Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-January 26, 2023-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry” (Jonah 4:1).

“Then the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to angry’” (Jonah 4:4)?

We normally think of Jonah as the wayward or prodigal prophet. When God spoke to him and told him to go to Nineveh to preach a message of judgment and repentance, he booked passage on a ship going to Tarshish, the exact opposite direction of Nineveh. The Assyrians in Nineveh were wicked and the sworn enemies of Israel. The last thing he wanted was to see God’s favor on them. There were 120,000 people in this large city.

God brought a storm at sea and it endangered the ship and everyone on board. It was determined that Jonah was to blame because he was running away from God. Any believer outside the will of God is in big trouble. God will bring His chastisement on him or her to bring about repentance and restoration.

As it turned out God caused a great fish (likely a whale), to swallow Jonah. He was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights. He repented and God made the fish spit him out right near Nineveh. He preached God’s message and everyone in the city including the king were saved. Imagine, a 100% conversion rate. There was great joy in Nineveh, yet Jonah wasn’t happy.

Jonah sat down outside the city and the Lord appeared to him. He asked the Lord to take his life. It was very hot and God gave him a gourd to shade him from the hot sun. Jonah’s anger turned to delight over the plant. Then God sent a worm to damage the plant and it withered. Jonah loved the plant and got very depressed. God showed him that he didn’t grow the plant or care for it; God on the other hand had compassion on a whole city of people who didn’t know their left hand from their one.

The question is, ‘Do we have the right to be angry? The answer in most cases is a resounding NO!’ The only good anger is righteous anger. This anger is not for self but for God’s righteousness and glory. It is an anger against sin and unrighteousness. It is anger when the Lord is maligned or when His name is used in vain. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:26-27 says, “‘ Be angry and do not sin’ do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.”

Unrighteous anger is never justifiable. James wrote, “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Our anger hurts others as well as ourselves. There no reason to be angry with God or others. Anger is a sin that damages relationships, families, and churches. Jonah was the angry prophet. May we not be known as angry Christians. Have a blessed day showing peace, and patience not anger. Stay safe and healthy.

Being self-controlled, trusting God,

Dean

-January 25, 2023-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone. Therefore tell her to help me.’”

(Luke 10:40)

Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus very much. They were among His closest friends. The three lived together in Bethany and He enjoyed spending time with them. Martha may have been the oldest, for in the our passage in Luke 10:38-42 we see that it says in at the end of verse 38, “Martha welcomed Him into her house.” Mary represents worship, Martha service, and Lazarus fellowship. These particular traits are vital to the Christian. We should actively pursue and possess each of them.

From what we know about Martha she loved the Lord very much and was very industrious; she was a perfectionist. To this end, she became distracted. There is nothing wrong with serving the Lord as long as we never lose sight of why we are serving and to whom we are serving. The church in Ephesus did so many great things: works, labor, patience, perseverance, and an insatiable intolerance of evil. Still Jesus said of them in Revelation 2:4, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” All service for the Lord should be out of love, not just duty.

Mary loved the Lord, sat at His feet, and heard His word. Jesus said to Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42). We should not let serving become a distraction but be a great blessing. A distraction is defined as, “a thing that prevents someone from full attention to something else; extreme agitation of the mind or emotions.” This certainly fits Martha and us too.

Satan wants to distract us. Someone once said, “Satan loves distracted Christians. He doesn’t care what the something is. He just wants to turn our attention away from the things of God.” He especially loves to bring distractions at our holiest moments, in prayer, Bible reading and study, getting ready for church, in sharing the gospel with someone, and at the communion table. He wants us to lose focus, get upset and be frustrated. The lesson for us is clear: be on guard against distractions. Texts, phone calls, and emails can wait. We can’t think of two things at the same time. Even good things can distract us from better things, and better things from the best things.

Let us the strive for the right reaction to distraction. May we keep our eyes on Jesus whom we serve and remember our true motive is love for Jesus. I know I am guilty of being distracted. We must remember Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

Have a blessed and undistracted day in worship, service, and fellowship; keeping our priorities straight. Stay safe and healthy.

Staying focus on Jesus,

Dean

-January 24, 2023-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“And he said, ‘When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.’ But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.”

(Exodus 1:16-17).

We owe our allegiance to God to honor and obey Him. In charting our path in life we must make the choice to obey God not men. As a rule obeying the law is God’s will for us, however when what man requires is against the Word of God, we must choose to obey God not men. The context of our verses today is set when the Hebrews, as they were called at that time, were in bondage in Egypt. As we know, Jacob and all his family moved to Egypt to be with Joseph and be kept alive through the world-wide famine. Over the course of time, Joseph died and his brothers. The new Pharaoh, king of Egypt, did not know Joseph.

The new ruler took a very oppressive and antagonistic view of the Hebrews. He used the excuse that the Hebrews had grown so exponentially that he feared they might turn against them in a time of war. They made all the Hebrews slaves. That alone was bad, but even worse he decided to kill all their baby boys while letting the baby girls live. To carry out is diabolical plot he enlisted the assistance of the Hebrew midwives. He wanted them to join in this murderous plan. The two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah were called in to meet with Pharaoh.

Exodus 1:17 says, “But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king commanded them, but saved the male children alive.” They risked their lives to save the lives of so many others. This reminds me of the disciples in the book of Acts. The Jewish authorities ordered Peter and John not to stop speaking speak in the name of Jesus. They tried to stop them from preaching the gospel. Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 3:19-20). Later in Acts 4:29 they said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

In the Scriptures there are three instances of barbarity that were directed at God’s people: Pharaoh here in our text, Haman who plotted to exterminate all the Jews as mentioned in the book of Esther, and Herod who killed all the baby boys two and under in and around Bethlehem in hopes of killing the Child Jesus. God thwarted their attempts. Satan was the one who was behind these wicked schemes. God used these brave Hebrew midwives to save the male children. As a result of their obedience to Him, God blessed these two dear women with families of their own and the Hebrews grew and multiplied. There is the principle in Scripture that the more God’s people are persecuted, the more they thrive spiritually and physically.

Though Shiphrah and Puah were called to answer to the king, God protected them from harm and richly blessed them. He will not do less for us today when we stand for Him, honor Him, and obey Him. The consequences of obeying men over God is not justified. To the early Christians, they lost jobs, homes, and even their lives in standing for Christ. In many parts of the world today, believers are suffering tremendous persecution for their faith. In America we don’t endure physical persecution but there is hatred and discrimination of believers daily. We must stand for Christ and His Word. Abortion in our country amounts to killing babies. There is a real conflict between those who are siding with the right to life verses those the right to choose. Let us pray for our country in this great struggle.

Let us choose to obey God rather than men whenever man’s commands are in conflict with God’s commands. May we follow the example of Shiphrah and Puah. The fear of man brings a snare. Stay safe and healthy.

Obeying and honoring God,

Dean

-January 23, 2023-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Then he became very thirsty; so he cried out to the Lord and said, ‘You have given me this great deliverance by the hand of Your servant; and now shall I die of thirst and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?’ So God split the hollow place that is in Lehi, and he drank; and his spirit returned, and he revived.”

(Judges 15:18-19).

It is so often the case, after we achieve a great victory we often experience some trouble. The devil targets us, hoping to take us down; It is usually a little thing that trips us up. This happened to Samuel. He had just taken a fresh jawbone of a donkey and with it killed a thousand Philistines. Now he was very thirsty and actually thought he would die. It reminds me of Esau who returned from a hunting trip and was famished. His brother was cooking up red lentil stew. He was willing to sell his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of it. It showed that he didn’t value it. He said in Genesis 25:32, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”

Even the prophet Elijah, the mighty man of God, after a great victory over the prophets of Baal, fled from the wicked queen Jezebel who threatened to kill him. He prayed that God would take his life, saying, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (See 1 Kings 19). The devil hit him hard and he went down for the count. God appeared to him and he ate and drank and the Lord strengthened and revived him. Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your faith is small.”

We must be on constant guard against the temptations, snares, and attacks of Satan. He looks to exploit our weakness and discourage and defeat us. At least Samson turned to the Lord for help. He provided water from the hollow place to return him to his senses and revive him. So whether we come to Him for help or are paralyzed with fear, He will come after us. He will never leave us in the pit of discouragement. God knows everything about us and what we are going through. It says in Psalm 103:13-14, “As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”

Let us never rely on ourselves and think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. May we be on guard, watch and pray. Jesus said in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. It is often the little problems, the little annoyances, the little interruptions that get to us. Have a blessed and watchful day.

Keeping our eyes on Jesus,

Dean

-January 22, 2023-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in your way.”

Psalm 119:37).

It is the prayer of the Psalmist that God would keep him from looking at worthless things and revive him in God’s way. If there were worthless things in his day, there are even more in our days. Life is all about making the right choices, good choices: choosing the good over the bad, and best for the better.

Worthless things are things that have no value. There are bad movies, TV shows, books, magazines, hobbies are other things that we should avoid. Materialism is also dangerous. Seeking money and material possessions above the Lord and His work. Proverbs 23:4-5 says, “Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not. For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.”

Some worthless things are not bad in and of themselves. Even things considered good can be bad if held up in the light of eternity. The light of God’s Word exposes them for what they really are. Our question we should ask ourselves is this: is it profitable, valuable, and useful? Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all edify” (1 Corinthians 10:23).

The second important lesson we learn from today’s verse is the need for personal revival. We need God to wake us up spiritually and direct us in His way. We need to have a hunger for God and His Word and a thirst for truth and righteousness. Revival always starts with the church of God and it must start with me.

May the Lord help us to make good choices and avoid looking at worthless things. Then God will revive us in His way. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Letting God speak to our hearts,

Dean