Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-February 6, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death.”

(Revelation 1:18).

The book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible and it reveals the events of the last days leading into eternity. We often speak of the death and resurrection of Christ, and rightly so; here in our text our blessed Lord Jesus Christ puts it in the opposite way, speaking of His resurrection life first then His death. He said victoriously, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore… “ Because He lives, we live with Him. We were once dead in our trespasses and sins, but not we are alive in Christ.

Jesus suffered on the cross, dying in our place, bearing our sins, and rising again the third day. We remember His death every Sunday in the Lord’s Supper. His death and resurrection are inseparable. He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is King of kings, and Lord of lords. He will judge the living and the dead. He said, “And I have the keys to Hades and death.”

When someone holds the keys, they have the control and power. Losing one’s keys is terrible, for the keys to our house and car, and other important access points are missing. Jesus can never lose those keys. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter, saying, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” These keys are not over Hades and Death, but over the things on earth in his days. It doesn’t mean Peter or the other apostles had authority to forgive sins but to actively use the authority to lead people to Jesus to be loosed from their sins. Charles Ryrie commented, “Heaven, not the apostles, initiates all binding and loosing, while the apostles announce these things.”

We praise God that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. He sits at the Father’s right hand, awaiting the time the Father has fixed for Him to take us home to glory and conclude all the future events. He will rule and reign forever and we will reign with Him. He was dead, but is alive forevermore!

Have a blessed Lord’s Day living under His will and authority. Stay safe and healthy.

In His glorious grace,

Dean

-February 5, 2022-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“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.”

(Romans 12:2).

God is not a reformer but a transformer. He doesn’t just make things as they were before, He makes them new. When we came to Christ as sinners, He forgave us, gave us eternal life, and changed our lives completely. He took sinners and turned us into saints. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We are born again into a new life in Christ; we are under the new covenant; and we have a new destination and home in heaven. We are under new management.

God has transformed our lives spiritually, now we must live out the Christian life in His strength, being transformed by the renewing of our minds. When we are saved, we have the mind of Christ. In Romans 12:1, the preceding verse, Paul tells us “to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” God desires our full devotion and dedication to Him, spirit, soul, and body.

God has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us through His holy Word, how to live as His holy people in this world. As we read, study, and meditate on His Word, our minds are renewed. We have God’s values, God’s standards, and God’s ways. We no longer follow the world’s ways or even our own ways. When the Israelites left Egypt, they left behind their ways, and when they arrived in the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, they were not to follow the ways of the Canaanites. They were God’s people. Sadly, they failed to obey Him and worshipped idols. Years Later later He sent them into captivity. He brought them back after seventy years.

May God help to be transformed by the renewing of our minds on a daily basis. We are different from the world and must show that difference in our words and actions. Jesus makes the difference in our lives, and we have a message to share.

Have a blessed day in the Word and prayer, allowing God to transform us more and more into the image of Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace and truth,

Dean

-February 4, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

(Matthew 25:29).

Everything we have we have has been given to us by God, especially our spiritual gifts, talents, skills, and abilities. We have nothing to be proud about, but everything to be thankful for. The context of today’s verse is the Parable of the Talents. Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a wealthy man traveling to a far country. He chooses three men to entrust with his financial affairs in his absence. He gives five talents to the first, two to the second, and one to the third, each according to his ability. The master was then gone for a longtime.

Upon his return, the servant with the five talents made five more; the servant with the two talents made two more; but the third servant buried his one talent in the ground, bringing no return to the master. The master commended the first two for their faithfulness and made them rulers over many things. He condemned the third servant for being wicked and lazy. He could have at least deposited the money in the bank and made some interest on it.

The lesson for us is clear, use it or lose it. Jesus said, “To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance…” Our Lord is very wise in what He has given to us. He tests us by giving us little to see how we will handle it. If we use it faithfully, He will give us more and more. We are stewards of what He has given to us, not only of our money, but of our possessions, time, abilities, spouses, children, and grandchildren. Each of us has a great responsibility, and with it comes great accountability.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” Have you been faithful in using what God has given you to serve Him? None of us want to be like the servant who buried his talent in the ground. Jesus went on to say, “but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” The master took away that one talent from the third man and gave it to the one who had the ten talents.

God simply asks us to be faithful in using what we have for His glory. By His will, He gives us the skill, and by His strength, we can go the length. One day each of us will stand before the Lord Jesus at the Judgment Seat of Christ. We won’t be judged for our sins, for they were paid for at Calvary, but for our works and service for Him while we were on this earth. He will reward us with crowns, which we will cast at His feet. Those who were not faithful, will suffer loss but are still saved and in heaven. May the Lord find us faithful today. Nothing is more important than living for the Lord and serving Him. Use it, or lose it.

Have a blessed and faithful day in the service of our Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

In the service of the King,

Dean

-February 3, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“But it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’”

(1 Corinthians 2:9).

Some things are so great, so beautiful, so breathtaking that we have a hard time describing them. We may finally say, “you’ve got to see it for yourself, words don’t do it justice.” The Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s wisdom, his riches, and His glory. When she met Solomon and saw it all for herself, she exclaimed, “…It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard” (2 Chronicles 9:5-6).

Paul quotes from Isaiah 64:4 showing that what we have read in the Scriptures does not fully describe how wonderful heaven will be, and the best thing about heaven will be that Jesus is there. No eye has seen nor ear has heard the fullness of the glory of heaven. We have some details about heaven to whet our appetites for eternity. More details of heaven are given in Revelation chapters 21 and 22 than any other chapters in the Bible: First, what won’t be there: tears, death, sorrow, crying, pain, anything that defiles, and sunshine (the Lamb is the light of heaven). Second, what will be there: The Lord in all His glory, all kinds of precious gems, 12 pearly gates, the foundations of the city, the streets of gold, a pure river, and the tree of life bearing 12 kinds of fruit each month for the healing of the nations.

As wonderful as these things are it will be even better. Heaven is truly a better place for the children of God. We will be forever with the Lord and all believers. Only believers will be in a better place; Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. Those who are unsaved will be in hell, which is a far, far worse place, that was created for the devil and his demons.

We should long for heaven and our new home. I can’t wait. It should spur us on to greater love for the Lord and devotion to Him. It should encourage us to live for Him and serve Him all our days on earth. Many saints have gone before us, and we will see them again in glory.

Have a blessed day serving and praising the Lord in the present while longing for our future heaven. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-February 2, 2022-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:25-26).

“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

Yesterday we considered the blessing of God’s forgiveness. God has forgiven us of all our sins, past, present, and future through the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. God’s forgiveness is perfect, immediate, and complete. His forgiveness of us is the basis of our forgiveness of one another. Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Today, we see how important it is to forgive others and for others to forgive us. Jesus made it very clear that our relationship with with others affects our relationship with the Father. Sinning against others is akin to sinning against God. If we go on living, worshipping, and serving with unresolved issues, it won’t be acceptable to God. We will be hypocrites.

There are times when we sin against others, hurt them in some way, or wrong them; we must ask them to forgive us. The longer we go without settling the issue, the harder it is to deal with. We must first ask God to forgive us, then the person whom we have wronged. Unresolved issues lead to bitterness and walls build up between people. So often people hold grudges against others which can last for years.

Other times, others hurt us. They are clearly in the wrong. Even so, we must be the ones to initiate the resolution. It is our responsibility. Jesus tells us to leave your gift at the altar and go and settle your differences before coming into the presence of God, especially in a worship service.

Just as there is a great blessing to be forgiven by God, so too, it is a great blessing to forgive others and to be forgiven by others. In either case, we must humble ourselves and be obedient to God. Have you any unresolved issues with others? We must deal with them now. It may have been something that happened a long time ago, that has gone on too long and affected your relationship with someone. It is never too late to make things right. God will pour out His mercy and grace and make possible reconciliation, peace, and love.

Have a blessed day forgiving and being forgiven. The sun will shine brighter and our burdens will be lighter. Stay safe and healthy.

In His mercy and grace,

Dean