April 5 Devotion - Jesus' Resurrection

 

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He was seen by Peter, then by the twelve. ⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once.

 فَالْوَاقِعُ أَنِّي سَلَّمْتُكُمْ، فِي أَوَّلِ الأَمْرِ، مَا كُنْتُ قَدْ تَسَلَّمْتُهُ، وَهُوَ أَنَّ الْمَسِيحَ مَاتَ مِنْ أَجْلِ خَطَايَانَا وَفْقاً لِمَا فِي الْكُتُبِ، 4 وَأَنَّهُ دُفِنَ، وَأَنَّهُ قَامَ فِي الْيَوْمِ الثَّالِثِ وَفْقاً لِمَا فِي الْكُتُبِ، 5 وَأَنَّهُ ظَهَرَ لِبُطْرُسَ، ثُمَّ لِلاثْنَيْ عَشَرَ. 6 وَبَعْدَ ذلِكَ ظَهَرَ لأَكْثَرَ مِنْ خَمْسِ مِئَةِ أَخٍ مَعاً

1 Corinthians 15: 3-5

The fact that Jesus rose from the dead is vital to Christians because our justification depends on it.

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

 الَّذِي أُسْلِمَ لِلْمَوْتِ مِنْ أَجْلِ مَعَاصِينَا ثُمَّ أُقِيمَ مِنْ أَجْلِ تَبْرِيرِنَا

Romans 4:25

A dead Saviour cannot save, but we have a living Saviour who justifies us and makes intercession for us.

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them

وَهُوَ لِذَلِكَ قَادِرٌ دَائِماً أَنْ يُحَقِّقَ الْخَلاصَ الْكَامِلَ لِلَّذِينَ يَتَقَرَّبُونَ بِهِ إِلَى اللهِ. فَهُوَ، فِي حَضْرَةِ اللهِ، حَيٌّ عَلَى الدَّوَامِ لِيَتَضَرَّعَ مِنْ أَجْلِهِمْ وَيُحَامِيَ عَنْهُمْ!

Hebrews 7:25

Although different denominations differ on the date of the resurrection of Christ because they use different calendars, Jesus’ resurrection is not a denominational issue or a point for theological debate. Either we believe Christ rose from the dead and ascended to heaven or we do not. If we reject His victory over the grave, we deny ourselves a place in eternity.

Believing that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead is essential for Christians, because merely recognizing that He died for our sins is not enough; we must accept His resurrection in order to receive eternal life. Christ paid our debt, but His sacrifice on the cross means nothing if He possesses no power over the grave. In vanquishing evil and death, the Lord made our salvation possible. Jesus’ resurrection proved He was able to remove sin and its penalty.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour, and I know that I know that I know in my heart that God raised You from the dead. Jesus, I thank you for saving me through your atoning death on The Cross and Your resurrection , and for making me righteous in the eyes of God our Father. Thank You Jesus, that because I believe in Your resurrection, I am granted eternal life. Abba Father, thank You for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. Father 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. I pray in Jesus’ holy name to You Father. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion before all time and now and forevermore. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

April 2 Devotion - Good Friday - The Cross

 

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.

تتحول الشمس الى ظلمة والقمر الى دم قبل ان يجيء يوم الرب العظيم الشهير.

21 ويكون كل من يدعو باسم الرب يخلص

22 ايها الرجال الاسرائيليون اسمعوا هذه الاقوال. يسوع الناصري رجل قد تبرهن لكم من قبل الله بقوات وعجائب وآيات صنعها الله بيده في وسطكم كما انتم ايضا تعلمون.

23 هذا اخذتموه مسلّما بمشورة الله المحتومة وعلمه السابق وبايدي اثمة صلبتموه وقتلتموه.

Acts 2:20-23

Christ's suffering on the cross was fore-ordained and was the only payment of our debt that God would accept—this is the great sacrifice on which the eternal life of believers depends. If Christ had not gone to the cross and suffered in our place, the just for the unjust, there would not have been a spark of hope for us. There would have been a mighty chasm between us and God, which no man ever could have crossed.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You Lord thank You for loving me so much that You let Your Son die on the cross to redeem me, a sinner. As Jesus said: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13 God, I thank You, praise You, glorify You and lift you up on high. Strengthen me Lord through The Holy Spirit, so that that I may walk in such a way that is fully pleasing to You and is fruitful in every good work. Thank You Jesus for dying in my place and that through The Cross I am redeemed, forgiven, justified, reconciled to God, sanctified, and glorified. In Your Holy Name Jesus, my Lord and Saviour, I pray.  To Jesus 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

April 1 Devotion - Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

 

When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. ¹⁵ Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; ¹⁶ for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; ¹⁸ for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹ And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁰ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

Luke 22: 14-20

 

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

 

John 6:53-58

 

The flesh and blood of the Son of man, denote the Redeemer in the nature of man; Christ and Him crucified, and the redemption created by Him, with all the precious benefits of redemption; pardon of sin, acceptance with God, the way to the throne of grace, the promises of the covenant, and eternal life. These are called the flesh and blood of Christ because they are purchased by the breaking of His body, and the shedding of His blood. Also, because they are food and drink to our souls.

 

Eating this flesh and drinking this blood means believing in Christ. We partake of Christ and His benefits by faith. The soul that rightly knows its state and wants, finds whatever can calm the conscience, and promote true holiness, in The Redeemer, God manifest in the flesh. Meditating upon the Cross of Christ gives life to our repentance, love, and gratitude. We live by Him, as our bodies live by our food. We live by Him, as the members by the head, the branches by the root: because He lives (resurrected) we shall live also. (Adapted from Mathew Henry’s explanation of the Bible).

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

 

Abba Father, thank You for the riches of Your grace upon my life which allows me to be forgiven through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on my behalf. Through Your redemption Jesus I also receive the precious benefits of redemption, pardon of sin, acceptance with God, the way to the Throne of Grace, the promises of the covenant, and eternal life. Thank You Jesus for suffering on my behalf, I believe in You and declare You my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for Your body which is given for us and for the new covenant of grace through Your blood which was shed for us. 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. Thank You Father for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep and everlasting love for me, and Your abundant blessings in my life. 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 (AMP) Amen.

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein