I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.(I Timothy 2:1)

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you.(Romans 1:8)

Although it happened nearly 20 years ago, the impression it left upon me remains fresh as though it were yesterday.

The Aguilar family, recent immigrants to Canada from Guatemala, had invited me for dinner. Language was a barrier for the parents, but thanks to the children, we were able to communicate quite well.

Being devout Catholics, they all crossed themselves before we started eating, while I performed the Protestant equivalent by simply bowing my head and saying a silent grace.

The food was delicious. Juana was truly a great cook. Everyone ate to their hearts’ content, spiced with lots of banter in between bites. It was indeed a very enjoyable experience.

Right after we finished the meal, something very unusual happened. The children gathered in a semi-circle around the table and said something in Spanish in perfect unison.

Most of the few words they uttered were totally unintelligible to me. However I did catch the first word: “Gracias.” I knew they were saying “Thank you”…but, for what?

Spying the puzzled look on my face, Guillermo proceeded to explain that they were thanking their mother for the meal. I was even more astounded to hear that this was not reserved for special occasions when Mama prepares an extraordinary meal. It was a daily occurrence.

Wow!

At every meal, they not only thanked God for the blessing of food, but also the hands that prepared it. No wonder they seemed to be a happy family all the time.

Paul has sometimes been described as “the apostle of thanksgiving.” Rightly so. Here are just a couple of samples from the epistles where he either gives thanks or exhorts us to give thanks.

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.”(I Timothy 1:18)

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (I Thessalonians 5:18)

Did you notice that Paul’s thanksgiving is two-pronged?

On the one hand, he thanks God for what he has received personally. On the other hand, he also thanks God for others in his life.

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Every available member of the Sam clan is gathering at my parents’ place for a special celebration. Similar gatherings are happening all over our land this weekend. When we gather together as family, we are reminded once again how blessed we are to have one another.

We here at www.destinywordoftheday.com are thankful for the grace of God that has helped us release revelations every our day for one whole year as of Dec. 10. Darren Canning and I are grateful to God for His grace which has kept the revelations coming!

We also thank God for friends who have contributed posts whenever we have needed someone to step in and give us a break.

Most of all, we are extremely thankful to you, our subscribers, for receiving them graciously, commenting occasionally, encouraging us frequently and spurring us to keep on going.

Would you also make Two-Pronged Thanksgiving part and parcel of your daily walk? You may be inspired by the Aguilar family to follow a similar ritual of thanksgiving at every meal. You may wish to embrace the practice of keeping a Thanksgiving Journal.

Please share with the rest of your DWOD family how the Lord leads you in this area? May thanksgiving be an integral part of your life as you advance towards your destiny.

On this final day of The Fast, we look at two changes you can make that will help you to experience greater at.one.ment with God, with others and within the Body.

The first change is advocated both by Jesus and by the apostle Paul.

In Matthew 18:15-18, Jesus prescribes a simple process to make amends with anyone who has sinned against you. (You may wish to read the DWOD from March 23 as a refresher)

1. Meet with them in person. If that doesn’t work,
2. Take one or two with you. Still not resolved?
3. Tell it to the whole church. Did not bring about change? If not,
4. Have nothing to do with them.

Paul applies this specifically to divisive people within the Body: After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with anyone who causes divisions, since you know that such a person is perverted and sinful, being self-condemned. (Titus 3:10-11)

Notice how both processes end with a warning to dissociate from those who continue to cause rips in the fabric of unity within the Body.

Yesterday, we heard the admonition to stop sowing judgment ourselves. This word takes it one step further. In addition to stopping the behaviour yourself, stop associating with those who continue to sow those seeds.

This may be as simple as changing the topic when divisive comments are made in a conversation rather than encourage further sowing. It could be as drastic as choosing not to spend time with the persistent perpetrator of judgment. Sorry to say this could result in refraining from coffee and meals with some, resigning from a group/committee or removing someone from your present friendship circle.

Yes, it sounds harsh…but, after exhausting all attempts at correction, you may be left with no other choice but to cut some out. Your friends/family may not approve, but, take heart, Jesus does!

The second change is stated by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:29: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

When our churches went through The 4 C’s Fast, we discovered that it was not just enough to refrain from something negative, it was also necessary to replace it with something positive.

So, we trained ourselves to praise rather than criticize, to forgive than condemn, to give thanks when tempted to complain and compliment when we wanted to compare.

The litmus test is very simple. Does it edify, build up another? If yes, we let it out of our mouths. If it does not edify, we edit it. If it will tear someone down, we re-frame and re-phrase it so that it builds them up instead.

This replacement therapy works wonders! Sulojana and I have almost made a game out of it.

Let’s say that we are driving along and I start to say something that is not edifying of another. In the early days of practising this, she would pipe up: “4 C’s!” That’s all it would take for me to stop mid-sentence and turn it around.

These days, praise God, I catch myself just about every time and promptly apply a gentle slap on my mouth with one hand. That serves to “give my head a shake” and moves me from tearing down to building up in a big hurry!

Please note I am not advocating self-flagellation here, but, editing 4 C’s out of my speech is the single most important change that has helped me grow in my Christian walk over the past two years. Not surprisingly, there has also been a noticeable change in the way God has been using me in ministry.

Could it be because I do not “grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30) with my speech as much as before?

In any event, dear friend, as we conclude this journey, would you also cut out and add on, as prescribed by Jesus and Paul?

May we all continue to experience greater at.one.ment with God, with one another and within the Body all the days of our lives.

No one in church that evening was prepared for how the guest minister opened up his talk.

“I want to first of all apologize to you folks and to your denomination on behalf of our church.”

All of us, including me, waited with bated breath to hear what the apology was all about. To my knowledge, they had done nothing that required an apology.

If anyone should be apologizing, it should be us, I was thinking, as I re-hashed some of the derisive comments that had been levelled against their church by some people in our denomination.

He went on to say: “When your denomination made a controversial decision around homosexuality, we totally disagreed with it…and still do. But in voicing our disagreement, we had allowed judgment to enter our heart. Later on, when our church experienced a move of the Holy Spirit that aroused controversy, we were on the receiving end of judgment from many churches. Therefore I sensed a nudge from the Holy Spirit to ask for your forgiveness, so that we do not continue to reap more judgment from others.”

The respect I already had for this man of God went up exponentially that night. In case you are wondering, the minister in question was none other than my spiritual father, Steve Long, Senior Pastor of Catch the Fire Toronto (formerly Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, Toronto Airport Vineyard or simply the Airport Church).

We began this week by reminding ourselves of Jesus’ desire that His Body be one as He is one with the Father, so that “the world may believe”that Jesus is who He really is, namely, the only Son sent by His Father. (John 17:21)

When members of the Body voice their disagreements with one another in public (as we sadly see and hear often in the broadcast media) or slander one another in private, should we even wonder why the world does not want to believe who Jesus really is?

That is the #1 reason why we need to think twice about using the 4 C’s against another branch of the Vine. (The 4 C’s—criticism, condemnation, complaining and comparing).

The apostle James gives us another reason: “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:11-12)

The apostle Paul stresses the same point in Romans 14:10: “So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.”

Jesus puts it quite sternly as well: “And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” (Matthew 12:36-37)

Have you ever wondered what would happen if all we did was simply stop talking ill of another member of the Body of Christ—be it someone within our own congregation, another denomination, a leader, etc.?

The world would surely come to see who Jesus really is, fall in love with Him and ask us as did the Philippian jailer: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”(Acts 16:30)

If that were not good enough reason, we get a bonus too! As we stop sowing seeds of judgment, we stop reaping harvests of judgment as did Catch the Fire Toronto. A double win!

So, dear friend, would you once again ask Holy Spirit to show where you might be still thinking and speaking ill of others in the Church? When He shows you names, faces, pictures, would you be humble enough to admit your sin, seek forgiveness and repent?

I pray that your repentance will also include a rock-solid commitment to never ever speak ill of another who is also attached to the same True Vine as you are.

On Day 19 of the Fast, we tackle the rather sensitive subject of traditions within the Body of Christ that could potentially stand in the way of us experiencing at.one.ment with our Lord.

Let me start with a word of caution…just because traditions were instituted by human beings is not enough reason to disregard or dismiss them altogether as being obstacles to experiencing at.one.ment.

We need to grasp the distinction that is in Scripture to ensure that we do not fall into this error.

On the one hand, we see the apostle Paul encouraging the Church to honour certain traditions and not ignore or discard them.

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15)

“Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.”(I Corinthians 11:2)

Addressing the young church as a father, he reminds them that what they learned from him, either in person or on papyrus, was worthy of keeping.

However, Paul also points out the danger inherent in upholding other traditions in Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”(Colossians 2:8)

In this instance, Paul makes it clear that any tradition that is not based on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ is to be avoided.

Even before the Church was established, Jesus had some harsh words to say about human traditions. Take this snippet, for example: “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” (Mark 7:6-8)

Although Jesus is specifically addressing the traditions of the Jewish faith (eating without ritually washing hands clean first, in this instance), his words should be a warning to all of us who are part of the Body of Christ.

Because, the truth of the matter is that nowhere do we find traditions so much a part and parcel of life than in the Church. No matter what your denominational label may be, no matter what tribe you belong to, no matter what community of faith you associate with, chances are very good that you have certain traditions that you follow faithfully.

It could be the way you dress when you go to church, the way you worship, the kind of music that is considered acceptable, the form(s) of baptism that are considered normative, the mode(s) of serving the Lord’s Supper, the version of the Bible that is approved for public reading, ……………………………………….., etc. (please fill in the blanks. Use additional hard drives if necessary!)

When traditions become a substitute for the commandments of God, or worse, when traditions ignore or even supersede the Word of God, that is when they can stand in the way of attaining at.one.ment with Jesus Christ, and certainly within His Body.

A simple litmus test might be to see if the tradition is being upheld simply to please people while displeasing God or does it bring a smile to our Father’s face, even if it leaves people with a frown.

As Peter and John told the Sanhedrin in Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

A good exercise today might be to jot down all the traditions that are inherent in the way you follow Jesus in your pod of the Bod. Ask Holy Spirit to show you which (if any) of them are stumbling blocks to at.one.ment.

Repent (if necessary), remove the obstacle and receive the blessing of greater at.one.ment with Jesus and within His body. Please.

You should not be surprised to hear that in over three decades of ordained ministry, I have seen my fair share of divisions within the Body—in the congregations I have served and elsewhere.

Neither should you be shocked to learn that I must shoulder or at least share the burden of responsibility for some of these divisions.

While it is true that some divisions were theological in origin, sadly, many of them came about because of personal preferences, prejudices, positions and opinions—even when they could be justified by an appeal to Scripture, conscience, personal communication from God, church history, …………(please fill in the blanks), etc.

You may be startled to learn that, almost without exception, the Bible comes down very hard on those responsible for causing division.

The list of seven things that are an abomination to the Lord in Proverbs 6 includes “one who sows discord among brethren” (v. 19).

The apostle Paul issues this warning: I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites (Romans 16:17-18).

That is pretty harsh, isn’t it? “Not serving our Lord, but our own appetites.”I don’t know about you, but I have to admit that satisfying my appetites for a certain kind of doctrine, practice, music, style, form, etc. has at times taken precedence and caused division.

Scripture is also unequivocal in attributing the origin of divisions to the flesh (carne).

For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? (I Corinthians 3:3-4)

Let me be the first to admit that whenever I was responsible for causing division, I was too caught up in myself—my pain, my predisposition, my pet belief to even consider whether or not it would be divisive.

Since I was able to justify it in my mind, usually with an appeal to a Scripture passage, I saw no problem in ploughing right through like a bulldozer. It was only when I saw the carnage that resulted from my carnal behaviour that I realized what I had done.

Here comes the most serious indictment of them all: These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and DO NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT (Jude 19).

Where Holy Spirit is present and allowed full reign, unity should be the order of the day, not division. I shudder to consider the possibility that when I sowed seeds of division, I was not totally yielded to the Holy Spirit, but had inadvertently allowed an evil spirit to wield its influence through me.

If nothing else sways you, that scary thought should give cause to pause before you say or do something that could be potentially divisive, amen?

So, dear friend, on Day 18 of the Fast, would you examine your heart? Ask Holy Spirit to show you where you may have allowed your carnal appetites and behaviour to cause division within the Body of Christ. Repent and make at.one.ment with the Lord.

Where you have been adversely affected by the carnal appetites and behaviour of others within the Church, would you simply forgive them and move on?

Finally, would you pray in unity with all of us who are on this Fast that the Church of Jesus Christ would be vigilant about the origin of divisions and nip them in the bud before they lead to disaster?

Let’s do our part to honour Jesus’ desire for At.One.Ment within the Body, shall we?  

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (I Corinthians 1:11-13, 17)

There is no getting around the stark reality that leaders cause division within the Church. If it is any consolation, this is not a new problem that started to happen in the past few decades or even centuries. It goes back all the way to the early days of the early Church.

The church in Corinth is a perfect (?) example, as you can tell from the blunt words used by the apostle Paul in this passage and again in I Corinthians 3:3-15.

One of our churches went through a split a few decades back when the incumbent pastor took a good number of families with him and started up a new congregation at a location no more than 5 minutes from where we are right now. Some of our readers may have experienced something similar as well.

Of course, not all divisions lead to splits. Sometimes the schisms are present within a congregation itself. Trust me, I’ve been there.

In certain cases, there are factions within the congregation who still hold allegiance to former pastors or choose the theological leaning of a televangelist over that of their own leader. Today, there are church members who would rather listen to someone on the internet whom they do not know than the leader who is right in their midst L

Virtually everywhere I go, I am (mis)treated to sad stories of how a former leader in the Church was responsible for causing division. Sometimes it was a doctrinal position or a worship style or a policy change. Sometimes it was because of their moral failure, with sex and money being the top two culprits. Sometimes it was a clear abuse of pastoral authority.

In any event, leaders cause division. Members take offense. At times leaders take offense as well. It’s a big mess. Unforgiveness is in the air, bringing great joy to “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). Holy Spirit is grieved when “bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” are released into the atmosphere as manifestations of a divisive spirit. (Ephesians 4:30-31)

Needless to say at.one.ment within the Body is severely compromised.

Have you witnessed division within the Body of Christ that was brought about by a leader in the Church, dear friend?

Perhaps it happened in your own church. Or in another branch of the Vine.

On Day 17 of the Fast, shall we make a concerted effort to bring about at.one.ment within the Body where it has been breached by leaders?

If you have allowed a leader’s words or actions to generate offense in your heart, would you please forgive from the heart and remove it before it turns into a bitter root?

Also, would you pray for others, including leaders who have caused divisions, that they would repent and/or forgive as necessary? This way, we will accelerate the fulfilment of Jesus’ desire that we all may be as one as He and the Father are one.

Thank You for honouring this fasting directive.

Yesterday, we moved to Week 3 of the 21 Days of At.One.Ment Fast by focusing on Jesus’ desire for the Body, summed up in these words from his prayer: “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:21)

Today, we remind ourselves of the design Jesus had in mind for the church and revealed to us through the apostle Paul.

The first part of the design is captured in these words found in I Corinthians 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

Please note that according to the apostle Paul, the body is not an analogy for the church, but the reality of the Church. The Church IS the Body of Christ.

Every part needs to contribute to the well-being of the Body. In practical terms, this means that every one of us needs to use our spiritual gifts in order that the Body may function as it was designed.

When the body parts are not doing what they are supposed to do, then at best the Body is dysfunctional, at worst diseased.

Dear friend, would you take a moment now and ask Holy Spirit if you are using your spiritual gift appropriately in the Body?

The second part of Jesus’ design for the Church is found in Ephesians 4:11-13: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”   

This is often referred to as the fivefold model. When you look at the book of Acts and read through the epistles, it is easy to see that all five offices were active and functioning.

Sadly, over the centuries, pastors have played a leading role with teachers and evangelists relegated to the supporting cast. Prophets are granted guest appearances on occasion. Apostles seem to play “the heavy” if they ever show up at all.

The passage from Ephesians 4 seems to suggest that all five offices are needed for the Body to be built up, for us all to retain unity and attain maturity. Elsewhere, Paul stresses the significance of the first two offices when he says that the Church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”(Ephesians 2:20).

Jesus’ design for the Church is key to realizing His desire for the Church.

Would you say that this design is part of the Church where you are situated right now?

So, friends, on this Day 16 of the Fast, shall we pray that the Body of Christ around the world will implement both critical components of Jesus’ design?

Let us pray that every follower of Jesus will discover and deploy his/her spiritual gift(s) for the building up of the Body.

Let us also pray that the leaders of the Church will recognize the need for the fivefold ministry to be in place first of all. Then, may they have the courage to make the necessary changes to ensure that Jesus’ design is honoured and His desire fulfilled.

Congratulations to those of you who have been journeying along with us on the 21 Days of At.One.Ment Fast since Sept. 22! We have completed 14 full days and are now entering the home stretch. I trust it has been a blessing to you so far.

For the first seven days, we focused on experiencing more At.One.Ment with God, as we addressed several factors that stand in the way. For the past week, we have been getting rid of any offense we may have allowed to enter into our spirit, so that we could be more at one with one another than ever before.

This week, we single out at.one.ment within the Body of Christ, even though it would fit under the broader category of at.one.ment with one another.

Why? Because Jesus was so concerned about it that he made it a major focus of his longest recorded prayer in John 17. It was also one of the very last prayers he offered while he walked this earth as one of us. Listen to these words:

“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me.” (vs. 20-23)

Notice how much Jesus stresses unity within the Body! It is Jesus’ desire that His body reflect the unity that exists between Him and His Father.

Please pay attention also to why Jesus deems this a necessity for the Church. “So that the world may believe…then the world will know…that you have sent me.” (v. 21, 23)

In other words, unity within the Body is essential for the world to know that Jesus is who we say that He really is! Wow!

Sad to say, when we stay divided and fail to mirror the unity between Jesus and the Father, then we become a stumbling block for the world. Our disunity can actually prevent the world from believing in Jesus by diminishing our witness. Ouch!

You do not need me to point out that this is indeed the case. Every time there is a church split, every time there is a quarrel within a church, every time leaders within the Body take pot shots at each other, every time there is competition among congregations, every time………………………………………………(fill in the blanks with what you have experienced), we could be standing in the way of the world coming to know Christ.

That is why we are taking seven full days to pray for At.One.Ment within the Body. Is it fair to say that His heart is saddened by the sight of a dysfunctional, diseased body whose members are at war with one another?

Wouldn’t you love to be part of a concerted effort to fulfil Jesus’ desire for At.One.Ment within the Church?

So, dear friend, I invite you to begin today by asking Jesus to reveal His heart for His Church to you. Would you please share any revelations you receive with the rest of us? Thanks in advance.