Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-October 28, 2023-

Good morning, beloved, happy Saturday,

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

(2 Timothy 2:15).

The desire of every Christian should be to please God, live for Him, and serve Him. It sounds simple, but it is extremely challenging, considering the difficulties, obstacles, and problems that come our way in this life. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:9, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.” An aim is a goal or desire that we strive for.

Paul loved Timothy, his beloved son in the faith. He trained him, partnered with him, and encouraged him. Timothy was a young pastor in Ephesus who needed to shepherd the flock, preach the gospel to the lost, teach the Word to the saints, and train leaders in the church. Paul wrote two epistles to him to encourage and equip him. What Paul shared with him applies to us to equip us to be better Christians and servants for the Lord.

Paul exhorts Timothy to do three specific things in today’s text: be diligent to present yourself to God, be a worker who does not need to be ashamed, and rightly dividing the word of truth. Paul shared many more things with Timothy, but these three are excellent one to focus on today.

• Be diligent to present yourself to God – This the starting point for every believer to make ourselves available to God. When we give Him everything, He can use us for His glory. We must be holy vessels, separated from the world and set apart for the Lord. Romans 12:1-2 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

• Be a worker who does not need to be ashamed – Christianity is not a spectator sport but a participatory one. We can’t sit in the stands or sit on the bench, we need to be in the game. The Lord needs committed, faithful, diligent workers who give their all to the work He has given them to do. This type of worker does not need to be ashamed, either in this life or at the Judgement Seat of Christ. John wrote in 1 John 2:28, “And now little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”

• Rightly dividing the word of truth – to rightly divide the word of truth is to know the Word of God, to understand it, and to apply it to one’s life. This phrase can be translated, “accurately handling the word of truth.” We can’t possibly memorize everything in the Bible, but we can know where to find it and how to use it both for ourselves and to encourage others. Ask yourself three questions as you study the Word: what does it say, what does it mean in context, and what does it mean to you in a practical way.

May the Lord help us to present ourselves approved to God, being workers who give their all for His cause and His kingdom, and knowing and obeying His Word. Have a blessed day dear friends. We welcomed three new subscribers to our blog this week. Stay safe and healthy.

Give Him all until there is nothing else to give,

Dean

-October 27, 2023-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

(Isaiah 5:20).

The people of Judah had everything upside down. They rejected the Lord, and worshipped idols; they disobeyed the Lord, and followed their own evil ways; and they had the pretense of attending the temple, and all the while offered sacrifices to false gods. Does this sound familiar? It should, it is happening today in the world and even the church is affected.

God pronounced woe against the people for calling evil good, and good evil. This is going today: things that are evil are accepted and tolerated, and even promoted. Sin no longer is a source of shame. And worse yet, the things of God that are revealed in the Bible are mocked, rejected, and blamed. They call Christians intolerant, unloving, and bad. Darkness is called light, and light is called darkness; Sweet is called bitter, and bitter is called sweet. It is totally upside down!

Things that were once taboo are now practiced and flaunted. It reminds me of the days of the Judges. Judges 21:25 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Proverbs 14:12 also tells us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” God’s judgment is coming. The Lord is coming soon, the signs are everywhere. The situation in Israel could lead to a world war. We may smell it but we will be taken up to heaven before the seven year tribulation.

What are we to do in such times as these? Sit back? Go with the flow? Turn a blind eye? Stay silent? No way! Now more than ever we need to take a stand against sin and evil. We need to love the sinner but hate their sin. We need to share the gospel as witnesses and testimonies for Christ. If asked our thoughts on any issue, even the controversial ones, let us be courageous and speak the truth from the Bible.

Have a right side up day in a upside down world. Let us stand on and for the Lord Jesus and the Word of God. Stay safe and healthy.

Have a blessed day, walking in God’s straight and narrow way,

Dean

-October 26, 2023-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

(Genesis 2:7).

Though it is humbling that Adam was formed of the dust of the ground, it is such a blessing that God infused life into the nostrils of man. Man was created in the image of God with a spirit, soul, and body.

The breath of God made man a living being. He gave us life. Paul said to the Athenians, “In Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’” (Acts 17:28). God is the giver of life, the sustainer of life, and the ender of life in this world.

Jesus in the upper room spoke to His disciples preparing them for what would come. John 20:21-22 says, “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace, to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” Later on the Day of Pentecost they received the Spirit with power and the church was born. As believers today, when get saved we receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He breathes on us and empowers us to live a holy life.

In the passage of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-10, God gave breath to them. Ezekiel 37:5-6 says, “Thus says the Lord God to these bones: ‘Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” May God revive us again with His power and love.

The hymn writer Edwin Hatch wrote, “Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew, that I may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do.” I pray that I will live for the Lord Jesus and serve Him until my last breath. One day all of us will take our last breath on earth, then take our first breath in heaven.

Have a blessed day with every breath serving Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

Thanking the Lord for spiritual and physical breath,

Dean

-October 25, 2023-

Good morning, beloved, happy Wednesday

“So he trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’”

(Acts 9:6).

The Bible is full of divine encounters. God appeared to individuals in a special way, at a specific time, for a sensational result. This was the case of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. He was vehemently against Christ and His church. He consented to the stoning of Stephen, watching over the cloaks of those who murdered him, began persecuting the believers, imprisoning them and even killing them. He got orders from the high priest to go to Damascus to round them up, but the Lord Jesus intervened, spoke to him and saved him.

Saul, who later became Paul, went on to be the greatest apostle, missionary, evangelist, teacher, and church planter. No one who has an encounter with Savior is ever the same again. Each one’s life was drastically, dramatically, and divinely changed. Paul had a tremendous zeal and commitment to Christ and preaching the gospel.

As I mentioned there are many divine encounters in the Bible. I will just name a few: Abraham in his tent; Jacob in the camp when he wrestled with the Lord; Moses at the burning bush; Joshua outside the city of Jericho before the battle of Jericho; Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus; the Samaritan woman at the well; the woman caught in adultery; and the list goes on and on. You can probably think of many others in the Scriptures.

Divine encounters are meetings arranged by God in bringing someone to Christ. The expression in the world is, “rendezvous with destiny.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt used this expression when he decided to run again for the presidency in 1936. He gave a rousing speech culminating in a call for all Americans to unite against tyranny. Heavenly encounters have an even greater importance and impact for the souls of people.

Have you had a divine encounter where God has led you to a special place, at a special time to meet a special person and point them to Christ? The Lord makes it clear. This happened to Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch on road from Jerusalem to Gaza. He spoke to him from the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 53, which the eunuch had been reading and led him to Christ. He then carried the gospel back to his country.

Have a blessed day being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit for a divine encounter for an eternal purpose. Stay safe and healthy.

God creates the opportunities for heavenly encounters with eternal results; let’s take them,

Dean

-October 24, 2023-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight,’ says the Lord.”

(Jeremiah 9:23-24).

Mankind has been searching for the meaning of life for centuries but to no avail, for the answer lies only in the sacred pages of Scripture, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything else in this world is temporary and changeable. The unknown hymn writer said it well, “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, Amen.”

God makes it crystal clear in our text what really counts and what doesn’t. He first exposes what isn’t important, then demonstrates what is. We are well advised to listen and prioritize our lives accordingly. To clarify: receive Christ and be saved, put the Lord first, seek His kingdom and righteousness, serve Him, and wait for His coming.

• The wrong priority – to glory in wisdom, might, or riches gets us nowhere, especially in the light of eternity. None of these things last forever nor do they satisfy the heart. They fade, they fail, they fall apart. Man’s wisdom fills the mind with meaninglessness; man’s night fills the body with useless strength; and man’s riches fills the bank account money that will all be left behind at death.

Still, people seek after these three only to discover like Solomon, “‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher,’ All is vanity (Ecclesiastes 12:8). He should know, he sought all three of these things and none of them brought him satisfaction or fulfillment. If you have wisdom, give glory to the God of wisdom; if you have might, give glory to the God of power; and if you have riches, give glory to the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

The right priority – It comes down to what is most important, what really matters. God tells us to glory in understanding and knowing Him. A believer in Jesus Christ has more wisdom than the sage; more power than the warrior or athlete; and is richer than billionaire. What we have in Christ in this life and beyond exceeds them all. God delights in those who delight themselves in Him, in His Word, and in His kingdom. God exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, and we should pursue them as well.

So what really matters to you? Is it something you can hold in your hands or what you have in your heart? Our relationship to Christ is precious, priceless, and personal. Have a blessed day pursuing the things above not the things of this earth. Stay safe and healthy.

As the hymn writer said, “Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine, moment by moment, O Lord I am Thine.”

Dean