June 1 Devotion - I will Reap My Harvest

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

فلا نفشل في عمل الخير لاننا سنحصد في وقته ان كنا لا نكل.

Galatians 6:9

We all have God-given dreams and desires. Sometimes it seems to take longer to accomplish our goals than we originally thought or things do not work out at all.

It's easy to lose enthusiasm and end up just settling where we are. But God doesn't want us to settle, He wants to take us higher. But many times, we miss out on God's best simply because we give up too soon. Sometimes we do not realize how close we are to victory.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, I praise You and glorify You. God, help me not to give up just because things seem hard. Help me to stay on course in faith; and see my situation turn around. God I know You are on my side and You will help fulfil every desire You have placed on my heart. Help me Lord to continue doing good, and never give up trusting You in all faith that I will reap the harvest You have chosen for me, in Your timing. I pray in Jesus' name, to whom be power and glory, for now and forever. Amen.

O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”

قُلْتُ لِلرَّبِّ: «أَنْتَ سَيِّدِي. خَيْرِي لاَ شَيْءَ غَيْرُكَ».

Psalm 16:2

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 31 Devotion - God's Shining Light

In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul. When His lamp shone above and upon my head and by His light I walked through darkness; He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.

يَوْمَ دَعَوْتُكَ اسْتَجَبْتَ لِي، وَشَجَّعْتَنِي إِذْ زِدْتَنِي قُوَّةً فِي دَاخِلِي. حِينَ كَانَ مِصْبَاحُهُ يُضِيءُ فَوْقَ رَأْسِي، فَأَسْلُكُ عَبْرَ الظُّلْمَةِ فِي نُورِهِ. فَإِنَّ الْقَدِيرَ قَدْ فَعَلَ بِي أُمُوراً عَظِيمَةً، قُدُّوسٌ اسْمُهُ.

 Psalm 138:3,  Job 29:3, Luke 1:49

God will satisfy the desires of the poor in spirit who long for spiritual blessings, while the self-sufficient shall be sent empty away. When we walk in the light of God's countenance, every outward comfort is increased, every trouble is diminished, and we pass cheerfully by this light through life. When we rely on His loving-kindness and truth through Jesus Christ, we will always find Him faithful to His word.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Thank You for Your promise to guide me through the most difficult circumstances and to comfort me. As I look back on my life I see how You protected me through the darkest hours God and helped me walk in the light of Your countenance. LORD, I praise You, thank You, and glorify You and claim Your promises to continue to do great things for me and give me wisdom, strength and peace. In Jesus’ Holy name I pray. Amen.

O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
قُلْتُ لِلرَّبِّ: «أَنْتَ سَيِّدِي. خَيْرِي لاَ شَيْءَ غَيْرُكَ».

Psalm 16:2

Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 30 Devotion - Be filled with all the fullness of God

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3: 14-21

¹⁴بِسَبَبِ هذَا أَحْنِي رُكْبَتَيَّ لَدَى أَبِي رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ الْمَسِيحِ، ¹⁵الَّذِي مِنْهُ تُسَمَّى كُلُّ عَشِيرَةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَعَلَى الأَرْضِ. ¹⁶لِكَيْ يُعْطِيَكُمْ بِحَسَبِ غِنَى مَجْدِهِ، أَنْ تَتَأَيَّدُوا بِالْقُوَّةِ بِرُوحِهِ فِي الإِنْسَانِ الْبَاطِنِ، ¹⁷لِيَحِلَّ الْمَسِيحُ بِالإِيمَانِ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ، ¹⁸وَأَنْتُمْ مُتَأَصِّلُونَ وَمُتَأَسِّسُونَ فِي الْمَحَبَّةِ، حَتَّى تَسْتَطِيعُوا أَنْ تُدْرِكُوا مَعَ جَمِيعِ الْقِدِّيسِينَ، مَا هُوَ الْعَرْضُ وَالطُّولُ وَالْعُمْقُ وَالْعُلْوُ، ¹⁹وَتَعْرِفُوا مَحَبَّةَ الْمَسِيحِ الْفَائِقَةَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، لِكَيْ تَمْتَلِئُوا إِلَى كُلِّ مِلْءِ اللهِ. ²⁰وَالْقَادِرُ أَنْ يَفْعَلَ فَوْقَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، أَكْثَرَ جِدًّا مِمَّا نَطْلُبُ أَوْ نَفْتَكِرُ، بِحَسَبِ الْقُوَّةِ الَّتِي تَعْمَلُ فِينَا، ²¹لَهُ الْمَجْدُ فِي الْكَنِيسَةِ فِي الْمَسِيحِ يَسُوعَ إِلَى جَمِيعِ أَجْيَالِ دَهْرِ الدُّهُورِ. آمِينَ.

Paul was the one who brought the gospel to many of the Gentiles. And because of this, he felt responsible to pray for their spiritual growth, maturity, and development. He was praying specifically for them to be strengthened with power through God's Spirit.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. I praise You and glorify you. I pray Lord that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith, and that I can comprehend the fathomless love of Christ. Abba, please grant me according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit. Form me Lord so that I may be rooted and grounded in love, and through Your grace Father, fill me up to Your fullness. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 29 Devotion - Lasting Happiness

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

«طُوبَى لِلْمَسَاكِينِ بِالرُّوحِ، لأَنَّ لَهُمْ مَلَكُوتَ السَّمَاوَاتِ

                                                            Mathew 5:3

Since the original language of the Gospel of Mathew was written in Greek (although Jesus spoke Aramaic), the word used for blessed is ‘Makarios’ which means deep contentment and lasting happiness.

Real happiness is found when we realize that happiness is in the spiritual realm that is interior to ourselves. In our spiritual realm we are designed to know experience and enjoy God.

 In the same way that man designed a car to run on gasoline (or electricity if you own a hybrid); I believe God designed us to run on Himself. He is the fuel our spirits were designed to run on.

 I always pondered on why being ‘poor in spirit’ is a good thing, until I learnt that it means that it is when I realize my spiritual bankruptcy and depend on God who is the real food and fuel to my spirit and He comes to live within me that I can have Makarios. When I accept His Son Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, I receive The Holy Spirit and I can have The Kingdom of God within me and be guaranteed eternity with God.

 For me it is straight forward, if  anyone wants everlasting happiness, Makarios, it is only found in Jesus.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. I praise You and glorify You. Thank You for revealing to me that You are the source of my ‘makarios’. I realize that I am poor in spirit and You are the fuel and food for my spirit. Thank You for sinking the message deep in my heart that lasting happiness is not found in worldly things. Thank You that You sent Jesus to redeem me and grant me salvation and life eternal as a pure act of grace which I do not deserve. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I pray in His Holy Name. Amen.

O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”

قُلْتُ لِلرَّبِّ: «أَنْتَ سَيِّدِي. خَيْرِي لاَ شَيْءَ غَيْرُكَ».

Psalm 16:2

Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 28 Devotion - Faith that He can heal

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

 Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.

واذا امرأة نازفة دم منذ اثنتي عشرة سنة قد جاءت من ورائه ومسّت هدب ثوبه

لانها قالت في نفسها ان مسست ثوبه فقط شفيت

فالتفت يسوع وابصرها فقال ثقي يا ابنةايمانك قد شفاك فشفيت المرأة من تلك الساعة

Matthew 9:20-22

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. I praise You and glorify you. Lord, You have the power to heal any ailment just by thinking it. I need to be healed and I need to have a faith that heals me. God, I pray to You in the name of Your son Jesus; to strengthen and magnify my faith by quantum amounts and to heal my physical and emotional ailments now. Amen.

 Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 23 Devotion - Reconciliation

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.                                                                                                           

بل آثامكم صارت فاصلة بينكم وبين الهكم وخطاياكم سترت وجهه عنكم حتى لا يسمع.

Isaiah 59:2

 Peace is not merely that state of calmness and ease which we seek in desperate times.

 It is ultimately the condition that can exist between God and man because of the redeeming

work of Christ.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

18 ولكن الكل من الله الذي صالحنا لنفسه بيسوع المسيح واعطانا خدمة المصالحة

19 اي ان الله كان في المسيح مصالحا العالم لنفسه غير حاسب لهم خطاياهم وواضعا فينا كلمة المصالحة.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, please strengthen me and lead me to always bow at the feet of Jesus and offer my life to him. Thank You Jesus for the precious gift of reconciliation and peace that You gave me through the Cross. Without this gift of grace I was separated from God. Thank You Jesus for paying the price of this fathomless gift of grace at the Cross. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 22 Devotion - Parakletos

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever 

16 وانا اطلب من الآب فيعطيكم معزيا آخر ليمكث معكم الى الابد .

John 14:16

In the original Greek the word used to describe the Holy Spirit is the word Parakletos, or “Comforter.” It suggests the giving of aid much like a legal counselor or advocate would do.

The sense in which Parakletos is used means “to come alongside another while giving strength and encouraging support.” The Holy Spirit is God’s personal representative here on earth. He is the third person of the Trinity.

 Jesus knew the void within the hearts of His disciples would be great after He returned to the Father. Therefore, God in His greatness and compassion sent the Holy Spirit to comfort the followers of Christ, and He is still with us today. He is our Guide to all truth and our personal Advocate and Comforter before the throne of God.

This is our peace and strength—knowing that whatever we face, God faces it with us through the Holy Spirit.

 I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Through the Holy Spirit that indwells me as a believer and a follower of Jesus Christ; my Lord and Saviour; fill me with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Grant me Lord the Spirit of Wisdom to aspire the things that are eternal, enlighten my mind to Your divine teachings and fill my heart with Your divine presence. In Jesus’ name I pray.

 Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 18 Devotion - Invitation from Christ

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

تعالوا اليّ يا جميع المتعبين والثقيلي الاحمال وانا اريحكم

Matthew 11:28 

This is an invitation to all of us and to all the Christians who are persecuted everywhere.

I invite you to Pray and please share with others.  

Prayer:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Teach me not to lean on my own understanding and to trust You with all my heart. Guide me and direct my paths to always follow Your Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus, I put all my worries and problems at the feet of Your cross. I know that You will give me rest, peace, joy, victory, and fill my heart with Your love, for You died for the forgiveness of my sins and to redeem me and declare me righteous in the eyes of the LORD. Amen.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
      And lean not on your own understanding;
       ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
      And He shall direct your paths.
     توكل على الرب بكل قلبك وعلى فهمك لا تعتمد. في كل طرقك اعرفه وهو يقوم سبلك

Proverbs 3:5-6 

Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 17 Devotion - New Vessels

“No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."

وَلاَ أَحَدَ يَضَعُ خَمْراً جَدِيدَةً فِي قِرَبٍ عَتِيقَةٍ، حَتَّى لاَ تُفَجِّرَ الْخَمْرُ الْجَدِيدَةُ الْقِرَبَ، فَتُرَاقَ الْخَمْرُ وَتَتْلَفَ الْقِرَبُ. إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ الْجَدِيدَةُ تُوْضَعُ فِي قِرَبٍ جَدِيدَةٍ».

Mark 2:22 

Biblical scholars have many interpretations of this parable Jesus told. I understand it to mean we cannot conform to the teachings of Jesus unless we renew our thinking and unlearn what the secular world has taught us; and continues to teach us; allow Him to heal the past and adopt His way of thinking. Pouring His teachings into our saturated minds requires us to first empty our minds of the secular teachings. The same way that you cannot pour any new tea into a cup that is already full, the new tea will just end up in the saucer. However if you empty the cup you can fill it with the new tea, or the good news of the Gospel, if you will.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, help me today to become a new vessel. Help me through the Holy Spirit to release old thinking, old habits, old pains, secular beliefs, and anything that would keep me from being the best You created me to be for You. Strengthen me by Your Spirit and guide me so that I can live my life in a way that pleases You. Make me into a new vessel and pour Your Spirit into me. Jesus You are the vine and I am the branch and I am nothing without You. Help me to abide in You. Jesus I pray in Your precious Holy Name. Amen.

 Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 16 Devotion - Lead me in Your truth and teach me

Show me Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

On You I wait all the day.

طرقك يا رب عرّفني. سبلك علمني.

 دربني في حقك وعلمني. لانك انت اله خلاصي. اياك انتظرت اليوم كله.

Psalm 25:4–5

 Most of us are familiar with the scripture in which God said,

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways”

لان افكاري ليست افكاركم ولا طرقكم طرقي يقول الرب.

Isaiah 55:8

 Yet many times we fail to see the goodness of this verse. God often takes us places we could never dream of going on our own. His vision is far beyond ours. His might and power open doors for us we thought were permanently closed.

 

God has a way of providing all we could ever hope for. The problem comes when we fail to trust Him in times of waiting. Most of us have done this. We want something to take place so badly that we try to convince God to give us what we want now.

When we fail to see His immediate response, we often think He is not going to provide what we desire to receive.

 

Jesus told His disciples:

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

لكن اطلبوا اولا ملكوت الله وبره وهذه كلها تزاد لكم .

Matthew 6:33 

I invite you to repeat the followig prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, please show me Your plan and desires for me, and help me to wait for Your way to be revealed to me. Help me to seek Your kingdom and don’t let me walk in my own way. Take away my selfish desires and replace them with Your healthy dreams and goals. I believe that the blessings I will receive will fill my heart with boundless joy. Help me to trust in Your vision for me; which is better than mine by quantum leaps; and to trust that Your might and power will open doors for me that I thought were permanently closed and doors that I never knew existed. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 Jesus Loves you

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

May 15 Devotion - The LORD is Good

The Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

لان الرب صالح. الى الابد رحمته والى دور فدور امانته

Psalm 100:5

Our God loves us to a level beyond our imagination, and that is why He gives us only what is best for us.

He knows exactly what we need and what blessings would be best for us. Sometimes it takes a long time for us to understand why he said no to a certain blessing. I know for a fact that it took me 20 years to understand why He said no to a request I had made, and I am so thankful He said no.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. I trust Your judgment and thank You for giving me only what is best for me. I know that You know me inside out, ‘For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.’ (Psalm 139)

Lord strengthen my faith to always end my prayers by saying ‘Your will be done’ and know that You are always giving me the best which is always better than what I ask for. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 14 Devotion - The Light of Life

Jesus is the light of the world since He and The Father are one; He came from The Father, speaks for The Father and is back with The Father.

When we have Jesus in our hearts and He is our world we do not walk in the darkness of the world. When we acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives we become children of light.

 I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, I want to be ‘a son of light’ I want to follow Jesus as my truth and wisdom and I want Jesus to my Lord and Saviour. Strengthen me O’Lord to follow Jesus humbly and feel joy in becoming ‘Christ-like’ in my daily walk with Him. God I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son; my redeemer; Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus Loves you

In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 11 Devotion - The Storms of Life

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

لا تهتموا بشيء بل في كل شيء بالصلاة والدعاء مع الشكر لتعلم طلباتكم لدى الله.

وسلام الله الذي يفوق كل عقل يحفظ قلوبكم وافكاركم في المسيح يسوع

Philippians 4:6-7

Anxiety distracts the mind from communion with God. ‘Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow…but empties today of its strength’ (Charles Spurgeon)

The word nothing means it excludes any reason. No reason is exempt and we are not allowed to worry about anything. This means that we are to pray about everything. Through thankful prayer we can declare to God our anxious thoughts and have faith that He will fill our hearts and mind with His peace when we leave our anxieties at The Cross.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, You know exactly where I am emotionally and mentally and I know as per Jesus’ promise You will comfort me. Help me to practice growing still before You Lord. I dwell on Your goodness knowing You never fail me.

Father, I believe that sometimes You do allow the pressures of life to build so that I can learn how to deal with them from a position of faith and not fear. Thank You for not condemning me for my feelings, and for providing wisdom for all I face. Strengthen me so as not to feel anxious and to be always thankful so that Your peace which surpasses all comprehension, will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

May 10 Devotion - ABIDING IN THE VINE

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

انا الكرمة وانتم الاغصان .الذي يثبت فيّ وانا فيه هذا يأتي بثمر كثير .لانكم بدوني لا تقدرون ان تفعلوا شيئا .

John 15:5

Abiding in the Vine, allowing the Holy Spirit to reproduce Christ’s character, begins with humble surrender and dependence. We may slip in our Christian path, sometimes failure is the first step to victory.

When we abide in Jesus, we find that we can be kind to ungrateful people because the Holy Spirit is unfailingly kind. We can love all people because the Holy Spirit is love. We can be patient in trials because the Holy Spirit has boundless patience.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, help me view my failures as the first step to victory. Jesus You are the Vine; I am the branch. Without You Jesus I am nothing and cannot accomplish anything.

Father let Your Holy Spirit flow through me to make me Christ like. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 Jesus Loves you

In Him,

Wagdi Henein