Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-May 11, 2024-

Good morning, beloved, happy Saturday,

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

(Psalm 37:4).

Everyone has desires of the heart, hopes and dreams. The Lord knows our thoughts and our desires and only Jesus can satisfy the deep desires of heart.

Today’s verse is a command with a promise. If we want God to give us the desires of our heart, we must delight ourselves in the Lord. But how do we do this in a practical way?

The first thing we need to know is when our desires are to live for the Lord and serve Him, God always grants those desires. When desires are to see family and friends saved, God grants those desires, for it is His will that all people be saved. When our desires are to read the Word and pray mor, He will grant it.

If however our desires are selfish and self centered, God will not give us those desires. God is not a genie who grants everything we want at the time we want it. So let our desires be God’s desires, and He will fulfill them in a wonderful way.

May our desires be His desires, and His will, our will, His way, our ways. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 10, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

(John 3:30).

Today’s short verse is powerful, challenging, and encouraging. The Christian life is all about Christ, not about self. This is how John the Baptist lived his life. He pointed people to Jesus.

John is a perfect example of how we should decrease and Christ should increase. When the Pharisees asked who he was, he told them clearly that he was not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet. He simply replied, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: make straight the way of the Lord” as the prophet Isaiah said.”

John knew his role, his place in the kingdom of God. He preached a message of repentance, pointing people to Jesus. He proclaimed, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)!

He Must Increase – Our ultimate desire should be that Christ would increase in our lives. That means living every moment under His control, exalting His name, pointing people to Him.

Bill MacDonald in his Believer’s Bible commentary wrote, “The entire object of John’s ministry is summarized in this verse. He labored ceaselessly to point men and women to the Lord, and to make them realize His worth.”

I Must Decrease – The attention should not be on the messenger but on the message. The servant of the Lord must keep himself or herself in the background, hidden behind the cross. The more we decrease, the more Christ can increase and be glorified in our lives.

We are imperfect, Christ is perfect. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Him. We can do nothing in and of ourselves, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are unworthy sinners, saved by grace, made righteous and holy through the blood of Christ.

Let us make it our prayer, our desire today, that Christ would increase and we would decrease. May we point people to Jesus Christ our Savior. He alone can save them and help them. Oh, to think more about Jesus and His kingdom, and less about ourselves and the things of this world. Stay safe and healthy.

Lift up high the name and cause of Christ today, and live for Him in every way.

Dean

-May 9, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.”

(Mark 16:19).

Today is Ascension Day. It is the day that our Lord Jesus Christ ascended back to heaven, to the right hand of God. Easter garners way more attention than Ascension Day, but is still a special day to remember. Ascension Day is always 40 days after Easter because Jesus was with His disciples for 40 days after He rose from the dead.

The passages that speak of the ascension are Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50; Acts 1:9. Taken all together, we learn that Jesus was parted from them and carried to heaven; He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight; and He sat down at the right hand of God.

Jesus died for us, was buried, rose from the dead, and ascended back to heaven. Just as Jesus went up in a cloud, so too, He will come again the same way.

Philippians 2:9-11 tells us, “Therefore God also highly exalted Him and given Him the the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Have a blessed day living for a serving the risen, ascended King. Stay safe and healthy.

Jesus is on the throne and never leaves us alone.

Dean

-May 8, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

(1 Timothy 1:4 NASB).

The Bible is so practical and encouraging. God never intended for us to just know the truth in our minds, we must live it in our daily lives. Head knowledge without heart knowledge leads to a big head but a small life.

James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” We need to be obedient to God’s Word and apply it to our lives. It is like having a beautiful pair of shoes, well polished, but not wearing them.

Jesus taught us do the things which He tells us to do. This is the goal of our instruction every time we read the Bible, study it, and meditate upon it. We can’t really know the Word unless it changes our lives.

Let us abide in the Word so that the Word abides in us. The results will be love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. People watch us and listen to see if we live Christ or not.

Have a blessed day showing the life of Christ in action. Stay safe and healthy.

It is not a reach, to practice what you preach.

Dean

-May 7, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”

God loved us long before we were born and knew that we would become His children through faith in Jesus Christ. We are so blessed.

Since we received Christ, God has given us His divine dignity. Dignity is “the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.” We have such an exalted place among the saints of God. We are children of God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

Each of us is a star in God’s universe and a jewel in Jesus’ crown. Hymn writer William Cushing wrote, “When He cometh, when He cometh to make up his jewels, all His jewels, precious jewels, His loved and His own. He will gather, He will gather the gems for His kingdom: all the pure ones, all the bright ones, His loved and His own. Little children, little children who love their Redeemer are the jewels, precious jewels, His loved and His own.” The refrain says, “Like stars of the morning, His bright crown adorning, they shall shine in their beauty, bright gems for His crown.”

We should not put ourselves down or think of ourselves as nothing—God has made us special with His divine dignity. We should also love and appreciate each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Have a blessed day living for and with our Savior. Stay safe and healthy.

Let us shine brighter and brighter in God’s divine dignity.

Dean