April 26 Devotion - Seek first His kingdom and His Righteousness

Jesus told His disciples:

Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

لكن اطلبوا اولا ملكوت الله وبره وهذه كلها تزاد لكم .

Matthew 6:33 

Many times we fail to see the goodness of this verse. God often takes us places we could never dream of going on our own. His vision is far beyond ours. His might and power open doors for us we never knew existed or we thought were permanently closed.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and deep inseparable love. Lord, please show me Your plan and desires for me, and help me to wait for Your way to be revealed to me. Help me to seek Your kingdom and don’t let me walk in my own way. Take away my selfish desires and replace them with Your healthy dreams and goals. Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4–5

I believe that the blessings I will receive will fill my heart with boundless joy. Help me to trust in Your vision for me; which is better than mine by quantum leaps; and to trust that Your might and power will open doors for me that I thought were permanently closed and doors that I never knew existed. I continue to declare Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and pray in His holy name. To Him be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever, and unto ages of all ages. Amen.  

Jesus loves you,

In Him,                                                               

Wagdi Henein

طرقك يا رب عرّفني. سبلك علمني.

في حقك وعلمني. لانك انت اله خلاصي. اياك انتظرت اليوم كله. دربني

April 25 Devotion - He who is mighty has done great things for me

In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul. When His lamp shone above and upon my head and by His light I walked through darkness; He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.

يَوْمَ دَعَوْتُكَ اسْتَجَبْتَ لِي، وَشَجَّعْتَنِي إِذْ زِدْتَنِي قُوَّةً فِي دَاخِلِي. حِينَ كَانَ مِصْبَاحُهُ يُضِيءُ فَوْقَ رَأْسِي، فَأَسْلُكُ عَبْرَ الظُّلْمَةِ فِي نُورِهِ. فَإِنَّ الْقَدِيرَ قَدْ فَعَلَ بِي أُمُوراً عَظِيمَةً، قُدُّوسٌ اسْمُهُ.

Psalm 138:3, Job 29:3, Luke 1:49

When we walk in the light of God's countenance, every outward comfort is increased, every trouble is diminished, and we pass cheerfully by this light through life. When we rely on His loving-kindness and truth through Jesus Christ, we will always find Him faithful to His word.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You Lord, for Your promise to guide me and to comfort me through the most difficult circumstances. In the day when I cried out to You God, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul. As I look back on my life I see how You protected me God through the darkest hours and helped me walk in the light of Your countenance. I can boldly say that He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. Thank you Father for Your inseparable, unfailing, deep and everlasting love for me and Your abundant blessings in my life. LORD, I praise You, I thank You, I glorify You, and I lift You up on high. Abba, I claim Your promises to continue to do great things for me and to give me wisdom, strength and peace. In the name of The King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Jesus my Lord and Saviour, I pray. To Him be the glory, the power, the dominion, the majesty and the blessings forever and ever and unto ages of all ages.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

April 23 Devotion - The Lord's Prayer - And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

In the previous devotions I covered the following portion of The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Today we cover the next phrase in sequence:  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
   

The Greek word for temptation is “Peirasmos” which means “a trial, proving, or testing.” God does not tempt us ever. He however may choose to test us.

 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

إذا تَعَرَّضَ أحَدٌ لِلتَّجرِبَةِ، لا يَنبَغي أنْ يَقُولَ: «هَذِهِ تَجرِبَةٌ مِنَ اللهِ.» لِأنَّ اللهَ لا تُغرِيهِ الشُّرُورُ، وَهُوَ لا يُغرِي بِها أحَداً.

James 1:13

In this phrase of The Lord’s Prayer we request God to protect us against that which might cause us to fall into sin. The Bible tells us that everything that happens is either caused by God, or God allows it.  As such, we believers realize that God is in control of every second of our lives, so we pray for God to guide our steps away from tests and towards holiness.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

 لَمْ تُصِبكُمْ تَجرِبَةٌ لا تَأتِي عَلَى غَيرِكُمْ مِنَ البَشَرِ، لَكِنْ يُمكِنُكُمْ أنْ تَثِقُوا بِاللهِ الَّذي لا يَسمَحُ بِأنْ تُجَرَّبُوا فَوقَ طاقَتِكُمْ، بَلْ يُوفِّرُ مَعَ التَّجرِبَةِ مَنفَذاً، لِكَيْ تَقدِرُوا أنْ تَحتَمِلُوا.

1 Corinthians 10:13

God is faithful, and he will not let us be tested beyond our ability, but with the test He will also provide the way of escape, that we may be able to endure it. When He delivers the way out, we have to take it.

God is the only one who can protect us from the evil one. It is by His strength that we are enabled to stand against the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

إِذَنْ، كُونُوا خَاضِعِينَ لِلهِ. وَقَاوِمُوا إِبْلِيسَ فَيَهْرُبَ مِنْكُمْ.

James 4:7

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I pray not to be tested and thank You that if it is Your will to test me, You are faithful and will help me endure the test and You will find a way for me out of it. Help and strengthen me Lord to resist the devil. I believe that through Your power he will flee from me. God I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your Holy Name. Thank You Father for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting and inseparable love for me. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I may submit my life to You and follow Your guidance for my life. I declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour. In the Holy Name of Your only begotten Son Jesus, I pray. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

April 20 Devotion - The Lord's Prayer - Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors

In the previous devotions I covered the following portion of The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.

Today we cover the next phrase in sequence:  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

انْزِعُوا عَنْكُمْ كُلَّ حِقْدٍ وَنَقْمَةٍ وَغَضَبٍ وَصَخَبٍ وَسُبَابٍ وَكَلَّ شَرٍّ. وَكُونُوا لُطَفَاءَ بَعْضُكُمْ نَحْوَ بَعْضٍ، شَفُوقِينَ، مُسَامِحِينَ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضاً كَمَا سَامَحَكُمُ اللهُ فِي الْمَسِيحِ.

فَالبَسُوا ثَوباً يَلِيقُ بِأبناءٍ مُختارِينَ وَمُقَدَّسِينَ وَمَحبُوبِيْنَ مِنَ اللهِ: ثَوبَ الشَّفَقَةِ، وَاللُّطفِ، وَالتَّواضُعِ، وَالوَداعَةِ، وَالصَّبْرِ.

 

Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:12

In the Jewish writings it is common to call sins "debts"; and the phrase, of forgiving, is used both of God and men. While we are to forgive the monetary debts of the poor who cannot pay, we are also to forgive those have done us wrong and to pray to God to forgive them also.

I find it easier to understand this phrase of The Lord’s prayer as follows: Lord please teach me, help me, and strengthen me to forgive others in the same way You have forgiven me.

It has been said that forgiving others is the most selfish thing you can do for yourself, because it releases you of all the anguish and negative bitter feelings you hang onto when you don’t forgive. These feelings continue to hurt you until you forgive. It has also been said that non-forgiveness is like taking poison and hoping the other person will die. Jesus’ teaching to forgive our enemies is not such a tough thing when we realize it’s for your own good.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting and inseparable love. 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 forgive my debtors as You have forgiven me and to pray for them. Help me God to get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Strengthen me so that I can clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. God I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your Holy Name. I declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour. In the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Your only begotten Son Jesus, I pray. To Him be the power, the glory, the majesty and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein