May 31 Devotion - Strong Weak People

 

Peter said to Him, Lord, why cannot I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.

³⁸ Jesus answered, Will you [really] lay down your life for Me? I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me [completely disown Me] three times.

 

فَعَادَ بُطْرُسُ يَسْأَلُ: «يَا سَيِّدُ، لِمَاذَا لَا أَقْدِرُ أَنْ أَتْبَعَكَ الآنَ؟ إِنِّي أَبْذِلُ حَيَاتِي عِوَضاً عَنْكَ!» 38 أَجَابَهُ يَسُوعُ: «أَتَبْذِلُ حَيَاتَكَ عِوَضاً عَنِّي؟ الْحَقَّ الْحَقَّ أَقُولُ لَكَ: لَا يَصِيحُ الدِّيكُ حَتَّى تَكُونَ قَدْ أَنْكَرْتَنِي ثَلاثَ مَرَّاتٍ

John 13:37-38

 

Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.

 «لا تَضْطَرِبْ قُلُوبُكُمْ. أَنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللهِ، فَآمِنُوا بِي أَيْضاً.

John 14: 1

 

All the disciples must have been troubled about Jesus' predictions of betrayal, denial, and departure. After all, if Peter's commitment was shaky, then every disciple should be aware of his own weaknesses.

In the Greek, the pronoun your is plural; therefore, Jesus was speaking to Peter and to all the other disciples.

Jesus did not want His followers to imitate Peter's impulsive self-confidence. Potential weaknesses and possible failures trouble us. So we don't like to think about them. Peter denied his own frailty and claimed more faith than he had.

Jesus' solution for troubled hearts requires us to trust in him. Trust does not mean pretending we are strong; it means recognizing our weakness and need for God's help. If we believe for a moment that we can follow Jesus in our own strength, we will fail as miserably as Peter.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I admit my weakness and my need for the help of The Holy Spirit to comfort me strengthen me and give me wise counsel. Thank You Father that You have provided for my weakness by sending the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), The Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name [in Jesus’ place, to represent Him and act on His behalf], to teach me to trust in You and in Jesus and replace my troubled heart with Your peace. Thank You for Your abundant blessings and for the riches of Your grace. Father 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

May 25 Devotion - Never Give Up

 

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. But as for you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.”

 فَلاَ نَفْشَلْ فِي عَمَلِ الْخَيْرِ لأَنَّنَا سَنَحْصُدُ فِي وَقْتِهِ إِنْ كُنَّا لاَ نَكِلُّ. فَتَقَوَّوْا أَنْتُمْ، وَلاَ تَخُرْ عَزِيمَتُكُمْ لأَنَّ لِعَمَلِكُمْ ثَوَاباً

Galatians 6:9, 2 Chronicles 15:7

 

We all have God-given dreams and desires. Sometimes it seems to take longer to accomplish our goals than we originally thought, or things do not work out at all.

It's easy to lose enthusiasm and end up just settling where we are. But God doesn't want us to settle, He wants to take us higher. But many times, we miss out on God's best simply because we give up too soon. Sometimes we do not realize how close we are to victory.

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 upon my life. God, help me not to give up just because things seem hard. Help me to stay on course in faith; and see my situation turn around. God, I know You are on my side, and You will help fulfil every desire You have placed on my heart. Help me Lord to continue doing good, and never give up trusting You in all faith that I will reap the harvest You have chosen for me, in Your timing. Help me Lord to always say, feel and be trustful in that “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 I pray in Jesus' name, to Jesus be the power, the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

May 22 Devotion - Talking with God

 

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! O my soul, you have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.”

احمدوا الرب ادعوا باسمه. عرفوا بين الامم باعماله. قُلْتُ لِلرَّبِّ: «أَنْتَ سَيِّدِي. خَيْرِي لاَ شَيْءَ غَيْرُكَ».

 Psalm 105:1, Psalm 16:2

When we set our hearts toward the Lord, our faith is strengthened, and we develop the habit of talking to Him throughout the day.

 

 God’s word is telling us:  Call upon His name. God loves to hear His name on our lips, and He promises to respond to the prayer that follows. Unfortunately, we try to resolve problems on our own or discuss them with friends and/or relatives instead of immediately turning to God. Imagine calling a believer and instead of offering you empathy, sympathy, and support, he/she says, “I appreciate you calling me, and would love to help you, however, have you talked first to God about it? Have you prayed?”

 ^“When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

 أَمَّا أَنْتَ، فَعِنْدَمَا تُصَلِّي، فَادْخُلْ غُرْفَتَكَ، وَأَغْلِقِ الْبَابَ عَلَيْكَ، وَصَلِّ إِلَى أَبِيكَ الَّذِي فِي الْخَفَاءِ. وَأَبُوكَ الَّذِي يَرَى فِي الْخَفَاءِ، هُوَ يُكَافِئُكَ.

 Mathew 6: 6

At all times and especially as soon as we encounter any kind of problem/challenge let us immediately turn to God and request: Abba Father, guide me in my feelings, thoughts, actions, and words.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, teach me to always seek Your wisdom, guidance, and support. Help me to always first ask The Holy Spirit who dwells in me to take over. O my soul, say to the Lord, “You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.” Father, create opportunities for me to make Your deeds and blessings known among people. Thank You Father God 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. Father God, I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your Holy Name. I proclaim to the world that Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. In the name of Jesus, I pray to You Father. To Jesus be the praise, the power, the authority, the glory, the majesty, and the dominion since the beginning of time, now, and forevermore. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

May 17 Devotion - The inseparable love of God

 

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

انظروا اية محبة اعطانا الآب حتى ندعى اولاد الله.من اجل هذا لا يعرفنا العالم لانه لا يعرفه. ولكننا في هذه جميعها يعظم انتصارنا بالذي احبنا   38 فاني متيقن انه لا موت ولا حياة ولا ملائكة ولا رؤساء ولا قوات ولا امور حاضرة ولا مستقبلة39 ولا علو ولا عمق ولا خليقة اخرى تقدر ان تفصلنا عن محبة الله التي في المسيح يسوع ربنا

1 John 3:1, Romans 8:37-39

Sometimes many believers cannot feel God’s love especially those whose dominant love language is haptic communication (sense of touch) see “The 5 love languages” by Gary Chapman. There are times when I did not feel God’s love. No matter what we feel or what happens, God does exist, and He deeply loves us. No matter how difficult the circumstances and tribulations we face, no matter what happens, we can never be separated from God's love.

God hasn't forgotten you. And even though it might not feel like it, He is still in control, holding you in the palm of His hand

Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.

حَتَّى هُناكَ، أجِدُ أنَّ يَدَكَ تُمسِكُنِي وَتَقُودُنِي.

Psalm 139:10

God has a plan for you. So, even in the middle of all your heartbreak, tell God, "I'm going to hold on and wait for you to show me with Your love, no matter what happens."

We need to be able to say what David said in Psalm 27:14,

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

انْتَظِرِ الرَّبَّ. تَقَوَّ وَلْيَتَشَجَّعْ قَلْبُكَ. وَانْتَظِرِ الرَّبَّ دَائِماً.

If we do that, we will come out of all the pain and be much stronger. Let us repeat what Job said right after he voiced his doubts:

"But [God] knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold"

وَلَكِنَّهُ يَعْرِفُ الطَّرِيقَ الَّذِي أَسْلُكُهُ، وَإِذَا امْتَحَنَنِي أَخْرُجُ كَالذَّهَبِ

Job 23:10

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank you for Your abundant blessings. God, what a wonderful act of grace; that through accepting the atoning death of Jesus Christ in my place and accepting Jesus as Lord over my life; I am now a child of God. Thank You God that absolutely nothing can separate me from Your love and salvation, which is in Christ Jesus my Lord. Abba Father, thank You for Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me. For great is Your lovingkindness and graciousness toward me. Psalm 86:13 Thank You God, that in all tribulations I am more than a conqueror through Him who loved me. Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will take hold of me. Father, I rejoice in Your grace and faithfulness. I praise You, glorify You, and lift You up on high. Father God, I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son, my Redeemer, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, the power, the dominion, the majesty, and the blessings before all time and now and forevermore. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him

Wagdi Henein

May 11 Devotion - What Does God Really Want?

 

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،

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

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

6 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.

He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness].

فَإِنَّ الَّذِي لَمْ يَعْرِفْ خَطِيئَةً، جَعَلَهُ اللهُ خَطِيئَةً لأَجْلِنَا، لِنَصِيرَ نَحْنُ بِرَّ اللهِ فِيهِ.

2 Corinthians 5:21

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.

 10 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 be saved by telling them about 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

قالَ 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 make sure we are saved, 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 nonbeliever, 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, let’s 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 abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me. Lord, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I do Your will, share Your Gospel, and help others to be saved. Lord, please sink this message deep into my heart and help me achieve Your desire. Father God, I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 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 1 Devotion - Knowing God through His Names - Part 5 - Jehovah Nissi

 

Jehovah Nissi: “The Lord is my Banner.” Stresses that God is our rallying point and our means of victory; the one who fights for His people. This name commemorates the Israelites desert victory over the Amalekites.

And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi: The-Lord-Is-My-Banner

وَشَيَّدَ مُوسَى مَذْبَحاً لِلرَّبِّ دَعَاهُ «يَهْوَهْ نِسِّي» وَمَعْنَاهُ: الرَّبُّ رَايَتِي أَوْ عَلَمِي

 Exodus 17:15

 

Nothing that Moses or the Israelites did in the physical realm brought about victory. God’s presence and power took them into the battle and assured victory.

What battles are you fighting today? Consider the following bizarre question: Is the battle that you are in now, is it a battle that the Lord has chosen for you? Scripture is very clear that the Lord, in fact, chooses certain battles for us to fight. Does He lead the way as Jehovah Nissi in your current battles? We all need to let Him be our banner in all our battles and challenges.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, Adonai, thank You for being my rallying point and my means of victory. Jehovah Nissi, I thank you that You are my banner. Forgive me God that I sometimes choose not to walk under Your banner, and I put my faith in myself or other people or things instead of You. Forgive me that I put my desires above Yours. Please forgive me and help me to be under Your banner that no matter what difficulties I do face, I relinquish my control and say, LORD, this is Your situation, it’s Your battle, it’s Your victory. Help me God to trust You, obey You, and allow You to work out Your purpose in my life. Thank You Father God for Your inseparable, unfailing, deep, and everlasting love for me and Your abundant blessings in my life. I pray in the holy name of Jesus, my Lord and Saviour. To Jesus be the glory, the power, the dominion, the majesty, and the blessings before all time, now, and forevermore. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein