Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-March 18, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

(Colossians 3:1-2).

It is so easy to get discouraged, distracted, and detoured by the things of this world. Everything in this life is changing on a daily and hourly basis. Some changes are good but most are bad. The world seems to be crumbling all around us. God never changes and we should take comfort in that. Our priority should be on the things above, the higher things, not the things of earth, the lower things. This earth will one day be burned up and God will create a new heaven and earth. We can take nothing from this world to heaven. We came in with nothing and we will leave the same way.

As those who have born again, we have a higher calling and purpose. When we think of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God, it gives us joy and encouragement. One day, and soon, we will be with Him in glory forever. Our hope is in Him. Setting our minds on heaven and heavenly things gives us the best perspective on how to live victoriously for Christ on earth. The most important thing is to be saved and to serve the Lord. We pray for our family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, classmates, and others to receive Christ before it is too late.

In Psalm 61:2 David says, “From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” We like David can get overwhelmed by the pressures, difficulties, and circumstances of life. Jesus tells to come to Him and rest. He is our rock and our fortress. He helps us to refocus on what is really important in life, the higher things.

Instead of trying to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, we need to cast it all on Him. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved (or shaken).” Peter also wrote, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

One of the most popular things today is brain training. Puzzles, games, and memory challenges are good but can’t compare to spiritual brain training. It is good for us to focus on Christ, His Word, and His kingdom, for it is the best way to train our brain. Paul tells us the best way to renew our minds in Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Let us then set on minds of the things above, the higher things, the things that are eternal; and not the things of this earth, the lower things, the temporary things. May we live on a higher plane for greater spiritual gain. We need to claim and cling to all the promises of God.

Have a blessed day setting your minds on heaven and heaven’s values. Stay safe and healthy.

In His paths,

Dean

-March 17, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…”

(1Corinthians 13:7-8a).

The sweetest, most beautiful virtue is love. God’s love is unconditional, unfailing, and unending. The Greek word for God’s love is agape. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, wrote, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us, God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). Just as He loves us, we must love one another.

Today’s verse shows that love has the quality of continuance and permanence. Love keeps going when all else fails. Love never fails. Paul uses four words to describe this wonderful love: bears, believes, hopes, and endures. Love is strong as it is beautiful and fragrant. The rose is both beautiful and fragrant, yet it also has a thorn. Love overcomes adversity, pain, and sorrow; it keeps on shining.

• Love bears all things – Love thinks of others first, and is happiest in giving, sharing, sacrificing, and sharing. It puts up with the idiosyncrasies and failures of others. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Love lifts up others.

•Love believes all things – Love brings out the best in others by believing in them. Love is positive, and gives others a second chance, a third chance, and many more chances. God gives us so many chances. Love is not naïve, but loves in spite of it all. Love forgives time and time again. None of us are perfect.

•Love hopes all things – Love accepts the past, lives in the present, and looks to the future. The sun will shine tomorrow, things will get better. Love smiles at the future, even when there is nothing to smile about in the present. Paul wrote in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Love sees the rainbow in the midst of the rain.

•Love endures all things – Love keeps on keeping on; It never quits. It endures what it is given without complaint. Loving others isn’t easy nor is it always fair. Love is patient. Love truly never fails. Like an well-conditioned athlete, it gets stronger by daily training.

May the Lord help us to love others with His eternal love. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Those two little words are so challenging: “all things.” Love never fails.

Have a blessed day growing in and showing love to the lovable and unlovable. Stay safe and healthy.

In His eternal, unfailing love,

Dean

-March 16, 2022-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

(Colossians 1:10).

As Christians, we are followers of Christ, and we live and serve the Lord. The Apostle Paul calls upon us to walk worthy of the Lord. He wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, “That you walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” A worthy walk is walk befitting a child of God, and brings glory to God. In Ephesians, Paul also tells us to walk worthy of our calling and of the gospel.

Our lives reflect Christ. When we live godly lives, it portrays Christ in the proper way. If we don’t, it shows Christ in a negative way. As one our elders always says, “We can either push people closer to Christ or drive them further away from Him.” David was such a great man of God, but when he sinned with Bathsheba and ordered the death of her husband, God had to chasten him severely. Nathan the prophet told Him in 2 Samuel 12:14, “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”

Paul mentions what our worthy walk should include: pleasing the Lord, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Paul himself lived this way as an example to all the saints. He was always so positive and encouraging; however, when needed, he corrected the believers. When Peter acted hypocritically in not fellowshipping with Gentile believers when Jewish believers visited him, Paul confronted him to face.

• Fully pleasing the Lord – Our words and conduct should back up our Christian faith. People are watching us and listening to us. Hebrews 11:5 says of Enoch of old, “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him,’ for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

• Being fruitful in every good work – Fruitfulness is being productive for the Lord in doing good to others. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” We should pray daily that God will give us a profitable, productive, and prosperous day for the Lord.

• Increasing in the knowledge of God – To increase in the knowledge of God is not theoretical knowledge, but practical knowledge of Him and His ways. When we learn the Word we must put it into practice. Head knowledge alone leads only to being puffed up. We need to know God not just about God.

May the Lord help us to walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. In so doing we will point people to Jesus.

Have a blessed day walking with the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace and love,

Dean

-March 15, 202-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they shall be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

(Isaiah 61:3).

Isaiah 61 speaks of how blessed we are to be saved and to live new lives in the Lord. Only the Lord can change our lives. He takes away the old, and gives us all things new. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We have a new heart, a new nature, and new life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Today’s verse is so beautiful and shows how God turns everything around in our lives. In the Bible, ashes were used along with sackcloth in indicate extreme debasement, mourning, and or repentance. A person would wear sackcloth, a rough material made of black goat’s hair, which was very uncomfortable to wear; and sprinkle ashes on their head or clothing. God has given us beauty for ashes, and the oil of joy for mourning. Only the Lord can do this. Once we were in sin, lost and hopeless, God changed our lives for the good, now we live joyful lives of victory, and do the things that we should.

Only the Lord change us from sinners to saints and make us beautiful in His sight. The hymn writer Gloria Gather wrote, “Something beautiful, something good; all my confusion He understood; all I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, but He made something beautiful of my life.” This change from ashes to beauty reminds me of the process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. The caterpillar is unattractive and slow, but the butterfly is beautiful and soars through the air. We too were once useless to God and unworthy, but now we are sons of God. He considers us worthy and beautiful.

Notice the other ways the Lord changes us: He gives us the garment of praise in place of the spirit of heaviness. Sin burdened our lives and Jesus gave us rest so that we can praise Him. He also made us like trees of righteousness planted in His garden so that He is glorified. Yes, all the glory goes to Him both now and forever.

When we are feeling a little down or discouraged, let us remember how God saved us and changed our lives. We still face adversity, hardship, pain, and sorrow, but now we have the Lord in our lives. He is with us always. Solomon wrote, “He has made everything beautiful in its time, Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God did from the beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Have a blessed and beautiful day thanking God for giving us beauty for ashes. Stay safe and healthy.

In His joy,

Dean

-March 14, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”

(Matthew 14:31).

Today’s text is very convicting because there are times that we have little faith and doubts creep into our hearts. Such was the case with Peter and the other disciples as well. In fact, after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples but Thomas was not present. He told the others, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Jesus was so patient with him and showed him His hands and side. He then said to him, “Do not be unbelieving but believing.” Thomas is forever called “Doubting Thomas.”

We are so much like Peter and Thomas. We believe but have doubts. Jesus rebuked them both with love but rebuked them nonetheless. He said to Thomas in John 20:29, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The old expression still presents itself, “Seeing is believing.” But there is no faith in that. Jesus taught the opposite in John 11:40, when He spoke to Martha after her brother Lazarus was dead in the grave for four days, “Did I not say to you that if you believe you would see the glory of God?” Faith says, “Believing is seeing.” We must believe first, then we will see!

When Jesus came to His disciples walking on the Sea of Galilee, they were afraid, thinking they were seeing a ghost. He assured them that it was He and to be of good cheer and not be afraid. Peter wanted that additional proof that he could walk on the water also. Jesus agreed and told him to come. He walked on the water but then seeing the boisterous winds, doubted, and began to sink. He cried out one of the shortest, most urgent prayers, Lord, save me!” The Lord reached out His hand and caught him and saved him from drowning.

Jesus asked him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? The same can be said of us. We are even more accountable, in that we have all the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. Of all people we should believe, but we are also made of human flesh, and we can have little faith and entertain doubts. May the Lord help us to believe, trust in Him, and act on our faith. Jesus reminds us that if have the faith, even as small as a mustard seed, which was the smallest of seeds, we can move mountains. After Pentecost, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and their faith grew exponentially. They served the Savior with tremendous faith, courage, and power. How is your faith? Do you doubt at times. I know I do. That is why I called this devotion, “Oh we of little faith.” Pardon the pun, but when it comes to faith, we are all in the same boat.

Have a blessed day walking by faith not by sight, believing then seeing. Stay safe and healthy.

In simple faith,

Dean