Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-February 10, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Saturday,

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

(Matthew 5:7).

Our God is a merciful God. Mercy means He doesn’t give us what we deserve. 1 Peter 2:9-10 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but now are the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

Because God has shown mercy to us we can and should show mercy to others. When we show mercy to those who don’t deserve it, we are following Christ’s commands and living like Christ. In a most beautiful expression of Jesus’ mercy, He forgave the woman caught in adultery, in the very act. Religious, self-righteous men sought to stone her. Our Savior did not condone her sin but forgave it.

There are times when someone hurts us. They are totally in the wrong, and we try to justify ourselves in retaliating against them and getting back at them worse than they harmed us. The Bible says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

God wants us to be merciful, and show mercy to all those around us. When we as believers show mercy, God will cause others to be merciful to us. Mercy and forgiveness go hand in hand. God’s mercy runs deep and provides relief, comfort, and blessing.

We learn from Proverbs 11:17, “The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.” When we are unkind, unmerciful, and unforgiving, we damage our own souls.

Our mercy can never fully measure up to God’s mercy, but His mercy is the standard we should strive for. We rely on God’s mercy daily and through His mercy we can be merciful.

Have a blessed day basking in God’s mercy and in showing His mercy to others. Stay safe and healthy.

Mercy melts the heart and soothes the soul,

Dean

-February 9, 2024-

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

(Matthew 5:6).

The fourth beatitude is hungering and thirsting for righteousness. Mary the mother of Jesus said in Luke 1:53, “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.” This hunger and thirst is not a natural one but a spiritual one.

Only Jesus can satisfy the spiritually hungry. He is the Bread of Life. He said, “…I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

The hunger and thirst must be for we righteousness. Those who have been saved have the inner desire to know the Lord, please Him by what we do and say, and put His Word into practice. Jesus told the woman at the well, “…But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14. The Lord promises to fill us, to fill us to overflowing.

This world has very little righteousness, in fact, only the righteous can practice righteousness. May the Lord give us a strong spiritual hunger and thirst for His righteousness. Righteousness is doing right in God’s sight. Have a blessed day. Stay and healthy.

Hungering and thirsting for righteousness,

Dean

-February 8, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

(Matthew 5:5).

The third beatitude involves meekness. The word meek is defined as “humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness; meek or self-effacing.”

The Greek word is praus, and is found three times in the Gospel of Matthew, two times it refers to Jesus. Our Savior was meek. Meek is not weak. One Greek source said the word referred to a horse that has been is broken in, among other usages.

Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle (or meek) and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for souls” (Matthew 11:29). Jesus set the example, He practiced what He preached.

It takes a strong person to be meek. It takes submissiveness, humility, and gentleness to be meek. Jesus submitted Himself fully to the Father and His will. God pronounced a blessing on the meek with the promise of inheriting the earth.

The Bible describes Moses as the meekest man on earth. It is something we can only achieve through the power of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 37:11 says, “But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

May the Lord help us to be meek before God and people. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Meekness is a powerful force in God service,

Dean

-February 7, 2024-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

(Matthew 5:4).

The Beatitudes were spoken to believers, for believers. They give principles to live by as members of the kingdom of God with Jesus as our King. We can describe them as the fruit of righteousness. They are way more than mere beautiful platitudes but practical ways of living.

Yesterday we considered being poor in spirit, today we will look at mourning over sin, both in our lives and in the world, and the rejection of Christ by those around us.

This world can be summarized as a vale of tears. There are so many things that cause us sorrow, bringing us to tears. But even more is sorrow over the evil, wickedness, and the rejection of Christ which is everywhere around us.

The Bible teaches us to hate sin, injustice, and every evil thought, word, and action. The holy hatred of sin leads to sorrow. God promises to comfort us both now and especially in eternity when there will be no more sorrow, tears nor crying, no more pain, or death. Heaven will be our rest and comfort.

Two men in particular in the Bible mourned over their sins and those of their countrymen: Ezra and Daniel. Ezra 9:5-6 says, “At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord God. And I said: ‘O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens.’” He mourned over the sins of his brethren who had married foreign women. This is the kind of mourning that is blessed in God’s eyes.

Daniel in praying and confessing said, “For we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and your judgments” (Daniel 9:5). In both cases, Ezra and Daniel confessed the sins of the people as their own and wept over them.

It is so sad to see what is happening todayin our nation and throughout the world. So many are rejecting Christ and working against His cause and His kingdom. Many believers are suffering severe persecution in certain countries. The U.S.A., once a godly, God fearing nation, has strayed so far from Him. Let us pray with fervency and tears confessing the sin of our nation.

We can’t sit idly by while things are as they without being moved to godly sorrow. May we find solace in the Lord by being kingdom men and women in this sinful world.

Have a blessed day of godly mourning. Stay safe and healthy.

Being hurt and sad when others are hurt and sad,

Dean

-February 6, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

(Matthew 5:3).

Matthew records Jesus’ “Sermon on The Mount” in Matthew chapters 5-7. It is the longest of all our Savior’s messages recorded in the Gospels. It is addressed to those who are in the kingdom of heaven. It is the charter or constitution of kingdom men and women. Nine times Jesus uses the word blessed in Matthew 5:3-11.

Salvation in not something we merit, it is received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We are not saved by good works, we are saved unto good works. In and of ourselves we are wretched sinners, but now are sinners saved by grace. It is only through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit that our lives are transformed.

The first blessing is being poor in spirit. In what sense are we poor in spirit? Being poor in spirit is being humble before the Lord, broken of our own will, and fully dependent on the Lord for everything. We are light and salt in this world. Thus, being poor in spirit is an attitude resulting in actions reflecting that we belong to Jesus; we are nothing and have nothing apart from Him.

We should never be proud. David wrote in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise.” Bible commentator William MacDonald wrote of being poor in spirit, “This does not refer to natural disposition, but to one’s deliberate choice and discipline. The poor in spirit are those who acknowledge their own helplessness and rely on God’s omnipotence. They sense their spiritual need and find it supplied in the Lord.”

Jesus pronounces a blessing on those who are subjects of the kingdom, who follow Him, and will live heaven forever because of His sacrifice on the cross. Heaven is and will be filled by those who know they don’t deserve to be there. We are citizens of heaven, our home is in heaven, and we are on our way to heaven.

Let us as citizens of heaven point people to Jesus for salvation and build up our fellow believers in their most holy faith. Have a blessed day being poor in spirit because we are rich in Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

Being humble and thankful, broken and joyful,

Dean