Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-July 1, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”

(Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Life is more than a random series of events dependent on fate, luck, or chance. God is still on the throne and will bring to pass His plan and purposes no matter what man may do. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are confident that His word and promises will come to fulfillment. In the days of Solomon, he said in 1 Kings 8:56, “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses.”

God made four seasons for the earth: winter, spring, summer, and fall. These will never change as long as earth continues. Genesis 8:22 says, “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” Each season has its unique features for all God’s creatures. Life moves on, even as many are born and many die. God’s offer of salvation, eternal life, and the forgiveness of sins through Jesus is always available to whosoever comes to Him in saving faith.

Jeremiah 8:20 tells us, “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved!” People put off getting saved and right with God thinking they have time. That is the greatest scam of the devil. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 remind us, “Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.”

For us as Christians, life also has seasons. There are seasons of pain, seasons of sorrow, seasons of trial; as well as seasons of great joy and blessing. Which season are you in today? As we transient this earth we pass through them all. The Lord is always with us through them all. The hymn writer Andre Crouch wrote, “Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God; Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.”

There are just two seasons for the child and servant of God: in season and out of season. Paul told Timothy, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). Sometimes in life things are favorable and open doors abound. Be ready then in season. Other times, things are not so easy, there are obstacles and hardships to overcome. These times are out of season. We must press on in season and out of season. We can’t go by our feelings but we walk by faith not by sight.

Since everything has a time and purpose, God shows us what to do and what to say. He wants to use us for His glory so that His power can be manifested through our weakness.

Have a beautiful and blessed day in whatever season you are in. Stay safe and healthy.

In His service in all seasons, in season and out of season,

Dean

-June 30, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

(Hebrews 12:2).

Jesus, our Lord and Savior came to earth to die on the cross to save us from our sins and give us eternal life. He did the Father’s will and completed the task. Thus, He is the author and finisher of our faith. As author He wrote the plan of salvation and as finisher He carried it out. Four times in the Book of Revelation, He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”

The writer of Hebrews wrote, “Looking unto Jesus.” He is our example, our help, and hope. We must keep our eyes on Him in order to overcome our obstacles and be victorious. The hymn writer wrote, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

• Jesus Is Our Example – He endured the greatest suffering on the cross, but carried it through to the end. We often feel we can’t make it another step, the burden is too great, and the pain too intense. We must then look to Jesus as our example. 1Peter 2:21 says, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.” He endured without complaint or fighting back.

• Jesus Is Our Help – We are weak, finite, human beings. We need His help, strength, and wisdom in facing whatever comes our way. We can rest in the assurance that He is with us and will provide us the sufficient grace at just the needed time. The Lord told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “…My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’” We look to Jesus who is our help.

• Jesus Is Our Hope – No one can survive without hope. People give up completely without hope. Romans 15:13 says, “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 look in hope to the One who is our hope. Hope in the future gives us encouragement in the present.

May we continually look to Jesus and fix our eyes on Him. The more we are attracted to Him, the less attractive the world will be to us. Have a blessed day looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Stay safe and healthy.

Looking up to our Lord and Savior,

Dean

-June 29, 2022-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”

(Colossians 2:6).

Paul in his epistle to the Colossians describes the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head of the church. In every religion there is a founder and leader. In each case, they have all died and their bones are in the grave. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. He is alive and is seated at the right hand of God, and He is coming again.

Because Jesus lives, we live with Him. We who have received Him as Lord are to walk in Him. The term walk is found so many times throughout the NT, which refers to living our lives. Here a few verses to show how we are to walk in Jesus:

Walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4); Walk according to the Spirit (Romans 8:1, 4); Walk properly (Romans 13:13); Walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7); Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16); Walk worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1); Walk in love (Ephesians 5:2); Walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8); Walk circumspectly (Ephesians 5:15); Walk worthy of the Lord (Colossians 1:10); Walk in wisdom (Colossians 4:5); Walk just as He walked (1 John 2:6); Walk in His commandments (2 John 1:6); and Walk in the truth (3 John 1:3,4).

As believers, we never walk alone when we walk with Jesus. We may live alone, work alone, and be alone, but with Christ we are not lonely. As we can see from all the verses on walking, we have a rich and full life in Christ. He leads us and we follow Him. We begin the journey the moment we get saved and it will not end until we get to heaven, even though eternity has no end. The best way to see the sights is to walk; and the best way to get to know someone is to walk with them. The same is true of walking with Jesus.

Doctors and healthcare professionals tell us that walking is the best form of exercise. I love to walk. The best walk is to walk with Jesus every day.

Have a blessed day walking in and with Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

In His steps,

Dean

-June 28, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.”

(Romans 14:12).

Our first stop when we get to heaven will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ; not be be judged for our sins, which are cleansed and forgiven through the blood of Christ; but to be reviewed and evaluated for our service for our Lord. We will receive crowns for our faithfulness to our Savior. Paul includes himself with all believers as appearing before the Lord who knows all that we have said and done, every attitude, every motive, and every desire. The Greek word for judgment seat is bema. The Christians in Paul’s day were familiar with the Romans judgment seat where decisions were decreed from.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” This should motivate us to be more committed, surrendered, obedient, and faithful in our service for Christ. Our review by the Lord will be just between him and each believer privately, much like an earthly boss does with his employees.

Paul goes into great detail on this evaluation in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which has has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet through fire.” Paul is careful to show that note that no one will lose their salvation over bad results.

Jesus tests our works, some will be gold, silver, and precious stones. Others, will be wood, hay, and straw. The fire exposes, reveals, and refines our works. Those works which we did in Jesus’ name and for His glory, result in rewards; on the other hand, wood, hay, and straw are extremely flammable and will be burned. We won’t remember everything we did, but our Lord will. Perhaps some things we did we thought were great, will be burned, and some things that we thought we were so small or insignificant, we will receive rewards for them.

The Lord in affect, tells us ahead so we can be prepared. He wants all of us to have many crowns to lay at His feet. Any crowns we receive will be because of Him and with His help. The Lord shows perfect justice and there will be no room for debate or discussion. John in describing Jesus in Revelation 1:13-16, says that “His eyes are like a flame of fire.” His eyes will see right through us. The judgment seat of Christ will involve review and reward, gain or loss, joy or sorrow.

How then should we thus live for Jesus and serve Him on earth? We must be sincere and genuine in all we do. Now is not the time to judge others, but it is high time we judged ourselves in the light of the Scriptures. The Bible is our textbook for living. We will have no regrets at the judgment seat, if our service for Him is full and complete.

Have a blessed day serving the Lord, in His name and for His glory, not our own. Stay safe and healthy.

In His eternal service,

Dean

-June 27, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it will soon be cut off. So teach us to number our days, that we gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:10; Psalm 90:12).

“Oh, satisfy us with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:16).

Psalm 90 is entitled, “The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty.” It is a prayer of Moses the man of God. This is the only Psalm written by Moses and is so encouraging. We have much about Moses in Scripture, mostly in Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, His legacy as a man of God and leader of Israel is clear and unequivocal. He lived a good, long life of one hundred twenty years. God chose the day of his death, just as He does with us as well. In fact, God buried him on Mount Nebo. To this day, no one knows the exact spit where God buried him.

Deuteronomy 33:7 says, “Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.” This is amazing. Spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally, he still had all his strength and facilities. He represents all in the Bible who die and go to be with the Lord. Enoch and Elijah represent those who are raptured and are taken up to heaven without dying.

Our text today shows the average life span of a person to be seventy, but if one has strength, perhaps one can reach eighty. Only God knows how long each of us will live on this earth. One thing we know, it is so short compared to eternity. The quality of life is way more important than the quantity! The way to success and victory is to number our days and present to God a heart of wisdom. It is vital that we live for the Lord one day at a time. Life is not only short, but it is also very challenging and difficult. Moses says our lives are full of labor and sorrow.

Today, I have reached my 65th birthday. God has greatly blessed me and I am very thankful. I often think that I am too young to be old, and too old to be young. I am now enrolled in Medicare but am even more thankful for God’s care. I just want to live my remaining days for His glory and serve Him every day. Moses rightly said, “Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” In bad times and in good times, we must choose to rejoice in the Lord. Life in Christ is far better when we do.

I remembered a TV show, entitled, “Days of Our Lives.” It is what we call a daytime drama or soap opera. It is a continuing series. I looked it up and found out is is still on the air after fifty seven years! It began in 1965 and is almost as old as I am! I never watched it but I do appreciate it for its longevity. I do remember its famous hour glass with the sand flowing from the top half to the bottom half. No one knows how much sand is left. How true it is of our lives.

Have a blessed day making the most of the days of our lives. May the Lord give us good days to serve Him in good ways. Stay safe and healthy.

In His service day by day,

Dean