Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-August 3, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Saturday,

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation.”

(Psalm 68:19).

So many times when we are in the midst of heavy duty trials, we forget to thank the Lord for all His blessings and benefits. To remedy this, we must focus on the Lord, not on ourselves.

God loads us with benefits daily. The word load is defined as, “to supply someone or something in abundance or excess.” Our God is a generous God. He gives us way more than we deserve. When we think of a load, we may thing of something heavy and hard to carry, like packages, groceries, or furniture. God’s loads of benefits are so light, just right.

God’s mercy doesn’t give us what we deserve (judgment, damnation and hell); but gives us what we don’t deserve (forgiveness, eternal life, and a home in heaven.

God loves to bless children abundantly each day. We should therefore, count our blessings. Have a blessed days thanking the Lord for His goodness. Stay safe and healthy.

Bless the Blesser for every blessing.

Dean

-August 2, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she came with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.”

(1 Samuel 2:19).

Hannah was one of the greatest mothers found in the Scriptures. Her love for her son Samuel was amazing and wonderful. She was barren and prayed earnestly in faith for a son and the Lord answered her prayer.

She promised to “lend him to the Lord” for the rest of his life. Imagine how hard that was to do! He was only a toddler when she brought Samuel to Eli the priest at the tabernacle. He served the Lord faithfully all his life.

There is something very special about a mother’s love. God put His love in the heart of a mother in a magnificent way. The older we get in life, the more we appreciate our mothers and their tremendous love, kindness, faithfulness, generosity, and sacrifice.

In the course of our lives, we will have many schools, houses, cars, jobs, and even many friends—but only one mother. I was always closest with my beloved Mom. She was not only my mom but also my friend. I loved her so much. She always stood by me, stood up for me, was so generous to me, and loved me so much.

When I ran track and cross country in junior high and high school, she came to all my races, both at home meets and on the road. It may sound like a little thing, but it meant the world to me. I miss her so much.

These last couple of years I visited her weekly. Dementia made things difficult for us to communicate, especially toward the end. They say when we are young, our mothers take care of us, and when they are old, we take of them. It is like the cycle of life.

If your mother is still alive, make each special for her, pray for her, call her, text her, email her, and most of all spend time with her. We never know how much time our mothers have left.

Have a blessed day as sons and daughters, loving our moms and caring for them. Stay safe and healthy.

What is your greatest earthly treasure? Is not your loving mother?

Dean

-August 1, 2024-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.”

(Psalm 62:5).

David wrote this beautiful 62nd psalm. It is so encouraging, comforting, and assuring to our souls. It is a very personal psalm. In fact, God’s Word is personal to all of us.

The phrase “my soul,” is found over and over in the Bible, especially in the Psalms. We as humans are composed of the three parts: spirit, soul, and body. When we die, our soul and spirit depart to live in eternity.

Psalm 42:5 says, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall I yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.”

When we wait on the Lord we find our expectation, or as it can be rendered, hope. God is the God of hope. Our hope is based on the Word of God. The Lord can bring us through anything. Our hope is an anchor for our souls.

God uses our circumstances to draw us closer to Him and grow our faith. It is hard to wait on the Lord—our flesh resists us. It is also hard to suffer silently and to endure patiently.

Have a blessed day holding onto the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

God will either change our circumstances or change our hearts in our circumstances.

Dean

-July 31, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“Blessed be the God and Father our our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

On Monday night, just about 9:50 pm, received a call from my brother that our dear, precious mother had past away. She was just four months shy of her 97th birthday. It hit me very hard. I knew the day would come, I just didn’t know it would be now. She but passed peacefully into eternity.

I am so thankful for my brother who cared for her for quite a few years before he had to move her to a board and care home. He visited her daily and I would drive over once a week. It was about six months ago, a dear brother and friend, brother David, went home to be with the Lord. He was the same age as my Mom.

God has comforted me so that I may comfort others. Our Lord is so merciful and gracious. His grace is sufficient for us no matter what we are going through. I just read a quote from an anonymous writer that blessed my heart, “No distance is too far for God’s mercy to reach.”

Have a blessed day of comfort and peace in the midst of the storms. Stay safe and healthy.

God doesn’t comfort us to make us comfortable, but comforts us to make be comforters to others.

Dean

-July 30, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.”

(Luke 4:38-39).

This account of the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law is also found in Matthew 8:14-15 and Mark 1:30-31. It was a wonderful visit by our Lord at just the right time.

Jesus had just finished his ministry in the synagogue. Peter invited Jesus over to his home, a home that consisted of his wife and mother-in-law. At the time, his mother-in-law was very sick with a high fever. Luke being a physician, described her condition as a high fever. It was a very serious condition, and she could have died from it.

Matthew tells us that Jesus saw her; Mark tells they told Him about her at once; and Luke tells us that they made request of Him concerning her. By reading all three accounts we get all the details by the Holy Spirit.

We all need Jesus to visit us for salvation, for healing, for comfort, for encouragement, and for help. He comes to visit us at the right time with the right solution to our situations. Our Savior stood over her rebuked the fever, took her by the hand, and lifted her up. Immediately the fever left her and she was wonderfully healed.

The first thing she did after being healed was to serve them, Jesus and His disciples. Isn’t that what we want to do after He heals us as raises us up? We can never thank Him or serve Him enough.

One day we will meet this dear lady in heaven. She will forever be known as Peter’s mother-in-law. So much for Peter being the first pope; He was a married man.

Let us call upon the Lord in our times of need and He will visit us. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

When Jesus visits us, we are never the same again.

Dean