September 8 Devotion - Fear NOT

 

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

 

For God has said:  ‘Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].

 

لا تهتموا بشيء بل في كل شيء بالصلاة والدعاء مع الشكر لتعلم طلباتكم لدى الله.

لا تخف لاني معك. لا تتلفت لاني الهك. قد أيدتك واعنتك وعضدتك بيمين بري.

فَالرُّوحُ الَّذِي أعطانا إيّاهُ اللهُ لا يَبعَثُ فِينا الجُبنَ، بَلْ يَمُدُّنا بِالقُوَّةِ وَالمَحَبَّةِ وَضَبطِ النَّفسِ

 

Philippians 4:6

Isaiah 41:10

2 Timothy 1:7 Amplified Bible (AMP)

 

Many times, our fears result from imaginary thoughts, things that will never happen or come true. By crying out to God and unloading our cares and burdens on Him, He is assured of (and we are reminded of) our dependence on Him. And that is what pleases Him. Even before our prayers are answered, we feel peace.

When you come up against a fear–producing situation, immediately pray for God’s wisdom and protection, admit your inner struggle, and leave it in God’s hands for God is omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (always present), and omniscient (all-knowing).

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, 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 so that I never fear and be anxious but to always unload my burden upon You and in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, I present my requests to You. Cover me with Your grace so that I feel confident of Your promise to strengthen me, help me, and uphold me with Your righteous right hand. Abba Father, thank You that Your deep steadfast love for me endures forever. Thank You Father for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, and in His name I pray. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

September 4 Devotion - Praising God

IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise be thankful to him, and bless his name. I will sing of mercy and judgment: to you, O LORD, will I sing. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for you are my praise. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Psalms 92:1 Psalms 100:4 Psalms 101:1 Jeremiah 17:14 Ephesians 1:3

1Peter 2:9                                                       

 

مَا أَحْسَنَ تَقْدِيمَ الشُّكْرِ لَكَ يَا رَبُّ وَالتَّرْنِيمَ لاسْمِكَ أَيُّهَا العَلِيُّ!

                                                   ادْخُلُوا أَبْوَابَهُ حَامِدِينَ، دِيَارَهُ مُسَبِّحِينَ. اشْكُرُوهُ وَبَارِكُوا اسْمَهُ.                               

سَأُشِيدُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ وَعَدْلِكَ يَا رَبُّ، وَلَكَ أُرَنِّمُ.

أَبْرِئْنِي يَا رَبُّ فَأَبْرَأَ. خَلِّصْنِي فَأَخْلُصَ، فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ تَسْبِحَتِي.

تَبَارَكَ اللهُ، أَبُو رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ الْمَسِيحِ الَّذِي بَارَكَنَا بِكُلِّ بَرَكَةٍ رُوحِيَّةٍ فِي الأَمَاكِنِ السَّمَاوِيَّةِ.                                                    

                                                                          فَإِنَّ سُقُوطَهُمْ أَمْرٌ حَتْمِيٌّ! وَأَمَّا أَنْتُمْ، فَإِنَّكُمْ تُشَكِّلُونَ جمَاعَةَ كَهَنَةٍ مُلُوكِيَّةً، وَسُلالَةً اخْتَارَهَا اللهُ، وَأُمَّةً كَرَّسَهَا لِنَفْسِهِ، وَشَعْباً امْتَلَكَهُ. وَذَلِكَ لِكَيْ تُخْبِرُوا بِفَضَائِلِ الرَّبِّ، الَّذِي دَعَاكُمْ مِنَ الظَّلامِ إِلَى نُورِهِ الْعَجِيبِ!

 

When things are going our way, Praise seems to be a natural part of what we want to do. However, on the days when we face sad memories, challenges, and bad news it is much more difficult to show or express gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner.

God understands how our emotions are built; He made them. He also knows that praise is the cure for a heart weighed down by concerns, worries, and fears.

 

Praise helps us to focus our attention on God. When we take a long and deliberate look at the character and ways of the Lord Jesus who loved us enough to die for us, our eyes are naturally shifted away from the difficulty and onto His ability to care for us.

Praise increases our faith. Telling God what we love about Him always involves reciting His past actions of might and power on our behalf. You can look back at the times He sent special provision at just the right moment and thank Him for them. This process results in a heart that expands with joy and security in Him.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that when sad memories, fears, irritations, and concerns come my way, I can praise You. Enable me to look at Your provision in the past and rejoice at what You will do in the future. Jesus, You said “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 Lord I praise Jesus who has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light. I pray to You Father in the name of my Redeemer and Saviour, the Lord of my life, Jesus Christ. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

                                                                                                                         

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

August 31 Devotion - Resolving Conflict

      

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.

لِيُرْفَعْ مِنْ بَيْنِكُمْ كُلُّ مَرَارَةٍ وَسَخَطٍ وَغَضَبٍ وَصِيَاحٍ وَتَجْدِيفٍ مَعَ كُلِّ خُبْثٍ. 32وَكُونُوا لُطَفَاءَ بَعْضُكُمْ نَحْوَ بَعْضٍ، شَفُوقِينَ مُتَسَامِحِينَ كَمَا سَامَحَكُمُ اللهُ أَيْضًا فِي الْمَسِيحِ.

Ephesians 4:31-32

 

As we see from Jesus’ actions and words in Matthew 21:12-13 anger is not intrinsically wrong. Anger in response to sin and its ill effects is a form of righteous anger, but when it crosses over the boundary into bitterness or a spirit of vengeance, it is not honouring to God.

 

And Jesus entered the temple [grounds] and drove out [with force] all who were buying and selling [birds and animals for sacrifice] in the temple area, and He turned over the tables of the moneychangers [who made a profit exchanging foreign money for temple coinage] and the chairs of those who were selling doves [for sacrifice]. ¹³ Jesus said to them, “It is written [in Scripture], ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

 

¹²وَدَخَلَ يَسُوعُ إِلَى هَيْكَلِ اللهِ وَأَخْرَجَ جَمِيعَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يَبِيعُونَ وَيَشْتَرُونَ فِي الْهَيْكَلِ، وَقَلَبَ مَوَائِدَ الصَّيَارِفَةِ وَكَرَاسِيَّ بَاعَةِ الْحَمَامِ ¹³وَقَالَ لَهُمْ:«مَكْتُوبٌ: بَيْتِي بَيْتَ الصَّلاَةِ يُدْعَى. وَأَنْتُمْ جَعَلْتُمُوهُ مَغَارَةَ لُصُوصٍ!»

 

Matthew 21:12-13

 

Our health and well-being are important reasons for quick resolution of an angry conflict; bitterness must definitely be avoided.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, please do not let anger control me. Teach me to resolve conflict and to replace it with a win-win alternative and to be tenderhearted toward the person I am having conflict with but without accepting a martyr lose-win alternative for myself. Please work on their heart also. Lord, help me to get rid of any desire to get revenge, and to able to quickly forgive just as You God have forgiven me in Christ. Lord help me to realize that my total dependence on You to help me forgive is not an indication of weakness on my part, but a sign of strength and confidence in You and Your promises. Father, I thank You for Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me and for Your abundant blessings in my life. In the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus The Christ, the only begotten Son of God, I pray. To You Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever, Amen.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

                                          

August 25 Devotion - Eternal Life

 

    

The Father loves the Son and has given and entrusted all things into His hand. ³⁶ He who believes and trusts in the Son and accepts Him [as Savior] has eternal life [that is, already possesses it]; but he who does not believe the Son and chooses to reject Him, [disobeying Him and denying Him as Savior] will not see [eternal] life, but [instead] the wrath of God hangs over him continually.”

اَلآبُ يُحِبُّ الابْنَ وَقَدْ دَفَعَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فِي يَدِهِ. 36الَّذِي يُؤْمِنُ بِالابْنِ لَهُ حَيَاةٌ أَبَدِيَّةٌ، وَالَّذِي لاَ يُؤْمِنُ بِالابْنِ لَنْ يَرَى حَيَاةً بَلْ يَمْكُثُ عَلَيْهِ غَضَبُ اللهِ».

 

John 3:35-36 Amplified Bible (AMP)

 

When we have faith in, cling to and rely on Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son as our Saviour and we make Him Lord over our lives; we possess eternal life. But whoever is unbelieving toward Jesus and refuses to trust in Him, disregards Him or is not subject to the Son will never experience eternal life, but instead the wrath of God abides on him.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord, I praise You and glorify You. Lord may Your love endure forever in my heart. Help me Lord to regulate my life and conduct myself in union with and conformity to Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour. Strengthen me Lord to have the roots of my being firmly and deeply planted in Jesus and to be fixed and founded in Him and be continually built up in Him. Help me Father to become increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"  Ephesians 3:20-21

وَالْقَادِرُ أَنْ يَفْعَلَ فَوْقَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، أَكْثَرَ جِدًّا مِمَّا نَطْلُبُ أَوْ نَفْتَكِرُ، بِحَسَبِ الْقُوَّةِ الَّتِي تَعْمَلُ فِينَا، 21لَهُ الْمَجْدُ فِي الْكَنِيسَةِ فِي الْمَسِيحِ يَسُوعَ إِلَى جَمِيعِ أَجْيَالِ دَهْرِ الدُّهُورِ. آمِينَ.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein