Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-February 16, 2022-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“The horse is prepared for battle, but deliverance is from the Lord.”

(Proverbs 21:31).

The word deliverance is a wonderful word, especially for believers in Christ. It is defined as, “The action of being rescued or set free.” We have been delivered from sin, death, and Satan through the death and resurrection of Christ on the cross. These enemies were defeated once and for all. Currently, Russian troops have amassed all around Ukraine, threatening to invade their country. The whole world is waiting to see what will happen. They need nothing less than full deliverance. Other countries must step up to deliver the Ukrainian people in their hour of need.

Israel fought many battles in Scripture, and when the trusted the Lord, obeyed Him, and relied on Him, He gave them the victory. There were also times when they came to deliver others in need. Though the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and people of Israel, saying that they lived in a far off country and not in the land of Canaan, Joshua and the elders gave their word not to kill them. When they were attacked by their neighbors around them for their alliance with Israel, Joshua led the army to fight for them and deliver them. Joshua and the Israelites won a great victory.

We as Christians often need God’s deliverance in our lives. It may be deliverance from temptation, sin, illness, injury, or from a specific problem or difficulty. God sends deliverance at just the right time. We must seek His deliverance and not put our hope in man. Psalm 3:8 says, “Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon your people.” We also read, “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4). Our circumstances at times seem overwhelming, insurmountable, and impossible, but the Lord is able to deliver us. God answers prayer.

David prayed and God delivered him so many times in his life, in particular from Saul and his own son Absalom. He wrote in Psalm 34:7, “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” What a great promise this is! The Lord loves us and fights for us. Are you waiting on the Lord for deliverance? Are you crying out to Him for help? The Lord is a God of deliverance, He is our hiding place.

Have a blessed day relying on the Lord for His deliverance. Stay safe and healthy.

In His everlasting arms,

Dean

-February 15, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Now the man Moses was a very humble, more than all men who were in the face of the earth.”

(Numbers 12:3).

Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible as well as Psalm 90. Today’s verse represents what God thought of him. Though Moses was a strong man of God and leader, he was the most humble man on the face of the earth. Nowadays in our world, strength and humility do not often go together. He, like us, was not perfect. Sadly, because he struck the rock instead of speaking to the rock, God allowed him to see the Promised Land from a far but he could not enter it.

In the context of chapter 12, his own family criticized him for marrying an Ethiopian woman, and took it as far saying in Numbers 12:2, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” Aaron, was Moses’ brother and high priest, and Miriam, his sister and leader among the women, were the two that wanted something that God did not give them or call them to. Our sinful nature is still the same today. Instead of accepting our spiritual gifts and using them to serve others, we get envious and jealous, and want what others have. Even the disciples discussed on more than one occasion which one of them was the greatest.

God heard the criticism of Aaron and Miriam and was very displeased. He called them and Moses to stand before Him. God was angry with them and rebuked them for their criticism of Moses. He punished them by making Miriam a leper for one week and made her dwell outside the camp. Moses prayed for her much like Job prayed for his three misguided friends after God restored and blessed him. It is one thing to be criticized unjustly by one’s enemies, it is quite another to be criticized by one family or friends. The wounds from the latter hurt more.

Moses was humble and did not defend himself, God defended him. God also said of Moses, “Here now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all my house. I speak to him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the Lord. Why were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses” (Numbers 12:6-8). Christians should not criticize their leaders, but rather pray for them and support them.

We see that God thought very highly of Moses and when it came time for him to die, God buried him. No one knows exactly where to this day, though it was somewhere in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor, according to Deuteronomy 34:6. Can you imagine God conducting your funeral? In a sense He does so with us when we die and enter the presence of the Lord. Our death is precious to Him.

We should all seek to be humble as Moses was. Moses sought the Lord’s will, obeyed the Lord fully, and gave the Lord all the glory. He sought no glory for himself. Jesus said in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). God delights in the humble and exalts them.

There are others that God describes in the Scripture: Job as a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil; He said there is none like him on earth; He said of Solomon that he surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom; Abraham was the friend of God; and David was a man after God’s own heart. How would He describe you?

Have a blessed day walking humbly with God and for Him today. One day at the Judgment Seat of Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ will review and reward us for our faithful service. Stay safe and healthy.

In the service of the King,

Dean

-February 14, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday, happy Valentine’s Day,

“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. If a man were to give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.”

(Song of Solomon 8:7).

Love is of God. It is personal, precious and powerful. Here in the book of Song of Solomon we have a love story between Solomon and a young Shulamite maiden. The book is filled with Eastern imagery of the passion of love that God gave between a man and woman. God is love, and He first loved us, and teaches us to love one another. In a spiritual sense, this book teaches us that Christ is our heavenly Bridegroom and we as His church are His Bride.

Love is more than sentiment or emotion, it is a commitment of the heart. It is a bond that is permanent. These words in our text were expressed by the Shulamite in extraordinary language, “Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it.” True love grows, flourishes, and lasts. In every relationship, especially between husbands and wives, there are hard times, disagreements, conflicts, and external problems. When two people love the Lord and each other, they stand together against all else, united, and bound by love and dedication.

In our church, we have many wonderful examples of loving, Christian marriages. Young people growing up see the love and what takes to make it all work out. These couples are examples. No one is perfect, so we must all be patient with one another. Even when the rushing waters and floods hit hard, love stands up and holds up. Among many in the world, the traditional marriage vows are set aside for more contemporary ones which is so sad.

The traditional vows show the commitment of love in the good times and in the bad times, yes in all times: “In the name of God, I take you (name) to be my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death (or until death do us part).” These vows are serious and sacred.

The Shulamite then says, “If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.” One can’t but love with money or earthly riches or possessions. Love comes from the heart. It can’t be forced or manipulated. Arranged marriages rarely work out, unless of course, they are arranged by God, then they have a solid foundation in Christ. We often call them “a match made in heaven.”

May the Lord help us to love our spouses, our children, our friends, and our brothers and sisters in Christ. All our relationships are based on the love of Jesus. His love is the divine epoxy that holds everything together through any weather.

Have a blessed Valentine’s Day loving as Christ as He loves us. Stay safe and healthy.

In His matchless love,

Dean

-January 13, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“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 to view the land of Canaan, and see what it was like, how strong the inhabitants of the land were, and what their cities consisted of. All twelve agreed it was a land flowing with milk and honey. Ten of the twelve though described how strong the Canaanites were, living in large, fortified cities. They even saw giants in the land. They agreed that the people of the land were too strong for them to defeat, and gave a bad report.

Only two spies, Joshua and Caleb had the faith in God to believe and the trust in God’s power to overcome their enemies. Of all the men who left Egypt, only these two were allied to enter the Promised Land. Unbelief sees only the negative situations, the impossibilities, and the hopelessness; Faith sees the power of God, and His ability to do great and mighty things.

It says of Caleb that he quieted the people. He brought calm, peace, and encouragement in this tense and difficult situation. He said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” He had no fear and no doubt. He was ready to fight knowing God would give them the victory. His confidence was not in himself or in their army, but in the Lord. John wrote, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4).

David had the same faith and confidence in the Lord, when as a shepherd boy , he took on Goliath, the giant, the mighty Philistine warrior. He told him, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come you in the name of the Lord hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). He defeated the giant with a slingshot and a stone. God gave him a great victory.

But what of us today? There are giants in our path, impossible circumstances, and there are is much opposition. Do we believe God and trust Him or do we give up, back down, and retreat. May the Lord encourage our faith to believe and receive. There is nothing too hard for the Lord!

Have a blessed day trusting God for the victory. Stay safe and healthy.

In His eternal strength,

Dean

-February 12, 2022-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped.”

(Numbers 9:18).

All through Israel’s journey through the wilderness, which lasted forty years, the Lord’s presence was with them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night. The Lord told them to stay where they were encamped until the cloud or the fire moved. When it moved, they had to pack up the tabernacle and all their possessions and moved on. Even if they stayed a long while in one spot, or were there a short time, they waited on the Lord for the Lord’s guidance.

Numbers 9:19-20 says, “Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not journey. So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the Lord they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the Lord they would journey.” Obedience was the key to following the Lord’s guidance. Often, our flesh wants to run ahead of the Lord and take action on our own or to lag behind when the Lord shows us to move forward.

In Psalm 32:8-9 tells us, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.” The horse is strong and impulsive and must be held back. This teaches is to surrender to the Lord’s will and not move until He directs to. The mule is stubborn and must be prodded to get going. We too can be stubborn and resist the Lord’s will. In both cases the Lord is patient with us.

In the NT we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. He leads us through prayer, the Word of God, godly counsel, circumstances, and other people. It takes much patience and grace to sit still, listen to the Lord, and not step out until it is God’s will. We don’t see a visible cloud or fire to guide us. God is never in a hurry. We may have to wait days, weeks, months, or even years. God’s ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts our thoughts.

There is a wonderful Christian song by the Maranatha singers that says, “I must wait wait wait on the Lord. I must wait wait wait on the Lord and learn my lessons well in His timing He will tell me what to do where to go and what to say.” There is so much to learn in patiently waiting on the Lord. We may get too comfortable and God wants to move us, or we may get tired of where we are. It may be regarding a job or promotion, getting married, having children, or any other decision.

May the Lord help us to follow His guidance. There is no safer or better place than in the center of God’s will. Let us learn to wait on Him to lead us. The hymn writer Fanny Crosby wrote, “All the way the Savior leads me —What have I to ask besides? Can I doubt His tender mercy, who through life has been my guide? Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell! For I know, whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.”

Have a blessed day waiting patiently on the Lord and His guidance. He will lead us, we must obey and follow Him. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace and guidance,

Dean