infant, swallows a bottle of sleeping pills.
All are dying for…
March 28, 2009
Other than the authors of the Bible, what writer has had the greatest impact on your spiritual growth in Jesus?
more than water falls
Waterfalls can be powerful, beautiful, and dangerous. On September 4, 1995, a 400-ton basalt boulder broke free from the back of the 620-foot-high Multnomah Falls and fell 225 feet to the plunge pool below. The massive block shattered upon impact, creating a 70-foot-high wall of water and rock fragments that struck 20 people posing on a falls viewing bridge-causing minor…
March 27, 2009
A discussion question on a major news site asks, "Does God have a role in the world today?" Most people seem to be responding with similar answers: 1) There is no God; 2) Religion is for the delusional and power-hungry. What would you strive to winsomely communicate to people who possess these beliefs?
the corner of indecision
Missionary Marti Ensign once brought some pastors to the US from the country where she was serving. The pastors wanted to do some shopping, but Marti was concerned that they might get lost. So she gave them her phone number. In less than an hour, one of the pastors called and said, "I'm lost." "Find out the names of the…
the atonement
In honor of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birthday, I am reading through Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatcs. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but this morning I came across two significant quotes about how justice, sin, and grace meet in the cross. Bavinck wrote:
“Remember: grace is that perfection in God by which, for some reason or other, he…
purpose of life
Recently, a popular local radio personality unexpectedly died of a heart attack at the age of 54. Rick Beckett, who abused alcohol for most of his adult life before quitting for good in 2002, regularly warned his listeners of the dangers of excessive drinking to himself and others.
I personally don't know where he stood with God, but in his…
March 26, 2009
What's your take on living for Jesus "in the world but not of it"? (John 17:14-15).
