July 16 Devotion - Devotion - Strengthen your Faith and be ready to receive

 

    

 

 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life

 

إِنَّمَا خَيْرٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ يَتْبَعَانِنِي طَوَالَ حَيَاتِي

 

Psalm 23:6

 

Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.

 

وَسِّعِي فَسْحَةَ خَيْمَتِكِ وَابْسُطِي سَتَائِرَ مَسَاكِنِكِ، لاَ تُضَيِّقِي. أَطِيلِي حِبَالَ خَيْمَتِكِ وَرَسِّخِي أَوْتَادَكِ،

                                                                                                                

Isaiah 54:2

I believe that God has many blessings prepared for us. David had faith and was expecting God to supply goodness and mercy for the rest of his life and was ready to receive the blessings.

Isaiah had faith and a vision and he enlarged his tent.

Have you enlarged your tent? Meaning: are you expecting abundance or scarcity? If you have a one litre container and God has a hundred litres to give you, the problem is not with the supply. The problem is that you don't have the capacity to receive the hundred litres. The container represents our faith and our ability to receive.

If we think we have reached our limits, the problem isn't that God doesn't have the resources or the ability. The problem is that our container is too small. We need to strengthen our faith and enlarge our vision to receive God’s blessings. Then with that kind of faith, we increase our capacity to receive so that we can live the abundant life Jesus came to give us, for Jesus Himself said:

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

 

أَمَّا أَنَا فَقَدْ أَتَيْتُ لِتَكُونَ لَهُمْ حَيَاةٌ، بَلْ مِلْءُ الْحَيَاةِ!

 

John 10:10

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I want to experience the abundant life Jesus came to give me. Lord, please enormously strengthen my faith and enlarge my vision of myself, my service to You, and my future. Lord, make me ready to receive all the blessings You want and are ready to give me. Help me to have a deep belief that goodness and mercy will follow me for the rest of my life. Thank You, Lord, for Your deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings, and for the riches of Your grace in my life. Jesus, I declare to the world that You are my Lord and Saviour and, in Your name, I pray to You Father. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, and the dominion before all time and now and forevermore. Amen.

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

July 9 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.

 

أَيُّهَا الرَّبُّ سَيِّدُنَا، مَا أَعْظَمَ اسْمَكَ فِي كُلِّ الأَرْضِ، بِهِ بَسَطْتَ جَلالَكَ فَوْقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ.

 

Psalm 8:1

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

 

بَارِكِي يَا نَفْسِي الرَّبَّ، وَلْيَحْمَدْ كُلُّ مَا فِي دَاخِلِي اسْمَهُ الْقُدُّوسَ.

 

Psalm 103:1

 

 

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Hallowed be thy name" Name 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

 

The right we have to approach God is through the redeeming shed blood of Jesus Christ. The authority we have 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 Jesus is the ONLY mediator/intercessor between mankind and God.

 

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. Through Jesus 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. 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.  

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

June 30 Devotion - Wise Relationships

    

My prayer for you is that you will overflow more and more with love for others, and at the same time keep on growing in spiritual knowledge and insight, ¹⁰ for I want you always to see clearly the difference between right and wrong, and to be inwardly clean, no one being able to criticize you from now until our Lord returns. ¹¹ May you always be doing those good, kind things that show you are a child of God, for this will bring much praise and glory to the Lord.

وَهذَا أُصَلِّيهِ: أَنْ تَزْدَادَ مَحَبَّتُكُمْ أَيْضًا أَكْثَرَ فَأَكْثَرَ فِي الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَفِي كُلِّ فَهْمٍ، 10حَتَّى تُمَيِّزُوا الأُمُورَ الْمُتَخَالِفَةَ، لِكَيْ تَكُونُوا مُخْلِصِينَ وَبِلاَ عَثْرَةٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْمَسِيحِ، 11مَمْلُوئِينَ مِنْ ثَمَرِ الْبِرِّ الَّذِي بِيَسُوعَ الْمَسِيحِ لِمَجْدِ اللهِ وَحَمْدِهِ.

Philippians 1:9-11 

 

 

Our upbringing and past experiences can influence/hinder our ability to build trusting relationships with others. I believe that we should be building relationships that are based on genuine trust, devotion and loyalty. As believers, we have a mutual interest in our faith in Jesus Christ, and our relationship with Jesus should form the foundation of all our relationships.

Some people; unfortunately, even amongst ‘Christians’; base their relationships on personal ambition, selfishness, and/or need for control. When we depend on another person for our happiness and security or take advantage of someone for our own personal gain, we are not building wise, lasting relationships nor are we acting in a Christian manner.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself and others:

Abba Father, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I may be a true friend who comes alongside others without any selfish motives. Help me Lord to strengthen others as You have strengthened me, and to be able to give others wise advice that stems from You Lord. I pray that my love for my fellow believers may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that I may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.  I thank You Father God for Your deep and everlasting love for me and Your abundant blessings and for the riches of Your grace in my life. In Your name Jesus, my Lord and Saviour, I pray to our Father. To Jesus be the glory, the power, the dominion, the majesty, and the blessings forever and ever. Amen.

 

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein