Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-July 16, 2022-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“Then the Lord said, ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’”

(Jonah 4:4).

The prophet Jonah was an unwilling preacher. God called him to go to Nineveh and preach the message that God’s judgment was coming and they needed to repent. Nineveh was an Assyrian city. They were enemies of Israel, and brutal ones at that. Jonah decided to hop a ship going in the opposite direction. God brought and severe storm on that ship. The men heeded Jonah when he told them to throw him overboard. The sea became calm and God caused a great sea creature to swallow him. He repented and preached at Nineveh. They all repented, from their king and nobles to all 120,000 people.

Still, Jonah was unhappy that God showed grace, mercy, and lovingkindness to the Ninevehites. In fact, he was angry. Hence, God asked him, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Our anger does not please God. It is not only a natural emotion, but it is a sin. James wrote, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

God warned Cain about this way back in Genesis. The Lord asked him, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Genesis 4:6-7). Like, Jonah, it was not right for Cain to be angry. Cain was really angry with God for rejecting his offering and accepting Abel’s. God had made it clear, sacrifices had to involve shedding of blood. He took out his anger on his brother and murdered him. Anger makes us do other terrible things. We have all been there and done that. We may not have committed murder, but we have likely said or did something in anger that hurt someone else. When we confess our sin of anger, God will forgive us, but we have to live with the consequences it has caused.

Peter got angry when the bystanders accused him of being a follower of Jesus. He cursed and swore, and denied the Lord three times. His anger sometimes gets overlooked because of his denials. There are so many instances of anger in the Bible and the disastrous results that followed.

Is it possible to be angry and not sin. Yes, it is. Tomorrow we will discuss righteous anger. How is it possible? The Bible tells us. Today, however we have been considering unrighteous anger, which is sin. Later in the book of Jonah, he got angry again when the plant God gave him to shade him from the blistering sun died. God sent a worm to damage the plant so that died. God taught him a lesson through it. God asked him, Is it right to be angry about the plant? He replied, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” Jonah, really over a plant?

Before we judge Jonah, I’d bet we have all been angry over some pretty minor things in our lives. We have been waiting for a parking spot, and just when we are about to pull in, someone else does. Road rage, taken to an extreme has caused many killings. Let us ask God for patience in dealing with people and situations. We can and should overcome it. Walking or driving away is always the best way!

Have a blessed day avoiding the angry way. Stay safe and healthy.

In God’s glorious patience,

Dean

-July 15, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”

(Psalms 37:5).

When we come before the Lord to beseech Him on any matter, great or small, our hearts should be surrendered to His perfect will. We pray for what we need, and what we think we know what is best for us. The Lord promises to give us what we need, not necessarily what we want. David says, “Commit your way,” or as it literally means, “Roll off onto the Lord.” Our Lord wants us to depend fully on Him. Jesus prayed to the Father in Matthew 26:39, “…O My Father, if it possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Jesus was fully surrendered to the Father’s will and did it completely. He went all the way to the cross and died for us. He finished the Father’s will perfectly. We must do the same. David also said, “trust also in Him.” God knows what is best for us and how things in our lives will affect us and those around us. There are things we wouldn’t choose for ourselves but God knows are best for us, now and in the future. He has the best plan for us. We wouldn’t choose a job loss, to lose a loved one, to be denied entry into our preferred college, to, to suffer pain, or any number of things. But God knows what we need, and when we need it.

I was recently leading the singing at church and in the hymnal we use, and I found this prayer of an anonymous confederate soldier. It says, “I prayed for strength that I might achieve; I was made weak that I might learn to humbly obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things; I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy, I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men [people]; I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything that I had hoped for. Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered, I am, among all men [people], most richly blessed.”

God’s ways and thoughts are always far superior to our own. He promises to “bring it to pass.” Whatever the “it” is, “it” will be the best for us. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “He who called you is faithful, who also will do it.” Let us then fully surrender to the Lord, committing everything to the Lord and trusting Him to guide and provide.

Have a blessed day seeking God’s best. Stay safe and healthy.

In dependence on Him,

Dean

-July 14, 2022

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

(Matthew 13:16-17).

John 1:10-12 says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” The religious leaders, the scribes, and the rabbis were the ones who knew the Scriptures and should have been the first to follow Him, instead they hated Him and refused Him. Instead tax collectors, harlots, and the common people of the day embraced and followed Him.

The Lord Jesus in this passage of Matthew 13 quoted from the prophet Isaiah and noted it was fulfilled at that time. The people of Israel had eyes, but they did not see, and ears, but they did not hear. Their hearts were unaffected by His coming into the world as their Messiah. When they should have received Him joyfully, instead they rejected Him flatly, in spite of the fact that He fulfilled all the OT Scriptures. The truth was right in front of them, yet they could not recognize Him. They were blind and deaf spiritually.

Everything in the OT pointed to Jesus. The law spoke Him, as did the psalms, and the prophets. The disciples were so privileged to see Him with their eyes, hear Him with their ears, and believe in in Him with their hearts. They were twelve ordinary men, just like us, yet through Jesus and by His name and power, they turned the world upside down. Their eyes and ears were indeed blessed. Simeon who had God’s promise that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Christ, was in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought in Jesus to be circumcised. He saw Him and held Him in his arms.

Jesus tells that many prophets and righteous men of old desired to see what they saw and to hear what they heard and did not; this included such illustrious company such as Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel just to name a few of them. Their prophecies pointed to Him but they did not see or hear Him in this world.

But what of us? We have not seen Him with our natural eyes nor have we heard Him with our natural ears, yet we have believed. Jesus told Thomas after His resurrection, in John 20:29, “…Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are among the blessed. Peter wrote, “Whom having not seen you love. Though you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

The disciples were with Jesus for three years, and what a blessed privilege it was, but we along with them will be with Him for all eternity. We will see Him and be like Him. for we shall see Him as He is. We are so blessed, incredibly blessed! Dear brothers and sisters, let us rejoice today with joy inexpressible and full of glory!

Have a blessed day seeing and hearing Jesus by faith. We can’t wait to see Him face to face in heaven above. Stay safe and healthy.

With blessed eyes and ears wide open,

Dean

-July 13, 2022-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

(Matthew 4:4).

Before Jesus could begin His earthly ministry He had to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness, and be tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record it. He went forty days and forty nights without food. Physically, He was at His weakest point. This is why experts do not recommend shopping when you are hungry. We tend to buy more, and more of the wrong things. Pastor and author Charles Stanley adds to the list tired, sleepy, and angry, which make for very bad conditions for making good decisions.

We know that Jesus is the Son of God and knew no sin, did no sin, and there was no sin in Him; thus the devil had no chance in this temptation. Unlike us sinners, we are prone to the devil’s attacks. The Lord used the Word of God in all three of temptations to answer the devil. He did this to show us how to use God’s Word as our greatest offensive weapon alongside prayer. All the other weapons of the armor of God are defensive.

The very first temptation is for Jesus to meet His own needs by proving His divinity and commanding that the stones be turned into bread to eat. Someone once said, “The devil is most dangerous with a Bible in his hands.” He knows the Bible better than anyone of us, and he knows how to misquote and manipulate it to serve his own purposes. Notice how the cults use a little truth sandwiched between two slices of error.

Jesus did not engage the the devil in a spiritual or theological debate, but rather said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Jesus used the Sword of the Spirit to thwart the devil. The devil tried twice more to tempt Jesus, all to no avail. Jesus answered the next two the same way using the Scriptures. The devil gave up and left Him until the time right before the cross. Jesus defeated him in the Garden of Gethsemane, and most of at the cross of Calvary.

We need to read, study, memorize, and meditate on the Word so that we can use it in times of trial and temptation. It is our strength and sustenance. Just as bread, our natural food, sustains our bodies, God’s Word sustains our souls. We can’t live without it. We are so blessed to have God’s written Word from Genesis to Revelation, which is God’s full revelation and whole counsel of God. It answers every question, meets every need, and speaks to every subject.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” It is our Guidebook in this life to instruct us and help us. Just as we wouldn’t miss a meal physically, we shouldn’t miss one spiritually either. It is even more important to our overall health. God’s Word proceeds out of His mouth to fill our hearts and minds in Christ. We may read many books, newspapers, articles on the internet, and devotionals from great writers; and they are mostly fine and good, but none can compare to the Bible. Commentaries and devotionals as good as they are, are but vitamin supplements, which can’t compare to the healthy food that we eat. God’s Word has all nutrition we need daily for our spiritual lives.

May the Lord teach us His Word and sustain and strengthen us through it. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Nourished in His eternal Word,

Dean

-July 12, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is the Lord his God.”

(Psalm 146:5).

The caption in my Bible over Psalm 146 is: “The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord.” God’s people are a happy lot. If you were to do a survey of all people, and ask them the question, “Are you happy in your life?” Many would say no. The reason is they do not have Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Their lives are in a constant flux: one day up and one day down. We are happy in Jesus day in and day out because He never changes. Very soon the population in the world will eight billion.

The Lord gives meaning and purpose to our lives. We know where we’ve come from and where we’re going to. This world is not our home, heaven is. We are just passing through. We are happy because the Lord is our help and our hope. He helps us today and gives us hope for the future. When the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon as recorded in 1 Kings 10, she saw the abundance that he had and especially the wisdom that God had given him, and it took her breath away. She remarked, “Happy are your men and happy are your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom” (1 Kings 10:8).

We are even more blessed to hear the wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave wisdom to Solomon. We are continually happy in His presence. There is a hymn that says, “Happy the home where prayer is heard and praise is everywhere, where parents love the sacred Word and its true wisdom share.” The happiest homes are those who honor and serve the Lord.

We don’t know what will happen to us today, but we can trust God and be happy. I surely don’t know how the unsaved make it in this world without Jesus. We are happy in Jesus, which is where true happiness abides and resides. Go out and be happy and do your best to make others happy too!

Have a happy and blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

In God’s eternal presence,

Dean