Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-March 31, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Lord’s Day, happy Resurrection Day,

“He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

(Luke 24:6-7).

Today is Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day. It is a day to remember and rejoice; to celebrate and circulate the greatest news: Jesus rose from the dead! Because He lives, we live also.

The disciples went from the lowest of the low to the highest of the high. Their sorrow was turned into joy. The hymn writer Alfred H. Ackley wrote, “Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, lift up your voice and sing eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King! The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find, none other is so loving, so good and kind. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.”

I received a beautiful Easter card that noted three wonderful things about the resurrection: He promised it, they witnessed it, and we live it. Yesterday we considered some thoughts on the sealed, secured tomb. The angel rolled the stone away. Jesus had already risen.

1. Jesus promised it— to rise again – He fulfilled it just as He said. In fact, He told the disciples three times that He would be delivered into the hands of men, be crucified, and on the third day rise again.

2. The disciples witnessed it —with their own eyes – Mary Magdalene was the first to see our risen Lord, then He appeared to the eleven, first without Thomas then with Him; He appeared to Cleopas and an unnamed person on the road to Emmaus. Later He appeared to over 500 brethren. Finally, He appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus.

3. We live it —a resurrected life – The most wonderful thing is we walk in newness of life. We are in-dwelt and filled with the Holy Spirit. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead empowers us to be victorious.

Have a blessed Resurrection Day in praise, worship, and thanksgiving. Stay safe and healthy.

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Hallelujah! Amen.

Dean

-March 30, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Holy Saturday,

“Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.”

(Matthew 27:65-66).

After Jesus died, Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, a disciple of Christ, went to Pilate requesting the body of Jesus and once Pilate determined from the Centurion that Jesus was dead, granted his request.

Joseph, along with Nicodemus, a believer and fellow council member, came, took down the body and laid Him in Joseph’s own garden tomb. This fulfilled Isaiah 53:9, “And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.”

As they finished their sad but needed task, they rolled a large heavy stone in front of the tomb. It was secure. The Jewish leaders knew that Jesus had said that He would rise again the third day. They besought Pilate to guard the tomb lest His disciples come and steal the body and say that He rose again. Pilate told them to take a guard and “make it as secure as you know how. No one could get through a Roman guard.

The disciples were so sad and fearful, they didn’t even try. They weren’t even thinking of His resurrection. No one accounted for the power of God and the angels that rolled away the boulder from the tomb. The miracle of the resurrection couldn’t be stopped by the feeble efforts of man.

There are three words that I would call your attention to in verse 66: secured, sealing, and setting. Each of them are locked down words. It reminds me of a prison door: the guard puts the prisoner in the cell, closes the door, locks it, and guards it diligently.

Let us thank God no stone could hold Him, no soldiers could prevent Him, no power on earth could thwart Him. There are times in our lives when we have no hope, see no way out, we are trapped. The Lord rescues and delivers us by His mighty resurrection power. He is the omnipotent One.

Let us remember His death, burial, and His glorious resurrection. Saturday is a day for quiet reflection, meditation, and contemplation. Have a blessed and holy day. Stay safe and healthy.

The most secure place on earth is in the arms of our risen Savior.

Dean

-March 29, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“So when Jesus received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

(John 19:30).

Jesus suffered such agony on the cross in giving His life to save us from our sins. He bore our sins in His own body. Crucifixion was a very long painful death. Isaiah 53:4-5 says, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

Who can fathom the depths of His spiritual sufferings? He became sin for us, taking our place on the cross, bearing the wrath and judgment of God. Physically His flesh was torn, His blood was shed, every breath He took was painful.

With all this the price for our salvation was paid in full by the shedding of His blood. His final words were triumphant, “It is finished.” He willingly laid down His life, no one took it from Him. John wrote, “And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. His death is often called, The Passion of Christ. He had a passion to do the Father’s will and to love us and save us from a lost eternity in hell.

Good Friday was really good, in the sense of the result of the cross, our salvation. It was hard to watch the movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” It graphically depicted the sufferings of our Savior. He did all for us, because He loves us.

Have a blessed Good Friday. Stay safe and healthy.

Praise God it is finished, our salvation was won, we are cleansed and forgiven through God’s holy Son.

Dean

-March 28, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

(Proverbs 27:6).

I would rather have the wounds of a friend than the kisses of an enemy. The former hurts but it hurts good; the latter appears to be good but is very bad. Someone once said, “Keep your friends near but your enemies closer.”

Everyone needs a friend to whom we can be accountable to and will be honest with us. When we know someone loves us and cares for our soul, we can accept their feedback and constructive criticism. The problem is sometimes we get our feathers ruffled and we start looking for flams in them to make ourselves feel better. Blessed our wounds for they bring us closer to God.

Judas proved to be an enemy and He betrayed Christ with a kiss. He sold out our Lord for thirty pieces of silver. Judas was deceitful, an apostate. He reminds me Athithophel, David’s close friend and advisor turned against David.

Let us rejoice in our friends who wound us and beware of our enemies and pray for them. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Be a friend and have friends,

Dean

-March 27, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’”

(James 4:15).

Most of us have heard of this expression, “Lord willing.” We May even use it ourselves. It is Scriptural and practical for our daily lives. We all live by schedules, deadlines, appointments, commitments, and plans. There are things we have to do, things we would like to do, and things God wants us to do.

Everything we do is subject to the will of God. This is why the Lord directs our lives. He is in control. Jesus did the Father’s will throughout His life and ministry. He taught it and practiced it. In the Lord’s Prayer, He said, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

In the Garden of Gethsemane, before He went to the cross, He prayed three times the the cup of suffering might pass from Him. Matthew 26:39 says, “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” He prayed this three times, just as Paul prayed three times that the thorn in his flesh would be removed.

When we are humble and submissive, God will show us His will, direct us in His will, and do His will in our lives. We shouldn’t get frustrated, disappointed, down, discouraged, or upset; rather we should accept everything that happens to us as from the Lord. He may show us why, other times we may not know until we get to heaven.

The best thing to do is to be thankful in and for all things, content with what we have, and leave everything in God’s hands. So using the expression, “Lord willing” is a good one to say, and an even better one to practice daily. I use it often in my life.

Have a blessed day in the will of God. Stay safe and healthy.

God sees what we cannot see, He knows what we cannot know.

Dean