Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-August 30, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

(Colossians 1:10).

Yesterday in part one, we contemplated being profitable; today, in part two, we will consider being productive. When we think of productive we think in terms of fruitfulness and success. Jesus wants us to be productive for His glory. In society, politicians, athletes, coaches, workers, CEO’s, and everyone else must produce good results in order to keep their positions. Even presidents must answer to the voters and produce or they will not be re-elected.

Jesus is not a harsh master, but He expects us to be productive for the kingdom of God. He told the parable of the talents to His disciples to illustrate this in Matthew 25:14-29. The master was traveling to a far country and upon his departure, he entrusted five talents to one servant, two to the second, and one to the third, giving to each according to his ability. The first one went off and traded with others and made five more talents; the second did likewise, and made two more talents; but the third one who had one talent buried his talent in the ground.

Upon the master’s return, he commended the first two servants for being productive with his talents. He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” However, he criticized the third servant for being wicked and lazy. He could have used the one talent by depositing it in the bank and at least made interest on it.

The first two servants were productive, the third one was not. The Lord wants us to bear much fruit. Jesus speaking in John 15:5 said to His disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can nothing.” Let us be productive for the Lord. We are like fruit trees that bring forth a good crop consistently. We don’t want to just take up space, which is a waste. We want to be fruitful not fruitless, productive not unproductive. Let us pray: “Lord, in every word that we say, every thing that we do, may we honor and glorify You.”

Have a blessed and productive day in living for and serving Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

In serving the Greatest Master with what He has given us,

Dean

-August 29, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Can a man be profitable to God, though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?”

(Job 22:2).

Today we begin a three-part series on being useful to God: to do so we must be profitable, productive, and prosperous. When I retired in January 2020, just before the pandemic struck us, I made it my goal to be profitable, productive, and prosperous each day. I keep very busy and utilize a to do list, always subject to the will of God.

Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends, asked a great question: “Can a man be profitable to God? Yes, it is possible as long as we are saved, living fully for the Lord, and serving Him faithfully. The problem is we let earthly things interfere with this. Anything we do that is not profitable, I would call a “time waster.” It may be watching TV, surfing the Web, or otherwise killing time doing meaningless or useless things. We all do this at some times and to some degree.

To be profitable to God and others, we must seek to be a blessing. Prayer, reading the Word and good devotionals, witnessing to the unsaved, sharing our testimony, helping others in need, giving of our time, money, and effort, and going to church are all excellent uses of our time. It can be in small things or in big things. We should think back on our day at night at bedtime and ask ourselves, “Was my day profitable for God and others?” If today wasn’t as profitable as we would like it to have been, we can resolve to better tomorrow if God gives us another day.

When Paul was in prison, he met a young runaway slave named Onesimus, who had run away from Philemon, one of Paul’s good friends. Paul won him to the Lord and he served and helped Paul very much. Paul sent him back to Philemon. Paul told Philemon, “I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but is now profitable to you and me” (Philemon 1:10-11).

Before we were saved we were unprofitable to God, but now we are profitable, but we must make ourselves available to Christ. The Lord Jesus will evaluate us at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is not a judgment for our sins, for they are forgiven and under the blood; but a review where He will reward us for our faithful service. Let us then be profitable to God and others, not letting “time wasters” interfere in our heavenly calling. We should be profitable at home, work, church, or wherever we go.

Have a blessed and profitable day,

Dean

-August 28, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“Now from sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”

(Matthew 27:45-46).

Today’s text is very familiar to most all of us. It is one of the last statements that Jesus spoke while on the cross. It is a direct quote from Psalm 22:1. It shows the deep agony He suffered by being forsaken by God on the cross. He was innocent, sinless, and undefiled, yet God forsook Him because of our sin. We are the ones deserving of being forsaken and separated from God forever.

God cannot look at sin, so He turned His back on the Son while He died for our sins and became sin for us. The spiritual sufferings that our Savior went through were worse and more painful than the physical pain He went through. It is a proven fact, even in the medical community that spiritual, mental, and emotional pain are more intense than the physical. Often, the non physical pain lasts longer and leaves deeper scars on the soul.

Jesus knew what He would suffer on the cross. He prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane that this cup of judgment would pass from Him yet, yet that the will of the Father would be done. There was no other way to pay the penalty of our sins. There is a classic Christian song by Chris Tomlin that says, “l’m forgiven because You were forsaken, l’m accepted, You were condemned. I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within Me, because You died and rose again. Amazing love how can it be that You, my King would die for me. Amazing love, I know it’s true, it’s my joy to honor You. Amazing love how can it be? That You my King would die for me. Amazing love I know it’s true, it’s my joy to honor You, in all I do, I honor You.”

There was complete darkness over all the land from the sixth hour (noon) to the ninth hour (3:00 pm). This was at the height of His suffering. No human eye could see it. Jesus paid it all, our sin debt in full. Now we are forgiven, set free, and have eternal life through His substitutionary death on the cross. Let us remember Him, praise Him, thank Him, and worship Him.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day,

Dean

-August 27, 2022-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Salvation is freely given to us as a free gift from God. None of us deserve it, nor can we work for it. All we must do is believe that Jesus died for us, in our place and for our sins. It wasn’t free for Him. He gave His life and shed His bled. But is free to us. It is all by God’s mercy and grace.

Everyone likes to receive gifts. We know the difference between wages one earns and gifts one receives. We insult the giver when we try to pay for a gift. In the margin of Romans 6:23 the word gift can be translated as, “free gift.” Every person must decide to receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

No one can boast about this gift, for we don’t deserve it; but we must thank God for it. Most things in life are not free. There is usually some cost, some strings attached. Not so with the gift of salvation. Isaiah 55:1-2 says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.”

Let us rejoice in the free gift of salvation and eternal life! We are so blessed and should thank Him every day for what He has done for us. Have a blessed day.

In His eternal love,

Dean 

-August 26, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psalm 119:165).

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

The Word of God gives us great peace at all times, even when times are not so great. God’s promises encourage us, His principles guide us, and His precepts challenge us. We love the Lord and His Word.

There are many things in this world that could cause us to stumble, and that is why we need to read, study, and meditate on the Word on a daily basis. When we do, we won’t stumble. The phrase, “nothing causes them to stumble,” literally means, “they have no stumbling block.” Our Lord Jesus Christ is our Chief Cornerstone, the Rock of Ages. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

As children of God we have peace with God. We also experience the peace of God when we pray and surrender everything to the Lord. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

There is great peace for us in these great pillars of the Word of God and prayer. They give us stability, strength, and structure in our lives. Nothing will move us. Let us trust the Lord no matter what happens to us today. Someone said, “No Jesus, no peace; know Jesus, know peace.”

Have a blessed day of peace through the Word and prayer. Stay safe and healthy.

In His glorious peace,

Dean