Yesterday, one of our leaders shared with me a directive she had received from Holy Spirit. To put it simply, He told her to instruct anyone who had been blessed by her ministry not to name her as the minister who had been used by Him.

This resolve was tested right away as she received a testimony from one of our DWOD subscribers. Sharon had showed up in church on Sunday with what seemed like a severe case of vertigo. She was planning to go home and rest until she felt better.

At that particular juncture in time, her paths crossed with our leader who promptly prayed for healing. The result was noticeable. Sharon was able to stay in church for the service, help with Sunday School, go out for lunch with friends, etc. In short, she had received instant healing from the vertigo-like symptoms.

Our leader was struck by the reference to the “faceless faithful” in yesterday’s DWOD and saw in it a confirmation of what Holy Spirit had downloaded into her spirit. She would go on to instruct Sharon to share her testimony accordingly.

This morning as I read through a contribution by well-known American prophet Bob Jones to The Elijah List, I was struck by the following words:

In 1974, the Father told me that He loves “mashed potatoes” and that is what He wants out of all of us. He wants all of us to come together in unity as one Body. Then when the greater works comes forth, no one person will get the credit. It will be corporate because His Body of Believers will function as one under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and in demonstration of His power.

The Father wants mashed potatoes – to where love is revealed in a remnant group and the love would be revealed for Him, His Son and the Holy Spirit.

The tomato and potato are of the same family. The tomato grows above ground on a vine and represents revealed love that everyone can see. Whereas the potato represents concealed love because it grows underground and remains hidden so only the Father can see it. Now, get ready for this hidden love to be revealed. There’s a revealing of the Father’s love in His Body and the mashed potatoes are the koinonia.

When the Body comes together in love, there’s no distinction between the Believers. Like mashed potatoes, they all look the same and are mixed together for His purpose.

The Lord also reminded me of a prophetic word declared by Canadian prophets Ivan & Isabel Allum in 2006:

“Prepare my people to receive the ministry of Jesus. The time is coming soon when the season of the ministries of men will come to an end and the ministry of Jesus will be restored and released again. The ministry of Jesus will be given to those who have become part of the ‘nameless and faceless’ generation that I have been preparing for the last 15 years.”

Nameless, faceless generation. Mashed potatoes. That’s you and me, friend. In the Kingdom, our destinies are intertwined. Isn’t that awesome? Praise God!

His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (Matthew 25:21)

Many of our subscribers live in countries where November 11 is set aside to remember the sacrificial price paid by men and women who fought in wars and conflicts to either purchase, defend or preserve the freedom they enjoy today.

Here in Canada we call it Remembrance Day. You may observe it as Armistice Day or Veterans Day or another name.

Over the past couple of days, a number of my Facebook friends have changed their profile picture to that of a loved one or friend who is counted among the vast numbers of those who laid down their lives for us.

Most of us, however, are not able to do that. We do not know their names. We have no idea what they looked like. Even when we see their names engraved on a memorial plaque or wall or posted on a website, we cannot attach a face to them.

Yet, we are so grateful that they were willing to serve their countries when duty called or demanded.

Is it fair to say that most, if not all of them, would have never known that one day their memories would be hallowed and honoured? Perhaps they did not even realize the significance of their act of service and its impact upon succeeding generations.

But, we who live now, do. We remember them. We thank God for them. We appreciate their faithfulness to fulfil their assignment.

In the so-called Parable of the Talents, Jesus reminds us that He (the Master) values above all the fact that His servants were “faithful over a few things.”

What matters is not how much was entrusted into their hands. Whether it was 5, 2 or 1, what really mattered was what each servant did with the talent(s) they had received as a gracious gift from their Master.

Did the servants have any idea of the rewards they would receive as a result of their faithfulness? Not likely, eh?

They were singleminded in what they did with those talents. They made them count for their Master. They invested them, multiplied them, made them pay dividends, not for themselves, but for their Master. As a result, they were rewarded with greater responsibility than they could have ever imagined, “rulers over many things.”

Do you have any idea of the impact that your life will have on succeeding generations? You may get a glimpse here and there. You may receive a few testimonies if you live long enough.

Yes, it would be great to experience such rewards and bask in the joy of seeing how our lives touched others. Yet the truth is that you will never know the full impact on this side of eternity.

But the greatest reward we could ever hope for is to hear the Master say: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

In the meantime, all we are called to do is to be “faithful over a few things,” to simply complete our current assignment.

So, dear DWOD friend, would you be content to serve your Master, even if no one ever knows your name? Are you willing to be counted among the company of the faceless faithful?

I hope so. I pray so.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.(2 Corinthians 5:7)

In yesterday’s DWOD, you read about our dear friend Drew Maxwell illustrating this verse with a generic coffee cup holding high octane coffee. He went on to say how the Holy Spirit is like the superior coffee poured out into us, the jars of clay.

Thus, we need to focus on the contents, not the container. When we get too focused on the rough edges of the container, we can easily miss the contents, i.e. Holy Spirit working through these unappealing, even repelling earthen vessels.

Today we want to address another danger of focusing on the container. This happens when Holy Spirit starts showing up in power and incredible miracles follow. Quite often, onlookers and recipients tend to give too much credit to the particular vessel through whom Holy Spirit is being poured out. Worse, the jars of clay begin to believe that they are the ones that make things happen.

Don’t get me wrong, God uses those who are submitted to Him in greater measure than those who are not. Holy Spirit apportions spiritual gifts as He deems fit and certain gifts tend to manifest in spectacular fashion more than others, e.g. healing.

However, the purpose of the container is simply to hold and pour out the contents to bring blessing to others. When someone forgets this or behaves as though they are the ones who are making it happen, look out! Often pride sets in and leads to a fall. Sadly, they, their families and indeed the entire Body of Christ pay a heavy price as a result.

This post is being written a few short hours after the conclusion of yet another day in the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit known as Open The Floodgates, which has seen many outstanding miracles since it began on Oct. 18 in the Kitchener-Waterloo area of Southern Ontario.

Mark Redner, another dear friend of ours, is the earthen vessel that God has been using in this move of God. He is a humble man who goes out of his way to point out that this outpouring is not about him at all. The local leadership has been diligent in raising up a ministry team whom God has been using to bless those who come seeking healing and freedom as well.

Mark realizes that he is simply the Best Western cup holding Tim Horton’s coffee! He relentlessly points to the Trinity at work and refuses to take any more credit than simply being the gatekeeper who opens the gates for Father, Son & Holy Spirit to enter and do what they do best, while he gets out of their way!

What a great example he is setting for all of us!

Dear DWOD friend, your platform, in all likelihood, is not that of a revivalist. But, no matter the sphere of life in which you exercise your ministry and release your spiritual and natural gifts, you too need to be aware of this fact of the Christian life.

When God uses you to produce spectacular results and all around you want you to take all the credit for it, would you please point out that is the high octane contents that make your coffee cup look great? Would you humbly acknowledge that you are simply a jar of clay with the privilege of holding the treasure of the Holy Spirit?

May you, like Mark Redner, the apostle Paul and countless others, let the whole world know that it’s all in the java!

 

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.(2 Corinthians 5:7)

Our dear friend Drew Maxwell illustrated a great truth with a simple illustration this morning when he preached at the 173^rd Anniversary Service at Morgan’s Point United Church in Wainfleet, Ontario, Canada.

In one hand he held a coffee cup from the hotel where he had stayed the previous night. It should not surprise you to hear that the quality of this coffee was not quite up to snuff.

In the other hand he had a cup of Tim Horton’s coffee. (For the benefit of our non-Canadian subscribers, Tim’s, as it is affectionately known, is a nationwide chain of coffee shops known for their addictive coffee, donuts and assorted pastries)  

Tim’s Coffee is not in the same league as Starbucks (in quality or in price), but is immensely popular with Canadians, definitely a few cuts above the hotel coffee.

Drew then proceeded to pour coffee from the Tim Horton’s cup into the Best Western cup. He went on to point out how even though the container gave the impression that it was holding the inferior hotel brand coffee, in reality, its contents were high octane java!

As you might have figured out by now, the superior coffee represented the “treasure” of the Holy Spirit which has been poured out into our earthen vessels, which can belie their contents by their appearance.

Drew pointed out how when we focus on the contents of the cup, we do fine. But, when we focus on the container, we can easily get judgmental.

I could relate to what he was talking about. I still remember the first ever large-scale Holy Spirit-led meeting that I attended. It was nothing like the mainline church services that I was used to leading.

Yes, they had a Praise Team like we did, but the worship they offered was very different. I’d never seen a band take a 4 minute song and stretch it to 8 minutes with copious repetition, room for spontaneous prayer and silent spaces. Frankly it felt strange and unnecessary.

The din of people talking and singing in tongues, the weird movements and jerky motions of some of the people in the meeting and manifestations which I had never witnessed before were quite disconcerting, even disturbing.

When I focused on the containers, I was beginning to wonder whether what was going on was of God or not.

When I started to focus on what God was doing though, then I had no doubt whatsoever that what I was witnessing was really a 21^st century version of the book of Acts.

There were healings galore. There were testimonies shared by those who had been touched by God. It was obvious that lives had been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Emotions erupted as people shared how they had experienced the Father’s love. Jesus had wooed many into the Kingdom. Churches were birthed. Movements were born. Missions were an integral part of this Holy Spirit Outpouring. Yes, there was even persecution.

Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened had I judged the contents by the container. My life would not be what it is today. I am so thankful to God for giving me the wisdom to discern the Tim’s coffee that was masked by the Best Western cups.

Dear DWOD friend, on the road to your destiny, you too will be faced with this kind of situation over and over again. Please make a conscious choice to check out the contents and not judge by the container. It could make a world of difference for you, as it did for me.  

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting”…Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. (Exodus 33:7, 11)

Nine years ago, incredible miracles began to happen when a young man was ministering under the anointing of the Holy Spirit in Toronto. Not only were people getting healed in the meeting where he was physically present, but those who were listening to the service through cell phones were also experiencing incredible miracles. In one particular case, a Muslim man in an Asian country was not only healed while he was lying on a hospital bed, but actually gave his life to Jesus right after!

The healing evangelist was about half my age at the time. I was shocked to discover that he had been in full-time ministry for just a few years, in contrast to yours truly who had been ordained when this guy was only 5 years old!

Seeing God move in power of that magnitude through such a raw young rookie was fascinating, to say the least.  I needed to learn how he got to this point in such a short time span. Maybe this was carnal, but I had this longing to know what books he read, what techniques he had mastered, what mentorship he had received—in short, all his “secrets to success.”

Sure enough, just a few short months after my first exposure to his ministry, he offered a “School of the Supernatural” in Toronto. Guess who signed up right away 🙂

So there I was, all set to receive revelation of these secrets. He started off by sharing details of his radical salvation where Jesus got his attention through his drug dealer of all people! He shared about his hunger to know more about the Jesus whom he encountered in the gospels and his burning desire to minister as His disciples did in the book of Acts.

His satisfied his voracious appetite for knowledge by reading books written by anointed authors. One in particular got his attention: “Good morning, Holy Spirit” by Benny Hinn. When he read about how Benny would spend hours simply staying in the Presence of the Lord and let Holy Spirit minister to him, this young man resolved to do the same.

Around this time, he suffered an injury at the lumber mill where he was working at the time and had to be off work for three months. Here was the perfect opportunity to follow Benny’s example. Day in, day out, he did nothing but read the Bible and simply stay in the Presence of the Lord. For 90 days straight.

He went on to say that his ministry was birthed as a result of what he did while he was recuperating from the accident. When he started laying hands on people and praying for them, miracles started to happen.

To be honest with you, I was a bit disappointed with this “secret” that was behind his “success.” Just a few months prior, when I heard others talk about the need to “soak in His presence”, I had pooh-poohed the idea of simply lying still and doing nothing while quiet music played in the background as being “not for me”.

It was then that I realized that what Todd Bentley did was no different from what Joshua did. He stayed in the Tent of meeting long after Moses left. The Presence of God was what really got this young man started on the road to leadership.

That very day, I bought my first Soaking CD’s and made it a daily habit to spend at least a few minutes simply staying in the Presence of the Lord.

Dear DWOD friend, do you desire to move in the power of God, as Jesus and the apostles did?

Just start where Joshua did thousands of years ago and countless followers of Jesus have in succeeding centuries. Seek His Presence first. You too will discover as they did and I have that Presence Precedes Power.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The late Bob MacLean, who was one of my professors at Queen’s Theological College in the early 80’s, was known to pepper his sermons liberally with quotes from other preachers, theologians and other church leaders.

A number of students (including me) voiced our concern that he was perhaps borrowing too heavily on the insights and illustrations of others and not coming up with enough original material. Were we implying that he was perhaps slacking off? (Maybe).

His response? “Membership has its benefits.” Seeing the puzzled looks on our faces, he went on to explain that when you become a member of Christ’s body, the Church, you are now part of the communion of saints. Therefore, you now have access to everything that was available through other “saints” in the communion.

Lifting quotes from their works, therefore, was not to be considered borrowing or stealing from them. It was simply taking advantage of the rich treasure trove of revelation that was simply there for the taking.

Needless to say, we had never heard the communion of saints explained quite that way before. We had always visualized the “cloud of witnesses” as millions of Casper-like entities in the atmosphere, surrounding us and egging us on to run the race and finish it. (See the DWOD for Oct. 16, 2012).

Truth be told, not everyone bought into his explanation either. At least not right away. Including moi.

It was only later in life and ministry, with the benefit of hindsight that the truth behind his insight became apparent to me.

Put simply, there was no reason for me to ever be alone or feel despondent while walking on the Christian journey.

All I had to do was open up the Bible and I was guaranteed to find someone who had experienced the same feelings and asked the same questions, even if we did not share the exact same circumstances.

When I could not find someone in the pages of the Bible, all I had to do was turn to the white pages of my telephone directory. There was often someone in my local church who could relate. 

If the local church could not provide an adequate match, the wider Christian community would! In the early days, my awareness of those outside my local church came through testimonies shared by someone in person, in a magazine, a book, radio or television. Today, of course, the internet has extended this pool of available witnesses exponentially.

Most of my questions were answered by another in the communion of saints—be it a mature Christian, an elder, pastor, visiting minister, professor or author—either in person or online.

Most recently, when I was a bit tired and worn out from writing DWOD’s every day during the 21 Days of At.One.Ment Fast, the saints came marching in. Darren Canning, Barry Adams, Os Hillman, Lance Wallnau and Kenneth Copeland carried the day—for 13 days straight…praise God!

Bob MacLean was right. Membership has its benefits.

Dear DWOD friend, would you kindly share with the rest of us how you too have experienced the communion of saints in your Christian walk? Thanks in advance.

Your comment might just turn out to be the silver lining in the cloud of witnesses for someone who reads it today.

Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again. (Proverbs 24:16)

 You may be familiar with the dismal record of failures Abraham Lincoln faced—in business, farming, romance and several attempts at political office— before finally being elected President of the United States of America.

What stands out about Lincoln is his ability to not let any of those failures stop him from trying again. He kept on falling, but always got up one more time than he fell.

Here are two of the distinguishing marks of a champion:

1.    1. They get knocked down.

2.     2. They get up and get going again.

All who follow Jesus are champions, or in the words of the apostle Paul: “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37).

We are also “the righteousness of God”according to 2 Corinthians 5:21. We cannot make ourselves righteous. It is a gift.

Put these two facts together. We are the ones being referred to in Proverbs 24:16, amen?

On the road to our destiny, we will indeed get knocked down from time to time. It could be because of the enemy of our souls attacking us ferociously. It could be because we have a weak spot in our armour that allowed his arrows to penetrate. It could be outright sin. It could be because we took our eyes off Jesus, got distracted and got ambushed. It could be something for which there is no explanation, when we got sucker-punched or sideswiped…and we simply could not see it coming.

Can you relate, dear DWOD friend? Let me be the first one to admit that I’ve been knocked down in every one of the aforementioned ways. Suffice it to say I know many brothers and sisters in the Lord who have also fallen down under these circumstances. Sadly not everyone has gotten up one more time than they were knocked down.

The apostle Paul testifies how he got knocked down so many times: “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”(2 Corinthians 11:24-27)

What helped Paul and many other followers of Jesus get up every time is the same thing that will help you get up one more time than you are knocked down. Please keep this in mind all the time:

“You are more than a conqueror. You are the righteousness of God.”And you will be one who gets knocked down seven times and gets up an eighth time. Minimum 🙂

“I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another.”(Isaiah 42:8)

In Sept. 2006, the Lord opened the doors for me to be part of a ministry team that went to Brazil for two weeks. It was an eye-opening trip where I got to see God perform amazing signs, wonders and miracles like I’d never witnessed back home in Canada.

One evening, at a meeting in Goiania, following a great message on the Father’s heart, Pastor Steve Long gave an invitation to those who needed prayer ministry. All who wanted to receive afresh an outpouring of the Father’s love were told to go to one part of the church.

Then he said: “We want all who have healing needs to line up over here where Pastor Jeeva is standing. He is our healing specialist.”

Before I could recover from the shock of receiving such a totally unexpected designation, there was a stampede and literally hundreds among the 3000+ at the meeting rushed to receive a healing touch from the Lord.

To be very honest, I was quite thrilled to see one person after another get healed, just like that. Of course, I knew that I was not responsible for the healing. The people came with great expectancy. The Lord honoured their faith with a flow of His healing virtue.

The string of successive healings came to a screeching halt though when an elderly woman was brought in a wheelchair. She reported no discernible change, no matter how hard I prayed or how well I ministered.

So I did what I had been taught by my mentors in healing ministry. I asked her to sit and soak in the Presence of the Lord and promised to check up on her once in a while to see what kind of progress was happening.

Two or maybe three check-ups later, there was still no change. I kept on praying for the others. The Lord once again resumed healing them one after another.

I beckoned the next person in line to come and receive prayer. A young woman with a toddler in her arms took a few steps forward. But, rather than look at the “healing specialist” and state her need, she started calling out to the elderly woman in the wheelchair something short and loud in Portuguese.

Much to everyone’s surprise and delight (and my shock), Grandma stood up from her wheelchair and started walking toward the young mother who had called out to her. Everyone went giddy with gratitude as they witnessed this incredible miracle.  Her family then took her away, I proceeded to pray for the toddler and the mother who both got healed and the meeting carried on.

As I tried to process what had happened, I couldn’t but help chuckle as I heard myself ask: “So, who’s the healing specialist here?” (Or was it the Lord?)

The Lord spoke very clearly to me: “Jeeva, if that woman had walked out of the wheelchair when you prayed for her, people would’ve mistakenly attributed the healing to the specialist from Canada. By bypassing you and using one of their own, I proved to them and to you that it was I who did the healing.”

Dear friend, on the road to your destiny, be thankful when the Lord works miracles with you but also without you. What really matters is that He gets the glory—every time! 

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.