December 11 Devotion - Jesus is the embodiment of love - A study of Jesus Christ's attributes - Part 6 - Jesus is not easily angered

God is love.

^{1 John 4:8}

I and my Father are one.

^{John 10:3}

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of love.

Jesus Christ (Love) is patient,

Jesus Christ is kind,

Jesus Christ does not boast,

Jesus Christ is not proud.

Jesus Christ does not dishonor others,

Jesus Christ (Love) is not self-seeking,

Jesus Christ is not easily angered,

Jesus Christ keeps no record of wrongs,

Jesus Christ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth,

Jesus Christ always protects,

Jesus Christ always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres,

Jesus Christ never fails.

 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

 When He was reviled and insulted, He did not revile or offer insult in return; [when] He was abused and suffered, He made no threats [of vengeance]; but he trusted [Himself and everything] to Him Who judges fairly.

الذي اذ شتم لم يكن يشتم عوضا واذ تألم لم يكن يهدد بل كان يسلم لمن يقضي بعدل.

1 Peter 2:23 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

طوبى للرحماء .لانهم يرحمون .

طوبى لصانعي السلام .لانهم ابناء الله يدعون .

Mathew 5:7,9

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach,

وعبد الرب لا يجب ان يخاصم بل يكون مترفقا بالجميع صالحا للتعليم صبورا على المشقات

2 Timothy 2:24

Should we eradicate anger totally from our lives? Note that we are saying Jesus is not easily angered. Ephesians 4:26 instructs us “in your anger do not sin” and not to let the sun go down on our anger. The command is not to “avoid anger” (or suppress it or ignore it) but to deal with it properly, in a timely manner. When Jesus cleared the temple of the moneychangers and animal-sellers, He showed great emotion and anger (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; John 2:13-22).

Jesus’ emotion was described as “zeal” for God’s house John 2:17. His anger was pure and completely justified because at its root was concern for God’s holiness and worship. Because these were at stake, Jesus took quick and decisive action. Another time Jesus showed anger was in the synagogue of Capernaum. When the Pharisees refused to answer Jesus’ questions, “He looked around at them in anger, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts” Mark 3:5. Jesus’ anger had the proper motivation, He was angry for the right reasons. His anger had the proper control and duration. Jesus’ response was always to accomplish God’s will.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You that You are gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. Psalm 145:8  Jesus please strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being so that I am not quarrelsome and contending, help me be slow to anger and be mild-tempered preserving the bond of peace. Teach me Lord to be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong. Strengthen me so that when I am angry I do not sin and am able to deal with the situation promptly so that I do not let the sun go down on my anger. Strengthen me Lord to be merciful and able to empathize with others and build them up. Help me God to trust everything to You because You judge fairly. Help me to bring all my thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ and to become Christ-like.In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

December 10 Devotion - Jesus is the embodiment of love - A study of Jesus Christ's attributes - Part 5 - Jesus is not self-seeking

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

                                                                           

لان ابن الانسان ايضا لم يأت ليخدم بل ليخدم وليبذل نفسه فدية عن كثيرين

ودعا الجمع من تلاميذه وقال لهم من اراد ان يأتي ورائي فلينكر نفسه ويحمل صليبه ويتبعني .

Mark 10:45, Mark 8:34

The definition of self-seeking is: Pursuing only one's own ends or interests.

Jesus led a simple life.

·     He chose to be born in a manger, not a castle.

·     He was clothed in swaddling clothes not silk.

·     He did not reside in palaces.

·     He even disclosed to a would-be follower saying:

“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

فقال له يسوع 

'للثعالب اوجرة ولطيور السماء اوكار .واما ابن الانسان فليس له اين يسند راسه'

Matthew 8:20

When Jesus entered Jerusalem as The Messiah who could save all the people, He chose to come riding on a donkey! Jesus accepted to die for us by the most degrading way, crucifixion. His simplicity and humility become even more impressive when we remember that He is The One who created the universe. By all rights, everything belongs to Him.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Thank You Jesus that while You did not have a place to lay Your head, You have given me a wonderful place to live in. Jesus, help me to be humble, help me to accept and welcome advice, help me to admit my mistakes and praise others. Strengthen me Lord to empathize with others and build them up. Jesus strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can deny myself, and take up my cross, and follow You. Help me God to bring all my thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ and to become Christ-like. Abba Father, thank You for loving me with a deep and everlasting love, thank You for Your abundant blessings and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. In the powerful and holy name of Jesus I pray. To Jesus be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

December 9 Devotion - Jesus is the embodiment of love - A study of Jesus Christ's attributes - Part 4 - Jesus does not dishonour others

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

طوبى للودعاء .لانهم يرثون الارض

Heureux ceux qui sont doux, car Dieu leur donnera la terre en héritage

Matthew 5:5

The Greek word ‘praus’, translated here as meek, can also be translated as gentle, humble, or mild.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

اِحْمِلُوا نِيرِي عَلَيْكُمْ، وَتعَلَّمُوا مِنِّي، لأَنِّي وَدِيعٌ وَمُتَوَاضِعُ الْقَلْبِ، فَتَجِدُوا الرَّاحَةَ لِنُفُوسِكُمْ.

Prenez mon joug sur vous et recevez mes instructions, car je suis doux et humble de coeur; et vous trouverez du repos pour vos âmes.

Matthew 11:29

By taking Jesus’ yoke (a harness used to attach one younger animal to another more stronger and experienced animal) we are borrowing from Jesus’ strength. He is, in effect, offering to help carry our burdens. Certainly this cannot mean He is weak, as He is strong enough to help us to the point that we can rest now, and his meekness is the very reason He is helping us carry our burden.

Jesus was meek. A meek person would never dishonour another person. There are words that reflect the world’s teaching. In the world a meek person is a weak person, we need to look at what Jesus meant and how He relates them to the Kingdom of God and in the depth and breadth of what He meant.

I am learning that I need (and maybe you too) to unlearn what the world has taught me, before I can learn what Jesus is teaching me and respect and accept being meek. I have a lot to gain when I do. Not to dishonour a person means to honour that person. According to the thesaurus, honour has these synonyms: "esteem, respect, pay homage to, assigning value to."

In order to honour others we first need to start with an attitude of meekness.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, help me to unlearn the worldly beatitudes and teach me Your Beatitudes. Teach me to be meek and to honour You and my fellow man. Help me God to bring all my thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ and to become Christ-like. In the powerful name of Jesus I pray. ‘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.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

December 6 Devotion - Jesus is the embodiment of love - A study of Jesus Christ's attributes-Part 3 - Jesus does not boast

God is love.

^{1 John 4:8}

I and my Father are one.

^{John 10:30}

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of love.

By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 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.

---

We have been “saved” through God’s grace when we accept, through faith, Jesus’ redeeming sacrifice for us at The Cross; no amount of good works can get anyone “saved”, lest anyone should boast.

The definition of boasting according to Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology:

The concept of boasting is found frequently in both the Old and the New Testaments. The object of boasting determines its nature. If it is God or the commendable qualities of others, then boasting can be described as proper; if it is wrongly applied to oneself, then it is improper. To boast about oneself is to brag, or to speak with laudable pride.

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Jeremiah 9:23, Proverbs 27:1, James 4:16

هكذا قال الرب. لا يفتخرنّ الحكيم بحكمته ولا يفتخر الجبار بجبروته ولا يفتخر الغني بغناه

لا تفتخر بالغد لانك لا تعلم ماذا يلده يوم.

واما الآن فانكم تفتخرون في تعظمكم.كل افتخار مثل هذا رديء.

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

1 Peter 5:5-6

 الله يقاوم المستكبرين واما المتواضعون فيعطيهم نعمة

فتواضعوا تحت يد الله القوية لكي يرفعكم في حينه

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, help me to only boast about what You have done in my life 2 Corinthians 10:17. I pray that out of Your glorious riches You teach me, help me and strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can eliminate all pride within me and be humble knowing that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from You Father James 1:17. Help me God to bring all my thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ and to become Christ-like. Thank You Lord for Your abundant kindness, love and mercy. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in Your grace.I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I pray in His Holy Name. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein