May 20, 2014–His Yoke Is Easy

May 21, 2014 By

Darren Canning May 2014Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29)

There have been times that I have felt the humility of God in my life.  It is like a fresh summer rain when it comes upon me.  I know this humility is not me, but it comes upon me like a gift so that I can feel the gentleness of God.

You see there is no one like our God who is able to give such purity and wonder to His people.  He lifts the heaviest burdens off of our shoulders like they are nothing.  Burdens that I have carried all my life roll away when God speaks to them.

The yoke of the Lord is to carry out His will.  When we step into His will for our lives, we come into a place of great peace.  Even when what God says seems impossible, as I step into what he commands, it is like a refreshing breeze enters into my spirit.

There have been times that the Lord has had to be stern with me and speak to me about my actions and behaviour.  He will come and tell me to do certain things which seem overwhelming, but as I step into them I have found that two things occur. 

First God makes a way where there seems to be no way and secondly He heals my emotions so that I can handle the new assignment.

Before every new assignment, God comes and reveals my heart to me.  Sometimes there are lies that I have been in agreement with, or there are areas where I need to repent or forgive.  As I do these things, He enables me to walk into a greater and more open space for my life.

Recently the Lord wanted to align me to some new people to help grow my ministry, but just before He did He showed me in a dream that I did not feel worthy to walk with these people.  When I was young, the enemy came to me and told me that I was a low class person who could never fit into the upper ranks or classes.

This lie has stopped me from getting promoted over and over in my life.  I didn’t realize that I believed this either, but when God revealed it to me in a dream, I was quick to repent for coming into agreement with the lie and asked him to forgive me.  The very next day two senior leaders approached me to work with them.

What we need to understand is that there are many things that keep us from God’s perfect plan for our lives.  When we trust Him and do what He says, which from my experience is very easy, then the way is broken open before us.

Often fear will keep us from the breakthrough.  We may not trust God with our future.  We may think He doesn’t have good things in store for us, but I have come to understand that God only has good for me and so I give Him permission to always correct me as soon as I need correction. I believe that because of this I have advanced quickly in the Kingdom.

Moreover, the new peace that rises upon me when I do as God says, is reward enough for doing what He says.  The peace of God is like an addiction in my life that I don’t want to be healed from.  As soon as God reveals a need for healing I get excited because I know it comes with greater blessing and more peace.

His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

May 19, 2014–The Eyes of Faith

May 20, 2014 By

Barry & Ann Adams(Be blessed by this DWOD for May 19, 2014 by guest contributor, Barry Adams)

Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

We are called to be sons of the kingdom of God. Our destiny is to live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). Though we live in the world, we are not of this world. Our spiritual DNA comes from above.  In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to ask our heavenly Father to send His kingdom to this earth so that His will would be done here exactly as it is in heaven.

Though each one of us spends our days seeing the effects of the fallen world in which we live in, there is another spiritual reality at work that calls us to set our affections on things above and not on things of this earth (Colossians 3:2). Though the pain and suffering that we see with our natural eyes is very real, there is another dimension of vision that we are called to see with…The eyes of faith.

In this Scripture verse, we read how faith is “the assurance of the things that we hope for and the proof of things not seen”. Faith is not something we see with our natural eyes and it is not something that can be understood from an earthly perspective. Faith requires great trust and belief in order for it to flourish in our lives. In Hebrews 11:6, the author goes on to say… Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

If you continue to read Hebrews 11, you will read of many biblical heroes who lived by faith in God, even though their present circumstances seemed to be in direct opposition to the plans and purposes that God had for them. We read how a man named Noah built an ark in a dry land for over 100 years. We read how Abraham left his safe and secure surroundings to go to a country where God told him to go, and then he later had a child with his wife Sarah in their old age.

Time and space prevent me from talking about Moses, Isaac, Jacob, David and all of the other heroes of this chapter that lived a life seeing into the unseen and not living by their natural sight. Some of them accomplished the impossible and wrought great victories while others suffered terribly, knowing that their reward was not of this world.

In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, the Apostle Paul speaks of the tension between the kingdom of this world that we live in and the kingdom of God…For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

I believe that we have a unique opportunity to touch our heavenly Father’s heart this side of heaven when we choose to live by faith. After all, when we get to heaven, we will have no more opportunities to exercise our faith in the way we can now.

My prayer today is that each and every one of us would cry out to God… “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NIV) I pray that our God and Father would open the eyes of our hearts so that we could really see the reality of who we are and who God is.

May a new boldness to simply believe God and live a naturally supernatural life, knowing that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-7) be our spiritual reality today. May we all have the grace today to see into the unseen realm and live a life of faith that is pleasing to our heavenly Dad.

(Barry Adams is the humble vessel chosen by God to bless the world with the revelation known as the Father’s Love Letter. Along with his wife Annelise, Barry ministers the Father’s Love all over the world. Today’s DWOD is from a post he wrote for A Son’s Life Blog. Please check out his new website: http://www.aboutfathersbusiness.com)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

May 18, 2014–The Immediate and The Important

May 19, 2014 By

The Sams in IsraelYou’re out shopping in a mall when your child throws a temper tantrum because you said: “No. I’m not buying that toy for you.” Passers-by are giving you the evil eye or the knowing nod or the sympathetic smile. Clearly you and your sour child are in the limelight.

You cannot ignore the crisis. You want to end this embarrassment with one swift smack, but, of course, someone could interpret it as an act of child abuse.

So you choose to avoid the immediate threat of intervention by Children’s Aid with one angry swipe of your debit card. But it comes at the additional cost of ignoring the important issue of teaching your child delayed gratification, acceptable behaviour, submission to parents, or other value.

It is not easy to keep your focus on the important in the midst of the immediate, is it? Yet, it is an ongoing battle that each of us will face time and again. How will we handle it?

Let’s see what Jesus did when He was faced with a similar choice.

In the first chapter of the gospel of Mark 1, we have a detailed account of the early days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He is preaching (v. 14), calling disciples to follow him (v. 17), casting out an unclean spirit (v. 25), healing and casting out demons again (v. 34).

The consequence of this flurry of ministry activity? “And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee” (v. 28).

Needless to say this led to many more people coming to see Him and desiring to receive healing, freedom and other blessings through Him.  But Jesus was nowhere in sight.

The disciples eventually track him down in a solitary place where he had gone to pray and they say: “Everyone is looking for you!”

Listen to Jesus’ reply: “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (Mark 1:35-39)

Jesus had to choose between the immediate and the important. Giving in to the demands of the crowds and the disciples would have been an easy decision. It would have pleased everyone…and a lot of good would have come out of it…in the short-term.

But Jesus was well aware that He could not neglect the important at the expense of the immediate. So he chooses to leave the “revival hotspot” of Capernaum and carry out his mission among the unreached residents of nearby villages. “That is why I have come.”

Dear DWOD friend, on the road to your destiny, you too will find yourself at times facing urgent matters that scream for your immediate attention. They will demand your time, your energy and your resources and can actually deplete them in a hurry.

But the greatest danger you face at times such as these is that you will lose your focus and st(r)ay away from doing the important things (that do not place immediate demands on you).

So, how do you avoid this pitfall? Pretty simple, really. Be sure about what God wants you to do, as Jesus was. It could lead you to developing a personal mission statement as it did Sulojana and me several years ago. Everything we do must be in harmony with it…or we simply do not do it.

Here is ours: “To live as Jesus did—in intimacy with the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit—and equip others to do the same.”

We have to admit that we do get sidetracked by the immediate at times still, but when we need to make choices, especially about how and where to invest our time, this statement ensures that we focus on the important.

Now, we would like to invite you, our readers, to share with the rest of your DWOD family how you ensure that the immediate does not trump the important in your life. We thank you in advance for your response.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

May 17, 2014–TRAIN YOUR SPIRIT

May 18, 2014 By

gloria-copeland11(Be blessed by this DWOD for May 17, 2014 by guest contributor Gloria Copeland)

It [grace] has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness (irreligion) and worldly (passionate) desires, to live discreet (temperate, self-controlled), upright, devout (spiritually whole) lives in this present world. (Titus 2:12)

When an athlete goes into training, he practices to improve his skills. He works hard, repeating the same motions over and over until they become what we’d call “second nature” to him.

Most of us understand how crucial that kind of training is in the physical realm. We know that you simply can’t be a winner without it. But did you know we can train ourselves that same way where spiritual things are concerned?

That’s right! Hebrews 5:14 says we can train our senses to discern between good and evil. When you train, or practice, for something you expose yourself daily to whatever it is you want to become. You practice it over and over until it becomes second nature to you. People who are lazy have practiced being lazy. People who are disciplined have practiced being disciplined.

Spending time with God is “spirit” practice. As you do it diligently, your spirit will grow stronger and will start to overcome the habits of the flesh.

If, for example, you have trouble getting up in the morning to spend time with God before the busyness of the day begins, if you’ve been giving in to your flesh and staying in bed, then you’ll have to start practicing getting up. The more you practice it, the easier it will be.

Don’t expect yourself to do it perfectly right from the beginning. Don’t get discouraged when you stumble and fail. You’re just out of practice. Get back on your feet and go at it again!

Become a spiritual athlete. Put yourself in training by practicing the things of God. Build your spirit muscles through fellowship with Him. You will be surprised to find just how much of a winner you can be.

(This post appeared first in “From Faith to Faith”, a daily guide to Victory. To subscribe to this daily devotional and access other great resources, please go to www.kcm.org)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

May 16, 2014–The $10 Challenge

May 17, 2014 By

$10 challenge(Be blessed by this DWOD for May 16, 2014 by guest contributor Os Hillman)

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”  (John 8:34)

“I hate being late,” my friend lamented. “It has been a problem for me all my life.”

“Do you really want to change that?” I asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“All right. Every time you are late to work or anywhere else where you have committed to be at a particular time you must give me $25.”

“No way!” my friend responded. “I would go broke! But I will do $10.”

“All right, $10 it is. It has to be a large enough amount of money for it to hurt your pocketbook.”

“Believe me, that will hurt,” my friend said.

About a month later my friend found great motivation to be on time to every place she had to be. In the first week, I got only $10 from my friend. The next week, $20. The third week, nothing. By the fifth week, my friend had changed a lifelong habit that had hindered her all her life. In order for my friend not to be resentful of me for the money she had to give, we put it in a jar to be given to some other Christian cause. This ensured my motive was only for her best interest.

Some might be reading this now and say it is legalism. For my friend it was freedom. For the first time she had some means of changing a behavior that had caused her problems in relationships and her own work habits.

Psychologists tell us that it takes 21 days to form a habit. So, if you need to change some habit, you need to be actively engaged in that new behavior at least 21 days. My friend needed help to change a habit she didn’t like about herself. It took another individual to hold her accountable, and it took a potential loss of something to provide the added incentive.

A successful businessman was experiencing a difficult marriage. When counseling the couple over dinner one night, a friend of mine noticed that the man often criticized his wife. After further counsel it was determined the man simply could not love his wife. My friend asked him if he truly wanted to see change in his marriage. When the man said he did, my friend said, “Every time you criticize your wife you must agree to give me $100.” This man was well-off and needed substantial incentive to change his behavior.

After the man rebelled and retorted, he agreed in front of his wife. A few weeks later a report came back that things were changing. This man did not want to write any checks to my friend. Although it was a competitive game to the man, it was also yielding some positive changes in his marriage. He began to acquire the habit of avoiding criticism of his wife, which was killing her spirit.

What are the habits that keep you from becoming all that God may want you to become? Do you desire change enough to be accountable in a way that it costs you something when you fail? Ask a friend to hold you accountable in an area that needs change. You will find new freedom as you conquer old besetting habits.

(Reprinted by permission from the author. Os Hillman is an international speaker and author of 15 books on workplace calling. To learn more, visit http://www.MarketplaceLeaders.org)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

May 15, 2014–The Luxury of Great Peace

May 16, 2014 By

“PDarren, May 2014eace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27)

Your chains have no power to remain when Christ is your King because as a child of the King, you have access to the greatest healing power that the world has ever known.

Jesus has a way of entering deep into the greatest emotional wounds of your life and bringing peace where there is no peace.  He remains calm when you are not calm.  He sits in the back of your boat resting when your greatest storms do rise.

Jesus is the great physician.  He is the master healer.  He has gone to prepare a place for you in heaven where there is no more sorrow and no more pain.  Even on this side of eternity we are afforded the luxury of great peace because “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

There is nowhere you can run from His presence.  There is no situation that you are in that He cannot help you get out of.  It doesn’t matter what you have done—He will forgive you.  Even what we consider to be the greatest sins can be forgiven in Christ.  God has a way of forgiving and healing the gravest sins—all through the blood of Jesus.

Before I knew the Lord, I didn’t think He could forgive me because I was a wicked sinner.  There was nothing that I did not allow myself to do.  But I will tell you this, that even when I was lost in sin and had no mind for God. He came to me and spoke to me.  I wasn’t even searching for Him.  I was thinking about other things.  I didn’t even consider that He would forgive me and I didn’t even realize that I needed forgiveness for my sin.

In that moment when He spoke to me, great conviction fell on my soul, because I knew the purity of the one who was speaking into my life.  I knew the truth of my sinful nature, but I didn’t think He could forgive such a great sinner as me.

And yet He began to speak deep into my heart telling me of the plan that He had for my life and that He loved me very much.  It was too much for me to hear. I told Him to stop speaking and yet He continued to speak into my life.

Through time I began to realize that the shame and guilt of my sin had no hold upon my life.  I could feel His righteousness, joy and peace rising in me.  I began to understand that I was bound by sin no longer and that my life was made new—all this through the voice of God speaking into my life.

Each day my mind is renewed and I feel His love for me strongly like a fire in my chest.  He is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.

When you understand that righteousness and good living is a gift from God, then you can begin to pray this prayer in Isaiah 45:8: “You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down.”  The blessing of the Lord is to bring righteousness into the repentant heart.  Not by works of the flesh, but by the grace of God.  He has great things in store and all you have to say is “Yes, Lord.”

Get ready for a visitation of righteousness.  Get ready for the fire of God to burn in your heart.  Get ready for God to come closer than He has ever been before.  Your destiny is established, so just ask Him for more.

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

May 14, 2014–The Greatest is Love

May 14, 2014 By

loveAnd now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

The greatest gift that God offers mankind is His unfailing love.  When God’s love penetrates your heart, you are filled with an awe that is hard to put in words.  There are times that His love becomes so powerful inside of me that I am left to tears as the only expression that makes sense.

I would say that the greatest weapon that a man or woman of God could ever have is the love of God.  When the love of God fills your heart, people will come from as far away as the moon to look into your eyes.  They want to see that pure fire of God inside of you because love is contagious.

The enemy hates the love of God, because it can tear his Kingdom apart within moments.  He will do whatever he can to stop that love from spreading because to him it is a virus that will destroy his purposes every time.

For you and me, love becomes the safe place of the presence of God.  It is the shelter that keeps us from the storm.

Recently I was flying across the United States when I encountered a crazy storm over San Antonio.  My friends who lived there told me that it was one of the worst thunderstorms that they had seen in a long time.  As I was flying through this weather pattern the plane in which I was flying started to jerk and shake.  My stomach felt like it was inside my mouth.  I sat there in joy because I knew the love of God in my heart.

There is nothing that can destroy a man who is surrounded by the love of God.  No fear can overtake him.  No weapon can destroy him.  God’s love is like a safe refuge from the greatest destructions that can come upon us.  Certainly a plane can shake and fear can grip the heart of a mortal man, but I am no longer a mere mortal in Christ. I am now an eternal spirit, born anew in Christ who will live for all eternity.  This body might be torn apart, but my spirit shall live forevermore.  I shall be like the stars in the sky.  I shall shine with the righteousness of Christ forever and ever.

This love lives inside of me and those that come near me will be changed, not because of me, but because of His love that lives within me.  This is the power of God.  It is the greatest power of God.

I can prophesy accurately and often do.  I can heal the sick and often do.  I have seen crazy signs and wonders but it is this love that dwells in my heart that draws people to Christ.

The way to love is through the healing of the heart.  We must let God touch our hearts and heal the brokenness inside of us.  When fear grips me, there is an ungodly root that God wants to pull out.  The way is through forgiveness and repentance.  When I repent of the evil that lurks deep within my heart, then I make room for the love of God to burn even brighter.

When God highlights a need for healing within my heart, I get excited because I know that I am going to have more of the love of Jesus inside of me.  It is this love that I am addicted to the most, but please do not pray for deliverance for me from this addiction, because it is the greatest medication that I have ever taken.  When I remain in love, I remain in peace and I can face every trial that comes.

I pray for you today and ask the Holy Spirit to change you from glory to glory that you may also be baptized in love.

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

May 13, 2014–Think About The Consequences

May 14, 2014 By

Jeeva & Sulojana Woodvale March 2014A friend was sharing his experience with the service department of a local dealership. He had taken his truck in for a routine oil change and maintenance check. When he came home and checked the bill, he noticed that they had used 5W30 oil instead of the synthetic that had been the norm until now.

He promptly called the dealership. The woman at the other end of the phone heard him out and made a comment about how 5W30 would not hurt his engine. He asked her to pull up his vehicle’s service history on the computer. She had to admit that they had goofed up.

When he asked what they were going to do about it, she put him on hold, talked to someone (presumably the Service Manager) for a minute and came back. Then she told him that if he could bring his truck in, they would replace the oil only, not the filter, mind you, and would not charge him labour, but he would have to pay for the oil.

Now you know why my friend is not taking his truck back to them the next time he needs some work done on it.

Frankly, I was flabbergasted when I heard his account of what had happened and began to ask myself why the Service Manager would not have simply offered to replace the 5W30 with synthetic along with the filter, no charge. It would’ve been only fair, since it was their fault for not paying attention to previous maintenance records which were literally available at their fingertips.

Plus it would have generated a tremendous amount of goodwill in my friend who, rather than tell me about how poorly they treated him, could’ve bragged on how quickly they apologized and made up for their mistake plus offered him 50% on his next oil change. This would’ve locked him in for life as a customer. With the cost of maintenance and repairs these days, they would’ve gained a few thousands of dollars in business over the lifetime of the truck. Their short-term thinking robbed them of long-term profit.

It reminded me of the time that Esau traded his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup (Genesis 25:29-34). Was his hunger so great that he had to forfeit something that was so valuable for a cheap bowl of soup?

How could he have avoided this grievous error in judgment? How could the dealership have done things differently? How could you, our beloved DWOD reader, stay away from falling into such a trap?

The solution is amazingly simple, although it is not always easy to do in the heat of the moment. Are you ready for it?

Think about the consequences of your choice. To be even more specific, write down the next few things that are likely to follow as a result of the decision you make.

Let’s say the Service Manager did this. His flow chart would go something like this:

I make the customer pay for our mistake–>The customer gets ticked off–>He takes his business elsewhere–>We potentially lose thousands of dollars over the next 5-7 year–>It could generate negative publicity.

Would he still go through with his decision to charge my friend for the synthetic oil? I doubt it very much.

In Esau’s scenario, it would be something like:

I trade my birthright–>I lose it forever–>That is too high a price to pay for a lousy bowl of lentil soup–>I can put up with a growling stomach for a while yet and wait while I get one of the servants to cook me something.

Disaster averted. Destiny accelerated.

Now it’s your turn. Before you make a choice in a hurry–because you want to make a short-term profit or you want to satisfy your appetite or because your hormones are going haywire or ……………………………….(please fill in the blanks), would you take a couple of minutes and think about the consequences?

You’ll be glad you did.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

May 12, 2014–WARFARE OR BREAKTHROUGH STORY

May 13, 2014 By

warfare or breakthrough story(Be blessed by this DWOD for May 12, 2014 by guest contributor Lance Wallnau)

It is a common thing. You throw yourself into the activity surrounding your dream only to discover that things don’t work out as expected. You get knocked down or set back.
This is the critical moment. All people, Christian and non-Christian struggle to succeed and only a handful of those who enter the race ever finish with distinction. There are battles and unforeseen setbacks.

In all mastery there are lessons. In all great achievements there are learning curves. Ask any seasoned entrepreneur and they will tell you of the things they had to deal with. Betrayal, broken promises, competition, family problems, physical breakdowns and the like.

The difference is that unbelievers don’t call it spiritual warfare. They have no sinister unseen adversaries to incorporate into their script…and this is the danger for us.

After working with leaders worldwide, I’ve come to realize that the devil needs somebody on the inside of your organization to help him sabotage the work. He cannot keep you down unless there is some unknown leverage conspiring with him against you–on the inside of the organization.

Years ago I made a list of all the setbacks I’ve endured. I played the scenes over in my mind and was shocked to see one of my employees was at the scene of EVERY crime. One person was common to every setback. I scheduled a meeting with this person and we had a very sober conversation. I am going to now expose this person to all of you because I am confident this fellow will not sue me.

The person I am talking about is ME! I was at the scene of every bad decision. The warfare I was blaming on the devil was in fact the warfare I was helping to create! To this day the number one bottleneck of most organizations I consult can be found at the top.

Ask yourself if you are really listening to the Lord and getting to the root of your battle. Ask what YOU can do differently in terms of your own story. Learn from every mistake and find out how to grow. Learn to show up differently next time. Study what others are doing that works! Only then will there be benefit in talking about how the devil was at work fighting you.

Don’t settle for a warfare story…press on and give us all your BREAKTHROUGH stories! The longer the setback, the greater the finish. FINISH WELL!

In the spirit realm there are more working on your side than the devil can ever organize against you.

 (Dr. Lance Wallnau is a world-class trainer and consultant whose students span the globe. From bestselling authors, pastors, and billion dollar CEO‘s, he has helped to transform the lives of thousands. Please check out his resources at www.lancelearning.com)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

May 11, 2014–Call Her Blessed

May 12, 2014 By

call her blessedHer children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.” (Proverbs 31:28-29)

Something totally unplanned for happened at our Mother’s Day Service this year. The Lord had given me a rather unusual assignment—to preach a message based on the life of Rebekah, wife of the patriarch Isaac.

When you read about the life of Rebekah as described in chapters 24-27 of Genesis, you realize that she was not exactly the model wife and mother portrayed in Proverbs 31.

To be perfectly honest, she set an extremely poor example when she orchestrated the immaculate deception that led to Jacob receiving the blessing that rightfully belonged to his older brother Esau. (Genesis 27)

At the same time, we cannot ignore her willingness to go beyond the call of duty and offer Eliezer and his 10 camels all the water they needed, even if it meant making 50 trips up and down the steps of the well carrying 5 gallons every time! (Genesis 24)

Neither can we overlook the time she sought the Lord while going through a difficult pregnancy, heard His reassuring voice and received a prophecy regarding the twins in her womb. (Genesis 25:22-23)

On the whole though, let’s just say that author Liz Curtis Higgs was justified in including Rebekah in her list of “Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible!”

The message focused on how our mothers were not perfect, and why we need to honour them regardless of the way they treated us. The Lord had directed me to provide everyone an opportunity to forgive their mothers and also for mothers who had messed up to seek His forgiveness.

It is our custom to end the Mother’s Day service by pronouncing a blessing on all the mothers. Normally this would be done by members of the congregation gathering around the mothers and laying hands on them while I released words of blessing over them.

That was the plan when I walked into Morgan’s Point United Church. However, while we were worshipping, I sensed a Holy Spirit flash of the words quoted at the top of this post. There they were, blinking in bright neon on the eyes of my spirit:

“HER CHILDREN RISE UP AND CALL HER BLESSED.”

I was still not sure what to do with them and proceeded to deliver the message. As I started circling the airport looking for a place to land the sermon, I heard Control Tower giving me the specific instructions I had been seeking.

“Would all the mothers in the congregation please rise?” Shuffle. Shuffle.

“And, would those of you who are their children please stand next to them and wrap your arms around them?” Shuffle. Shuffle. Shuffle. Shuffle.

“Would you children now look them in the eye and say: ‘Mom, I rise up and call you blessed?’” Sniffle. Sniffle.

“Would the rest of the congregation please gather around those moms whose children are not here today?” Shuffle. Shuffle.

“Would you look at these mothers and say to them: ‘I stand in the gap on behalf of your children. I rise up and call you blessed.’” Sniffle. Sniffle. Sniffle. Sniffle.

At Forks Road East United Church, there was an added dimension to this sacred moment. Jason had his arms around his mother Liz, who had her arms around her mother Jasmine. And Josh was blessing his mother Jackie who had her arms wrapped around her mother Val.

It was an emotionally powerful time of ministry. Was it because some of the mothers had never heard the words “I call you blessed” from their children? Or because some of the children had never said those words to their mothers? I do not know for sure.

Dear DWOD friend, you may realize how blessed you are to have your mother/father/spouse/mentor/pastor/spiritual leader in your life…but if you have not told them something similar to the words: “I rise up and call you blessed”, would you do so today? I believe it will bring joy to the one at the receiving end and a smile to your Father’s face in heaven.

Such honouring of a parent would also result in you receiving the promised reward: “that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 5:16)

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam
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