Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-July 25, 2023-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

(Psalm 30:5).

On earth, nothing lasts forever. Today’s verse is composed of two great contrasts: anger and favor, and weeping and joy. The Lord is good and He knows how much we can handle. His grace is sufficient for us. Things may be bleak, painful, and discouraging at times, especially in the night but joy comes in the morning. This phrase can be translated, “but a shout of joy comes in the morning.”

Things may be dark in the night, but the sun will rise, and with it the joy in the morning. Our minds race, our bodies toss and turn, and sleep may flee from us. We must get up, spend time with the Lord in prayer and His Word, and then we will see everything in the light of eternity. Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” With the new day, we start fresh with renewed vitality.

Happiness is based on happy times when things are going well, but joy is based on what the Lord has done for us, has given to us, and will have for us in the future. David recognized the blessedness of the morning time when he wrote in Psalm 143:8, “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.” The joy comes in the morning. Our problems may still be there, our issues may be unresolved, but we understand that the Lord has everything under His control.

God’s anger is but for a moment, but His favor is for life. God is our Father and He loves us so much. He knows what we are going through and will always be there with us and for us. Weeping may last last for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Have a blessed day rejoicing in the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

When God is in control, the day can’t get out of control,

Dean

-July 24, 2024-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.”

(Acts 5:14-15).

The Holy Spirit worked through the apostles and all the saints in the early church there were signs wonders, healings, and changed lives. Many men and women were saved and they exerted great influence over a pagan society. In today’s text we see how even Peter’s shadow healed people when he passed by them.

A shadow is defined as, “a dark figure or image or some surface by a body intercepting light.” Shadows can only be seen on sunny days. When we walk in the light of the Lord our shadow is seen. We all cast a spiritual shadow for Christ. We desire that others around will be influenced for the Lord. We should never underestimate the power of our influence over others, whether good or bad. A mother took her young son shopping. After a day in the stores, a clerk handed the little boy a lollipop. “What do you say? the mother said to the boy, to which he replied, “Charge it!” How kids mimic their parents.

Children are influenced by the example of their parents; church members are influenced by the example of their pastors and leaders; and all believers are influenced by each other. Christ is our ultimate example. He had the greatest impact upon people by His words and actions. He lived only 33 years and His ministry lasted but 3 years, but what an powerful legacy He left behind. His shadow spread abroad to the whole world.

How is our shadow casting an influence over others? Can others see Christ in us. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”

An unknown poet wrote, “My life shall touch a dozen lives before the day is done; Leave countless marks for good or ill ere sets the evening sun. This is the wish I always wish, the prayer I always pray: Lord, may my life help other lives it touches by the way.”

Have a blessed day casting the shadow of your testimony and witness for Christ over all those you come into contact with today. Stay safe and healthy.

Being a blessing in word and deed,

Dean

-July 23, 2023-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

(1 Timothy 2:5-6).

When Jesus came down to be born into the world, He was the perfect God-Man. He wasn’t half God and half man, He was fully God and fully man. The theological term is the Incarnation, God becoming Man. God devised the plan of salvation long before Adam and Eve sinned. No angel could have died for sinners, nor could anyone else. Our Savior took on human flesh, yet without sin.

Jesus was uniquely qualified to be our substitute, the just dying for the unjust; the Judge taking our place, bearing our sin, guilt, shame, and punishment. He who was innocent died for the guilty. Hebrews says of Jesus our High Priest, “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:26-27).

Jesus became our Mediator, between us and God, to bring us to God through His reconciliation. A mediator in the business world is someone who is independent, who listens to both sides, and helps bring the sides together. In our case with God, God had done nothing wrong; we needed the reconciliation, not Him. Paul refers to Jesus as, “the Man Christ Jesus.” He was not only our Mediator but He was our Savior. Pilate made the statement of Jesus in John 19:5, “…Behold the Man.”

Jesus not only paid our ransom, but He became our random. When a person is kidnapped and held for ransom, the kidnappers demand money from the family of the victim. Jesus paid our sin debt, bore our sin, and became sin for us in order to bring us to God. He gave His life for us. He paid it all. The hymn writer Elvina M. Hall wrote, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain—He washed it white as snow.”

May we never forget the price that was paid to save us from our sins, judgment, condemnation, death, and hell. He is the Man Christ Jesus, the Mediator of a better covenant. Have a blessed day remembering the Lord and hearing the Word of God. Stay safe and healthy.

Beholding the suffering Savior, and the risen and coming King,

Dean

-July 22, 2023-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Peter was a godly saint, leader, elder, and servant of Christ. The Lord Jesus forgave him for denying Him three times. Our Savior told him to “feed My lambs, tend My sheep, and feed My sheep” (See John 21:15-17). Peter carried out our Savior’s directives so well. His two letters, 1st and 2nd Peter are both challenging and encouraging.

Here in our text today we have secret sauce as it were: place your burdens on the Lord and leave them there. The word care can be translated anxiety. God never intended us to carry our own burdens, troubles, problems, concerns, cares, or stresses on ourselves. There are three things we take from this verse: first, casting our cares on Jesus is a command as well as recipe for peace, comfort, and rest. Second, Jesus wants us to lay all our anxieties on Him, and third, He cares for us.

• Casting our cares – It is hard to cast our cares on Him and even harder to leave there with Him. Our flesh wants to take over and try to handle things on our own. We only makes things worse, much worse. Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” When we follow His command, He will take over, and makes right.

• On Him – There are some burdens that others can share in, others that are loads to bear. Paul makes the distinction in Galatians 6:2, it says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” He also wrote, “Let each one bear his own load” Galatians 6:5). God can use others to help and encourage us. We still need to cast our worries on the Lord. He wants our cares, He can handle them, knowing that we can’t.

• For He cares for you – There is no better reason to cast our anxieties on Jesus than to know how much He cares for us. Jesus showed His disciples how much He cared for them as individuals and as a group. He cares for us in the same way. It says of our Savior in John 13:1, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” No one cares for us like Jesus!

May the Lord help us to cast our cares on Him, for He cares for us. He knows our need, our circumstances, our burdens, and our concerns. Anything that concerns us, concerns Him. Have a stress free, worry free, and carefree day. Stay safe and healthy.

Letting go and letting God be our burden bearer,

Dean

-July 21, 2023-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.”

(Psalm 125:2).

I have had a very challenging week. I just received an encouraging card from Janie in our church that really touched my heart. She has a wonderful ministry of sending out get well cards. She always sends them prayerfully, thoughtfully, and lovingly. This one was so appropriate to my situation. It is a Peanuts card with Charlie Brown sitting on his recliner with Snoopy beside him, and Woodstock on the arm rest.

On the front of the card it says, “Wouldn’t it be nice if life were like a DVD… Then inside it continues, “And you could fast-forward through the yucky times. Hang in there and get well soon.” She wrote, We are all praying for your strength, comfort, and peace as you go through all the tests. May you feel the Lord’s presence with you as He brings you through with good results. Your family at SRVBC (San Ramon Valley Bible Church). How appropriate was that! I did go through yucky times, but the Lord was with me, and brought me through on His wings of grace, mercy, and comfort.

Janie wrote two Scripture verses: Psalm 125:2 and John 10:29-30. The former is our text for the day. Jerusalem is God’s holy city, set on a hill, and surrounded by mountains. This reminded the anonymous psalmist to remember how God Himself surrounds His people. He surrounds us, not for an hour or a day, or a month, or for a year but for our lifetime on earth and in heaven forever. He surrounds us on every side, up and down, right or left.

The word surround is an interesting and appropriate choice of words. It is defined as, “A thing that forms a border or edging around an object; to be all around a person or thing.” We often think of being surrounded with no way out, no hope of escape. But when God surrounds us it is for our good, protection, and preservation. Nothing and no one can get through unless He allows it. Aren’t you glad that the Lord surrounds you today and every day? In sci-fi movies space ships use force fields to protect the crew, passengers, and cargo from danger. The Lord is our impenetrable force field.

May the Lord remind us that He is with us, surrounding us daily. Have blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Looking to Jesus who surrounds us by His everlasting arms and under His wings,

Dean