June 28 Devotion - Talking with God

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! O my soul, you have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
احمدوا الرب ادعوا باسمه. عرفوا بين الامم باعماله قُلْتُ لِلرَّبِّ: «أَنْتَ سَيِّدِي. خَيْرِي لاَ شَيْءَ غَيْرُكَ».

Psalm 105:1, Psalm 16:2

 

When we set our hearts toward the Lord, our faith is strengthened, and we develop the habit of talking to Him throughout the day.

Unfortunately, we try to resolve problems on our own or discuss them with friends and/or relatives instead of immediately turning to God. Imagine calling a believer and instead of offering you empathy, sympathy and support, he/she says, “I appreciate you calling me, and would love to help you, however, have you talked first to God about it? Have you prayed?”

As soon as we encounter any kind of problem let us immediately turn to God and request: Abba Father, guide me in my thoughts, actions, and words.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. I call upon Your name. Teach me to always seek Your wisdom, guidance and support. Help me to always first ask The Holy Spirit who dwells in me to take over. O my soul, say to the Lord, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.” Father, create opportunities for me to make Your deeds and blessings known among people. In Jesus’ name I pray. To Him be the power, the glory and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 27 Devotion - Achieving Your Life Message

But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. ²¹ And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. ²³ And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty,

I Corinthians 12:12-23

 

God builds a life message in many different ways. Each one of us has a different message. Though you may gain many insightful lessons from those who are strong in their faith, your life is unique and special before God. He has a message for you that no one else can share.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, give me a love for Your Word. Teach me to study Your Word and to keep it. You are my portion, O Lord; help me to develop spiritually. Guide me God in meditation and worship. Give me the discipline and determination to spend time alone with Jesus. Give me victory O’Lord over my thoughts and the enemy to my soul and keep me on course. I trust that soon You will clearly reveal Your message for my life in a very obvious way and guide me to fulfill it. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

لانه كما ان الجسد هو واحد وله اعضاء كثيرة وكل اعضاء الجسد الواحد اذا كانت كثيرة هي جسد واحد كذلك المسيح ايضا.

13 لاننا جميعنا بروح واحد ايضا اعتمدنا الى جسد واحد يهودا كنا ام يونانيين عبيدا ام احرارا وجميعنا سقينا روحا واحدا.

14 فان الجسد ايضا ليس عضوا واحدا بل اعضاء كثيرة.

15 ان قالت الرجل لاني لست يدا لست من الجسد.أفلم تكن لذلك‎من الجسد.

16 وان قالت الأذن لاني لست عينا لست من الجسد.أفلم تكن لذلك من الجسد.

17 لو كان كل الجسد عينا فاين السمع.لو كان الكل سمعا فاين الشم.

18 واما الآن فقد وضع الله الاعضاء كل واحد منها في الجسد كما اراد.

19 ولكن لو كان جميعها عضوا واحدا اين الجسد.

20 فالآن اعضاء كثيرة ولكن جسد واحد.

21 لا تقدر العين ان تقول لليد لا حاجة لي اليك.او الراس ايضا للرجلين لا حاجة لي اليكما.

22 بل بالأولى اعضاء الجسد التي تظهر اضعف هي ضرورية.

23 واعضاء الجسد التي نحسب انها بلا كرامة نعطيها كرامة افضل.والاعضاء القبيحة فينا لها جمال افضل.

 

 

June 26 Devotion - More than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 3:1, Romans 8:37-39

انظروا اية محبة اعطانا الآب حتى ندعى اولاد الله.من اجل هذا لا يعرفنا العالم لانه لا يعرفه. ولكننا في هذه جميعها يعظم انتصارنا بالذي احبنا                                                             

38 فاني متيقن انه لا موت ولا حياة ولا ملائكة ولا رؤساء ولا قوات ولا امور حاضرة ولا مستقبلة
39 ولا علو ولا عمق ولا خليقة اخرى تقدر ان تفصلنا عن محبة الله التي في المسيح يسوع ربنا

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank you for Your abundant blessings. God, what an act of grace; that through accepting the atoning death of Jesus Christ in my place, and accepting Jesus as Lord over my life; I am now a child of God. Thank You God that absolutely nothing shall be able to separate us from Your love and salvation; which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank You God, that in all tribulations we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 25 Devotion - Remember NOW your Creator

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”

Ecclesiastes 12:1

 

فاذكر خالقك في ايام شبابك قبل ان تأتي ايام الشر او تجيء السنون اذ تقول ليس لي فيها سرور.

 

I pondered on the meaning of Ecclesiastes 12:1, and its emphasis on ‘youth’. I thought it does not apply to me because I am no longer considered ‘youth’; however I quickly realized that 30 years from today I will look at my current age as ‘youth’. So it applies to all of us independent of age. Let us remember our creator NOW.

If you are reading this and saying I am already 100 years old and it does not apply to me, then consider the following verses:

Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

والى الشيخوخة انا هو والى الشيبة انا احمل. قد فعلت وانا ارفع وانا احمل وانجي.

وَاطْرَحُوا عَلَيْهِ ثِقْلَ هُمُومِكُمْ كُلِّهَا، لأَنَّهُ هُوَ يَعْتَنِي بِكُمْ.

Isaiah 46:4, 1 Peter 5:7

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Help me Lord to remember You now and all the time in my youth and in my ‘old’ age, in my going out and in my coming in, in my labour and in my leisure, in my laughter and in my tears. Thank you Father that through my joy in You I will never get to a state where I will say about my years: “I have no pleasure in them”. Thank You Lord that even to my gray hairs you will carry me. Thank You my Heavenly Father that You care so much about me that I can always cast all my anxiety upon You. In Jesus’ name I pray. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 24 Devotion - Reshuffle me O'Lord

The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

 Proverbs 16:9, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 32:8, Isaiah 30:21, Proverbs 3: 5-6

 I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Thank You that Your eye is upon me. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; ²⁴ and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139: 23-24

Lord, reshuffle me and my priorities in life to be aligned with You and Your plan and will for my life. God I know that Your solution for my life is what is best for me, help me to let go of the need to resolve my own problems, and give me the wisdom to follow Your direction for Yours are plans for my welfare to give me a future and a hope . Teach me Lord and make my ears and spirit sensitive to Your word behind me telling me “This is the way, walk in it”. Help me Father to not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present my requests to You. Help me to trust in You Lord with all my heart, and not to lean on my own understanding. Help me to acknowledge You Lord in all my ways, and make my paths straight. Lord, You are Holy, righteous, and infinite in wisdom. Thank You God that Your mercies never cease. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 21 Devotion - Why we should love God

We love Him because He first loved us.

نحن نحبه لانه هو احبنا اولا.

I John 4.19

 I believe that when God gives us a commandment, it is not a matter of control; every commandment is for our own good. Jesus gave us a commandment to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. So why should we love God? Maybe this is a useless question for some, but a central question for others.

 

Let us examine some of the things God did for us.

1)     While we were fallen into sin, He reconciled us unto Himself through Jesus Christ.

 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. لانه ان كنا ونحن اعداء قد صولحنا مع الله بموت ابنه فبالأولى كثيرا ونحن مصالحون نخلص بحياته.

Romans 5:10

 

2)          He loved us so much, that He sent His Son to save us by dying in our place and give us everlasting life through our belief in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

لانه هكذا احب الله العالم حتى بذل ابنه الوحيد لكي لا يهلك كل من يؤمن به بل تكون له الحياة الابدية.

John 3:16

 

3)          Jesus described His love for us as follows:

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

ليس لاحد حب اعظم من هذا ان يضع احد نفسه لاجل احبائه .

John 15:13

4)          Because God is:

Our refuge. The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; Deuteronomy 33:27

Our  strength God is my strength and power, And He makes my way perfect. 2 Samuel 22:33

       Compassionate

Merciful

Gracious

Will not turn His face from us if we turn unto Him for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him. 2 Chronicles 30:9

       Faithful God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son,   Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9

Love God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16

 

There are many other verses in the Bible demonstrating who God is and why we should love Him. God never asks us to do something He does not do, and He does it so much better and so much more. So imagine how He loves us when He asks us to love Him. He loves us with all His heart, all His soul, all His mind and all His strength. I invite each one of us to feel and try to comprehend how much God loves each one of us.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, thank You for loving me; and for loving me first. Lord I want to love You back with an intense love. Lord if there is anything in my life that is keeping me from loving You and being totally committed to You Lord, then please reveal it and please give me the strength to let go of it. Lord, I want my heart to be fervent toward You. Father, please pour Your love into my heart through The Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 20 Devotion - Love God with all your strength

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment

وتحب الرب الهك من كل قلبك ومن كل نفسك ومن كل فكرك ومن كل قدرتك هذه هي الوصية الاولى

                                                             Mark 12:30

What does it really mean to love God with all of my strength and what does the word ‘love’ in this context really mean?

I believe ‘love’ here means a reverent adoration toward God which is intense and steadfast, with passion and enduring loyalty.

 In order for me to love God with all my strength, I need to reverently and passionately put all the gifts He has given me under His service. The gifts He has given me that I would put under His services include but are not limited to my abilities, resources, time, and energy. When I serve God it awakens love in me, and my love for God is continually refueled when I feel that I am pleasing Him. Since I treasure my relationship with the Lord, my actions reflect that.

In order to bring my life (ship) in from the storm, the rudder of my ship (my actions, deeds) needs to be my love for God with all my strength.

How do I do that? God teaches me that:

‘If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me;’

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:18, John 12:26

So my love for God with all my strength will be demonstrated by my actions and deeds in serving God and the rudder of my ship is controlled by following Jesus.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I thank you for your abundant blessings. I praise You and glorify You. Lord, help me and teach me to love and serve You with all my strength in the way that pleases You. Lord, awaken love in me, and continually refuel my love for You. Help me to put under Your service all the gifts You have given me; with passion and enduring loyalty. Jesus I want to follow You and love You in deed and in truth.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 19 Devotion - Love God with all your mind

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment

وتحب الرب الهك من كل قلبك ومن كل نفسك ومن كل فكرك ومن كل قدرتك هذه هي الوصية الاولى

Mark 12:30

In the last two devotions we covered how to ‘love God with all your heart’ and ‘love God with all your soul’. Today let’s discover how to ‘love God with all your mind.’

What does it really mean to love God with all my mind?

In order for me to love God with all my mind, I need to fill my mind with God’s Word. When I agree with God it awakens love in me, and my love for God is continually refueled when my mind encounters truth over and over again. When I use my mind to remember His qualities, and His love for me, I am putting love in my mind’s memory bank.

Since I treasure my relationship with the Lord, my thoughts and memory reflect that.

In order to bring my life (ship) in from the storm, the rudder of my ship (my thoughts and memory) needs to be my love for God with all my mind.

How do I do that? God teaches me that:

“I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

اجعل نواميسي في قلوبهم واكتبها في اذهانهم

Hebrews 10:16

So my love for God with all my mind will be demonstrated by my thoughts and memories of God in my life and the rudder of my ship is controlled by every Word that God has written in my mind.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I thank you for your abundant blessings. I praise You and glorify You. Thank You God for writing Your laws in my mind. Lord, help me and teach me to fill my mind with Your Word and to be in agreement with it. Lord, awaken love in me, and continually refuel my love for You. Help me to use my mind to remember Your qualities, and Your love for me, and to store love for You in my mind’s memory bank. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 18 Devotion - Love God with all your soul

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment

وتحب الرب الهك من كل قلبك ومن كل نفسك ومن كل فكرك ومن كل قدرتك هذه هي الوصية الاولى

                                                               Mark 12:30

How should I and or can I love God with all of my soul?

I researched the definition of ‘soul’ and came to the conclusion that the soul is the place where we make our decisions and choices that ultimately decide our behaviour.

If we treasure our relationship with the Lord our choices and behaviour will reflect that.

In order to bring my life (ship) in from the storm, the rudder (my choices and behaviour ) needs to be my love for God with all my soul.

How do I do that? Jesus teaches me that:

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

ان كنتم تحبونني فاحفظوا وصاياي .

John 14:15

So my love for God with all my soul will be demonstrated by my choice and behaviour in keeping His commandments in my life and the rudder of my ship is controlled by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

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

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I thank you for your abundant blessings. I praise You and glorify You. Jesus help me and teach me to make the right decisions and choices. Strengthen me Lord to keep Your commandments and to love You with all my soul by living in a way that pleases you and is based on Your Word O’Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 17 Devotion - Love God with all your Heart

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment

وتحب الرب الهك من كل قلبك ومن كل نفسك ومن كل فكرك ومن كل قدرتك هذه هي الوصية الاولى

Mark 12:30

When Jesus laid out the most important commandment for humanity, He started with loving the Lord with ALL of our hearts. I often wondered how can I love Jesus with all my heart.

The heart is where we keep our emotions, cares and desires. The rudder of my ship is my cares and desires.

In order to bring my life (ship) in from the storm, the rudder (my cares and desires) needs to be my love for God with all my heart.

How do I do that? Jesus teaches me that:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

لانه حيث يكون كنزك هناك يكون قلبك ايضا

Matthew 6:21

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I thank you for your abundant blessings. I praise You and glorify You. Jesus help me and teach me to make You my undisputed treasure. Help me to have the discipline of spending time with You daily and give me the gift of treasuring this time and rejoicing to be in Your presence. I love You God and I want to increase this love by quantum leaps. I pray in Jesus' name, to Him be the power, the glory and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 14 Devotion - The Lord God is my strength

The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.

Habakkuk 3:19

الرب السيد قوّتي ويجعل قدميّ كالايائل ويمشيني على مرتفعاتي

 

When we encounter a crisis we may:

       i.          pretend it does not exist, or

      ii.          pretend to overcome it with our own self resolve, or

     iii.          bury it deep within us and put a lid on it, or

    iv.          go into depression, or

      v.          turn it over to Jesus Christ

 

The ‘V’ answer turns a crisis into an opportunity, an opportunity to trust God so that we may see God at work in our problems. As God strengthens and equips us, we get a renewed hope in God’s active presence in our lives.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord You are my strength, turn my feet into deer’s feet so that I may be swift to turn to You for help. Take me to the top of my hills of victory. Lord, uncover any crisis that I may have pushed deep into my subconscious and I have put a lid on it, and bring it to the surface and help me turn it over to You Jesus to deal with it. Turn all my challenges to opportunities to feel Your active presence and support in my life. I love You Lord, and I know that as per Your Word all things will work together for my good. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 12 Devotion - Do Not Give Up

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. Help me Lord to always say, feel and be trustful in that “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 I pray in Jesus' name, to Him be the power, the glory and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

June 13 Devotion - Give all your worries and cares to God

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

ملقين كل همكم عليه لانه هو يعتني بكم

1 Peter 5:7

 

The Apostle Peter instructed us to cast the whole of our worries, our anxieties and our concerns on God.

Many believers know how to totally relax and depend on God to resolve their problems and never worry. I do not do that very well. I still tend to worry. I need to stop that now. I need God’s help.

 

Can you relate to that?

 

 

 

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Help me Lord to be able to cast all my worries and cares upon You Lord. Strengthen my faith Lord, diminish my pride. God I know that Your solution for my life is what is best for me, help me to let go of the need to resolve my own problems, and give me the wisdom to follow Your direction. Help me Father to not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present my requests to You. You are Holy, righteous, and infinite in wisdom. Thank You God that Your mercies never cease. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Jesus Loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein