Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-April 16, 2023-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“…Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

(Luke 22:42).

Jesus did the Father’s will all His life on earth. Now the greatest challenge was facing Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed three times that the cup of suffering on the cross would pass away from Him, yet, He was committed to doing the Father’s will no matter what. His agony was so great that the Father sent an angel from heaven to strengthen Him. This also happened after Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness right before He began His earthly ministry.

Luke 22:44 says, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. He knew there was no other way to save sinners than to go to the cross, suffer, bleed, and die for us. Have you ever been in agony where the pain is excruciating? When you go to the ER, doctor, or hospital, they always ask, “How would you rate your pain from 1-10. Jesus’s physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional pain was off the charts!

Later when Jesus was being arrested, Peter took out a sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest named Malcus. Jesus healed his ear by putting it back on better than new. Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me” (John 18:11).

The more we grow in Christ the more we appreciate our Savior’s dedication to the Father’s will at all costs —and the cost was heavy, the price was high. May we have the same dedication and devotion to doing the Father’s will. Paul also prayed three times that his thorn in the flesh would be taken away from him. Instead, God gave him the sufficient grace to endure it. Sometimes it isn’t God’s will to heal or relieve, but to shower us with His grace, mercy, and love.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day worshiping and remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross. Let us have the same commitment to accept God’s will and do it. Stay safe and healthy.

Looking to Jesus who for the joy set before Him ensured the cross,

Dean

-April 15, 2023-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

(Psalm 55:22).

Do we have burdens? Yes we do! There are spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social, material, and financial burdens. Each of us have at least one burden right now, and most of us have many more that that. God never intended for us to carry them. He wants us to cast them upon Him.

What does it mean to cast a burden on the Lord? How do we do it? Do we do it just once or multiple times? To cast indicates to lay on. Jesus bore the burden of our sins on Himself and died in our place on the cross. Now as believers living in this sinful, broken world, we have many different burdens. Ideally, the Lord desires us to cast our burdens on Him through prayer, leaving them at the throne of grace. Sadly, we often take them back. This only makes things worse for us.

God promises us two awesome blessings when we cast our burdens on Him: sustenance and strength. He sustains us through all our trials and troubles. He will lift us up and see us through. His grace is sufficient for us. He also never permits the righteous to be moved or shaken. The devil attacks us relentlessly, there are temptations everywhere, and often we struggle. The Lord constantly reminds us that He is with us, and will never leave nor forsake us.

Peter wrote, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Dear brother, dear sister drink in these comforting, encouraging words. Do not look to people for help, guidance, and strength; We need the Lord for everything. The One who carried the burden of our sin will carry all our present and future burdens. Once we cast our burdens on Jesus, He will give us rest and we will feel so much lighter.

Have a blessed day of casting your burdens on the Lord, and let us bear one another’s burdens as well. Stay safe and healthy.

Letting go and letting God, while we walk this earthly sod,

Dean

-April 14, 2023-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.”

(1 Samuel 14:6).

The power of God is not restrained, limited, or hindered; He can do all things in our lives and gives us the victory. Jonathan, the son of Saul, had the burden, the faith, and the courage to go up against the Philistines. He had only his armor bearer and the two of them faced a garrison of Philistines by themselves. But they weren’t alone, the Lord was with them and on their side. He gave them a great victory.

Jonathan had a plan, God’s plan, and he carried it out to perfection. He revealed himself and told his armor bearer that if the enemy said for them to come up to them rather than that they would come down to them, God would give them the victory. Sure enough the Philistines said, ‘Come up to us, and we will show you something.’ (1 Samuel 14:12a). Jonathan and his armor bearer climbed up the cliff on their hands and knees and killed 20 men in the space of an acre. Then Saul and his army put the Philistines to flight and won a great victory.

God is not restrained to save by many or by few. Someone said, “One with God is a majority.” God doesn’t need any help, just willing servants who rely on Him fully. Isaiah 59:1 says, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy that He cannot hear” God used Gideon and his small force of 300 men to win a great victory over the much larger Amalekite army. In fact, God commanded them to put torches in empty pictures. They used no weapons but they shouted, “…The sword of the Lord and of Gideon” (Judges 7:20). Joshua led Israel in marching around Jericho once a day for six days, then on the seventh day, they marched around seven times and shouted; then the walls of Jericho fell flat and they conquered the city also without any weapons.

We conclude that the Lord doesn’t need us, but His chooses to use weak, empty vessels like us to do mighty things for Him by the power of God. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is our’s as well. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the power may be of God not of us.”

Let us then take fresh courage. You may one person but you can make a huge impact with the Lord’s help. Have a blessed day making yourself available for the Lord to work through. The battle is not our’s but the Lord’s. Stay safe and healthy.

Trusting in the power of God to deliver by many or by few,

Dean

-April 13, 2023-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”

There are riches and there are true riches. The former exist only in this world, at this present time; the latter are eternal and of much greater value. Earthly riches can soon disappear. They can wear out, be lost, stolen, spent, or squandered. Which would you rather have?

Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure, there your heart will be also.”

They call investments securities but they are anything but secure; houses and lands as real estate though they offer a mere veneer of reality. They are subject to fire, earthquakes, hurricanes or other natural disasters. We can take nothing from this world into eternity.

Bill MacDonald tells the story that illustrates true riches verses the riches of this world. John was a godly Christian who served as a caretaker for a wealthy aristocrat’s estate. One night John had a vivid dream in which he was told that the richest man in the valley would die before midnight the following evening. When John met his employer the next morning, he shared the dream with him. At first, the millionaire pretended to be completely unconcerned. He never felt better. And he didn’t believe in dreams anyway. But as soon as John left he called his chauffeur to drive him to the doctor for a complete physical check up. As expected, all the tests revealed he was in splendid condition. And still he was worried about John’s dream. He invited the doctor over to his home for dinner and a visit afterwards. Every time the doctor wanted to leave, the rich man kept asking him to stay a little longer. Finally, the clock struck midnight and rich man felt so relieved. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, the adult daughter of old John stood there and said, ‘Sir, my mother wanted to let you know that my father had a heart attack and died a little while ago.’ The richest man in the valley died that night.

May the Lord help us to realize and appreciate our true riches in Christ. Dear saint, you are rich, far richer than all the millionaires and billionaires in this world. Let us pursue the true riches in Christ. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Rich beyond measure with heavenly treasure,

Dean

-April 12, 2023-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15)!

“But blessed are your eyes for the see, and your ears for they hear” (Matthew 13:16).

God gave each one of us the precious gift of two eyes to see and two ears to hear. Isn’t it amazing how often we take them for granted until something happens to them. Then we realize how important all our senses are: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. If any of these are lost, even for a short time, it affects us physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.

I had a scheduled doctor appointment for my tongue. My dentist had noticed a small spot on my tongue and suggested I get it checked just in case it could be cancerous. I made a doctor appointment and took it in to show my doctor. I waited until after my cold was gone. Yesterday I went in and there was no longer any spot, whatever it was, it was gone. I praised and thanked God. My other problem was I couldn’t hear out my right ear. My doctor then looked inside my ear and it was blocked by a substantial amount of earwax. That was the impediment that was keeping keeping me from hearing in that ear.

About two weeks ago my right ear became clogged up to the point I couldn’t hear out of hardly at all. The next day I started a cold with sneezing and runny nose. Fortunately it didn’t lead to anything worse with any cough, fever, or sore throat. I got fully better in just a few days, however my right ear didn’t. Each day I thought it would improve, it didn’t.

The doctor’s assistant cleaned it all out. I could hear again as normal. I always have a lot of earwax build up but I can usually get it out myself; but it not this time. I was so happy and I kept saying, “I can hear! I can hear! It was a great answer to prayer. I can’t wait to share tonight at our Men’s prayer and Bible study. I rejoice and know the brothers will rejoice and thank God with me. The clogged ear had really affected my singing and my hearing of what people were saying.

As believers our spiritual hearing is even more important than our physical hearing. We have the privilege of hearing the Word of God. Jesus healed deaf people while He was here on earth and opened their hears so they could hear. Job 33:16 says, “Then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction.” Our ears are so important and we must utilize them to not only hear but to listen.

Jews rebuked the Jews in His day, for they had become full of hearing. Let this not be said of us. He told His disciples, “But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.” We not only need to listen to God, but we need to listen to one another.

Robert W. Herron said, “Good listening is like tuning into a radio station. For good results, you can listen to only one station at a time. Trying to listen to my wife while looking over an office report is like trying to receive two radio stations at the same time. I end up with distortion and frustration. Listening requires a choice where I place my attention. To tune into my partner, I must first choose to put away all that will divide my attention. That might mean laying down newspaper, moving away from the dishes in the sink, putting down the book I’m reading, setting aside my projects.”

We all have ears, let us hear; we have time, let us focus on what God and others are saying and not be distracted. Our ears are blessed, let’s use them as intended and if there is any blockage or impediment, let’s clean them out. Have a blessed day hearing. Stay safe and healthy.

Praising God for the gift of hearing,

Dean