Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-April 6, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Saturday,

“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Your sight.”

(Luke 10:21).

In today’s verse we see what made Jesus rejoice, what made Him truly happy. It wasn’t turning the water into wine, nor the feeding of the 5,000 or 4,000, nor raising of Lazarus from the dead, nor any of His other miracles. It was the revealing of God’s truth to babes, His disciples in particular.

It is important that He did not reveal the wonderful, glorious things to the wise and prudent of this world; they were offended by Him and rejected Him. They still reject Him today, choosing their own way and refusing His.

My mentor Bill MacDonald in His Believer’s Bible Commentary wrote, “The intellectuals were too wise, too knowing, too clever for their own good. Their pride blinded them to the true worth of God’s beloved Son.”

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things were are mighty; and the base things of and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things which are, that no flesh may glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

Instead, God chose us, His babes, to reveal His truth to us and through us. All glory goes to Him! Jesus told the disciples privately how privileged they were in Luke 10:23-24, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”

Thank God we came to Christ like little children: humble, sincere, and in faith. We know what He has taught us and is teaching us. We are so blessed. Forget the critics and the cynics; the scorners and the scoffers for they know nothing. Let us sit at Jesus’ feet and worship Him. Jesus revealed the Father to us and we have the honor of revealing Christ to the world.

Have a blessed day in awe and wonder at the truth that has been revealed to us in God’s Word. Stay safe and healthy.

We know more on our knees than the world knows on its tip toes.

Dean

-April 5, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’”

(Luke 9:61-62).

Jesus spelled out the terms of discipleship in no uncertain terms. Salvation was costly to Christ, He gave His life for us that we may forgiven and have eternal life, but it is free to us by grace through faith.

Discipleship on the other hand, costs us everything, nothing less will do. as Jesus was on the road to Jerusalem and his crucifixion at Calvary, there was a conversation about discipleship between our Lord Jesus and three men, would be disciples. The first man started the conversation by making a bold, decisive declaration, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go” (Luke 9:57).

Jesus saw right into his heart. He wanted him to understand what that commitment entailed, Jesus said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). Most recruiters wouldn’t employ such a strategy to sign up volunteers or even paid laborers. Jesus needed to make the terms crystal clear for him and for everyone.

To the second man, Jesus simply said, ‘Follow Me’ but though he seemed willing he added the caveat, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ This was an excuse that Jesus saw right through. He told him, “let the dead bury their own dead, you come and follow Me.”

The third man also said he would follow the Lord, but he asked to first go and bid farewell to those at his house. The “me first” mentality that is so prevalent in the world will never work in true discipleship. It must be Jesus first, everything and everyone else last. In fact, true joy flows from this priority in our lives.

I love the acronym I heard years ago: J-O-Y (Jesus first, others second, yourself last). Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “…If anyone desires to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

The hymn writer William K. Bream wrote, “What will it cost me to follow the Lord? What is the price of a life that’s restored? If I am willing to walk in His way, what is the price I must pay? Everything! Everything! All that I own. Everything! Everything! All that I am. Everything! Everything! All that I love, that is the price I must pay, that is the price I will pay.”

Have a blessed day following Jesus, putting Him and His kingdom first. Stay safe and healthy.

Jesus first, Jesus only, Jesus always,

Dean

-April 4, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“The remnant will return of Jacob, to the Mighty God.”

(Isaiah 10:21).

Christians will never be a majority in our nation or throughout the world. This has been the case since the beginning of time. The word remnant is defined as, “a usually small part, member, or trace remaining; a small surviving group.”

As we read the Scriptures the word remnant refers to a small number of believers fully committed to the Lord, living their lives fully for Him and serving Him. It is used of the nation of Israel but has its application to us in the church today.

Isaiah 10:22 says, “For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.” Throughout the Bible a few won the victory; few sought the Lord; few pleased the Lord. All the glory goes to the Lord.

Noah and his wife, three sons, and their wives, eight people, were saved in the ark from the flood. Gideon’s army which was 32,000 was whittled down to 10,000 then to 300. Only a small number of Israelites returned to their land after the seventy year captivity in Babylon. In the days of Elijah there were just 7,000 who who did not bow down to Baal.

And so today the church may be few, but is powerful and impacts the world. It says of the early Christians, that they turned the world upside down. We need to do this today!

We need revival, for us to repent and turn back fully to the Lord. God wants us to more influential and impactful to the world around us. We are different; we have different values, priorities. The eternal is way more important than than temporal. We need to be separated from the world, set apart for the Lord. This doesn’t mean however that we should be isolated.

Paul wrote to the Romans of Israel saying, “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11:5). If God could raise up the dry bones in Ezekiel’s day, He can do the same today.

Let us be the remnant today. The few who love Jesus, live fully for Him, stand for Him without compromise, and serve Him willingly and faithfully with every breath, every fabric of our being. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

We may be few in number, but mighty in spirit.

Dean

-April 3, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.’ So they launched out.”

(Luke 8:22).

Today’s text describes the only time we know of that Jesus fell asleep while with His disciples. He was likely exhausted from His hectic ministry schedule. It pulls the curtain back so we can see the humanity of Jesus. He was perfect God and perfect man.

This passage in Luke 8:22-25 shows Jesus’ power over nature in a powerful way. This is one of His miracles on water. It is also found in Matthew 8:23-27 and Mark 4:36-41. It is always good to read them all. This incident happened on a certain day or as Matthew says, “the same day.”

Jesus gave the command with a promise, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” It was God’s will for them. This demonstrates that trials, difficulties, hardships, challenges, and obstacles do happen when we are doing God’s will and God’s work.

A huge windstorm struck the Sea of Galilee with such force that the winds blew and the sea raged violently. Soon the boat began filling with water and was about to sink. It says in verse 23 that they were in jeopardy or danger. They immediately woke Jesus up and sought His help. Verse 24 says, “And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we are perishing!’ Mark records, “Teacher, do you not care we are perishing” (Mark 4:38b)!

Jesus does care, He has everything under control. He rebukes the wind and the raging water, and all becomes calm. After rebuking nature, He rebukes the disciples for their lack of faith. They learned a valuable lesson on faith in the storm. We need to learn it too. The Lord had told them to cross the lake to the other side, and they did. At first it didn’t look good.

As believers today we claim God’s promise to be with always, even to the end of the age. He is our Captain and He will take us through the storms of life. We just need faith to believe and trust Him for the outcome. It is hard in the storm, but if we take our eyes off the wind and waves and put them onto Jesus, we will get to the other side with peace.

And one day we will cross over from earth to heaven and arrive on the heavenly shore. I can’t wait to enter heaven’s gate. Have blessed day in the storm. Stay safe and healthy.

We shouldn’t fear when Jesus is near.

Dean

-April 2, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor!’”

(Judges 6:12).

When we come to Christ, He sees beyond where we are at the time, and sees our potential. The same is true as we move forward in our relationship with Him and serve Him.

The Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, an ordinary man and called him to do extraordinary things for Him. The Angel of the Lord in the OT was the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre incarnate form. You can always tell by the context of the passage.

Gideon basically felt, who am I? He says in Judges 6:15, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house?” We like, Gideon feel unworthy, unqualified, and unfit. We make excuses why we can’t what God is calling us to do. Moses did the same thing when God called him to deliver Israel from their bondage in Egypt.

The Lord’s answer to Gideon is the same as He gives us today, “So he said to him, ‘Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.’” When God calls us, He equips us, empowers us, and encourages us for the task at hand. God took Gideon and his army of 300 to defeat the Midianites with their huge, powerful army. All they had were pitchers with torches and blew trumpets. They shouted, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.”

The Lord wants to make sure we don’t trust in our own strength and abilities to gain the victory. He fights for us and works through us to bring about the results for His glory. 2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the power may be of God and not of us.” God also reminds us in Zechariah 4:6, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord” (Judges 7:18).

Let us not look at our weakness but at His greatness and power; not at the impossibility of the task, but at the reliability of His promises. Have a blessed day doing what God calls us to do in His power and for His glory.

You have great potential because you have a great God.

Dean