Chances are very good that you were captivated by the story of Daniel in the lions’ den when you first heard it in Sunday School or read it for the first time later in life. The great miracle that God performed by tying up the lions’ mouths so impressed King Darius that he would proclaim:

“I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God…He performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” (vs. 26-27)

I must confess that until recently I had not really paid a lot of attention to the verses that precede this incredible incident until my friend Pastor Ric Borozny brought them to my attention.

Daniel stood out among all the other officials in King Darius’ court to such an extent that “the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.” This, of course, triggered jealousy among the Babylonian officials who were ticked off that a Jewish transplant would supplant one of them.

So “the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.” (vs. 3-4)

Wow! What a testimonial to Daniel’s character, work ethic and track record! Even his enemies had to admit that there was nothing they could pin on him, as far as his job was concerned.

The only way they could get him was with his faith. They persuade King Darius to sign a law that decreed the death penalty on all who worshipped anyone other than the king. Sure enough, Daniel is caught red-handed on his knees. The king has to abide by the law and condemn Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ den.

I must admit that v. 14 caught me completely caught off guard, though. “The king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament.”

Double Wow! The same king who was bound by law to put Daniel to death delays the administration of the penalty for a whole day so he could somehow come up with a loophole that would spare Daniel’s life.

What was responsible for King Darius taking such an extraordinary measure?  In v. 3 we are told the reason: “Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him.”

It was Daniel’s commitment to excellence in all he did in his regular job that caught the king’s eye.

Regardless of his fondness for Daniel, Darius had no choice but to have Daniel thrown in the den. Here is what the king did right after. “Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night.” (v. 18)

Triple Wow! The king fasts, shuns his regular fill of pleasure and stays awake all night. All because of Daniel.

Dear DWOD friend, are you so committed to excellence in all that you do at your present position that your boss loses sleep when misfortune befalls you?

He/she would, if you would heed these words of the apostle Paul in Colossians 3:22-25: “And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master…Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ…Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.”

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25)

The gospel accounts make it very clear that Jesus was not a Lone Ranger. He started out his earthly ministry by forming a posse of 12 disciples. In Luke 10:1 we read that when He sent them out on a ministry trip, He made sure they went “two by two” and not solo.

In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Yes, our commitment to follow Jesus is personal and most of our witness is on an individual basis. But Jesus lets his disciples know that something special happens when they are together that does not happen when they are by themselves.

Case in point. In John 20:19 we see how the recently resurrected Jesus appears to disciples who are huddled behind locked doors. They get to see Him in person, hear Him say: “Peace be with you”, see His wounds and enjoy an incredible spiritual experience when “He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

It is worth noting that only those who were gathered together that evening were privy to this private encounter with Jesus. v. 24 says: “Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.”

By not being there with the rest of the disciples, Thomas missed out on that first appearance of the Risen Lord to His disciples. Why was he not there? We do not know for sure. Scripture offers no clues. No matter what it was—disappointment that it was all over with Jesus, disagreement with fellow disciples, his tendency to be a loner—one fact is clear. He missed seeing Jesus and experiencing all that the ones who were in the room did.

The narrative goes on to say that Thomas was present the next time Jesus showed up. Obviously, Thomas realized the value of being together with the rest of the disciples. He was rewarded with a personal encounter with Jesus. Thomas would then go on to make one of the greatest declarations of faith ever made by anyone: “My Lord and my God!”

On the Day of Pentecost we are told that there were about a hundred and twenty believers (Acts 1:15). They had the joyful distinction of being present when Holy Spirit descended upon them. In I Corinthians 15:6 we read that the Risen Jesus appeared to 500 followers at the same time. Notice the discrepancy in numbers? 500. 120. Where did the other 380 go?

We’re not sure about their whereabouts or their reason for not hanging around the others. What we can be sure about is that they missed out on the incredible experience of that day. By not meeting together with other believers, they lost their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be present at the “birthday of the Church.”

What a shame, eh? All they had to do was be there. And they would have experienced it.

No wonder the writer of Hebrews encourages us to “not neglect our meeting together.” My research of revivals over the years reveals that mighty moves of God always began when believers were gathered together. Yes, there were times when an individual was touched in a powerful way while they were praying or walking all by their lonesome, which then birthed a revival.

But, that was the exception rather than the rule. It was in the corporate setting that Holy Spirit showed up in incredible ways—be it Azusa Street, Pensecola or Toronto. Lives were transformed, gifts imparted and destinies accelerated as a result.

Dear DWOD friend, the destiny towards which you are advancing is your own. Your journey is personal, individual, unique and Lone Rangeresque at times. But, do not let that keep you from meeting together with the posse of other believers. You could end up missing out on a significant move of God…and wouldn’t that be a crying shame?

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). (John 1:40-42)

Peter’s first meeting with Jesus was not on the lakeshore when he was casting a net into the sea. It came courtesy of an invitation from his brother Andrew who had already met Jesus. The connection was made. Shortly thereafter when Jesus invited Peter to follow Him, he was able to leave everything behind and go with Jesus (Matthew 4:18-20).

When you read through the gospels and the book of Acts, you hardly hear anything about Andrew. Peter, on the other hand, gets a lot of press. Although Andrew does not get the recognition, you have to acknowledge the crucial role he played in making that connection for Peter.

Two of my closest friends in ministry in the Niagara Region are Pastor Dayo Adeyemo and Pastor Ric Borozny. When Sulojana was working at a call center, a young man by the name of C.J. Egbuna kept on bragging about his church and his pastor to her.

He got her so curious about this congregation that when we had a Sunday off in August 2006, we went to the Royal House, met Pastor Dayo, our hearts linked and we became friends. C.J. is no longer in town, but without that connection he made for us, we would not be ministering at the Royal House’s Prophetic Destiny Conference tomorrow night (June 4).

Pastor Dayo then invited me to minister alongside him at the first ever God of Wonders Healing Rally. It was at that meeting that Sulojana and I first met Pastor Ric & Deborah Borozny. Soon thereafter, Pastor Ric invited Pastor Dayo and me to meet with him for prayer once a week. All three of us have since forged a friendship that is strong as steel. From the first connection that C.J. established came the second connection through Pastor Dayo to the Boroznys. Since then I have had the joy of connecting both of these brothers to other anointed leaders and they have reciprocated with great joy. We are all the richer for these connections.

One of the keys to advancing into your destiny is to keep on making connections—not only for yourself, but especially for others. When you make connections for others, the law of sowing and reaping kicks in and you end up making more connections that are a blessing to you!

Nearly two years ago, a friend of ours in St. Catharines, Scott Jones, made a connection between us and a wild prophet from the eastern part of our province, Ontario. The connection was confirmed when he sent me an accurate prophetic word by e-mail and cemented when we met in person in Brantford. He has, in turn, connected us with Mark & Kiwanda Redner of The Oasis in Kinburn, Shawn Gabie of Dominion Outreach Centre in Ottawa, Pauline Wilcox in Golden Lake and many other revivalists.

We took the connection to yet another level when we realized that both of us had the gift of writing that would bless the Body of Christ by helping believers advance into their destiny. I am, of course, referring to my great friend and co-founder of Destiny Word of the Day, Pastor Darren Canning. I have reaped way more than I have sown!

Dear DWOD friend, take a moment now to examine the “connectors” in your life who have been a blessing to you. Thank God for them, and, send them a note of thanks as well, will you, please?

How about you? Are you a connector? Jesus is depending on you to be one! Because, you see, one of the key ways in which the Kingdom of God expands is through people like you and me who keep on making connections for others.

And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.” (John 21:19)

There is nothing unusual about Jesus calling someone to follow Him. He did this routinely at the outset of his ministry, didn’t He?

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. (Mark 1:16-18)

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him. (Matthew 9:9)

What is unusual about this invitation in John 21 is that it comes at the sunset of His earthly ministry. To boot, the man who receives the invitation to follow is the leader of the band of disciples who had already followed Jesus faithfully for 3 ½ years! Why would Jesus re-issue the invitation? “Follow me.”

In other words, why would Jesus treat Peter as though he were a fresh, newly-minted disciple?

The incident outlined in the immediately preceding verses provides us with a clue. In verses 15-17, we see an interchange between Jesus and Peter. Jesus asks the same question three times: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter’s answer is pretty well the same every time: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

The third time we see that Peter is grieved by the threepeat of the question. All of a sudden it dawns on him that the reason Jesus asked the question three times is because He wanted to reinforce the fact that his threefold denial is all forgiven. The fact that Jesus commissions Peter to feed His lambs, take care of His sheep and feed His sheep respectively is proof that he has not disqualified himself in Jesus’ eyes.

Peter’s decision to go fishing, i.e. return to his old way of living, may very well have been the result of his sense of unworthiness to serve Jesus. Perhaps this is how he thought: “There is no way Jesus can use me after the heinous offence I have committed. No longer do I qualify to be a fisher of men. I might as well go back to being a fisherman.”

Peter had a load of guilt/shame hanging over him.

Jesus sends Peter this unmistakeable message: “I still believe in you, despite your disappointing behaviour in denying that you ever knew me. You are still valuable to me. I see you as a leader. I have great plans for you, Peter.”

Although Scripture does not state this explicitly, at that particular moment Jesus has removed any guilt and/or shame that Peter had been carrying as a result of his denial. It is as though Peter is a brand new person now, a “new creation”, as “the old has passed away.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Thus it is time to issue the same call once again: “Follow me.”

Dear DWOD friend, ever feel the way Peter did—that the Lord cannot use you anymore because of something you did that you ought not to have done? Was it an abortion, a break-up you initiated, a wilful act of disobedience, a criminal act, a division you caused in your church, a rumour you started, ………………..? (Please fill in the blanks).

No matter what it may be, an encounter with the Risen Jesus will take care of the guilt and/or the shame. You may wish to follow the pattern that has worked well for my friend Darren Canning (see the DWOD for May 26—Does your Conscience Condemn you?) or seek that encounter through Sozo, Restoring the Foundations or other ministry.

You, like Peter, need to hear Jesus say to you: “Follow me.” You need that second call today, don’t you? He wants you to know that He is not finished with you yet. He still needs you.

Will you accept His call and follow Him once again?

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.” (John 21:17)

This has to be one of the most touching moments recorded in the Bible. The entire episode (from verses 15-19) is often referred to as the “restoration of Peter.”

The reference, of course, is to the cowardly behaviour Peter exhibited in denying that he knew Jesus, despite the bravado of declaring: “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will” (Matthew 26:33) just a few short hours earlier.

The first two times Jesus asks Peter: “Do you love me?” he is able to respond without any emotion. Perhaps he took the second attempt as simply reinforcement.

But the third time…it did Peter in. Now the connection between the threefold denial and the threepeat questioning is unmistakeable. Peter was grieved.

Amazing, isn’t it, that Jesus would take the time to have this one-on-one conversation with Peter! Obviously Jesus considered it crucial for Peter to receive His personal ministry before He ascended into heaven.

It would appear that Jesus wants to ensure that the guilt (and perhaps even shame) of denying Him does not keep Peter from fulfilling his destiny, beginning with the message he preached on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

Over the past 32 years of ordained ministry, one of the saddest things I have witnessed is how guilt and shame prevent someone with great promise from realizing their full potential in life. No matter what produced the guilt—benign neglect or an act of malicious intent, an unwise choice or an act of wilful disobedience—a break-up, an abortion, a crime, a refusal to help, a rumour they started…the result was still the same. It held the person captive to such a degree that they could not advance into their destiny.

On the other hand, one of the gladdest things I have been privileged to experience is the joy of seeing someone who had allowed the enemy to keep them shackled by guilt and shame confess it, receive forgiveness and accelerate toward their destiny.

By the way, the people to whom I am referring are not heathen godless unbelievers—these are bona fide born-again, yes, even Spirit-filled followers of Jesus, some of them leaders in the Church—yours truly included.

Small wonder then that we find these words in an epistle written by an apostle to those who are already part of the household of Christ: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

One of the reasons given by those who refuse to deal with the guilt and the shame is the pain that they may have to re-live in the process of receiving their healing. And, let’s be upfront about it. There is pain involved. Just ask Peter!

But, the pain is indeed worth what you gain. One week of Restoring The Foundations ministry and three Sozo ministry sessions have been keys for Sulojana and me to be the people we are today. Some of you, our DWOD subscribers have subjected yourselves to the gentle scrutiny of the Holy Spirit through these and other ministry vehicles as well, amen?

Friends, would you kindly ensure that guilt and shame do not hold you back from reaching your destiny? Here are two decisions that we would highly recommend you make today:

1. Get the ministry you need to rid yourselves of the guilt and the shame.
2. Resolve never to willingly do anything that could lead to regret down the road and produce guilt and/or shame.

You will be amazed how these decisions will accelerate your journey toward your God-given destiny…as it did Peter.

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

Dr. Steve Sjuggerud, editor of True Wealth (whose philosophy is: “Buy assets of great value when no one else wants them…and sell them when others will pay any price”) wrote these words in a blog that I read:

“My secret to success is figuring out the One Critical Thing… and investing accordingly.

Most aspects of life have at least One Critical Thing that’s the key to success. (Some things have two or more Critical Things.) The trick is finding that One Critical Thing and sticking with it.

Take golf, for example… golf has a few Critical Things, like:

1. Don’t swing too hard/keep your head still.

​2. Don’t take big risks.

If you simply do these two things, you can become an extremely good golfer. I’m sure of it.

Finding that One Critical Thing can bring you a bit of peace and clarity. Most people get bogged down by too much noise and advice, and most of it is not that helpful. When you start to feel bogged down and overwhelmed, just return to the Critical Things. Chances are you’ll come out ahead.

Human nature is a funny thing, though…Even when we know these Critical Things…even when they are obvious…we still want to fight them. Go back to the golf example. We want to bend these rules, test them, take them to their limits, and ultimately break them. We want to think that this time is different. It is not.

So what I want to find are these Critical Things–both in the markets and in life.

The way I make the biggest money–by far–is when human nature gets in the way…when people think the Critical Thing no longer matters. When I see people forgetting about what matters, I simply bet that the Critical Thing will end up mattering after all.”

He cites some examples of how this focus on The One Critical Thing worked out well for him. When everyone was investing in real estate in the mid 2000’s, he invested in gold coins instead and came out way ahead while real estate investors got clobbered. In 2008, when the stock market was crashing, he took out a home-equity loan and bought stocks instead which promptly doubled in value. Similarly, when the housing market in Florida was flat, he bought properties at rock-bottom prices which are now listing for 5 times what he paid for them.

As I read his words, Holy Spirit reminded me of how true this is in church life. The One Critical Thing for every church is “to make disciples of the nations.” (Matthew 28:19-20).

When a congregation is growing numerically and flourishing financially, it is easy to ignore this Great Commission given by Jesus and focus on simply maintaining what we’ve gained.

When a congregation is dwindling in numbers and languishing in finances, it is difficult to invest in evangelism as the focus shifts to do all that we can to not lose what we’ve still got left.

Dr. Sjuggerud’s post reminds us how important it is for us to know The One Critical Thing that is absolutely essential for us to advance into our destiny.

After much trial and error, many wrong turns and misguided decisions, I have finally identified The One Critical Thing for my life and ministry. Are you ready for it?

It is called Taking Time to Sit at Jesus’ Feet and Simply Listen, as Mary did when Jesus came to visit her and Martha. When I do this consistently, I make the right choices at the right time and make progress. When I ignore this and simply go by what my flesh dictates or the circumstances demand, I regress and end up with regret.

How about you, dear DWOD friend? Do you know what The One Critical Thing is for you? Would you kindly share it with the rest of us?

You’re out shopping in a mall when your child throws a temper tantrum because you said: “No. I’m not buying that toy for you.” Passers-by are giving you the evil eye or the knowing nod or the sympathetic smile. Clearly you and your sour child are in the limelight.

You cannot ignore the crisis. You want to end this embarrassment with one swift smack, but, of course, someone could interpret it as an act of child abuse.

So you choose to avoid the immediate threat of intervention by Children’s Aid with one angry swipe of your debit card. But it comes at the additional cost of ignoring the important issue of teaching your child delayed gratification, acceptable behaviour, submission to parents, or other value.

It is not easy to keep your focus on the important in the midst of the immediate, is it? Yet, it is an ongoing battle that each of us will face time and again. How will we handle it?

Let’s see what Jesus did when He was faced with a similar choice.

In the first chapter of the gospel of Mark 1, we have a detailed account of the early days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He is preaching (v. 14), calling disciples to follow him (v. 17), casting out an unclean spirit (v. 25), healing and casting out demons again (v. 34).

The consequence of this flurry of ministry activity? “And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee” (v. 28).

Needless to say this led to many more people coming to see Him and desiring to receive healing, freedom and other blessings through Him.  But Jesus was nowhere in sight.

The disciples eventually track him down in a solitary place where he had gone to pray and they say: “Everyone is looking for you!”

Listen to Jesus’ reply: “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (Mark 1:35-39)

Jesus had to choose between the immediate and the important. Giving in to the demands of the crowds and the disciples would have been an easy decision. It would have pleased everyone…and a lot of good would have come out of it…in the short-term.

But Jesus was well aware that He could not neglect the important at the expense of the immediate. So he chooses to leave the “revival hotspot” of Capernaum and carry out his mission among the unreached residents of nearby villages. “That is why I have come.”

Dear DWOD friend, on the road to your destiny, you too will find yourself at times facing urgent matters that scream for your immediate attention. They will demand your time, your energy and your resources and can actually deplete them in a hurry.

But the greatest danger you face at times such as these is that you will lose your focus and st(r)ay away from doing the important things (that do not place immediate demands on you).

So, how do you avoid this pitfall? Pretty simple, really. Be sure about what God wants you to do, as Jesus was. It could lead you to developing a personal mission statement as it did Sulojana and me several years ago. Everything we do must be in harmony with it…or we simply do not do it.

Here is ours: “To live as Jesus did—in intimacy with the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit—and equip others to do the same.”

We have to admit that we do get sidetracked by the immediate at times still, but when we need to make choices, especially about how and where to invest our time, this statement ensures that we focus on the important.

Now, we would like to invite you, our readers, to share with the rest of your DWOD family how you ensure that the immediate does not trump the important in your life. We thank you in advance for your response.

A friend was sharing his experience with the service department of a local dealership. He had taken his truck in for a routine oil change and maintenance check. When he came home and checked the bill, he noticed that they had used 5W30 oil instead of the synthetic that had been the norm until now.

He promptly called the dealership. The woman at the other end of the phone heard him out and made a comment about how 5W30 would not hurt his engine. He asked her to pull up his vehicle’s service history on the computer. She had to admit that they had goofed up.

When he asked what they were going to do about it, she put him on hold, talked to someone (presumably the Service Manager) for a minute and came back. Then she told him that if he could bring his truck in, they would replace the oil only, not the filter, mind you, and would not charge him labour, but he would have to pay for the oil.

Now you know why my friend is not taking his truck back to them the next time he needs some work done on it.

Frankly, I was flabbergasted when I heard his account of what had happened and began to ask myself why the Service Manager would not have simply offered to replace the 5W30 with synthetic along with the filter, no charge. It would’ve been only fair, since it was their fault for not paying attention to previous maintenance records which were literally available at their fingertips.

Plus it would have generated a tremendous amount of goodwill in my friend who, rather than tell me about how poorly they treated him, could’ve bragged on how quickly they apologized and made up for their mistake plus offered him 50% on his next oil change. This would’ve locked him in for life as a customer. With the cost of maintenance and repairs these days, they would’ve gained a few thousands of dollars in business over the lifetime of the truck. Their short-term thinking robbed them of long-term profit.

It reminded me of the time that Esau traded his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup (Genesis 25:29-34). Was his hunger so great that he had to forfeit something that was so valuable for a cheap bowl of soup?

How could he have avoided this grievous error in judgment? How could the dealership have done things differently? How could you, our beloved DWOD reader, stay away from falling into such a trap?

The solution is amazingly simple, although it is not always easy to do in the heat of the moment. Are you ready for it?

Think about the consequences of your choice. To be even more specific, write down the next few things that are likely to follow as a result of the decision you make.

Let’s say the Service Manager did this. His flow chart would go something like this:

I make the customer pay for our mistake–>The customer gets ticked off–>He takes his business elsewhere–>We potentially lose thousands of dollars over the next 5-7 year–>It could generate negative publicity.

Would he still go through with his decision to charge my friend for the synthetic oil? I doubt it very much.

In Esau’s scenario, it would be something like:

I trade my birthright–>I lose it forever–>That is too high a price to pay for a lousy bowl of lentil soup–>I can put up with a growling stomach for a while yet and wait while I get one of the servants to cook me something.

Disaster averted. Destiny accelerated.

Now it’s your turn. Before you make a choice in a hurry–because you want to make a short-term profit or you want to satisfy your appetite or because your hormones are going haywire or ……………………………….(please fill in the blanks), would you take a couple of minutes and think about the consequences?

You’ll be glad you did.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.” (Proverbs 31:28-29)

Something totally unplanned for happened at our Mother’s Day Service this year. The Lord had given me a rather unusual assignment—to preach a message based on the life of Rebekah, wife of the patriarch Isaac.

When you read about the life of Rebekah as described in chapters 24-27 of Genesis, you realize that she was not exactly the model wife and mother portrayed in Proverbs 31.

To be perfectly honest, she set an extremely poor example when she orchestrated the immaculate deception that led to Jacob receiving the blessing that rightfully belonged to his older brother Esau. (Genesis 27)

At the same time, we cannot ignore her willingness to go beyond the call of duty and offer Eliezer and his 10 camels all the water they needed, even if it meant making 50 trips up and down the steps of the well carrying 5 gallons every time! (Genesis 24)

Neither can we overlook the time she sought the Lord while going through a difficult pregnancy, heard His reassuring voice and received a prophecy regarding the twins in her womb. (Genesis 25:22-23)

On the whole though, let’s just say that author Liz Curtis Higgs was justified in including Rebekah in her list of “Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible!”

The message focused on how our mothers were not perfect, and why we need to honour them regardless of the way they treated us. The Lord had directed me to provide everyone an opportunity to forgive their mothers and also for mothers who had messed up to seek His forgiveness.

It is our custom to end the Mother’s Day service by pronouncing a blessing on all the mothers. Normally this would be done by members of the congregation gathering around the mothers and laying hands on them while I released words of blessing over them.

That was the plan when I walked into Morgan’s Point United Church. However, while we were worshipping, I sensed a Holy Spirit flash of the words quoted at the top of this post. There they were, blinking in bright neon on the eyes of my spirit:

“HER CHILDREN RISE UP AND CALL HER BLESSED.”

I was still not sure what to do with them and proceeded to deliver the message. As I started circling the airport looking for a place to land the sermon, I heard Control Tower giving me the specific instructions I had been seeking.

“Would all the mothers in the congregation please rise?” Shuffle. Shuffle.

“And, would those of you who are their children please stand next to them and wrap your arms around them?” Shuffle. Shuffle. Shuffle. Shuffle.

“Would you children now look them in the eye and say: ‘Mom, I rise up and call you blessed?’” Sniffle. Sniffle.

“Would the rest of the congregation please gather around those moms whose children are not here today?” Shuffle. Shuffle.

“Would you look at these mothers and say to them: ‘I stand in the gap on behalf of your children. I rise up and call you blessed.’” Sniffle. Sniffle. Sniffle. Sniffle.

At Forks Road East United Church, there was an added dimension to this sacred moment. Jason had his arms around his mother Liz, who had her arms around her mother Jasmine. And Josh was blessing his mother Jackie who had her arms wrapped around her mother Val.

It was an emotionally powerful time of ministry. Was it because some of the mothers had never heard the words “I call you blessed” from their children? Or because some of the children had never said those words to their mothers? I do not know for sure.

Dear DWOD friend, you may realize how blessed you are to have your mother/father/spouse/mentor/pastor/spiritual leader in your life…but if you have not told them something similar to the words: “I rise up and call you blessed”, would you do so today? I believe it will bring joy to the one at the receiving end and a smile to your Father’s face in heaven.

Such honouring of a parent would also result in you receiving the promised reward: “that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 5:16)

Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. (Luke 24:30-31)

Let’s say that you invited me and Sulojana over to your house for dinner. YOU are the host. WE are the guests.

When we are seated at your dining table with you and others in your family, we would expect you to initiate the serving of the food. That would be proper etiquette. Right?

We would wait for you to either pass a dish around or say something like: “Pastor Jeeva, why don’t you help yourself to the casserole and pass it to your right?”

How would you respond if Sulojana and I started taking charge of the meal and said: “Ok, everybody, just help yourselves to whatever dish is closest to you and pass it to the person on your left?”

You may say nothing out of respect. You may be thinking: “Who do these people think they are, coming to my house at my invitation and acting as though they own this place?” Or you may want to scream: “Hey, who’s the guest here and who’s the host?”

The guest has become the host. And that would be a reversal of roles. A totally unexpected turn of events.

When Cleopas and his companion invite Jesus into their home in Emmaus, they think that they are doing this stranger a favour by offering him food and lodging for the night.

They are seated at the table. Now it is time for Cleopas and his companion (who could’ve been his wife, we are not told) to be good hosts. They were about to take the bread and offer it to their guest of honour, but Jesus beats them to it.

He takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks it and gives it to them. The guest has become the host.

I am sure you are very familiar with this verse from Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

The first thing we note about the context of this verse is that it is not addressed to those who have not made Jesus the Lord and Saviour of their lives. It is part of Jesus’ letter to the church in Laodicea as dictated to John on the island of Patmos.

The second thing is that the onus is on the one on the inside to open the door and let Him in. Now you know why paintings of this verse show no doorknob on the outside where Jesus is knocking. He can only be let in, he does not let Himself in.

The third thing is the promise He makes about dining with the one who lets Him in. If the incident in Emmaus is any indication, He is coming in, not to be your guest, but to take over as the host!

You will not be passing the bread to Him. He will be taking the initiative, breaking the bread and feeding you!

Inviting Jesus into your life means that you relinquish ownership. You need to let Him take over. It is only as He becomes the host that the disciples of Emmaus receive the revelation of who Jesus really is.

Dear DWOD friend, it is the same for you and me today. Jesus longs to have lifelong communion with you. He is standing at the door and knocking. Whether He comes in or not hinges on your willingness to open the door and let the guest become the host.