Psst! Wanna hear a secret? It has to do with my IPhone. At the time of writing, my online activities have used up 100 Mb of data. This is Day 6 of the billing period. Why is this significant, you ask?

Until last month, this would’ve been cause for concern. You see, the previous plan allowed for only 500 Mb total usage for the entire month…which would mean that I had already used up 20% of that allowance.

In order to avoid paying additional charges, I would need to be extremely vigilant to ensure that the 500Mb mark was not exceeded. No downloading mp3’s, no viewing videos 🙁

All of that changed with this month’s newly-negotiated plan. Thanks to a promotional offer, I now have 2 Gb of data, which is four times my previous allowance (with a price reduction to boot, yeah, God!).

Do the math…there is still 1.9 Gb left to use up this month before being penalized. The same pressure is not there anymore when only 5% has been used to date.

Makes a big difference when you work from abundance, doesn’t it?

Listen to the apostle Paul’s reminder to us in Ephesians 1:3—“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

“Has blessed us.” This is a fait accompli. It has already been done.

“Every spiritual blessing.” Everything we need is already in place.

Yes, it is in heavenly places…but did Jesus not teach us to pray: “on earth as it is in heaven?”

The reason it is stored in heavenly places is so that it can be accessed by us here on earth!

When we are aware of this reality, then we can work from abundance.

However, when we look only at what we have that is visible, tangible and discernible, it is easy to conclude that we will soon run out of what little we have left.

So, for example, we can look at a declining balance in a bank account and decide that we cannot afford to give any more, so we’d better hoard all we’ve got left.

The word of God assures us: “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work…You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:8, 11)

In other words, as we give, the Lord gives back to us…and we realize that He has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing.

When we are aware of His abundance, then we are no longer reluctant to release what He has entrusted to us, amen?

No matter what our need may be—love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, health, finances, unity—He has what we need…and then some.

When we realize that we have access to this abundance, then we do not have to act out of anxiety that what we have will soon be exhausted.

Instead we can act with the confidence that comes from knowing that there is more coming our way than what we have right now.

Dear DWOD friend, how would your life change when you realize that you work from abundance, not scarcity? Please share your responses with the rest of your DWOD family.

And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18).

“Dirty Paki!”

The mere sight of a person with brownish skin tones would trigger this racial slur, normally from a white-skinned person back in the 70’s in a city such as Toronto.

However, when summer came, some of the very same people would go all out to get temporary tans so they could look like us. They called it “tanning.”

The irony was not lost on those of us with permanent tans 🙂

Frankly, it was quite fascinating to see how pale white skin would sport varied hues of brown, aided and abetted by bronzing lotions at times.

(We will refrain from commenting on those who ended up looking like Red Indians…lol!)

All it took was for a person to lie down and start soaking up the rays of the Sun.

Those of you who have been DWOD subscribers for a while now will be familiar with our emphasis on the spiritual discipline of Soaking. You can find out more by revisiting earlier posts beginning with the DWOD for January 11, 2013.

Simply put, all you do is simply lie down and rest in the Presence of the Lord.
You do not read your Bible during this time.
You do not pray during this period.
You do not praise.
You do not sing or hum along with the music that is playing.
You simply relax.
You simply receive.
You simply let the anointing wash over you.
You simply allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you in whatever way He chooses to do at the time.

What can you expect to receive from Soaking?

Most first-time soakers report experiencing a sense of peace.
Some receive healing—physical, emotional and spiritual.
Some receive revelation to guide them in their daily lives.
Some receive solutions to problems.
Some receive visions (or dreams if they happen to fall asleep…lol!)

Those who soak repeatedly and consistently notice transformation in their character leading to changes in behaviour.

In my case, the most noticeable change had to do with anger. I used to be quite a hothead, blowing off steam with alarming regularity.

After soaking for a few minutes every day for a couple of months, my family noticed the change. No more road rage. I was more like a calm sage.

As today’s Scripture reminds us, it is the Father’s desire that we be transformed more and more into the image of Jesus, so that we may reflect Him in our thoughts, words and actions. This is exactly what Holy Spirit does when we soak

The key, as in tanning, is to place ourselves in a position where He can penetrate the depths of our being with His laser light beams, remove what is not of Him and replace it with more of Him.

Hard to believe, but such dramatic change is possible by simply soaking the rays of the Son.

Dear DWOD friend, if you have not yet made soaking a part of your daily life, may I encourage you to do so right away? Just go to www.soaking.net and get started!

May I also encourage our “Super Soakers” to share with the rest of the DWOD family how Soaking has been a blessing to you? Thanks in advance for your prompt response.

The second half of 2 Samuel 12 records one of the lowest moments in King David’s life. The son who was the product of his sordid affair with Bathsheba falls ill. How does David respond to the child’s illness? In verses 16-17 we read:

David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.

This went on for six days. Finally on the seventh day the child died. How does David respond to the child’s death?

So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. (v. 20)

His servants are flabbergasted by the king’s behaviour. They blurt out in exasperation: “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” (v. 21)

Here is David’s explanation: “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (vs 22-23)

Life resumes as usual for David from that point onwards. He and Bathsheba work on their next co-production in reproduction, who turns out to be Solomon.

As we read this account, we are struck by how quickly David is able to put the pain of the past behind him. Perhaps it would be more accurate to talk about how David is willing to put the pain of the past behind him.

Yes, he had committed adultery. Yes, he had committed murder. Yes, his blatant disregard for the commandments of God produced disastrous consequences. Yes, a poor innocent child lost his life as a result.

Was there room for guilt? Yes. Were there any regrets? Yes. Was it traumatic? Yes.

Yet, David makes a deliberate decision not to dwell on the past, but to move into the future. Therefore he ends his fast and eats to his heart’s content.

He does one more thing as well, which is recorded for us in 2 Samuel 12:12. When the prophet Nathan confronts him about his sin, David confesses without any hesitation: “I have sinned against the Lord.” You will be struck by the poignancy of the prayer he offers to God in this context when you read Psalm 51.

With these two crucial steps, David demonstrates a key requirement for advancing into your destiny.

Get over what’s over as quickly as possible.

Because, you see, when you continue to rehearse and re-hash failures and sins of the past, you actually end up retreating away from your destiny. You get stuck in the past and you cannot move forward.

Unless you get over it, you will be caught under it. That is not a pretty place to be 🙁

My dear DWOD friend, if indeed you find yourself caught up in any kind of pain from the past today, would you also follow David’s example right now so you can be set free?

Confess what you said or did to the Lord. Receive His forgiveness. Refuse to remain in the past.

Get over what’s over and watch God advance you into your destiny.

(On this Father’s Day, the DWOD is a column I wrote for the St. Catharines Standard about a valuable lesson I learned from my dad,  Rev. Dr. Edward Sam. May you be blessed by it!)

One of the most traumatic events of my life happened in August 1980. I was driving back to Ontario, having successfully completed an internship in Regina, Saskatchewan.

It had been a great summer for this 22 year-old seminarian, full of opportunities to experience firsthand the life of a minister in the United Church of Canada. It was confirmation of the choice I had made to dedicate my life to serving Jesus in this capacity.

In addition to all the memories, I also brought back two personal treats I had allowed myself to acquire with the stipend provided by the Church.

The first was a professionally justifiable investment in some new articles of clothing from a men’s wear store that was going out of business.

The second was an upgrade of the AM-only radio in my car to an FM & cassette player stereo—an absolute necessity for any university student at the time, amen? Lol.

As the lime-green Datsun B210 sped its way through the straight-as-a-lace asphalt ribbon known as the Trans-Canada Highway through golden fields of wheat in Manitoba followed by the winding roads of forest s in North-Western Ontario, I was even more appreciative of the latter investment, as there were very few radio signals to be picked up, except the good old CBC.

Somewhere between Dryden and Thunder Bay, I sensed an urge to listen to Billy Joel’s best ever album, “The Stranger.” In the process of finding and inserting this cassette into the player, I took my eyes off the road for a few seconds.

By the time my gaze returned to the highway, I could see a telephone pole headed straight for me at an alarming speed. I quickly realized that I was driving on the shoulder.

In utter panic I hit the brake hard and steered sharply to the left in order to avoid a fateful encounter with the beam, which I did, thank God! However, the gravel surface of the shoulder caused the car to skid and shoot right across the highway and roll over several times before landing on its wheels in a muddy ditch.

Dazed and bruised by pieces of glass from the broken windshield, I managed to get out of the car, flag down a mobile home and meet with an O.P.P. officer, who promptly issued me a $128 ticket for careless driving (with a bonus of 6 demerit points to boot!) before depositing me in a clinic where I got cleaned up.

To make a long story short, I spent a good chunk of next year’s tuition over the next 24 hours–staying at a motel, catching a bus to Thunder Bay, a cab to the airport and a flight to Toronto, where I was greeted by a grateful father and mother who were so glad to see their son back home alive after this near-brush with death.

The very next morning, as Dad and I entered the garage of our home in Bath to drive into Kingston to file a claim with the insurance company for the totalled vehicle, my father did something that was totally unexpected.

As I proceeded to open the passenger door, he stopped me, handed me the keys to his car and said: “You’re driving.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, as I could not fathom my father’s confidence in me so soon after my act of negligence. Before I could protest, he simply said: “Let’s go.” And off we went.

Nearly thirty-three years later, that incident still stands out as one of the most memorable lessons I learned from my father.

Thanks, Dad, for mirroring our heavenly Father who is “slow to anger and quick to forgive.” (Numbers 14:18).

Having been the beneficiary of such benevolence, may I continue to extend such grace to Priya, Sathiya and Jaya, the three children I have fathered with Sulojana as well as the many spiritual sons and daughters to whom I am a “father” in the Lord.

“Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.” (Daniel 6:3)

Scripture makes two things clear about excellence:

#1. We can expect excellence of our God. E.g. “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:1, 9)

#2. Our God expects excellence of us. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

The main reason for us to strive for excellence in all we do is simply because that is how we reflect the image of our Creator! Like Father, like child, amen?

A secondary reason is that excellence is noticed, appreciated, applauded and rewarded.

This is clearly demonstrated in the life of Daniel. Though he was a Hebrew immersed in Babylonian culture, he was able to stand head and shoulders above everyone else, “because an excellent spirit was in him.”

He got the attention of the king who “gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.”

Wow!

That is the power of excellence to attract the attention of others, especially those in positions of influence who are always on the lookout for clones of Daniel today!

A lesser known Biblical illustration of excellence is found in Genesis 24. Abraham’s senior servant is on a search for a bride for Isaac. As he sits by the well in Nahor he decides to look for excellence: Let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. (v. 14)

Sure enough, when Rebekah shows up, that is exactly what she does. She demonstrates excellence by going above and beyond what was expected of her. The “excellent spirit” in her does not go unnoticed. The servant invites himself to Rebekah’s household, works out the details of the dowry, gets her family to sign a release…and the rest is history.

Rebekah’s ascent from being a glorified maid to becoming matriarch of Israel’s #1 family begins with the excellence with which she served a total stranger at a well.

On the road to your destiny, there will be times when you may be tempted to cut corners, do a shoddy job hoping no one will notice, and simply settle for mediocrity.

If it does attract attention, you can be guaranteed that the consequences are not likely to be positive for you!

If, on the other hand, you press in and let your excellence shine through in everything, you will not only attract attention, you will receive promotion, as Daniel & Rebekah did.

But, excellence does not come automatically. It is something we need to desire and keep in front of us all the time.

As the apostle Paul put it in Philippians 4:8: ” Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

How about you, dear DWOD friend? Could you be accused and convicted of excellence?

Quick. Name the easiest way to add a year or more to your lifespan without having to make drastic changes to your diet, giving up addictions or becoming fit.

Are you ready for it?

Flossing.

According to studies done at Emory University by the Centres for Disease Control, common gum problems such as gingivitis and periodontitis lead to a 23%-46% higher rate of death.

In his book, Real Age, Dr. Michael F. Roizen writes that “flossing your teeth daily can make your arteries younger…studies show that flossing helps keep your immune system young.”

Estimates vary, but experts suggest that regular flossing can add anywhere from 1 to 6 plus years to your life!

How is this possible? Here is one explanation:

“When you floss, you help prevent your gums from becoming inflamed. That’s a good thing. What is happening when your gums are inflamed is that you have a chronic bacterial infection in your mouth. This harms your arteries through two mechanisms:
•    the bacteria find their way in to your arteries and hang out (causing plaques), and
•    your body mounts an immune response to the bacteria in your mouth, causing inflammation (which in turn can cause your arteries to narrow). This makes it hard for your heart to do its job and can lead to heart disease.”

Don’t you find it alarming that failing to floss can have such serious consequences?

What is true in the physical is even truer in the spiritual, isn’t it?

For example, when we allow ungodly thoughts to remain too long in our spirit, then they affect our heart adversely, do they not?

Take anger, for example. Anger left unattended leads to resentment. Resentment begets bitterness. Bitterness births rage. Rage could potentially lead to murder.

No wonder we are cautioned in Hebrews 12:15: “See to it that…no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

The sooner the anger is flossed out of the system, the better.

The apostle Paul stresses the urgency with which we need to do this in Ephesians 4:26: “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry…”

Floss it out before you go to bed, just as you would floss your teeth before you hit the hay, before it leads to inflammatory behaviour.

In the very next verse, he warns us that failure to floss could end up in giving the devil a toothhold, I mean, foothold.

It gives him an access point from which he can work his destruction all the way into our heart. We keep on sinning and end up paying the wages of sin, which is death.

That is why we are told in no uncertain terms to “guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23).

Yes, this spiritual flossing will keep your heart pure, strong and healthy. For all we know, it could even add years to your life!