The Swagger
In the summer of 2015, Hunter (aged 15) carried his brother Braden (8) for a fifty-seven-mile walk to raise awareness of the needs of people with cerebral palsy. Braden weighs sixty pounds, so Hunter needed frequent rest stops where others helped him stretch his muscles, and he wore special harnesses to disperse Braden’s weight. Hunter says that while the harnesses helped with the physical discomfort, what helped him most were the people along the way. “If it weren’t for everyone cheering and walking with us, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. . . . My legs were sore…
Noble
Coming Soon!
Why We Love Sport So Much
Few things can bring people together the way sport does, and here in Australia it's a big deal. But what if our devotion to sport and its gifted players is actually an expression of an innate desire to worship someone greater than ourselves?.
A Former Olympian: The Greatest Race of My Life
I started running at a young age—I used to break things at home because I was always knocking into them. Naturally, my mum wasn’t pleased so she got me to play downstairs instead. That’s when I started playing catching with the other kids.
“What’s love got to do with it?”
What’s love got to do with it? Well, according to the Bible, everything, but only if it’s real. Counterfeit love will never do. Today on Discover the Word, the team, and guest Adele Calhoun, explores 1 Corinthians 13 and God’s big invitation for us to love as Jesus loved. An enlightening conversation in their series on […]
Why We Love Sport So Much
Few things can bring people together the way sport does. There is something about it that captivates us—sport speaks the universal language of dreams, destiny, perseverance, and of course, victory.
In Australia, sport is a big deal. We love to watch it, play it, talk about it, watch others talk about it...and the list goes on. To say that sport is…
Bringing Light into Darkness
In 1989, Vaclav Havel was elevated from his position as a political prisoner to becoming the first elected president of Czechoslovakia. Years later at his funeral in Prague in 2011, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who herself was born in Prague, described him as one who had “brought the light to places of deep darkness.”
What Havel’s introduction of light did in the political arena of Czechoslovakia (and later the Czech Republic), our Lord Jesus did for the whole world. He brought light into existence when He created light out of darkness at the dawn of time (John…
When Schooling beat Phelps: 3 lessons on success
Just before the crack of dawn on the tiny island of Singapore, a hero’s welcome awaited 21-year-old Joseph Schooling, the country’s first Olympic gold medallist, who had just touched down after a 24-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro.
Pursuing excellence
In an effort to be the best, do you find yourself drivin’ and strivin’ . . . provin’ and pressin’ to excel? Well, there’s a right way and a wrong way to pursue excellence. Today on Discover the Word, the team along with author Adele Calhoun returns to continue their series “Invitations from God.” Of […]
A Legacy Life
While staying in a hotel in a small town I noticed that the church across the street was having a service. People were jammed into the church with a standing-room-only crowd of both young and old flowing out onto the sidewalk. When I noticed a hearse by the curb, I realized it was a funeral. And given the crowd, I assumed that it was the celebration of the life of some local hero—perhaps a wealthy businessperson or a famous personality. Curious, I said to the desk clerk, “That’s an amazing turnout for a funeral; it must be for a famous…
When I was younger, about 3 years old, my mom and I went to a church with our neighbors, who had 12 kids. We saw them as the most wonderful family -- they helped us through tough times as my single, Japanese immigrant, 20-something year old mom raised me; and they showed their love to us. This was our introduction to God.
When they moved back to their family in Texas, I was about 5 years old, my mom lost interest in church. We stopped going, but I still held interest in God.
On the last day before going on Winter Break in 8th grade, I was helping my science teacher clean his fish tank. The topic of religion came up, for he asked if my mom was Buddhist since she was Japanese. I answered no, but that we used to go to church, and I think of God often--so much, that I crave to learn about Him. My science teacher told me that he was Christian, and he said that when we got back from winter break, he would answer all my questions and tell me all about God.
Even though I did not grow up learning every name, story, or verse in the Bible, I found my way to God just by talking about my interest in Him, and I have never felt so happy. Don't rule out people who may not appear interested or know anything about God--our purpose is to spread the Good News to every single person.
Your Father Knows
I was only four years old as I lay by my father on a floor mat on a hot summer night. (My mother, with a baby, had her own room at the time.) This was in northern Ghana where the climate is mostly dry. Sweat covered my body and the heat parched my throat. I felt so thirsty I shook my father awake. In the middle of that dry night, he rose up and poured water from a jar for me to quench my thirst. Throughout my life, as he did that night, he exemplified the image of a caring…
The message August 13th 2016 was very meaningful in trusting God even when I cannot understand.
My husband left his job to become an RN and just at the end of his 3 month orientation in a major hospital with great job benefits he had a sudden onset of neck pain resulting in cervical surgery. This resulted in unemployment for a while. He moved to other nursing jobs which did not seem to work well . Was moving into nursing the best thing I do not know.
My testimony is that, during that time I was the only person working full time. My family has never been behind our mortgage, our bills have been paid including student loans, we tithe faithfully and give to missions. God has used the five loaves and two fishes and blessed us tremendously. Why my husband lost his job which was so promising, I don't understand. I know the Lord has been forever faithful, and we are trusting His Plan. The lyrics of the song ,"Trust his heart" fits in well with the devotion today.
God bless all ODB staff and management.
Fedelie.
When We Don’t Understand
Although I depend on technology every day to get my job done, I don’t understand much about how it works. I turn my computer on, bring up a Word document, and get to work on my writing. Yet my inability to comprehend how microchips, hard drives, Wi-Fi connections, and full-color displays actually function doesn’t get in the way of my benefiting from technology.
In a sense, this mirrors our relationship with God. Isaiah 55:8–9 reminds us that God is far beyond us: “’My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are…
