January 17 Devotion - Do not put God in a box

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth…  

Jesus spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. ⁷ And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”.  So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

John 9:1 - 9

Jesus had healed people before by just touching them. So why did Jesus choose a new method? Why did Jesus spit and heal this blind man in this way? The reason is this man had no eyes.

Spit and dirt (clay) mixed and put on the eyes, does not sound very nice. Do you agree?  The blind man could have reacted by saying something like ‘How dare you spit on me and make my eyes full of mud, I thought you were going to heal me, not make me worse’. But he didn’t, he totally trusted Jesus and went to wash.  I have learnt that Archeologists say that Siloam; where the blind man had to go and wash; is very big with wide steps on 3 sides, where you need more courage and braveness to go into it. 

But the blind man went and washed and was healed and could see for the could see for the first time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Some of my lessons learnt: I should never put Jesus in a box, for His ways are totally different than our ways. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. Isaiah 55

I need to Trust in the LORD with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding Proverbs 3:5

What I want and pray for may not be what is best for me, or it may not be delivered in the fashion I am thinking about.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for loving me with a deep and everlasting love, thank You for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Help me to ‘see’ Your ways and understand Your thoughts. Lord, give me wisdom to not lean on my own understanding and strengthen me to trust You and follow You with all my heart and all my mind, soul and strength. 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. In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray. To Him be the glory and the power and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

January 16 Devotion - Jesus is our Friend

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

John 15:15

  لا اعود اسميكم عبيدا لان العبد لا يعلم ما يعمل سيده .لكني قد سميتكم احباء لاني أعلمتكم بكل ما سمعته من ابي .

A slave does not know the plans of his/her master or owner. He receives the commands of his master without knowing the reasons why they are ordered. Friendship on the other hand allows one to be made acquainted with the plans, wishes, and wants of the friend. This instance of friendship Jesus had shared with His disciples the reasons why he was about to leave them, and with His secret wishes in regard to them. As He had given them this proof of friendship, it was proper that He should not withhold from them the title of friends.

The reason why He calls us friends is that He treats us as friends. He has opened to us His mind; made known to us His plans; acquainted us with the design of His coming, His death, His resurrection, ascension, and second coming; and, having thus given us the clearest proof of friendship, it is therefore proper that He gives us this name.

We should always look at Jesus as our friend, even though He is also our Lord and master.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and deep everlasting love. Jesus You laid Your life for me and said: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13 Thank You Jesus  for loving me and treating me like Your friend. 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 continue to declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour and Friend. In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray. To Him be the glory and the power and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

ليس لاحد حب اعظم من هذا ان يضع احد نفسه لاجل احبائه .

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

January 13 Devotion - Joy and Grace

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This is the day the LORD has made;
         We will rejoice and be glad in it.

هذا هو اليوم الذي صنعه الرب. نبتهج ونفرح فيه.

Psalm 118:24

Today is a gift. That is why they call it the ‘present’. Let us rejoice in it.

The Greek word in the Bible for ‘joy’ is ‘chara’ and the verb is ‘charein’ which is often translated ‘to rejoice’. Closely related is the word ‘charis’ which is translated to be ‘grace’.

I believe it is ‘Charis’ that produces ‘Chara’ or in English, it is ‘Grace’ that produces ‘Joy’. Understanding the word of God increases our appreciation of His Grace, and our feeling of Joy.

The Apostle Paul was feeling joy while being held prisoner in a dungy Roman prison cell and from there he told us to:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

افْرَحُوا فِي الرَّبِّ دَائِماً، وَأَقُولُ أَيْضاً: افْرَحُوا.

Philippians 4:4

My belief is that The Apostle Paul probably felt God’s grace so powerfully that it overshadowed all the negative feelings of being chained in a Roman prison to the point that he actually felt joy.

Jesus said:

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

كلمتكم بهذا لكي يثبت فرحي فيكم ويكمل فرحكم

John 15:11

All through the Bible we see evidence of God wanting us to be joyful, irrespective of the situation. Let’s concentrate on God’s grace and the magnitude of His love for us expressed through His grace. That on its own is reason enough for quantum joy.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for loving me with a deep and everlasting love, thank You for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Lord, thank You that You gave me today as a present for me to rejoice in. Fill me God totally and envelop me with Your Grace, so that I can feel an inner joy independent of circumstances. Jesus I long for and pray that Your Joy remains in me and that my Joy be full. 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. In the Holy Name of Jesus my Lord and Saviour I pray. To Him be the glory and the power and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein