July 30 Devotion - While we were still sinners, Christ died for us

 

When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?" 17And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

فَلَمَّا رَأَى الْكَتَبَةُ وَالْفَرِّيسِيُّونَ يَسُوعَ يَأْكُلُ مَعَ الْجُبَاةِ وَالْخَاطِئِينَ، قَالُوا 

لِتَلاَمِيذِهِ: «لِمَاذَا يَأْكُلُ مَعَ الْجُبَاةِ وَالْخَاطِئِينَ؟»

فَسَمِعَ يَسُوعُ، وَأَجَابَ: 

 «لَيْسَ الأَصِحَّاءُ هُمُ الْمُحْتَاجُونَ إِلَى

 الطَّبِيبِ، بَلِ الْمَرْضَى. مَا جِئْتُ لأَدْعُوَ أَبْرَاراً بَلْ خَاطِئِينَ! »

Mark 2:16-17

 

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 وَلَكِنَّ اللهَ أَثْبَتَ لَنَا مَحَبَّتَهُ، إِذْ وَنَحْنُ مَازِلْنَا خَاطِئِينَ مَاتَ الْمَسِيحُ عِوَضاً عَنَّا.

Romans 5:8

With God, through Christ, there is mercy to pardon the greatest sins, and grace to change the greatest sinners, and make them holy. Jesus came to help us sinners, and while we were still sinners, He died for us.

 

Living the Christian life is impossible on our own. Trying to live the Christian life by our own efforts is like a ship on dry land…just doesn’t work very well. For the ship to get anywhere, it needs to be resting on the water. And to enjoy the Christian life, we need to learn how to rest in God. Paul knew this:

 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

إِنِّي أَسْتَطِيعُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ، فِي الْمَسِيحِ الَّذِي يُقَوِّينِي.

Philippians 4:13

 

Some people believe they must be good first before coming to Christ and they must be ready not to sin once they come to Christ. Jesus is telling us He came for us sinners and while we were still sinners, He died for us. We can only live the Christian life through Jesus strengthening us. We have been given someone to enable us to live the Christian life – the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of Christ – come to live in the body of every believer who has accepted Jesus as his/her Saviour and Lord over their life. Do not wait to be perfect to invite Jesus into your heart, it is through Jesus that you can be perfected.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, through Your Word and the guidance of The Holy Spirit help me to learn from Jesus and to take the Yoke Jesus offers. Jesus, come to me like You came to Your disciples walking on the water through the storm and redeem and strengthen me spiritually, emotionally, and physically and give me rest. Lord, I choose to see Your loving arms wrapped around me lifting me up to safety, provision, and peace. I thank You that You are a reliable and trustworthy God and You promised that You will never leave me nor forsake me, and I know that You are faithful. I choose today to concentrate on You, to hold fast my confession that Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. Jesus, I trust and pray in Your Holy name. To Jesus be the power, the glory, and the dominion forever and ever . Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

July 24 Devotion - Suffering leads to HOPE

 

And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, ⁴ endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.

  وليس ذلك

فقط بل نفتخر ايضا في الضيقات عالمين ان الضيق ينشئ صبرا

4 والصبر تزكية والتزكية رجاء

 

Romans 5:3-4

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, please grant me out of the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through Your Spirit in my inner self, indwelling my innermost being and personality so that I can convert any suffering in my life to an increased hope through an increase in my perseverance level, and improvement and strength in my character. God, I rejoice in the fact that all things will work for good in my life. Romans 8:28 Help me Lord to always have an attitude of gratitude. Lord, please increase my love for You, my trust in You, and my dependence on You. In the name of The King of kings and Lord of lords, my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, I pray. To Jesus be the majesty, the glory, the power, and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

July 22 Devotion - God's Spiritual Gift for Your Life

 

You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words.   

               أَنْتَ يَارَبُّ  نَصِيبِي، فَأَعِدُكَ بِطَاعَةِ شَرِيعَتِكَ.

Psalm 119:57

 

Sometimes we look at other believers and wish we had their spiritual gifts or their life message. God builds a life message in many different ways. Each one of us has a different message. Though you may gain many insightful lessons from those who are strong in their faith, your life is unique and special before God. He has a message for you that no one else can deliver.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, please give me a love for Your Word. Teach me to study Your Word and to keep it. You are my portion, O Lord; help me to develop spiritually. Guide me God in meditation and worship. Give me the discipline and determination to spend time alone with Jesus. I trust that soon You will clearly reveal Your message for my life in a very obvious way. Jesus, please strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being so that I can be strong and of good courage in the face of challenging circumstances. Give me victory O’ Lord over my thoughts and the enemy of my soul and keep me on course. Help me Lord to bring all my thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ and to become Christ-like. Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.  Thank You Father God 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. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You, I lift You up on high and I rejoice in Your grace. In the holy name of Jesus, I pray. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you.

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

July 17 Devotion - I take refuge in You, LORD

 

God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.

 اللهَ يَقُولُ: «لاَ أَتْرُكُكَ، وَلاَ أَتَخَلَّى عَنْكَ أَبَداً!» ويفرح جميع المتكلين عليك. الى الابد يهتفون وتظللهم. ويبتهج بك محبو اسمك.

 

Psalm 5:11, Hebrews 13:5

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over them that those who love Your name may rejoice in You. Psalm 5:11 Give ear to my words, O Lord, give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, For to You I will pray. Psalm 5:1-2 Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:10 My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121 Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. Psalm 16:1. I trust in Your promise God that You will never leave me nor forsake me. Father God, I praise You, glorify You and lift You up on high. Abba Father, thank You for Your deep and everlasting love, Your abundant blessings, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. In the holy name of Jesus, I pray. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, to Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

يَأْتِي عَوْنِي مِنْ عِنْدِ الرَّبِّ، صَانِعِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ.

وَيَبْتَهِجُ جَمِيعُ الْمُتَّكِلِينَ عَلَيْكَ. إِلَى الأَبَدِ يَتَرَنَّمُونَ، لأَنَّكَ تُظَلِّلُهُمْ بِحِمَايَتِكَ، فَيَفْرَحُ بِكَ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ اسْمَكَ.

وَيَتَّكِلُ عَلَيْكَ الَّذِينَ يَعْرِفُونَ اسْمَكَ، لأَنَّكَ يَارَبُّ لَمْ تَخْذُلْ طَالِبِيكَ.  لكلماتي اصغ يا رب. تامل صراخي.

استمع لصوت دعائي يا ملكي والهي لاني اليك اصلّي.احْفَظْنِي يَااَللهُ ، فَإِنِّي مُتَوَكِّلٌ عَلَيْك                

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

July 15 Devotion - Reconciled with God

 

 

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللهِ الَّذِي صَالَحَنَا مَعَ نَفْسِهِ بِالْمَسِيحِ، ثُمَّ سَلَّمَنَا خِدْمَةَ هَذِهِ الْمُصَالَحَةِ.

 ¹⁹ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ اللهَ كَانَ فِي الْمَسِيحِ مُصَالِحاً الْعَالَمَ مَعَ نَفْسِهِ، غَيْرَ حَاسِبٍ عَلَيْهِمْ خَطَايَاهُمْ، وَقَدْ وَضَعَ بَيْنَ أَيْدِينَا رِسَالَةَ هَذِهِ الْمُصَالَحَةِ.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 

To reconcile is to exchange enmity for friendship, and it usually requires that the cause of enmity or hostility be removed. The cause of hostility between God and man was removed by Jesus taking on the sins of the world. Peace is not merely that state of calmness and ease which we seek in desperate times. It is ultimately the condition that can exist between God and man because of the redeeming work of Christ who through the Cross reconciled us with God.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Thank You Jesus for the precious gift of reconciliation and peace that You gave me through the Cross. Without this gift of grace, I was separated from God. In Jesus’ name I pray. To Him who is able to keep me from stumbling and to present me before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore. Amen. Jude 1:24-25

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

July 11 Devotion - Praying in The Name of Jesus

 

God's name is so often exalted in scripture. God’s name is a declaration of the greatness of His person. Consider these verses:

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.

 

يَا اللهُ، رَبَّنَا،

لَكَ أرْوَعُ اسْمٍ فِي كُلِّ الكَوْنِ!

لَكَ يُقَدَّمُ التَّسبِيحُ عَبْرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ.

 

Psalm 8:1

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

 

ارِكِي اللهَ يَا نَفْسِي،

وَيَا كُلَّ كَيَانِي، بَارِكِ اسْمَهُ القُدُّوسَ!

 

 Psalm 103:1

 

 

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Hallowed be thy name" Names in scripture represents the very essence of the person. Doing something in someone else's name has two implications:

First, you come by the authority of the other person.

Second, when you come in someone’s name, you come in his stead, as if the person who sent you was there himself.  

 

Now, let's apply this to praying in the name of Jesus. What is the significance of this? First, it means that when we come to the Father, we come because Jesus sent us. We come to The Father in the authority of Jesus, and we come in Jesus’ stead. It is not simply our own idea to speak to the God of heaven and earth.

 

Jesus said:

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

 

وَمَهْمَا سَأَلْتُمْ بِاسْمِي فَذلِكَ أَفْعَلُهُ لِيَتَمَجَّدَ الآبُ بِالابْنِ. ¹⁴إِنْ سَأَلْتُمْ شَيْئًا بِاسْمِي فَإِنِّي أَفْعَلُهُ.

John 14:13-14

 

Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

 

وَفِي ذلِكَ الْيَوْمِ لاَ تَسْأَلُونَنِي شَيْئًا. اَلْحَقَّ الْحَقَّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ: إِنَّ كُلَّ مَا طَلَبْتُمْ مِنَ الآبِ بِاسْمِي يُعْطِيكُمْ. ²⁴إِلَى الآنَ لَمْ تَطْلُبُوا شَيْئًا بِاسْمِي. اُطْلُبُوا تَأْخُذُوا، لِيَكُونَ فَرَحُكُمْ كَامِلاً.

John 16:23-24

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

لَيْسَ أَنْتُمُ اخْتَرْتُمُونِي بَلْ أَنَا اخْتَرْتُكُمْ، وَأَقَمْتُكُمْ لِتَذْهَبُوا وَتَأْتُوا بِثَمَرٍ، وَيَدُومَ ثَمَرُكُمْ، لِكَيْ يُعْطِيَكُمُ الآبُ كُلَّ مَا طَلَبْتُمْ بِاسْمِي.

John 15:16

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

أَنَا هُوَ الطَّرِيقُ وَالْحَقُّ وَالْحَيَاةُ. لَيْسَ أَحَدٌ يَأْتِي إِلَى الآبِ إِلاَّ بِي.

 

John 14:6

 

Our right to approach God is through the redeeming shed blood of Jesus Christ. The authority we are granted to ask requests from God is in the favour of the resurrected Christ.

 

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

 

⁵لأَنَّهُ يُوجَدُ إِلهٌ وَاحِدٌ وَوَسِيطٌ وَاحِدٌ بَيْنَ اللهِ وَالنَّاسِ: الإِنْسَانُ يَسُوعُ الْمَسِيحُ

1 Timothy 2:5

The Bible is very clear, we need to pray in the name of Jesus, and The Bible is also clear that Jesus is the ONLY mediator/intercessor between mankind and God. Nowhere in the Bible does it say we need an intercessor between us and Jesus.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, hallowed be Your name. I thank You because You have given me a mediator/intercessor between You and me, Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ and through Him I can come boldly to Your throne of grace, that I may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16. Thank You Lord that when I pray for anything (that is in accordance with Your will and character) in the name of Jesus You will give it to me. Thank You God that Your deep steadfast love for me endures forever, thank You for 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 declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour and in His name I pray. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, and the dominion before all time, now, and forevermore. Amen.  

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein