August 14 Devotion - Understanding Christianity - Part 6 - Final part - We are Glorified

 

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,… Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

 أَيُّهَا الأَحِبَّاءُ، نَحْنُ الآنَ أَوْلادُ اللهِ. وَلا نَعْلَمُ حَتَّى الآنَ مَاذَا سَنَكُونُ، لَكِنَّنَا نَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ مَتَى أُظْهِرَ الْمَسِيحُ، سَنَكُونُ مِثْلَهُ، لأَنَّنَا سَنَرَاهُ عِنْدَئِذٍ كَمَا هُوَ!

 لأَنَّ الَّذِينَ سَبَقَ فَعَرَفَهُمْ، سَبَقَ فَعَيَّنَهُمْ أَيْضاً لِيَكُونُوا مُشَابِهِينَ صُورَةَ ابْنِهِ ..... وَالَّذِينَ سَبَقَ فَعَيَّنَهُمْ، فَهؤُلاءِ دَعَاهُمْ أَيْضاً. وَالَّذِينَ دَعَاهُمْ، فَهؤُلاءِ بَرَّرَهُمْ أَيْضاً. وَالَّذِينَ بَرَّرَهُمْ، فَهؤُلاءِ مَجَّدَهُمْ أَيْضاً.

1 John 3:2, Romans 8:29-30

We reviewed the many ways God loves us in the past 5 devotions:

1. We are God’s special people
2. We are Redeemed
3. We are Justified
4. We are Reconciled
5. We are Sanctified

Finally, God shows His love by glorifying us. Throughout our lives we will wrestle with sin, but we are promised that the good work God began in us will be completed.

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

ونحن نعلم ان كل الاشياء تعمل معا للخير للذين يحبون الله الذين هم مدعوون حسب قصده

Philippians 1:6

When God glorifies His children, he gives them inward beauty—called holiness. This begins as a process in this life (sanctification) and culminates when we come into the presence of Christ at our death or at His second coming. When we go to be with The Lord our sinful nature will be left behind and we will be like Him, and with Him, forever.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your unfailing, inseparable, deep, and everlasting love for me. Lord please remove any barrier that stops me from feeling Your love which I only deserve through the atoning blood of Christ. Thank You Lord that through Your grace You predestined me to be conformed to the image of Your Son, and that when I accepted Your Son Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, You redeemed me, forgave me, justified me, reconciled me, sanctified me, and glorified me. 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. Abba Father, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You continue to 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 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

August 11 Devotion - Understanding Christianity - Part 5 - We are Sanctified

 

By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

 

Hebrews 10:10

 

فَبِهَذِهِ المَشِيئَةِ نَحْنُ مُقَدَّسُونَ، بِذَبِيْحَةِ جَسَدِ يَسُوعَ المَسِيحِ مَرَّةً واحِدَةً إلَى الأبَدِ.

                                                                                         Sanctification is ‘Hagiasmos’ in Greek, means “making holy”. It also means “consecration” or “setting apart” something for a special holy purpose. Sanctification is God’s process of setting us apart unto Himself for His purpose and His will. He sanctified us when we were saved, and He continues to sanctify us to make us clean vessels properly prepared for His good works. Sanctification is an ongoing work in our lives as Christians. There may be moments of special consecration and powerful change worked by God, but a Christian could be deceived if he/she considers that he/she has reached full sanctification. In the Christian life, sanctification has two parts - God’s part and ours. In the Christian life God is playing the major role, our part is to respond in faith and obedience to what God is telling us or doing in our lives.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You God that when I accepted Your Son Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, You sanctified me unto Yourself through the atoning blood of Christ, by and through whom I am presented to You holy, and blameless, and above reproach in Your sight. Lord please continue to sanctify me, making me into a clean vessel and setting me apart for Your special holy purpose. Lord God, I love You, praise You, bless You, lift You up on high, and glorify Your holy name. Thank You God for Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me and for Your abundant blessings. In the name of The King of kings and Lord of lords, my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, I pray. To Jesus be the majesty, the glory, the power, and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

August 10 Devotion - Understanding Christianity - Part 4 - We are Reconciled

 

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, ²⁰ and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

²¹ And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled ²² in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—

Colossians 1:19–22 

 لانه فيه سرّ ان يحل كل الملء.

20 وان يصالح به الكل لنفسه عاملا الصلح بدم صليبه بواسطته سواء كان ما على الارض ام ما في السموات.

21 وانتم الذين كنتم قبلا اجنبيين واعداء في الفكر في الاعمال الشريرة قد صالحكم الآن

22 في جسم بشريته بالموت ليحضركم قديسين وبلا لوم ولا شكوى امامه

Reconciled: It is now possible for us to have a personal relationship with God. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, Jesus’ blood makes it possible for God to change our status from being an enemy of God back into a right relationship with Him. Christ’s blood is the bridge, the peace offering that reconciles us to God. 

 

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 God that when I accepted Your Son Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, You reconciled me to You through the atoning blood of Christ, by and through whom I am presented to You holy, and blameless, and above reproach in Your sight. Thank You God that You now see me through Christ’s righteousness instead of through my sin. Abba Father, 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’ precious name I pray. 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 3:20-21وَالْقَادِرُ أَنْ يَفْعَلَ، وَفْقاً لِلْقُدْرَةِ الْعَامِلَةِ فِينَا، مَا يَفُوقُ بِلا حَصْرٍ كُلَّ مَا نَطْلُبُ أَوْ نَتَصَوَّرُ،  لَهُ الْمَجْدُ فِي الْكَنِيسَةِ، فِي الْمَسِيحِ يَسُوعَ، مَدَى الأَجْيَالِ وَالدُّهُورِ! آمِينَ

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

August 9 Devotion - Understanding Christianity - Part 3 - We are justified

 

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

By Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Romans 5:9, Acts 13:39

  فبالأولى كثيرا ونحن متبرّرون الآن بدمه نخلص به من الغضب.

بهذا يتبرر كل من يؤمن من كل ما لم تقدروا ان تتبرروا منه بناموس موسى.

  God justified us, which means He declared us not guilty, because by the gift of faith we have accepted Christ as Saviour. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

 Acts 13:39 basically says to me, you cannot be justified by works, the Law of Moses, but only through accepting Christ as your Saviour and declaring Him Lord over your life.

 I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You that through Your grace You declared me not guilty, even though I am, because I was purchased with the precious blood of Christ. I know God that if I could have been saved by works You would not have allowed Christ to be crucified on my behalf. Thank You God that You now see me through Christ’s righteousness instead of through my sin. Thank You God that Your justifying love allows me to stand accepted before 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 continue to declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour and Jesus may continue to dwell in my heart through faith. I pray in Jesus’ holy precious name. 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

August 8 Devotion - Understanding Christianity - Part 2 - 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

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

1 Galations 3:13, Ephesians 1:7

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

 

^{Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again(from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God.”}

^{أَجَابَ يَسُوعُ وَقَالَ لَهُ الْحَقَّ الْحَقَّ أَقُولُ لَكَ: إِنْ كَانَ أَحَدٌ لاَ يُولَدُ مِنْ فَوْقُ لاَ يَقْدِرُ أَنْ يَرَى مَلَكُوتَ اللهِ.}

John 3:3

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 Saviour and have made Him Lord over their lives. At that moment they are born again (from above) through The Spirit and become children of God.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, 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. Thank You Father God for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, unfailing, everlasting, and inseparable love for me. I pray to You Father in the precious name of Your only begotten Son 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

August 7 Devotion - Understanding Christianity - Part 1 - We are God's Special People

 

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

 

1 Peter 2:9

 

انتم فجنس مختار وكهنوت ملوكي امة مقدسة شعب اقتناء لكي تخبروا بفضائل الذي دعاكم من الظلمة الى نوره العجيب.

God shows His love for us by calling us out of the darkness of sin and into the light of fellowship with Him.

Even more, because God has called us to Himself, He promises to protect that relationship.

 

And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

 John 10:28

 وانا اعطيها حياة ابدية ولن تهلك الى الابد ولا يخطفها احد من يدي .

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You that through Christ I am considered one of Your own special people. Thank You that through Your grace Lord, You chose me and called me out of darkness into Your marvelous light. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may continue to dwell in my heart through faith and I can abide in Jesus, the vine, and receive eternal life. Thank You Jesus for Your assurance that my spirit shall never perish; and no one can snatch me out of Your hand.  Father God, I praise You, glorify You, and lift You up on high. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I pray to You Father, in Jesus’ precious name. 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

August 4 Devotion - Transforming failure to Success

 

Wealth and riches are in His house; and His righteousness endures forever.

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Blessings and prosperity will be yours.

رغد وغنى في بيته وبره قائم الى الابد‏.

واثقا بهذا عينه ان الذي ابتدأ فيكم عملا صالحا يكمل الى يوم يسوع المسيح. 

طوباك وخير لك.

 

Psalm 112:3, Philippians 1:6, Psalm 128:2

 

 

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” That approach is taught all over the world. As Christians, we tend to integrate this attitude into our walk with Christ. If we fail to conquer certain habits, or disobey key Scripture verses, we keep trying on our own strength. Although perseverance is necessary, determination alone will not solve our problems.

We need to admit our failure and realize that we can only live the Christian life through the support and strength of The Holy Spirit. Failure can be a catalyst that converts our methods from trying to TRUSTING.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power in my inner being, so that I can make the transition from trying on my own to trusting in the power of The Holy Spirit. Lord, I know that Your house is full of riches; and that Your righteousness endures forever. I am confident that if You set me on a direction or path You will complete it in spite of the trials and snares that are in my way; and that blessings and prosperity will be mine. Lord, I know that without The Holy Spirit acting on my behalf I cannot accomplish Your will. Abba Father, thank You for Your deep, unfailing, inseparable, and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. I trust and I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, and Redeemer. To Jesus be the glory, the majesty, the blessings, and the dominion both now and forevermore. Amen.

 

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

August 3 Devotion - Praising God

 

IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise be thankful to him, and bless his name. I will sing of mercy and judgment: to you, O LORD, will I sing. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for you are my praise. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Psalms 92:1 Psalms 100:4 Psalms 101:1 Jeremiah 17:14 Ephesians 1:3 1Peter 2:9

When things are going our way, Praise seems to be a natural part of what we want to do. However, on the days when we face sad memories, challenges, and bad news it is much more difficult to show or express gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner.

God understands how our emotions are built; He made them. He also knows that praise is the cure for a heart weighed down by concerns, worries, and fears.

Praise helps us to focus our attention on God. When we take a long and deliberate look at the character and ways of the Lord Jesus who loved us enough to die for us, our eyes are naturally shifted away from the difficulty and onto His ability to care for us.

Praise increases our faith. Telling God what we love about Him always involves reciting His past actions of might and power on our behalf. You can look back at the times He sent special provision at just the right moment and thank Him for them. This process results in a heart that expands with joy and security in Him.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that when sad memories, fears, irritations, and concerns come my way today, I can praise You. Enable me to look at Your provision in the past and rejoice at what You will do in the future. Jesus, You said “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 Lord I praise Jesus who has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light. I pray to You Father in the name of my Redeemer and Saviour, the Lord of my life, Jesus Christ. 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

August 2 Devotion - Following God's Plan

 

“Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”

أَبَاكُمْ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْتَاجُونَ إِلَيْهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَسْأَلُوهُ.

Matthew 6:8

God already knows what we want and what we need. He's the One who put those desires in us. We shouldn't be consumed by trying to make things happen. Instead, a greater act of faith is to be happy right where we are; to stay open and trust God because He has great plans in store.

It's good to be passionate; however, we should not be unhappy if things do not happen our way and in our timing. Sometimes we hold on to things so tightly, but actually when we let them go, that's when God brings them to pass. We need to put our dreams on God’s altar.

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, please teach me that You will give me the desires of my heart when I put my dreams on Your alter and thank You consistently for directing my steps. I really need to learn this lesson. Lord, let this lesson go deep into my conscious and subconscious mind. Help me today to release my dreams, my desires, my "wants" like a seed falling to the ground and dying, and I know that in Your fertile ground and plan I will receive Your desires for me which are so much better for me. I know that You have the best plan for my future, and I trust You to bring it to pass in my life. Father God, 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. Lord, I praise You, glorify You, and I lift You up on high. I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I pray in His holy name. 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

August 1 Devotion - The Power of the Tongue

 

Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

لقمة يابسة ومعها سلامة خير من بيت ملآن ذبائح مع خصام. الموت والحياة في يد اللسان واحباؤه ياكلون ثمره. اذا يا اخوتي الاحباء ليكن كل انسان مسرعا في الاستماع مبطئا في التكلم مبطئا في الغضب.

Proverbs 17:1

Proverbs 18

James 1:19

Through God’s word we learn that a home full of quietness and peace are much better than a house loaded with feasting but full of arguments and conflict.

Peace between people requires establishing mutual trust. Trust is built through listening and understanding - not necessarily agreeing with the other person. Listening without judging is necessary.

A useful focus to aim for when listening to another person is to try to understand him/her, how the other person feels, and to discover what the other person wants to achieve.

The late Dr. Stephen Covey ( 'The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People'® ) is one of many modern advocates who urge us to strive deeply to understand the other person's point of view through empathic listening (also called active listening or reflective listening).

 

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can listen with empathy and  understand other people, and help them, not judge them, and to be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Help me to control what I say and purify what I think.  Keep me away from any strife Lord. Father God thank You for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting, and inseparable love for me. I praise You, glorify You, and lift You up on high. LORD, I declare Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and I pray in His holy name. 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

July 31 Devotion - The Spirit of Truth

 

When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

واما متى جاء ذاك روح الحق فهو يرشدكم الى جميع الحق لانه لا يتكلم من نفسه بل كل ما يسمع يتكلم به ويخبركم بامور آتية .

John 16:13

In his popular book ‘Experiencing God’, Former Pastor Henry Blackaby writes:

When you enter into an intimate love relationship with God, you will know and do the will of God and experience Him in ways you have never known Him before. Only God can bring you into that kind of relationship.

The relationship comes first. If you have received no clear direction about how to serve the Lord, perhaps it is time to deepen your fellowship with Jesus. The Christian life is a marathon that begins with a walk.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:0

Abba Father, I long for the Holy Spirit and the Word to lead me to an intimate love relationship with You. Jesus, please increase my faith and teach me to be Your friend, deepen my fellowship with You Jesus. I pray in Your name Jesus for The Holy Spirit to instruct me to know Your timing and what You want me to accomplish in Your service. I want You to use me to accomplish The Father’s will that ‘all men be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth’. Thank You Lord for Your deep, unfailing, and everlasting love for me, Your abundant blessings in my life, and for the riches of Your grace upon my life. 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 3:20-2

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