Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-March 28, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.”

(Luke 4:38-39).

This account of the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law is also found in Matthew 8:15-16 and Mark 1:29-31. It is always good to compare the account in all three places. From reading all of them, we discover that Andrew, Peter’s brother also lived there in the same house, and when Jesus came over that day, James and John were with Him. Luke, a physician by profession, is the one gospel writer who noted that she had a high fever. In fact it must have been a very serious situation, most likely life threatening.

We also note how they made request of Jesus to heal her as He had so many other people. The word “they” referred to Peter and Andrew, and the rest present there. It is always hard to see our loved ones suffer spiritually, physically, mentally, or emotionally. Often we would rather suffer ourselves than to see them suffer. Our part is them to bring them to Jesus in prayer. He is the Great Physician. He doesn’t always choose to heal someone physically, depending on His will. Here He healed Peter’s mother-in-law immediately. He stood over her and rebuked the fever and took it away. Just as the wind and waves obeyed Jesus, so too, the fever obeyed also.

In Mark’s account, he mentions that Jesus took her by the hand and lifted her up. Once she was healed she served them, in particular Jesus. Imagine the joy that permeated the walls of the that house that day! The one that was close to death, was now full of life and joy. When someone we love gets saved, there is great joy; and when the Lord heals them of some condition, we are so very happy.

The Lord loves us and our family members. He is concerned about what concerns us, especially the people we love, our family and friends. The Holy Spirit makes careful note that Peter was married and his wife had a mother and they lived together. There are those in the Roman Catholic Church who believe that Peter was the first pope. How do they explain this? This the only time that Peter’s mother-in-law is mentioned in Scripture. We don’t know whatever happened to her later on. I am confident we will see her in heaven.

Let us love our family and friends and pray for them. The most important thing is that they get saved but their other needs are important as well. People need the Lord, and His touch in their lives.

Have a blessed day bringing those we love to Jesus in prayer. He will touch and change their lives. Stay safe and healthy.

In His eternal love and care,

Dean

-March 27, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“…She has done a good work for Me” (Mark 14:6b).

“She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial” (Mark 14:8).

Mary of Bethany was not only a believer in Jesus, but she was a dear friend of His. When in Bethany, he visited the home Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. They were two sisters and a brother. It was like His own home. The cross is just days ahead. The woman in the text is unnamed, but most Bible scholars agree it was Mary of Bethany. She brought a flask of very costly fragrant oil to anoint Jesus with it. The disciples, mostly Judas, thought she was wasting it since it was worth three hundred denarii, worth nearly a year’s wages, and could have sold and the money given to the poor. I am sure she had been keeping this precious perfume for her future wedding day.

While the disciples criticized her, Jesus commended her for what she did. He made three statements of her: “She has done a good work for Me; She has done what she could;” and She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.” Jesus was so touched and impressed by her devotion and generosity that He said, “Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her” (Mark 14:9).

• She has done a good work for Me – What she did was all for Jesus. She brought it and she poured out on His head, that same blessed head that soon would wear the crown of thorns. Everything we do for Jesus is seen, known, and will be rewarded by our Lord and Savior. Nothing will ever be a waste. We can never do enough or give enough to be worthy of Him.

• She has done what she could – Jesus commended for doing what she could. God never asks us to do more than we are able to do. She gave the best she had for the Best that ever walked this earth. Every gift, talent, skill, ability, and material, and financial thing we have is given to us by God to be used for His service. Are we doing what we can? Can we do more?

• She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial – This dear sister knew that Jesus was going to the cross. At it turned out, because of His resurrection, the women that came to the tomb on Easter Sunday did not have the chance to anoint His body after His death. She was ahead of her time. She didn’t miss the opportunity. Unfortunately, sometimes we miss opportunities to serve the Lord.

May the Lord help us to do as much as we can for Jesus, in His name, and for His glory. Let it be said of us, “they did what they could.” Oh, that He will be well pleased with the results. It will suffice us to hear His words in the future, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” We may think of it as little, but God sees it as much.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day worshiping, serving, and giving what we can. Stay safe and healthy.

In the name of Jesus,

Dean

-March 26, 2022-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“And they said among themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?’ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away — for it was very large.”

(Mark 16:3-4).

The resurrection of Christ was, along with the virgin birth, the greatest miracles in the Bible, which is chalk full of them. Both of them were unprecedented, impossible situations. Only God can accomplish miracles. Today’s verse shows that the obstacles, though too big for us, are never too big for God.

When Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, his request was granted. He was a believer in Jesus and He carefully took down His body, and laid it into his own garden tomb, and rolled a stone against the opening. Mark tells us, “it was very large.” With the immense size also came tremendous weight. Mark 15:47 says, “And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.”

These dear sisters in Christ knew there was a very large stone blocking their entry to the tomb where Jesus’ body lay. According to Matthew’s account, there were armed guards stationed in front of the tomb also. That did not stop them from coming to the tomb with their spices that they bought with their own money. They planned to anoint His body. Mary Magdalene, last at the cross and first at the tomb, was the first to see Jesus after His resurrection.

So many times, we like Mary Magdalene, see the obstacle as too great for us, and so many times they are. But thank God they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. Just then an angel told them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him” (Mark 16:6). They soon forgot about the stone and their original intentions. God has a way of doing that. God had another plan apart from man.

What obstacles are you facing today? What miracles has God done for you in the past when you saw no possibility? God is able and more than able! He delights in removing obstacles and impediments. What we often worry about at night, God removes by the morning. When we believe, we will receive. Nothing is impossible with God! He who made the stones can easily remove them. Yes, the bigger the obstacle, the greater the miracle! The hymn writer Stuart Hamblen wrote, “It is no secret what God can do. What He’s done for others, He’ll do for you. With arms wide open, He’ll pardon you, it is no secret what God can do.”

Have a blessed day letting God do His work in our impossibilities. Let us give Him all the glory. Stay safe and healthy.

In His mighty power every hour,

Dean

-March 25, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

(John 1:9).

We have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. When we received Christ as our Lord and Savior, all our sins were forgiven: past, present, and future. Then we ask if that is is true, why do we still need to confess our sins. The answer has to do with the two types of forgiveness: first, judicial, God forgives as Judge. Jesus bore our all sins on the cross; second, parental, God forgives us as our Heavenly Father. We are part of the family of God. By confessing our sins, we keep the lines of communication open with God.

John makes this clear in both 1 John 1:8 and 1:9, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” John is writing to Christians not to unbelievers. It is for us. As soon as we realize we have sinned in thought, word, or deed, we must confess our sins, forsake them, and repent. In so doing, our close relationship with Him is restored. Additionally, if we have wronged someone else, we need to confess it to them as well. Our relationship with God is vertical and our relationship with each other is horizontal. Both must be maintained.

David found out how painful it was to be out of fellowship with the Lord. He suffered spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The toll on him was immense. In Psalm 32:3-4, David wrote, “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer.” He also said in Psalm 31:9-11, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body! For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. I am a reproach among my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and am repulsive to my acquaintances; those who see me outside flee from me.”

Let us then keep short accounts with the Lord by confessing our sins right away. By confessing we agree with God against ourselves. It is humbling, but it is so needed. David said in Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave me the iniquity of my sin.” There is great joy in being forgiven.

Have a blessed day walking close to the Lord and confessing our sins to Him. Stay safe and healthy.

In His love and mercy,

Dean

-March 24, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“God is the God of salvation; and to God belong escapes from death.”

(Psalm 68:20).

The Bible is a book of deliverances and escapes from death. David himself escaped death at the hands of King Saul and his own son Absalom. He trusted in the Lord who was his Deliverer. God protected him from harm and danger. The Lord also delivered him from the giant Goliath. There are so many other instances in Scripture of others who were preserved, protected, and prospered by God against all odds.

Moses was delivered in a little ark where he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, whose father had ordered the killing of all Hebrew male babies; Noah and his family were delivered from the flood; Daniel was delivered from the lion’s den; Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-nego were delivered from the fiery furnace; and Paul was delivered from a catastrophic shipwreck at sea, from those in Damascus who wanted to kill him, and from a band of Jews in Jerusalem who took an oath to kill him. These are just a few examples.

By of all these deliverances and escapes from death, the greatest ones in the Bible are connected with our salvation. Jesus died on the cross to deliver us from the penalty, power, and one day from the presence of sin; He delivered from death; and He delivered us from hell and separation from God for all eternity. Oh, what a deliverance and escape from death! What a Savior we have!

We, like so many have been delivered and protected so many times in our lives. There are so many we don’t even know about. Psalm 32:7 says, “You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” Corrie Ten Boom, author, lecturer, and holocaust survivor, wrote a book of her life experiences entitled, “The Hiding Place.” He is also our Hiding Place. We can run to Him for help in times of need. Let us rejoice in our deliverances and escapes from death.

Have a blessed day in the hands of our Deliverer. Stay safe and healthy.

In His loving arms,

Dean