I don't know that man!

What starts small, can grow bigger than your control.
On that special Holy Thursday, allow me to take you through an eye opening personal experience. It was on a rainy Saturday morning, stuck at home with the kids, i decided to fetch for my notebook to scribble down some thoughts. And the long searching started, going from my room up to the kitchen drawers...only to stop at the end by an innocent voice pointing me out to the balcony...! Here was my notebook, soaking up all the rain it could get like a thirsty camel! Angry me, got my notebook in and was waiting for some explanation...looking at these shameful eyes and trembling voice. Leila realized, after first drawing throughout few pages in my notebook, that she has done something i asked her not to do. Afraid of facing me with such an act, she decided to hide it out of my sight...may be i ll forget all about this notebook anyhow...and yes, that's where the balcony pops up again in the story..and you know the rest. I explained to her firmly yet in my arms that what started with "coloring" ended up in an "all wet" bigger problem..."two wrongs don't make it a right". All the Big wrongs have a small innocent beginning..yet allowed to grow.

Can't help not think about Peter on that tough Thursday night of trial:

But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!” Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. (Matthew 26:70, 72, 74 NIV)

فأنكَرَ قُدّامَ الجميعِ قائلًا: «لستُ أدري ما تقولينَ!». فأنكَرَ أيضًا بقَسَمٍ: «إنّي لستُ أعرِفُ الرَّجُلَ!». فابتَدأَ حينَئذٍ يَلعَنُ ويَحلِفُ: «إنّي لا أعرِفُ الرَّجُلَ!». وللوقتِ صاحَ الدّيكُ. (مَتَّى 26:70, 72, 74)

It's been shocking to me seeing how a small denying lie was growing into swearing..then brutally transformed into cursing and insulting, yes, a disciple insulting. What? But how? This is Peter, the Rock..even a disciple as solid and bold as Peter was falling into the swirling growing sin effect. We always talk about Peter denying, but rarely think of him reaching a level of swearing and cursing. Oh God, how many times i have accepted a small drop of lie to end up in a pool of mud...yes, the flood always starts with a drop!

But that same Peter, experiencing the love of Christ, the forgiveness of His Heart, received the Holy Spirit who took him to a whole new level of authority. Not only he declared his faith but taught it to the multitude openly and got 3000 on his first big public speech! Wow...this is a Turn-Around as defined. From denying You in front of a slave to fishing 3000 souls.

Dear Jesus, i thank you for praying strength over the faith of Peter, for knowing that he will go through tough times, but yet you saw him growing out of it triumphant and leading “Satan has asked to test you men like a farmer tests his wheat. O Simon, Simon (Peter), I have prayed that you will not lose your faith!” (Luke 22:31, 32 ERV) I thank you that when times of trial hit us, we know that you sent us strength to fight this drop of sin through the power of your Holy Spirit in us. Amen!

Enjoy His loving forgiveness on that day and everyday!

The "Black" Cloud

If I am not mistaken, these days we should be welcoming in Cairo our famous "Black Cloud" as known as السحابة السودة. I think the cause (and solution) of this heavy black smoke is and will remain one of the great mysteries of Egypt, next to لعنة الفراعنة and why we "never" make it to the world cup!?

Talking about clouds, It reminded me of the very special time I spend with Leila and Farida, lying on our back on the ground, in the open air, looking up to the blue sky and Playing the never-boring game of "What shape is this cloud?"...Dabdoub, Batta, Dora, La vache qui rit :-) My kids always amaze me with their imagination, they can see things much better than my already-shaped realistic closed mind..the excitment of the game is so high because they jump around to show me quickly what they see in this cloud above them..before it is gone..before it disappears! Will never forget when they asked me how amazingly such big fluffy cotton-like clouds disappear and leave the sky without any traces, and the sky is clearly blue even after the thoughest foggy or stormy days (specially in Amsterdam)!

Suddenly I got a totally new perspective of what Isaiah wrote about clouds:

قد مَحَوْتُ كغَيمٍ ذُنوبَكَ وكسَحابَةٍ خطاياكَ. اِرجِعْ إلَيَّ لأنّي فدَيتُكَ». (إشَعياءَ 44:22

Your sins were like a big cloud, but I wiped them all away. Your sins are gone, like a cloud that disappeared into thin air. I rescued and protected you, so come back to me.” (Isaiah 44:22 ERV)
What a strong description he wrote through the Holy spirit, declaring the love of our Heavenly Father who calls us to come back to Him. Not only He is going to give us the "Running Hug" like we talked about in the last post..but He confirms that our sins and transgressions are erased like clouds disappear from the sky...with no traces..Just Gone away from His sight..because He took it all away..He redeemed us..no matter how big the cloud is! Wow..not only a running hug, but a clear Sky..all new..all Blue!

Heavenly Father, I thank you with tears in my eyes, that you are calling me back in your arms to take away my sins, my skies from black clouds, without a mark in your sight, no mater how big or small my sin can be, you just erased it..I pray that I never forget this promise..and i live believing it..always running back to You..knowing You cleared it all! Amen.

Celebrity Sightings

Are you that type of person that jumps to take a photo with the celebrity dining next to you in a rstaurant or may be spread all over your wattsapp groups and FB status "Omar el Sherif (or Angeline Jolie) fel restaurant waraya..will die to go and talk to him" and probably the rest of the evening will be about him and how he eats, what beer he drinks, vegetarian walla men mo7eby el fillet..and surely about the ones around him on the table..guessing who they are.Then we continue talking about all the celebrities sighting (meeting) we had in our past life and who we still wish to meet.

Funny enough (and seriously enough too), we should also realize that each of us is a celebrity on his own, living under the spot light and the eyes of his own surrondings. You are very important as you are an Ambassador to who you follow, a disciple (تلميذ) to Jesus, We have the chance to give people a "True disciple sighting" by watching our life.
Jesus said clearly:

   15:8 بهذا يتمَجَّدُ أبي: أنْ تأتوا بثَمَرٍ كثيرٍ فتكونونَ تلاميذي. (يوحَنا 

When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine. (John 15:8 AMP)

And said as well:

فليُضِئْ نورُكُمْ هكذا قُدّامَ الناسِ، لكَيْ يَرَوْا أعمالكُمُ الحَسَنَةَ، ويُمَجِّدوا أباكُمُ الّذي في السماواتِ. (مَتَّى 5:16 AVDDV) إذًا نَسعَى كسُفَراءَ عن المَسيحِ (كورِنثوس الثّانيةُ 5:20

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 AMP) and So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. (2 Corinthians 5:20 AMP)

And i am quoting here few lines from a devotional I read lately "God has chosen to make His love, mercy, grace, justice, righteousness, holiness, and every other aspect of His stunning character visible through you and me! God’s glory is His “wow factor,” because when it is experienced and visibly seen, it’s an awesome reality!"

So when was the last time you stunned your world by loving someone who is unlovable? By forgiving a deep offense? By choosing integrity over compromise? By serving others instead of serving yourself? By reaching out to the poor and oppressed? By extending grace to an needing soul?

Be a Celebrity my Friend! And Act it too!

Olive Oil in Jars of Clay

I love olive oil...in salads, with fish, on labnah, even law ghamesto lwa7do! Lucky that i am livinh now in the biggest oil producing country world wide :) Last night refilling our olive oil jar, made me look back when this product meant business..it was again one of these state controlled commodities during Roman times. It was used for eating, annointing, religiuos rituals, even for oil lamps. It was VITAL!

To my wonder, i read about its history, and came to find about a small hill in Rome called "Monte Testaccio"..probably you havent heard of it yet as well! it s an artificial hill in Rome with a circumference of nearly a kilometre and stands 35 metres high, though it was probably considerably higher in ancient times, composed almost entirely of fragments of broken amphorae (clay vessels-fokhar) used for olive oil transport dating from the time of the Roman Empire, containing the remains of an estimated 53 million empty useless vessels! It stands a short distance away from the east bank of the River Tiber, near the Horrea Galbae where the state-controlled reserve of olive oil was stored in the late 2nd century AD.
!يعني من الاخر كان اكبر مقلب زبالة في هذا الزمن

Basically, with all the production/imports they had during the Roman empire, they had quite a problem of recycling their packaging material! These vessels at the end didnt mean anything, it was cheaper to throw them away..eventually creating this hill! Cause their value is in WHAT THEY CONTAIN and the SOURCE it came from!

Wow..this brought a total new perspective of what Saint Paul refers to, talking about what we really are..and where our power/value comes from. He wrote it perfectly in his letter to Corinthians:

"However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves. (2 Corinthians 4:7 AMP)"

(ولكن لنا هذا الكَنزُ في أوانٍ خَزَفيَّةٍ، ليكونَ فضلُ القوَّةِ للهِ لا مِنّا. (كورِنثوس الثّانيةُ 

It was that clear to him that the value created in you and I..the value we bring to others around us, the good works we struggle to spread and the unhuman forgiveness we are to offer..is coming from our God..dwelling in us, through His Holy Spirit..it can not just come from these fragile clay breakable vessles!

Dear God, I thank you today knowing that it does not depend on me, but the power comes from a Higher source, i pray that I am filled everyday with your Holy Spirit, the Oil of your presence making it known that this vessel is just uncapable ALONE of going the extra mile you asked us to go. In Jesus name, Amen!