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ODJ: devoured
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I’m sure you’ve heard your share of extreme weight loss plans. But ingesting a parasite? A newspaper has reported that some people in Hong Kong have resorted to using parasitic worms to peel off the pounds. The worms allow people to keep eating what they want and still shed weight. But the giant intestinal roundworms, which can grow up to 15 inches in length, lay up to 200,000 eggs a day. They
ODJ: yet to come
My sister might take a year off from work to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I told her, “Well, be ready to check out the hills so that you know where to run to during the great tribulation.
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: counting the cost
Jesus’ good friend Lazarus had died (John 11:14,17). And so He performed an amazing miracle by raising Lazarus from the dead (vv.43-44)—leading many who came to the funeral to believe in Him (v.45). But the Pharisees and priests responded differently. From that time on, they began to plot Jesus’ death (v.53).
News of the spectacular miracle spread throughout the thousands of Jewish pilgri
ODJ: the God who suffered
People tell me that you can turn any smoothie or milkshake into a snack loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. The idea is to sneak vegetables (spinach, cauliflower, beetroot or other healthy veggies) into the beverages of unsuspecting drinkers. They think they’re only imbibing their mango and honey treat, but they’re also downing green veggies. The beverage may be in the form of a smoothie, b
ODJ: serve your oppressor
A few years ago some young men stole my car. They crashed it, damaging it beyond repair, and I was never compensated for it. I even had to pay to have the car towed away from the crash site! By rights, those thieves should have replaced what they stole.
That type of justice was reflected in the Old Testament rule of “eye for eye” and “tooth for tooth” (Exodus 21:24; Matthew 5:38). T
ODJ: freely given
At the end of a long day, I took a moment to get a head start on my work emails—striving to preempt any surprises I might face at 8 o’clock the next morning. Frustration ebbed throughout my tired mind as I read an email that contained complaints and feelings of entitlement from a student known to be immature in his responses to life’s challenges. I wanted to send back a veiled sting of repro
ODJ: He broke our fall
Have you, like me, ever had a person in your life who in many ways is a friend, but is also your toughest critic? If so, do you wonder how to respond properly to this person?
Last year Brad Pitt was hobbling around with a cane after having torn his ACL—a ligament in his knee. He told reporters, “I was carrying my daughter down the hill and I slipped. It was either her or me” who would ge
ODJ: toughest critic
Have you, like me, ever had a person in your life who in many ways is a friend, but is also your toughest critic? If so, do you wonder how to respond properly to this person?
In my case I know my friend means well, but she often forcefully sends critical comments without seeking my consent to receive her insights. With that in mind I so appreciate how Paul pursued the consent of his friend Phi