Each Breakthrough

For safety reason, I have always carried Jeshua when we board the bus. Today, I decided to let him board while holding his hand firmly.

When we sat, he was so exhilarated that he kept smiling and declaring, "I climb the bus on my own!"

Instead of correcting him and say, "No, Jeshua. Papa was the one who helped you", I said, "I'm so proud of you!"

This paints a picture of how the Father sees us. Each time when we experience a breakthrough in an area, we exclaim, "Come on, I did it! Awesome! I have taken the step of faith and seen result!" The Father looks at us and says, "I'm so proud of you!" But the reality is that God the Father is the One who helps and empowers us to experience the breakthrough. Faith is never from us. Faith is from God, who imparts to us by His grace as we receive and experience His love.

Each time we partner with Him to step out in faith, He rejoices over what we do.

The Kingdom of God

My sister-in-law graciously let us use her domestic helper for two weeks.

Jeshua didn't treat her as a stranger or a helper. On the third day, he told her, "I love you, Auntie Lynn."

As I observed how he viewed her and treated her, I realised something powerful about little children.

A little child treats everyone with equal dignity, regardless of the title and position. No wonder the kingdom of God belongs to the little children.

Psalm 91

I have been reading the Scriptures to Jeshua every night before he sleeps. It started when he was in my wife's womb. John 6:63 says that "the word that I have spoken are spirit and life."

I believe that the Word of God, when spoken, are spirit and life. Though a foetus may not understand the Word of God intellectually, it can receive in spirit. Life begins in the womb, not when the baby comes out.

As Jeshua grows older, he doesn't seem to be able to stay focused as I read the Scriptures. He looks around, jumps around, talks, etc. Nevertheless, I continue to read the Scriptures, believing that life is released each time when I speak over him.

I have read Psalm 91 to him a couple of times. One day, as I read it to him before he slept, I was surprised! He could actually follow me through! I must say that I'm pretty impressed.

Let's not underestimate the capability of our child.

P.S: He was actually pronouncing "pinions". He is still learning to pronounce more words accurately.  

Complete Forgiveness

"The reason why people in church hurt you is because they don't know who they were. The reason why you get hurt by them is because you don't know who you were." - Todd White

"...forgiving one another, ...even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do." - Col 3:13

Some say that forgiveness is not about feeling. It is a choice. In actual fact, we have NO choice. The Bible says, "you MUST do."

When Christ died on the Cross, He forgave all of us once and for all. Now we are supposed to live like Him.

As a father, I will always forgive my son no matter what he says or does. Between us, the word "forgiveness" is a past tense. I have forgiven him even before he apologises to me.

Yet it is interesting how we see forgiveness when we relate to other relationships apart from parent-child relationship. We need to hear "Sorry" before we can forgive.

God in Christ forgave us while we were still sinners. If we can see this, we will walk in complete forgiveness towards any human relationship WITHOUT the need for the one who hurt us to apologise to us.

I love what Todd White often says, "I refuse to let people's sin against me to be sin IN me by taking offense."

His Gifts

Jeshua has a few gifts that God has given him.

1) Gift of discernment through smell

- Yet to be tested

2) Joy Releaser

- He releases joy into any atmosphere that he walks in

3) Gift of emotional healing

- He is drawn to anyone who is broken-hearted and who requires emotional healing. He will cling to the person closely

4) Gift of prophetic word

- Not long ago, we discovered this when a friend came to our place. Jeshua suddenly said, "Uncle, you want to wipe the aircon?" He said it many times at different points in time. Initially, we were all puzzled. But on the following day, this friend texted me.

Recently, we wanted to bring Jeshua to a huge indoor playground at Downtown East. In the morning, I told him, "Jeshua, we are going to BIG playground today." Usually, he would respond with exhilaration. Instead, he replied, "No. Small playground." He repeated a few times. Man, I was really puzzled. This was the first time he said 'small playground.'

When we arrived at Downtown East, we found out that the huge indoor playground was undergoing renovation, but there was a temporarily playground set up for this duration. Guess what?! It was an extremely small playing space - the size of a retail shop. 

I began to understand that when Jeshua starts saying something baffling, it could be a prophetic word. This is amazing! Jeshua is blessed by the FATHER!

Our Father Is ALWAYS For Us

Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. - Exodus 13:17-18

Every promise of God in our lives will be challenged by the enemy. Affliction arises BECAUSE of the Word (Mark 4:17). 

Opposition either pushes us back into our past OR propels us forward into our destiny. There is no status quo. When opposition comes, we either move backward or go forward. For the Israelites, God used the attack of the enemy (Pharaoh and his army) to propel them forward into their destiny (crossing the Red Sea).

Yet God knew that the Israelites were not ready to enter the Promised Land. To enter the Promised Land, there would be opposition that they had to face. God, in His sovereignty, led Israel by the longer route so that they could encounter His love and power deeper (through the miracles), resulting in the growth of their faith. In other words, God was preparing them FOR victory. God desired that when they enter the Promised Land and face opposition, the opposition will always PROPEL them FORWARD to their destiny.

When I bring my son to huge indoor playground, there are many different stations in which he can play. Each station has its own challenge. For some stations, he is still too young to play. Sometimes, if he insists, I will assist him through the challenge. At other times, I will tell him not to go for it. Because I want him to successfully conquer the challenge when he is ready to handle it. I'm preparing him for victory so that he will learn to propel forward when he faces a challenge in future. This is similar to what God does for us.

What a loving God we have! We can be fully assured that whenever opposition comes BECAUSE of the promise of God, God has ALREADY prepared us FOR victory. We stand on victory ground. We are born again in Christ from the victorious position. As we wait for the promise of God to manifest, God is strengthening our faith. He has set us up for deeper encounters of His love and power. Like someone said, "The enemy can throw lemons at us, but God turns them into lemon juice for us to enjoy!"

May 2016 be a year where we propel forward to our destiny with absolute confidence in the love of our Father! He is always FOR us!

You Are For Me
By Kari Jobe