August 31 Devotion - Resolving Conflict

 

  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.

 

لِيُرْفَعْ مِنْ بَيْنِكُمْ كُلُّ مَرَارَةٍ وَسَخَطٍ وَغَضَبٍ وَصِيَاحٍ وَتَجْدِيفٍ مَعَ كُلِّ خُبْثٍ. 32وَكُونُوا لُطَفَاءَ بَعْضُكُمْ نَحْوَ بَعْضٍ، شَفُوقِينَ مُتَسَامِحِينَ كَمَا سَامَحَكُمُ اللهُ أَيْضًا فِي الْمَسِيحِ.

Ephesians 4:31-32

 As we see from Jesus’ actions and words in Matthew 21:12-13 (see text at the end of the devotion) anger is not intrinsically wrong. Anger in response to sin and its ill effects is a form of righteous anger, but when it crosses over the boundary into bitterness or a spirit of vengeance, it is not honouring to God.

 Our health and well-being are important reasons for quick resolution of an angry conflict; bitterness must definitely be avoided.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, please do not let anger control me. Teach me to resolve conflict and to replace it with a win-win alternative and to be tenderhearted toward the person I am having conflict with but without accepting a martyr lose-win alternative for myself. Please work on their heart also. Lord, help me to get rid of any desire to get revenge, and to be able to quickly forgive just as You God have forgiven me in Christ. Lord help me to realize that my total dependence on You to help me forgive is not an indication of weakness on my part, but a sign of strength and confidence in You and Your promises. Father I thank You for Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me and for Your abundant blessings in my life. In the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus The Christ, the only begotten Son of God, I pray. To You Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever, Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 And Jesus entered the temple [grounds] and drove out [with force] all who were buying and selling [birds and animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and He turned over the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the chairs of those who were selling doves [for sacrifice]. ¹³ Jesus said to them, “It is written [in Scripture], ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

 ¹²وَدَخَلَ يَسُوعُ إِلَى هَيْكَلِ اللهِ وَأَخْرَجَ جَمِيعَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يَبِيعُونَ وَيَشْتَرُونَ فِي الْهَيْكَلِ، وَقَلَبَ مَوَائِدَ الصَّيَارِفَةِ وَكَرَاسِيَّ بَاعَةِ الْحَمَامِ ¹³وَقَالَ لَهُمْ:«مَكْتُوبٌ: بَيْتِي بَيْتَ الصَّلاَةِ يُدْعَى. وَأَنْتُمْ جَعَلْتُمُوهُ مَغَارَةَ لُصُوصٍ!»

August 28 Devotion - Jesus is the only Mediator and Intercessor for mankind

 

 For there is [only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and mankind, the Man Christ Jesus.

Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us.

لأَنَّهُ يُوجَدُ إِلهٌ وَاحِدٌ وَوَسِيطٌ وَاحِدٌ بَيْنَ اللهِ وَالنَّاسِ: الإِنْسَانُ يَسُوعُ الْمَسِيحُ،                                       

اَلْمَسِيحُ هُوَ الَّذِي مَاتَ، بَلْ بِالْحَرِيِّ قَامَ أَيْضًا، الَّذِي هُوَ أَيْضًا عَنْ يَمِينِ اللهِ، الَّذِي أَيْضًا يَشْفَعُ فِينَا.

1 Timothy 2:5

Romans 8:34

God justified us, which means He declared us not guilty, because by the gift of faith we have accepted Christ as Saviour. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between God and mankind and Jesus is the only intercessor for mankind. The Bible says so and nowhere in the Bible does it say that we need an intercessor between us and Jesus.

 

Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,…. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

14فَإِذْ لَنَا رَئِيسُكَهَنَةٍ عَظِيمٌ قَدِ اجْتَازَ السَّمَاوَاتِ، يَسُوعُ ابْنُ اللهِ،

16فَلْنَتَقَدَّمْ بِثِقَةٍ إِلَى عَرْشِ النِّعْمَةِ لِكَيْ نَنَالَ رَحْمَةً وَنَجِدَ نِعْمَةً عَوْنًا فِي حِينِهِ.

 Hebrews 4: 14, 16

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You God that because I have accepted Jesus as my Saviour and made Him Lord over my life, You now see me through Christ’s righteousness instead of through my sin. Thank You God that Your justifying grace allows me to stand accepted before You. Thank You Jesus for Your crucifixion and ascension, and for Your intercession and mediation on my behalf to God. Thank You God for Your abundant blessings and unfailing love. God I praise You, glorify You and lift You up on high. I thank You and adore You. 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 majesty, the power and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

August 27 Devotion - Loving Jesus sincerely

 

 May God’s grace and blessing be upon all who sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ.

وَلْتَكُنْ نِعمَةُ اللهِ مَعَ كُلِّ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ رَبَّنا يَسُوعَ المَسِيحِ مَحَبَّةً لا تَزُولُ

 Ephesians 6:24 Living Bible (TLB)

A sincere love for Christ I believe means that all activities, relationships, and time investments become opportunities to glorify God. The love of Christ becomes the lens through which all of life is seen through and is a motivator to be obedient to God’s commands. Jesus told us: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” John 14:15.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being indwelling my innermost being and personality so that I may always love Jesus sincerely. LORD, You are my strength and my song; You are my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. Isaiah 12:2 LORD You are my shield; my heart leaps for joy and I give thanks to You Lord in song. Isaiah 12:2. Lord, in my weakest moments, assure me that the power of Christ will rest upon me. Your grace is sufficient for me. I believe that when your grace abounds my weakness will be transformed into strength and I will soar like an eagle and I shall run and not be weary. Thank You Father that Your deep steadfast love for me endures forever. Thank You Father for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. I proclaim to the world that Jesus 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 You Father. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

 

 

 

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

August 26 Devotion - It is all from God

 

 

 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

لانه من يميّزك واي شيء لك لم تأخذه.وان كنت قد اخذت فلماذا تفتخر كانك لم تأخذ.

 1 Corinthians 4:7

 Although we all want to feel good about ourselves, let us immediately recognize that everything we have is from God. Whatever blessings, beginning with our talents, our intelligence, our ability to speak languages, our successes, our wealth and going all the way to our salvation is from God. Whatever spiritual gifts we have are from God. Your voice, your organizational abilities, your preaching and/or your teaching abilities, my writing abilities, and these devotions they are all from God, lest anyone should boast.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for all my talents, physical attributes, success and joy in my life, they are all blessings from You Lord. Thank You for this ‘devotion ministry’ that You have given me through these daily devotions, may they be a blessing to everyone reading them. Grant me the humility to always recognize Your hand in everything I am, and everything I own and in everything good in my life. I thank You for the grace of Your Salvation through Jesus Christ, I know that it is a gift that I am chosen for and that I received freely, and that Jesus paid His life for my redemption and salvation. What a fantastic gift beyond description. God I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, I lift You up on high, and glorify Your Holy Name. Abba Father, thank You for Your deep and everlasting love of me, Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. In Jesus name I pray. To Jesus 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

 

August 25 Devotion - Renew my Strength

 

 

 

 

 وَأَمَّا مُنْتَظِرُو الرَّبِّ فَيُجَدِّدُونَ قُوَّةً. يَرْفَعُونَ أَجْنِحَةً كَالنُّسُورِ.

 

We need to ask for the aid and direction of the Holy Spirit to succeed in our spiritual growth, His service, our daily walk with Him, and in our daily lives on earth. The waiting in the above verse is meant to be the kind of waiting as attending to. We need to attend to the Lord in the midst of our weakness. We need to worship Him, listen to His guiding Holy Spirit, be obedient to Him and find His strength in our love for Him.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, please renew my strength and give me the ability to always attend to You, fill me to abundance with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to soar like an eagle over my disappointments and everything that is broken in my life. Thank You Father God that Your deep steadfast love for me endures forever, thank You Lord for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. God I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son; my Redeemer and Saviour; The Lord of my life, Jesus Christ. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion before all time and now and forevermore. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

August 24 Devotion - Abundance

 

 

 

 Jesus said:

“Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

 أَعْطُوا، تُعْطَوْا: فَإِنَّكُمْ تُعْطَوْنَ فِي أَحْضَانِكُمْ كَيْلاً جَيِّداً مُلَبَّداً مَهْزُوزاً فَائِضاً، لأَنَّهُ بِالْكَيْلِ الَّذِي بِهِ تَكِيلُونَ، يُكَالُ لَكُمْ».

Luke 6:38

 

God applies what He preaches. He is a God of abundance! He is always giving us; He wants to pour out His abundance on us until we are so full that we are running over with His abundance.

We should notice however that Jesus said: "Give and it will be given to you." We need to start giving. Giving is not just financial. Spiritual, emotional, acts of service are included and required.

When we plant an orange seed, God gives us an orange tree with a single orange…No, he gives us an orange tree with an abundance of oranges. If we plant many orange seeds we can get an orange grove. That's what happens when we obey God in our giving, we get an abundant harvest in return and when we give some away, the cycle repeats itself.

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

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and inseparable love. Thank You for the gift that no one else can give, salvation through Jesus Christ. Help me to be a blessing to others and to give in the same way I want to receive, a good measure that is exceeding expectations. Father God please help me to open the door to Your abundance in all areas of my life. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I pray in His Holy Name. 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

August 20 Devotion - ABCD

 

 

 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

 وَمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُخَاصِمَكَ وَيَأْخُذَ ثَوْبَكَ فَاتْرُكْ لَهُ الرِّدَاءَ أَيْضاً.41. وَمَنْ سَخَّرَكَ مِيلاً وَاحِداً فَاذْهَبْ مَعَهُ اثْنَيْنِ.

42. مَنْ سَأَلَكَ فَأَعْطِهِ وَمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَقْتَرِضَ مِنْكَ فَلاَ تَرُدَّهُ.    وَسَمِعْتُمْ أَنَّهُ قِيلَ: تُحِبُّ قَرِيبَكَ وَتُبْغِضُ عَدُوَّكَ. ⁴⁴ أَمَّا أَنَا فَأَقُولُ لَكُمْ: أَحِبُّوا أَعْدَاءَكُمْ، وَبَارِكُوا لاَعِنِيكُمْ، وَأَحْسِنُوا مُعَامَلَةَ الَّذِينَ يُبْغِضُونَكُمْ، وَصَلُّوا لأَجْلِ الَّذِينَ يُسِيئُونَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَيَضْطَهِدُونَكُمْ،

Matthew 5:40-44

 

At one of my work assignments, the organization encouraged people to go beyond their job descriptions and their objectives. When a person did that they got an ABCD award. Above and Beyond the Call of Duty.

How can we get an ABCD award in our Christian life when the bar is as high as Jesus puts it? On our own we cannot because we cannot even meet the bar that Jesus has set.

In my opinion these verses are there to teach us three things:

 

• One lesson is: that is the nature of God. That is how He loves and treats us.

 

• The second is to show us that on our own we cannot but through The Holy Spirit we can.

 

• The third is that we can never do enough works to enter heaven, we need the Grace of God demonstrated by the justification we experience through the death of Jesus in our place.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, please strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being to go the extra mile and to be generous toward others, to love others including my enemies and pray for those who persecute me. Thank You Jesus that You empathize with my weaknesses  as I cannot meet Your commandments on my own. Jesus You are my high priest to whom I take my needs, and through You Jesus I can come boldly to God’s throne of grace. Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. Psalm 16:1 Thank You Father God for Your abundant blessings and inseparable love. Lord, thank You for Your gifts from the lowest pulsation of life to the highest powers of action and of continued existence. God, I acknowledge my constant and absolute dependence on You for in You Lord I live and move and have my being. Acts 17:28

In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. To Jesus be the power, the glory , the majesty and the dominion forever and ever, and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

August 19 Devotion - Keeping our faith high

 

 

 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

فنرى انهم لم يقدروا ان يدخلوا لعدم الايمان

Hebrews 3:19

 As Christian believers, faith is the foundation of our relationship to God.

Ways of keeping our faith high:

     •     Understanding the nature of God

     •     Remembering God’s power

     •     Focusing on Jesus and not our obstacles

We need to fill our minds with God’s truth. When we know the character of our heavenly Father, we will be prepared to respond with spiritual maturity when our faith is tested. As we plan to spend time with God today, let us focus on His characteristics which He has shown us.

The Lord longs for us to know and trust Him so that His perfect will may be carried out in our lives.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I confess that there are situations and events in my life which I fear. I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me and spiritually energize me with power through Your Spirit in my innermost being and personality, so that I can immerse myself in Your truth and that my strengthened faith in You will carry me through. Replace my focus on my obstacles Lord and shift it to Your love, mercy, grace, faithfulness, graciousness, power, wisdom and goodness. Father God, I thank You for loving me with a deep and everlasting love, thank You for Your abundant blessings and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Now to Him who is able to carry out His purpose and do infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Ephesians 3:20-21 (AMP) Amen.

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

August 18 Devotion - When God Seems distant Guess Who Moved?

 

Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God! Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.

 طرقك يا رب عرّفني. سبلك علمني.

 دربني في حقك وعلمني. لانك انت اله خلاصي. اياك انتظرت اليوم كله.

Psalm 83:1; Psalm 25:4–5

 

 When we are not being obedient to God’s commandments we sometimes think God is silent and is not responding to prayer. We think God has moved away, yet it is us who have moved away because we broke our fellowship with God and quenched The Holy Spirit within us. We need to come back to God in repentance and ask Him to show us His ways and teach us His paths and learn to wait upon The Lord. God often takes us places we could never dream of going on our own. His vision is far beyond ours.

 

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, help me to seek Your Kingdom and don’t let me walk in my own ways. Take away my selfish desires and replace them with Your healthy dreams and goals. Lord, please show me Your plan and desires for me, and help me to wait for Your way to be revealed to me. Help me Father God to trust that Your might and power will open doors for me that I thought were permanently closed and doors that I never knew existed. Thank You Father for Your deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and in His name I pray to You LORD. 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