Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-June 14, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, and trust in Mount Samaria, notable persons in the chief nation, to whom the house of Israel comes!”

(Amos 6:1).

The Bible is chock-full of warnings for believers in Christ. One of greatest is being aware of complacency. The word complacency is defined as, “Self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.”

Complacency can easily set in if we lose our joy, zeal, commitment, or love for Christ. We begin do things out of duty rather than delight. Complacency usually starts as a snow flake but ends up as an avalanche. Hence the expression, “Don’t grow complacent.” It can sneak up on us suddenly or more often, slowly over time.

Amos was one of the minor prophets. The difference between the major prophets and the minor prophets is the length of their writing not their . importance; all the prophets were important. They spoke for God.

There is a very apropos expression that speaks of complacency, that says, “Don’t let the grass grow under your feet.” Grass is going to grow, but we need to be moving forward, taking action, not standing still.

There are times we can be complacent in regard to many areas: our health, our weight, our fitness, job, our families, our prayer life, our witnessing, and our Bible study habits. Amos says, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion.”

Related words to complacency are laxness, self-satisfaction, smugness, laziness, and procrastination. We have to be on constant guard against complacency. Being aware of it goes along way toward avoiding and defeating it.

John in writing to the church in Ephesus tells them, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:4). Conviction is good for the soul as long as we take heed to it.

There is no room for complacency in the Christian life. Time is growing short, there are many souls who need to be saved, and many saints who need to be taught and encouraged. Let’s not get sidetracked by the earthly, momentary things of this life. May we not lose our spiritual appetite by feeding on the things of this world.

Have a blessed day being awake alert, alert, active, and attuned to the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

When we are idle and at ease, we cannot our Lord Jesus please. Don’t be satisfied with the mediocre, strive for the magnificent.

Dean

-June 13, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“Let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity.”

(Job 31:6).

Job, though buffeted, bruised, and burdened by the devil behind the scenes, never lost his integrity. His wife told in Job 2:9, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die.”

The word integrity is defined as, “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” As believers in Christ, our lives should be characterized by integrity.

Integrity is composed of honesty, sincerity, and trustworthiness. Our integrity isn’t based on us; the Lord helps us. Our word is our bond, the truth is our standard, and honesty is our policy.

Years ago, Raymond Floyd played on the PGA tour. He was among the leaders in the latter stages of a tournament offering a top prize of $108,000.00 for winning. Nowadays there would be three more zeros in the prize money. As he was ready to tap in a routine 9 inch putt for his par, he noticed that the ball moved ever so slightly. According to the rule book, if the ball moves in this way, the golfer must take a penalty stroke. No one seemed to notice, but he took the one stroke penalty and ended up with a bogey.

A man or woman of integrity does what is right in God’s sight. God sees, God hears; and our conscience screams. May the Lord help us to bolster and maintain our integrity. Have a blessed day.

Let our integrity be weighed on God’s scale.

Dean

-June 12, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love.”

(Ephesians 3:17).

When we get saved, we invite Christ to come and dwell in our hearts to be our Lord and Savior. Our lives are changed—we are under new management. In fact, everything is new: a new heart, a new life, a new destiny.

In what sense then is Paul praying for the saints in Ephesus that “Christ may dwell in our hearts?” In the Greek the word dwell is made up of two words, one means to live in a home, the other means to be comfortable in that home.

Christ lives in every believer, but may not be comfortable in every heart. Every heart can only fit one on the throne: either Jesus or us. He will not be a part time or partial King of our hearts. We have all heard the quote y the great missionary Hudson Taylor, “Either Jesus is is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.”

In thinking about our hearts as a home, does Christ feel at home in our hearts? Have we given Him access to every room, every nook, and every cranny? Or are there some room or rooms that we are hiding from Him, kept under lock and key? It may a small room or closet filled with spiritual or moral junk.

We will never be truly happy until we surrender it all to Christ and give Him the master key. The master key opens every door to every room. It includes our hobbies, our habits, our friendships, our relationships, our jobs, our thoughts, our motives, our desires, and yes, our will!

We must let the Lord take over, to clean everything up, and do a complete makeover. There are TV shows where a builder comes in and completely renovates the house. Oh, what a change when the couple moves back in. It’s a huge transformation.

Does your heart need a transformation? Does your life need a makeover? Let us give Christ full access, full control, full authority.

Have a blessed day under Christ’s control. Stay safe and healthy.

My heart alone is Christ’s inner throne.

Dean

-June, 11, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“…But now the Lord says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.’”

(1 Samuel 2:30).

Our goal should be to honor God with our words and actions each day of our lives. God sent an unnamed man of God to deliver the Lord’s message to Eli. Later, God spoke to Samuel to confirm the message to Eli. Eli failed to control his sons. Their sins were grievous in the sight of the Lord.

Honoring God is essential to living a victorious life. But what does it mean to honor God? It means to put the Lord first in all things; to do God’s will fully; to do what is right in God’s eyes; to please Him, and serve Him. Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase.”

God promises that He will honor those who honor Him. He gives us good success, prosperity, and blessing. Proverbs 3:10 shows how God honors those who honor Him, “So your barns will filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

In John 12:26, Jesus tells us, ‘If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.’”

May we honor God today, pointing people to Jesus and bringing glory to His name. Have a blessed day in every way. Stay safe and healthy.

Honor the Savior in every endeavor,

Dean

-June 10, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Monday,

“And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.”

(James 2:23).

The poorest people in the world are those who do not have friends, especially one really close friend. Having someone we can trust, rely on, confide in, and communicate with is a great privilege and blessing.

Abraham was called the friend of God. He was certainly known for his faith. He walked with God, obeyed God, and looked beyond this world to a heavenly country. He left behind a great legacy, the greatest of which is being called the friend of God.

Three times in the Scriptures, Abraham is called the friend of God: James 2:23, 2 Chronicles 20:7, and Isaiah 41:8. King Jehoshaphat said in 2 Chronicles 20:7, “Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?” God blessed the people of Israel through Abraham’s son Isaac, and gave the land of Canaan to them.

It is also repeated in Isaiah 41:8, which says, “But you, Israel are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend.” Abraham is called the father of our faith. Though we are not earthly descendants of Abraham, we are children of Abraham spiritually.

Jesus made the incredible statement to His disciples and thus to us in John 15:13-15, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what is master is doing; for I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

That’s right, dear brothers and sisters, Jesus calls us His friends; He is our close, intimate, loving friend. Proverbs 17:17 shows, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Solomon also wrote, “A man who has friends must show himself friendly, but there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

Let us rejoice that Jesus is our Friend. He is born for adversity and sticks closer to us than a brother. He never leaves us nor forsakes us; He loves us and cares for us spirit, soul, and body. Let us spend time with our Friend in close communion, and do what He commands us to do.

Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy. With Jesus as our Friend, our blessings will never end.

Dean