Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-May 17, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’”

(Numbers 13:30).

Moses sent out twelve spies, one from each tribe, to check out the land of Canaan before going in to possess it. They brought back a huge branch of grapes that two of them had to carry with pole, as well as some pomegranates and figs. All twelve concluded that it was a land flowing with milk and and honey. That is where their consensus ended. Ten of the twelve focused on the strength of the people of the land. They saw giants and concluded that taking this land was impossible. The other two, Joshua and Caleb instead focused on God’s power to give them the victory.

Caleb quieted the people before Moses. He could see how his ten brethren were discouraging all the people with their talk of their enemies: the people of Anak, the Amalekites, the Hittites, Jebusites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites. They saw giants, fortified cities, and many powerful foes.

Caleb and Joshua had faith in the Lord. After all, God had promised them this land. The ten spies saw the obstacles, but Joshua and Caleb saw the opportunities for victory. Caleb said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” He and Joshua believed God, trusted fully in him, and were willing to fight their enemies in God’s strength. While others saw giants in the land, they saw their giant God who was greater than all. Those who are saved and fully committed to Christ will always be in the minority; And there will always be doubters, skeptics, and naysayers.

Like Caleb and Joshua, we must say, “I can’t but God can.” Our God is the God of the impossible. There is nothing He cannot do. He gives us the victory and helps us to be overcomers. Zechariah 4:6 says, “This the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.’” God reminds us today that it is His power through our weakness. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The key of course is it must be through Christ who strengthens us.

Are you an overcomer? Or do you let your circumstances overcome you? By faith we must call upon the Lord and trust in Him. John wrote, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this the victory that overcomes the world—our faith.” Our enemies are powerful: the world, the flesh, and devil, yet Christ defeated them in the cross; our obstacles seem insurmountable and impossible, but God is able to help us “well overcome them.” It may be a bad habit, an impossible situation, an illness, an accident, or an injury. We must face these things head on by faith trusting in God’s help.

Caleb wanted them to go up against their enemies right then. There was no question or hesitation, he said, “Let us go up at once and take possession.” He was ready. Passengers on Flight 97 on 9/11/2001 brought down the plane so it could not hurt anyone else. They fought courageously to their death. One said, “Let’s roll.” May the Lord give us the faith and courage to fight no matter the odds against us.

Have a blessed day being overcomers by the power of God. We are well able to overcome it, whatever the “it” is in our lives. Stay safe and healthy.

In His mighty power,

Dean

-May 16, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard of it, and His anger burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.”

(Numbers 11:1).

God had been so good to the Israelites. He had delivered them from their bondage to Egypt, parted the Red Sea so that they could pass through on dry ground, and drown Pharaoh and his pursuing army. And not only that but He provided water for them out of the rock to drink, manna and quail for them to eat, gave them victory for Og king of Bashan, Sihon king of the Amorites, and the Amalekites. Still, they murmured and complained against the Lord and His servant Moses.

Are we any different? The Lord saved us from our sins, gave us eternal life, a home in heaven, all spiritual blessings in Christ, all things that pertain to life and godliness, and an inheritance reserved for us in heaven. Instead being thankful, we complain. It is always either too hot or not hot enough; it is either too cold or not cold enough; we either have no job or we don’t like that job we do have; our homes are either too big or too small; our cars are either too old or have too many miles; we are still single or we are married and not satisfied; we either have no kids or the ones we have seemed to always get into something bad.

When Israel complained, God was displeased and angry with them. The word complain is defined as, “To express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something.” We never feel we have enough. We ask, “Why am I not blessed like so and so?” We forget that each of us unique. God has blessed us so much, and we have so many things to be thankful for. The grass always looks greener on the other side until we try it and find it worse not better. Satan often colors the brown, dry grass of this world green to make it seem so desirable to us.

The answer to overcoming complaining is to be content with what we have and thankful for all that the Lord has given us. God has been so good to us and has given so much to us. He sometimes tests us by taking something away from us, either temporarily or permanently, to see how we will respond. Will we still be joyful and thankful? Or will we complain and be disappointed or discouraged?

Paul warned us in 1 Corinthians 10:9-11, “nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of those also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” It is so easy to complain, and it seems some people are never happy unless they have something to complain about. It should be the other way around for us, as believers we shouldn’t be happy unless we find something good to thank God for.

Today’s verse shows that God hears our complaints and is not happy about them, in fact, He is displeased and angry. When we complain we show we don’t appreciate what He has done for us and has given to us. Instead let us joyfully give thanks, be content, and not take God’s blessings for granted.

Have a blessed day being thankful for the little or the much, not complaining. Stay safe and healthy.

In His abundant blessings,

Dean

-May 15, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

(Hebrews 13:15).

Hebrews 13 concerns many practical matters in the Christian life. Today’s verse is especially helpful to remind us to praise God continually, especially as we gather to remember, worship, praise, and thank Him. The last several psalms, 147-150, mention praise many times. In fact, the psalmist mentions the word praise 12 times in Psalm 150 in just 6 verses. Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”

We can praise the Lord silently in our hearts, but there is something special about public praise and worship among God’s people. The word praise is found some 267 times in the Bible. Our praise is the fruit of our lips that comes from our hearts. We sing His praise with our voices, accompanied by musical instruments. If we don’t praise Him, the stones will cry out. Praising God is something that we will do for all eternity.

We don’t have to be at church to praise the Lord for what He has done for us. We can praise and thank Him while working, driving, serving, praying, reading the Word, or doing just about anything. When we praise and thank the Lord, we are showing our reliance on Him and our appreciation of Him. Praise is both a privilege and responsibility. He is so worthy.

There is a beautiful song that we sing in our Worship Team that says, “We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. We bring the the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord; and we offer up to You the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and we offer up to You, the sacrifices of praise.” Let us overflow with praise to our Lord Jesus Christ for all He has done for us on the cross and in countless other things as well.

Have a blessed day praising and thanking God. Stay safe and healthy.

In eternal praise all our days,

Dean

-May 14, 2022-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait I say on the Lord!”

(Psalm 27:14).

David wrote Psalm 27. The title of this psalm in my Bible is: “An Exuberant Declaration of Faith.” The word exuberant is defined as, “filled with or characterized by a lively energy and excitement.” Normally when we get excited about something, it is harder to wait. But when when we have faith coupled with patience, God comes through for us in His timing and according to His will.

Twice in today’s text, the psalmist says to “wait on the Lord.” In order to wait patiently on the Lord we need courage and strength. Most of us by nature aren’t patience, we must learn it from the Lord. The first part of the verse first says, “Wait on the Lord,” which can be rendered, “Wait in faith on the Lord.” The more we wait in faith and patience, the stronger we get in the Lord. James wrote in James 1:3, “Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” We may think we are patient, but we will never know how patient we are until we are tested.

The old saying is so true, “Haste makes waste.” when we get in a hurry we often make ill-advised decisions; but when we wait patiently on the Lord with faith, He will guide us in the right way. We always want things right away, but God is not on our timetable. He is our Father and He knows best. We need patience every day of our lives in so many situations. Sometimes God has to slow down, and occasionally He has to speed us up if we are fearful or apprehensive. Each step we take, we walk by faith not by sight. We can’t go by our feelings.

May the Lord help us to wait in faith and patience, trusting in Him. God appoints but He doesn’t disappoint. Let us go forward no matter what our circumstances may be. The longer we wait, the greater the joy with God’s answers.

Have a blessed day walking in patience and faith, waiting on the Lord. The waiting process, though difficult pays eternal dividends. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-May 13, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.”

(Revelation 11:15).

The Book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible, and is the only book in the Bible entirely devoted to prophecy. It is also the only book that specifically gives a blessing for reading and obeying it. Revelation 1:3 says, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. Revelation is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is one revelation and should not be called Revelations, but Revelation. It is the culmination of God’s redemptive work and judgment on all those who have rejected Christ.

Revelation is also the only book in the Bible with a warning not to add to it nor take way from it, though that is true of all the Scriptures. John wrote, “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the the holy city, and from the things written in this book” (Revelation 22:18-19).

Revelation is thus vital for believer in Jesus. It is important to read it, understand it, and obey it. A proper understanding of prophecy helps us live godly and holy lives now and gives us a great hope for our future as well. Today’s verse can perhaps be considered the key verse in the book. It is also found right about the middle of the book. There are three great judgments that God will pour out on the people of the earth during the Great Tribulation: Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls, each coming with increasing severity.

John wrote, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ…” God will fulfill His word spoken in Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand till I will make Your enemies Your footstool.” The Lord Jesus Christ, our risen Savior, is seated at the right hand of God awaiting the time He will come again in power and glory. There are many kingdoms in this world, and all are presently under the control of the devil. He is the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the prince of darkness. He was defeated at the cross but he continues to fight until God the day God will cast him into the lake of fire, where all the unsaved will end up also.

After the tribulation, also called Jacob’s trouble, Jesus will come to rule the nations for 1,000 years. Then the Great White Throne judgment will take place. All unbelievers from all time will stand before God and be judged, and the sentence of eternal death or as it is called the second death, will be meted out. We as believers will not be judged because Jesus bore our sins and the wrath of God on the cross.

We are sons of the kingdom of God. Christ is our King and we are His subjects. We rejoice that, “He shall reign forever and ever.” We will praise Him, worship Him, and thank Him for all eternity in His presence in glory. We will sing, we will bow down, and we will serve Him forever. Oh, what a day of rejoicing that will be!

Let us live our lives now submitting to the authority of Christ and His Word, praising, worshiping, and thanking Him for who He is and what He has done for us. We are sinners saved by grace. Everything that belongs to Christ, belongs to us. We are so incredibly blessed, and thus we should be eternally thankful.

Have a blessed day thanking God and living for Him and serving Him until He comes to take us home to heaven. Stay safe and healthy.

In His eternal kingdom,

Dean