Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-May 21, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“The officers answered, ‘No man ever spoke like this Man!’”

(John 7:46).

The Pharisees and chief priests sent these officers on a mission to arrest Jesus and bring Him in. These were experienced officers. They must have thought their job would be easy. It was it to be.

Jesus stopped them with His words. Words are very powerful, and His were the the most authoritative and powerful of anyone. These men likely heard some great men speak, but not like Jesus. He was not like the scribes, He spoke with authority, right to the heart.

These officers came back without arresting Jesus. The Pharisees and chief priests asked them, “…Why have you not brought Him?” (John 7:45). They simply stated, “No man ever spoke like this man.” Some Bibles are red letter editions, having the words of Jesus in red.The four gospels were a sea of red.

Bill MacDonald in his Believer’s Bible Commentary wrote, “Here was an instance where sinful men were compelled to speak well of the Savior, even if they themselves did not accept Him. Doubtless these officers had listened to a good many men in their day, but they never heard anyone speak with such authority, grace, and wisdom.”

Jesus taught the Word, spoke in parables, and confounded all the cynics and critics. They finally gave up trying to catch Him in His words. King Solomon was the wisest man on earth, but Jesus was far, far greater. He was the One who gave Solomon his wisdom.

May the Lord give us the right words to share with those who are unsaved. The religious leaders recognized the disciples were uneducated and untrained men, but the had been with Jesus (See Acts 4:13).

If we go forth In Jesus’ name, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can win souls and make a great impact on people. Have a blessed day thinking on the words of Jesus that changed your life. Stay safe and healthy.

No one can speak like Jesus, because no one is like Jesus, perfect God and perfect Man.

Dean

-May 20, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Monday,

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

(1 Corinthians 3:9).

We often speak about working for the Lord, and rightly so; but have we considered that we not only work for the Lord, but we work with the Lord. Rightly thinking this way will revolutionize the way we serve the Lord.

We are not on our own, the Lord is with us in all that we do. We are yoked together with Him. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. He doesn’t need us, but He chooses to use us. That’s grace! He equips us and is with us all the way. He does His work through us and with us.

After Jesus’ resurrection, Mark 16:20 says, “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.” Jesus continues His work that He began through us and with us. (See Acts 1:1-2).

To illustrate this principle, imagine a CEO wanting to ride with a junior sales representative on his route. Then he becomes best friends with that rep. They hang out. They spend time with each other’s families. Then when the rep gets sick and can’t work the CEO takes his route every day, visits him in the hospital, and provides for the rep and his family. This is what our Lord Jesus does with us and for us.

Have a blessed day working with and for the Lord with joy and gratitude. Stay safe and healthy.

Our Savior does everything for us and brings about the results. He still rewards us for our service in His name.

Dean

-May 19, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Lord’s Day,

“All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.”

(Isaiah 54:13).

All of us have a lot to learn, I have a lot to learn. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know. Ok God’s Word is like a vast ocean, we can’t plumb the depths of it. We come to it with a small pale, we can never take it its vastness.

This verse in Isaiah is pointing forward hundreds of years to the Millennium where the Lord Jesus will rule and reign in righteousness. Israel will be regathered and restored, and righteousness will prevail—But it has application to us today.

We are the children of God and He teaches us His precepts, His promises, and His paths. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:33, “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statues, and I will keep it to the end.” The phrase, “teach me,” is found 17 times in the Scripture.

God teaches us to know His will and do it; God teaches us His ways so that we can walk in them. The Lord Jesus is the greatest teacher. He applied this verse to the people of His day in John 6:45, “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.”

He wants us to learn and apply what we’ve learned to our lives. When we have learned, we should teach others, especially our children. The truth is passed on from generation to generation.

There is a hymn that I love so much, it is entitled, “Teach Me Thy Way, O Lord.” It was written by B. Mansell Ramey. The first stanza says, “Teach me Thy way, O Lord, teach me Thy way! Thy guiding grace afford—Teach me Thy way! Help me to walk aright, more by faith, less by sight; Lead me with heav’nly light, teach me Thy way.”

Let us all be disciples, learning His Word daily, with open hearts and open Bibles. Have a blessed Lord’s Day. Stay safe and healthy.

A great teacher instructs, inspires, and impacts others; a great student becomes like his teacher, and teaches others also.

Dean

-May 18, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Saturday,

“…but has passed from death to life.”

(John 5:24c).

Today is the last of our series on “Passport to Heaven.” To recap: by hearing and believing in Jesus we have everlasting life, and we won’t come into judgment, and today we will look at: we have passed from death in to life.

We already mentioned we were born spiritually dead in our transgressions and sins. We were separated from God, without God and without hope in this world. Jesus came from heaven to save us from our sins. He took our sins upon Himself and died in our place.

We can now say with full assurance of faith, we have passed from death in to life. Notice Jesus doesn’t say, but will pass from death to life, i.e., when we go to heaven, though that will be true, but it is true spiritually right now. We have made alive together with Christ.

Ephesians 2:5 says, “Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” Those who are not saved are walking dead; we as believers as the walking living. Death has no control over us, it simply is a servant to transport to heaven.

Going from death into life is such a beautiful blessing. Because Jesus rose, we will rise also. There is a beautiful hymn that I love so much, entitled, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” written by Helen H. Lemuel. There are many great lady hymn writers. The second verse says, “Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there; Over us sin no more hath dominion—For more than conquerors we are.”

Let us rejoice that we are fit for heaven, ready to meet the Lord, and spend eternity with Him. We have our ticket in hand, our passport is in order. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Live every day hour by hour, according to His love and power.

Dean

-Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“…shall not come into judgment…”

(John 5:24b).

As we have seen before, God gives us the passport to heaven. None of us deserve it. We are all sinners, but sinners saved by grace. He has freely given us eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Eternal life is a free gift.

Not only do we have eternal life, we shall not come into judgment. Christ took our place on the cross, bore our sins, and endured the wrath and judgment of God that was our due. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Because Jesus took our judgment on Himself, there no condemnation for us. Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Jesus the Judge became the one who was judged in our place so that we could be free from the wrath to come. Jesus says to the Father, “They are with Me.” We enter heaven on His merits, His righteousness.

Pastor and author Max Lucado tells a story of a group of middle school students who had a volleyball tournament. One game was at 8:00 am and the other at 11:00 am. One of the parents invited the kids and their parents to a special breakfast at her restaurant. The restaurant was open, and some guests were invited guests and others were paying guests.

The owner stood by the cashier and told the girl who was paid for by saying, “They are with me.” Thus their breakfast was free. Jesus does the same for us. He made the way of salvation possible for us.

Let us rejoice that we will never judged for our sins. Jesus paid the price in full. One of my favorite hymns is, “Jesus Paid It All” by Elvina M. Hall. The third verse and chorus says, “And when before the throne I stand in Him complete, Jesus died my soul to save, my lips shall still repeat. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain—He washed it white as snow.”

Have a blessed and thankful day with whatever comes your way. Stay safe and healthy.

The Passport to heaven is written in blood—The blood of Christ our Savior.

Dean