Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-August 30, 2025-

Good morning brothers and sisters, happy Saturday,

“Now all of these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for admonition, upon whom the end of the ages have come.”

(1 Corinthians 10:11).

There are so many lessons we can learn from the OT. Many Christians focus all their reading on the NT. They miss so many principles and promises in the process.

Interestingly, all the men and women in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith are from the OT. The OT saints serve as examples to us, and were written for our admonition (or instruction.

Most of the people that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 10 are bad examples. 1 Corinthians 10:6 says, “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.”

When we read the OT, we should ask ourselves what can we learn from it and apply to our lives? As we stated, there are both good and bad examples. Even those who were godly had issues in their lives that we should shun.

For example, Solomon was a complex case. He started off so well and ended up so poorly. Many of the kings of Judah began really well only to go off track at the end.

May the Lord help us to learn from the characters of the OT. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

When we avoid the bad and practice the good, then we will be doing just what we should.

Dean

-August 29, 2025-

Good morning my friends, happy Friday,

“The Lord will perfect that concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”

(Psalm 138:8).

David wrote this psalm that has the title, “The Lord’s Goodness to the Faithful.” God proved Himself in David’s life from start to finish. David describes himself as the “works of Your hands.”

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.” And what a creation it was! God alone being there at the beginning, comments, “He saw that it was good.” But when He made man, “He saw that it was very good.”

God always finishes what He starts. He never runs out of patience, resources, or time. He began His work in us and will perfect (or complete) it. Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

He is not finished with us until we are conformed to the image of Christ. He is the Potter, we are the clay, and He continues to work on us each and every day.

Man is just the opposite. We plan, we dream, we start well but fail to finish. How many book are left unfinished; how many songs uncompleted; how many inventions undone; how many structures lay idle. Jesus said in Luke 14:28, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it.”

We thank God for His work in us and that He will finish it. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith; let us also finish what we start.

Dean

-August 28, 2025-

Good morning brethren, happy Thursday,

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is, for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

(Psalm 133:1).

One of the most needed things in the church today is unity. The devil fights against us, trying to stir up dissension, factions, and arguments over even the smallest matters.

The word unity is defined as, “the state of being united or joined as a whole; a condition of harmony; the quality or state of being made one. Unity does not mean that everyone will think alike, but rather that we will be one, like-mined in the truth, living in harmony and love.

We are one body in Christ and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:2, “fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord.” There was great unity in the early church, but even then there were challenges.

Someone once said, “In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, in all things, charity.” May we always show love and stand together in the truth.

Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

As the songwriter said, “We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord. And we pray that our unity may this day be restored. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”

Dean

-August 27, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.”

(Isaiah 26:4).

Today’s verse is also our Scripture Memory verse of the week. We have already considered Isaiah 26:3, a beautiful verse that says, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because He trusts in You.”

Isaiah 26, is commonly referred to as, “A Song of Salvation.” The phrase “everlasting strength,” may be rendered, “Rock of Ages.” The Hebrew word is “tsur,” which means rock or cliff. It is found 73 times in the Bible. God is referred as the Rock in both the OT and NT.

A rock is solid and cannot be moved. When we think of the most famous rocks in the world, we think of the Rock of Gibraltar. You can take refuge in a huge rock for protection. God is this worthy of our trust.

Augustus Toplady, a pastor, wrote the classic hymn, “Rock of Ages.” He didn’t write it in a church or at home, he wrote it in a cave during a storm. He ducked into it for refuge until the storm passed by. He started thinking of the rock of faith, but had nothing to write on. He found some playing cards and wrote the words of his hymn on the back of them. How creative and innovating!

The first verses says, “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, from Thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure, save from wrath and make me pure.”

The Lord is our Rock who will always be there for us at all times and in all ways. Let us trust Him forever. The word YAH is a shortened form of the sacred Hebrew word Yahweh, which the Jews felt was too sacred to say or spell out.

Have a blessed day trusting in the Rock of Ages. Stay safe and healthy.

When you cast yourself on the Rock of Ages, you are better off than all the sages.

Dean

-August 26, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord’s surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.”

(Psalm 125:2).

Psalm 125 was written by an unknown author. It is one of the songs of ascents sang by the people of Israel as they journeyed up to the city of Jerusalem and the temple of God. The title is, “The Lord the Strength of His People.”

The psalmist recognized that the Lord is our protector on our left, right, behind, and in front of us. This is so encouraging and comforting to our hearts. Paul said in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.”

This was certainly Job’s situation before he was afflicted. Job 1:9-10 says, “So Satan answered the Lord and said, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”

The word surround is defined as, “to be all around someone or something; to enclose on all sides; to envelope.” There are many word pictures in the Scriptures that indicate what God has done for us. We are on eagles’ wings, under the shadow of the Almighty, underneath His everlasting arms. There is no greater protector or provider than the Lord.

May the Lord surround us with His infinite love, grace, and mercy. We aren’t immune from the trials, tribulations, and troubles in this life; but He is with us, for us, and in us always.

Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy under His care.

Surrounded on every side, with the Lord who does abide.

Dean