Happy and Blessed New Year 2016

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 
            

وَفْقاً لِمَا كُتِبَ: «إِنَّ مَا لَمْ تَرَهُ عَيْنٌ، وَلَمْ تَسْمَعْ بِهِ أُذُنٌ، وَلَمْ يَخْطُرْ عَلَى بَالِ بَشَرٍ قَدْ أَعَدَّهُ اللهُ لِمُحِبِّيهِ!»

1 Corinthians 2:9

“Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty waters, “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

هكذا يقول الرب الجاعل في البحر طريقا وفي المياه القوية مسلكا 18 لا تذكروا الاوليات. والقديمات لا تتأملوا بها. 19 هانذا صانع أمرا جديدا. الآن ينبت. ألا تعرفونه. اجعل في البرية طريقا في القفر انهارا.

Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

Was 2015 a wilderness for you? Was it dry like a desert? Even if it was so, God is telling us to forget any former things and to behold His new roads in the wilderness and His rivers in the desert.

Let us rejoice, at all times rejoice, for God is preparing beautiful things for us. He tells us that they are beyond our imagination and we have not seen anything like them before.

Let us expect God’s blessings and trust His promises and believe that in 2016 we will be able to repeat what King David said:

You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.

Psalm 65:11

كللت السنة بجودك وآثارك تقطر دسما.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself and to meditate on it:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings in 2015 and Your inseparable love. I thank You for what I have and for what I do not have. I thank You for Your Mercy and for Your Grace. I put my future in Your hands and I declare that I love You. I know that You always keep Your promises, and that You have prepared wonderful things for me and that they shall spring forth in 2016. I rejoice in confidence that in 2016 You will bless me, my family and friends and anyone reading this devotion. Lord, I pray for peace and love across the world. May everyone be saved and know You Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. I pray in Your Holy Name Jesus. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

December 30 Devotion - " Let it be to me according to your word.”

Since The Coptic Orthodox Christmas is on January 7, the following set of devotions will be around the nativity theme.

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Maryam. (Her real name in Aramaic) ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
²⁹ But when she saw him she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Maryam, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
³⁴ Then Maryam said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷ For with God nothing will be impossible.”
³⁸ Then Maryam said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:26-38 

How does Maryam respond to the word of God that was delivered to her by the angel Gabriel?

She knows she is hearing something beyond human capability. Her question, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” is prompted by wonderment and not by doubt. She immediately responds with faith and trust. Maryam's prompt response of "Yes" to the divine message is a model of faith for all believers.

Maryam believed God's promises even when they seemed impossible. She was full of grace because she trusted that what God said was true and would be fulfilled. She was willing and eager to do God's will, even if it seemed difficult or costly.

When God commands He also gives the help, strength, and means to respond. We can either yield to His grace or resist and go our own way. Today, let us start/continue believing in God's promises and yielding to His grace.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself and to meditate on it:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and inseparable love. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in Your grace. Lord, help me to live a grace-filled life as Your maidservant Maryam did, by believing in your promises and by giving you my unqualified "Yes" to your will and plan for my life. Abba Father, today let the Holy Spirit show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can say the same words as Your maidservant Maryam; mother of our Lord and blessed amongst women; said in total faith: “Let it be to me according to your word.” I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I pray in His Holy Name. To Him be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever, Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

وفي الشهر السادس أرسل جبرائيل الملاك من الله الى مدينة من الجليل اسمها ناصرة

27 الى عذراء مخطوبة لرجل من بيت داود اسمه يوسف .واسم العذراء مريم .

28 فدخل اليها الملاك وقال سلام لك ايتها المنعم عليها .الرب معك مباركة انت في النساء .

29 فلما رأته اضطربت من كلامه وفكرت ما عسى ان تكون هذه التحية .

30 فقال لها الملاك لا تخافي يا مريم لانك قد وجدت نعمة عند الله .

31 وها انت ستحبلين وتلدين ابنا وتسمينه يسوع .

32 هذا يكون عظيما وابن العلي يدعى ويعطيه الرب الاله كرسي داود ابيه .

33 ويملك على بيت يعقوب الى الابد ولا يكون لملكه نهاية

34 فقالت مريم للملاك كيف يكون هذا وانا لست اعرف رجلا .

35 فاجاب الملاك وقال لها .الروح القدس يحل عليك وقوة العلي تظللك فلذلك ايضا القدوس المولود منك يدعى ابن الله .

36 وهوذا اليصابات نسيبتك هي ايضا حبلى بابن في شيخوختها وهذا هو الشهر السادس لتلك المدعوة عاقرا .

37 لانه ليس شيء غير ممكن لدى الله .

38 فقالت مريم هوذا انا أمة الرب .ليكن لي كقولك .فمضى من عندها الملاك

December 29 Devotion - Time for Repayment

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens

لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَوَانٌ، وَلِكُلِّ أَمْرٍ تَحْتَ السَّمَاءِ زَمَانٌ

Ecclesiastes 3:1

 واعوض لكم عن السنين التي اكلها الجراد

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—

Joel 2:25

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself and to meditate on it:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, inseparable and everlasting love. Thank You that You care so much about every detail of my life. Lord, I know You will heal every single hurt and pain. You will restore all that has been lost. You see the longings and desires of my heart. I know that You have my best interest at heart. I will keep standing, keep believing, and keep doing the right things because the One who repays for the years the locusts have eaten will restore every area in my life. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I pray in His Holy Name. To Him be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

December 28 Devotion - You are the apple of God's eye

For thus says the LORD of hosts:… “For he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.”

فَإِنَّ الرَّبَّ الْقَدِيرَ يَقُولُ ...'لأَنَّ مَنْ يَمَسُّكُمْ يَمَسُّ حَدَقَةَ عَيْنِهِ.'

Zechariah 2:8

God loves us so very much.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

And now the eyes of the Father are forever focused on us because of Christ’s atoning death on The Cross for us.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. 16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

 15 هَلْ تَنْسَى الْمَرْأَةُ رَضِيعَهَا وَلاَ تَرْحَمُ ابْنَ أَحْشَائِهَا؟ حَتَّى هَؤُلاَءِ يَنْسَيْنَ، أَمَّا أَنَا فَلاَ أَنْسَاكُمْ.  16 انْظُرُوا هَا أَنَا قَدْ نَقَشْتُكِ ُ عَلَى كَفِّي.

Isaiah 49:15-16

God will never forget us; the followers of Christ; for He has inscribed our names on the palms of His Hands. Neither will He forget the church, the body of believers.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself and to meditate on it:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and deep inseparable love. Lord, forgive me if at times I feel that You have forgotten me. Increase my faith so as to know, believe, and trust that You never forget me. I am privileged and thankful that as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ; Your only begotten Son; that I am so precious to You, that my name is written on the palms of Your hands.

Thank You Lord for loving me so much that You consider that whoever touches me touches the apple of Your eye. I thank You, praise You and glorify You, in the name of Jesus my Lord and Saviour, to whom be honour, glory and power forever and ever . Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein