December 21 Devotion - My soul magnifies The Lord

“My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. ⁴⁸ For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹ For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. ⁵⁰ And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. ⁵² He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. ⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, ⁵ As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

 * Jesus spoke Aramaic. In Aramaic His mother’s name is Maryam.

Luke 1:39-55

Maryam’s psalm of praise reveals a repeated use of the terminology and theology of the Old Testament. It is obvious that Maryam was very well versed in the Old Testament and accordingly her hymn demonstrates that.

Maryam’s praise begins with her grateful response to the grace God has shown to her, a humble servant of the Lord. Maryam does not in any way view herself as better or holier than anyone else. She views herself as the Lord’s servant, whose humble estate is the occasion for His mercy and grace. There is no hint that she thinks God has chosen her to be the mother of Messiah due to her blessedness, but rather that her blessedness is the result of God’s sovereign and gracious choice to use her as His instrument.

Maryam saw her blessing as but an illustration, one instance of God’s grace, which leads her to praise God for His grace to all those who fear Him, from one generation to generation. Maryam’s praise focuses on the faithfulness of God to His promises.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and inseparable love. Lord, use me as one of Your instruments that I may be blessed by Your sovereign and gracious choice. Help me Lord to learn from Maryam, the mother of Jesus, to see myself as Your servant and help me to feel joy in my spirit in my God my saviour. Holy is Your name LORD. Thank You God for Your faithfulness to Your promises. Lord, I join all the generations to call The Virgin Maryam, Mother of Jesus, as ‘blessed’. Lord, I praise You, I glorify You and I rejoice in Your grace. In the Holy Name of Jesus I pray.

‘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

  ⁴⁶ فَقَالَتْ مَرْيَمُ: «تُعَظِّمُ نَفْسِي الرَّبَّ،

 ⁴⁷ وَتَبْتَهِجُ رُوحِي بِاللهِ مُخَلِّصِي.

 ⁴⁸ فَإِنَّهُ نَظَرَ إِلَى تَوَاضُعِ أَمَتِهِ، وَهَا إِنَّ جَمِيعَ الأَجْيَالِ مِنَ الآنَ فَصَاعِداً سَوْفَ تُطَوِّبُنِي.

 ⁴⁹ فَإِنَّ الْقَدِيرَ قَدْ فَعَلَ بِي أُمُوراً عَظِيمَةً، قُدُّوسٌ اسْمُهُ،

 ⁵⁰ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَهُ جِيلاً بَعْدَ جِيلٍ.

 ⁵¹ عَمِلَ بِذِرَاعِهِ قُوَّةً؛ شَتَّتَ الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ فِي نِيَّاتِ قُلُوبِهِمْ.

 ⁵² أَنْزَلَ الْمُقْتَدِريِنَ عَنْ عُرُوشِهِمْ، وَرَفَعَ الْمُتَوَاضِعِينَ.

 ⁵³ أَشْبَعَ الْجِيَاعَ خَيْرَاتٍ، وَصَرَفَ الأَغْنِيَاءَ فَارِغِينَ.

 ⁵⁴ أَعَانَ إِسْرَائِيلَ فَتَاهُ، مُتَذَكِّراً الرَّحْمَةَ،

⁵⁵ كَمَا تَكَلَّمَ إِلَى آبَائِنَا، لإِبْرَاهِيمَ وَنَسْلِهِ إِلَى الأَبَدِ».

December 20 Devotion - Blessed is She Who Believed

Now Maryam* arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Maryam, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

 * Jesus spoke Aramaic. In Aramaic His mother’s name is Maryam.

Luke 1:39-45

We know from the above Bible verses that Maryam went to visit Elizabeth. The open question to me is why did Maryam decide to travel while pregnant to visit Elizabeth?  The outcome of the visit was beneficial to Maryam; and all of us; because the welcome which Elizabeth, by the Spirit of prophecy, gave to Maryam, the mother of our Lord; was not as to a common friend making a common visit, but as to one of whom the Messiah was to be born. Obviously the visit was also beneficial to Elizabeth too. The answer to my question of why may be: that it was a visit created and made possible by The Holy Spirit.

A lesson that we can learn could be as follows:  It is very beneficial for those of us that grace has begun in their souls, and Christ is in the forming there, to consult those who are in the same condition, that they may communicate experiences one to another; Christian to Christian.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for loving me with a deep and everlasting love. Lord, You blessed Maryam, the Mother of Jesus, and did great things for her. Help me Lord to learn from the mother of our Lord to be humble and get rid of all pride within me. Lord I join the blessed mother of our Lord Jesus in saying: ‘My soul magnifies You God and my spirit rejoices in my Saviour’. Teach me to hear Your voice God and to believe in the fulfillment of the things which I will hear from You. Father God thank You for Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, to Him 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

وَفِي تِلْكَ الأَيَّامِ، قَامَتْ مَرْيَمُ وَذَهَبَتْ مُسْرِعَةً إِلَى الْجِبَالِ، قَاصِدَةً إِلَى مَدِينَةٍ مِنْ مُدُنِ يَهُوذَا.  

 ⁴⁰ فَدَخَلَتْ بَيْتَ زَكَرِيَّا وَسَلَّمَتْ عَلَى أَلِيصَابَاتَ.

 ⁴¹ وَلَمَّا سَمِعَتْ أَلِيصَابَاتُ سَلاَمَ مَرْيَمَ، قَفَزَ الْجَنِينُ دَاخِلَ بَطْنِهَا. وَامْتَلَأَتْ أَلِيصَابَاتُ مِنَ الرُّوحِ الْقُدُسِ،

 ⁴² وَهَتَفَتْ بِصَوْتٍ عَالٍ قَائِلَةٍ: «مُبَارَكَةٌ أَنْتِ بَيْنَ النِّسَاءِ! وَمُبَارَكَةٌ ثَمَرَةُ بَطْنِكِ!

 ⁴³ فَمِنْ أَيْنَ لِي هَذَا: أَنْ تَأْتِيَ إِلَيَّ أُمُّ رَبِّي؟

 ⁴⁴ فَإِنَّهُ مَا إِنْ وَقَعَ صَوْتُ سَلاَمِكِ فِي أُذُنَيَّ حَتَّى قَفَزَ الْجَنِينُ ابْتِهَاجاً فِي بَطْنِي:

 ⁴⁵ فَطُوبَى لِلَّتِي آمَنَتْ أَنَّهُ سَيَتِمُّ مَا قِيلَ لَهَا مِنْ قِبَلِ الرَّبِّ! »

December 19 Devotion - " Let it be to me according to your word.”

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Maryam. (Her real name in Aramaic) ²⁸ And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
²⁹ But when she saw him she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. ³⁰ Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Maryam, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. ³² He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
³⁴ Then Maryam said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. ³⁷ For with God nothing will be impossible.”
³⁸ Then Maryam said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:26-38 

How does Maryam respond to the word of God that was delivered to her by the angel Gabriel?

She knows she is hearing something beyond human capability. Her question, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” is prompted by wonderment and not by doubt. She immediately responds with faith and trust. Maryam's prompt response of "Yes" to the divine message is a model of faith for all believers.

Maryam believed God's promises even when they seemed impossible. She was full of grace because she trusted that what God said was true and would be fulfilled. She was willing and eager to do God's will, even though it could end up in her being stoned to death.When God commands He also gives the help, strength, and means to respond. We can either yield to His grace or resist and go our own way. Today, let us start/continue believing in God's promises and yielding to His grace. 

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, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can say the same words as Your maidservant Maryam; mother of our Lord and blessed among women; said in total faith: “Let it be to me according to your word.” God I pray to You in the name of Your precious Son; my Redeemer and Saviour; the Lord of my life, Jesus Christ. 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

 وفي الشهر السادس أرسل جبرائيل الملاك من الله الى مدينة من الجليل اسمها ناصرة

27 الى عذراء مخطوبة لرجل من بيت داود اسمه يوسف .واسم العذراء مريم .

28 فدخل اليها الملاك وقال سلام لك ايتها المنعم عليها .الرب معك مباركة انت في النساء .

29 فلما رأته اضطربت من كلامه وفكرت ما عسى ان تكون هذه التحية

30 فقال لها الملاك لا تخافي يا مريم لانك قد وجدت نعمة عند الله .

31 وها انت ستحبلين وتلدين ابنا وتسمينه يسوع .

32 هذا يكون عظيما وابن العلي يدعى ويعطيه الرب الاله كرسي داود ابيه .

33 ويملك على بيت يعقوب الى الابد ولا يكون لملكه نهاية

34 فقالت مريم للملاك كيف يكون هذا وانا لست اعرف رجلا .

35 فاجاب الملاك وقال لها .الروح القدس يحل عليك وقوة العلي تظللك فلذلك ايضا القدوس المولود منك يدعى ابن الله .

36 وهوذا اليصابات نسيبتك هي ايضا حبلى بابن في شيخوختها وهذا هو الشهر السادس لتلك المدعوة عاقرا .

37 لانه ليس شيء غير ممكن لدى الله .

38 فقالت مريم هوذا انا أمة الرب .ليكن لي كقولك .فمضى من عندها الملاك