May 29 Devotion - During difficult and sad times - Manchester and Egypt

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by.

ارحمني يا الله ارحمني لانه بك احتمت نفسي وبظل جناحيك احتمي الى ان تعبر المصائب.

Psalm 57:1

When facing difficult and/or sad times we need to:

1.  Depend on the fact that God’s character never changes.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

يسوع المسيح هو هو امسا واليوم والى الابد

Hebrews 13:8

2. Remember that God has helped us before in the past

3.  Increase our faith, obedience, and commitment to The Lord. Depend on God to comfort and reward us as He rewarded Abraham’s faith, rewarded Joshua’s obedience, and Daniel’s commitment.

4.  Strengthen our hearts through God’s grace.

It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace

لانه حسن ان يثبّت القلب بالنعمة

Hebrews 13:9

Grace speaks of deliverance from affliction, or adversity. It also denotes enablement, daily guidance, forgiveness, and preservation. Grace is God’s supernatural provision and it overwhelms every obstacle.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I know You are omnipotent and have unlimited power and are merciful, I take refuge during these tough and sad time under Your wings. Father, surround me and infill me with Your grace that overcomes every sadness, every obstacle, every difficulty and dilemma. Thank You that You are merciful to me. My soul trusts in You. Thank You God that You are omnipresent, present in all places at all times throughout the ages and never change. Lord, I look at my past and I thank You for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. I know that You will never leave me nor forsake me. I rest in the assurance that Your grace works every time. Lord God I praise You, lift You up on high, and glorify You. In the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus The Christ, the only begotten Son of God, I pray. 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

May 26 Devotion - Salvation through Jesus Christ

God our Savior, wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

اللهِ مُخَلِّصِنَا،

 فَهُوَ يُرِيدُ لِجَمِيعِ النَّاسِ أَنْ يَخْلُصُوا، وَيُقْبِلُوا إِلَى مَعْرِفَةِ الْحَقِّ بِالتَّمَامِ:

 فَإِنَّ اللهَ وَاحِدٌ، وَالْوَسِيطُ بَيْنَ اللهِ وَالنَّاسِ وَاحِدٌ، وَهُوَ الإِنْسَانُ الْمَسِيحُ يَسُوعُ،

الَّذِي بَذَلَ نَفْسَهُ فِدْيَةً عِوَضاً عَنِ الْجَمِيعِ. هَذِهِ شَهَادَةٌ تُؤَدَّى فِي أَوْقَاتِهَا الْخَاصَّةِ،

1 Timothy 2: 3-6

God wants everyone to be ‘saved’. It is His desire. That is why He came down in the form of a man Jesus Christ to save us. So how do we become saved?

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

أَنَّكَ إِنِ اعْتَرَفْتَ بِفَمِكَ بِيَسُوعَ رَبّاً، وَآمَنْتَ فِي قَلْبِكَ بِأَنَّ اللهَ أَقَامَهُ مِنَ الأَمْوَاتِ، نِلْتَ الْخَلاصَ.

 فَإِنَّ الإِيمَانَ فِي القَلْبِ يُؤَدِّي إِلَى الْبِرِّ، وَالاعْتِرَافَ بِالْفَمِ يُؤَيِّدُ الْخَلاَصَ،

Romans 10:9-10

It is God’s desire that You and I be saved and everyone else to be saved. You and I have a role to help everyone know the good news of the Gospel. Jesus asked us to spread the word and let people know about salvation through Jesus Christ. Two of the very important truths and messages that Jesus told us are:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”

 فَقالَ لَهُ يَسُوعُ:أنا هُوَ الطَّرِيِقُ وَالحَقُّ وَالحَياةُ. لا أحَدَ يَأْتِي إلَى الآبِ إلّا بِي

John14:6

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you

فَاذهَبُوا، وَتَلمِذُوا جَمِيعَ أُمَمِ الأرْضِ، وَعَمِّدوهُمْ بِاسْمِ الآبِ وَالابْنِ وَالرُّوحِ القُدُسِ، 20 وَعَلِّمُوهُمْ أنْ يُطِيعُوا كُلَّ ما أوصَيتُكُمْ بِهِ.

Matthew 28:19-20

So my friend we have a responsibility toward ourselves to accept the gift of Salvation offered to us by the grace of God and we have a responsibility toward others to help them know the truth and The Way to salvation: Jesus Christ. Whether they accept and when or whether they do not accept  that is the role of The Holy Spirit.

We all need to do what God desires, it is not just up to Priests, Pastors or Missionaries only, it is up to each and every Christian. Have you talked about Jesus to any none believer, do you talk about Jesus when you are in the company of other Christians? It is the ‘Great Commission’ that Jesus gave us. The simplest thing you can do is forward these devotions or other devotions to someone, pray for them, share the devotions on your Facebook page, forward these emails. The alternatives in this high-tech age are immense. Let’s act on God’s desire as He wants all people to be saved, communicate in the method you feel most at ease with. Direct, phone, tablet or computer.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. 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 help others know about salvation through Jesus Christ. I know that this is Your will and I know that I can do it through Jesus Christ who strengthens me. Lord please sink this message deep into my heart and help me achieve Your desire. God I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son my Lord 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

May 25 Devotion - The Ascension of Christ

Today is The Feast of the Ascension. The Feast of the Ascension is one of the ecumenical (i.e., universally celebrated) feasts of the Christian liturgical year, and is traditionally celebrated on the sixth Thursday after Easter Sunday, the fortieth day from Easter day.

The disciples were stunned and lost when Jesus was crucified, they lost total hope.

They regained hope when He rose from the dead and was with them again. Then He ascended to the Father.

After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. ¹⁰ As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.

قَالَ هَذَا وَارْتَفَعَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَهُمْ يَنْظُرُونَهُ. ثُمَّ حَجَبَتْهُ سَحَابَةٌ عَنْ أَنْظَارِهِمْ.

¹⁰ وَبَيْنَمَا هُمْ يُحَدِّقُونَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ يَنْطَلِقُ إِلَيْهَا، إِذَا رَجُلاَنِ قَدْ ظَهَرَا لَهُمْ بِثِيَابٍ بِيضٍ،

While they sadly gazed to the heavens angels told them:

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Acts 1:9-11

ايها الرجال الجليليون ما بالكم واقفين تنظرون الى السماء. ان يسوع هذا الذي ارتفع عنكم الى السماء سيأتي هكذا كما رأيتموه منطلقا الى السماء.

What the Disciples saw when Jesus was crucified and when He ascended to Heaven was an ending, however God saw both situations as a bright and glorious beginning.

We can apply this lesson to everything that happens to us in life. Some things come to an end however they may be the beginning of something much better. This even applies to a believer’s life where it may be seen as an end however in God’s plan, he/she is starting a bright new beginning.

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 for me. Lord, as You sent angels to the disciples; to deliver Your message; let me receive Your plan for my life and help me to move from the sorrow and pain of the endings to the joy of Your bright new beginnings. Lord, I thank You for endings that are truly new beginnings. Strengthen my faith Lord to take the next step. Lord God I praise You, lift You up on high, and glorify You. In the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus The Christ, the only begotten Son of God, I pray. 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

May 24 Devotion - I will be content when...

"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need." 11 لَسْتُ أَعْنِي أَنِّي كُنْتُ فِي حَاجَةٍ، فَأَنَا قَدْ تَعَلَّمْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ قَنُوعاً فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ.

 12 وَأَعْرِفُ كَيْفَ أَعِيشُ فِي الْعَوَزِ، وَكَيْفَ أَعِيشُ فِي الْوَفْرَةِ. فَإِنِّي، فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَفِي جَمِيعِ الأَحْوَالِ، مُتَدَرِّبٌ عَلَى الشَّبَعِ وَعَلَى الْجُوعِ، وَعَلَى الْعَيْشِ فِي الْوَفْرَةِ أَوْ فِي الْعَوَزِ

                                                                    

 Philippians  4:11-12 

I will be content when…. I get married; I will be content when…. I have children, I will be content when I become financially independent, I will be content when I lose 20 pounds, I will be content when my children grow up, I will be content when…

Notice that The Apostle Paul says that he learned to be content in whatever situation he is. We also need to learn that too. Sometimes we get focused on our dreams and desires and feel frustrated that we have not received them and we forget to enjoy the now. Is it possible that we delay receiving God’s blessings because He wants us to learn to be content in the now and under any circumstance? I believe that when I learn to be content under any circumstance I am showing my faith in God.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Jesus teach me to be content and thankful for what I have. Help me Lord to release the frustration and anxiety that I am feeling because I have not received my dreams and desires, and help me realize that You are doing what is best for me. Teach me to be content in the now and under all circumstance, to rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him. Help me Jesus to enjoy the journey not just the destination. Jesus please release Your blessings and satisfy me every morning with Your loving kindness, that I may sing for joy and be glad all my days knowing that You will never desert me, nor ever forsake me. Abba Father, thank You for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, and I pray in His precious Holy Name. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion before all time, and now, and forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein