November 26 Devotion - In Time of Need

 

Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him].

 

فَمَادَامَ لَنَا رَئِيسَ كَهَنَتِنَا الْعَظِيمُ الَّذِي ارْتَفَعَ مُجْتَازاً السَّمَاوَاتِ، وَهُوَ يَسُوعُ ابْنُ اللهِ، فَلْنَتَمَسَّكْ دَائِماً بِالاعْتِرَافِ بِهِ.

Hebrews 4:14

 

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

فلنتقدم بثقة الى عرش النعمة لكي ننال رحمة ونجد نعمة عونا في حينه

Hebrews 4:16

An example of a time of need is when we are experiencing adversity.  The definition of adversity as per the dictionary is:

1. A state of hardship; distress; or affliction

2. An unfortunate event or incident

 

Adversity can be handled in one of two ways:

 

• We can deal with it on our own. This requires human strength and effort, which are rarely sufficient in handling grievous trials. Heartache erodes human ability.

 

OR

 

• We can allow God to carry our burden for us. This is the wiser course of action. His ability to provide goes beyond our greatest imagination. He is the God who has the ability to calm every storm.

 

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father,  thank You that in Your divine love, wisdom, grace and mercy You have allowed me to come directly to You through our High Priest Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour, and eliminated the need for anyone else to intercede for me. Thank You that You instruct me to come boldly to Your Throne of Grace and find help when I need it the most. Father God, thank You 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. Abba father, I praise You, glorify You and lift You up on high. Jesus in Your name I pray, help me to hold fast to my faith in You and surrender to You and to leave all my troubles at the foot of Your Cross for You to handle for me. 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

November 11 Devotion - God's Supernatural Gift to Us

 

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.

 

أنْ تَتَقَوَّوْا بِكُلِّ قُوَّةٍ نَابِعَةٍ مِنْ قُوَّتِهِ المَجِيدَةِ، فَتَصَبِرُوا وَتَتَحَمَّلُوا المَشَقَّاتِ بِفَرَحٍ.

 

Colossians 1:11

 

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

 

إِنِّي أَسْتَطِيعُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ، فِي الْمَسِيحِ الَّذِي يُقَوِّينِي.

 

Philippians 4:13

 

I will make them strong in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name,” declares the Lord.

¹² وَأُشَدِّدُهُمْ بِالرَّبِّ فَيَسْلُكُونَ بِمُقْتَضَى اسْمِهِ، يَقُولُ الرَّبُّ.

 

 

Zechariah 10:12

 

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

 

يَهِبُ الْمَنْهُوكَ قُوَّةً وَيَمْنَحُ الضَّعِيفَ قُدْرَةً عَظِيمَةً. ³⁰ إِنَّ الشَّبِيبَةَ يَنَالُهَا الإِعْيَاءُ وَالإِرْهَاقُ، وَالْفِتْيَانُ يَتَعَثَّرُونَ أَشَدَّ تَعَثُّرٍ، ³¹ أَمَّا الرَّاجُونَ الرَّبَّ فَإِنَّهُمْ يُجَدِّدُونَ قُوَّتَهُمْ، وَيُحَلِّقُونَ بِأَجْنِحَةِ النُّسُورِ. يَرْكُضُونَ وَلا يُعْيُونَ. يَمْشُونَ وَلا يَتْعَبُونَ.

 

Isaiah 40:29-31

 

As believers we need to ask God to strengthen us through The Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit is the supernatural tool God has given us believers to equip and enable us. The power of the Holy Spirit is needed in order to do the work God calls us to accomplish. God has given us a spirit of power, not of timidity- 2 Timothy 1:7

Serving others, loving our enemies, building up one another in the faith, sharing Christ, and exercising our spiritual gifts are possible only through the Holy Spirit’s power. We need The Holy Spirit’s support and power to live the Christian life, to be loving, kind, gentle, patient, joyous, self–controlled, and peaceful

 

 

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, Adonai, please guide me and strengthen me to change my ways so as to rely totally on Your wisdom and counsel through The Holy Spirit; whom You sent to me in the name of Jesus. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith for all endurance and patience with joy. I shall wait for You Lord to renew my strength to mount up with wings like eagles; to run and not be weary or faint and to do all things that are according to Your will through Christ’s strength. Thank You Father for Your abundant blessings and deep inseparable love. Father 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. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I pray in His precious name. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the authority, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion before all time, now, and forevermore. Amen.

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

November 8 Devotion - Laugh and Rejoice

 

 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh. He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

الساكن في السموات يضحك

عندما يملأ فاك ضحكا وشفتيك هتافا.

افرحوا بالرب وابتهجوا يا ايها الصدّيقون واهتفوا يا جميع المستقيمي القلوب

افرحوا في الرب كل حين واقول ايضا افرحوا

Psalm 2:4, Job 8:21, Psalm 32:11, Philippians 4:4

 

Since God created laughter and joy and He himself laughs, this should be something we should do a lot of. Since Christians who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour have the biggest reason to rejoice, we should all be smiling. Being pious does not mean we need to be so strict that we almost frown.

God has a reason to tell us that He will fill our mouths with laughter because He loves us and He created laughter to strengthen our immune system, boost our energy, diminish pain, and protect us from the damaging effects of stress.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You that You have a great sense of humour and thank You for creating laughter. Maximize my sense of humour and uplift my approach to life so that I enjoy life more. Fill my mouth with laughter Lord and my lips with rejoicing in Your love. Thank You Father for Your deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings, and for the riches of Your grace in my life. Help me to start living eternity with You from now. Give me a spirit that always shouts with joy and always rejoices. 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. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

November 5 Devotion - Keep yourselves in God's love

For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

...But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Romans 7:19, Jude1:20–21

 

فَأَنَا لاَ أَعْمَلُ الصَّلاَحَ الَّذِي أُرِيدُهُ؛ وَإِنَّمَا الشَّرُّ الَّذِي لاَ أُرِيدُهُ فَإِيَّاهُ أُمَارِسُ

وَأَمَّا أَنْتُمْ أَيُّهَا الأَحِبَّاءُ، فَابْنُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ عَلَى إِيمَانِكُمُ الأَقْدَسِ، وَصَلُّوا دَائِماً فِي الرُّوحِ الْقُدُسِ.َاحْفَظُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ فِي مَحَبَّةِ اللهِ، مُنْتَظِرِينَ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ الْمَسِيحِ إِذْ يَعُودُ وَيَأْخُذُكُمْ لِتَحْيَوْا مَعَهُ إِلَى الأَبَدِ.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer:

Abba Father, I cannot do it on my own. Father God, please replace my self-effort and my problem-solving techniques with Your power and wisdom. Help me to learn to walk by faith. Jesus, You are my Strength and my Shield. You are the One who can fortify my human frailty with Your supernatural grace. I lean on You today and every day. Saviour, saturate my mind with Your Word and fill me with Your Spirit. Thank You Father for Your abundant blessings, Your grace and Your deep, everlasting and inseparable love for me. Jesus in Your holy name I pray. To Jesus be the authority, the power, the majesty, and the glory since the beginning of time, now, and forevermore. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

November 4 Devotion - When We Feel Frustrated

 

So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.

Romans 8:26
 
وَكَذلِكَ الرُّوحُ أَيْضًا يُعِينُ ضَعَفَاتِنَا، لأَنَّنَا لَسْنَا نَعْلَمُ مَا نُصَلِّي لأَجْلِهِ كَمَا يَنْبَغِي. وَلكِنَّ الرُّوحَ نَفْسَهُ يَشْفَعُ فِينَا بِأَنَّاتٍ لاَ يُنْطَقُ بِهَا
 
The Webster Dictionary defines Frustration as: A deep chronic sense or state of insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs.
 
As humans we sometimes experience a deep sense of frustration that derives from problems or needs beyond our control.

What we need to remember during the period where we are experiencing insecurity and dissatisfaction arising from unresolved problems or unfulfilled needs is: God is in the process of revealing a great lesson to each one of us.

 
I believe He allows frustrations to build up so that we will be driven back to Him in prayer. His intent is twofold:

• He wants us to become stronger, lighter, and peaceful once we get on our knees and pray
• In that mode we can hear His voice better and understand His direction for us.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and inseparable love. Lord, I need the Spirit Himself to meet my supplication and to plead on my behalf. Jesus, I need to survive my frustrations. You are the One who knows how to satisfy perfectly my every need. Jesus, come to me like You came to Your disciples walking on the water through the storm and help me to sail through the storm Jesus and strengthen me spiritually, emotionally, and physically and give me rest for in Your Holy name I pray. 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

November 1 Devotion - Reconciliation

 

But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them [but canceling them]. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, restoration to favor with God].

 

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 

 

Because Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins and was resurrected, those who accept Him as their Saviour and Lord over their lives are reconciled with God. The word ‘reconcile’ means to restore friendship or harmony.

Peace is ultimately the condition that can exist between God and man because of the redeeming work of Christ.

 

 

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and deep inseparable love. Lord, please strengthen me and lead me to always bow at the feet of Jesus and offer my life to Him. 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. Thank You Jesus for paying the price of this fathomless gift of grace at the Cross. 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