December 30 Devotion - Our God of Restoration

 

Some of us, or all of us, have had some or many disappointments in 2020 and cannot wait for this year to end. Personally, I lost my brother Rafick to Covid-19 in 2020. Many of us are dreading that the coming year or a portion of it will be a continuation of the troubles of 2020 due to the continuation of the pandemic and its destructive effects. We may be dwelling on the past and living in anger, grief, fear, and defeat. We can choose in this coming New Year 2021 to focus on God’s promises to us, because God wants to restore everything that's broken in our lives for He said:

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

واعوض لكم عن السنين التي اكلها الجراد

Joel 2:25

He wants to restore our connection with Him, our joy, our peace, our health, our relationships and our finances. There is however a key to receiving God’s blessings, each one of us has to believe (visualize with clarity receiving the blessings) for God said:

I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.

لِذلِكَ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: كُلُّ مَا تَطْلُبُونَهُ حِينَمَا تُصَلُّونَ، فَآمِنُوا أَنْ تَنَالُوهُ، فَيَكُونَ لَكُمْ.

And each one of us must:

be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

بل تغيّروا عن شكلكم بتجديد اذهانكم لتختبروا ما هي ارادة الله الصالحة المرضية الكاملة.

Romans 12:1-2

Today, let us choose to focus on the future and release past hurts, let us believe in confident trust that we have received God’s answer to our prayers, let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Let us proclaim that we are children of a loving God, a God of restoration.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for choosing to restore my life. Thank You for Your good, pleasing and perfect will for my life. Thank You for the promises and truth of Your Word that set me free. Lord please strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can renew my mind today and visualize with clarity receiving all the blessings I desire which are in accordance with Your will for my life. Father, all I need You have already provided for, please let me experience Your blessings and restore all the lost years which the locusts have eaten. Thank You God for loving me with a deep, unfailing and everlasting love, thank You for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Father God I praise You, glorify You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and I lift You up on high. Father I pray to You in the name of Your only begotten Son, my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Jesus be the majesty, authority, power, glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

December 29 Devotion - Apart from Jesus we can do nothing

 

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.

إِنْ لَمْ يَبْنِ الرَّبُّ الْبَيْتَ، فَبَاطِلاً يَتْعَبُ الْبَنَّاؤُونَ. وَإِنْ لَمْ يَحْرُسِ الرَّبُّ الْمَدِينَةَ فَبَاطِلاً يَسْهَرُ الْحَارِسُ.

 Psalms127:1

 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

أَنَا الْكَرْمَةُ وَأَنْتُمُ الأَغْصَانُ. مَنْ يَثْبُتُ فِيَّ وَأَنَا فِيهِ، فَذَاكَ يُنْتِجُ ثَمَراً كَثِيراً. فَإِنَّكُمْ بِمَعْزِلٍ عَنِّي لاَ تَقْدِرُونَ أَنْ تَفْعَلُوا شَيْئاً.

 John 15:5

God runs everything in our lives. God has planned every day of the life of each one of us before He created the world. If we preach to non-believers, unless God is there touching their hearts we are working in vain. The same applies to building anything or working on any project or defending our position we need God to bless our work to achieve the desired results.

Jesus tells us that He is the vine; we are the branches.  Without an attachment to Him, we would be unable to do anything, including living and breathing.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. God, I acknowledge that You are operating ALL according to the counsel of Your own will.  Ephesians 1:11 Help me Lord to acknowledge You in all my ways so that You direct my paths. Proverbs 3:6 Lord even if I let my heart to plan my way, but I trust that You Lord direct my steps. Proverbs 16:9 Jesus I acknowledge that I can do nothing without You please remain in me and help me to always remain in You. Lord I am blessed that You promised that You will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go; and You will guide me with Your eye. Psalm 32:8  In the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Jesus I pray. To Him be the glory, the power, and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

December 28 Devotion - Jesus is our Friend

 

No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

  لا اعود اسميكم عبيدا لان العبد لا يعلم ما يعمل سيده .لكني قد سميتكم احباء لاني أعلمتكم بكل ما سمعته من ابي .

John 15:15

What distinguishes a friend from a slave? A slave does not know the plans of his/her master or owner. He receives the commands of his master without knowing the reasons why they are ordered. Friendship on the other hand allows one to be made acquainted with the plans, wishes, and wants of the other friend. This instance of friendship Jesus had shared with His disciples the reasons why he was about to leave them, and with His secret wishes regarding them. As He had given them this proof of friendship, it was proper that He should not withhold from them the title of friends.

The reason why He calls us friends is that He treats us as friends. He has opened to us His mind; made known to us His plans; acquainted us with the design of His coming, His death, His resurrection, ascension, and second coming; and, having thus given us the clearest proof of friendship, it is therefore proper that He gives us this name.

We should always look at Jesus as our friend, even though He is also our Lord and master.

 

After your prayer listen to “ What a friend we have in Jesus” : https://youtu.be/YTpUQO0aryw

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Jesus You laid Your life for me and said: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13 Thank You Jesus for loving me and treating me like Your friend. 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 continue to declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour and Friend. In the Holy Name of Jesus, I pray. To Him be the glory, the power, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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

In Him,

Wagdi Henein