“For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him”. (Matthew 6:8)

“Oh! I see you’ve got the Flashlight app on your phone, eh?”

“Yup!”

“I’ve thought about downloading it, but haven’t done it yet. Not sure I will.”

Frankly, this little snippet of a conversation was not even meant for my ears. It was part of a longer exchange between my son and his cousin while we were visiting my sister a week ago today.

Normally I would have completely ignored this conversation. But for some unknown reason it got my attention.

I sensed this urgent nudge in my spirit to check it out.

I quickly went to the App Store on my IPhone and looked for it.

Apparently it would turn your phone into a bright flashlight.

I checked the price. The price was right. (Free, in case you were wondering!)

Do I need this or not?

It was as though I heard a voice say: “Just get the App.”

Before I could change my mind, I quickly downloaded it.

It was now time to head home, so I didn’t even have a chance to test it until we made it back home two hours later.

I was impressed with the bright light that my phone emitted.

I knew it would come in handy sometime in the near future. Better to have a flashlight than not for that rare occasion, eh?

Well, I didn’t have to wait all that long.

The very next night, I was at the “More” service at Lakemount Worship Centre in Grimsby.

At the end of the service, my friend Clint Barley, who serves on the Pastoral Team at Lakemount, offered to give me a tour of the renovations and additions that were in progress.

We kept walking from one room to another with running commentary from Clint. Soon we came to a set of stairs that would take us one level down.

“Oops, I think I left my phone in my office. Do you have a light in your phone?” queried Clint.

I smiled.

“Of course, I do, Clint.”

It took me a couple of minutes to get to the Flashlight App and get the light to come on.

“Oh! I see you’ve got the Flashlight app on your phone, eh?”

“Yup.”

That’s when I realized why God had allowed me to eavesdrop on the conversation between Sathiya and Jacquline and then prodded me to download the app.

Believe me when I tell you that without the flashlight, we would have never made it through the rest of the tour safely.

Isn’t it kind of God to give us these nudges in advance?

Have you experienced something similar?

Would you please share with the rest of your DWOD family how you have experienced the truth of Jesus’ words: “For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him”. 

Thanks in advance.

They caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. (Luke 5:6-7)

The wheat harvest of 1982 in Saskatchewan was something to behold. Lifelong farmers remarked that it was a phenomenon that only occurred once every few decades.

Some even said that they had only heard of such bumper crops. They had never experienced one of such magnitude in their farming careers to date.

Where one would normally see only one combine at work on a field, it was not uncommon to see multiple combines, as in the accompanying photograph.

Farmers teamed up with one another to help take the crop off the field in good time. All one had to do was call upon a neighbour to give them a hand. It was done.

This scenario was very similar to what the fishermen experienced that day when they cast their nets deep as Jesus had instructed.

The haul of fish was so great that they could not bring it all in by themselves.

“So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats.”

Jesus described the harvest of souls in the Kingdom as “plentiful.” (Luke 10:2)

The Greek word “polys” that is translated plentiful signifies a very large number, a “great multitude” as in Revelation 18:2.

The scope of this harvest is so great that it cannot be handled by the existing labour force. That is why Jesus asks us to “pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.”

The image of the fishermen signalling to their partners is something that the Lord wants to impress upon us, I believe.

The harvest of souls that the Lord desires to give His Church is so large that it cannot be brought in by any person, congregation or denomination acting solo.

It calls for partnership with those in other “boats” to come alongside.

When you study the great revivals of history, you will discover something common to all of them.

They began in one particular location, usually in a specific congregation.

However, the revivals that kept on increasing in intensity and in numbers were sustained only when the captain of that boat signalled to partners in other boats to come alongside them.

One that I am most familiar with happened in Toronto in 1994.

John and Carol Arnott, who were pastoring the Airport Vineyard Church, immediately signalled to their partners in local churches of other denominations to come alongside.

One of the key couples who helped sustain the momentum of the so-called Toronto Blessing, Steve and Sandra Long, were “loaned” by the Baptist Church for that particular purpose.

(Considering how far apart the Vineyard and the Baptist Church were theologically, that was nothing short of miraculous!)

The great move of God that is to come will undoubtedly call for such partnerships as well.

The willingness I see among pastors and leaders in certain areas to minister side by side in unity is a very good sign that God will entrust His harvest into their hands.

When congregations and denominations behave as though they do not need one another, could we be unintentionally delaying the Great Harvest?

I believe that the Lord is calling us to develop relationships with one another right now.

This way, when it is time to bring in the great catch of fish, we too will be signalling our partners, amen?

They caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:6-8)

How would you respond if you had just witnessed this miraculous catch of fish?

Wouldn’t you at least go “Wow!” for starters?

Wouldn’t you be tempted to jump up and down for joy when you start figuring out how much this catch would fetch you in the market?

OK, let’s say you were not blessed with such an exuberant personality. Wouldn’t you at least spit out a conservative: “Thank you, Jesus?”

Yet, Peter does none of the above.

His response is rather startling, wouldn’t you say? “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

It would appear that two things happened to provoke such a response.

Firstly, Peter received a revelation of who Jesus really was.

Secondly, he saw himself as he really was in the light of this revelation.

This revelation of the Holy One results in Peter seeing himself as the Sinful One.

Hence the unexpected response.

It is reminiscent of the call of Isaiah as recorded in chapter 6.

When he sees the Lord, “high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple,” only one response is appropriate:

“Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Or consider Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. He knew Jesus as the one whom all these Christians called the Messiah and was determined to snuff out this new movement in its infancy.

When he receives the revelation of Jesus in the blinding light and the voice from heaven, everything changes.

You could say that in this instance, Revelation Results in Salvation.

Pastor Che Ahn once shared that at the end of a service at HRock Church in Pasadena, California, a young woman told him that she did not really need Jesus as she was quite happy with her Buddhist faith.

Che resisted the temptation to convince her that who she really needed was Jesus, not Buddha.

He offered a simple prayer instead: “Jesus, will you reveal yourself to this young woman so she can see you as you really are?”

Then he simply walked away from her and kept on praying for others.

When he came back that way, she was sobbing uncontrollably and wanted to know how she could become a follower of Jesus.

What was responsible for this change?

Elementary, dear Emily! Jesus answered Che Ahn’s prayer and revealed himself to her.

Is there someone you know who needs to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour?

Are you hesitant about how to impress this upon them?

Perhaps you have already exhausted every resource at your disposal.

How about following Che’s example?

I invite you to pray right now:

“Jesus, will you reveal yourself to ……….. (name) so he/she can see you as you really are?”

I pray that you will discover that Revelation Results in Salvation.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. (Luke 5:4-6)

Peter and his partners are exhausted from toiling all night–casting the nets but catching no fish. When Jesus shows up, they are washing the nets, which means they are putting everything away for the day.

What they need the most right now is time to get rested up, refreshed and ready to hit the high seas again the next night.

Jesus tells them to get back out there again, exhaustion and all. Not just to cast the nets a few feet away from shore. He wants them to go deep.

How does Peter, a professional fisherman with a commercial fishing boat and industrial strength nets respond to this recommendation from a professional carpenter who has absolutely no experience in fishing?

If you were a dentist, would you take advice on how to do a root canal from the Roto-Rooter guy?

Duh!

Peter could’ve pooh-poohed Jesus’ directive. Instead he says:

“Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”

Nevertheless. That is the key word in this narrative.

It doesn’t make sense in the natural.

No sensible professional fisherman would do what you’re suggesting, Jesus.

Nevertheless.

Ever find yourself in Peter’s crocs?

It makes no sense to forgive considering the hurt they have caused us. Seems like they’re getting off the hook easy.

Nevertheless at Your word, I will forgive.

It makes no sense to tithe considering we can’t make ends meet on 100%. How are we going to do it on 90%?

Nevertheless at Your word, I will tithe.

No sensible person would give up a good-paying job and head off to some godforsaken jungle mission field in a godless nation in the name of God.

Nevertheless at Your word, I will go.

No sensible church would re-locate from an affluent neighbourhood to the downtown core just so they could serve the least of these.

Nevertheless at Your Word, we will move.

Now it’s your turn to fill in the blanks. Here, let me get you started.

It makes no sense to …………………. considering ………………………

Nevertheless at Your word, I will …………………………..

No sensible person would ……………………………………………………………………………………..

Nevertheless at Your word, I will……………………………

Peter would concur. And Jesus will smile.

I heard Jack Taylor quote part of this poem at the recent Pastors and Leaders Conference in Toronto and am being led to share it with you.
Upon researching its origins, I have discovered that it was penned by that mysterious and ubiquitous author whose pseudonym is “Anonymous.”
You may find the language a bit dated and jarring at times, but please stay with it…it is intended to be a blessing to all–male and female.

When God wants to drill a man and thrill a man and skill a man…
When God wants to mold a man to play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart to create
So great and bold a man that all the world shall praise…
Watch His methods;
Watch His ways!

How He ruthlessly perfects whom He royally elects…
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into frail shapes of clay that only God understands.
How his tortured heart is crying and he lifts beseeching hands…
How he bends but never breaks when His good he undertakes.
How He uses whom He chooses…with every purpose fuses him;
By every art induces him to try His splendor out…
God knows what He’s about!

When God wants to take a man and shake a man and wake a man…
When God wants to make a man to do the future’s will;
He tries with all His skill…
When He yearns with all His soul to create him large and whole…
With what cunning He prepares him…
How He goads and never spares him!
How He whets him and He frets him and in poverty begets him…
How often He disappoints whom He sacredly anoints!
With what wisdom He will hide him;
Never minding what betide him…
Though his genius sob with slighting and his pride may not forget;
Bids him struggle harder yet!
Makes him lonely so that only God’s high messages shall reach him…
So that He may surely teach him what the hierarchy planned;
And though he may not understand…
Gives him passions to command.
How remorselessly He spurs him…
With terrific ardor stirs him
When He poignantly prefers him.

When God wants to name a man and fame a man and tame a man…
When God wants to shame a man to do His Heavenly best;
When He tries the highest test that His reckoning may bring…
When He wants a [god] or king;
How He reins him and restrains him so his body scarce contains him…
While He fires him and inspires him…
Keeps him yearning, ever burning for that tantalizing goal.
Lures and lacerates his soul…
Sets a challenge for his spirit;
Draws it highest then he’s near it!
Makes a jungle that he clear it;
Makes a desert that he fear it…and subdue it, if he can –
So doth God make a man!

Then
To test his spirit’s wrath
Throw a mountain in his path;
Puts a bitter choice before him and relentlessly stands o’er him…
Climb or perish, so He says…
But, watch His purpose, watch His ways.
God’s plan is wondrous kind – could we understand His mind?
Fools are they who call His blind!

When his feet are torn and bleeding;
Yet his spirit mounts unheeding…
Blazing newer paths and finds;
When the Force that is Divine leaps to challenge every failure,
And His ardour still is sweet –
And love and hope are burning in the presence of defeat!

Lo the crisis, Lo the shouts that would call the leader out…
When the people need salvation doth he rise to lead the nation;
Then doth God show His plan…
And the world has found a man!

“Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” (Luke 5:17)

For the past five years, we have been offering a Healing Service on the third Sunday of every month at either Morgan’s Point or Forks Road East United—the two churches I pastor in Wainfleet Township in the South Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada.

We have seen the Lord set people free from all kinds of pain and illness at these gatherings.

We have witnessed deaf ears being opened up dramatically.

A number of people have testified to receiving emotional healing.

On several occasions, people have made or renewed a commitment to follow Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

In short, Jehovah Rapha has cemented His reputation as the One Who Heals over and over again.

Towards the end of last year, the Lord nudged me to change the name of our service.

After a time of seeking Him in prayer, I was led to Hebrews 2:4 where the writer speaks of “God also bearing witness (to salvation) both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit.”

Thus we held our inaugural SIGNS, WONDERS & MIRACLES MEETING on Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. at Morgan’s Point United Church.

The format of these services is fairly consistent from month to month. We begin with a time of praise and worship and then open up the microphones to anyone who wants to share a testimony of how they have experienced God lately in their lives, particularly in healing.

This is followed by the offering, a message and then ministry as the Holy Spirit leads.

As we started passing the microphone around, several testified about how they had experienced the goodness of God in their lives in recent times.

When Betty Summerhayes got her turn at the mike though, she did not talk about how God had brought her through serious cancer surgery in the past couple of months.

Instead she started sharing what had happened since she came to the meeting that evening.

Lately, Betty’s feet had swollen considerably. As a matter of fact, she had great difficulty getting her feet into her sneakers. They were so tight that it was painful to walk.

During the time of praise and worship, she began to experience a reduction in the swelling. As she held the microphone in her hands, she was able to move her feet around. She estimated a 50% improvement.

We all applauded the goodness of God in bringing about this change and prophesied a 100% change over her.

To make a long story short, by the time the meeting came to an end, her feet were so loose that she was worried they would pop out as she started walking…praise God!

Here is the incredible thing about Betty’s miracle.

When the change began to happen to her feet, no one had laid hands on her. No one had prayed over her. No one had made any declarations over her. She had not come into contact with any prayer cloth.

She simply came in faith, expecting to receive a miracle.

What happened?

As in a meeting that Luke recorded for us in his gospel, “the power of the Lord was present to heal.”

And as we pressed into His Presence in worship, He started releasing His power. Wow!

Have you experienced the power of His Presence in a similar way?

Would you please share your testimonies with the rest of your DWOD family? Thanks in advance.

For the past three days, Sulojana and I have been enjoying the blessings of the Pastors and Leaders Conference at Catch the Fire, Toronto.

One of my great delights over the years has been introducing ministry colleagues who are not all that familiar with the ways of the Holy Spirit to the atmosphere and the anointing that flows so freely here at CTF Toronto.

This year, I was delighted to discover that a minister whom I had encouraged to attend a few months back had indeed decided to come.

This was not Kimberly’s first time here. She had been here in 1996 and experienced the Father’s Love in an incredible way (as she explains in this video).

So, she knew that she was not coming to a mainline denominational Conference 🙂

But even when you come prepared for something entirely different, it can still be a rather unsettling experience for someone who has not been exposed to Holy Spirit joy, healing and other manifestations firsthand with the frequency and intensity that is common at such events.

This afternoon, we had a choice of two workshops.

One was led by the Senior Pastor of CTF Toronto, Steve Long, on how to establish and grow multiple campuses of the same ministry (as they have done).

The other, offered by Carol Arnott, who along with husband John is one of the Founding Pastors, was about experiencing the Holy Spirit.

The précis of Steve’s presentation gave the impression that his workshop would be more logical, loaded with practical steps and strategies.

Carol made it clear that her workshop would include a time for participants to encounter God in a personal way that was sure to impact them powerfully.

Kimberly chose the former, as did I.

As expected, Steve went through a methodical presentation, weaving illustrations from real life, answering questions patiently and demonstrating once again that he is a teacher extraordinaire.

Once the presentation ended, he offered those who so desired an opportunity to receive prayer ministry. He would ask the Holy Spirit to impart the grace everyone needed to follow through with the teaching.

I saw Kimberly standing on the prayer line, along with just about everyone else who was at the workshop. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her gently falling to the ground as Steve prayed for her—a very common sight at this Conference!

As a member of the Prayer Ministry Team, I was ministering to those who were already doing “carpet” time, when I suddenly heard sobbing and weeping coming from behind.

Yes, it was Kimberly who was responsible for these sounds. As I moved closer to her, it was evident that she was experiencing a powerful encounter with the Father that resulted in the expression of strong emotions.

I blessed what the Holy Spirit was doing in her and moved on.

Later on that afternoon, Kimberly explained that she had chosen Steve’s workshop as she simply wanted to be in a place where she could listen, learn and take copious notes of practical solutions. This way she would not have to subject herself to the emotional expressions that would surely be stirred up by receiving prayer ministry in Carol’s workshop 🙂

Aha! God had other plans for Kimberly, though!

She discovered that the God who has been described by various titles such as Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha and Jehovah Nisi, is also known to show up as Jehovah Sneaky!

Can you relate?

We would love to have you share your experiences with the rest of your DWOD family

It was one of the shortest prayers I’ve ever heard anyone offer at our Saturday morning men’s Bible study session, but it caught my attention.

Perhaps it was my propensity to pray in paragraphs that prompted me to take note of this single-sentence offering to the Almighty.

Or it could’ve been the stark contrast to prayers that are normally laden with requests for oneself and for others.

Maybe it was the sincere simplicity…you be the judge.

In a voice that quivered with emotion, he said: “Lord, there is a lot I can pray about this morning…but for now, all I want to say is ‘I love you’ and ‘Thank you.’ Amen.”

You may have heard elsewhere that these are two of the three most important phrases that could be uttered in marriage by one partner to the other (the third one being, ‘I am sorry’).

We all have this need to be loved and to be appreciated. Chances are the relationships we value the most are those in which we are able to give and receive both love and appreciation.

Is that not true of our relationship with God as well?

The pages of the Bible contain numerous reminders of a God who repeatedly reassures His children that they are loved.  e.g. “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).

These words are addressed collectively to the people of Israel, while the following declaration is directed to one individual, Jesus: “You are my Son, whom I love.” (Luke 3:22).

We are also urged to express love and appreciation to God, as in Deuteronomy 6:5:  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

The words “I love you” always elicit a response, don’t they?

Psalm 18:1 is one example of how the recipients of God’s declaration of love reciprocate with their own recitation: “I love you, O LORD, my strength.”

Similarly the encouragement to “give thanks”, i.e. to express appreciation, is found in verses such as this: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever” (I Chronicles 16:34).

Responses abound, such as this one from Psalm 75:1—“We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near; we tell of your wonderful deeds.”

Perhaps the main reason this prayer caught my attention was because it had captured the essence of worship in two simple phrases.

The word “worship” comes from “Worth-ship”, which simply means to give God worth.

Worship is not a time for “gimme” prayers or a time to “get” something.

It is a time to celebrate and cement our relationship to Jesus, which the apostle Paul described as that between a bride and a bridegroom. (Ephesians 5:22-33)

What better way to do this than to simply say: “I love you” and “Thank you?”

Perhaps it will not surprise you to learn that Ches Staley offered this prayer on the very same day that he and Grace celebrated the 40^th anniversary of their marriage.

Would you pray with him this way?

“Lord, there is a lot I can pray about this morning…but for now, all I want to say is ‘I love you’ and ‘Thank you.’ Amen.”

“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:22-23)

In this passage Jesus is talking about a group of people who profess to be his followers, as evidenced by their addressing him as “Lord.”

They were able to do what most onlookers would label as being extraordinary actions.

Yet Jesus deals quite harshly with these superstars who manifest the supernatural in his name.

Why?

Because they were content with WHAT they knew, not WHO they knew.

Look at what happens in Acts 19, where seven sons of Sceva invoked the name of Jesus to drive out evil spirits from a man. Here is Luke’s account:

“One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.”

Why such horrific results?

They thought that deliverance was about WHAT they knew, but discovered much to their horror that it was really about WHO they knew.

Obviously they did not know Jesus!

The word “know” in the Bible has a broader scope than mere head knowledge. The Hebrew word “yada” as well as the Greek word “ginosko” refer to the kind of knowing that one has by experiencing a relationship with another.

When you read in the King James Bible that “Adam knew Eve and she conceived”, you know that her pregnancy did not come about by the two of them exchanging phone numbers and gaining more information about each other from facebook profiles  🙂

The word “know” refers to an intimate knowledge.

Jesus states that he is more interested in his followers knowing him intimately, and not just being informed about him.

To simply learn how to follow him and adhere to his teachings without growing in an intimate relationship with him is simply not acceptable to Jesus.

After all, is this not how Jesus himself lived in relationship with his Father? He often took time to simply be with Him as he went away by himself into the desert places.

Sure he knew how to prophesy, drive out demons and perform many miracles, but it was all done from a place of intimacy with the Father.

Yes, it is important for us to know (in our heads) what it takes to live our lives as followers of Jesus.

However, as Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 7:22-23, what really matters is for us to know Him (in our hearts) intimately.

How about you? Would you say that your relationship with Jesus is more about WHO you know than WHAT you know?

Do I hear a loud “Amen?”

“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” (Psalm 36:9)

The debate started the moment I came home with the newly-purchased pair of corduroy pants.

I bought them because they looked black, even though the label stated very clearly that the colour was navy.

This is not the first time we’ve had issues with colours when purchasing cords for yours truly.

The most recent incident happened in August 2011, when I bought a pair of what I thought were black cords, well, because they were labelled “black”.

Upon laying her beautiful eyes on them, the appropriately named Sulojana (a word that means beautiful eyes!) suggested that the colour was more like a chocolate mocha brown than black.

As much as I protested that they were indeed black because the label said so, I had to admit that they were no more black than I am white J

This time though, the keen-eyed missus actually agreed with me that these cords were indeed black. We had a good laugh over this company that mislabels colours, ha, ha, ha!

Just to be on the safe side, I decided to get the expert opinion of our excellent seamstress Heather (also a DWOD subscriber…she obviously has good taste in spiritual matters too…lol!) when I took them in to reduce the inseam by an inch.

Is it Black or is it Navy?

Heather proceeded to do the thread test. She took a spool of navy thread and a spool of black thread and compared them to the colour of the cords.

It certainly looked blacker than navy-ish.

I thanked Heather for confirming my suspicion and Sulojana’s conclusion with this scientific test which had a 95% chance of being accurate 19 times out of 20!

This morning was the first opportunity I had to go outside wearing them. Needless to say I made sure I wore black socks and the shirt you see in the accompanying picture with lots of black nestled among the other colours.

A quick check in the mirror revealed that the shirt and cords were indeed perfectly matched as you would expect from a guy with a keen eye for fashion (even if he says so himself!)

After running errands all over town, it was now time to head home. As I lifted up my foot to get back into the car, my eyes spied something shocking.

Horror of horrors, my socks and cords did not match. In the light of the sun, it was pretty obvious that the cords were navy and the socks black.

The manufacturer’s label had been right all along (this time anyway). In the artificial lighting of the store and the dim lighting of our closet, it had appeared black. Appearances can be deceiving though, can they not?

The Lord started to speak to me through this experience.

He pointed out how the light in which we view ourselves and others can radically alter our perception.

It could be an artificial light, a human filter that prevents us from seeing as we ought to.

Our standards of comparison are not entirely reliable either, are they? In comparison to another we may look OK even when we are not.

It is only when we see ourselves in the light of the Son that we truly see ourselves as who we really are.

And, in the end, His is the only light that really matters, amen?