Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-March 8, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’”

(Luke 17:5).

Jesus taught the twelve disciples many things during His three year earthly ministry. He prepared them well to evangelize the world and establish churches. They didn’t always understand everything that He said, and asked for clarification. Today’s text is a simple request for more faith. We are saved by grace through faith and we need faith to live fruitful lives.

We need more faith, greater faith, and stronger faith to face temptations, endure trials, and have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. When we are first saved we have that simple, childlike faith that saves. As we grow in Christ, we grow in faith. The Apostle Peter, one of the twelve disciples, called apostles, wrote, “That the genuineness of your faith, being more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).

Faith is the hallmark of Christianity and it seems we need always need more faith. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul.” God uses difficulties, pains, and sorrows to draw us nearer to Him and to grow our faith. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” In fact, Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Faith in absolutely essential.

Faith is composed of three elements: believing God, trusting God, and obeying God. This builds our confidence in the Lord. Our Lord wants us to believe first, then we will see. He wants to do great things in our lives. Our faith is like our spiritual muscles that must be used in order to grow. May the Lord increase our faith in Him, and take us to higher heights. The voice of faith says, God can do it, God will do it, and God did it.

Have a blessed day walking victoriously by faith. Stay safe and healthy.

In His glorious faith,

Dean

-March 7, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

(Joshua 1:9).

It was God’s will for Joshua to be the new leader of Israel after Moses’ death and to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua was called and equipped by God for this huge undertaking. Moses had already told him what he was to do and commissioned him. It was now his time. This portion in Joshua 1:1-9 is God’s commission to Joshua. It is both challenging and encouraging.

Three times God told Joshua to be strong and of good courage: “Be strong and of good courage.” (v.6); Only be strong and very courageous.” (v.7); and “Be strong and of good courage (v.9). Whenever in Scripture God says something, it is important; if He repeats it a second time, it is very important; and if He repeats it a third time, is it extremely important. Whenever God tells us to be strong and of good courage, He tells us why. In today’s text it is no different. He knows by nature we are very fearful people.

God tells Joshua that every place his foot treads upon is given to him, no one will be able to stand before him, as He was with Moses, He will be with him, and that He is with him wherever he goes. He instructs him to obey all the law that Moses gave him, to meditate in it day and night, and not to turn to the right hand or to the left. If he does these three things, he will prosper and have good successes. God’s instructions are always clear to His servants. Joshua is not be afraid or dismayed.

• Obey the Word of God – We can only be blessed and prospered if we obey the Lord. He has given us both many commandments and many promises. The Psalmist said in Psalm 119:9-10, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” God always blesses the obedient, but never blesses the disobedient.

• Meditate on the Word day and night – It is not enough just to read the Word, we must meditate in it day and night. We need to think it through and apply it to our lives. Paul gave a similar admonition to his protégé Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:15, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.” God does not change and neither do His principles. They always work.

• Do not turn to the right hand or to the left – This expression is found over and over in the Bible. It means to walk straight forward in the perfect will of God. We can’t veer off course, get distracted, or do our own will. Proverbs 4:27 says, “Do not turn to the right or left; Remove your foot from evil.” When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we won’t be swayed or strayed by the things of this world.

May the Lord help us to be strong and of good courage no matter what we face today. All around is trouble, but the Lord is with us to prosper us and give us good success. We must fully rely on the Lord who is always with us. Let’s obey the Word, meditate in it, and not turn to the right hand or the left.

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

Dean

-March 6, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. And the inscription of His accusation was written above: The King of the Jews. With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’”

(Mark 15:25-28).

Jesus was the holy, sinless, perfect Son of God. He took our place and died for our sins on the cross. John the Baptist said of Him in John 1:29, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” He bore our transgressions and our iniquities. He took our punishment so that we can go free. He was numbered with the transgressors.

Our Savior fulfilled the Scriptures which said in Isaiah 53:4-5, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” He was innocent of all charges and sins, but He paid our sin debt in full.

The last part of Isaiah 53:12 says, “…He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Though it was the greatest injustice in the history of mankind, it was God’s sentence that should have meted out to us, and He brought it on His beloved Son instead in order to save us. Justice met mercy; Jesus bore God’s wrath and judgment, so that we may receive God’s mercy and forgiveness. Why would He love us so much? Jesus died for everyone, even His enemies, even the two robbers who were crucified on each side of Him.

The hymn writer Phillip Bliss wrote, “Guilty, vile, and helpless we, spotless Son of God was He; Full atonement! Can it be? Hallelujah, what a Savior.” He died the just or the unjust in order to bring us to God. Through His death, we are ransomed, redeemed, and reconciled; He has clothed us in His righteousness. Thank God that Jesus was numbered with the transgressors so that we may be numbered with all saints in glory.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day, remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross. Let us praise Him, worship Him, and thank Him for our salvation.

In His eternal love,

Dean

-March 5, 2022-

“Then they all wept freely, and fell upon Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.”

(Acts 20:37-38).

It is never easy to say goodbye. Even the word has a sad finality to it. Paul had spent three and a half years with the saints in Ephesus. He taught them the Word, lived as an example before them, and most of all loved them greatly. And did they ever love him! He addressed the elders and saints in Acts 20:17-35. The believers wept and kissed him. They were very sad, especially knowing that they would see his face again no more, at least on this side of heaven.

The comfort for us as believers in Christ is that we will see each other again in heaven, and be together with the Lord and with one another forever. It could be a friend moving far away; or it could be brother or sister in Christ who left the fellowship for another church; or for someone we love very much leaving this world to precede us to heaven. We take comfort in the confidence that if they are saved, it will never be “goodbye” but just “till we meet again.”

There is a sweet hymn written by Jeremiah E. Rankin, entitled, “God Be With You ‘Til We Again.” It says, “God be with you ‘til we meet again, By His counsels guide, uphold you, with His sheep securely fold you: God be with you ‘til we meet again. God be with you ‘till we meet again, ‘Neath His wings protecting hide you, daily manna still provide you: God be with you ‘til we meet again. God be with you ‘til we meet again, If life’s trials confound you, God will put His arms around you: God be with you ‘til we meet again. God be with you ‘til we meet again, keep love’s banner floating o’er you, smite death’s threatening wave before you: God be with you ‘til we meet again.

I have not met many of you face to face. There are saints in various cities, counties, and countries who read this blog. I am thankful for your continued signing in for these daily verses of the day. I really appreciate your feedback and appreciation. Even if we never meet on earth, we will see each other in heaven. What a joy that will be! Praise God that we will never have say goodbye! William Shakespeare said ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow; sweet for the good times, sorrow they may end, but resume in the Lord’s presence.

Have a blessed day cherishing those who love now on earth until the Lord takes us home to glory. Stay safe and healthy.

Under His Everlasting arms,

Dean

-March 4, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.”

(Proverbs 20:7).

In the OT, believers in the Lord were called the righteous. They were saved by the faith in what God revealed to them, which pointed forward to the cross of Christ. Some say, “They were saved on credit. Even before the law was given, it says of Abraham in Genesis 15:6, “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him as righteousness.” Abraham is the father of faith and we are children of Abraham.

In the Scriptures, there was always a small number of true believers, called the remnant. The same is still true of those today, who believe in Jesus for salvation. While more may go to church, it is clear that not all of them genuinely saved. When Jesus saves us, He changes our lives and we begin to live Him and serve Him. Solomon wrote, “The righteous man walks in his integrity…”

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word integrity as, “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” Being a man or woman of integrity doesn’t mean we are perfect or sinless; but it means we are obedient to God, walking according to His will and following His principles and values. We need more people of integrity today. Our moral compass must point to heaven in order to keep us on the right course on earth.

There are times we get tested and tempted to follow the standards that everyone else in the world follows. Instead, we must hold fast to our integrity and be examples to others, especially our kids. The last part of our verse says, “His children are blessed after him.” If we want our kids to have integrity, we must have integrity. If do not set the example, we can’t expect others to take our Christianity seriously. This is what happened with Lot and his two sons-in-law when God’s judgment was about to come down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 19:14 says, “So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, ‘Get up out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!’ But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.”

May the Lord help us to walk in integrity every day, consistently and obediently. It means to be honest, truthful, sincere, and morally strong in our words and conduct, whether anyone is watching or not. Job was a man of integrity, and even when he was severely tested, he maintained his integrity. In Job 2:9-10 says, “Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”

How about us? Do we hold fast to our integrity even in the hardest times? May we like Job be men and women who are blameless, upright, fearing God, and shunning evil. We will shine brightly for Christ and our testimony will be strong. It won’t be easy, but it will be a blessing.

Have a blessed day walking in integrity today and every day. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean