Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-July 26, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.”

(Proverbs 13:4).

There is a vast difference between being lazy and being diligent. When we are born into this world we have an old, sinful nature. When we are born again we have a new nature. We never lose the old nature until we leave this world. The two natures are in constant opposition to one another. There are steps we can take to feed the new nature, such as prayer, reading the Word, and having fellowship with other believers. There are also things we can do to starve the old nature, such as denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Jesus.

The word diligent is defined as, “having or showing care and conscientiousness in one’s work or duties. It is characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort.” Solomon says that the diligent soul is made rich.” This is true in business, sports, education, and in all pursuits in life. Lazy people never make it, they are always missing out. Diligent people excel and exceed expectations. Diligence in our spiritual lives is even more important. To grow, to please God, and to serve Him takes diligence. Proverbs 12:24 says, “The hand of the diligent will rule. But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.”

We must challenge ourselves to strive for diligence on a daily basis lest we fall into bad habits of laziness, procrastination, and slothfulness. As soon as we let our prayers and Bible study slip or slide just a bit, we will suffer spiritually. If we aren’t going forward, we will go backward. Backsliding may be easy to spot in others, but is much harder to detect in ourselves. We must hold ourselves accountable to the Lord and to one another.

There is so much opposition and so many distractions in this world. The devil delights when we get sidetracked and detoured doing things, that in the light of eternity, just aren’t important at all. When we get to heaven we may have two regrets: what didn’t do that we should have done, and what we did that we shouldn’t have done. Why not think about this now? It is all about priorities and being diligent in the the most important things in life. If something is worth doing, it worth doing diligently and with excellence. This is especially true in serving the the Lord.

May the Lord help us to strive for diligence in all we do. Life is too short to be short-circuited by the good when we can do the better, and not letting the better keep us from the best. God has the best for those who give Him their best.

Have a blessed and diligent day for the Lord and for others. Stay safe and healthy.

Striving for diligence daily,

Dean

-July 25, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“For at that time they came to David day by day to help him, until it was a great army, like the army of God.”

(1 Chronicles 12:22).

David started off as a shepherd boy, became a mighty warrior, and was anointed as king of Israel. From the time the prophet Samuel anointed him as a teenager or young man, to the time that Judah made him king, to the time he was appointed king over all Israel was many years. He was thirty years old when he became king and reigned for forty years. He was constantly on the run for many years from King Saul who sought to kill him. God protected him and used David’s men to help him.

Many men joined David during those years and fought for him and with him. When they joined up with him, they were disgruntled, in debt, and not what anyone would call a strong, professional army. David, with God’s help turned them into a mighty, loyal army. His fighting force grew to about six hundred, and became a great army, like the army of God.

Not only were they mighty but the were fiercely loyal, extremely devoted and fully obedient to David. Amasai, one of his chief captains expressed his and their loyalty in 1 Chronicles 12:18, “…We are yours, O David; We are on your side, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you., and peace to your helpers! For your God helps you…” These men knew that God was with David helping him, and they lended their support and help to him as well.

We as believers in Christ are soldiers of the cross. We are in a spiritual battle against the devil and his evil forces. Paul wrote to Timothy, “You must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself in the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:3-4). Are you a dedicated soldier of Christ? Are you fighting the good fight of faith? Our fight is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness, and the spiritual hosts of wickedness. Our’s is a spiritual fight not a physical one. The battle is the Lord’s.

Sabine Baring-Gould wrote one of the greatest hymns on this subject, entitled, “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” The second verse says, “Like a mighty army moves the Church of God; Brothers, we are treading where the saints of God have trod, we are not divided, all one body we: one in hope and doctrine, one in charity. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.”

As believers we form a mighty army for God. The angels are also part of God’s army who are unseen. When the vast Syrian army came to capture and kill the prophet Elisha, his servant was terrified, as anyone would be. Elisha prayed and God opened his eyes to show his servant, the greater army of angels that surrounded them. Just as David led his men to victory after victory, so Jesus leads us to victory in this world. We are on His side, and He is on our side.

Have a blessed and victorious day as soldiers of Christ. We are part of the army of God. May we put on the whole armor of God and be strong and courageous. Stay safe and healthy.

In the service of our King,

Dean

-July 24, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“Him, being delivered by the predestined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death” (Acts 2:23).

“For I have determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

The word crucified is found forty times in the NT. Jesus’ purpose in coming into this world was to be crucified for us on the cross. Even before man sinned, God had the plan of salvation ready. We see that from today’s text. It was carried out according to God’s predestined purpose and the foreknowledge of God. God told the serpent, who was the devil, in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Though Christ’s death at Calvary was predestined, it did not absolve man of responsibility. Judas, the son of perdition betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver; the Jews condemned Him to death and vehemently demanded that He be crucified; Pilate ordered it to be done, and his soldiers carried it out. There are many times that people in the Bible did things that were of the Lord. God is always in control.

Not only was Jesus crucified for us, taking our place on the cross, but we have the message of the cross to share with the world. When Paul arrived at Corinth he preached Christ. He wrote, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” This message changed the world and turned it upside down.

The method of crucifixion was a long, slow, painful death. He hung on the cross six hours. He bore our sins and punishment. The cross has since become a symbol of God’s love and our deliverance. The hymn writer C. Austin Miles wrote, “They nailed my Lord upon the tree and left Him dying there; Thro’ love He suffered there for me; ‘Twas love beyond compare. Crucified! Crucified! And nailed upon the tree! With pierced hands and feet and side! For you! For me.”

May we cherish the old rugged cross until one day we exchange it for a crown. Thank God that He raised Him from the dead and He lives forever at the right hand of God. He will also one day raise us up to be with Him for all eternity. Let us like Paul to determine not know anything except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Have a blessed day of praise and worship to Jesus for the price that was paid for us on the cross. Stay safe and healthy.

In eternal joy and thankfulness,

Dean

-July 23, 2022-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

(Matthew 11:28-30).

Jesus is the answer to our every need, and the solution to our every problem. He invites whosoever to come and find rest for their souls. In life there are are many burdens, problems, difficulties, afflictions, pains, and sorrows. Our Lord never intended that we bear these things alone. All of us get weary and heavy laden, especially in our fast-paced and ever changing world. We need rest in body, but more importantly, we need rest of soul.

Though the Lord has many children, He knows each of us and our particular situation. He is our Shepherd and we are His sheep. He invites us to come and find rest for our souls. Whatever your burden, His grace is sufficient. He is so gentle and lowly of heart. He sympathizes and empathizes with us. He calls upon us to take His yoke on ourselves and learn of Him. Yokes are used to attach animals to each other to work together as one. The same is true in our spiritual lives. We must link ourself to our Savior. He will bear all the weight. He said, ‘My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

There is no greater rest than rest in Christ. The rest of sins forgiven, guilt lifted away, and peace enjoyed. Hebrews 4:9-11, says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fail according to the same example of disobedience.” As long as we live, we have this rest and will for all eternity as well.

Are you resting in Jesus? We find that peace and rest go together. There is no place for worry, anxiety, or stress. Jesus is our comforter and helper in times of trouble. He told His disciples, “Let not your hearts be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1).

Have a blessed day and weekend resting in Jesus and taking His yoke. Stay safe and healthy.

In His rest,

Dean

-July 22, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.’ So God granted him what he requested.”

(1 Chronicles 4:9-10).

This prayer is nestled in the middle of the genealogies of Judah in 1 Chronicles chapter four. We don’t know much about this man Jabez, but we do know is that he knew the Lord and sought God’s blessing to be a blessing to others. His mother named him Jabez, meaning, “he makes sorrow or height.”

His mother named him after the extraordinary pain she experienced in giving birth to him. She survived, but his name was associated with pain. This also happened to Rachel when she gave birth to Benjamin right before she died. Genesis 35:18 says, “And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.” The name Ben-Oni means “son of my sorrow.” Benjamin means, “son of the right hand.” Thank God Jacob changed his name. In our text, God turned Jabez from sorrow and pain to joy and gladness.

Jabez sought the Lord and asked for four things: that God would bless him indeed, enlarge his territory, that His hand would be on him, to keep him from evil, and that he may not cause pain. Herbert Lockyer said of him, “He asked much and obtained much. The Lord did grant things for him, whereof, surely, sorrowful was glad.” He asked God for great things, and God granted what he requested. We can never ask to much from our Lord.

• That God would bless him indeed – He wanted God’s blessing on his life. He knew that this was the only way to be a blessing to others. He was more honorable than all his brothers.

• That God would enlarge his territory – His territory was physical, but he was also thinking, I’m sure, of his spiritual territory. We live on this earth, which lies in the lap of Satan, the evil one. As believers, we need to claim the territory for the Lord in prayer for souls to be saved and saints to be edified.

• That God’s hand would be with him – God’s hand speaks of His favor, power, and presence. He wanted to please God in all he said and did. He sought the nearness of God.

• That God would keep him from evil that he may not cause pain – He wanted God’s best for his life so he could live a holy life. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Only by God’s power can we overcome evil and the evil one. Like Jabez, we don’t want to cause pain but rather be an encouragement to build up others in their faith.

This simple yet beautiful and eloquent prayer gives us the challenge to ask great things of our great God. We need His blessing to be a blessing and to follow Him in obedience and faithfulness. There is power in prayer made in Jesus’ name and according to His will.

May we pray on for God’s perfect will so we can bless others around us. Stay safe and healthy.

In asking for great things,

Dean