September 30 Devotion - I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life

 

         

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

⁵ “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

 

John 15:1-5

 

انا الكرمة الحقيقية وابي الكرّام .

2 كل غصن فيّ لا يأتي بثمر ينزعه .وكل ما يأتي بثمر ينقيه ليأتي بثمر اكثر .

3 انتم الآن انقياء لسبب الكلام الذي كلمتكم به .

4 اثبتوا فيّ وانا فيكم .كما ان الغصن لا يقدر ان يأتي بثمر من ذاته ان لم يثبت في الكرمة كذلك انتم ايضا ان لم تثبتوا فيّ .

5 انا الكرمة وانتم الاغصان .الذي يثبت فيّ وانا فيه هذا يأتي بثمر كثير .لانكم بدوني لا تقدرون ان تفعلوا شيئا .

Without Jesus we cannot do anything that is spiritually good. Nothing can be accomplished "without Christ”, without His Spirit, grace, strength, and presence. Were it possible for believers that are truly in Him, to be removed from Him, they could bring forth no spiritual fruits or fruits of good works, any more than a branch separated from the vine can bring forth grapes; so that all the fruitfulness of a believer is to be ascribed to Christ, and His grace, and not to our own free will and power.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You that I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of Jesus’ life. Lord, thank You that my DNA reveals that I am a child of God, and I was purchased with the precious blood of Christ. Thank You, Jesus. I pray that You abide in me, and I in You. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can I, unless I abide in You Jesus. Strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can bear much fruit; for without You Jesus I can do nothing. I pray to You Father God, in the holy name of Jesus. To Jesus be the glory, the majesty, the power, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

September 29 Devotion - Never Give Up

 

    

For I consider [from the standpoint of faith] that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us!

 

فَإِنِّي أَحْسِبُ أَنَّ آلاَمَ الزَّمَانِ الْحَاضِرِ لاَ تُقَاسُ بِالْمَجْدِ الْعَتِيدِ أَنْ يُسْتَعْلَنَ فِينَا.

 

Romans 8:18

 

When we are under extreme pressure, we may face challenges to our faith which may impact our view of God. This can lead to unwise thinking and actions.

 

To help us in these very challenging times we need to:

 

1. Remember God’s help in the past and concentrate on His everlasting love.

 

2. Tell our problems how big our God is, versus telling God how big our problems are

 

3. Remember God’s promise to either bring us through our challenges or give us His all-sufficient grace to endure them.

 

4. Remember that God said: “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. Hebrews 13:5

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You God that You are present in the time of a storm and Your presence surrounds me. Thank You, God, for all Your help throughout my life and for Your all-sufficient grace to go through my storms. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I know that I know that You will never leave me nor forsake me. 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. 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.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

September 24 Devotion - We have been redeemed and forgiven. We have been adopted as God's children

 

    

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

 

Colossians 1:14, Ephesians 1:5

 

الذي لنا فيه الفداء بدمه غفران الخطايا.

5 اذ سبق فعيّننا للتبني بيسوع المسيح لنفسه حسب مسرة مشيئته

 

Forgiveness (Gk. aphesis) speaks of a canceled debt. You and I can be forgiven because Christ went to the cross and shed His blood for me and for you. Our debt has been cancelled because Jesus died in our place.

We are forgiven when we accept that He has died in our place, for our sins. Salvation is not something we earn through good deeds or bargain for, in exchange for promising to improve. God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ, whom He loves.

The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture. When we surrender our lives to Christ and accept the fact that He bore our sins in His own body at The Cross, and when we declare Him as our Lord and Saviour, at that moment we are born again through the spirit and become children of God.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me and Your abundant blessings in my life. Thank You, Lord, that I am a child of God and I was purchased with the precious blood of Christ. Thank You, Lord, that You redeemed me and granted me forgiveness of my sins, according to the riches of Your grace. Thank You, Jesus, that You paid for my sins and they have been canceled. You paid a very high price for me: Your blood. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can forgive others and forgive myself. Please help others to forgive me. Strengthen me Lord so that I continue to declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour and Jesus may continue to dwell in my heart through faith. In the name of The King of kings and Lord of lords, in the mighty name of Jesus I pray. To Jesus be the glory, the majesty, power, and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. 

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein