July 20 Devotion - God's Grace -Part 3

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 ⁹ فَقَالَ لِي: «نِعْمَتِي تَكْفِيكَ، لأَنَّ قُدْرَتِي تُكَمَّلُ فِي الضَّعْفِ!» فَأَنَا أَرْضَى بِأَنْ أَفْتَخِرَ مَسْرُوراً بِالضَّعَفَاتِ الَّتِي فِيَّ، لِكَيْ تُخَيِّمَ عَلَيَّ قُدْرَةُ الْمَسِيحِ.

2 Corinthians 12:9

When we are weak, we need the energizing work of the Holy Spirit to sustain us. Isaiah encourages us that God “Gives power to the weak and to those who have no might He increases strength”

يَهِبُ الْمَنْهُوكَ قُوَّةً وَيَمْنَحُ الضَّعِيفَ قُدْرَةً عَظِيمَةً.

Isaiah 40:29

We need to rely fully on God and praise Him ahead of and in expectation of His grace and support.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in Your grace. Your grace is sufficient for me. Lord, in my weakest moments, assure me that the power of Christ will rest upon me. I believe that when your grace abounds my weakness will be transformed into strength and I will soar like an eagle and I shall run and not be weary. Heavenly Father, let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. In the name of the only begotten Son of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Jesus The Christ, my Lord and Saviour, I pray. To Him be the glory and the power and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

July 19 Devotion - God's Grace - Part 2

"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

 «الْحَقَّ الْحَقَّ أَقُولُ لَكَ: لاَ أَحَدَ يُمْكِنُهُ أَنْ يَرَى مَلَكُوتَ اللهِ إِلاَّ إِذَا وُلِدَ مِنْ جَدِيدٍ».

John 3:3

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

فَإِنَّكُمْ بِالنِّعْمَةِ مُخَلَّصُونَ، بِالإِيمَانِ، وَهَذَا لَيْسَ مِنْكُمْ. إِنَّهُ هِبَةٌ مِنَ اللهِ،

⁹ لاَ عَلَى أَسَاسِ الأَعْمَالِ، حَتَّى لاَ يَفْتَخِرَ أَحَدٌ.

Your role

1. Something to admit:

That you have sinned in the sight of God. (we all have)

2. Something to believe:

That Jesus Christ died on the cross bearing all the guilt and penalty of your sin.

3. Something to do:

Accept Jesus Christ to be Lord over your life, your Saviour to cleanse you, your friend to guide and be with you.
Revelation 3:20. Jesus is speaking, `Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him...
Jesus Christ waits outside the door of your life. He will not force his way in. He wants to be asked in. The handle of the door is on the inside; only you can open the door.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord, In Your great mercy You have not given me the penalty I deserve. By Your grace You have given me what I do not deserve; repentance and faith in Jesus The Saviour and Lord and a new birth into a living hope. I am born again to a new life as God’s child. Praise be to You. Thank you for making it clear to me that only those who receive Jesus—not merely know about Him— but rely on Him for salvation, submitting to Him as Master, and loving Him as the supreme treasure—become God’s children. For by grace I have been saved through faith, and that not of myself; it is Your gift God, it is not by my good works, lest I should boast. In the name of the only begotten Son of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Jesus The Christ, my Lord and Saviour, I pray. To Him be the glory and the power and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

July 18 Devotion- God's Grace

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

2 Peter 1:2, Ephesians 2:8

لِيَكُنْ لَكُمُ الْمَزِيدُ مِنَ النِّعْمَةِ وَالسَّلاَمِ بِفَضْلِ مَعْرِفَةِ اللهِ وَيَسُوعَ رَبِّنَا فَإِنَّكُمْ بِالنِّعْمَةِ مُخَلَّصُونَ، بِالإِيمَانِ، وَهَذَا لَيْسَ مِنْكُمْ. إِنَّهُ هِبَةٌ مِنَ الله

Grace in mentioned around 170 times in the Bible. I would like to study God’s Grace. It will take 4 devotions to cover it.

God’s Grace is:

A favour and an unfathomable gift that we receive from God even though we do not deserve it. It is God's unmerited favour.

God’s Grace is different from God’s Mercy.

God’s Mercy is:

God withholding judgment and punishment that we deserve.

Because of God's mercy, we do not receive God’s  judgment against our sins;

Because of God's grace, we receive eternal life and a promise of heaven though we do not deserve them.

We receive both God’s Mercy and God’s Grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me and for Your abundant blessings. Lord I praise You, lift You up on high and glorify You. Thank You God for the riches of Your grace. Thank You that You have said that as Your child I can come boldly to Your throne of grace, and obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16. Heavenly Father I come boldly to Your throne of grace and ask You to help me always seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, for Jesus said that when we seek them first, all other things will be added unto us. In the name of the only begotten Son of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Jesus The Christ, my Lord and Saviour, I pray. To Him be the glory and the power and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

July 15 Devotion - Resolving Conflict

‘Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you’

Ephesians 4:32

وَكُونُوا لُطَفَاءَ بَعْضُكُمْ نَحْوَ بَعْضٍ، شَفُوقِينَ، مُسَامِحِينَ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضاً كَمَا سَامَحَكُمُ اللهُ فِي الْمَسِيحِ.

Anger is not intrinsically wrong (Matt. 21:12–17). 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.

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, thank You for Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me and for Your abundant blessings. Father please do not let anger control me and 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 his/her 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. 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.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein