(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!

The first epistle of Peter reads very much like a manual for newly born-again believers in Jesus.

The apostle patiently explains some of the basic doctrines as well as essential practices that every new Christian needs to know and put into action.

In the second verse of the second chapter, he stresses the need for them to feed upon the Word of God: “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

Quite often we refer to salvation as though it were an once-and-for-all done deal.

Yet, it is interesting that Peter would talk about “growing up IN your salvation.”

The New Birth is just the beginning which happens at a particular moment. New Birth must be followed up by New Growth. Or the newborn does not survive.

The first and foremost form of food that every newborn needs is milk.

Peter tells new believers to crave the milk of God’s Word as they begin the process of New Growth.

But they do not stop with only milk for sustaining growth. As Hebrews 5:14 reminds us, new believers move on to maturity by ingesting and digesting solid food.

As in the physical, so also in the spiritual.

“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity…” (Hebrews 6:1)

Needless to say this involves digging deeper into the Word and receiving instruction from the Holy Spirit through elders, teachers and pastors, as well as directly into our spirits.

As we move towards maturity, the way we view the Word of God shifts as well. Here is how David expresses this shift: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103)

Honey, in David’s day, would have been the sweetest substance known to human beings. The Word of God, for David, was sweeter than even the sweetest substance he could consume.

In other words, he was now choosing to feast upon the Word of God because He wanted to, not because he had to (as with milk).

This, I believe, is one of the marks of maturity in the Christian life. Devouring the Word of God becomes a pleasure, not a chore.

As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, we cannot wait to hear His voice in the revelation of His Word. We crave it, as we would honey.

My dear DWOD friend, how would you characterize your consumption of the Word of God? Is it still as milk? Or is it more like honey?

I pray that it will move from being that which is required to that which is desired.

On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:16-17)

Several summers ago, on a family vacation, we were at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., watching a Major League Soccer game between the L.A. Galaxy and D.C. United.

The main reason we were there was so our two soccer player sons could see star player David Beckham “live” in action.

It was a typical soccer game. Lots of ball movement. Passes to the right, left and centre. Many throw-ins from the sidelines. A few shots on goal. A couple of corner kicks. One goal per team.

Most of the fans were simply sitting as we were, giving their neck muscles a good workout as their heads moved from play to play in slow and short rhythmic bursts.

But, there was one unexpected element to the whole game that completely caught me off guard.

The first time I heard it, I didn’t even pay much attention to it. It sounded like a group was singing.

Much to my surprise, though, the singing did not stop after a few bars or lines or stanzas. It kept on going in the background all the way through the 90 plus minutes of the game.

It was not as loud as it would be at a baseball or football game when most of the fans would add their voices and belt out “Take me out to the ball game” or “Green is the colour” as loudly as they possibly could.

But you could not ignore it. Neither could you tune it out. Mind you, it was not obtrusive in any way. It was, well, just obviously there!

Soccer fans tell me that the tradition comes from the U.K. where fans simply made up songs that are meant to support their team as well as mock the opposition.

Made me wonder about the impact the singing would have on players on the field. Normally, they would hear cheers when someone made a good play or scored a goal. Or they would be bombarded with boos when someone goofed up and made a bad play.

What a great way to be reminded that your team is rooting for you and railing against the opposition all the way through the game!

It reminded me of the verses from Zephaniah quoted at the beginning of this post. Our Father in heaven is singing over us all the time.

When the people of Jerusalem were tempted to live in fear because of their enemies and be discouraged (symptomatic of the limp hands), the prophet assures them that God is on their side.

He believes in them so much and cares so much for them that He sings over them. All they had to do was hear His singing over and above the din of the battle and the clash of swords (or soccer cleats!).

Wow! What great reassurance it would have been for the people of Jerusalem to be aware of His singing!

How about you, dear DWOD friend? Perhaps you are in a similar predicament—facing fear or discouragement.

Take heart. Like soccer fans singing all through the game, your Father in heaven is singing over you all the time.

Do you hear Him?

No trip to the Maritime region of Canada would be complete without a few feasts of fresh seafood. So it should not surprise you that meals on our recent swing included healthy portions of fresh haddock, Atlantic salmon, scallops, mussels and shrimp.

But the crowning jewel of all Maritime meals is lobster, steamed and eaten straight out of the shell.

So, there we were at The Waterfront Warehouse on Lower Water Street, Halifax, eagerly awaiting our first stab at a “lobsterotomy”.

The nurse, I mean, waitress, first brought us our surgical apparel, a.k.a. a disposable bib and finely crafted, sophisticated equipment made of non-surgical steel—a glorified nutcracker and a curious looking instrument known as a lobster fork.

This was followed by detailed instructions on how to perform the delicate surgery accompanied by diagrams—condensed on one side of a paper placemat.

Clearly, we were being led to believe that this was going to be a messy process, no matter how closely we followed the prescribed procedure.

As the waitress, I mean, nurse, brought us the order, Sulojana asked her if we were going to get a demonstration on how to perform the operation.

Her expressive smirk spoke volumes: “Why would we do it and deprive ourselves the fun of watching you all make a fool of yourselves?” She simply walked away.

So, there we were, left to our own devices with a steaming hot lobster, two implements, a set of written instructions and a bib.

Let me spare you all the sorry details by simply saying that it was not a pretty picture. I can’t explain how this happened, but my glasses did sport specks of lobster. I guess I did not wear my bib high enough (around my head, that is!).

It took a lot longer than we’d anticipated, but suffice it to say that we got every penny’s worth of the 2495 coppers it took per lobster.

As we took off our soiled bibs, I couldn’t help but wonder how wonderful it would’ve been to have at least one person in our party who knew how to do it right. We would simply follow suit. It would’ve saved us all some time, effort and energy.

Ever wonder why Jesus did not simply leave a set of instructions for us to follow, along with a couple of tools we could use?

He knew that once He showed his disciples how to do everything—from teaching and preaching, healing and driving out demons, raising the dead and handling challenges from the religious leaders—they were in a much better position to not only learn how to be disciples, but go on to be disciplers who would show others how to be disciples.

That process He began has continued nonstop down through the ages and brought us to the place where today we too can be counted as his followers.

This is one of the greatest blessings of being part of His body, the Church. We are never without a mentor, a spiritual father/mother or an elder sister/brother who can show us how to follow Jesus.

(Pause for a moment to give thanks to God for those who in your life who fit the bill)

Yes, a declaration of faith is all it takes to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

But, demonstration is absolutely essential for us to grow as His disciples and advance towards our destiny.

A friend posted this on facebook following a recent time of prophetic ministry: “I had my heart opened, all my treasures taken out and lined up on the shelf for all to see.”

What a contrast to another friend’s description of how he would prepare himself ahead of a meeting where an acknowledged prophet was set to minister: “I would confess all my sins and repent, plead the blood of Christ over me, and even fast at times.”

Why all this fuss?

“I did not want to be the one singled out by the prophet and have all my sins exposed in front of the whole congregation.” He then added with a twinkle in his eye: “I wanted to have fun watching him do it to others in the church instead!”

Go ahead, laugh!

Needless to say it was not a laughing matter to the person whose heart was opened, all their trespasses taken out and lined up on the podium for all to see.

Yes, it is true that Old Testament prophets had a reputation for pointing out the sins of the people of Israel as a whole and its leaders individually.

Yes, it is true that they were ruthless in revealing the wickedness of their hearts. (Just ask King David after Nathan was done with him…as described in II Samuel 12).

Certainly you cannot deny that Jesus himself did this in one notable encounter with a Samaritan woman by the well at Sychar. When he told her details about her unenviable marital track record to which only she was privy, she immediately responded: “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.” (John 4:19)

However, when Andrew brought his brother to Jesus, his first words to him were: “You are Simon, the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas (which means a stone).” (John 1:42) In Matthew 16:17, Jesus declares that Simon’s identity is Peter (a Rock).

As time goes on, we see that Peter is anything but a rock except for the time he sank like one when he walked on water with his eyes off Jesus 🙂

From the Day of Pentecost, however, Peter does indeed turn out to be the Rock that Jesus said he was way back when He first called him.

Jesus saw in Simon the Rock, preaching boldly to a Jewish audience, not the timid scaredycat who would deny that he ever knew someone named Jesus.

He discerned and declared the gold among the dirt and made a prophetic declaration over him.

This is why when the apostle Paul began to explain the function of prophecy in I Corinthians 14:3, he used these three words:
•    To edify
•    To exhort
•    To comfort

Jesus’ heart for prophetic ministry is that we find the gold that will build up, encourage and comfort and not focus on the dirt that will tear down, discourage and condemn.

When we do, then those who receive ministry will be able to say as did our friend: “I had my heart opened, all my treasures taken out and lined up on the shelf for all to see.”

As you advance into your destiny, I pray that the Lord will bring into your life those who will perceive and prophesy the gold among the dirt.

Would you kindly share with the rest of your DWOD family about how you were edified, exhorted and comforted by a prophetic word? Thanks in advance.

When Destiny Word Of the Day (DWOD) was launched back on October 10, 2012, we did not anticipate the difficulty we would run into on occasion in getting the DWOD published on time every day.

When the posts are uploaded from our home or a hotel room where there is an internet connection, it is a piece of cake. But when we do not have online access, it’s a slab of marble 🙁

In the DWOD for April 07, 2013, we shared how we were able to go online despite this obstacle, thanks to our friends’s IPhone being used as a personal “hotspot.”

During our family’s recent swing through the Maritime provinces of Canada, we found ourselves once again without an internet connection for two nights. (This should explain the inordinately late arrival of the DWOD on May 27 & 28).

This time though, we were confident about accessing the internet, as our daughter’s IPhone plan had enough data on it for us to tether the laptop to her hotspot.

Unfortunately, we could not make it happen. The reason? Her phone could not maintain a strong enough 3G connection to access the internet.

No internet access on an IPhone? No Personal Hotspot. No tethering.

Holy Spirit spoke to me through this experience. He pointed out how the IPhone could not give us access to the internet when it did not have access itself. It needed to be connected before it could help other devices to get connected.

“You cannot give what you do not have.”
This is an important principle to keep in mind as we advance toward our destiny.

A number of years ago, John Maxwell published two books on leadership: “Developing the Leader Within You” and “Developing Leaders Around You.” Guess which came first?
Of course! You needed to develop the leader within you before you could develop the leaders around you.

In Acts 8:9-24, we read about a magician named Simon who wanted to buy the ability to lay hands on people and release the Holy Spirit as Peter and John were doing in Samaria.

He could clearly see that even though he had many tricks up his sleeve, he did not have what the apostles had. Misguided as he was in believing that the Holy Spirit could be purchased, he could clearly see that he could not give what he did not have.

In Acts 10:38, Peter says that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit at all times. That is why He could give away what he had to those who did not have it—be it healing, forgiveness, freedom from demonic oppression, life.

Ditto for you and me too, amen?

Get all the advice and instruction you can,so you will be wise the rest of your life. (Proverbs 19:20)

It started to get colder in the living room an hour after we had settled comfortably into a beautiful chalet at Green Pastures Renewal Center in Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

We turned up the thermostat. No cigar. The pilot light was still on, but there was no roaring flame in the propane-fuelled stove/furnace.

“Where’s the heat?”

We called the home of Jim & Charlene Bennett, the owners of Green Pastures.

Jim showed up promptly. We were delighted.

He explained that they had experienced the same problem before. He had brought in a technician to take a look and learned what to do to fix it. He had brought with him the exact tool needed to fix it as well. We were relieved.

Out came a rather large screwdriver. We were waiting with bated breath to see which screw needed to be tightened for the furnace to start spitting out heat again.

Much to our shock and surprise, he did not look for a screw. Instead he leaned over the furnace and bent over, holding the screwdriver by the “wrong end.” The handle was out front while the “edge” was in his hand.

He tapped the gas supply line to the furnace three or four times with the handle. Voila! A roaring flame rose up in the furnace and promptly started to heat up the atmosphere and our family. We were ecstatic.

You see, we were clueless as to what we should do to get the furnace working. But when we called on John, he knew exactly what to do, because of his prior experience. He had run into the same situation before, applied the same solution before and had success before.

So, when he faced the problem again, he was not fazed one bit! He knew that all he had to do was what he had seen the technician do. Simply apply the head of the screwdriver to the base of the supply line. Sure enough, he had the same results as the technician!

One of the ways in which God helps us overcome problems we face in life is by providing us with others who have experienced the same or similar issues earlier and overcome.

As infants and children, quite often these problem-solvers turn out to be our parents, teachers and other adults we know and trust.

As we grow older, we get help from our peers, from professors, from colleagues at work, supervisors, bosses, pastors, more mature Christians, etc.

I am sure that the Bennetts had to pay good money to get the problem solved by the technician who made the house call. But that expense turned out to be an investment that paid dividends when others experienced a similar predicament.

This is why we repeatedly emphasize the need for all who are serious about advancing into their destiny seeking out and finding a mentor who will guide them along the journey.

Sir Edmund Hilary would have never scaled Mt. Everest without the able assistance of Tensing and his other Sherpa guides.

Neither shall we achieve our destiny without the benefit of those who have experienced episodes similar to what we are going through, who know what to do, what to say, where to tap, where to point, so that we can stay on track and finish the race.

This way we can avoid the unnecessary expenditure of time, money and other resources that will delay us from advancing into our destiny.

Dear DWOD friend, would you kindly share with the rest of us how you have experienced the blessings of mentorship in your walk towards achieving your destiny? Please add your responses below.

Can you imagine how Jesus felt on the night before He was crucified?

When He requested that His inner circle of intercessors consisting of Peter, James and John watch and pray with Him in the garden of Gethsemane, neither did they watch nor did they pray. Jesus says: “Can you not watch with me for one hour?” (Matthew 26:40). Do you sense the hurt of disappointment in those words?

When Judas identified Jesus as the one the soldiers needed to arrest, Jesus says to him: “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48). Can you hear the hurt of betrayal behind those poignant words?

When all His disciples ran for their lives and two-thirds of His leaders’ cell deserted Him, can you feel the pain of abandonment in Jesus’ heart?

When Peter denied Him three times just as He had foretold, Jesus did not have to say a word. He simply turned around and looked at him. Their eyes locked for a moment. Peter wept like a baby. Can you experience the hurt that Jesus must have felt in that fleeting glance?

Did Jesus not know when he handpicked The Twelve that this could happen? If so, why did He still go ahead and choose them? Was He not setting Himself up to get hurt down the road?

Could it be because He had already seen the same pattern in the up-and-down relationship between His Father and the fickle flock known as the “children of Israel?”

They had a solid reputation and an unenviable track record for hurting the One who chose them to be His own, did they not?

Yet, the Father kept on giving them second and third and four hundred and ninety first chances to keep on hurting Him one more time.

Perhaps this is where Jesus learned that whenever you love someone, you are taking a chance that the one you love will end up hurting you somewhere along the way.

Since He is the visible image of the invisible Father, how could He do anything but follow suit?

Dear DWOD friend, one of the painful lessons that all of us learn on the road to reaching our destiny is that we will be hurt by others along the way.

We can expect every hurt that Jesus experienced to happen to us as well.

We too will face the hurt of disappointment caused by those in whom we had invested our lives.

No leader is immune from the hurt of betrayal.

We are very likely to experience the hurt of being abandoned by our friends in the hour of our greatest need.

We too are candidates to be hurt by those who promised to be with us till the bitter end (as Peter did to Jesus).

That is the price we are called to pay when we choose to love.

Sadly, not all are willing to pay this price. You probably know someone who has sworn that they will never love again, because they do not want to take the chance of getting hurt again. Perhaps you are that “someone.”

This is in no way intended to minimize that hurt or make light of it. Trust me, I have experienced every one of these hurts multiple times in nearly 31 years of ordained ministry.

As Jesus said Himself: “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:20) Can we expect anything less than to be hurt along the way?

To ask: “Are you willing to love?” and “Are you willing to get hurt?” is to ask the same question twice. You simply can’t have one without the other! That’s the bad news.

Yet, like Jesus, you too can go forward and fulfill your destiny despite the hurts. That’s the good news.