June 28 Devotion - OUR GREATEST VICTORIES

 

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.“ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

 8 لأَنَّ أَفْكَارِي لَيْسَتْ مُمَاثِلَةً لأَفْكَارِكُمْ، وَلاَ طُرُقَكُمْ مِثْلُ طُرُقِي، يَقُولُ الرَّبُّ.

 9 فَكَمَا ارْتَفَعَتِ السَّمَاوَاتُ عَنِ الأَرْضِ، كَذَلِكَ ارْتَفَعَتْ طُرُقِي عَنْ طُرُقِكُمْ، وَأَفْكَارِي عَنْ أَفْكَارِكُمْ.

Isaiah 55:8–9

 

How do you normally respond when the world seems to turn against you? The wrong way to respond, sadly, is what we most often experience.

This is marked by anger, bitterness, doubt, depression, and hopelessness. These feelings mount up, causing the pressure of adversity to increase.

This pressure is usually released in one of several common ways:

• we look for someone to blame,
• develop a deep desire to escape,
• deny the problem, or
• fall into depression.

These are certainly not the results God wants to see in our lives! 

In contrast to these wrong responses, there are a few things we can do to make the best of hardships in our lives: 

•     First, we must strive to view everything from God’s perspective. His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8), and He wants us to examine the issue from beyond our normal human point of view.

•     Second, we must pray, “Father, what is Your goal for my life in this adversity?” God can turn any time into a teaching moment.

•     Third, we must surrender to the will of God and then rest in His faithfulness to see us through the ordeal.

Sometimes, our lives require a major disruption in order to realign our thoughts with the Lord’s. Though sometimes painful, these times can become our most life-altering moments and lead to our greatest victories, depending on how we respond.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, in difficult times, help me to turn from bitterness, blame, and depression and seek to discover and surrender to Your perspective. Lord, help me realize You are at work in my problems. I surrender to Your care. I trust You for the outcome, knowing You will never disappoint me. Father God please renew my mind in Jesus. Let all that proceeds from me be laced in love, patience, joy, hope, and kindness. Lord, forgive me of anything I have said to others in thoughtless haste. Draw me close to You so that even in difficult times the words I say will reflect an inner peace that comes from Jesus our Saviour. Now to Him who is able to carry out His purpose and do infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Ephesians 3:20-21 Amen.

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

June 26 Devotion - A Change of Plans

 

For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me.

لأَنَّ صَخْرَتِي وَمَعْقِلِي أَنْتَ. مِنْ أَجْلِ اسْمِكَ تَهْدِينِي وَتَقُودُنِي.

Psalm 31:3

 

I believe, we need to be open to a change in plans in our lives if we sense God moving us in another direction and we should follow God’s Planning System (GPS) for He will lead us and guide us, and all we need to do is just trust Him because He is our rock on which we stand and He protects us in His fortress. We connect to Him through our prayers and with Him guiding us; we never need to feel lost.

  

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I sometimes feel confused between what I desire and what You may want, as I sense that You may be guiding me to move in another direction. Help me to stay connected to You, to hear Your voice and to know for sure Your plan for me and the direction You want me to follow. I need Your wisdom God, please sort out the truth in my mind and heart and lead me and guide me to do Your will for You are my rock and my fortress. Thank You Father God for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep, and everlasting love Thank You Father for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in You. Lord, please help me become flexible and obedient. Jesus, in Your mighty name I pray. To Jesus be the glory, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

June 25 Devotion - Be strengthened with might through Jesus' spirit

 

For this reason [grasping the greatness of this plan by which Jews and Gentiles are joined together in Christ] I bow my knees [in reverence] before the Father [of our Lord Jesus Christ], ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name [God—the first and ultimate Father]. ¹⁶ May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, ¹⁸ be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love];

 

لِذَلِكَ أركَعُ عَلَى رٌكبَتَيَّ لِلآبِ، 15 الَّذِي تَنتَمِي إلَيهِ كُلُّ أُمَّةٍ فِي السَّماءِ وَالأرْضِ. 16 وَأسألُهُ، حَسَبَ غِناهُ المَجِيدِ، أنْ يُقَوِّيَكُمْ بِشِدَّةٍ مِنَ الدّاخِلِ بِرُوحِهِ. 17 وَأنْ يَسكُنَ المَسِيحُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ بِالإيمانِ بَينَما تَتَرَسَّخُ جُذُورُكُمْ وَأُسُسُكُمْ فِي المَحَبَّةِ. 18 لِكَي تَكُونَ لَكُمْ وَلِكُلِّ المُؤمِنِينَ القُدرَةُ عَلَى استِيعابِ مَحَبَّةِ المَسِيحِ فِي كُلِّ أبْعادِها: عَرضاً وَطُولاً وَعُلُوّاً وَعُمقاً.

Ephesians 3:14-18

 

The Apostle Paul was the one who brought the gospel to many of the Gentiles, and because of this, he felt responsible to pray for their spiritual growth, maturity, and development. He was praying specifically for them to be strengthened with power through God's Spirit. I believe the same prayer is applicable to us; the followers of Jesus; today as we need to be strengthened and need to comprehend the enormous magnitude of Jesus’ love for us.

 

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, form me Lord so that I may be rooted and grounded in love, and through Your grace Father, fill me up to Your fullness. Abba, please grant me according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in my inner being. Thank You Lord for Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me and Your abundant blessings. I pray Lord that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith, and that I can comprehend the fathomless love of Christ. Lord, I praise You, lift You up on high, and glorify You. In Jesus’ name I pray. To Jesus be the glory, and the power and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

June 23 Devotion - Jesus Sets Boundaries

 

But the news about Him was spreading farther, and large crowds kept gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their illnesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray [in seclusion].

 عَلَى أَنَّ خَبَرَ يَسُوعَ زَادَ انْتِشَاراً، حَتَّى تَوَافَدَتْ إِلَيْهِ جُمُوعٌ كَثِيرَةٌ لِيَسْتَمِعُوا إِلَيْهِ وَيَنَالُوا الشِّفَاءَ مِنْ أَمْرَاضِهِمْ. 16 أَمَّا هُوَ، فَكَانَ يَنْسَحِبُ إِلَى الأَمَاكِنِ الْخَالِيَةِ حَيْثُ يُصَلِّي.

 

Luke 5:15-16

   

Many people are sensitive-hearted and prone to take on other people’s problems. If they don’t have clear personal boundaries and limits they get weighed down and walked on. Eventually they start having problems with anger, resentment, stress overload, or burn out. They just can’t continue being so helpful and caring all the time and at the expense of their personal needs.

 

Is it okay to set boundaries in relationships? Is it healthy to set boundaries in relationships? Did Jesus set boundaries in dealing with people? The answer to these three questions is a definite YES.

 

Many health professionals insist that one of the most vital components to creating a healthy and fulfilling relationship is to set clear and agreed to boundaries in relationships. In simple terms, boundaries are the thing that keeps us separate from the other person. The boundaries are what set the place between where you end and the other person begins.

 

Jesus had personal needs that he put priority on — sometimes even over the needs of other people — and he did so without feeling guilty. Primarily his personal soul care had to do with separating himself from people to be alone with God.

 

Jesus said no to inappropriate behaviour:

 

When the demands on Him from the crowd crossed His needs to be with His Father, He withdrew from the crowds.

 

           

Jesus said no to Peter and the disciples who had an inappropriate agenda for Jesus as a political king or military warrior rather than a sacrificial lamb.

 

But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”

 

فَالْتَفَتَ يَسُوعُ إِلَى بُطْرُسَ وَقَالَ لَهُ: «اغْرُبْ مِنْ أَمَامِي يَا شَيْطَانُ! أَنْتَ عَقَبَةٌ أَمَامِي، لأَنَّكَ تُفَكِّرُ لَا بِأُمُورِ اللهِ، بَلْ بِأُمُورِ النَّاسِ!»

 

Matthew 16:23

 

There are many more examples of Jesus setting boundaries in The Bible and we need to learn that it is Christian to set boundaries and protect ourselves and our emotions, and teach others (children, friends, coworkers, loved ones, parents) their boundaries so as to set the place between where you end and the other person begins, leading to healthier win-win relationships.

 

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 I can learn to set boundaries in my life and in my relationships with others. Help me to be prepared through the guidance of The Holy Spirit to answer all accusations or attempts to make me feel guilty because I am setting healthy boundaries. Teach me to be firm but courteous and respectful in my answers, explaining to others that setting boundaries is a win for them as well and we can live in a win-win relationship with respect. Help me Lord to push back those who have by force pushed on my boundary line during the years; without allowing my emotions to be in play; but to let The Holy Spirit think for me and speak through me. Thank You Father for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Father God I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son, my Redeemer, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Jesus be the glory, the power, the dominion, the majesty, and the blessings before all time and now and forevermore. Amen.

 

 

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

June 5 Devotion - The Lord's Prayer - For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

 

In the previous devotions I covered the following portion of The Lord’s Prayer:

 

“‘Our Father in heaven,                                                                                                                                                                              
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.                                                                                                                                                   ¹² And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil,

 

Today we cover the last phrase in sequence:

 

 For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

We should always pray for God to be glorified because God is worthy to be glorified and honoured and praised. We should also glorify God in everything we think and/or do.

I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another,

  وَهَذا هُوَ أنا يهوه

                              لَنْ أُعطِيَ مَجدِيَ لآخَرَ   «  اسْمِي.          

       

Isaiah 42:8

We should never take credit for anything that God has done because we rob God of His due glory and equally we should be careful not to give the glory to a “Saint”. God is not happy when we do not give Him the glory.  Nothing can happen without His involvement.

you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, I am the Lord, that is My name.
And My glory I will not give to another

 

 لَا تَسْجُدْ لَهُنَّ وَلاَ تَعْبُدْهُنَّ، لأَنِّي أَنَا الرَّبَّ إِلَهَكَ، إِلَهٌ غَيُورٌ

 

Exodus 20: 5

 

^{Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.}

كُلُّ عَطِيَّةٍ صالِحَةٍ وَكُلُّ مَوهِبَةٍ كامِلَةٍ، تَأْتِي مِنْ فَوقُ، أيْ مِنْ عِندِ الآبِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ أنوارَ السَّماءِ. وَعَلَى خِلافِ تِلكَ الأنوارِ، هُوَ لا يَتَغَيَّرُ كَظِلالِها المُتَقَلِّبَةِ.

James 1:17

 

We can glorify God by becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, submitting to Him, repenting of our sins, confessing them to God, and then trusting in Jesus Christ.  If we do, then we also can pray to our Father

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and Your unfailing, deep, everlasting, and inseparable love. Lord, I realize that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from You, Father of lights.  God, I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your holy name.  For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever, Amen. I declare to the world that Christ 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 Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein