Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-June 10, 2023-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica. In that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out if these things were so.”

(Acts 17:11).

Christianity in the NT was new, exciting, dynamic, living, and growing, despite severe opposition and persecution. They loved the Lord Jesus, met together for teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. This is still the way we gather today. Each individual believer has a personal walk with the Lord daily. Searching the Word of God is of vital importance. It goes beyond just reading it.

There was a great work in the city of Berea. They had a hunger for the Word and they received the Word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily. This meant they studied the Word diligently and faithfully just as a miner pans for gold, a treasure hunter goes after treasure, and as a student thirsts for knowledge and understanding. Nowadays many read the Word but few search for the nuggets and treasures that are found beneath the surface.

Bible study takes time, effort, and concentration. Martin Luther once said, “I study my Bible like I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb—study book after book. Then I shake every branch, giving attention to the chapters. Then I shake every twig, or a careful study of the paragraphs and sentences and words and their meanings.”

For the student of the Bible, searching for its treasures is not a drudgery but a delight. This is why those who prepare a Bible study or a sermon get more out it than those who hear it. Searching the Scriptures involves reading, studying, meditation, and memorization. And for it to work and take hold, we must obey it and apply it to our lives. Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible is all about the Word of God and its affect on our lives. Psalm 119:72 says, “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.”

Is the Bible your treasure? Do you treasure it in your heart? Is it your priority and daily food? The Psalmist wrote, “I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.” Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 13:52, “…Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings forth out of his treasure things old and new.”

Let us search the Scriptures daily with all readiness and diligence, devotion and delight. It is the best work we will do all day. We must prepare the time, the place, the tools, and give the effort. The Lord will richly and abundantly bless us. Have a blessed day in the Word and the Word will bear great fruit in our lives. Stay safe and healthy.

Searching for God’s treasure without measure,

Dean

“June 9, 2023-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them? And the Lord said, ‘Has the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.’”

(Numbers 11:22-23).

Moses the great man of faith had a brief lack of faith. God had promised to provide meat for the Israelites to eat in the wilderness. The people had wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? The Lord promised them meat, telling them “You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever come up from Egypt?”

The people of Israel constantly complained in the wilderness of they didn’t have. We are no different. God was so patient and merciful to them as He is with us. Moses started to question how God was going to do this great thing for them. He reasoned that it would take so many flocks and herds or even all the fish of the sea. A life of faith must look to the Lord, for His power in unlimited, unrestricted, and unrestrained. When things look impossible to us, they are possible with God.

Judging from the Lord’s words in verse 23, God was especially disappointed with Moses’ lack of faith. He tells him, “Has the Lord’s arm been shortened?” It can be rendered, “is the Lord’s power limited?” A similar thing happened when Jesus fed the 5,000 and the 4,000. The disciples questioned where they could get enough food to feed such multitudes. Jesus not only provided abundantly beyond what they could ask or think, but they took up large amounts of leftovers to fill twelve baskets and the other occasion seven large baskets.

God literally provided a table in the wilderness. Psalm 78:18-19 says, “They tested God in their heart by asking for food of their fancy. Yes, they spoke against God: They said, ‘Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?’” God also provided them with manna from heaven and water from the rock. He even gave them streams in the desert. Psalm 78:25 says, “Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full.”

May the Lord challenge and test our faith as to whether or not He will provide or not. There is never a doubt or question on what God can do. It is not enough just to believe God can do it, we must believe He will do it. Let us never limit our limitless God, nor look to man for solutions or answers. Only God can do miracles, and He still does them today. The great missionary and man of faith George Mueller would always have the children sit down and give thanks for the food that was not yet there, and God provided for them every time.

Have a blessed day looking to heaven for answers on earth. The Lord’s power is never limited. Stay safe and healthy.

Walking by faith, looking to Him, even in dark times when our way is dim,

Dean

-June 8, 2023-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”

(Psalm 90:1-2).

The 90th Psalm was written by Moses. It is the only psalm that he authored. The title of this psalm is: “A Prayer of Moses the man of God.” Moses spent so much time in prayer and in communion with God. He appreciated that God is an eternal God, without beginning or end. In fact, God told Moses to tell the Hebrews, “…’IAM WHO I AM.’ And He said, thus you shall say to the children of Israel: the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My memorial name to all generations.’”

Because God is eternal, He is not measured by time. Eternity is forever, God is forever. We as mere mortals live in time: past, present, and future. God on the other hand, has no such distinctions or limitations. To make some sense of eternity, we often speak of eternity past and eternity future.

The Lord is our dwelling place in all generations. He is our eternal Father. We can count on Him at all times, for all things, and in all ways. He never fails, and never leaves us nor forsakes. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. It is hard to get our minds wrapped around it. He knows all things.

There is a wonderful hymn entitled, “O God Our Help In Ages Past” written by Isaac Watts. It is based on Psalm 90. Verse three of this hymn says, “Before the hills in order stood, or earth received her frame, from everlasting Thou art God, to endless years the the same.” Let us therefore be thankful for our eternal God and look forward to eternity in heaven with Him forever.

Have a blessed day and use every moment to live the Lord and serve Him. Stay safe and healthy.

Life is short, eternity is forever,

Dean

-June 7, 2023-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet” (Proverbs 3:24).

“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2).

Sleep is something that most people take for granted, and don’t get enough of. In fact, it there is an epidemic of sleeplessness. Millions of people have sleep issues and it is a serious health issue. I am among them. There are three main issues: falling asleep, staying asleep, and after waking up, falling back asleep.

There many sleep strategies and aids. Some work and others don’t. Some are habit forming, others are not. Billions of dollars are spent on them. As children of God, we need the Lord to intervene and give us peaceful, restful, and recuperative sleep. Psalm 127:2 tells us, “…He gives His beloved sleep.” God created sleep for us, though according to Psalm 121:4, “Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” God is always awake and there is no reason to lose sleep worrying over what may happen tomorrow. He will take care of tomorrow so we can sleep well tonight.

It always good to pray before sleeping, thanking the Lord for the day and committing tomorrow into His hands. It makes our sleep sweet. We can’t change what happened today nor can we control what will happen tomorrow. Jesus slept while in the boat with His disciples as the storm was raging; Peter slept in chains between two Roman prison guards. In both cases they had such peace they could fall asleep. Someone said, “a clean conscience makes a soft pillow.”

Have a blessed night’s sleep. Stay safe and healthy.

Sleeping soundly and restfully in Jesus,

Dean

-June 6, 2023-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fulness of God.”

(Ephesians 3:19).

So many wonderful things are ours in Christ Jesus the moment we get saved. One of the greatest blessings is that we are filled with all the fullness of God. It comes to us through the love of God. The more we experience and show God’s love, the more His fullness is manifested to those around us. The word fulness is a wonderful little word with a big impact. It is defined as, “the state of being filled to capacity.”

God doesn’t just give each believer a part of Himself, He gives all His fullness to all of us. Someone once defined the fullness of God as, “the totality of everything that God is—His attributes, His character, His perfection, His holiness, His love, et cetera.” The Greek word for fullness is pleroma. It is so vast, so expansive, and so marvelous we can scarce take it in. I ask Lord, how can a mortal like me be filled with all the fullness of Thee?

The answer is because of Christ who lives within us and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Colossians 2:9-10 says, “For in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Just try to drink that all in! Paul also told the Corinthians, “Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:21-23).

How can we implement the fullness of God in a practical way? One writer summed it up as, “to be filled with the fullness of God is to be conscious of, and yielded to, God’s presence, strength, care for others, spiritual authority, moral excellence and character (holiness, righteousness, love). God wants us to be filled His fullness both individually and collectively, as the church of Christ.”

Let us rejoice today that we are filled with all the fullness of God in and through Christ. May we live on a higher plane as His children in this dark, sinful world. Have a blessed day in all His fullness, living our life to the fullest. Stay safe and healthy.

Filled with all His fullness,

Dean