Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-December 2, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. When He entered this world, He was fully God and fully man. He is called the Word of God. The Bible is the written Word and Jesus is the Living Word. He combined perfect deity and perfect humanity in His one glorious Person. Because He was sinless, He became our Substitute and died on the cross for our sins.

From the cradle, to the cross, from the grave to the sky. Our Savior is now seated at the right hand of God. The world sees Jesus just as a baby. His mission was to seek and to save that which was lost. John’s purpose in writing his gospel is beautifully stated in John 20:30-31, “And truly Jesus did many signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Mark Lowry and Buddy Green wrote that beautiful song entitled, “Mary, Did You Know.” One of the lines says, “Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary, did know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb? That sleeping child you’re holding is the great, I am.” Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.

Let us then draw near to Jesus, the Living Word and worship Him for who He is and what He has done for us. May we say with the hymn writer, O come let us adore Him. O come let us adore Him. O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.” Have a blessed day and Christmas season. Stay safe and healthy.

Worshipping our King and our Redeemer,

Dean

-December 1, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive a bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23).

The virgin birth of Christ is one of greatest miracles in all the Bible, along with the resurrection. Both serve as strong pillars of the faith. Detractors, skeptics, atheists, and opponents of Christianity have long sought to disprove them, only to fail miserably. If they could be destroyed, Christianity will crumble into the dust.

The virgin birth as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before, was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. Only God could do such a great miracle. Things which are impossible to mankind, are possible with God. The angel appeared to Joseph and commanded him to take Mary as his wife. Matthew 1:24-25 says, “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”

The name Immanuel means, “God with us. This is one of the titles of the Messiah, and it speaks of how Jesus the Son of God came down from from heaven to dwell among men. His name was called Jesus, meaning, “Savior.” Immanuel speaks of how He came, and Jesus tells us why He came: to save us from our sins.

In the case of the virgin birth, man was not involved in any way. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The word conceived is literally means “begotten.” Jesus was God’s only begotten Son. It is His wonderful and miraculous birth that we celebrate on Christmas. We rejoice in His coming into the world with every Christmas tree, with every gift, and with all the bright, beautiful lights. Christmas is a season of giving as we remember how God gave His Son to save us. Christmas is the only holiday where it is celebrated over a period of a whole month, not just a single day.

John 1:13 says of those who receive Christ, “who were born, not of blood, nor the will of man, but of God.” Jesus was born into the world completely from God and not of man. No human could have ever devised such an incredible plan for man! The hymn writer wrote, “O Come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

Let us rejoice and give thanks to God that Jesus came to dwell among us and save us. Jesus is the reason for the season. May we have a blessed and wonderful Christmas. Stay safe and healthy.

O what a Savior we have,

Dean

-November 30, 2022-

Good morning happy Wednesday,

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give to the congregation and their animals’” (Numbers 20:7-8).

“Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank” (Numbers 20:11).

Moses was a great leader and in this one occasion he disobeyed the Lord and did not hallow God before the Israelites. He struck the rod twice in anger. Because of this, God did allow Him to enter the Promised. God permitted him to see the land before he died east of the Jordan River. God even told not to ask about this matter again, the answer was no. It was Joshua who led them into the land of Canaan.

God knows best and is sovereign. When says no, the answer is no. It is not a maybe or a we’ll see. It is a no. We should not try to turn God no’s into yeses. Paul prayed three times that his thorn in the flesh be removed and God in affect said no, but instead gave him sufficient grace to bear it. The eleven apostles chose two men to be finalists to take the place of Judas and sought God’s guidance. The answer was yes for Matthias and no for Joseph called Barsabas, also known as Justis. The latter didn’t complain or sulk, but went on to serve the Lord faithfully in a different role.

Just as God’s delays are not denials, so His no’s just mean He has a different and better plan for us. He has His reasons. We may not find out the reasons until we get to heaven. Other times, we clearly see why we didn’t get the house, or job, or promotion.

Let us not be discouraged when God says no, but instead thank Him and trust Him. Something will be coming down the road that will be perfect for us. He always wants the best for us.

Have a blessed day trusting the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

Accepting God’s answers, yes, no, or wait,

Dean

-November 29, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.”

(Psalm 40:1).

One of the hardest things to do is to wait on the Lord for His answers. We often get impatient, anxious, and worried when we wait. There is actually more lessons and growth in the waiting than in the receiving. God’s timing is totally different than ours. He has a plan for us that is just right. He knows the future and all the ramifications that we cannot possibly know. He never makes mistakes nor does He ever fail.

The first instance of waiting on the Lord in the Bible is Noah in the Ark. The flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights. Then it took 150 days for all the water to recede from the earth. He first sent out a raven which flew back and forth over the earth. He also sent out a dove. She returned to him the first time because the waters hadn’t receded yet. He waited 7 more days and sent her out again. This time she returned with a freshly picked olive leaf in her mouth. He knew that the earth had dried fully. He sent out her one more time but she never returned.

Many men and women in Scriptures waited on the Lord and found Him to be always faithful. The Israelites had to wait 40 years journeying in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. There are times when we must wait days, weeks, months, or even years. We want things to happen right away, but like fruit on a tree, it must be ripe. If you pick a fruit before it is ripe you can ruin it. It won’t be edible. So too, if we don’t wait for and on the Lord but take matters into our own hands it will never be good.

Waiting always requires faith, patience, and hope. Our desire should also be to have God’s perfect will. When God’s answer is not a yes or a no, it is a wait. God’s delays are not God’s denials. It is just a matter of the timing. He prepares the people and circumstances before bringing us the perfect answer.

Let us then take courage and wait on and for the Lord. He has the best planned for us. Have a blessed day as we patiently wait. Stay safe and healthy.

Waiting on the Lord,

Dean

-November 28, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, ‘Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.’ And he departed and went to another place.”

(Acts 12:16-17).

The early saints met together in Jerusalem for a prayer meeting at the home of Mary the mother of John Mark. Acts 12:5 says, “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” We gather from this that the main focus of the prayer meeting was to pray for Peter whom Herod put in prison for his proclamation of the gospel. He planned to put him to death the next day just as he had the Apostle James with a sword. It was an urgent, critical need.

An angel appeared to Peter in the prison, woke him up, and brought him out to freedom. It was a miraculous deliverance. We know with confidence that God hears and answers prayer. The only problem was that when Peter knocked at the door of the house, a girl named Rhoda recognized his voice but didn’t open the door. Those attending didn’t believe it could be Peter, but after she insisted it was he, they opened the door and it sure enough it was Peter! They were astonished!

God answered their prayers even while they were praying for him. We should never be surprised that God answers our prayers. When we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus, according to His will, and have faith, God will answer. Sad to say prayer meetings at many churches are a thing of the past. We have a Men’s prayer meeting on Wednesday nights while the women have their Bible study. We have a couple who maintains the prayer list, keeping it up to date. We also send out calls to the members of urgent needs during the week. The whole church prayed for me during my hospitalization and surgery to insert a pacemaker. I was back at church yesterday and everyone rejoiced.

Let us then come boldly to the throne of grace to make our needs and concerns known to the Lord. It is always good to thank the Lord in advance that He will answer us. When we believe, we will receive; when we ask, it will be given to us; when we seek, we will find; and when we knock the door will be opened to us. The Lord delights to answer our prayers.

Have a blessed day, praying and expecting God to answer. God still does miracles today. Stay safe and healthy.

Praying in faith,

Dean