Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-April 1, 2023-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

(Hebrews 5:13-14).

The writer of Hebrews is writing to Jewish believers and chiding them for their lack of spiritual maturity. Some Christians never develop as they should and remain babes in Christ. They don’t move past spiritual infancy. They go to church but they don’t grow much in the Lord. We should all strive to be mature believers in Christ. We should be constantly growing and becoming more like Christ.

Babes drink milk in order to grow, but before too long they advance from milk to solid food. The same is true in the Christian life. When we feed on the meat of the Word, study it, obey it, and apply it to our lives, we become more mature. There is a lot to be said about experience. The more we go through trials, the more we rely on the Lord. To be of full age is not in human years but in spiritual years of walking with the Lord Jesus. A younger believer can sometimes be more mature in Christ than an older one, though most older believers have more experience in the battles of life.

By exercising our spiritual senses, we can discern good from evil. This is why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:20, “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.” What can we do to grow in maturity in Christ? We need to spend time with the Lord in prayer and the Word, attend church faithfully, having fellowship with one another, and be accountable to our spiritual mentors and leaders in our walk.

Are you mature in your faith? Or do you have a lot more growing to do? Let us move on from milk to meat. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Maturing in Christ day by day,

Dean

-March 31, 2023-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

(Luke 7:7-8).

Though the Jews felt the centurion was deserving, he did not. He considered himself unworthy. The definition of unworthy is, “not deserving of effort, attention or respect; not good enough for, ineligible, unqualified.” He had such great faith combined with great humility. He believed that Jesus could heal his servant who was sick and near death; he also had the most humble attitude. He wasn’t demanding but he was pleading with our Savior. He sends friends to Him. He didn’t even feel worthy to come to the Lord or for the Lord to come to him. Like the centurion we need to believe in order to receive. Being a Gentile, he took a lowly place before the Lord. Most of are Gentiles as well.

He was a man of authority with soldiers and servants under him. He recognized the authority of Jesus by comparing himself Jesus in that way. He asked that Jesus would just speak a word and his servant would be healed. Jesus was amazed by his great faith. Luke 7:9-10 says, When Jesus heard of these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, ‘I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.’ And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.”

The same thing happened with the Syrophoenician woman, also a Gentile, who begged Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. She felt her unworthiness but also had great faith, and was willing to eat the crumbs from the Master’s table. Jesus healed her daughter and when she got home the demon was gone and she was lying on the bed. The Lord loves it when we feel our unworthiness and yet have great faith in Him.

In David’s day, he found Mephobosheth, the son of Jonathan, who was lame. He made him sit at his table as one of his own sons. He felt so unworthy that he told the king, “What is your servant, that you should look on a dead dog as I” (2 Samuel 9:8)? After receiving Christ we are adopted into God’s family. We are so blessed. We should never lose our sense of His worthiness and our unworthiness.

Have a blessed day of great faith combined with unworthiness. God doesn’t owe us anything but He has given us everything. Stay safe and healthy.

Giving all the glory to His name,

Dean

-March 30, 2023-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue” (Luke 7:4-5).

“Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Luke 7:7).

Many people brought others in need to Jesus, but the incident in today’s text is the only one where the Jews, who were his enemies, who rejected Him and did believe in Him, actually came to Him for help. They felt that the Roman centurion was deserving of healing because of his good deeds shown to them. They said, “…he loves our nation, and built us a synagogue.” Many unsaved people today believe they are deserving of salvation and eternal life. They look around at others who have committed much worse wrongs and convince themselves their good deeds will far outweigh their bad ones. This is a lie from the devil. He has lulled them into a false sense of security.

As long as a person doesn’t see themself a lost sinner in need of salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life — they cannot be saved. Hence, one of the thieves on the cross near Jesus refused to get saved, while the other saw his need and was wonderfully saved before he died. Religion, good works, keeping the law, living a good life are all stumbling blocks to coming to Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 9:12-13, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Paul wrote in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All sin is missing the mark, God’s perfect standards. He also said, “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10).’” No one can say they deserve salvation, on the contrary all of us deserve damnation. Mercy does not give us what we deserve, grace gives what we don’t deserve. Psalm 103:10 tells us, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.”

Even after we come to Jesus and are saved, we never lose the sense that we are undeserving. Heaven is and will be filled with those who feel they don’t deserve it, and not one will be there who thinks they deserve it. The hymn that was sung at every Billy Graham Crusade is entitled, “Just As I am.” It was written by Charlotte Elliott. The first verse says, “Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou biddst me come to Thee—O Lamb of God, I come, I come!” If you haven’t yet received Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, please do so today.

Tomorrow we will consider the great faith of the Roman centurion who considered himself unworthy. Have a blessed day thanking the Lord for saving us though we are so undeserving of it. Stay safe and healthy.

Never forgetting how undeserving we are,

Dean

-March 29, 2023-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.”

(Joshua 23:14).

Looking back, Joshua traced the faithfulness of God in his life and in the lives of the Israelites. God had been faithful through all the wilderness and into the Promised Land. It was a golden era for all of them. God gave them victory after victory and they took possession of the land that God had promised them. All the men and women who left Egypt died, except Joshua and Caleb. God did this because of their rebellion and unbelief. Their children were the ones who reached the Promised Land. They were they ones who got to see it, eat from it, live in it, and enjoy it.

When we look back, we remember the faithfulness of God in bringing us to this point in our spiritual journey. The older we get the more we should appreciate all of God’s promises and blessings. Not one of God’s promises ever fails; for God never fails. Through all of life’s problems, trials, and struggles, the Lord has sustained us and maintained us; preserved us and protected us; and enriched us and encouraged us.

Acts 14:21-22 says, “And when they preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘We must must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.’” Paul and Barnabas, like Joshua, encouraged God’s people. Solomon did the same thing when he completed the temple. He proclaimed in 1 Kings 8:56, “Blessed be the Lord, who has given us rest (or peace) to all His people Israel according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.”

God always fulfills His promises. We just need to know them and claim them. The hymn writer R. Kelso Carter wrote, “Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God.” Let us press on with fresh encouragement and joy, knowing that the Lord has brought thus far and He will take us all the way to heaven. The Christian life is not easy, but the Lord is with us and for us. It gives us abundant peace and encouragement.

Have a blessed day living for the Lord and serving Him. Stay safe and healthy.

Standing on the promises of Christ who never fails us,

Dean

-March 28, 2023-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

(Luke 6:26).

When Jesus was here on earth He was hated by many for the simple reason that He spoke the truth about sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come. His words and actions made many people uncomfortable. The reason is that people love darkness more than light because their deeds are evil. In the days of the OT and NT, speaking the Word brought consternation and condemnation to the godly. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Daniel, and many others serve as examples to us.

It is clear that we speaking of how we are perceived when we ally ourselves with our Lord and Savior, not how we live as good people. God wants us to be light and salt, to have our behavior excellent among the Gentiles as it were. If we do wrong, we should never say we are being persecuted, for there are consequences for bad actions. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:17, “For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” If we come in late, perform poorly in our work, exceed the speed limit, lie or not tell the whole truth, gossip, or treat others badly, we should expect to suffer the consequences. But when we do what right, speak right, and proclaim the name of Jesus, we should expect to be shunned, excluded, and maligned.

When we stand for the Lord, speak His Word, and live holy lives, we will never be popular, nor should we try to be. Jesus said in Luke 6:22-23, “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast our your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.” The key is “for the Son of Man’s sake.” When we are conformed to Christ, we won’t be conformed to this world.

We know we are on the right track with and for Christ when we are persecuted for the sake of Christ. Conversely, we should worry if everyone speaks well of us. Being politically correct is not being spiritually correct. We should always hate the sin, but love the sinner; we should care more the kingdom of God and souls of people more than our personal success, fame, or fortune.

Have a blessed day seeking the approval of God, not the approval of people. Stay safe and healthy.

Doing all for sake of Jesus,

Dean