Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-May 21, 2023-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: ‘I am the Lord your God.’”

(Leviticus 19:34).

Strangers are very special to the Lord. The Lord indeed has a special love for strangers, widows, and orphans. Our Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven as a Homeless Stranger. He was despised and rejected, a Man of Sorrowers and acquainted with grief. The Israelites were once strangers in Egypt and in the land of Canaan. They knew what it was like.

The definition of a stranger is, “a person one does not know or with whom one is not familiar.” God taught the people of Israel to love strangers as their own, as themselves. This same principle is taught in the NT. Hebrews 13:1-2 says, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”

As believers we welcome strangers as visitors and guests into our hearts, churches, and homes. Each member of our church needs to accept and treat them with love, compassion, and kindness. Jesus taught us to love one another, to love strangers, and even to love our enemies. When we love strangers as ourselves, we are loving Christ.

We were once strangers ourselves. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:19, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” May the Lord help us to love strangers, welcome them, and be one with them in Christ.

Have a blessed Lord’s day, worshiping the Lord, hearing the Word, and having fellowship with one another. Let us offer to strangers the right hand of fellowship. Stay safe and healthy.

Loving strangers as ourselves,

Dean

-May 20, 2023-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

(1 Corinthians 15:10).

Paul was a very humble man and servant of Christ. Before he was saved, he persecuted the church and thus persecuted Jesus. He repented of his sins and believed in Jesus as His Lord and Savior. He never forgot his past, but understood he was forgiven and his past was all under the blood. Three times in our verse Paul uses the word grace. He was keenly aware that he was saved by grace, kept by grace, and was lived by grace.

Paul referred to himself as the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15); less that the least of all saints (Ephesians 3:8); and the least of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:9). He knew that he owed everything to the Lord. He fully relied on Christ. He simply says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am.” In other words, “What you see is what you get.” According to the Cambridge on line dictionary this expression is defined as, “said to show that there is nothing hidden.”

Paul was honest, sincere, open, and transparent. He didn’t compare himself to others or try to be someone he wasn’t. He spoke the truth and lived the truth. Does this describe you? Are you a man pleaser or a God pleaser? Paul knew he wasn’t perfect, he had a lot of room for growth, and at times he failed, made mistakes. But he could say, “I am what I am.” He strove to please the Lord and serve Him, to preach the gospel and win souls to Christ.

May the Lord help to be who we are and all we can be. Have a blessed day by the grace of God. Stay safe and healthy.

By the grace of God,

Dean

-May 19, 2023-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“And when they laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”

(Acts 16:23; Acts 16:25).

In today’s text we see Paul and Silas were imprisoned for their faith in the Lord. In spite in what was done to them, they rejoiced in the Lord, singing hymns. There are so many men in the Bible who were put into prison, though they weren’t guilty of any crimes. Peter wrote, “Having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good contact in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:16-17).

The list of believers who were imprisoned includes Joseph who was falsely accused of attempted rape; Jeremiah for preaching against Israel’s sins and God’s impending judgment and captivity; Micaiah the prophet for speaking God’s message against the wicked king Ahab; John the Baptist for speaking out against Herod for taking Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; Peter and John for preaching the gospel of Christ; and Paul and Silas casting out a demon from servant girl and upsetting the livelihood of local silversmiths who stood to gain from her fortune telling.

In every case, these men stood firmly on and for the truth and were imprisoned for their faith in the Lord. We read in Hebrews 13:3, “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.” Even today, there are countess believers in Christ in many countries who are imprisoned for their faith Christ. We need to stand with them and pray for them. Persecution and imprisonment has not happened here in the United States at this time, but that could change. God gives grace to all those who suffer for righteousness sake. Standing for Christ and identifying ourselves with Him is a way of life. It takes courage, commitment, grace, and mercy.

Isaiah 5:20 pronounced this warning, “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!” The world is completely upside down, and situation grows worse every day.

Have a blessed day living for Jesus and standing for the truth of God’s Word no matter the cost. Stay safe and healthy.

Bringing down evil by standing up for good,

Dean

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“For even His brothers did not believe in Him.”

(John 7:5).

When Jesus came to earth many believed and many did not. The amazing thing is that even his own brothers did not believe in Him. It shouldn’t surprise us. It was prophesied in Psalm 69:8, “I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children.” It must have broken Jesus’ heart. Jesus said in Matthew 13:57, “…’A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’”

But praise be to God the story did not end in unbelief, for at least two of his brothers, who His half-brothers, got saved, and became great men of God. We do not know exactly when they were saved, but their lives were changed by grace through faith. Early on they have well been jealous of Him, and stumbled over Him. Then when they believed their lives were changed, and they received Him as their Lord and Savior.

Jude wrote the short book of Jude, and James wrote the book of James, which was a personal, powerful, and practical general epistle. Jude wrote, “Jude, a bondservant of Jesus, and a brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1). James also described himself as “bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…(James 1:1).

This serves to remind us of our family members who do not yet know the Lord. Though they aren’t saved yet, there is hope. We must pray daily for their salvation. God also looks at what we they can become in Christ, not what they may be in themselves or in this world today. God loves each person and desires that each one be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

Have a blessed day praying for our families, sharing the gospel with them, and being an example to them. Stay safe and healthy.

Praying for those who do not yet believe,

Dean

-May 17, 2023-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“And He said, ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’”

(2 Kings 3:16-17).

The situation seemed hopeless, the land was extremely dry with no water to drink, and a large Moabite army gathered to fight against Judah and Israel. Elisha did something very unusual: he called for a musician. When he started playing the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha the prophet. Then he spoke the word of the Lord. He told them to, ‘Fill this valley full of ditches.” God promised to fill them with water, and to give His people the victory over the Moabites. God came through on both counts.

How does this apply to us? We need faith to believe, dig the ditches, and God will answer and fulfill His promises, thus filling the ditches. The Lord said to Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus, “…’Did I not say to you that if you believe you would see the glory of God” (John 11:40)? We dig our ditches, God will fill them. Elisha told the widow to ask for empty vessels and God made the oil last until the very last vessel was filled. Elisha then told her to sell the oil, pay her debts, and live off the rest.

If we don’t dig the ditches, we can’t expect God’s blessings. An example of this is when Peter was imprisoned by Herod who was planning to execute him the next day. The saints were gathered to pray for him, but when God sent His angel to bring him out safely, the believers were shocked that Peter showed up at the prayer meeting. They said it was it was his angel. We need to pray expectantly.

May the Lord increase our faith to pray believing and in what God can do. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Filling our ditches, and experiencing God’s riches,

Dean