March 26 Devotion - When we don't know what to do

 

".....He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths...."

فَيُعَلِّمَنَا طُرُقَهُ، وَنَسْلُكَ فِي سُبُلِهِ،

Isaiah 2:3

 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

يَقُولُ الرَّبُّ: أُعَلِّمُكَ وَأُرْشِدُكَ الطَّرِيقَ الَّتِي تَسْلُكُهَا. أَنْصَحُكَ. عَيْنِي تَرْعَاكَ.

Psalm 32:8

For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

لأَنَّ الرَّبَّ يَهَبُ الْحِكْمَةَ، وَمِنْ فَمِهِ تَتَدَفَّقُ الْمَعْرِفَةُ وَالْفَهْمُ.

Proverbs 2:6

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."

وَخَاطَبَهُمْ يَسُوعُ أَيْضاً فَقَالَ:

 «أَنَا نُورُ الْعَالَمِ. مَنْ يَتْبَعْنِي فَلاَ يَتَخَبَّطُ فِي الظَّلاَمِ بَلْ يَكُونُ لَهُ نُورُ الْحَيَاةِ».

John 8:12

 

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

وَأَمَّا الرُّوحُ الْقُدُسُ، الْمُعِينُ الَّذِي سَيُرْسِلُهُ الآبُ بِاسْمِي، فَإِنَّهُ يُعَلِّمُكُمْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ، وَيُذَكِّرُكُمْ بِكُلِّ مَا قُلْتُهُ لَكُمْ.

John 14:26

We all face situations where we do not know what to do. We also face troubles in our lives. God teaches us and encourages us to always first go to God and seek His guidance through The Bible, to pray and meditate on His word, to listen to the prompting of The Holy Spirit and to only seek the counsel of godly people. Yet we have the tendency as a first reaction to think about what to do on our own and to seek counsel from friends and relatives. I am learning to change my ways and go to God first knowing that God wants a relationship with me and He knows best and will guide me to follow what is best for me and the advancement of His Kingdom.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I want to change my ways and depend on You totally through Your Word, the guidance of The Holy Spirit and Your message which You may inspire believers to tell me. God guide me and strengthen me to change my ways so as to rely on Your wisdom and walk in Your path by following Jesus; the light of the world; and to receive counsel through The comforter; The Holy Spirit; whom You sent to me in the name of Jesus. I want to proclaim the words of the Apostle Paul “All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles”. In Jesus’ name I pray. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, to Him be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, the authority and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

March 25 Devotion - A time to work and a time to rest

 

Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. ³¹ And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”

وَاجْتَمَعَ الرُّسُلُ إِلَى يَسُوعَ، وَأَخْبَرُوهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ: بِمَا عَمِلُوهُ وَمَا عَلَّمُوهُ. 31 فَقَالَ لَهُمْ: «تَعَالَوْا أَنْتُمْ عَلَى انْفِرَادٍ إِلَى مَكَانٍ خَالٍ، وَاسْتَرِيحُوا قَلِيلاً»

Mark 6:30-31

 

Jesus Himself told His disciples after their hard work that they should take a time to rest and rejuvenate. So must we. As Solomon wrote: There is a time for everything under the sun.

The Scriptures tell us in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever we do we should do for God’s glory. So whether we are working or at rest we need to glorify God.

We have to remember that Jesus gave us a job to do apart from our regular jobs. In His great commission Jesus said to His disciples and to all believers “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you.”

18 فَتَقَدَّمَ يَسُوعُ وَكَلَّمَهُمْ قَائِلاً: «دُفِعَ إِليَّ كُلُّ سُلْطَانٍ فِي السَّمَاءِ وَعَلَى الأَرْضِ. 19 فَاذْهَبُوا إِذَنْ، وَتَلْمِذُوا جَمِيعَ الأُمَمِ، وَعَمِّدُوهُمْ بِاسْمِ الآبِ وَالاِبْنِ وَالرُّوحِ الْقُدُسِ؛ 20 وَعَلِّمُوهُمْ أَنْ يَعْمَلُوا بِكُلِّ مَا أَوْصَيْتُكُمْ بِهِ.

 

Matthew 28:18-20

 

So if you have retired, welcome to your second career.

 

Let us remember that when we surrender our lives to Jesus and make Him Lord of our lives:

… it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

لأَنَّ اللهَ هُوَ الَّذِي يُنْشِيءُ فِيكُمُ الإِرَادَةَ وَالْعَمَلَ لأَجْلِ مَرْضَاتِهِ

Philippians 2:13

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father God of peace may the blood of the eternal covenant; the resurrection of Jesus; His Shepherd care for His sheep; and the equipping of the Holy Spirit; guide my every action. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I want what You want for me, work in me Lord to will and to work in order to fulfill Your purpose in me. God, I praise You, glorify You and lift You up on high. In the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the holy name of Jesus I pray. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

March 24 Devotion - Keeping our focus on 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 يسمعون

The joy of the Lord is your strength and your stronghold.

فَفَرَحُ الرَّبِّ هُوَ قُوَّتُكُمْ

Acts 16:25, Nehemiah 8:10

The original Hebrew for "joy" in Nehemiah 8:10 is "chedvah," meaning joy or gladness. The root word for joy in this context means to rejoice or to make glad. "Strength" in the same verse is a Hebrew word meaning “a place or means of safety, protection refuge, or stronghold.”

So, what Nehemiah 8:10 is telling us is feel joyful because you feel safe and protected in God’s stronghold.

The joy of the Lord is a constant gladness and cause to rejoice. It stems from an inner strengthening from our relationship with Him.

I continue to learn that if I am not extremely careful, my emotions can and will 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. 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, help me to kkeep 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 nor 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 Jesus be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein