November 12 Devotion - May the glory of the Lord endure forever

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works—

Psalm 104:31

يكون مجد الرب الى الدهر. يفرح الرب باعماله.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord, I praise You and glorify You. Lord, may Your glory endure forever in my heart and on my lips, in my soul, mind, actions, feeling and spirit. Help me God to follow Jesus and become Christ- Like so that Your heart will rejoice in what You have done in me. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. Psalm 86:12  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.’ Ephesians 3:20-21

والقادر ان يفعل فوق كل شيء اكثر جدا مما نطلب او نفتكر بحسب القوة التي تعمل فيناله المجد في الكنيسة في المسيح يسوع الى جميع اجيال دهر الدهور.آمين

 

Jesus loves you

,In Him

Wagdi Henein

 

November 11 Devotion - When we just do not feel good

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction.

تَبَارَكَ اللهُ ، أَبُو رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ الْمَسِيحِ، أَبُو الْمَرَاحِمِ وَإِلهُ كُلِّ تَعْزِيَةٍ،

2 Corinthians 1: 3

Sometimes we may feel unloved, unworthy, or insignificant. But these are only feelings—not facts. When we just do not feel good we need to ask The Father to show us the purpose of what we are facing, what we can learn from it and to pray that He covers us with His divine grace, wisdom and strength, to handle the situation according to His will in our lives, and to remember His promises. We need to choose to believe God’s truth not our emotions.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord, convert my ‘not good’ feelings to joy by helping me to concentrate on Your promises, for You have said: 

Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength Nehemiah 8:1

The righteous cry and the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles, weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. Psalms 34:17, Psalms 30:5

The ransomed of the LORD will return and come with joyful shouting and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 51:11

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. Isaiah 43:2

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

 

I pray to You Father in Jesus’ name, to whom be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen. 

Jesus loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

November 8 Devotion - Keep my focus on You, Jesus

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

ونحو نصف الليل كان بولس وسيلا يصلّيان ويسبحان الله والمسجونون يسمعونهما.

 امّا قریب به نصف شب، پولُس و سیلاس دعا کرده، خدا را تسبیح می‌خواندند و زندانیان ایشان را می‌شنیدند.

Acts 16:25

 

I am continuing to learn that if I am not extremely careful I can allow emotions to govern my life.

God instructs us to keep our focus on Jesus in order to grow spiritually. When I succeed on doing that, the emotional ups and downs of this life will not shake or change my world.

In Telling Yourself the Truth, William Backus writes about joy:

“Joy comes from your relationship to God and His unchanging faithfulness. You don’t need to live in perfect circumstances to be happy. It’s pleasant to be loved and appreciated, but not vital to your happiness.

The Bible tells how two men of God, Paul and Silas, were brought before Roman authorities at Philippi and beaten with rods and then thrown into jail … But did Paul and Silas moan and complain, “If it weren’t for the cruelty of the unbelievers, we wouldn’t be wounded and bleeding. We’d be happy!” No.

Paul and Silas had a strong belief that transcended circumstances, events, people, feelings; it even transcended pain. That belief was in the person, power, and presence of Jesus Christ. They believed their suffering wasn’t as important as the message they carried …

They sang so loudly their voices were heard throughout the prison! And not only that, God … opened the prison doors for them. Their happiness came from the belief in Jesus Christ within them and not from circumstances around them.”

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in Your grace. Lord, help me to keep my focus on the person, power, and presence of Jesus Christ in my life instead of the circumstances of my life. I thank You Jesus that You promised that You will never leave me or forsake me. Thank you LORD that I have absolutely no doubt that You are in control of every second of my future and that through this assurance I can have an inner sense of peace that transcends all our human understanding. Thank You Father that You delight in showing me again and again that You are the source of my strength, my provision, my protection, and my ultimate joy in life. In the name of Your precious Son Jesus, I pray. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

November 5 Devotion - My Grace is sufficient for you

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 support.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in Your grace. Lord, in my weakest moments, assure me that the power of Christ will rest upon me. Your grace is sufficient for 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 Holy Name of Jesus I pray. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

November 4 Devotion - GOD is all you need

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

توكل على الرب بكل قلبك وعلى فهمك لا تعتمد.

فيملأ الهي كل احتياجكم بحسب غناه في المجد في المسيح يسوع.

Proverbs 3:5

Philippians 4:19

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord, I praise You and glorify You. Lord, help me to stop leaning on my own understanding and abilities and to depend totally on Your wisdom and power, and Your divine will and plan for my life. I believe that You will supply all my needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I pray to You Father in Jesus’ name, to whom be honour and glory forever and ever. ‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.’ Ephesians 3:20-21

والقادر ان يفعل فوق كل شيء اكثر جدا مما نطلب او نفتكر بحسب القوة التي تعمل فينا

له المجد في الكنيسة في المسيح يسوع الى جميع اجيال دهر الدهور.آمين

Jesus loves you

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

 

November 2 Devotion - For in Him we live and move and have our being

For in Him we live and move and have our being

Acts 17:28

لاننا به نحيا ونتحرك ونوجد

We have a constant and absolute dependence on God and He is continually sustaining us.
Our absolute dependence in God is such that we owe to Him the ability to perform even the slightest motion. We owe to Him our continued and prolonged existence.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord, I praise You and glorify You. Lord, thank You for Your gifts from the lowest pulsation of life to the highest powers of action and of continued existence. God, I acknowledge my constant and absolute dependence on You for in You Lord I live and move and have my being. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

November 1 Devotion - The Peace of God

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

لا تهتموا بشيء بل في كل شيء بالصلاة والدعاء مع الشكر لتعلم طلباتكم لدى الله.
وسلام الله الذي يفوق كل عقل يحفظ قلوبكم وافكاركم في المسيح يسوع

Philippians 4:6-7

It is good to be concerned and excited but wrong to be worried and anxious. Anxiety makes our concerns to become all-consuming and debilitating.

Adam Clarke in his commentary on Philippians writes,

This peace passes all understanding; it is of a very different nature from all that can arise from human occurrences; it is a peace which Christ has purchased, and which God dispenses; it is felt by all the truly godly, but can be explained by none; it is communion with the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, by the power and influence of the Holy Ghost.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord I praise You and glorify You. Lord, I dwell on Your goodness knowing that You never fail me. God, You know exactly where I am emotionally and mentally. Teach me to bring my troubles to You and help me to practice growing still before You Lord. Father, I know that You sometimes allow the pressures of life to build so that I can learn how to deal with them from a position of faith and not fear. Thank You for Your mercy and for providing me wisdom for all I face. Strengthen me Lord so that in everything and in all circumstances I am always thankful and I do not feel anxious instead I feel that Your peace which surpasses all comprehension, is guarding my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

October 31 Devotion - We are Redeemed

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

 

1Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7

المسيح افتدانا من لعنة الناموس الذي فيه لنا الفداء بدمه غفران الخطايا حسب غنى نعمته

To redeem means: to purchase back at a cost.

Jesus went to the cross for the primary purpose of purchasing us back from a life of slavery to sin, to a life of freedom as children of God.

Be freed from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

تُحَرَّرَ هِيَ أَيْضاً مِنْ عُبُودِيَّةِ الْفَسَادِ إِلَى حُرِّيَّةِ الْمَجْدِ الَّتِي لأَوْلاَدِ اللهِ.   

Romans 8:21

Does this apply to everyone? I believe it applies only to those who have surrendered their lives to Christ and accepted the fact that He bore their sins in His own body at The Cross, and have declared Him as their Lord and Saviour. At that moment they are born again through the spirit and become children of God.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord You are Good and I praise You and glorify You. Thank You Lord that I was not purchased with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. Thank You Lord that You redeemed me and granted me forgiveness of my sins, according to the riches of Your grace. 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 Jesus may continue to dwell in my heart through faith. In Jesus’ name I pray. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

October 29 and October 30 Devotion - Joy Fulfilled

“I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. ¹⁰ And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹³ But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world,

 

that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves….

 

²⁰I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.”

John 17:9-20

 

9 من اجلهم انا اسأل .لست اسأل من اجل العالم بل من اجل الذين اعطيتني لانهم لك .

10 وكل ما هو لي فهو لك .وما هو لك فهو لي وانا ممجد فيهم .
13 اما الآن فاني آتي اليك .واتكلم بهذا في العالم

ليكون لهم فرحي كاملا فيهم .

20 ولست اسأل من اجل هؤلاء فقط بل ايضا من اجل الذين يؤمنون بي بكلامهم

 

Jesus is praying for you and me and for all other believers who have declared Him as their Lord and Saviour. He is requesting from The Father that we may experience Jesus’ delight fulfilled in us, and that Jesus’ enjoyment be perfected in our souls. He requests that our hearts be filled with His gladness.

Feeling joyful is what everyone wants, and we believers should be the most joyful, for our salvation is guaranteed through Christ. The Apostle Paul said

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

افْرَحُوا فِي الرَّبِّ دَائِماً، وَأَقُولُ أَيْضاً: افْرَحُوا.

Philippians 4:4

We need to feel God’s grace in order to feel joy, so what is stopping us from feeling it since Jesus requested that we feel it.

The only answer that I have come up with is that we are somehow blocking it. Blockers may be: fear, wrong paradigms, and wrong programs running in our still “un-renewed minds”.

We need to “see” ourselves joyful so that we can unblock this state and feel the joy Jesus intends for us to feel. Jesus said:

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Mark 11:24

We need to believe that we will/are/can be joyful, and we will be joyful, and Jesus’ joy will be fulfilled in us. We need to visualize and meditate on seeing ourselves joyful all the time.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord, I praise You, I thank You, I glorify You and I rejoice in You. Thank You Jesus for praying for me to The Father. Heavenly Father I long to experience Jesus’ delight fulfilled in me, and Jesus’ enjoyment perfected in my soul. I long to have my heart filled with His gladness. Fill me God totally and envelop me with Your Grace, so that I can feel an inner joy independent of circumstances. Jesus You said: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11

Jesus I long for and pray that Your Joy remain in me and that my Joy be full and that I always rejoice in You. Jesus, in Your Holy name I pray. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

كلمتكم بهذا لكي يثبت فرحي فيكم ويكمل فرحكم

Jesus loves you

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

October 28 Devotion - Your thoughts impact your destiny

Sow a thought, reap a paradigm;

Sow a paradigm, reap a behaviour;

Sow a behaviour, reap an action;

Sow an action, reap a habit;

Sow a habit, reap a personality;

Sow a personality, reap a destiny.

Wagdi Henein

So if our thoughts are that important, what kind of thoughts should we have? We learn from God’s word that we should occupy our mind with the following:

 Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

كل ما هو حق كل ما هو جليل كل ما هو عادل كل ما هو طاهر كل ما هو مسرّ كل ما صيته حسن ان كانت فضيلة وان كان مدح ففي هذه افتكروا.

Philippians 4:8–9

When we choose to think about those things that inspire us, encourage us, teach us, and build us up emotionally, we find that we want to follow God’s will and we will desire to remain faithful to Him.

When we choose to think about the majesty and glory of God, we rely upon Him with increasing faith and trust.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in You. 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 be changed by the renewing of my mind. Help me Lord to think the way You want me to think, to constantly think positive and pleasant thoughts of people & circumstances. Help me to concentrate on Your love for me and feel your joy in my heart. Help me to think thoughts of obedience and discipleship. In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.’ Ephesians 3:20-21

Jesus loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

October 24 Devotion - With God All Things Are possible

By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.

وعن طريق الإيمان، ندرك أن الكون كله قد خرج إلى الوجود بكلمة أمر من الله. حتى إن عالمنا المنظور، قد تكون من أمور غير منظورة!

Hebrews 11:3 رسالة العبرانيين

Amplified Bible (AMP)

 

This verse tells me that I have to look with my eyes of faith because: 

The provision, healing and miracle I need is already available in God’s realm.

I believe that I was created by Almighty God to live a blessed and fulfilled life. I believe that many of us may be living far below the level of what God truly intended for us because we do not have enough faith and imagination to see God’s plan and believe how it could happen. 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord I praise You and glorify You. 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 look with my eyes of faith and believe that You have a glorious plan for my life and see it materialize because that which I will see was not made out of things which are visible, as Jesus said  “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. To Him be the power, the glory and the dominion forever and ever, Amen.

Jesus loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

October 23 Devotion - Our Great High Priest

Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him].

فَمَادَامَ لَنَا رَئِيسَ كَهَنَتِنَا الْعَظِيمُ الَّذِي ارْتَفَعَ مُجْتَازاً السَّمَاوَاتِ، وَهُوَ يَسُوعُ ابْنُ اللهِ، فَلْنَتَمَسَّكْ دَائِماً بِالاعْتِرَافِ بِهِ.

Hebrews 4:14

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

فلنتقدم بثقة الى عرش النعمة لكي ننال رحمة ونجد نعمة عونا في حينه

Hebrews 4:16

Whenever we experience adversity (hardship; distress; affliction) we can:

 

·     Deal with it on our own, or  

·     Allow God to carry our burden for us.

The first requires human strength and effort, which are rarely sufficient in handling grievous trials. Heartache erodes human ability.

The wiser course of action is to allow God to handle our adversities. His ability to provide goes beyond our greatest imagination. He is the God who has the ability to calm every storm.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord, I praise You and glorify You. Lord, thank You that in Your divine love, wisdom, grace and mercy You have allowed me to come directly to You through our High Priest Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour and eliminated the need for anyone else to intercede for me. Thank You that You instruct me to come boldly to the Throne of Grace, and find help when I need it the most. Jesus in Your name I pray, help me to hold fast to my faith in You and surrender to You and to leave all my troubles at the foot of Your Cross for You to handle for me. Amen.

‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.’ Ephesians 3:20-21

Jesus loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein

October 22 Devotion - ABCD

If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Matthew 5:40-42

وَمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُخَاصِمَكَ وَيَأْخُذَ ثَوْبَكَ فَاتْرُكْ لَهُ الرِّدَاءَ أَيْضاً.

41. وَمَنْ سَخَّرَكَ مِيلاً وَاحِداً فَاذْهَبْ مَعَهُ اثْنَيْنِ.
42. مَنْ سَأَلَكَ فَأَعْطِهِ وَمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَقْتَرِضَ مِنْكَ فَلاَ تَرُدَّهُ.

At one of my work assignments, the company encouraged people to go beyond their job descriptions and their objectives. When a person did that they got an ABCD award. Above and Beyond the Call of Duty.

How can we get an ABCD award in our Christian life when the bar is as high as Jesus puts it? On our own we cannot because we cannot even meet the bar that Jesus has set. In my opinion these verses are there to teach us three things. One lesson is: that is the nature of God. That is how He loves and treats us. The second is to show us that on our own we cannot but through The Holy Spirit we can. The third is that we can never do enough works to enter heaven, we need the Grace of God demonstrated by the justification we experience through the death of Jesus in our place.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and love. Lord I praise You and glorify You. Thank You Lord for the depth of your love for me even though I do not deserve it. Lord, strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being to go the extra mile and to be generous toward others. Thank You Jesus that you sympathize with my weaknesses and that You are my high priest to whom I take my needs, and through You Jesus I can come boldly to God’s throne of grace. Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. Psalm 16:1 Let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread Your protection over us that those who love your name may rejoice in You. Psalm 5:11 Give ear to my words, O Lord, Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. Psalm 5:1-2  Those who know Your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. To Him be the power, the glory and the dominion forever and ever, and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you
In Him,
Wagdi Henein