Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-January 6, 2023-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance.”

God loves colors as evidenced in creation, in the tabernacle and temple, and throughout the sacred pages of His Word. God could have things in black and white, but He choose to give us beautiful colors. After the flood God promised Noah and thus the whole human race that He would never again bring a flood to destroy the earth. Genesis 9:12-13 says, “And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign for the covenant between Me and the earth.’” This covenant is called the Noahic or Rainbow Covenant.

We have all seen rainbows at one time or another; they are so beautiful and colorful. The colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, seven in all. God also created animals, plants, fruits, birds, butterflies, and a whole of things of color. Even the various races are colorful: black, brown, white, yellow, and red. All are special to Him. When God gave Moses instructions on how to build the tabernacle and later the temple, He instructed him to use blue, scarlet, and purple. The breastplate that the high priests had precious, colorful gems on it. And Jacob loved Joseph and made him a coat of many colors. Even in David’s day all the daughters of the king wore robes of many colors.

Colors are significant in the Bible and carry a lot of meaning and significance. I personally love colors. Since I was a teenager I have enjoyed picking out my own suits, shirts, and ties. I developed an eye for colors, which I still have to this day. My favorite color is blue, which the color of the sky. There are more shades of blue than any other color. I recently watched a movie where an elementary school teacher was totally color blind. He only saw in black and white. A lady optometrist made him special lenses that enabled to see everything in color. He was amazed and so touched. It opened up a whole new world for him.

Tomorrow we will consider individual colors and their meaning in the Scripture. I can’t wait. Let’s thank God for all the colors He has made and how amazing they are.

Have a wonderful and blessed day living life in living color. God loves colors and so should we. We should never lose our sense of wonder at the beauty of God’s creation. Stay safe and healthy.

Being a colorful person in the best sense of the word,

Dean

🌈 👚👕🧤🐺🐥🦋🦩🌸🌹🍑🍓🍏🫐🫒🥦

-January 5, 2023-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

(Proverbs 3:9).

It has always been God’s will that His people give Him the firstfruits. One of Israel’s feasts was allied the Feast of the Firstfruits. They were to give Him the very best that they had. When we as believers give, we also should give of the very best we have. The Lord is worthy of all that we have. After all, everything we have is from Him. When a farmer harvests his crops he usually takes of the first fruits for he and his family to enjoy. But before he does that he should take that and give it to the Lord.

We should never give the Lord the second best or worse yet, the last fruits or the leftovers. Instead we should honor the Lord with our possessions and the firstfruits of all we have. By doing this God will bless us with plenty and our vats will overflow with new wine. No one can out give the Lord. Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’”

Giving to the Lord involves our time, our talents, and our treasures. The Lord wants us to give Him our whole hearts in dedication, devotion, and delight. The hymn writer William W. How wrote, “We give Thee but Thine own, whate’er the gift may be: all that we have is Thine alone, a trust, O Lord from Thee. May we Thy bounties thus, as stewards true receive, and gladly, as Thou blessest us, to Thee our firstfruits give. “

May we put the Lord first in everything this year, honor Him, please Him, and give Him the very best that we have. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Giving our firstfruits to the Lord Jesus,

Dean

-January 4, 2022-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

(James 1:21-22).

The picture that James sets before us is that of the implanted word. This is the only time it is found in the Bible. The definition of the word implant is, “To put an organ, group of cells, or device into the body in a medical operation; to plant firmly or deeply in the mind; instill; inculcate.” There are many types of implants: dental implants, heart implants, in vitro fertilization implants, and pacemaker implants. I have a special defibrillator pacemaker which is implanted under my skin near my heart that regulates my heart rate.

The best implant anyone can have is the Word of God implanted in the heart. It is so important to treasure God’s word in our hearts by reading it, studying it, meditating on it, memorizing it, and especially obeying it and applying it to our lives. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against You.” My pacemaker is there to remind me of how it helps me. I can feel it, though it works in me on the inside. So too, God’s Word implanted in our hearts reminds us of God’s truth in our lives. His commands, promises, and principles keep us on the right path for Jesus.

Yesterday, we considered how important prayer is to us on a daily basis. Today, we are thinking about how vital the Word of God is to us. It is our daily bread, our spiritual nutrition, our inspiration, and our guidance. Just as we would never go without food, so neither can we do without the Word of God. In the wilderness, God provided the Israelites manna from heaven. It provided them all the nutrients that they needed. Jesus said in The Lord’s Prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

May the Lord help us to dedicate ourselves to the Word of God on a daily basis this year and always. It will change our lives. Let us be doers of the Word, not merely hearers of it. Stay safe and healthy.

Continuing in the Scriptures daily,

Dean

-January 3, 2023-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).

The subject of prayer is pervasive throughout the Scriptures. It says in Genesis 4:26, “As for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.” This the first mention of prayer in the Bible. Revelation 22:20 tells us, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Even so, come Lord Jesus! The number of people in the Word who prayed is innumerable. From Abraham interceding for Sodom where his nephew Lot was living; to Moses’ requests for the Israelites; to Hannah’s deep supplication for a son; to Hezekiah’s pleadings to live longer; to Jesus’ holy cries to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane; to Paul’s prayer to remove the thorn in his flesh; just to name a few.

As we begin this new year, it is a good time to recommit ourselves to prayer each day of this year. In our lessons over previous days we discussed how we should pray, who we should pray for, and what we should pray for. Today, our subject is: “A Commitment to Prayer.” It shouldn’t be a casual or infrequent occurrence in our lives, but an everyday part of our lives, especially in the morning before we face our day. So many believers only pray consistently, earnestly, and urgently when they are in trouble. God wants us pray at all times, communing with Him.

Paul simply wrote, “Pray without ceasing.” This doesn’t mean we are to be in non-stop prayer, but rather in a spirit of prayer from the time we get up until we go to bed at night. This means we can thank Him, pray for others in need, and for our own situations and needs in our special time time, but also through the day. The people we should pray for the most are the saints of God. Paul told the Ephesians, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication for all the saints.”

Prayer is hard work. It takes commitment, dedication and devotion. It must come from our hearts. No can or should force anyone to pray. The best things I learned about prayer is attending and praying at our prayer meetings. I still remember fondly the Men’s Saturday morning Prayer Breakfast where we prayed first then chowed down on some delicious pancakes. I also reflect on our Monday night men’s prayer meetings that were begun a brother’s home and continues to this day at our church on Wednesday nights. Our pastor likes to call our church, “a praying church.”

I have a plague in my kitchen that has a beautiful scene of a sunrise over an ocean with a single bird flying over an ocean area with a huge rock formation in the background. It is entitled, “The difference:

It says, “I got up one morning and rushed right into the day. I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray. Problems tumbled about me and harder came each task. ‘Why doesn’t God help me?’ I wondered. He answered’ You didn’t ask.’ I wanted joy and beauty, but the day was gray and bleak, I wondered why God didn’t show me, He said, ‘You didn’t seek.’ I tried to come into God’s presence; I used all my keys at the lock. God gently and lovingly said, ‘My child, you didn’t knock.’ I woke up early this morning, and paused before starting the day. I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray.”

Let’s us not just make the resolution in our own strength to pray every day, but rather the commitment with the Lord’s help to do it. So many resolutions begin so well but fail to make it past January. May we be Prayer Warriors daily. Stay safe and healthy.

Asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer,

Dean

-January 2, 2023-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

(Galatians 6:10).

Paul’s letters always have of pattern of doctrine in the first part and then practical application in the latter part. As we are now into the second day of the year, let us pause and ponder how best to take advantage of every opportunity to serve the Lord, share the Lord with those who are unsaved, and lend a helping hand to those in need. This year, like every year, will present opportunities that we must seize. If we miss an opportunity that God gives us, we will never have exact same opportunity again. A golden opportunity is defined as, “a excellent chance to do or get something.”

This year let us be more cognizant of the opportunities that God gives us and take full advantage to testify of Him and witness for Him. May we take all the opportunities to do good to others, especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ. It requires our time, our resources, and even our money. We remember that the Good Samaritan was the only one of the three men who passed by the badly wounded man on the road and helped him. The other two, one a Levite and the other a priest missed the opportunity to help.

A certain blind man was sitting by the road begging when heard a multitude passing by, so he asked what it meant. So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. This was his opportunity to be given his sight and he took full advantage of it by calling out to Jesus. Our Savior gave him his sight and he followed Jesus and glorified God. When Jesus passed through Jericho, Zacchaeus didn’t miss the opportunity to see Jesus. He climbed up a sycamore tree since he was a short man; Jesus stopped and spoke to him. He repented of sins and invited Him into his home along with his friends and relatives. Peter missed the opportunity to identify with Christ and denied Him three times. He redeemed himself on the day of Pentecost and preached the gospel and stood up for the Lord to the Jewish authorities.

In Ephesians 5:15-16, Paul wrote, “See then you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” To redeem the time, is to make the best use of it by making the most of our opportunities. May the Lord help us to be effective for Him each day of 2023.

Have a blessed day as the holidays pass and we move forward into the year. Stay safe and healthy.

Looking to Jesus for His leading and guiding,

Dean