Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-January 1, 2023-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day and New Year’s Day,

“You crown the year with Your goodness, and your paths drip with abundance.”

(Psalm 65:11).

Ready or not, the new year is upon us. We know that there will be challenges and blessings. No year is ever perfect since we are living in a broken, sinful world. We are confident that moving forward the Lord will be with us one day at a time. We are so blessed with God’s goodness and abundance.

• God’s Goodness – God is so good and His goodness is wonderful. God crowns our year with His goodness whether at the beginning, the middle, or the end of the year. We don’t know how 2023 will unfold, but we do know that He knows and will give us His sufficient grace. Whether in good times or bad, the Lord is always good. David wrote in Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

• God’s abundance – My favorite blessing for my brothers and sisters in Christ on their birthday is, “May God richly and abundantly bless you.” God shows us His abundance in real and meaningful ways. In the priestly blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26, it says, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” What a great benediction and blessing for all of God’s people!

With the Lord with us, His Spirit within us, and His Word to guide and inspire us, we can certainly look forward to the new year. The hymn writer Frances Ridley Havergal wrote, “Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace; another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face; another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast; another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.”

May the Lord’s goodness and abundance by ours on this first day of 2023 and throughout the year. Stay safe and healthy.

Rejoicing in the new year,

Dean

-December 31, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’”

(1 Samuel 7:12).

Today is the last day of 2022. There have been ups and downs, positives and negatives, wins and losses, successes and failures, joys and sorrows. As we look back on this year we trace, the flow of God’s wonderful and matchless grace. He has helped us every step of the way. All of us need God’s help, for we can’t make on our own.

Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” God has all the power and resources to come to our rescue. He wants us to come to Him in prayer believing that He will help us. The Psalmist wrote, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2). God’s help at the throne of grace is available twenty hours a day. We often don’t ask for help but try to do things on our own and only make things worse.

The phrase, “Thus far the Lord has helped us,” also gives us great comfort, encouragement, and hope for the future. Another way of saying it is, “to this moment the Lord has helped us.” He has never failed us and He never will. The prolific hymn writer Isaac Watts wrote, “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home. O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be Thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home.”

Let us look back over this year and thank the Lord for His help just when we needed it the most. Hebrews 13:6 tells us, “So we may boldly say: the Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” When we are afraid, the Lord comes to our aid. Stay safe and healthy.

Happy New Year’s Eve,

Dean

-December 30, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

(John 1:45-46).

“Phillip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Phillip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also in the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ And Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’”

In the early days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He called twelve disciples whom He chose to be apostles. Andrew told his brother Peter; and Philip told his friend Nathaniel. In both cases these two men, Phillip and Andrew were the first witnesses and missionaries. The same should true of us: our missionary work must begin with family and friends before we attempt to tell the world. Like us, these two men had the best news to share that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah that they were all looking for in Israel.

Andrew did not come to argue or debate with his friend the case that Jesus was the coming Messiah. Nathanael was a thinker, one who was naturally skeptical. He asked one interesting question, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Phillip replied simply, “Come and see.” Our mission is the same: tell others what we have seen and heard. A personal testimony is always the most powerful tool we have at our disposal to use with people. People can challenge our doctrine or even our beliefs, but they can’t refute our changed lives. Jesus changes lives when one comes and sees.

The city of Nazareth had a bad reputation. The Roman presence in Nazareth was repulsive to the Jews, and they avoided going there. Though it was in Israel, it was an Arab not a Jewish town. So many didn’t trust the people there and considered them like spies or even traitors. All this may have been swirling in Nathanael’s mind. Though Jesus was really born in Bethlehem, many in His day didn’t realize it.

Jesus chose to be called a Nazarene. Many times people called Him this, and in fact Peter and Paul referred to Jesus as, “Jesus of Nazareth” in their preaching of the gospel. Even Pilate wrote this title on the inscription over the cross. John 19:19 says, “Now Pilate wrote a title and put on the cross. And the writing was: ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ It was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. This expression is found 21 times in the NT.

Jesus initiated the contact with Nathanael, calling him “an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.” Nathanael wondered how Jesus knew him. Our Savior told him that He saw him while he was under the fig tree. Nathanael recognized that Jesus could not have possibly seen him and known him were He not the Messiah. Now he believed for himself. Each person in coming to Christ must make his or her own decision to believe in Jesus and follow Him. Nathanael followed Jesus and became one of the Twelve Apostles.

Let us commit ourselves to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus came to earth to save sinners like us. He chose to take on our human flesh and identify with us, yet without sin. Should we not choose to identify ourselves with Him and stand for the truth? If people hated Jesus, they will hate us also. We simply can say, like Phillip, “Come and see.” When you do, He will save you and change your life forever!

Have a blessed day being His servant and witness. Stay safe and healthy.

Following Jesus every day of the year,

Dean

-December 29, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation! Selah.”

(Psalm 68:19).

As the year draws to the end, it is a good time to reflect on what God has given to us and done for us. There are significant things that the Lord did in our lives in 2022, but there are also daily blessings and benefits in the simple, ordinary events of life. The two most important things we can do are: not to forget His benefits and to give thanks for all our benefits.

• Don’t Forget His Benefits – We tend to get very busy, especially with Christmas and New Year’s. We need to make time, perhaps even start a new tradition of sharing what did for us during this year. Maybe limit it in our gatherings to three things or in larger groups, one major thing God did for us this year. New Year’s Eve is the perfect time to share. In my case, it was how the Lord healed me after my pacemaker surgery and stopped the fluid from leaking through my leg and reduced my leg swelling drastically. My recovery has been so great. I feel like a new man. My voice for speaking and singing is much stronger, and I feel much younger. The Great Physician is so good. I had great doctors, surgeons, and nurses, but all the glory goes to God.

How about you? What would you share from 2022? There is so much negativity, pessimism, fear, and perplexity in this world. We as the children of God know that He is with and we can find the hidden blessings all around us. The term hidden blessing is an idiom referring to the idea that something that appears to be a misfortune can have unexpected benefits. Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

• Give thanks to God for all our benefits, large or small – The Psalmist said, “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” I will take up the cup of salvation” (Psalm 116:12-13). Just as our trials are taylor made for us, so are our blessings and benefits. Let us thank and praise God for them all. He daily loads us with benefits. He doesn’t give in scarcity but rather in abundance. When Pharaoh found out that Joseph’s family was coming to Egypt, he sent donkeys loaded with provisions for Jacob. Genesis 45:23 says, “And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt , and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey.” God sends us blessings for our journey to heaven.

Let us not miss the opportunity to remember and give thanks for all our benefits and blessings of this year. Soon 2022 will be gone and we will move onward in the new year. Stay safe and healthy.

With hearts filled with gratitude may we have a good attitude,

Dean

-December 28, 2022-

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

(2 Timothy 4:7).

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

Paul, the great apostle, preacher, teacher, and church planter, knew his time on earth was almost finished. He remained true to the Lord from the moment he was saved until his dying breath. He doesn’t say, “I almost fought the good fight, I nearly finished the race, I mostly kept the faith.” Rather, he was confident that he did all that God had him to do. He was prepared to die and enter into the presence of the Lord with joy.

We end each year at the finish line on December 31st. Each year is like a marathon starting on January 1st and ending on the last day of the year. Some come to the finish line walking, limping, or even crawling. Instead, we should be sprinting with a strong “finishing kick.” When I ran any Cross Country, track, or road race I always gave it all I had left until I crossed the finished line. My coaches always taught me to do this and to never to look back or on either side, but keep my eyes on the prize. I usually passed other runners at the end. The Christian race for the Lord is much the same. Some years are tougher than others, but each one is a blessing from the Lord.

Exodus 40:33 says of Moses, “And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.” Moses, like Paul, did everything that God gave him to do. Before he died he handed off the baton of leadership to his protégé Joshua.

It also good to finish the year strong, serving the Lord and living for Him. This way we won’t have regrets on earth or in heaven before the Judgment Seat of Christ. In his book, “Fan the Flame,” Joe Stowell wrote, “The Greeks had a race in their Olympic Games that was unique. The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit. I want to run all the way with the flame of my torch still lit for Him.” William Culbertson, the former president of Moody Bible Institute, said, “It is important to start right, but is imperative to end well.”

May the Lord help us to finish the year well and strong. And not only this the year 2022 but all through our lives. No one knows how much time he or she has left, only the Lord does. Let us make our lives count in order to glorify the Lord to the end. Stay safe and healthy.

Running strong for our Savior,

Dean