Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-February 1, 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Blessed is he who transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

(Psalm 32:1-2).

We are all familiar with the story of David and Bathsheba. David committed both adultery and murder and stood guilty before the Lord. The baby died and David’s fellowship with the Lord was severed. He didn’t confess his sin and God’s hand was heavy upon him until he did. He suffered greatly spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. God sent His prophet Nathan to speak to him so that he would confess his sins and be restored.

Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 shows what he went through and describe Psalm 51 his confession and restoration. God will chasten us until we confess, repent, and return to Him. He chastises us because He loves us. There is such a relief to be forgiven and restored to the Lord. In the Bible there are two types of God’s forgiveness: Judicial – God’s forgiveness as our Judge. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins so that we can be forgiven and have eternal life through faith in His finished work on the cross. Parental – God forgives us as our Heavenly Father. This the type of forgiveness we are speaking of today. Sin cuts off our fellowship with God, we feel all alone, and nothing seems to go right.

David used the word blessed twice in today’s text: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered,” and “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Another word for blessed is happy. Being forgiven by God is one of our greatest blessings. There is relief, peace, comfort, and joy. and comfort. David wrote in Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave me the iniquity of my sin.”

In the NT, John gave the recipe for a believer to getting right with God, “If we confess our sins, He us faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Repentance is turning from our sin, confession is agreeing with God that it is evil in His sight, and forsaking it, is asking God to help us not repeat it. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” David found God’s mercy as did Peter, Jonah, and others. God is the restoration business.

Have a blessed day of being forgiven and walking closely with the Lord. When our relationship is right with God we have such peace and joy. Stay safe and healthy.

In His mercy and grace,

Dean

Tomorrow: Forgiving others and being forgiven by others

-January 31, 2022-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.’”

(Mark 9:35).

Jesus was His way to Jerusalem and the cross. He and His disciples quietly passed through Galilee and arrived to Capernaum. Jesus plainly told them, “…The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day” (Mark 9:31). They didn’t understand what this meant and were afraid to ask Him. Despite all this on His mind, our Savior took the time to deal with an important issue of which one of the them was the greatest.

Jesus asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” They kept silent, knowing that they debated who was the greatest. Deep down, they knew their discussion was wrong. Jesus could have come down heavy upon them for such pride and selfishness. Instead, He used the occasion to teach them a very important spiritual principle that would serve them well the rest of their lives. It wasn’t Peter, James, John, or any other disciple. He said, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” To drive home the lesson, He took a little child in His arms and used him as an example of how they should receive one another. As they would a little child, they would receive Him. It was all about humility and service.

To be last of all is to be humble, selfless, and gentle just as Jesus was. This was in sharpe contrast with the pride and egotism of the Pharisees. In the Christian life there is no room for pride or self-importance in any way. Sadly, many in the church today are way too self-absorbed, thinking too highly of themselves. Not only does one need to be last of all, but also a servant of all. In the upper room in John 13, Jesus got down on His hands and knees and washed the feet of each disciple. He took the place of a servant or slave. We can learn so much from this lesson. The way up is to go down, and the way to greatness is through serving.

Leaders in the church need to first be followers and servants to be examples to the congregation. Their words will be more powerful when this is the case, and others will follow their example. May the Lord help us all to be humble servants, putting others first, and taking on menial tasks without fanfare or complaint. We should never call attention to ourselves but point people to Jesus. On more than one occasion, Jesus said, “The last shall be first, and the first shall be last.” This the complete opposite of the world’s way of thinking.

Have a blessed day in humble, selfless, and sacrificial service for the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

In the service of our King,

Dean

-January 30, 2022-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

(Galatians 6:14).

From the moment Paul met Jesus and was saved, his whole desire was to live for Him and serve Him. Paul was a learned man with many great accomplishments in Judaism, yet he wrote in Philippians 3:7-8, “But what things were gain to me, these things I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Paul knew what really counted in life that Jesus died on the cross to save sinners.

We as believers have nothing to boast about except in the cross of Christ. None of us deserve to be saved, forgiven, and be on our way to an eternity in heaven with our Lord and Savior. Everything we have is from the Lord, we can’t boast; everything we accomplish is through Him, we can’t boast in those things either. All glory and praise to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The hymn writer Isaac Watts wrote, “When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Lord of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the cross of Christ, my God; All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.”

Peter felt his unworthiness and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). Paul said in Romans 7:18, “For I know that in me (that in me, that is in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” Let us remember the Lord today for His sacrificial death on the cross for us. May we boast only in the cross, not in ourselves.

Have a blessed day praising and thanking the Lord for His death, burial, and resurrection. We have nothing to boast in except the cross of Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

In His amazing love,

Dean

-January 29, 2022-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.”

(Proverbs 11:25).

There is a principle in Scripture that one sows what he reaps, whether for the good or for the bad. This is certainly true of generosity and giving. Christians should be the most generous people in the light of what God has given to us. Our Heavenly Father gave us salvation and eternal life; and He has given us all riches and spiritual blessings in Christ. We may not be rich in this world’s goods, but we do have, we should share with others.

Solomon wrote, “The generous soul will be made rich.” It is far better to have a generous soul than a miserly one. It is God who makes us rich in so many ways, not only financially and materially, but also spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially. As believers we often fail to realize how rich we are! We are so blessed above the rest.

Proverbs 10:22 reminds us, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” So many unsaved rich people have many riches but without Christ they are spiritually poor. They have much, but enjoy it little. They have problems, issues, and hardship like everyone else; and they find themselves sad, depressed, lonely, and fearful. The Lord is with us to guide us, encourage us, comfort us, and help us. We may have sorrow in life at times, but God adds no sorrow to us.

Solomon concludes, “and he who waters will also be watered.” The world think incorrectly that they must get as much of this world’s goods to make them happy, it never works. The rich young ruler came to Jesus to ask what he must do to inherit eternal life. Right before he left Jesus, our Savior pinpointed real issue, he loved his riches too much to follow Him. He told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). It doesn’t mean we should sell all we have, but each person has things they are holding onto that they must release in in order to come to Christ. There are those who hold onto sins, pride, control, power, or other things.

God blesses the generous and gives much more to them than they give and share. When they water, they are watered themselves. Proverbs 11:24 spells it out for us very clearly, “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than than is right, but it leads to poverty.” We this increase by giving things away, and actually have less when we hoard what we have. Paul quotes the words of Jesus in Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” God wants us to not only give our money and material goods, but also our time and effort to further His kingdom. Are you a giver?

Have a blessed day giving and sharing. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-January 28, 2022-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.”

(Exodus 21:5-6).

Today’s text speaks of the provision of servants. There were times when a Hebrew man was bought as servant, usually because was in debt and could not pay. He would have to serve for six years, then in the seventh year, he then would go free and paying nothing. If he came in single, he went out single, if he and in married, his wife would go out free with him. If however his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, they would have to stay and serve the master.

In cases like this, a servant had to choose to leave by himself or stay and become a perpetual servant, a servant forever. He had to willingly make the choice for himself, but once he decided to do this, he couldn’t change his mind. His master would bring him to the judges. They were witnesses to his decision to be a servant forever. The master would then take the servant to the door or doorpost, and pierce his eye with an awl. An awl was a sharp instrument used to bore a hole in the ear of servant. It is only mentioned in Scripture twice, Exodus 21:6 and Deuteronomy 15:17.

This represents our service to the Lord Jesus Christ. Not every believer in Christ is a servant, we must willingly offer ourselves to the Lord as servants forever. Jesus said in John 12:26, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” We can’t be half-way or part-time servants; we must be all in. We don’t pierce our ears physically but we consecrate our hearts and dedicate ourselves to being servants of Christ forever. We love Christ our Master and delight to serve Him.

Are you willing to be a servant of Christ forever, no turning back? Bill Gaither’s wonderful song says, “I will serve Thee, because I love Thee, You have given life to me; I was nothing before You found me, You have given life to me. Heartaches, broken pieces, ruined lives are why You died in Calvary; Your touch was what I longed for, You have given life to me.” Our Lord Jesus Christ loved us so much and died on the cross for us. Is He not worth serving every day the rest of our lives and into eternity? There is no higher place than to humbly and willing to serve our Lord! We can serve Him at church, at home, at school, at work, yes wherever we go. We serve the One who bought us with His blood.

Have a blessed day serving the Lord wherever you go today. He is worthy. Stay safe and healthy.

In His eternal service,

Dean