Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-July 19, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.”

(Psalm 25:13).

Many, like myself have graduated a long time ago, and no longer go to school; but we never stop learning. May we all have a thirst for knowledge and try to learn something new everyday.

For believers, the Holy Spirit is our Teacher, the subject is our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Bible is our textbook. We have much to read, study, learn, apply, and obey. This world is our classroom and tests, oh yes, there are tests—tests of our faith, tests of our commitment, tests of our integrity, tests of our sincerity, and tests of our obedience, just to name a few.

The Lord is patient with us, but He is firm; He merciful, but He is strict; He is loving in all things and desires that we learn His ways, His will, and His word. Psalm 25:4-5 says, “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.”

Are you ready for God’s class? He is a great Teacher who wants our growth and success. Have a blessed day learning what the Lord is teaching. He chooses the topics each day. Stay safe and healthy.

Schooldays end at the Rapture or when we pass into eternity by the way of death. What a graduation that will be for you and me.

Dean

-July 18, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.”

(Isaiah 45:2).

As I write this devotion, I am at the Emergency Room waiting to be seen. I have several skin issues including a swollen cheek, a hand with torn skin on my right hand, a sore spot on my right leg, a redness on my cheeks. I look like I got in the ring with Mike Tyson!

I went to practice for our Worship Team and a loving couple told me I should go to the ER. Please pray for me. I trust the Lord fully. He will go before me and work things out.

The Lord promises to be with us, go before us, and make the crooked places straight, and we all have many crooked places to go through in this world. We walk in the straight ways of the Lord and He alone can make the crooked places straight. This is a very crooked world.

The Lord can break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. Nothing is too hard for Him. The Lord always cares for us. The ER doctor just looked at everything and is going to give me some antibiotics. I got seen pretty fast for the ER. The Lord went before me.

Life is uncertain, things change; but the Lord never changes. By faith we can be certain in the midst of our uncertainty. He has a purpose for everything. God gives us rest and peace in His presence.

Have a blessed day with the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

Under the care of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dean

-July 17, 2024-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“When they asked him to stay a longer time with them he did not consent, but took leave of them, saying, ‘I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.’ And he sailed from Ephesus.”

(Acts 18:20-21).

The Christian life and ministry is all about God’s timing. The Lord leads and guides us as we live for Him and serve Him. Wherever Paul went, he was a blessing to all the saints, and they were a blessing to him.

Some of Paul’s visits were longer than others; he spent eighteen months in Corinth and three and a half years in Ephesus. He stayed less time in other cities. He helped establish many churches.

He told the saints, “but I will return again to you, God willing.” The future is always in the Lord’s hands. As our dear brother Mike would say, “Be flexible, and you won’t get bent out of shape.” Whenever he says it I think of a toy I played with as a child called Gumby. You could bend him and stretch him into different positions.

I always try to be flexible and let the Lord lead me on a daily basis. It isn’t always easy. Our plans are not set in stone. We must pray, plan and prepare. Sometimes the Lord changes the plan. It may be a cancellation, a postponement, or a delay.

When God changes our schedule or plan, we must accept it and move on. It is counterproductive to get disappointed, discouraged, or frustrated. Just think how many changes Joseph, David, and Paul went through. They trusted the Lord, one day at a time, just as we should.

When we say “Lord willing,” or “God willing,” it isn’t meant to be a Christian catch phrase or formality. We should really mean it. James said, “Come now, you who say, ‘today or tomorrow we will go to such and such city and spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’ (James 1:13-15).

The term goodbye has a greater finality than saying see you later or until we meet again. Even so, all our circumstances are in the hands of our Heavenly Father.

Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

When life ebbs flows, God directs us on the way we should go.

Dean

-July 16, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.’”

(Genesis 17:1-2).

God has many names and titles in the Bible. One of the most potent to ponder is “Almighty God.” This expression is found three times and “God Almighty” is found eleven times. The term in the Hebrew is El Shaddai.

God established His covenant with Abram and changed his name to Abraham. God promised to bless him and his descendants forever. When God makes a promise He fulfills it.

Years ago I learned and sang a song, entitled, “El Shaddai.” Amy Grant wrote and performed it. The chorus she wrote says, “El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai, El-Elyon na Adonai, age to to age You’re still the same by the power of the name. El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai, Erkahmka na Adonai. We will praise and lift You high, El-Shaddai.”

The Almighty God is with us and has the power to deliver us, help us, and provide for us. No problem is too big, no situation too overwhelming, no question too unanswerable. He is our El-Shaddai. He is our Lord, our King; and we have a personable relationship with Him through Son, Jesus Christ.

He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is with in all times and in all ways. We needn’t fear or be troubled. He has everything in control. Our lives are in His hands. He gives us life and breath.

Have a blessed day walking close to the Lord and calling upon Him. Stay safe and healthy.

God is still on the throne, and always cares for His own.

Dean

-July 15, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Monday,

“And in the midst of the seven lamp stands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters.”

(Revelation 1:13-15).

What does Jesus look like? Many artists have tried their utmost to depict Him; many preachers have sought to describe Him; and many writers have sought to portray Him. No one living on earth has seen Jesus face to face. The disciples who were with saw Him. One day all of us will see Him.

John wrote in 1 John 3:2, “Beloved, now we are the 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.”

Imagine how awestruck John was with the vision of Christ while on the isle of Patmos. It was overwhelming! John reacted as we all will in a coming day, “And when I saw Him, I feel at His feet as a dead…” (Revelation 1:17).

It is one thing to speak to someone on the phone, or see a picture of them, or hear someone else describe them to us; but it quite another to see the person with our own eyes. We see Jesus now by the eyes of faith, but one day, we will see Him face to face in all of His glory.

Mark Altrogge wrote a beautiful hymn entitled, “I stand in Awe.” He wrote of our Lord, “You are beautiful beyond description, too marvelous for words, too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing ever seen or heard. Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depth of Your love? You are beautiful beyond description, Majesty, enthroned above! You are beautiful beyond description, yet God crushed You for my sin, in agony and deep affliction, cut off that I might enter in. Who can grasp such tender compassion? Who can fathom this mercy so free? You are beautiful beyond description, Lamb of God who died for me! The chorus says, “I stand, I stand in awe of You! I stand, I stand in awe of You! Holy God, to Whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of You!

Oh, what a Savior we have—we will see Him and be with Him for all eternity. Let us live for Him in zeal, awesome wonder, and holy reverence. Have a blessed day with Him. Stay safe and healthy.

The hymn writer expressed it so well, “When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory.”

Dean