February 26 Devotion - "I am the vine, you are the branches"

 

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

⁵ “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

John 15:1-5

انا الكرمة الحقيقية وابي الكرّام .

2 كل غصن فيّ لا يأتي بثمر ينزعه .وكل ما يأتي بثمر ينقيه ليأتي بثمر اكثر .

3 انتم الآن انقياء لسبب الكلام الذي كلمتكم به .

4 اثبتوا فيّ وانا فيكم .كما ان الغصن لا يقدر ان يأتي بثمر من ذاته ان لم يثبت في الكرمة كذلك انتم ايضا ان لم تثبتوا فيّ .

5 انا الكرمة وانتم الاغصان .الذي يثبت فيّ وانا فيه هذا يأتي بثمر كثير .لانكم بدوني لا تقدرون ان تفعلوا شيئا .

Without Jesus we cannot do anything that is spiritually good. Nothing can be accomplished "without Christ"; without His Spirit, grace, strength, and presence. Were it possible for believers that are truly in Him, to be removed from Him, they could bring forth no spiritual fruits or fruits of good works, any more than a branch separated from the vine can bring forth grapes; so that all the fruitfulness of a believer is to be ascribed to Christ, and His grace, and not to our own free will and power.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me and Your abundant blessings in my life. Thank You Jesus that I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of Your life. Jesus, I pray that You abide in me, and I in You. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can I, unless I abide in You Jesus. Jesus please strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can bear much fruit; for without You Jesus I can do nothing. In the name of The King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Jesus I pray. To Jesus be the glory, the majesty, the power, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

February 25 Devotion - Redeemed and Forgiven

 

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

 Colossians 1:14, Ephesians 1:5

الذي لنا فيه الفداء بدمه غفران الخطايا.

5 اذ سبق فعيّننا للتبني بيسوع المسيح لنفسه حسب مسرة مشيئته

 

Forgiveness (Greek: Aphesis) speaks of a canceled debt. You and I can be forgiven because Christ went to the cross and shed His blood for me and for you. Our debt has been cancelled because Jesus died in our place.

We are forgiven when we accept that He has died in our place, for our sins. Salvation is not something we earn through good deeds or bargain for, in exchange for promising to improve. God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ, whom He loves.

The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture. When we surrender our lives to Christ and accept the fact that He bore our sins in His own body at The Cross, and when we declare Him as our Lord and Saviour, at that moment we are born again through the spirit and become children of God.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You Lord that I am now Your child of because I was purchased with the precious blood of Christ. Thank You Lord that You redeemed me and granted me forgiveness of my sins, according to the riches of Your grace. Thank You Father for loving me with a deep and everlasting love, thank You for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Thank You Jesus that You paid for my sins and they have been canceled. You paid a very high price for me: Your blood. 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 forgive others and forgive myself. Please help others to forgive me. Strengthen me Lord so that I continue to declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour and Jesus may continue to dwell in my heart through faith. I pray in the holy name of Jesus and I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

February 24 Devotion - FEAR

 

Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.

 فِي يَوْمِ خَوْفِي أَتَّكِلُ عَلَيْكَ

Psalm 56:3

Fear seemed to be one of the first abnormal symptoms that man experienced following the fall from perfect union and fellowship with God:

But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"   He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid”

فَنَادَى اللهُ الرَّجُلَ وَقَالَ لَهُ: أيْنَ أنْتَ؟

 فَقَالَ: سَمِعْتُ صَوْتَكَ فِي الحَدِيقَةِ، فَخِفْتُ.

Gen. 3:9–10

 Since then, every heart has known the panic and trembling that fear brings. Fear of failure. Fear of today. Fear of the future.

 David, who knew the depth of fear as few people ever have, came to this conclusion as he was seized by the Philistines:

 Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You

فِي يَوْمِ خَوْفِي أَتَّكِلُ عَلَيْكَ.

 

David did not deny his fear. He did not rationalize it or try to overcome it on his own. He admitted his fear and then affirmed his trust in the Lord. 

We should identify the source of our fear. Bring it before God. Then confidently assert His ability to handle our fears and His willingness to replace our fears with His courage and peace.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, Thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, I confess—I am fearful. Please replace my fears with Your courage and peace. Whenever I am afraid God, help me to put my trust in You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein