Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-April 11, 2024-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Then He said to His disciples, ‘Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.’”

(Luke 12:22-23).

Worry is a sin and it does us absolutely no good. In fact, it harms the body and mind. It is like carrying around a heavy weight wherever we go. Jesus warned His disciples, and He warned us. Why should we worry when God is control? He knows what lies ahead, we don’t.

Jesus asked two searching questions in Luke 12:25-26, “And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are anxious for the rest?”

Paul taught us in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Prayer and thanksgiving brings peace to our being.

Someone once said, “Worry is wasting today’s time to clutter up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.” Or as Chuck Swindoll said, “Worry pulls tomorrow’s cloud over today’s sunshine.”

May the Lord help us to not worry but trust in Him fully. Have a day free of worry. Stay safe and healthy.

Most of what we worry about never takes place; when When we wait on the Lord, we won’t have to carry the weight of worry.

Dean

-April 10, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“Then she made a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

(1 Samuel 1:11).

Hannah was one of the greatest women and mothers in the Bible. She was barren and unable to have a child. It wore her down and severely burdened her heart. She went to the temple and prayed earnestly to the Lord. She pleaded before the Lord.

She not only prayed, but she promised that if the Lord would give her a son, she would give him to Him all the days of his life. God was faithful to her and she honored her commitment and vow to Him.

She brought her son Samuel to the temple to live there and serve the Lord. He was just a little tot with a great future for the Lord. He became a great prophet, priest, and judge in Israel.

It would have been easy for her to love her son so much that she would not give him up. Not Hannah. Because she gave Samuel to the Lord, He blessed her tremendously. 1 Samuel 1:21 says, “And the Lord visited (or attended to) Hannah, so she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the Lord.”

Everything we have belongs to the Lord. We are stewards of the manifold grace of God. We can never out give the Lord. In particular we must give our children to the Lord, our time, our money, our possessions, our talents, and abilities to the Lord as well. God will use what we give to Him to do great and mighty things. Mothers you never know if you are raising a Samuel. It is a huge privilege and responsibility.

Have a blessed day giving to the Lord, holding nothing back. Stay safe and healthy.

Giving as we are given, makes life on earth worth livin’.

Dean

-April 9, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people; and your God, my God.”

(Ruth 1:16).

Ruth was a very special young woman. She was born and raised in Moab, but given a choice to stay there or return with her mother-in-law Naomi who was going back to Israel, she chose Naomi and her God. She made her steadfast commitment to the Lord by faith and as a result she was married to Boaz and became the great grandmother of David, and was in the line of Christ.

Because Ruth was loyal it reflected in in the way she lived her life. She was obedient to Naomi and to the Lord God. Ruth 3:5 says, “And she said to her, ‘All that you say to me I will do.’” Everything she did was in accordance to God’s will. She never looked back at her former life in Moab.

Ruth is such a wonderful example of a Gentile believer in the true and living God. He left behind everything in Moab, and received much more with the Lord and His people. She was also a hard worker in the fields of Boaz. She provided for Naomi and for herself.

May the Lord help us to be loyal, faithful, obedient, and loving in our walk with the Him. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Deciding to follow Jesus, no turning back.

Dean

-April 8, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Monday,

“Sun stand still over Gibeon; and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.’ So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the people had revenge on their enemies.”

(Joshua 10:12b-13).

Today marks the day of a full solar eclipse. Only in a states from Texas to Maine will see people be able to view a full eclipse of the sun. The very first spot that will experience what is called a totality, will be Las Quintas, Fronterizas Texas.

It it a pretty important phenomenon that is in the news today and receiving a lot of press coverage. The rest of the country will see only a partial eclipse. I enjoy science and astronomy, but I think many people take it way too seriously. There are going to be watch parties with special foods and beverages. There will also be special glasses available to protect the eyes.

I will take a look at it on line and on TV, but I am not going to waste too much of my time on it. Today’s verse is a much more remarkable event in history. God changed the course of a whole day, in answer to Joshua’s prayer, so that the Israelites could get the full victory over their enemies.

Their was never a day like it before, nor will it be again. Joshua 10:13-14 continues, “Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.”

There have been times God has brought complete darkness on earth during the day: in Egypt as one of the plagues, and for three hours when Jesus bore our sins in the cross. Only God has control of nature. He is omnipotent, nothing can stop Him. God made the sun, the moon and the stars. He is King the universe. The Bible tells us that one day, called the Day of the Lord, God will turn the sun to darkness and the moon to blood. See Joel 2:30-31).

Have a blessed solar eclipse day. Let us consider all the wonders of God in nature and praise Him. Stay safe and healthy.

It is better to turn one’s eyes to the Lord than to the sun in the sky.

Dean

-April 7, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Lord’s Day,

“So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?’ And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”

(Luke 10:36-37).

A certain lawyer, trying to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus then him told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the story, only the Samaritan stopped and showed mercy to the man who was beaten and robbed, and left by the side of the road.

Jesus used the opportunity to show who our neighbor is: the one who needs mercy and help. Our Savior calls on us to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves.

The law of liberty is love. Love for friends, acquaintances, friends, strangers, enemies, yes, everyone. Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.” Jesus is our example of love and mercy. John wrote in 1 John 3:17, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

Let us go and do likewise. May we love others as Jesus loves us. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

When love grows, mercy flows.

Dean