Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-February 10, 2023-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

(Matthew 12:30).

Twice in today’s text Jesus used the phrase, “with Me.” From the moment we are saved, we are with Him and He is with us. We came to Him, repented of our sin, confessed it to Him, believed that He died on the cross in our place, bearing our sin. We have chosen to receive Him, follow Him and live for Him now and for all eternity.

In this portion in Matthew 12:22-32, Jesus had just healed a person who was demon-possessed, blind, and mute. He cast out the demons, and made him see and speak. All sin is an abomination to God and its affect is felt deep in the spirit, soul, and body. Jesus delivered him and released him from Satan’s control. Not every blind or mute person is demon possessed, but sin and Satan control the lives of those who are unsaved. Jesus delivered us from the bondage of sin, Satan, and self.

The Pharisees didn’t believe in Jesus as the Son of God, but rejected Him, worked against Him, and sought to kill Him. Worse yet, they attributed the works of the Holy Spirit to demons. Matthew 12:24 says, “Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” This is what is called “the unpardonable sin.” It can never be forgiven. No believer in Christ can commit this sin, and most unbelievers don’t commit it either.

Either a person is saved and with Jesus or they are against Him. There is no gray area. Bible teacher and commentator Bill MacDonald said, “When it comes to the Person and work of Christ, there can be no neutrality. There is no way of straddling the fence. A man is either for Christ or against Him. Anyone who says he cannot decide has already decided.” Have you decided for Jesus? If not, you are against Him. How you answer the question determines your eternal destiny. What do you think of Christ?” Some say, He was a good man, a good teacher, or good religious leader. All true, but He was far more: He is the Son of God, the Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Let us thank God we are for Him and not against Him. And because of this we can say with Paul in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” May we be all for Jesus, all in for Him and with Him.

Have a blessed day with Jesus, speaking and standing for Him in everything. Stay safe and healthy.

Being on the Lord’s side, the right side,

Dean

-February 9, 2023-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

(Matthew 12:48).

Most if not all of us are familiar with the expression, “Use it or lose it.” Whether it involves speaking or writing a foreign language, playing an instrument, or exercising our muscles. The same is true in the spiritual life. God gives us talents, abilities, and gifts to use for His glory.

Jesus told a parable, called “The Parable of the Talents.” A certain king traveled to a far country, and before he left he gave his goods to his servants. To the first he gave five talents, to the second, two talents, and to the third one talent. The first two servants took their talents and doubled them; the third one buried his talent in the ground. The master was pleased with the first two but not the third. The more we have, the more we will be given. Use it or lose it. God’s work an only be effective when we yield ourselves fully to Him. His power works through clean vessels, empty of self and full of Christ.

May we use all that we have been given to serve our Master. Have a blessed and profitable today for the kingdom and our King. Stay safe and healthy.

Serving the greatest Master,

Dean

-February 8, 2023-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“And let us consider one another in order stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

(Hebrews 10:24-25).

Fellowship with the saints is vital to every person and to the entire body of believers. Acts 2:42 says, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” The early Christians were one in Christ and they loved one another. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia. The definition of fellowship is, “friendly association, especially with people who share one’s interests.” Our fellowship is with the Lord and our fellow believers.

When we attend church we must come with the purpose of encouraging others. When we stay home we miss two blessings: what we can receive and what we can give. Watching and listening online is great when we are sick, injured, recovering from surgery, or are out of town on business or vacation. Apart from these scenarios, being at church with saints is the greatest blessing. I always look forward to seeing and encouraging my brothers and sisters in Christ. The pandemic was very hard on all of us when we were locked down.

Years ago we had an expression, “Extend the right hand of fellowship.” This is taken from Galatians 2:9, where Paul wrote, “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.” Whenever someone new visits our church, we reach out and offer the right hand of fellowship, and when missionaries visit us we do the same. But we should do the very same when see each other on Sundays or at midweek services. Some groups gathering together are often called “fellowship groups.” They are a real blessing especially in homes.

Fellowship is not just at church, it extends during the week as well. We should utilize our modern technology of phone calls, emails, texts, and social media. As great as these are, they cannot replace the personal, human interaction. Let us then stir each other with love, good works, and encouragement. We need each other. We need the fellowship.

Have a blessed day with great fellowship along the way. Stay safe and healthy.

Being a blessing to one another in sweet fellowship,

Dean

-February 7, 2023-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

(James 5:16).

There is tremendous power in prayer. The prayer that James refers to is awesome. God answers prayers like these. They reach behind our walls and ceilings to the very throne of God. Just imagine that! Does it mean that God always answers exactly what we pray for? No, it must be in His will and timing. The Lord Jesus lives to make intercession for us to Father and the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Does this mean our prayers should lack specificity? Absolutely not! We must pray specifically and expect answers specifically.

Our prayers taken to the throne of grace find grace to help in times of need. We should thank God for every petition we bring, and leave the requests in His hands. We should pray for ourselves but even more for others. We all want our prayers to be both effective and fervent. The last part of our verse in the Amplified Bible says, “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”

• Effective Prayer – Do our prayers make a difference? Does God hear them and answer them? Oh, yes He does. James uses Elijah as an example of the power of prayer. James 5:17-18 says, “ Elijah was a man with a nature like our’s, and he prayed that it would not rain; and it did not rain for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” Elijah was effective in his prayers and we should be also through continuance and faith. God is looking for prayer warriors. Sometimes we are more worriers than warriors.

• Fervent Prayer – To be effective our prayers must be fervent. The word fervent is defined as, “having or displaying a passionate intensity.” In the days of old it meant hot, burning, or glowing. Paul wrote in Colossians 4:2, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed so fervently that the Father would remove the cup of His suffering on the cross from Him; but that Father’s will be done. Do our prayers have fervency? Or do we just pray because we know we should?

May we pray fervently and effectively today. Let us knock on the door of heaven, waiting for and expecting God’s answer. Stay safe and healthy.

Praying always for all people, especially the saints,

Dean

-February 6, 2023-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in heart” (2 Samuel 6:16).

“Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, ‘How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself” (2 Samuel 6:20).

Michal the daughter of Saul and was David’s first wife. Originally Saul gave Michal to David as a wife, hoping to stumble him. That in itself was a tell-tale sign about her. She loved David but was not a godly woman. Here in 2 Samuel 6, David brought the Ark of the Covenant to the City. He greatly rejoiced and danced before the Lord with all his might. He leaped and whirled about, giving all the glory to Lord. He shared this wonderful moment with the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, giving each person a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins.

Michal should not have stayed in the house but should have gone out to celebrate the coming of the Ark. Her criticism of David was unwarranted. While constructive criticism is needed, this was destructive criticism as evidenced not only by David’s desire to play his music and dance before the Lord. More than that we see how the Lord felt about what she thought, said, and did. 2 Samuel 6:23 says, “Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.” She paid a high price of her complaints and criticism. She falsely accused her husband of indecent exposure, when as it turned out, she was the one exposed spiritually.

This incident reminds me of when Aaron and Miriam criticized Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman and taking too much control over the people. God struck Miriam with temporary leprosy for seven days. All the Israelites had to wait for her before moving on in the wilderness. Criticizing others, especially our spiritual leaders is bad and affects the church. Often discontent leads to complaints, and complaints lead to criticism, a criticism is not pleasing to the Lord. Sometimes it can cause divisions and strife in the home and in the church. It weakens our relationships and mars our testimony before the world.

The opposite of criticism is encouragement. We can help people much more through encouragement than through criticism. Our words can either build up or tear down. My teachers always warned us against “majoring on the minors.” There are some very minor issues that can turn us against one another.

Have a blessed and thankful day being an encourager and helper. Let’s avoid complaints and criticisms. Stay safe and healthy.

Being positive and not negative, building up and not tearing down one another,

Dean