Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-April 12, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”

(Acts 19:20).

The Holy Spirit energized, empowered, enlightened the Word of God. Thus souls were saved and lives were changed. There was a spirit of the holiness and righteousness of God in the lives of the believers in the early church. The context of this passage is when many of those who got saved brought their magic books and burned them in the sight of all. They decided to follow Jesus no turning back.

Repentance always precedes revival. The saints wanted nothing to do with their old life. The total price of the Satanic magic books was fifty thousand pieces of silver. Luke wrote, “So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” Nothing can derail the power of God except sin and unbelief. When we are obedient to the Word, God will have His will and way in our lives.

Acts 12:24 says, “But the word of God grew and multiplied.” This verse followed the death of Herod who gave an oration and the people shouted, “The voice of a god and not a man.” God struck him and he was eaten by worms because he did not give glory to God. He should have corrected them and did not.

If we want God’s Word to grow mightily and prevail, we must do our part in prayer and in adherence to the Scriptures in our lives. Paul said in Acts 20:32, “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” May we obey and spread the Word far and wide, with Jesus as our constant Guide.

Have a blessed day spreading the Word triumphantly. Stay safe and healthy.

In His gracious Word,

Dean

-April 11, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Then the news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.”

(Acts 11:22-23).

The apostles were called to serve in Jerusalem and they were aware of the work the Holy Spirit was doing among the Gentiles in many cities. Many people were being saved. They desired to send out one of their servants, Barnabas, to go to Antioch to check on the saints and encourage them in the Lord. What better person could they send out than the one who they called the Son of Encouragement.”

Acts 4:36-37 says of this dear man of God, “And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” He not only preached and taught the Word, but he lived the truth in his life and set a godly example before the believers. His real name was Joses or Joseph, meaning “Consolation.”

Barnabas character was outstanding and he was a godly man and servant. He is further described in Acts 11:24, “For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith…” How would you like to be described this way? He sought out Paul and they became a great missionary team, winning souls to Christ, establishing churches, and teaching the Word. The Lord said of them, “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit, said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I called them” (Acts 13:2).

The lesson for all of us is to be positive and encourage others. Everyone needs encouragement and being encouragers is something all of us can do. We represent the Lord Jesus Christ wherever we go: at home, at church, at school, at work. The best way to encourage others to value and appreciate them for what they do. Paul also did this with so many people. I am sure the Barnabas encouraged Paul, and Paul encouraged Barnabas. With all the bad things happening in the world, we need people like Barnabas, now more than ever.

May the Lord help us to be encouragers. It just takes commitment and effort, with love for others. It can be verbal or non-verbal, it can be spoken or written, and it may be to one person or many at one time. When we make ourselves available, He will make us useful.

Have a blessed day encouraging others, and you will find that God will use others to encourage you. Stay safe and healthy.

In His eternal love and comfort,

Dean

-April 10, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

(Acts 2:42).

The church was born on the Day of Pentecost. As the apostles were gathered together in one place and in one accord, a rushing, mighty wind was heard. The Holy Spirit filled each one, and the Spirit gave them utterance to speak the Word of God in the languages of those in Jerusalem who spoke so many different languages. There was great power. It was given as a sign to establish the early church.

As we can see from the Scriptures, they spoke in tongues that were actual languages, not some special heavenly language. It was a sign to all the people. Acts 2:6 says, “And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and they were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.” Peter preached the first sermon and three thousand souls were saved and baptized. In Acts chapter one, there were 120 believers who gathered together for prayer, and now all these new believers who were born again. There was great excitement, joy and growth.

Today’s verse shows the pattern of the NT church as the early Christians met together. It is still the way we should gather today. They met for doctrine (or teaching), fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. For a church to be healthy and growing, all these these four components are needed. The Holy Spirit gave them the power and brought about the salvation and growth of so many.

• The Apostles’ doctrine – All believers need to be taught God’s Word. Evangelical, Bible believing churches are vital for spiritual growth and edification. The elders and other godly men teach the Word so that the saints can teach and encourage others, and proclaim the gospel to the the unsaved. Sound doctrine or we can say sound teaching is critical to sound, healthy churches. All preaching and teaching should be from the Bible and from the Bible alone.

• Fellowship – Fellowship among believers is so important as we gather together. We encourage each other and hold each other accountable. We need each other, for Christians can’t survive or thrive without each other. Having meals together, sharing with each other, and experiencing Christ’s love is so important. We should never forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

• Breaking of Bread – There are different names used for this meeting such as the communion service, the remembrance meeting, or the Lord’s Supper, but it still the same. We partake of the bread, a symbol of Christ’s body broken for us on the cross, and the cup, a symbol of His precious blood shed to wash away our sins. Jesus established this in the upper room with His disciples on the night in which He was betrayed. The only qualification for partaking of the bread and wine, is that one is saved.

• Prayers – Prayer is essential to a healthy, growing church. Sadly, in so many churches today, the prayer meeting has been replaced with other activities. The secret to the success of Charles Spurgeon’s church in London in the late 1800’s was the prayer meeting held in the basement of the church. Prayer is what stokes the fire of revival and blessing. We need to share our requests and pray for one another. There is power in prayer; and God delights to hear and answer prayer.

All four of these components are important and needed. For a church to be strong and successful, we must pursue them all, all the time. When we do, souls will be saved, believers taught and encouraged, and elders and deacons established as leaders. Oh, how we need more churches like this today!

Have a blessed day attending church and having teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. Stay safe and healthy.

In the name of Jesus our Head,

Dean

-April 9, 2022-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; If I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’”

(Luke 19:8).

In a previous devotion, we wrote of the conversion of the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus. Today, we are going to focus on his righting of wrongs. To right a wrong is defined as, “To amend, correct, or make up for a wrong or unfair situation.” In the Christian life, there are times when we must make restitution or restore something to someone we have wronged or defrauded. It takes a lot of humility to do this.

In the OT, there were times when one person needed to make things right with another according to the law. One such example is found in Exodus 22:1 says, “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.” This chapter in Exodus has several other examples of restoration and restitution.

Zacchaeus apparently took this action voluntarily to give half of his goods to the poor for taking advantage of the tax collectors under him and the people whose taxes were increased and harmed. He also said he would restore fourfold. He wanted to make things right. If we have wronged anyone, taken advantage of them, or lied to them, we need to right the wrongs. It is better to take the loss, than to live with a guilty conscience. Otherwise, God’s hand will come down heavy on us.

Being restored to God must always come first, then right after that we must make things right with those whom we have harmed. We should never put it off, it only makes it harder and the situation fester. The Lord will give us the grace to take the penitent place. When righting a wrong, remember to use permanent ink.

Have a blessed day righting wrongs when needed in a spirit of contrition, sincerity, and truth.

In His truth,

Dean

-April 8, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“Then many came to Him and said, ‘John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.’ And many believed in Him there.”

(John 10:41-42).

There were those who rejected Jesus, mostly among the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees; but among the common people of the day, many believed in Him. This is why the Jewish leaders wanted to silence and eliminate Jesus. Jesus came to die on the cross for all people to save us from our sins.

John the Baptist pointed people to follow Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Multitudes of people followed Him everywhere, listening to His words, witnessing His miracles of healing, and focusing on His signs and wonders. There were even those who wanted to make Him king. Sadly, at the time of His crucifixion, the voices of rejection were heard very loudly, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”

There are five references that state this phrase: “Many believed in Him.” We find these words in John 2:23; John 8:30; John 10:42; John 12:42; and Acts 9:42. The Apostle John’s main purpose for writing his gospel is clearly shown in John 20:30-31, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Of course there were those who believed because they saw the signs or heard His words. Jesus knew the hearts of men. In John 2:23-24, it says, “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” Jesus knows the hearts of people, and who sincerely believes in Him and who does not.

When Philip witnessed to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-39, the eunuch seeing water, asked Phillip, “…’See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized.’ Then Philip answered and said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may (Acts 8:36-37).’” To be saved one must repent and confess, believe and receive. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

Have you believed in Jesus? Have you received Him? Are you born again? There are plenty of people who profess to know Him, but in actuality they have not. They may even attend church, and say the right words but in their hearts they do not know Him. True faith results in a changed life and produces action.

Have a blessed day believing and living out your faith in full commitment to the authority and power of our Savior. Stay safe and healthy.

In His name,

Dean