Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-June 16, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the other nations.’”

(1 Samuel 8:4-5).

It is very sad that the Israelites wanted to have a king like all the other nations. They pointed out that Samuel was old and his two sons did not walk in his ways. They wanted someone to lead them against their enemies, and fight their battles for them. Samuel was very displeased by their decision. The Lord told Samuel in 1 Samuel 8:7, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” They longed for a monarchy, where a king rules, instead of a theocracy, where God rules.

When we reject godly counsel and seek our own will, we are in actuality, rejecting the Lord’s will. In this case, God gave them what they wanted. He first, though, told them what life under a king would be like, for them, their wives, and their children. The king would take them as soldiers and servants, and their daughters as perfumers, cooks, and bakers; and their sons and servants to work in his fields; and would confiscate the best of their fields, groves, and vineyards. After all the warnings, they persisted and refused to obey God.

1 Samuel 8:19-20 says, “‘Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, ‘No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.’” In effect, they resisted, rejected, and refused God’s will, choosing their own will. God wants to spare us mostly from ourselves and our own poor decisions.

The Lord gave them Saul as their first king. He was tall, strong, and brave; but he was not obedient to God. God then had Samuel anoint David to replace him, but he had to wait quite a few years before Saul was killed in battle by the Philistines. Saul started very well, but ended very poorly. Because of his jealousy and paranoia, he then pursued David to kill him. The Lord protected David the whole time.

Psalm 106:5 says, “And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.” In the Bible, we are told our souls should be fat not lean. If we insist on our own will and way, we will pay a heavy price in so many ways. It may be spiritually, physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, materially, or financially.

May the Lord help us to seek and do His will and not insist on our own will and way. Have a blessed day of obedience and surrender to God. Stay safe and healthy.

In His eternal ways,

Dean

-June 15, 2022-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also.’ And the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I bear a child, since I am old?’

(Genesis 18:11-13).

Hebrews 11:11 says, “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.” Sarah was a great woman of faith. Case in point, when her promised son was born, she named him Isaac, meaning laughter. She said in Genesis 21:6-7, “…God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.’ She also said, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.’”

Sarah was ninety and Abraham one hundred when Issac, the son of the promise was born. Yes, the same Sarah who gave her maid Hagar to Abraham to bear a son outside God’s will; the same Sarah who laughed in the tent when God promised to give her a son in her advanced years. She is mentioned in Hebrews 11 as part of the the Hall of Faith. It serves to show how gracious and merciful the Lord is, and faithful to His plans.

None of us are perfect, and neither is our faith. Faith Sometimes looks at the impossibilities and laughs, and believes God. God told Sarah in Genesis 18:14, “Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” There are things that are too hard for us, but there is never anything too hard for the Lord! The greater the impossibility for us, the greater glory goes to the Lord.

Every person in Hebrews 11 had the faith to overcome great challenges, obstacles, and hardships. We can laugh at our circumstances when we know what God can do for us. Hundreds of years later, God gave Zacharias and Elizabeth a son, John the Baptist in their older years also, though they weren’t as old as Abraham and Sarah.

Let us laugh with Sarah, and trust God for miracles and great things. May we always claim God’s promises and rest our faith upon them. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-June 14. 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, ‘Samuel, Samuel!’ And Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears.’”

(1 Samuel 3:9-10).

At this time Samuel was just a young child. Hannah, his mother brought him to the tabernacle, not for a visit but to live there with Eli the priest. She had earnestly prayed for a son, and she promised to “lend him to the Lord.” After she weaned him, she brought him. She would visit each year at the time of the yearly sacrifice. She even made him clothes to wear. He was dedicated to the Lord as a Nazarite from his birth. He grew up and he became the last judge and the first prophet of Israel. In fact, he was a prophet, a priest, and a judge. Only Jesus was only other person robe all three. Samuel became a great man of God. But at this point, he was just a young boy.

As a young boy, God had not yet spoken to him. 1 Samuel 3:1 says, “Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” It also tells us is in 1 Samuel 3:7, “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.” Everything was so new to him. The Lord called to him three times, and each time he heard the Lord’s voice, but he thought that Eli was calling him.

Eli was an old man at this time, and after the third time, he perceived that the Lord was speaking to young Samuel. He tells him to wait for the Lord to call him, and to say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.” Sure enough the Lord speaks and Samuel repeats these words that Eli told him to say. God spoke to him about Eli, the wickedness of his two sons Hophni and Phinehas, and the fact that Eli had not restrained them for their sin. God had already expressed His displeasure to Eli over this matter. These sons were greedy and immoral; He had failed to deal with them properly.

We are so blessed to be living in the age of grace, after the cross. We have the Bible, God’s revelation from Genesis to Revelation. He speaks to us through the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit. It is such a blessing and so encouraging to hear His voice, though not audibly as Samuel and the prophets of old did, but in His still small voice to our hearts. He directs us just what we need to hear each day. It may be a promise, a commandment, or some application of truth to our lives in what we are going through at the time.

Our prayer should be, “Lord, please speak to my heart today, and teach me and show what I need to hear today.” God is always so faithful. The Psalmist prayed in Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes, that I might see wondrous things from Your law.” The songwriter wrote, “Open my eyes, Lord, I want to see Jesus, to reach out and touch Him and say that I love Him. Open my ears, Lord, help me to listen, open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus.” Jesus is in all the Scriptures, and we are blessed to see, hear, and learn of Him.

May the Lord speak to our hearts through His Word today. We must be still before Him so He can speak to us. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-June 13, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“But Ruth said, ‘Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.’”

(Ruth 1:16-17).

Ruth is one of the great Bible characters, and her story is both amazing and a true blessing. She was a woman of Moab who married Mahlon, the son of Elimelech and Naomi. When famine struck the land of Israel Elimelech and Naomi moved to Moab. It was a big mistake and outside of the will of God. First, Elimelech died, then their two sons Mahlon and Chilion also died. Naomi heard that God blessed Israel and decided to return to her homeland. Chilion’s widow Orpah stayed in Moab with her people and her gods, while Ruth clung to Naomi and followed her to the land of Israel, embracing her God and His people as her own.

Ruth had tremendous loyalty to Naomi, her mother-in-law, but even more to God and His people. She not only became an Israelite, but she was in the line of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. She is one of three women, along with Rahab, the mother of Boaz who married Ruth, and Bathsheba the wife of King David. Ruth, like was a foreigner saved by grace.

When Naomi gave Ruth the chance to stay in Moab, she refused in no uncertain terms as she stated in our text today. She left all her old life in Moab behind and never looked back. She is a picture of a Gentile believing in the Lord as well as a picture of the church with Boaz, a picture of Christ the Redeemer. Her life and character is one we should all emulate. She had such great determination to follow the Lord and Naomi. Ruth 1:18 says, “When she (Naomi) saw that she (Ruth) was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.” The Hebrew is literally translated, “made herself strong to go.”

Ruth uses the phrase, “I will,” three times. She says, “I will go.” “I will lodge.” And “I will die.” Oh that we as believers today would have such determination to follow and serve our Lord Jesus Christ with our whole hearts! There is so little loyalty in today’s world. May we follow the Lord with the same zeal that Ruth did. She put the old life behind her to live the new life in the Lord.

The anonymous hymn writer says, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. The world behind me, the cross before me, no turning back. Tho’ none go with me, I still will follow, no turning back. Will you decide now to follow Jesus? No turning back.” This song could have been Ruth’s song and should be our’s as well.

Boaz recognized Ruth’s character and said of her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given to you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge” (Ruth 2:11-12).

Have a blessed day following the Lord wherever He leads with loyalty, faithfulness, obedience, and determination. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-June 12, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

(Psalm 46:10).

Being still before the Lord is very difficult to do. We always think we have to go, go, go all the time. We need to stop and be still before the Lord, so that He can speak to us and direct us in His ways. We live in such a fast paced world, and it is so easy to get caught up in it. Everyone seems to be in such a hurry. Jesus told His disciples in Mark 6:31, “‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.’ For there were many coming and going, and they did not have time to eat.”

We must be still and know that He is God. He is our Lord, our Savior, our Master, and our King. If we don’t slow down to listen, He will slow us down. Mary of Bethany sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to His Word. John reclined on Jesus’ bosom and heard His voice. They shared a great love for Him and desire to spend time with Him.

Twice in our text, the Lord uses the phrase, “I will be exalted. He says, “I will exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” It is a blessing to realize that our Lord is the God of the universe. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. It doesn’t mean that everyone will be saved however. They will be forced to bow and confess. We as believers in Christ have willingly bowed the knee and confessed Him as Lord.

May the Lord help us to be still before Him and know that He is God. He is sovereign and we must trust and obey Him. Have a blessed Lord’s Day.

In His love and power,

Dean