Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-November 17, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in Him!”

(Lamentations 3:24).

Normally when we think of a portion, we think in terms of a smaller amount of the whole. There may be a portion of the pie, cake, pizza, or chicken. But with the Lord, He is the portion of His people, meaning, He is our all in all. He gives us everything and is our sufficiency now and forever. Each believer is blessed richly and abundantly. Paul wrote in Colossians 2:9-10, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of principality and power.”

In the midst of Jeremiah’s pain and anguish over the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the walls he triumphantly proclaims, “The Lord is my portion, says my soul…” The people went into captivity in Babylon for seventy years, yet he was able by the Holy Spirit to find his hope in the Lord. It is only when we look beyond ourselves and our circumstances do we find the strength to carry on. Conversely, if we lose hope, we will suffer greater pain and go down for the count.

David found this to be true in his relationship with the Lord. He wrote in Psalm 16:5-6, “O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.” We should never forget what the Lord did for us at the cross in saving our souls, as well as all the blessings and benefits we have in Christ. In dark, troubled, and perilous times we often become overwhelmed. The skies are dark and foreboding, yet the sun is still shining, though clouds block our view of it. So too, the Lord is always with us, shining upon us with His great light.

The Lord is our hope; without Him we are nothing and have nothing; but in Him we are everything and have everything. Paul said in Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” We may be down but we are never out. Discouragement may come, especially in waves over us, but nothing moves us when we are founded on Christ our Rock. We must choose to rejoice in the Lord always. Our joy is in our hearts and souls, and is based on our relationship with Him, not on our feelings or circumstances.

We can all say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I hope in Him.” May we look to the Lord today for our comfort, encouragement, and purpose. Have a blessed day in Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

In hope in our Savior we press on,

Dean

-November 16, 2022-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land.”

(Acts 27:43).

Paul along with 275 others on the ship sailing to Rome endured one of the worst storms. They all thought they would surely die, except Paul. The Lord told him that he and all those on board would survive. In Acts 27:22-25, Paul said, “And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. However we must run aground on a certain island.”

The centurion took Paul’s words as from the mouth of God. Prior to this, Paul warned them of impending disaster, but the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship to move forward on their journey to Rome. The plan was to get to Phoenix, and the harbor there so they could spent the winter there. Big mistake! This time, he does well to heed the words of Paul. It is always good to learn from our mistakes.

God was true to His promise to Paul and they reached land. The ship was destroyed but all the people were saved and they landed on the island of Malta. As they were about to crash into the sand on the beach, the soldiers on board were about to kill all prisoners so they wouldn’t escape. Praise God, the centurion wanted to save Paul and ordered those who could swim should jump overboard and swim to shore. Not one person perished.

God often uses people saved or unsaved to save, deliver, and help His people. Whether it is a government official or some “Good Samaritan.” In the OT, King Cyrus issued a decree that the Jews be allowed to return to their land after the Seventy Year captivity, and rebuild the temple on its former site, and take back all those things from the original temple that Nebuchadnezzar had taken. It mentions this in Ezra 6:3 and Isaiah 44:28.

This centurion was, like Cyrus, used by God. God can turn the hearts of people to accomplish His will and purpose. We should always be thankful that God sends us the help at just the right time. When we see with our eyes God’s deliverance, we should trust Him more and walk more by faith. This centurion took Paul safely to Rome, where he was put under house arrest and given liberty to entertain whomever he wished. The last two verses in the book of Acts say, “Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him” (Acts 28:30-31).

I trust these meditations on the centurions were a blessing to all. Thank God for His mercies and His grace throughout our lives. Stay safe and healthy.

In praise to God for His help from heaven through people on earth,

Dean

-November 15, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“And they said, ‘Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to house, and hear words from you.’”

(Acts 10:22).

Cornelius was the only named centurion in the Scriptures. He lived in Caesarea, and was a part of a Roman regiment or cohort called the “Italian Regiment.” He was a devout man who feared God, along with his whole household. He was a Gentile who gave charitable gifts generously and was well respected by all the Jews. His story is found in Acts chapter 10. He was religious but not yet saved. God knew his heart and arranged for him to meet with Peter to hear the gospel.

Whenever someone is searching and their heart is open, the Lord will bring the gospel to them. There are so many religious people who think they are saved by what they do. It is often harder to win them to Christ since they think they are good enough to get to heaven on their own. They, like all of us, must come to Christ as lost, unworthy sinners, and have a sense of their need of a Savior.

First, the Lord showed Cornelius that he needed to call Peter to speak him. Peter was not far away at this time for he was staying with a certain tanner named Simon in Joppa at his house by the sea. At the same time, God spoke to Peter to go to Cornelius. At the beginning, neither man knew what God was orchestrating. The Gentiles had not yet heard the gospel. When they met, each of them told the other what God had showed them.

Cornelius had gathered all his relatives and friends to hear from Peter. Peter preached Jesus to Cornelius and all present and they believed the gospel and got saved. The Holy Spirit came upon them and Peter baptized the first Gentile converts to Christ. Peter referring to Christ, said in Acts 10:43, “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” The Jewish brethren who had come with Peter were astonished by the conversion of the Gentiles. The door was now wide open to win them to Christ, thus bringing Jews and Gentiles into one body in Christ, the Head of the church.

Jesus had told the apostles in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” God used Peter to open things up for the Gentiles. God shows no partiality but is rich in grace and mercy to all people, Jews and Gentiles. It was to Peter, Jesus said,”And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).

Let us, like Peter, be God’s instruments to reach out to our family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers for Christ. Some will believe, others will not. Cornelius reminds me of Matthew the tax collector who gathered all his friends to hear Jesus. Cornelius was the first Gentile saved along with those he had gathered together. We have the good news for all people. Let us share it!

Have a blessed day passing on the truth. Stay safe and healthy.

Sowing the seed of the gospel,

Dean

-November 14, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened they feared greatly, saying, ‘Truly this was the Son of God.’”

(Matthew 27:54).

The events at the cross were dramatic, powerful, and unmistakable to all those present that day at the cross of Calvary. Jesus was crucified in between two thieves, one of which got saved. Today, in part two of our series on the Roman Centurions, we have an unnamed centurion, along with his men, who feared greatly and were amazed at what Jesus said and all things that took place that day. Tradition has it that the name of this particular centurion was Petronius, who made the marvelous declaration, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Luke records it, “So when the centurion saw what happened, he glorified God, saying, ‘Certainly this was a righteous Man’” (Luke 23:47).

There were many incredible things that happened that day when Jesus was crucified for our sins: the sun was darkened and darkness covered the earth for three hours, noon to 3 o’clock, one of the thieves asked Jesus to remember him when He would come into His kingdom, Jesus died much sooner than anyone had seen before, there was a great earthquake and the rocks were split, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from the top to the bottom, and the bodies of many saints were raised up and appeared to many in Jerusalem.

The centurion was at the cross to ensure that Pilate’s orders were carried out and Jesus was officially dead. He had likely witnessed many crucifixions in his career. They were all horrific but this one was far different than any of the others. Most criminals who were nailed to a cross either pleaded for mercy or cursed their executioners. Not so with Jesus. He actually asked the Father to forgive them. Luke records our Savior’s words, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). That included him, his men, the Jewish leaders, Pilate, and everyone in the world, including us. We were all guilty of His death and were represented at the cross by our sins.

Let us confess Him as Lord and live all the days of our lives for Him. He died in our place, rose again for our justification, and sits at the right hand of God. He is coming again. His first advent was to die to save us; His second advent will be to reign. The Scriptures tell us that when He returns to earth, even those who crucified Him will see Him.

No wonder why sheer terror gripped the heart of the centurion and his men. Nothing like this had ever happened before! This hardened centurion was moved by it all. His declaration was sincere and showed faith in Christ. He would never be the same again. This is just like anyone who gets saved must come to the cross and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. We have to confess we are sinners and deserving of eternal death, repent of our sins, and ask Jesus to come into our lives. Jesus was no ordinary man, He was the Son of God!

The hymn writer Isaac Watts wrote in the third stanza of his hymn, “At the Cross,” “Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut His glories in, when Christ the mighty Maker died for man the creature’s sin.” Let us marvel and be amazed! May we declare our faith in Christ.

Have a blessed day declaring Jesus as Lord and living for Him and serving Him. Stay safe and healthy.

Humbled at the cross,

Dean

-November 13, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.’”

(Matthew 8:8-9).

A Roman centurion commanded anywhere from one hundred to several hundred men. They were professional soldiers and served as a bridge between officers and enlisted men. They were well paid and held in high esteem, but they experienced high rates of injury and death during war. Their combination of wealth, power, and prestige made them influential in society.

All references to centurions are found in the NT. Interestingly, the Holy Spirit paints a very favorable picture of them. There are four significant ones we will consider over the next three days: the centurion who came to Jesus to heal his servant, the centurion at the cross, Cornelius the centurion who came to the Lord through Peter, and the centurion who saved Paul after their shipwreck and delivered him safely to Rome.

The centurion in our text today was a man of true faith in the authority and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. His servant was at home, lying paralyzed, and dreadfully tormented. He was in a very serious condition and this man pleaded with Jesus to heal him. Our Savior promised to come and heal him (See Matthew 8:5-7). This centurion showed his love and compassion for his servant.

Before Jesus could take a single step, the centurion acknowledged that he was not worthy to have Jesus come under his roof. He only asked that He speak a word, and was confident his servant would be healed. He had great faith and humility before the Lord. This is the kind of faith we need in beseeching the Lord for ourselves and others.

But he took his faith to another level by comparing his authority over the soldiers and servants under him to the authority of Christ. The Lord was amazed by his great faith. Matthew 8:10 says, “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” He then told him, “Go your way; as you have believed, so let it be done to you’” (Matthew 8:13). His servant was healed that very hour.

Do we have great faith in the authority and power of God? Do we really believe He will answer our prayers? This unnamed centurion certainly was a great example to all believers everywhere. Let us always come, believe, and trust in Him. He will answer us.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day putting our faith into practice. Stay safe and healthy.

In believing and receiving from Jesus,

Dean