Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-September 28, 2023,

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand.”

(Galatians 6:11).

Just before ending his epistle to the Galatians, he spoke these words. It shows how he loved them and wanted the very best for them. It was a very personal touch which took a great deal of time and effort.

Paul had an eye problem; we don’t know the exact nature or severity of it. He wrote to the Galatians, “What was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me” (Galatians 4:15). We don’t know for sure if Galatians is the only letter written in Paul’s own handwriting. Who No physically wrote his letters makes no difference, they were Paul’s words and were inspired by the Holy Spirit.

If Paul did have an eye disease, it may have been Macular Degeneration. In any event, it took a lot of time to write Galatians with his own hand. Because he couldn’t see well, he had to use very large letters. He wanted them to know how much he loved and cared for them. He had some difficult and challenging things to tell them. We know of one instance in the epistle to the Romans, it says, “I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord” (Romans 16:22). Paul had to dictate it to him word by word.

When I was young, there were typewriters and telephones, but I still hand wrote letters, as did many people. It was a very personal and special way of communicating, especially over far distances. We’ve come a long ways since then to now having emails and texts. The Bible is God’s love letter to mankind. There are many verses where God is speaking to us in the first person.

When you love someone you take the time and make the effort. Paul did just that. Paul used his hands to help others, and he spoke from his heart. You can feel his feelings in his writings. He wore his emotions on his sleeve.

Have a blessed day communicating with those you love in a personal, precious way. Stay safe and healthy.

Gifts that are bought are special indeed, but gifts that are made, seem to meet every need,

Dean

-September 27, 2023-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

(Romans 15:13).

Hope is one of the greatest benefits and blessings the Lord has given us. In today verse, Paul uses the word hope twice. He describes the source and power of our hope in Jesus Christ. God is the source and the resource of our hope. Our’s is an an abiding and eternal hope.

Our hope is spiritual and supernatural. It differs from the hope we see in this world. When someone says, “I hope so,” or “I hope it will, or “hopefully, “ there is wishful thinking and positive vibe, but there is no certainty or guarantee it will happen. On the other hand, the Christian’s hope is a confident expectation that God will make it happen. We have full assurance in the promises of God. God has given us a good hope, a living hope, and a blessed hope.

1. Good Hope – Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:16, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given everlasting consolation and good hope by grace.” Our hope is good because God is good; our hope is good because He is with us and for us; and our hope is good because He never fails us. Hope looks to the future with a smile.

2. Living Hope – Ours is not only a good hope, it is a living hope. Our hope in Christ is based on His death for us on the cross and His glorious resurrection. Because He lives, we live also, and we will live with Him in heaven forever and ever. Song writer Bill Gaither wrote, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, because He lives, all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives. 2 Corinthians 5:15 tells us, “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

3. Blessed Hope – Not only do we have a good hope and a living hope, but we have a blessed hope. The blessed hope is that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again just as He said He would. He promised in John 14:2-3, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Paul describes this blessed hope in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Paul told Titus, “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

With such a good hope, a living hope, and a blessed hope we can face today and the future with joy and peace in believing. We can have confidence in the Lord who has promised us a safe landing and a happy ending. Have a blessed day abounding in hope. Stay safe and healthy.

When your hope is in Jesus, it is founded on the Rock,

Dean

-September 26, 2023-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“And Laban said to him, ‘Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned from experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.’”

(Genesis 30:27).

Laban was Jacob’s uncle and father in-law. When Jacob came to visit he graciously welcomed him, giving him his two daughters Leah and Rachel as wives. He deceived Jacob over and over until they finally parted ways. He changed his wages ten times and took advantage of him, and they weren’t raises but decreases. It was often a contentious relationship.

Laban learned from experience that God blessed him for Jacob’s sake. In God’s school, experience is an important class for us to take. From our childhood we learn from experience. When we misbehaved, we got disciplined; when we touched a hot stove, we got burned; when we didn’t study, we got a poor grade; when we got into trouble, we were sent to the principal’s office; when we rebelled, we were grounded. Later in life we learned if we didn’t get enough sleep, we paid the price the next day. When we were speeding, we got a ticket.

As Christians we must learn from our Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks to us through His Word and uses experience to teach us valuable lessons in life. If we fail to learn from experience, we are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over. Someone once said, “A smart person learns from his mistakes, but a wise person learns from the mistakes of others.” In actuality, we must learn from both continually.

With a few exceptions, Christians make the best employees since they work for the Lord as well as for their employers; and Christians make the best bosses for they know they are responsible to Christ, the Lord, Master, and Boss. Whether we are employees or employers we seek to please the Lord. We have learned from experience hard work pays off; honesty pays off; integrity pays off; faith pays off; obedience pays off. We walk the straight and narrow path to victory. We get into trouble when we turn to the right or to the left.

May the Lord teach us through His Word and experience. We will find we can share our experiences with others in order to help them avoid the pitfalls we fell into, and to be a blessing to them. We have been blessed through trials, troubles, and testings. Let us learn from them. Aldous Huxley said it well, “Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with happens to you.”

Have a blessed day in God’s classroom continually learning, changing, growing, and improving. Stay safe and healthy.

Learning from experience makes a real difference,

Dean

-September 25, 2023-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness.’ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.”

(Galatians 3:6-7).

Paul had to rebuke the Galatians for beginning by faith in Christ and then turning to the law of Moses to live by. The word faith is found 14 times in Galatians chapter 3. Paul also dealt with this subject in Romans chapter 4. Faith is vital in our salvation as well as in our sanctification. After all, Christianity is called the Christian faith.

Long before the law was given, faith originated in the people of God. It says in Genesis 15:5-6, “Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

Just as the Jewish people trace their roots to Abraham, so do we. We are the children of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. We too are stars in God’s universe. Abraham was the father of many nations. Abraham is the progenitor of faith. The word progenitor is defined as, “a person or thing, from which a person, animal, or plant is descended or originates; an ancestor or parent.”

We are so blessed to be saved by grace through faith in Christ and to be children of Abraham. We start the subject of faith in our Scripture Memory Class at church this week. I know that it will be a great blessing. Paul emphatically wrote in Romans 3:28, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” Faith is not passive but active. Faith is believing God and acting upon it. For the believer it is a daily walk of faith in Christ.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Let us then follow Abraham’s example of faith who obeyed God, dwelt in the land of promise, and waited for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Have a blessed day of faith obeying the Lord, claiming His promises, and looking forward to heaven in the Lord’s presence. Stay safe and healthy.

Faith moves mountains and changes hearts,

Dean

-September 24, 2023-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“Also the tenth month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.”

(Leviticus 23:27-28).

Today is high and holy day on the Jewish calendar: Yom Kipper, the Day of Atonement. This phrase is found three times in the book of Leviticus (23:27, 23:28, and 25:9). The word atonement is found in the Bible 86 times. Jewish people may spend the day fasting, attending synagogue or observing the holiday in other ways. It follows Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

It lasts one full day from the evening of September 24 and ends on the evening of September 25. Many Jewish people fast for a full twenty five hours. The blowing of the Shofar signifies the end of it, until next year. In the Scriptures we are told that the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice for his sins and then for the sins of the people.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest, who entered the Holy of Holies on our behalf to bring us to God through faith in His finished work on the cross. He was perfect and sinless, and died for us as our Substitute. His one sacrifice paid for sins, past, present, and future. It never has to be repeated.

Hebrews 10:10-12 says, “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” Jesus fulfilled the Day of Atonement by being both the Lamb of God and our High Priest.

Let us remember the Lord today in the Lord Supper, taking the bread and wine. Every Sunday is the Lord’s Day and we worship Him. He made atonement for sins by dying in our place and rising again. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Let us join our hearts to sing His praise all our nights and all our days,

Dean