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ARISE AND TRAVAIL AFRESH
by DEBORAH OSINIBI Dear fellow parents called of God to raise godly children. It's with great joy to share this with you. I will like us to look into the scripture below as we journey in this ministry (parenting) God has called us into. 1Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household, came with Jacob. 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 15And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. 17But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. 22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. Exodus 1:1- 4, 15-17, 22 Verse 1 to 4 of this Exodus 1 showed us the names of people just like you and I. We all have a name, don't we? These lists of names are names of those who came to Egypt during the famine in Joseph's day with Jacob. These group of people dwelt in Egypt and the Bible says they were fruitful. They were growing in strength and in number as they gave birth. This created a kind of fear in the heart of the king. In verse 15 we now begin to see a fretful king taking actions against the Israelites. He did not ask that they be killed, but he purposed to use the midwives as instruments to terminate the coming generations of Israelites. He worked with 3 targets which are: (1) Entered an alliance with the midwives (2) He targeted the birth stage (3) He demanded the deaths of the sons I believe it is crucial for us to closely consider these 3 targets of this King of Egypt if we will successfully fulfill our call of parenting. He entered an alliance with the midwives The king made alliance with the midwives. Who are midwives? Midwives are trained nurses who take care of pregnant women and see to the birth of every child. How does this affect us as parents? I believe every parent after giving birth to a child still carries a pregnancy; this pregnancy is that of keeping in her womb the plan and the purpose of God for her child. Remember the scriptures said of Mary the mother of Jesus that she kept many things in her heart concerning our Lord. (Luke 2:19) She kept prophecies in her heart. Every godly parent carries the destiny of their children daily in the place of prayer. They are treasures to her. She would not go about spreading the news but she'll incubate it, for when it's properly incubated it will bringforth that which will be made manifest in the child's life. Every single child is destined for something in the sight of God. No child is a waste even the one you called mistake is not a mistake in God's plan. This is a mistake some parents make; they look at their circumstance and thinks that the child has no part to play in life. Even the one you called disabled is not disabled in the sight of God if only you seek His mind concerning the child. On the contrary, the enemy knows the weight of our children's destinies and the impact this will have on his kingdom, hence the reason why the king of Egypt went and employed the midwives to help him to accomplish his plan concerning the children that were about to be given birth to. Even in our contemporary times, do you know that the enemy still uses that principle of the midwives in order to terminate the destiny of many children? I'm not just talking of the midwives in the hospital. Midwives could be their teachers at school, Sunday school teachers, etc. He targeted the birth stage The king sought for the services of these midwives in order to kill the sons. Like I said earlier the midwives the enemy sought their services in order to kill Christian children are at times teachers, friends and etc. He knows that these people are in a more privileged position to carry out his plan at this particular stage. These are crucial stages that if the child can survive the rest will be history. Some of the crucial birth stools all children go through are academics, the teenage years etc. Every child in life comes to this birth stool of academics. In UK a child stays with her parents up to the age 3 or 4 and half and then starts school. No parents want their children to be uneducated. The school is the birth stool for every parent to birth their child academically. This is where they are birth into their career in life. This becomes a very big issue for every Christian parent who knows that sooner or later their children have to start school. You can't avoid this. If not at the primary level where the child is birth to elementary knowledge, he or she will go through the secondary school or even still the University. The enemy always come into this birth stool (The school) by introducing terrible teaching materials like the wizard cast the spell on 5 girls out of 10 girls how many girls are left? At times schools used high school musicals and other worldly music to bring home some teachings to our children. Therefore if a parent is not practically there for his or her child some thing ungodly is been birthed into that child. I believe every child must be well prepared at home spiritually, morally etc even before starting nursery, because you will never have your child all day all year with you after 3 to 4 and half years. The child will start to leave you for at least 2 and half hours a day for a whole school term, if you count that that's quite a lot of hours to birth something into an innocent child. This is a grave issue to me. One day on my way from my child's school, having dropped her at school, I said to my self that I must trust God again to help me with my second child for God gave me a whole three years to lay foundations that no man can build what is not right on with my first child and I looked back and say did I fulfill it? I can safely say the Lord did helped me to lay aright. I want to beg of every parent to sacrifice what ever needs to be sacrificed in order to prepare your child for that birth stool (the school). The moment some teenagers gain admission into the University they adopt the mannerism of the campus; this is because the enemy has placed his own midwives over this birth stool. Money will not give your child the immunity he or she needs to succeed this birth carnal. Quitting job and even ministry is worth it. It's only for a season. You may say ministry as well, yes ministry is sweet and glorious when you have children whose lives are testimonies to the messages you take to people. Many are ministers who have lost the one or two souls God has given them in their homes while they pursue crowds. We must be wisefor the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. Luke 16:8. The other birth stool (the Teenage years) is as crucial as the academics, as this is the stage that our children are birth into adulthood. This is the time they develop the womanly and manly features that has been lying dormant inside of them. As parents we can not be ignorant of this birth stage. A girl must be well prepared before this birth stage and every parent must walk and work with their girls in this crucial stage. Your past experiences, mistakes, success is very vital to be shared with the child at this stage. Your intimacy with the girl as a mother is very vital at this stage. There are deep things the girl needs to know through the mother at this stage. Bringing the girl into your world of womanhood is very important if not, someone else will stand in for you and that may be to your detriment. I believe every good mother must know her daughter's menstrual circle and follow the same up with her while she's still under your roof. This is the stage that the mother must carve into the girl if she has not been doing so (..and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.Ps 144:12 NIV). This is the time when virtuous women are carved. The young girl must be helped with her personal hygiene during and after her circle. The reason for being a girl must be carved into her if you haven't done this before. Relationship and even comportment must be brought to her attention. Also the boy needs the full attention of the father as he has a lot to know at this stage from the father. This is the time to help the boy to see that he is meant to bear authority. A boy must be helped with his personal hygiene at this time. This is the time of intensive nurturing (..our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants 144:12 NIV). If a boy can be well nurtured in his youth he'll bringforth good fruits in adulthood. A farmer puts fertiliser into what he plants at the tender stage because this is the time when the plant is able to absorb properly and takes all it needs for good productivity. Many of our Christian boys look up to footballers, musicians to lay hold on something for their today or tomorrow. This should not be so. A father must invite his boy into his world of manhood. Take him to men's meeting once in a while, discuss with him regularly. There are many things that the midwives at various birth stool will be presenting to our children in order to kill them. You'll hear of the government introducing birth controls to these younger ones in their schools. Night crawling, drinking, gangs, dressing like those of the world are what we'll begin to see in our young girls and boys. A parent who is there travailing for the birth of the child at each of these stages is interested in what the child does, watch, where he goes etc. You'll see young girls in tight fitted outfit that brings out the shape of their body. Their hairdo must be like that of celebrities. If you as a parent is not watchful you may be giving birth to another pop star (actually the modern day teenager will prefer to be a celebrity). This is the time to encourage going out with your boy or girl when you want to shop for your clothes (that's if you have not been doing so before). Allow the child to choose for you and you'll be able to say yes this is the type of outfit I wear as a child of God or NO this is not the type of out fit I can wear as a child of God. You need to let your teenager know that clothing is not meant to add to his or her beauty but just for covering (The real beauty is within. 1Pet 3-5). I beg you fellow parent, do not leave your child alone at any of these birth stage, you must travail prayerfully and watchfully. If otherwise the enemy will prevail in accomplishing his expected end which is what we'll be looking at next. He demanded the deaths of the sons What the king of Egypt demanded for was that all sons should be killed. He knew that the son carries the family name. The son carries the seed, he carries the DNA. This is a mater every believing parent must know that Satan is targeting every child that comes from a Christian home in order to kill the SONHIP in their children (Gal5). The scripture declares in Romans 8:19 that "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God". It is that son that the enemy seek to kill; he does not want the sonship to be made manifest. He does this at times by making sure that as a Christian child goes to a school, he or she is filled with much ungodliness either through teachings, friends and etc. The enemy is not after the daughters of Belial but children who are SONS OF GOD. He knows that our children are the seeds of the woman who will bruise his head if he did not quickly arise and launch the attack on our children. Do not allow the enemy who goes like a roaring lion to kill your child's sonship. Many children who gave their lives to Jesus before they left home for higher institution were killed by the enemy. He arranged ungodly room mates for them who only target the destruction of their sonship. Parents beware! This is a clarion call to all parents to travail afresh for the birth of their children, even if yours has been killed academically, morally, sexually etc by the enemy, the resurrection and life is here with us and thy son shall live as you arise and watch in prayer over your child and watch physically over your child. Arise for the child while there's still yet time. Many parents in UK are money driven, they work tirelessly and gather together that which is for a moment. Most parents are not there to take their children through various developmental stages or to even prepare the child prayerfully for the next level of growth. Someone once said UK currency is the only world currency with surname (Pound sterling), Sterling been the surname, hence the reason why many pursue it without taking heed to themselves the daily travailing for the birth of their children. Did you know that the little stage of children losing their milk teeth is worth preparing for prayerfully and even educate the child about it if possible? It pays to labour over your child. Don't be weary in well doing, you'll definitely reap. In continuation, verse 22 now shows how the enemy devised another plan since his initial plan failed. The plan now is not to be carried out just by a particular set of people like the midwives, but the charge was to all his people that any son born by the Hebrew women must be thrown into the rivers. In our time, the agents of darkness are every where, even in children and youth church. There are stories of Sunday school teachers and even pastor's wife who tells children in the children church that they can have boyfriend from age 18. Where is that quoted from in the Bible? Many of our young boys and girls are thrown into the river of boy friend and girl friend even amongst one another in the church, you'll see a young boy kicking the bum of another girl in the church, the girl will dress with clothes that reveals her back or even her cleavage forgetting that there are boys in the environment, the girl will just go and bang her chest on the poor boy who has been dieing inside seeing the girl (Remember a man is moved by sight, and this applies to the young boys as well). Some are thrown into the river of worldly music and even some are called Christian pop, Christian reggae, Christian hip hop etc. Meanwhile they are cultivated out of a craving for the worldly music. I read in the news sometimes in the past of some boys in African who are singing Christian music and they told the story of how they came to the music industry, and they said that their desire is to be the Christian Boys II men. Jesus is not their role model or motivation but BOYS II MEN. Simple hymns that brought many souls to the Lord is a heritage that has been lost amongst our younger generations. Most of the hymns I know today are what I learnt from what we used to call SOP (Songs of praise) a booklet of hymns for schools. Some are thrown into the river of ungodly friends who dictate their fashion trends. You'll see some sets of teenager who dressed terribly to church; they sit together, chat together and walk together. To make the matter worse you'll now see Christian groups that'll encourage these young ones to go and get jewelries, clothing (like evening wears) etc for parades. I'm not saying it is sinful for them to wear jewelries, but we must not create an avenue to breed girls and boys who are fashion conscious than their walk with God. These are rivers that must dry as that of Jordan or Red sea for our young ones to walk into their promised lands. Lamentations 2:19 from KJV says "Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the LORD: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children that faint for hunger in the top of every street." NLT says Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to him in prayer, pleading for your children, for in every street they are faint with hunger. Arise dad, arise mum, on your knees arise for that child, arise with your tears unto the Lord though she is fainting on the street of child minders and after school clubs, arise! Though he or she is in a night season due to unprepared circumstance, joy will come in the morning if only you will arise. Arise and take your place as a mother to that child. Arise as a father unto that girl and unto that boy of yours, rebuke her but do not damage her, discipline him but do not disown him. There is hope for that prodigal child if you arise and welcome him or her into your petition unto the Lord and into your daily schedules. I pray that the Pharaohs of our days shall not prevail over your child. Pray that God will daily equip you with all you need to prepare your child for all birth stools he/she must pass through. Pray for godly teachers to be posted to your children's school. Pray that the government will encourage godly teaching materials in schools. Pary that Christian writers will be raised to write curriculum's for schools Pray that Christian writers and publishers will be burden to begin to write teaching materials (E.g story books, math books etc) for schools. Pray that parents will create time to go in to their children schools to help Pray that the purpose of God over your child will not be killed by the King of this world. Lift up your hands unto the Lord for empowerment in order to be the parents God intends you to be. Micah 5:3a says "Therefore shall He give them up until the time that she who travails has brought forth" The wise parent never give up travailing for his/her child for there is surely an "until" (Bringing forth). May your travail bringforth in Jesus name, Amen. I am a mother of two wonderful daughters and I'm married to a lovely husband. I love writing for children, teenagers, women, family etc. There are books that I wrote for children and women. I've written magazines for children and parents as well. My articles are free to use. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |