Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-November 17, 2023-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”

(Hebrews 12:14).

Peace and holiness go together like a hand and glove. Peace is something people in the world are searching for, longing for, but not attaining. Holiness though is not something most people even think about. Peace and holiness are only attainable through the Lord Jesus Christ. What a different world it would be if everyone practiced both! We would all get along.

For us as believers in Christ, we have peace with God and when we pray and thank the Lord, experience the peace of God. We are thus able to live in peace with others, promote peace, and be peacemakers. Jesus said in the beatitudes, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall see called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

We are responsible to live in peace with others, no matter how cantankerous, belligerent, and hostile they may be. Sometimes it isn’t possible no matter how much we try, but we should always pursue it. Paul wrote in Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” We see wars around us, conflicts between nations, conflicts between individuals and families, and disputes in neighborhoods, and friction in the workplace. The Lord Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He alone gives us peace so that we can show His peace to people in our daily lives.

Pursuing peace is essential as is holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. When we get saved, we are made holy in God’s sight. This is our position, but it must also be our practice. Personal holiness is sorely lacking among so many professing Christians today. Some go to church on Sunday, but don’t live Christ Monday through Saturday.

Personal holiness is comprised of two distinct components: being separated from the world and being set apart for the Lord. They are intrinsically and inseparably linked; you can’t have one without the other. Being holy gets down and dirty in the nitty and gritty of life. J. Vernon McGee used to say, “It’s where the rubber meets the road.” It must be practical to be useful. The hymn writer William D. Longstaff wrote, “Take time to be holy, the world rushes on; much time spend in secret with Jesus alone. By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shall be; Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.” To be holy is to be like Jesus.

Have a blessed peace filled and holy day. Stay safe and healthy.

Pursuing peace and holiness should be our great desire, the pursuit of which will never end, so we should never tire,

Dean

-November 16, 2023-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

(John 16:33).

There was tribulation in the days of Jesus; there was tribulation in the days of the apostles and the early church; and there has been tribulation in the world ever since. Jesus wanted His disciples to know what to expect. There was opposition, persecution, and other forms of tribulation.

Jesus told His followers, “…in Me you may peace.” Paul wrote to the Philippians 4:6, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” This same peace comes to us when we pray to the Lord and thank Him. Peace cures anxiety.

God’s way is not the easy way, but it is the best way. Tribulation will come our way, but we have peace both day and night. We can try to avoid pain, suffering, and sorrow, but we can’t, and even if we could, it would not be good for us. We just would not grow. I love the bumper sticker that says,”Know Jesus, know peace; no Jesus, no peace.”

Have a blessed day of peace no matter what the circumstances are. Stay safe and healthy.

Peace carries us through, calming the heart,

Dean

-November 15, 2023-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

(Hebrews 11:13).

Hebrews chapter 11 is the chapter on faith in the Bible. It is commonly referred to as: “The Hall of Faith.” There are nine men and women mentioned in this chapter from the OT that exemplified their faith in life and death. There are many others in Scripture, but the Holy Spirit chose these individuals to identify for their outstanding faith.

The nine are: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel. The writer lauds their exploits in Hebrews 11:33-40. Through faith they subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, received back their dead to life again, were tortured, not accepting deliverance to obtain a better resurrection, were mocked and scourged, were chained and imprisoned, were stoned, were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword, wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, afflicted, wandering in deserts, mountains, dens and caves of the earth.

These people were true heroes of the faith. They were those of whom the world is not worthy. They obtained a good testimony through faith, though they lived before the cross, and never received the promise, but saw it afar off. We have something better in Christ.

A hero is defined as, “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” We have modern heroes today: soldiers, doctors, nurses, EMT’s, lifeguards, police officers, firefighters, and others who risk their gives their lives to rescue, save, and deliver those in need. We should thank them, support them, and pray for them. But there are also so called unsung heroes, ordinary people who rise up in crises situations to do extraordinary things.

To me there are individual believers in Christ who are daily heroes: parents and foster parents, pastors, preachers, teachers, missionaries, elders, deacons and others who serve willingly, sacrificially, generously, and consistently for our spiritual good. We look up to them as heroes and examples. When they die, they leave behind a legacy of faith.

All of us have the potential to be heroes to someone in our sphere of influence. To live and serve Christ before those we come into contact with. Let us be heroic in our faith, devotion, and dedication to the Lord. Have a blessed day of faith. Stay safe in healthy.

Heroes have this in common: they act in faith, courage, sacrifice, and love to help others,

Dean

-November 14, 2023-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.”

(2 Corinthians 10:18).

The one person you shouldn’t never commend is yourself. The word commend is defined as, “Praise formally or officially; present as suitable for approval or acceptance; recommend.” It is a good thing to commend others, as long as it is sincere, for it gives them encouragement. However, to commend ourselves only shows pride, self-centeredness, and ego. These have no place in the life of a believer.

So many times people try to take credit for what they have done. In Christ, we give all the credit, and all the glory to the Lord. He is the one who gives us strength, energy, health, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, money, possessions, and all the things we have. The great thing is the Lord commends us for using what we have to live for him and serve Him.

Closely allied with commend is praise and compliment. Proverbs 27:2 shows the proper response we should have, “Let another man pride you, and not your own mouth; a stranger and not your own lips.” Solomon also wrote, “It is not good to eat much honey; so to seek one’s own glory is not glory” (Proverbs 25:27).

It is always best to deflect praise to God who deserves it. When someone thanks us or praises us, we should say: “Thank God, the Lord is good, I couldn’t have done it without Him.” When on earth, Jesus always gave glory to the Father. He is our best example to follow.

We find that the best way to live is to seek the Lord’s commendation not man’s. When we please the Lord good things will happen. Proverbs 16:7 says. “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even His enemies to be at peace with him.” We should always let our works speak for themselves, and let others speak of us, not we ourselves.

Let us then seek the Lord’s commendation, for when He commends, He honors and rewards. That should be enough for us. Have a blessed day seeking the Lord’s approval, not man’s. Stay safe and healthy.

Being vocal about what God has done, but silent on about what we have done,

Dean

-November 13, 2013-

Good morning beloved, happy Monday,

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.’”

Jonah 3:1-2).

God is a God of second chances; He is patient, gracious, and merciful with us and to us. Sometimes we fail the first time; sometimes we make mistakes the first time; sometimes we sin the first time. God doesn’t discard us, He forgives us and restores us. He takes us back to where we went astray and restores to a closer relationship with Himself and uses us once again.

Jonah is a classic example in Scripture. God told him in Job 1:2, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” Instead he fled to Tarshish, in the opposite direction, found a ship, and paid the fare. He fled from the presence of the Lord. We are familiar with his story and how God caused a great fish to swallow him and he spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish. He prayed to the Lord, repented, and went to Nineveh. God had the fish vomit him up onto dry land at just the right place.

There are times that God will take drastic means to bring us back. Jonah, the runaway prophet ran back to the Lord. He fulfilled his mission and the whole city of 120,000 including their king, repented before the Lord. He wasn’t finished with Jonah yet, for Jonah was displeased and angry that God had mercy on Israel’s enemies. God caused a plant to grow up, a gourd, to provide shade for Jonah. Then He sent a worm to damage the plant which made Jonah angrier. God told him that he had pity on a plant, but He had pity on people.

Their are other notable people that God gave a second chance to: Peter, who denied the Lord three times. The Lord forgave him and restored him. He because a great evangelist, elder, and teacher. John Mark, who left Paul and Barnabas and the work of the Lord and went back home to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas had a great rift between them over him. Later he was restored and Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:11, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.”

Whether God give you a second chance to be saved or a second chance to serve Him, God can redeem, restore, and reclaim you. God disciplines us for our good and for His glory, so that we may share in His holiness. I went off to the bank Sunday afternoon to drop off the church bank deposit into the depository as I do each Sunday afternoon. I always put the deposit in my car in the garage then drive across town. This time I forgot to take it with me and I had to come all the way back home, get it, and go back a second time. I blamed myself, but I learned a good lesson. God gave me a second chance to do it right, to make it right. He has given me many chances with many different things.

Let us thank God for the second chances He gives is with our jobs, our relationships, our health, and many other things. God has a plan for us and He will fulfill it in spite of us. He will redirect us, just like the GPS which, when we make wrong turn, says, “Redirecting.” There are times when all of us at one time or another, need redirecting. God will redirect us.

Have a blessed day thanking God for His second chances in life, some big, some small. Stay safe and healthy.

When make a wrong turn we must turn around, otherwise our journey will not be sound,

Dean