March 31 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.

 

وَكَذلِكَ الرُّوحُ أَيْضًا يُعِينُ ضَعَفَاتِنَا، لأَنَّنَا لَسْنَا نَعْلَمُ مَا نُصَلِّي لأَجْلِهِ كَمَا يَنْبَغِي. وَلكِنَّ الرُّوحَ نَفْسَهُ يَشْفَعُ فِينَا بِأَنَّاتٍ لاَ يُنْطَقُ بِهَا.

Romans 8:26

 

 

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 of frustration 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:

1. He wants us to become stronger, lighter, and peaceful once we get on our knees and pray

 

2. 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, I need The Holy Spirit to meet my supplication and to plead on my behalf for I do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as I ought. Jesus, come to me like You came to Your disciples walking on the water through the storm and help me to sail through my storm Jesus and strengthen me spiritually, emotionally, and physically and give me rest for in Your holy name I pray to The Father. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

March 29 Devotion - Palm Sunday

 

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

 

5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

 

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

 

“Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

 

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

 

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

 

وَلَمَّا اقْتَرَبُوا مِنْ أُورُشَلِيمَ، إِذْ وَصَلُوا إِلَى قَرْيَةِ بَيْتِ فَاجِي وَقَرْيَةِ بَيْتِ عَنْيَا، عِنْدَ جَبَلِ الزَّيْتُونِ، أَرْسَلَ يَسُوعُ اثْنَيْنِ مِنْ تَلاَمِيذِهِ،

 ² قَائِلاً لَهُمَا: «اذْهَبَا إِلَى الْقَرْيَةِ الْمُقَابِلَةِ لَكُمَا، وَحَالَمَا تَدْخُلاَنِ إِلَيْهَا، تَجِدَانِ جَحْشاً مَرْبُوطاً لَمْ يَرْكَبْ عَلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ بَعْدُ: فَحُلاَّ رِبَاطَهُ وَأَحْضِرَاهُ إِلَى هُنَا.

 ³ وَإِنْ قَالَ لَكُمَا أَحَدٌ: لِمَاذَا تَفْعَلاَنِ هَذَا؟ فَقُولاَ: الرَّبُّ بِحَاجَةٍ إِلَيْهِ، وَفِي الْحَالِ يُرْسِلُهُ إِلَى هُنَا».

 ⁴ وَانْطَلَقَا، فَوَجَدَا الْجَحْشَ مَرْبُوطاً عِنْدَ الْبَابِ خَارِجاً عَلَى الطَّرِيقِ، فَحَلاَّ رِبَاطَهُ.

 ⁵ فَقَالَ لَهُمَا بَعْضُ الْوَاقِفِينَ هُنَاكَ: «مَاذَا تَفْعَلاَنِ؟ لِمَاذَا تَحُلاَّنِ رِبَاطَ الْجَحْشِ؟»

 ⁶ فَأَجَابَاهُمْ كَمَا أَوْصَاهُمَا يَسُوعُ فَتَرَكُوهُمَا.

 ⁷ فَأَحْضَرَا الْجَحْشَ إِلَى يَسُوعَ، وَوَضَعَا ثِيَابَهُمَا عَلَيْهِ، فَرَكِبَ عَلَيْهِ.

 ⁸ وَفَرَشَ كَثِيرُونَ الطَّرِيقَ بِثِيَابِهِمْ وَآخَرُونَ بِأَغْصَانٍ قَطَعُوهَا مِنَ الْحُقُولِ.

 ⁹ وَأَخَذَ السَّائِرُونَ أَمَامَهُ وَالسَّائِرُونَ خَلْفَهُ يَهْتِفُونَ: «أُوصَنَّا! مُبَارَكٌ الآتِي بِاسْمِ الرَّبِّ !

 

Mathew 21:1-10 NIV

 

Note: A colt that had not been used was considered holy by the Jews and was fit to carry a king.

 

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

 

Jesus, I pray that as You entered Jerusalem, that You enter my heart triumphant and welcomed. I lay in front of You my palms in prayer regarding everyone who has not yet accepted You as Lord and Saviour that they do so, and that You enter their hearts and fill their hearts with Your peace and love. In the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the holy name of Jesus I pray to You Father. To Jesus be the glory, the majesty, the power, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

March 26 Devotion - The Life of God

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

السارق لا يأتي الا ليسرق ويذبح ويهلك .واما انا فقد أتيت لتكون لهم حياة وليكون لهم افضل .

 

John 10:10

 

Think about your best friend for a moment. Try to remember your very first meeting. What if your best friend had handed you a long list of do’s and don’ts, telling you any violation would lessen his care for you? Obviously, your relationship would never have progressed. Who would want such a friend?

 

Yet many Christians act as if this is their view of Jesus. But He did not hand you a list of conditions when you accepted Him. What He gave you was His life.

 

In the New Testament, there are several Greek words for life. Bios (origin of biology), generally translated, means “lifestyle.” Another Greek word for life is Zoe, which means “life as God has it.”

 

In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.” أَمَّا أَنَا فَقَدْ أَتَيْتُ لِتَكُونَ لَهُمْ حَيَاةٌ، بَلْ مِلْءُ الْحَيَاةِ

 

 

In John 11:25, He stated, “I am the resurrection and the life.” أَنَا وَالْحَيَاةُ هُوَ الْقِيَامَةُ

 

 

In both cases, Jesus used the word Zoe. How awesome to hear from our Lord Himself that the “life as God has it” is within us, the followers of and believers in Jesus Christ. It is a magnificent gift of His unconditional love.

 

Since we have this life, His life, we already have the very best. He dwells within us to encourage and empower us. As long as we are within God’s will, sustaining energy will flow through us from His eternal wellspring. Within His will, we will never tire of living for Jesus.

 

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for loving me with an unfailing, deep, and everlasting love, thank You for Your abundant blessings and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Lord, through Your Word and the guidance of The Holy Spirit help me to learn from Jesus and to take the Yoke Jesus offers. Father God, I pray that You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I believe and can help others know that You Jesus are the resurrection and the life, and that life as God has it is within us. 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.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

March 24 Devotion - Keeping our focus on Jesus

 

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

ونحو نصف الليل كان بولس وسيلا يصلّيان ويسبحان الله والمسجونون يسمعون

The joy of the Lord is your strength and your stronghold.

 

فَفَرَحُ الرَّبِّ هُوَ قُوَّتُكُمْ

Acts 16:25

Nehemiah 8:10

 

 The original Hebrew for "joy" in Nehemiah 8:10 is "chedvah," meaning joy or gladness. The root word for joy in this context means to rejoice or to make glad. "Strength" in the same verse is a Hebrew word meaning “a place or means of safety, protection refuge, or stronghold.”

 

So, what Nehemiah 8:10 is telling us is feel joyful because you feel safe and protected in God’s stronghold.

 

The joy of the Lord is a constant gladness and cause to rejoice. It stems from an inner strengthening from our relationship with Him.

 

I continue to learn that if I am not extremely careful, my emotions can and will govern my life.

God instructs us to keep our focus on Jesus in order to grow spiritually. When I succeed on doing that, the emotional ups and downs of this life will not shake or change my world.

 

In “Telling Yourself the Truth”, William Backus writes about joy: 

“Joy comes from your relationship to God and His unchanging faithfulness. You don’t need to live in perfect circumstances to be happy. The Bible tells how two men of God, Paul and Silas, were brought before Roman authorities at Philippi and beaten with rods and then thrown into jail … But did Paul and Silas moan and complain, “If it weren’t for the cruelty of the unbelievers, we wouldn’t be wounded and bleeding. We’d be happy!” No.

Paul and Silas had a strong belief that transcended circumstances, events, people, feelings; it even transcended pain. That belief was in the person, power, and presence of Jesus Christ. They believed their suffering wasn’t as important as the message they carried …

They sang so loudly their voices were heard throughout the prison! And not only that, God … opened the prison doors for them. Their happiness came from the belief in Jesus Christ within them and not from circumstances around them.”

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:                                                                                                

Abba Father, help me to keep my focus on the person, power, and presence of Jesus Christ in my life instead of the circumstances of my life. I thank You Jesus that You promised that You will never leave me nor forsake me. Thank You LORD that I have absolutely no doubt that You are in control of every second of my future and that through this assurance I can have an inner sense of peace that transcends all our human understanding. Thank You Father that You delight in showing me again and again that You are the source of my strength, my provision, my protection, and my ultimate joy in life. In the name of Your precious Son Jesus, I pray to You Father God. To Jesus be the glory, the majesty, the power, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,                                                                                            

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

March 23 Devotion - God is the rock and strength of my heart

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the rock and strength of my heart and my portion forever.

إِنَّ جَسَدِي وَقَلْبِي يَفْنَيَانِ، أَمَّا اللهُ فَهُوَ صَخْرَةُ قَلْبِي وَنَصِيبِي إِلَى الدَّهْرِ

Psalm 73:26

A lesson I believe we can all learn is that if we are looking to the love or appreciation of another person to solve our problem(s) then this could be an indication to us that the problem lies within us and is not one that the other’s love or appreciation can solve.

There could be something deep within us that needs healing. Until that “something” is identified, addressed, and healed we will not be in a healthy position either to receive love fully or to give love generously.

 

We need to come to God and express our feelings. We need to ask Him to reveal the real nature of the problem(s) and to heal us of its root cause through the Holy Spirit.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, my flesh, and my heart are failing, and I need You to strengthen me through Your Spirit in my inner being so that I can identify the problems within me and their root causes and ask Your Holy Spirit to heal me. God You are the rock and strength of my heart and my portion forever. Lord you are the only true healer, restore me and make me whole so that I can love and be loved fully. Thank You Father God for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, inseparable love for me. 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.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein