“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and he has anointed me…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1, 3)

I still recall how upset I was at the family when they did not consume the bananas I had bought for them and allowed them get too ripe to eat. The sight of those ugly bananas was driving me nuts. The thought of throwing away yet another spoiled bunch was driving me nutsier.

I was about to give them a lecture on why we should not let things go to waste with pointed references to the starving children of Africa who would die to have a ripe banana and clinch my case with a well-chosen ap-peel to the wisdom of Solomon from the book of Proverbs.

Enter Sulojana on the scene. She nipped my speech in the bud by showing me a recipe book.

She pointed out how some people would have to search all over town in every grocery store to find a supply of ugly ripe bananas…while we had them right here at our finger-tips.

After all, don’t you know, that’s the main ingredient in banana bread?

I must’ve missed the class on baking banana bread in Kindergarten, Elementary School, High School, University and Seminary somehow.

Now that I was enlightened on the necessity of overripe bananas, my blood pressure could return to normal…and I didn’t have to waste my precious breath on an unnecessary speech.

As a matter of fact, I was now grateful to the family for persistently ignoring those under-ripe bananas for a whole week until they turned into the perfect ingredient for the next loaf of yummy banana bread.

Isn’t it amazing how we can take something that looks like it should be tossed out unceremoniously and make of it something that is worthy of being wolfed down with glee?

If you and I can do this in the kitchen, how much more can we trust God to take the yucky stuff in our lives and turn it into something yummy, eh?

My dear friend and co-founder of DWOD, Darren Canning often shares in his posts about how his life was such a mess at one time. A failed marriage, drugs, alcohol, relationships that did not honour God had brought him to the point of preparing to take his own life.

Yet, God met him at that very point and took a mess of ugly bananas, started adding other ingredients—a praying mother (see the DWOD for May 13, 2103) , a wise mentor, a supportive church family, a loving wife, to name a few—and eventually made him into the flavourful loaf of banana bread that he is today! Now you know why people always want a piece of him, ha, ha!

 (I encourage you to order and read Darren’s book “Fire Script” to get the whole story)

Suffice it to say he is not alone in experiencing this kind of amazing transformation. I am sensing in my spirit that many of you, our loyal DWOD subscribers, have such stories to share as well.

Would you send them to me by e-mail at jeeva@destinywordoftheday.com? With your permission, of course, we would like to share them with the rest of your DWOD family from time to time.

In the meantime, let’s praise God who turns yucky bananas into a yummy banana loaf!

Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. (Proverbs 10:17)

Scripture is very clear on the need for us to be open to correction. The consequences can be disastrous when we refuse to heed God’s call to change our ways.

Some translations of Proverbs 10:17, such as the NLT & the NKJV read: “…those who ignore correction will go astray.”

Exactly a month ago today, the DWOD for Aug. 09 included this stern warning: “Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.” (Proverbs 29:1)

In other words, the person who ignores correction is the one who will either go astray or be destroyed.

However, the NIV translation gives another consequence that affects not only the person who is disobedient, but also others in their sphere of influence.

A father may think that his refusal to receive correction and refrain from an addictive behaviour affects only his life, but the sad fact is that he can lead his children astray. Those children who are led astray can then in turn lead their children astray…and a generational curse is handed down through the family line.

Jesus certainly has some stern words for those who lead others astray, doesn’t he? Try this one for size:

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6)

Unfortunately, leaders who were unwilling to take correction have indeed led others astray and not only experienced disastrous consequences themselves, but also caused immeasurable harm to their followers.

We have seen distinguished ministers of the gospel fall to disgraceful lows over and over again. It is uncanny how when the true story of what happened emerges, there is always one common thread.

God had graciously intervened through another believer or leader and offered correction to the offending leader, giving them an opportunity to repent and stem the flow of disasters that were sure to follow. Yet, in every case that I am aware of, the person in question chose to willfully disregard the wise counsel and dismiss it as unnecessary interference in their personal lives.

Thankfully, by the grace of God, some have since repented and been restored to ministry. Others have simply sunk into oblivion as a result, taking many others down with them.

Dear DWOD friend, as you keep advancing toward your destiny, you will need to be corrected from time to time. This is why you need to surround yourself with wise counsellors who can see where you might need correction.

A number of years ago, when I entered into a mentorship relationship with a leader, one of the first things he said to me was: “Jeeva, when I see you doing something that might be hurtful to you or to those who follow you, do you want me to point it out to you or just keep it to myself?”

Duh! That was a no-brainer, wasn’t it? I was so thankful when he would gently offer me correction whenever I needed it.

Please keep this in mind: Leaders fall uncorrected, but stand corrected.

One of the wisest choices you could ever make in life is to find yourself a mentor who is willing to offer correction. You will be amazed how this critical step accelerates you into your destiny.

“As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset.” (Exodus 17:11-12)

Nestled among episodes where Moses is dragged down with moaning and complaining is this heartwarming story of him being lifted up.

It is the only battle that the people of Israel had to fight in the desert. Joshua is in charge of the troops. Moses, along with his brother Aaron and another man named Hur climb up a mountain where they could see how the battle was progressing.

Moses provides spiritual leadership by lifting up the staff of the Lord. It soon becomes evident that the staff imparts the favour of God over the troops. As long as they were overshadowed by His favour, they were winning. Once Moses’s arms drooped in fatigue, they got the short end of the staff J

Enter Aaron and Hur. They do two things for Moses.

#1. They find a stone for Moses to sit on.

#2. They stand on either side of Moses and hold up his hands.

We are used to hearing so much about how they lifted up Moses’ hands, that the first step they took gets virtually no mention at all. Yet, I believe it was significant.

They first made sure he was comfortable and could rest before they held his hands up. They catered to his needs as a (whole) person before they focused on what he could do for them.

On the road to your destiny, there will be times when you too are tired like Moses and cannot keep up all your commitments and responsibilities. At such moments, you need an Aaron and a Hur who will notice what is happening to you, come alongside and cater to your needs.

On the flip side, this word also calls you to pay close attention to your leader(s). Are they tired? Perhaps you can be one who addresses their need, provides them with the seat they need to rest, and then lifts up their hands.

Are you a Moses? I pray that God will open the eyes of those around you to come beside you

Are you an Aaron or a Hur? I pray that God will open your eyes to see that Moses needs you.

A lot is at stake here. Success in the battle rests on whether there is an Aaron and a Hur around who will come to the aid of their Moses.

“No manna appeared on the day they first ate from the crops of the land, and it was never seen again. So from that time on the Israelites ate from the crops of Canaan.” (Joshua 5:12)

Imagine a day in the life of the people of Israel while they were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.

All they had to do was wake up and there it was—their daily ration of food from heaven, a.k.a. manna. The first major decision they had to make was how to cook it that particular day. Would it be manna porridge, manna pancakes with quail sausage, manna paratha, manna crepes, manna muffins, manna cake, quail fried manna…you get the idea!

And then it would rain quails. Once again, how to prepare them was the next tough decision they needed to make. Would it be quail roast, quail stir fry, Kentucky Fried Quail, quail a la king, quail quiche, quail cacciatore, quail curry…ah, decisions, decisions!

Water would show up from some place, even rocks! No need to dig wells.

There was no work to be done, as in Egypt. Their sandals never wore out. They only had to fight one battle along the way. No health problems. All their needs were met. Life was not great, but God was good!

But it all changed once they left the wilderness behind and crossed over the Jordan River into Canaan, the Promised Land, the land of milk and honey.

As we read in Joshua 5:12, once they started eating from the crops of the land, the manna stopped. They had to find alternative sources of protein, because the quail were not dropping from heaven anymore, either.

God was still meeting their needs, but not in the same way as He used to in the wilderness. Milk was not delivered to their doorstep. They had to go find the cows and milk them! Honey did not come in bottles. They had to start with the bees and get stung a few times before they could enjoy the sweet taste of honey!

The locals did not exactly roll over and die when the people of Israel got there, either. Yes, God had given them the land, but they still had to take it! Taking possession is not an easy task…especially when someone else was already holding possession to it!

There were more battles to be fought and won before they could fully realize the fulfilment of God’s word and completely take over the Promised Land.

Because, you see, you cannot live in the Promised Land with a wilderness mentality. You cannot expect God to provide for you in the same way He did before. There is no limit to His creativity. He will always keep His promise to you, but not always in predictable ways.

He promised you the land.  He never promised a smooth landing.

Sadly, many followers of Jesus expect Him to act in the same old way that He did in times past…and are disappointed when they keep on waiting for a repeat performance that never comes. Quite often this leads them to lower their expectations of what God can do and how He can act. Sometimes they give up on expecting anything great from God altogether.

That’s what The Wilderness Mentality can do to you, if you’re not careful.

Dear DWOD friend, today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. I believe that this is the beginning of something new and exciting for all of us. God is accelerating the fulfilment of His promises to you.

But you need to break off any vestiges of the wilderness that still remain. Over the next 10 Days of Awe, leading to the Day of Atonement, would you ask Holy Spirit to show you how you might have allowed the Wilderness Mentality to invade you?

Get rid of it right now. And move on toward your prophetic destiny that awaits you in the Promised Land.

Need help with the process? Please contact us and we’ll do our very best.

Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ the head and cornerstone,
chosen of the Lord, and precious,
binding all the Church in one;
holy Zion’s help for ever,
and her confidence alone.

These words from a 19^th century hymn, sung to the majestic tune of Westminster Abbey, came to mind as we set foot on our deck shortly after all the boards had been replaced. (You can listen to it here)

The expression “sure foundation” comes from the Old Testament: So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.” (Isaiah 28:16)

As we saw in yesterday’s DWOD, Jesus is named as the foundation on which we build (I Corinthians 3:10). Jesus is also the cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20).

When we know for sure that we build on the sure foundation/cornerstone of Jesus Christ, then we “will never be stricken with panic.” In other words, we will have a confidence that cannot be shaken.

Getting back to our deck…when Bruce Ingram assured us that the framework on which the boards were bolted down was solid, then we could go ahead and replace them, knowing that the deck would withstand any pressure applied to it.

We could host a party with a dozen people standing on the deck. There would be no reason to worry, let alone panic. Because we have a sure foundation!

The apostle Paul says in his second letter to Timothy, chapter 2 verse 19: Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

Once again, we see a reference to the confidence that comes from a firm foundation.

The first and foremost reason for this confidence is our identity. Our heavenly Father knows that we are His. And we know that we are His.

Secondly, we can be confident when we confess the name of the Lord Jesus. We are sealed by the covenant of His blood. We bear His name. (Christians=little Christs).

Thirdly, our confidence comes when we make a conscious choice to turn away from wickedness. This is not a reference to the turning around (repentance) that precedes confessing the name of Jesus as Lord. This is about repeatedly turning away from wickedness when we are faced with the temptation to give in to it—by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Dear DWOD friend, do you walk through life with confidence no matter what the circumstance? You can, if you base your confidence on these three foundational truths.

1. The Father knows who you are and you know that you are His.
2. Jesus Christ is the Lord you confess.
3. Holy Spirit is in you helping you turn away from wickedness.

Now you can continue to step out boldly towards your destiny, because you have a sure foundation.