There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham…Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous…(Genesis 26:1, 12-13)

Virtually everyone understands the law of sowing and reaping. “We reap what we sow.” (Galatians 6:6)

Whether the seed is money, love, forgiveness, kindness, time…we know that in God’s scheme of things there is always a harvest!

Conversely, when a handful of hatred, unforgiveness, cruelty, apathy, injustice, etc. is sown, we can be confident that the same law will produce negative consequences by the bushelful.

We all know that it works, but there are times when the choice to sow or not to sow is not exactly easy to make.

A farmer has no problem planting seed when the ground is moist, the soil is rich and the forecast is favourable. The challenge comes when these healthy indicators are absent, when it might seem unwise to invest money, time and resources in the seeding process.

In Genesis 26, Isaac is faced with such a predicament. There is a famine in the land. Many locals have moved to Egypt to escape the harsh conditions. Most of those left behind have chosen not to waste their seed.

But Isaac practises the principle of contrarian investing. Why? Because God had appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt…Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you…”

All Isaac needed to sow was to know that God said so. Because he knew that when God made a promise, no matter how bad it looked, God would make it all come out good!

Sure enough, he reaped a hundredfold and became so wealthy that the king told him: “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

Have you ever been faced with the choice of having to sow in a time of famine?

•   To tithe or not in the middle of a recession?

•   To be kind to the offender when everyone else was heaping judgment?

•   To stay with your church when it was clearly in decline?

•   To keep on loving your spouse/child when you were repeatedly rejected?

•   To be persistent in sharing the gospel, even though there were no takers?

•   To keep on forgiving when the other party showed no sign of repenting?

This is where the rubber meets the road. Or, in this case, the seed hits the soil.

To sow or not to sow when there is no guarantee that it will grow. That is the challenge.

Isaac trusted in God’s promise. He had faith in God’s ability to make the law of sowing and reaping work. And he was rewarded.

How about you, dear DWOD friend? Have you ever sowed in a time of famine? What happened? Please share your experience with the rest of your DWOD family.

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him. (John 4:28-30)

To get the full impact of the encounter that Jesus had with a Samaritan woman by the well, you need to take into consideration the cultural and historic traditions that are interwoven in the narrative.

John addresses this squarely when he reports her words: “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” He follows it up with a word of explanation for his mostly non-Jewish audience: “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”

The Jews considered the Samaritans to be heretic half-breeds. They had compromised the purity of their race by marrying Gentiles. And they worshipped God, not in Jerusalem, as the Jews did, but at a temple they built on Mount Gerizim.

For this reason, Jews did their level best to avoid travelling in Samaritan territory, as they were sure to be treated with hostility.

That is why the woman was so surprised

a. to see a Jewish man in town and

b. to hear him say: “Give Me a drink.”

Yet that one conversation initiated by Jesus in what was likely an awkward situation led to the transformation of that entire city.

You will notice that Jesus does not get “spiritual” with her to get the ball rolling. He just uses what is appropriate in that context to start a conversation.

She is there to draw water from the well. He is tired from walking all morning. (What the Bible calls the sixth hour of the day is noon, when the heat is intense and thirst is a natural consequence).

In other words, there was nothing out of the ordinary or inappropriate about his request for a drink.

That opening request from Jesus gets her talking. They go back and forth. As a matter of fact, she proves that she can hold her own in a theological discussion with Jesus. Of course, as time goes on, Jesus gets a revelation about her married life and turns the conversation around by asking her to go get her husband.

When she discovers that Jesus had access to insider information that a total stranger would not be expected to know…she calls him a prophet. Then she goes back into town and invites everyone to come and meet Jesus.

Here is what Holy Spirit is highlighting in today’s DWOD. It all began with a simple conversation starter on Jesus’ part. One response leads to another and before you know it, a whole city has come to Jesus.

There are times when we think we have to do something really great, complex or complicated to accomplish great results. We put pressure on ourselves to come up with the perfect opening line, the next three possible retorts and appropriate responses. Or we draw up a great plan and worry ourselves silly over everything that could go wrong.

Sadly, sometimes this results in us doing nothing at all, when all we have to do is obey the Holy Spirit’s nudge, open our mouth and say something that is not all that profound as: “Give Me a drink.”

Or “Can you please tell me how to get to the park?” Or “Is there a restaurant around here that serves fish?”

That one conversation that Jesus initiated with the Samaritan woman changed her entire city.

That one opening sentence you say to a total stranger could not only change their life, but also the life of their family and friends. Even their city!

Pastor Jeeva

P.S: Have you had any experiences such as this? Please share with the rest of your DWOD family.

His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5)

The life and ministry of the prophet Elisha is replete with astounding miracles that are unlike any other in the Old Testament. You may wish to read chapters 2-6 of 2 Kings in one sitting to get the full impact of how the Double Portion of Elijah’s spirit manifested in Elisha’s life.

Although these miracles are so different from one another, there is one characteristic that many of them have in common. They require the recipients of the miracle to do something rather unusual.

Here are a few that will catch your attention:

• Counselling the kings to get their soldiers to dig ditches, when they were already suffering from dehydration. Shouldn’t they be conserving their energy to fight the enemy instead of expending it on excavating?
• Urging the widow of the prophet to borrow vessels from all her neighbours. I mean you can explain why you need a bowl of sugar, but can you see the awkwardness she would’ve experienced in borrowing bowls only, no sugar?
• Commanding Naaman, the Commander of the Syrian army, to go dip seven times in the muddy waters of the Jordan so he could be cleansed of leprosy. Could you really blame Naaman for bristling at this unorthodox prescription?

As you can see clearly, no obedience to the prophet’s words, no miracles!

In John’s account of the very first miracle done by Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus, tells the servants: “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

The key word here is WHATEVER. No matter how ridiculous it may seem, no matter whether it makes logical sense or not, no matter whether it makes you look bad or not…WHATEVER He says, just do it. No questions asked.

Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.  

Can you imagine how the servants would have felt when they were told to take the water to the master of the feast? The water had not yet turned into wine when they took the pots over. Ah, but, Mother Mary did say: “WHATEVER.” So they simply obeyed.

It was only when they started pouring it for the master of the feast that they discovered that the water had turned into wine.

Without the obedience of the servants, the water does not get changed into wine.

Go back and read the miracles that Elisha did. Do they not resemble the miracles of Jesus when it comes to requiring obedience?

He tells a man with a withered hand: “Stretch forth your hand.” What a ridiculous request! Jesus, can’t you see that’s his problem? He cannot stretch it forth because it is withered, hello! Yet, when he obeys, his hand is made whole. (Luke 6:6-11)

In John 9, we read about a man who was blind from birth encountering Jesus. He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” Pray tell, what does a mud plaster have to do with curing blindness? So he went and washed, and came back seeing. Obedience is the key that unlocks his miracle.

It was only when the servants filled the pots with water and then took it in faith to the master of the feast that the miracle happened. Water + “Whatever” leads to a miracle.

Dear DWOD friend, how good are you at obeying the Lord? Do you only obey when it makes sense? Or, like the servants in Cana of Galilee, do you obey commands which absolutely make so sense whatsoever?

The difference could be as dramatic as that between water and wine!

“The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Jake, our auto mechanic, was in the process of doing an oil change. He needed a particular wrench to remove the plug. It was not where it was supposed to be.

After looking in a couple of spots, he asked out aloud: “Now, where did I lose it?”

I shrugged my shoulders as if to say: “How would I know? Sorry, pal, can’t help you.”

His response completely caught me off guard. With a twinkle in his eye, he said: “Actually, it’s not lost. It just hasn’t been found yet!”

The moment he spoke those words, his entire demeanour changed. He was not in a panic to find the wrench anymore. He slowed down his pace, took his time, searched in a few more spots, and then exclaimed: “Ha! So that’s where you’ve been all along!”

Now he could proceed with the oil change that had been held up momentarily by the missing wrench.

The word “lost” is used quite frequently in the Christian world to describe those who have not yet turned to Jesus and received him as their Lord and Saviour.

Sometimes the word is used in a tone that is quite judgmental. At other times, when someone refers to the lost, there is more compassion than anything else in their voice.

Yes, it is true that without Jesus one is “lost”, but isn’t it also true that the reason they are labelled “lost” is because they haven’t been found yet?

Sadly, some prefer to remain in their lost state and are not open to receiving the gospel message. But how about those people who are just waiting to be found?

Over the past month, a number of people from our churches have been part of teams that have embarked on a Treasure Hunt.

What is a Treasure Hunt, you say? Here is how Kevin Dedmon describes it: “A group of people (three to five per team) asks God for words of knowledge about people’s names, clothing, appearance and prayer need(s). They also get words of knowledge about locations and other unusual things. They write these down on a paper called their Treasure Map and go to the locations on their Map to find “treasures”…people who correspond in some way to the clues that the team has written down. When they find someone, they show him or her their map and ask if they can pray for him/her.”

Some of you may have heard it described as “Prophetic Evangelism.” Members of our teams have been used by Holy Spirit to speak destiny over these “treasures”, often accompanied by healing, deliverance, salvation and even an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as in the case of the “treasure” in the photograph accompanying this post.

One of the reasons why outreaches such as Treasure Hunts produce remarkable results is because of the attitude with which teams go out. We are not looking for the lost, but for treasures that have not been found yet. We know they are out there. God has already given us enough details about them that we know for sure that we will find them. And we do.

This particular man told us: “The last five minutes have completely transformed my life forever. I cannot remain the same anymore.”

We too found, just as Jake did in his garage, that once the wrench (wretch?) is found, a “change” is bound to happen!

Have you ever embarked on such an adventure? Please share your experiences with the rest of your DWOD family.

So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” (II Kings 4:2)

“If only we had a bigger house, we could start a house church.”

“If only I had her money, I could do so much for the poor.”

“If only we had more members in our church, we could have such a great impact on our community.”

Ever make a statement like any of the above?

Quite often, when our mission/problem seems overwhelming, we are tempted to think this way, aren’t we? We look at what we don’t have and wish we had something that we lack right now.

The widow in 2 Kings 4 is faced with a seemingly insurmountable mountain of debt. She is at the point of losing all she owns, including her sons. She cannot see her way out of it. She cannot see what she has that could be used to bring about the breakthrough.

Notice how Elisha begins by asking her: “What do you have in the house?”

“Nothing but a jar of oil.” You can almost sense the despondency in her voice. Like, what good is a jar of oil to help me pay off these debilitating debts?

It is reminiscent of the time Jesus charged his disciples with the responsibility of feeding the multitudes. While they were questioning Jesus’ wisdom and calculating how much it would cost, Jesus asks a simple question: “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” (Mark 6:38)

Once they let him know what they have–five loaves and two fish—now Jesus can tell them what to do with them and the rest is history.

In a similar vein, once the widow lets Elisha know that she has something, now the prophet can release to her a strategy for multiplication that turns the jar of oil into a pipeline of profits that will help her become debt-free and indeed sustain her family for years to come.

My dear DWOD friend, are you feeling overwhelmed by your present circumstances? A goal that you have set? A mission that you have been assigned?

The Lord is asking you: “Tell me, WHAT DO YOU HAVE in the house?”

You may not have hours and hours to spend with Him just yet…just give Him the 15 minutes you do have right now…watch what He does with it!

You may not have tens of thousands of dollars to tithe. Start with the tens and twenties you do have right now…watch what He does with it!

You may not have the polished skills you need to succeed in your profession/calling. Take the rough skills you do have right now and start working with them…watch how He makes you successful!

He is not asking you for what you do not have. All you have is all He needs.

Today He is asking you: “What do you have?”

What is your answer?

“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person…” (Matthew 15:18-20)

When you click on this thumbnail image and enlarge it, you will discover that it comes from Domino’s Pizza’s facebook page where customers are encouraged to provide feedback on their experiences with Domino’s offerings.

Recently a customer wrote: “Best Pizza Ever! Keep up the good work, guys!” followed by a smiley emoticon 🙂

Here is Domino Pizza’s reply to her compliment: “So sorry about that! Please share some additional information with us at bit.ly/dpz_care and please mention reference# 1409193 so we can have this addressed.”

Why such a bizarre response you may wonder. Here is the explanation.

Apparently, the comments on the page are not read and responded to by a human being. The entire process is automated using “bots” (short form for robot), which are programmed to scan the comments and post appropriate responses.

It seems that those who provide unfavourable feedback often use exclamation points, frownies (opposite of smileys) and other characters to emphasize their displeasure. Domino’s is, of course, used to seeing its fair share of these comments.

Thus, when the bot saw a post that looked like a caustic comment, it automatically generated an apology and offered information on how Domino’s would address it.

I did not take the time to verify this particular post…I’d heard about it on the radio and found this picture on www.consumerist.com. But, when I scanned Domino’s facebook page, I found this comment by a customer: “Large pineapple and banana pepper pizza. 2 liter of coke. Insidious.”

Once again, the bot generated an apology, only to have the customer post this response: “No. It was perfect. Insidious was the movie I watched during the pizza. I should have clarified :-)”

Even as I was laughing at these misreadings by the Domino’s bot, I couldn’t help think about how it seems that there is an “inner bot” at work in us as well.

Are there “triggers” that cause you to respond automatically as did the bot?

For example, you may run into someone who has been known to criticize you all the time. Your brain immediately switches to defensive mode. “All systems alert! Get ready to intercept incoming interlocutory verbalistic missile!”

They could say the nicest thing about you that has ever been said…but, unless you were really tuned in, you would likely strike back without even thinking!

Or, you may have grown up with an image of God as being a harsh taskmaster. You have been conditioned to earn His love by your good deeds for fear of punishment. You are likely to have initial difficulty accepting any teaching that stresses that He is your Father who loves you unconditionally and simply wants you to rest in Him. You will find it rather strange to serve from acceptance and not for acceptance.

Perhaps you were let down by a very close friend. Now when someone says anything remotely resembling what that former friend used to say (“We’re friends for life!”), you give your potential new friend the brush-off, much to their bewilderment.

You get the idea, right?

Dear DWOD friend, would you take some time today and ask Holy Spirit to show you ways in which your inner Domino’s bot might be at work?  You’ll be surprised!

Perhaps it is time to re-program that bot as Paul recommends in Romans 12:2, “by the renewing of your mind.”

Please feel free to contact me or Darren so we can direct you to someone who can minister to you.