September 30 Devotion - While we were still sinners, Christ died for us

When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?" 17And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

فَلَمَّا رَأَى الْكَتَبَةُ وَالْفَرِّيسِيُّونَ يَسُوعَ يَأْكُلُ مَعَ الْجُبَاةِ وَالْخَاطِئِينَ، قَالُوا لِتَلاَمِيذِهِ: «لِمَاذَا يَأْكُلُ مَعَ الْجُبَاةِ وَالْخَاطِئِينَ؟»

¹⁷ فَسَمِعَ يَسُوعُ، وَأَجَابَ: «لَيْسَ الأَصِحَّاءُ هُمُ الْمُحْتَاجُونَ إِلَى الطَّبِيبِ، بَلِ الْمَرْضَى. مَا جِئْتُ لأَدْعُوَ أَبْرَاراً بَلْ خَاطِئِينَ! »

Mark 2:16-17

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

وَلَكِنَّ اللهَ أَثْبَتَ لَنَا مَحَبَّتَهُ، إِذْ وَنَحْنُ مَازِلْنَا خَاطِئِينَ مَاتَ الْمَسِيحُ عِوَضاً عَنَّا.

Romans 5:8

With God, through Christ, there is mercy to pardon the greatest sins, and grace to change the greatest sinners, and make them holy. Jesus came to help us sinners, and while we were still sinners He died for us.

Living the Christian life is impossible on our own. Trying to live the Christian life by our own efforts is like a ship on dry land…just doesn’t work very well. For the ship to get anywhere, it needs to be resting on the water. And to enjoy the Christian life, we need to learn how to rest in God. Paul knew this:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

إِنِّي أَسْتَطِيعُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ، فِي الْمَسِيحِ الَّذِي يُقَوِّينِي.

Philippians 4:13

Some people believe they have to be good first before coming to Christ and they have to be ready not to sin once they come to Christ. Jesus is telling us He come for us sinners and while we were still sinners He died for us. We can only live the Christian life through Jesus strengthening us. We have been given someone to enable us to live the Christian life – the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of Christ – come to live in the body of every believer who has accepted Jesus as his/her Saviour and Lord over their life. Do not wait to be perfect to invite Jesus into your heart, it is through Jesus that you can be perfected.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings, and for the riches of Your grace in my life. Lord, through Your Word and the guidance of The Holy Spirit help me to learn from Jesus and to take the Yoke Jesus offers. Jesus, come to me like You came to Your disciples walking on the water through the storm and redeem and strengthen me spiritually, emotionally and physically and give me rest. Lord, I choose to see Your loving arms wrapped around me lifting me up to safety, provision, and peace. I thank You that You are a reliable and trustworthy God and You promised that You will never leave me nor forsake me, and I know that You are faithful. I choose today to concentrate on You, to hold fast my confession that Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. Jesus, I trust and pray in Your Holy name. To Jesus be the power, the glory and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

September 29 Devotion - Trust and Wait

Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

Psalm 37:5 Amplified Bible (AMP)

سلم للرب طريقك واتكل عليه وهو يجري.

God always chooses the best time to respond to our prayers and responds to our prayers in His way which may not be what we envisioned but is always best for us. During our waiting period trust is our foundational asset. Without our trust in Him fear and panic can set in.

When the Disciples were in the boat in the Sea of Galilee facing a terrible storm they expected the worst, however Jesus commanded the wind and waves to be still. He taught the Disciples how to trust Him even in the most tempestuous of circumstances, and He is teaching us to wait and expect for His outstretched arm.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting and inseparable love. God I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your Holy Name. 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 trust You with an unconditional trust that allows me to have the patience to wait for Your deliverance. Jesus teach me to roll and repose all my cares and my load onto Your shoulders. I declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour. In the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Your only begotten Son Jesus, I pray. To Him be the power, the glory, the majesty and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.  

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

September 28 Devotion - Believe and you will See

By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.

Hebrews 11:3

Amplified Bible (AMP)

This verse tells me that I have to look with my eyes of faith because the provision, healing and miracle I need is already available in God’s realm.

I believe that I was created by Almighty God to live a blessed and fulfilled life.

I believe that many of us may be living far below the level of what God truly intended for us because we do not have enough faith and imagination to see God’s plan and believe how it could happen.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. 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 look with my eyes of faith and believe that You have a glorious plan for my life and see it materialize because that which I will see was not made out of things which are visible, as Jesus said “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 God I praise You, glorify You and lift You up on high. In the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Jesus I pray. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, 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

September 27 Devotion - Be Like-Minded

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:5-6

وليعطكم اله الصبر والتعزية ان تهتموا اهتماما واحدا فيما بينكم بحسب المسيح يسوع 6 لكي تمجدوا الله ابا ربنا يسوع المسيح بنفس واحدة وفم واحد.

May our God give all believers the same mode of thinking, and the same power of bearing towards each other, according to the example of Christ. May our God, who alone could rule and manage the heart, enable all believers in Jesus The Christ to feel their obligation to Him and to join in harmony in every act of religious worship.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings, and for the riches of Your grace in my life. God I pray to You for all believers and ‘The Church’ that You would help us to be like-minded in spite of any personal difference or any denominational allegiance that we may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and unite in harmony in our worship of You. Strengthen me O’Lord to be an example of unity and love, and release anything that would keep me from being the best You created me to be for You. God I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son; my Redeemer and Saviour; Jesus Christ. 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

September 23 Devotion - Feelings versus Truth

Some of us at times may experience negative feelings. These negative feelings may be founded on various factors like:

• ·     Our upbringing

• ·     What is happening in our lives

• ·     How we are being treated

• ·     Our self-image

If you ever feel unworthy, or insignificant, or unloved or rejected, the best way to combat these negative emotions is to turn to The Word of God and see what He says about us or to us.

·     Whenever we feel unworthy let us remember that God made us in His image, so we are precious:

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”

وقال الله نعمل الانسان على صورتنا كشبهنا

Genesis 1: 26

·     Whenever we feel insignificant let us remember that we are very significant because we can be used by God to accomplish His glory:

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

وكل ما عملتم بقول او فعل فاعملوا الكل باسم الرب يسوع شاكرين الله والآب به

Colossians 3:17

·     Whenever we feel unloved let us remember that God loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us and grant us everlasting life.

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

What Jesus did for us by dying for us is the ultimate type of love because Jesus said:

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

·     Whenever we feel rejected let us remember that we are chosen by God and are precious to God.

If God is for us, who can be against us? There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

مَادَامَ اللهُ مَعَنَا، فَمَنْ يَكُونُ عَلَيْنَا؟ فَالآنَ إِذاً لَيْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ فِي الْمَسِيحِ يَسُوعَ أَيَّةُ دَيْنُونَةٍ بَعْدُ

وَإِنَّ إِلَهِي سَيَسُدُّ حَاجَاتِكُمْ كُلَّهَا إِلَى التَّمَامِ، وَفْقاً لِغِنَاهُ فِي الْمَجْدِ، فِي الْمَسِيحِ يَسُوعَ.

Romans 8:31, Romans 8:1, Philippians 4:19

Let us remember that Jesus prayed for us and asked God to sanctify us by His truth. Truth about us is what is important, not our feelings.

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

قدسهم في حقك. كلامك هو حق

John 17:17

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings, and for the riches of Your grace in my life. Father, whenever I feel bad or depressed let me always remember Your truths, Your words, Your love, and Your promises. Thank You Father that You created me according to Your image and Your likeness. Strengthen me to be used by you for Your glory. Thank You Father that You consider me an adopted child of God. Sanctify me by Your truth Father and do a ‘cut and paste’ in me Lord; ‘cut’ these negative feelings and let the Holy Spirit ‘paste’ Your truth and promises deep into my heart and my spirit. God I praise You, glorify You and lift You up on high. In the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Your only begotten Son Jesus, I pray. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, 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