“There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’” Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. (I Kings 18:44-45)

Bill Johnson, leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California spoke last evening at the Revival Alliance Conference about what happened when he went back to his church after being at the Toronto Airport Vineyard in the early days of the Holy Spirit Outpouring known as the Toronto Blessing.

He had seen firsthand what happened in Toronto when whoever was leading the service offered this simple prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit.” Almost instantly, one would hear people crying or laughing and see them manifesting the power of the Holy Spirit in some form of bodily movement—shaking, vibrating, falling, running—to name a few.

Following his message that Sunday morning, Bill called up the entire congregation to the front of the church. He uttered the very same words in a sincere prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit.” Then he and his wife Beni waited for the visible and vocal responses to follow suit in great number among members of his own church.

Much to his surprise, only one person showed any visible sign that Holy Spirit had indeed come. Rather than being discouraged by the less than anticipated response, he turned to Beni with great excitement and said something to this effect: “Hey, He’s here. Hallelujah!”

Bill then went on to say: “Some people only saw the cloud as small as a man’s hand. But we saw the Outpouring.”

He was referring, of course, to the incident in I Kings 18 where following the victory on Mount Carmel, Elijah first prophesied to Ahab: “I hear the sound of the abundance of rain.”You may recall that there had been a severe drought with no rain whatsoever for three years at the time he made this declaration.

Then Elijah gets his servant to check the horizon for signs of rain. He comes back with the report that he cannot see anything at all. The scenario is repeated six times. Still no sign. Finally, on the seventh attempt, the servant reports: “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!”

Immediately, Elijah dispatches the servant to King Ahab instructing him to hop in his chariot presto pronto and get going before the heavy rain impeded his journey.

Bill pointed out how the servant only saw a small cloud, while Elijah saw heavy rain. He went on to say how many people who have been praying and waiting for revival get discouraged when they do not see the mighty outpouring right away. They discount the small cloud as being insignificant.

Because of this attitude, they miss out on experiencing the heavy rain that follows.

Although Bill’s teaching was geared specifically toward revival, it is applicable to all of us as we advance towards our destiny, isn’t it? Yes, all of us would love to get there in one giant leap, but God often starts us off with one small step that barely makes a perceptible difference to the outcome we desire.

Do we see it as just a small step or do we see it as the precursor to the giant leap that we had always dreamed of?

When God gives us one teeny weeny win, do we see it as the first fruits of the mighty decisive victory that will follow or do we get discouraged by the smallness of it?

In Zechariah 4:10 we read this word of caution: “Do not despise these small beginnings.”

We would be wise to take this admonition to heart, wouldn’t we?

Dear DWOD friend, the next time you see the first sign of progress, you have a choice about how you view it—as just a small cloud or the beginning of heavy rain. What will it be?

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”(When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory). (John 7:37-39)

Last night, Sulojana and I were at Catch the Fire Toronto, celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit known as the Toronto Blessing. Randy Clark, the humble vessel God used to initiate this move spoke about his life prior to his date with destiny on Jan. 20, 1994.

It all began with an insatiable thirst to see the Book of Acts become reality in the Baptist Church that he shepherded at the time, after hearing the testimony of a colleague who shared how he had seen Holy Spirit move powerfully in healing at another venue.

His thirst made him take the bold step of hosting a team sent by John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Movement. But he did not stop there. He kept on going to Conferences and meetings where Holy Spirit was moving, because he wanted more!

Randy also shared candidly about how this initial burst of excitement started to fade with time. He had started his own church in the meantime. Although the numbers were increasing, the fire was not there anymore. He was getting stressed out about pastoring and came very close to packing it in.

Around that time, a pastor friend suggested he attend meetings conducted by a South African man by the name of Rodney Howard-Browne. Randy quickly realized that the reason for his frustration in ministry was very simple. He had lost the thirst that he had a few years before.

So he flew all the way from St. Louis to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he did indeed get touched powerfully by Holy Spirit through Rodney Howard-Browne. On top of everything he received at those meetings through prayer and the laying on of hands, God restored his thirst for more of His Presence and Power.

Everything changed dramatically when he got back to his church the following Sunday. Healing of bodies and minds, uncontrollable joy, and passion for the Lord were now the hallmarks of this congregation.

It was while he was in this state of seeking God with a thirsty heart that he received an invitation from John & Carol Arnott to come and minister at the Toronto Airport Vineyard. The rest, as they say, is history.

Randy’s message was another reminder that when we stay thirsty for more of God, He is happy to quench our thirst. As John reminds us in the aforementioned verses from chapter 7, Jesus causes rivers of living waters to bubble up inside of us. In other words, Holy Spirit dwells inside of us and flows from us into the lives of others.

Our part is to come to Jesus thirsty. He takes care of the rest.

Dear DWOD friend, never lose your thirst for God. Sulojana and I can personally testify that when we started to get thirsty for more of Him, Jesus started to fill us up with more of Holy Spirit. All of the healing and prophetic flows of ministry continue to happen because we continue to stay thirsty.

We pray that like Randy Clark, you too will discover that your decision to stay thirsty will lead you to your date with destiny.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”(Luke 6:38)

Our daughter Priya is destined for greatness in the media mountain—in the unbiased opinion of those responsible for bringing her into the world 🙂 Seriously though, anyone who has met her and/or seen her in action will tell you the same. Her engaging personality, exacting standards of excellence and exceptional work ethic are all key contributing factors in this “unbiased” assessment.

She is presently working for a major television network in Canada at an entry-level position. She is responsible for ensuring that the teleprompter is programmed accurately and operated in perfect sync with the anchor who is reading the news. That’s what she gets paid to do.

She was telling me today about all the additional duties she has taken upon herself to do. She volunteers to do research on stories that reporters are working on. She has been “shadowing” them through the preparation, interviewing and editing process. She offers to write news stories for the anchors. Today she even checked to see if a story that was ready to be read on air had been updated since it was written and alerted the on-camera host, who was, of course, appreciative of this unsolicited help.

Her desire to make life easier for others and add value to them reminded me of a book by Bob Burg and John David Mann. Here is a synopsis posted on their official website:

“The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees simply as the Chairman.

Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of successful “go-givers”: a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real estate broker and “The Connector,” who brought them all together. Pindar’s friends share with Joe the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and teach him how to open himself up to the power of giving.

Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving—putting others’ interests first and continually adding value to their lives—ultimately leads to unexpected returns. Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a heartwarming and inspiring tale that brings new relevance to the old proverb “give and you shall receive.”

“The old proverb” is, of course, a variation of Jesus’ words at the very beginning of this post. It is another expression of the law of sowing and reaping. Even though you never give with the express purpose of getting in return, it inevitably turns out that way, amen?

Dear DWOD friend, one of the best ways to accelerate into your destiny is to be a Go-Giver. Look for opportunities to add value to your boss, a co-worker, mentor, pastor or whoever else Holy Spirit may highlight for you. You will not only reap what you sow, you will actually reap more than you sow.

Do it with the heart of Jesus that Paul describes in these words from Philippians 2:3-4: “in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

You will stand out among the go-getters of this world. The favour of the Lord will shine upon you.

This is why I was not surprised to hear that Priya will likely be trained as a production assistant soon, which is the next step on the way to becoming an on-air reporter. Such acceleration is only possible for one who does not hesitate to be a go-giver. Be one today, will you?

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (I Peter 5:8)

Last Friday morning as I was chauffeuring Her Royal Highness Sulojana, the Queen of our casa to work, I turned left on to Niagara Street from Carlton as we do every morning. That’s when my heart skipped a beat.

We were already running late. Now a traffic slowdown. Correction. A total stop. Period. No movement.

Of course, the brain immediately went to work and started playing video clips from similar stoppages in the past—the accident that resulted in freeway traffic being diverted onto this same Niagara Street, malfunctioning traffic lights that instantly transformed the next intersection into a four-way stop—to name just a couple.

The mini-SUV in front of us made it impossible to see how many vehicles were ahead of our now seemingly low-to-the-ground sedan. If traffic was backed up all the way to the lights, that could be as many as 15! At the conservative rate of 22.4 seconds delay per vehicle waiting for others at the newly-created four-way stop, that could add a whopping 5.5 minutes to our trip. At this rate, she will be 12.7 minutes late…perish the thought 🙁

Even if it were only increased traffic from the freeway, we could still be waiting for two light changes or 3.8 minutes. That still translates to an 11 minute late entrance. Egad!

And then the unthinkable happened. We started moving. Nigh the speed limit. We hadn’t even prayed for a miracle and the stoppage was gone…just like that! Wow!

Turns out that one of the cars ahead of us wanted to turn left onto a side street. There was a steady stream of vehicles coming the opposite way. All must have been in a hurry, because no one wanted to slow down and let this poor soul make her turn…until finally, someone with a good heart and an extra 11.3 seconds to spare stopped. Problem solved. Now we would only be 8.6 minutes late…praise God!

Have you ever been tempted to exaggerate the size of the problems you face, to make mountains out of molehills, as the expression goes?

A faint pain in the chest triggers fears of a heart attack. A delay in receiving a cheque induces anxiety about impending bankruptcy. One complaint that someone filed against you makes you wonder whether you’ll lose your job. Get the picture?

Satan is a master at making our problems appear much bigger than they really are. Over the years I have heard many Christians say that the enemy is a lion who is waiting to devour our souls.

Yet, when you read I Peter 5:8, here is what it actually says: “He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

LIKE a roaring lion. Not an actual lion. He is a mouth that roars like a lion. His roar is worse than his gore. He wants you to respond with fear and anxiety, even when there is no need for it.

Contrast this with Jesus’ response to the disciples when they were caught in a storm and started screaming:“Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”(Mark 4:38-39).

Clearly Jesus did not see it as a life and death issue. He treated the wind as a misbehaving child, expressed his stern approval of its demeanor and scolded it into submission.

Similarly when everyone was weeping and wailing at Jairus’ house, he said: “The child is not dead, but sleeping.” Then he proceeded to do what you and I would do to awaken a sleeping child.   He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise” (Mark 5:39, 41).

Dear DWOD friend, “be alert and of sober mind” as you advance into your destiny. Do not fall for the fear-inducing, anxiety-raising tactics of satan to get you off track. And you too will discover as Sulojana and I have countless times, that there is less than meets the eye.

The spider monkey, native to South America, is so named because it hangs from the tree by its tail and lets its arms and legs dangle. Since it is very small in size and very fast, it is extremely difficult to catch with a net or tranquilize with darts.

Trappers have found a way to do it, though. They take a long-necked bottle, tie a rope around its neck, place peanuts inside, scatter a few on the ground around the bottle, and wait for the spider monkey to come.

The spider monkey sees the peanuts on the ground, eats them, then notices the peanuts in the bottle, reaches its arm into the bottle and grabs a hand full of peanuts.

When it tries to pull its arm out of the bottle, it can’t, because its fist is clenched, full of peanuts…unless it lets go of them. At that point, it is easy for the trapper to catch the spider monkey.

Even when there are other peanuts outside the bottle, the monkey wants the peanuts inside the bottle so badly, that it will not let go. As a matter of fact, even when fresh fruit (another spider monkey favourite) is placed around the bottle, it will not let go. Trappers eventually have to break the bottle to get the spider monkey’s arm out.

The apostle Peter warns us: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8)

What is easier to pick off—a target moving at lightning speed or one that is stationary? A spider monkey that is flying from tree to tree totally free or one that has its hand stuck in a long-necked bottle?

As we move into 2014, I am sensing that we too need to “be sober, be vigilant”, as Peter advises prior to penning the aforementioned words, so we do not get devoured.

Are we clinging to something from our past, even our more recent past in 2013 that makes us easy prey for the enemy?

What may be obvious is unforgiveness to which we may be holding on…or pain on which we’re still dwelling…regret over what we could’ve done or did not do…or something else that is negative………………………………..(please fill in the blanks).

What may not be so readily apparent is the good things from our past that we are unwilling to let go.

You may have heard the expression: “The good is the enemy of the best.” We may be clinging tightly to the trophy of yesteryear, the great revelation that revolutionized our life, the new tactic that changed our finances for the better or …………………………(you know what to do, right?)

You can unwittingly become an easy target for the treacherous trapper of our souls should you refuse to let go and move on. Your very destiny is at stake.

So, why not take some time today and see what peanuts (if any) may be inside your clenched fist. Don’t be a spider monkey. Let go of them and set yourself free. And you too will take great strides toward your destiny.

January 6 marks the Feast of the Epiphany in the Christian calendar. The Greek word epiphania literally means manifestation. It is the celebration of the manifestation of Jesus as the Second Person of the Godhead, worthy to be adored as King, drawing even the Gentiles unto the brilliance of His Light.

The traditional Scripture reading for Epiphany is Matthew 2:1-11, the account of the Magi who followed the star they saw in the East and came to pay homage to this newborn King of the Jews.

When they set out on this long journey, they assumed that the newborn King of the Jews would be found in the palace of the reigning King of the Jews, namely, Herod. A very logical thought process, wouldn’t you agree?

But, of course, they did not find the newborn king in the palace. As a matter of fact, the only point of the pit stop at the palace was to pinpoint the birthplace of the one they sought.

Scripture also points out how Herod was greatly troubled by their visit “and all Bethlehem with him.” He saw this other “king of the Jews” as a threat to his rule and hatched a sinister plot to eliminate him.

You know the rest of the story. The Magi made it to Bethlehem, found the Christ child (not baby), worshipped him, offered him their gifts and made it back home another way.

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he ordered the massacre of all baby boys two and under in hopes that the broad sweep of the sword would catch the one he perceived to be his competition.

This morning as I reflected on this passage for the umpteenth time, the Lord highlighted the fact that despite the regrettable choice they made in stopping at Herod’s palace in Jerusalem, the Magi were still blessed by the unforgettable experience of worshipping the Christ Child in Bethlehem.

It is specifically aimed at all of us who made choices we regret in 2013…and perhaps, already in 2014! We may wish we could go back and do the same thing differently…but, of course, that is impossible.

However, the Lord wants us to know that He redeems even our regrettable decisions. He will not allow our mistakes to make us miss out on our destiny. There is a caveat, though. As long as WE do not get stuck in the rut of regret and prevent our own progress…

As God reminds the people of Israel in Isaiah 43:18: “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.”

When we choose to forget the regrettable, God lets us experience the unforgettable.

May this be your portion as you leave 2013 behind and advance into your destiny in 2014. Ask Holy Spirit to show you what regrets you need to sh(r)ed…take care of business and take your rightful place in His glorious future.