Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-May 31, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“For now I see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am fully known.”

(1 Corinthians 13:12).

The gift of eyesight is such a blessing. We often take it for granted until we have a problem with our eyes. There are very few people who can see without some vision correction. I have worn glasses since I was 18. I first noticed it when I had to sit near the front of the class in order to see.

Quite a few people wear glasses, others contact lenses. There are so many corrective procedures nowadays such as Lasix and CLR. Pardon the pun, the scientific advances are out of sight.

To date myself, we used to have an expression when I was in high school: “outta sight.” It means something is super good. Unlike the word cool, outta sight has not lasted in our vernacular.

As we age our eyes age and we can’t see like we used to. My cousin’s husband Mike is having cataract surgery this morning. Another friend, Rick, who is younger than I am needs it too and waiting for his surgery. I also know quite a few other people who have had it. They all came through very well.

Rick gave us a devotion from the Word on the eyes, physical and spiritual. I thought of several individuals in Scripture that grew very old and their vision was dimmed. Isaac, Jacob, and Eli all came to mind. I wonder if it was from cataracts. Moses was the only person in the Bible whose vision never dimmed. Deuteronomy 34:7 says, “Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.”

Paul had eye problems also. When he wrote, now “We see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face…” Those living in Paul’s day didn’t have mirrors as we have today, that show a clear representation. They had copper pots. They could see themselves in them, but dimly.

Now in this world, we see dimly the things of God, but one day we will see our blessed Lord Jesus Christ with new eyes in a new spiritual body. What a great day that will be!

We must take care of our eyes now; we can do some things to help them: use larger fonts, get giant print Bibles, wear sunglasses with UV protection, get regular eye exams, and rest our eyes during and after working on computers.

Spiritually, we should pray with the psalmist, “Open my eyes, that I may see wonderful things from your law” (Psalm 119:18). This should be our prayer every time we read and study God’s Word.

Have a blessed day seeing everything and everyone in the light of God’s Word. Stay safe and healthy.

May we see Jesus through eyes of faith, until we see Him face to face.

Dean

-May 30, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday

“All these were the sons of Obed-Edom, they and their sons and their brethren, able men with strength for the work: sixty-two of Obed-Edom.”

(1 Chronicles 26: 8).

When you read the whole Bible, especially in one year, it is such a great blessing. You will come across quite a few genealogies. Many people skip over these sections and miss rich treasures found in them. Today’s verse is a great example.

1 Chronicles 26 lists all the various Levites and their duties in the tabernacle. They were the servants, the gatekeepers, the singers, and the treasurers in the house of Lord. They were the worker bees of the hive. They never stopped.

I often think if I were a Jew living in those days, I would loved to have been a Levite. These men and their sons and brothers left a great legacy. Obed-Edom mentioned here in our text was one of four men by this name. All of them were Levites.

The name Obed-Edom means a servant of Edom or laborer of the earth. He and all his family were able men with strength for the work. God is the one who gives us the gifts and abilities to serve Him. We can’t serve by our own strength or wisdom, we need the Lord’s help. The phrase, “able men” is found eight times in the Scriptures.

I recently read a quote by Phillips Brooks, the great preacher, writer, and hymn writer of years gone by. He wrote the familiar Christmas hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” He once said, “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your task.”

May the Lord help each of us to be able men and women with strength to serve the Lord until He calls us home to glory. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Doing our best with the strength from above, to labor for Jesus out of hearts with great love.

Dean

-May 29, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“Now Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.’”

(John 11:21).

It has happened to all of us at one time or another in life; we have arrived somewhere, but too late. We may have overslept, got stuck in traffic, or our flight was delayed. It happens all the time.

In the case of Jesus, was He too late? Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, was gravely ill. The sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick” (John 11:3). Jesus knowing the greater miracle He would perform, waited two more days, and then set off for Bethany.

God’s timing is never a minute too soon or a minute too late. His timing is always just right. He often waits until the eleventh hour, the last minute, to show His power and provision to us in a wonderful way.

We want things to happen right away, but God’s ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts. Mary and Martha said the same words to Jesus. See John 11:21; John 11:32. They both believed that if Jesus had been there, their brother Lazarus would not have died. They were correct. Jesus could have come sooner and healed him of his sickness.

Healing the sick is great, but raising the dead is greater. All the glory goes to God. There are times when He doesn’t heal, He allows death to happen. We cannot blame God or question why. We have to wait until we get to heaven to find out the reasons why things happened as they did.

We can be assured that God loves us and will answer our prayers and be glorified in all things. Have a blessed day trusting in the Lord who is never too late. Stay safe and healthy.

Rejoice always in God’s love and power, every day and every hour.

Dean

-May 28, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”

(1 Timothy 6:6).

No believer, young or old is immune to greed. The world bombards us daily to buy what we don’t need with money we don’t have to be happy with things that don’t satisfy.

What is the answer to this nonsensical cycle of greed? Paul gives the answer: be content with what we have. As long as godliness is combined with contentment it is great gain.

God provides for us and meets our needs. 1 Timothy 6:7-8 says, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, we these we shall be content.”

When we start lusting for things, it is a bad sign, and has no end. It causes even more problems in our walk with the Lord. The poor strive to be rich, and the rich strive to be richer. We shouldn’t live for money, but just use money to live.

The great Apostle Paul himself needed to learn this lesson on contentment. He wrote in Philippians 4:11-12, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”

Being content in a discontented world isn’t easy, on the contrary it is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.”

May the Lord help us to be content with what we have. It doesn’t mean we should take a vow of poverty and not buy anything. It means to grasp things lightly for we just have them for a short while. We have to replace things, upgrade our homes, eat, live, and do business. We should thank the Lord for everything He has given us and live within our means.

Have a blessed day with contentment. Stay safe and healthy.

Someone said, “I had no shoes and complained until I met a man with no feet.”

Dean

-May 27, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Monday, happy Memorial Day,

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

(1 John 3:16).

Along a stretch of highway in Layfayette, California, a memorial has been set up for all to see: white crosses line the patch of land, each one representing a service member who died in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is solemn.

When I was a child of six I traveled in Europe with my mother and brother. We went to see a cemetery where men and women who served during WWII were buried. Even though I was so young, I still remember it to this day. Arlington Cemetery is the final resting place of so many soldiers who died fighting for our freedom.

These men and women who died deserve our gratitude. We can’t thank them personally, but whenever we meet a man or woman in uniform, we should thank them for their service. If we find out the person is a veteran, let’s thank them as well.

These service members laid down their lives for us, giving as President Lincoln said at Gettysburg, “the full measure of devotion.”

Jesus set the example by laying down His life on the cross for us. In John 15:13, He said, “Greater has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” His was the greatest love, devotion, and friendship.

Let us never forget those who died in the service of our country and especially for our Lord Jesus Christ who laid down His life for us. Have a blessed Memorial Day. Stay safe and healthy.

This we know, we can’t repay the debt we owe.

Dean