“Where should we go to church this Sunday?”

It is not a question that Sulojana and I have asked each other too often in nearly 31 years of marriage. Most Sundays we are committed to ministering in the churches where God has called us to serve.

Yet, from time to time, when we’re on holidays or have a Sunday off, we do need to make a decision about where we will worship.

Eight years ago when I asked the question, Sulojana pulled out a business card from her purse. “There is this guy who works with me who has been inviting me to his church. He is always so excited about his church and his pastor. I promised him that we will go to his church when we have a Sunday off. So, why don’t we go there today?”

Sounded reasonable to me. Plus, it was right in St. Catharines, where we live. So, we set out, business card in hand, to this church that neither of us had ever heard of before. It was on Queenston Street, well-known in our city for housing the General Hospital.

We drove to the spot where the church was supposedly situated. But, we couldn’t find it. No “sign” of the church whatsoever. Literally.

We don’t give up easily. Let’s take another shot. Drove to the logical spot where the church should have been waiting for us with open doors. Alas, no church to be found.

Now I’m getting frustrated. “Sulojana, there are lots of churches that have a 10:30 service. It is already 10:27. Let’s keep driving till we find one.”

She would have no part of it. “We must be really close. Let’s just go around the block and look one more time.”

I am not feeling very pastoral or Christian by now. But the thought of being in the doghouse for not going to her choice of God’s house was a powerful motivator.

“Alright. Last try.”

Sure enough, we found the church. It was on the second floor of a building, directly above the Pizza place which is all we’d seen until this time.

Worship was lively. The pastor was flowing powerfully in the Holy Spirit. The hospitality that followed was heavenly.

That was the blessed morning we met the one and only Pastor Dayo Adeyemo of the Royal House, who has since become one of my closest friends in ministry and in life.

What started out as an attempt to appease a persistent co-worker and an insistent spouse turned out to be a divine appointment.

Two nights ago, the same question popped up again. Only this time we were at a hotel room in Midland, Ontario. No business cards this time. In Google we trust.

We checked out a few websites and narrowed the choices down to two. Once again I deferred to Sulojana’s choice. She picked River of Life.

We knew nothing about this church, except what we saw on the website. No familiar names or faces—online or offline, when we walked in there. Friendly greeters, exuberant worship, powerful message with a prophetic flow.

In the course of his message, Pastor Tim mentioned a name that caught my attention. Daniel Smith. I have a pastor friend by that name, who ministers at Logos Christian Family Church in Mississauga. I recalled that he had ministered in this region at one time.

Out came the cell phone. A quick exchange of texts with Dan. I found out that we are in the same church where he had ministered a few years back and that Pastor Tim is his best friend. Wow!

We met Pastors Tim & Kari at ministry time and introduced ourselves. Much to my surprise, he recognized my name instantly and reminded me of a prophetic word I had given him through Dan. We received powerful prayer ministry through them.

We could have never orchestrated this. Another divine appointment.

Dear DWOD friend, may I encourage you to follow the nudges of the Holy Spirit (even when they come through your spouse!) and go where He leads? I exhort you to expect and experience divine appointments as well.

Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” (Luke 19:8)

In a recent Facebook post, our friend Rachelle Mainse, founder of Princess911 and Luella girl exhorts women to develop a love for modesty. As part of that post, she writes: “I remember years ago when God really started speaking to me about modesty and it went from my head to my heart to my closet.”

Hearing from God is good.

Taking it to heart is great.

But the ultimate proof that you heard from God and took it to heart is the change you choose to make next.

For Rachelle, it was making changes to her wardrobe. When the word of the Lord went from her head to her heart to her closet…that is when things began to happen.

She continues: “A couple of days later a woman who knew nothing said she felt God tell her to give me a big bag of classy and sharp clothes and then another lady came up to me after a conference (again knowing nothing) said I want you to come speak on modesty.”

Wow! The changes Rachelle made got the Lord’s attention. He promptly used two of His own to confirm that her obedience did not go unnoticed by Heaven!

When Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’ place, you knew that something was going to change in the chief tax collector’s life. And then we get proof that Jesus’ words went from his head to his heart to his bank account when he makes the astounding statement at the top of this post.

Obviously it got Jesus’ attention! Please note that it is only after Zacchaeus promises to give away half his wealth to the poor and make fourfold restitution to those whom he had gouged that Jesus makes this declaration: “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.”

Were you surprised that Jesus waited for proof before he made this declaration? You shouldn’t be, really, when you consider the meaning of the word “repentance.”

“Metanoia” the Greek word that is usually rendered as “repentance” in English translations, literally means “a change in thinking or mindset.” The Hebrew word “shub” which is translated metanoia in Greek actually means “to turn around.”

In other words, repentance is a change of mind which results in change of behaviour.

A great illustration of this occurs in Luke 3, where John the Baptist preaches a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He makes it clear that he is not just talking about an invisible internal change when he says in v. 8: “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.”

He then goes on to apply this with specific directives for certain people groups such as tax collectors and soldiers (vs. 12-14).

Dear DWOD friend, whether you realize it or not, you are surrounded by skeptics and seekers who are all looking for proof that what you say you believe has gone from your head to your heart to your closet, your wallet, your hormones and your _____________(please fill in the blanks).

Actually, the Lord Himself is watching to see what you will do. When you get His attention, you too will get confirmation, as Rachelle did. Please feel free to share your testimonies with the rest of your DWOD family.