Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-September 29, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are the household of faith.”

(Galatians 6:9-10).

Doing good to others is not a means of salvation, as so many people mistakenly contend, but rather a result of our salvation. It is something that all of us can and should do daily. You need no special training or qualifications; and it has more of an impact than we can ever measure.

The opportunities to do good are as many as there are people in the world around us and in the church. Paul admonished the Galatians to “not grow weary while doing good,” and “do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

• Let us not grow weary while doing good – Doing Good shouldn’t weary us but it can. This often happens when others do not appreciate what we have done for them. It can also occur when we see how much time, effort, and money we may have to invest in it. But just think what Jesus went through for us in coming to this earth, serving, teaching, healing, and helping others, and dying on the cross for us.

When we do good, we are sowing the love of Christ and we will reap if we do not lose heart. When one loses heart, he or she may quit. Every farmer knows how hard it is to plant and cultivate his crops, but it is all worthwhile at the time of harvest.

• As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith – There are times we don’t have the opportunity to do good but if we look around us, there are so many in need. Doing good “to all” is the key, whether they are saved or unsaved. When we show selfless acts of kindness to the unsaved, we demonstrate the love of Christ in action. We should always give God the glory and let others know we are believers. It is such a great testimony.

Paul indicates that we should especially do good to our brothers and sisters in Christ. The term, “the household of faith,” refers to the church, the family of God. We need to take of our spiritual family. Sometimes a member our church family is out of work, has a financial need, is struggling to care for a loved one, is sick or hospitalized, or is in any other difficult situation. We need to be there to show we care. Often doing good to others, like a boomerang, comes back to us. God sends help to the helpers in their time of need.

Let us the keep doing good to all, especially to those in the body of Christ. It requires time, effort, and resources to do good to others, but how blessed we will be on earth and in heaven eternally!

Have a blessed day doing good to all, especially to our brethren, and seizing the opportunities around us. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-September 28, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

(1 Corinthians 2:14).

Those who are unsaved are called the natural man. They are born from Adam, and are still in their sins. They are guided by their carnal desires, and are under bondage of sin, self, the world, and the devil. They see things totally opposite from a believer in Christ.

It is important for us as believers to understand where the unsaved are coming from. Because they don’t have the Holy Spirit, they can’t understand or appreciate the things of the Lord. Paul wrote, “But the natural man does to receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

We may ask if this is true, how then is possible for a person to get saved? The answer is by the Spirit of God. It is a miracle for anyone unregenerated soul to be born again. The Holy Spirit convicts a person of their sins, shows them their need of Christ, and brings them to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Seldom is a person saved after hearing the gospel for the first time. It often takes time, sometimes years. Therefore we need to pray for them, love them, and not force them. It is an individual decision.

Not only do the unsaved not understand the gospel, they can’t understand it. In fact, it is foolishness to them. It makes no sense to the natural mind. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

We should always remember how we were saved, where we were at, and what the Lord did in us. We can’t expect unbelievers to think like believers or to understand Christian terms. When we share with them, we must do so by putting things in terms they can understand and trusting the Holy Spirit to use the Scriptures to bring them to Christ.

I like the analogy of art and how people understand it. If you don’t know or understand art, you won’t appreciate it. The same can be true of sports, politics, music, food, or any of a number of things. When something is unknown, it will be unappreciated, and where it is unknown and unappreciated, it will be unaccepted.

It is hard for to hear the language they use, see the things that they do, or understand why they “just don’t get it.” Unbelievers have to get to that place where, “the light switch comes on,” and they start to understand it and things make sense from a spiritual perspective.

Pilate didn’t understand Jesus. John 18:37-38 says, “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are you a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’ And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in Him at all.’”

Praise God that when we are saved we know the truth about God, ourselves, and eternity. It is all by God’s grace. Spiritual things make sense to us for we have the in dwelling Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Have a blessed day understanding where the unsaved are coming from so we can deal with them with love and patience. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-September 27, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

“Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

(Isaiah 12:3).

Isaiah 12 is known as “A Hymn of Praise.” Isaiah gives praise to God, saying, “And in that day you will say: ‘Praise the Lord, call on His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth” (Isaiah 12:4-5). We have so much to praise the Lord for!

When God gave us His living water it was not a one time drink. Yes, quenched our eternal thirst once eternally, but He also sent the Holy Spirit to be in us so that we would overflow with the water of the Spirit within us. We should joyfully drink freely from the wells of salvation. We live in a dry and thirsty land, and we need to drink from the water of the Word every day.

John 7:37-39 says, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Let us then with joy draw from the wells of salvation. The joy of the Lord is our strength, even in our weakness, our hope, even when things look hopeless, and our help, even when there is no one to help us. There is nothing like the cold, clear water of a well, especially on a hot day. Proverbs 25:25 says, “As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country.” This world has little or no good news, but our good news is from heaven! Jesus saves, Jesus lives, Jesus keeps, and Jesus satisfied.

Have a blessed day drawing with joy from the wells of salvation. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-September 26, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.”

(Isaiah 9:2).

When we are born into this world, we are born in darkness, because we are born in sin and conceived in iniquity. We were dead in our transgressions and sins, we had no hope. Just as the sun is called the greater light, so too, Jesus Christ came into this world as the light of the world.

John the Baptist came as the forerunner to point people to the Light. John 1:6-9 says, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through Him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” With the birth of Christ, light came into the world and along with it life and hope.

John 8:12 says, “Then Jesus spoke to them again, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” He transforms our lives and takes us from darkness to light. He died in darkness on the cross to bring us into eternal light and life.

Colossians 1:13-14 tells us, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” What a great transformation, what a great salvation! We who are saved are now children of light, walking in the light, and bearing witness to the light of Christ.

We are so incredibly blessed to be in His light. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Christ’s light has liberated us, infused us, and empowered us to a victorious life. We as believers should not be sad or downcast, but rejoicing in the light of the Lord! We should point others who are still in darkness to Christ. Dear saints, bask in the light and shine the light in this dark world.

Have a blessed day praising God for His light, walking in it, and bearing it to others. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-September 25, 2021-

“So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’”

(Isaiah 6:5).

Isaiah was called by God to be a prophet to Judah during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and , kings of Judah. He spoke the Word of God in power, conviction, and clarity. He was a very godly man and servant of the Lord.

In Chapter 6, Isaiah had a vision of the Lord in His glory in heaven with all the angels around Him worshiping Him. In Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah said, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.” In the NT, Paul had a similar vision in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. They both saw the Lord in all of His glory.

Isaiah recognized the holiness of God, and in so doing, he also recognized his own sinfulness. It is one thing to see the sins of others, but it quite another to see our own sinfulness. The more we grow in Christ and see Him for who He is, the more sinful we see we ourselves. We should never forget that we are sinners saved by grace. We see the Lord and our sinfulness is exposed. Whether is it a sinful motive, attitude, desire, word, or action.

Paul wrote, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death” (Romans 7:24). How thankful we should be that our sins are forgiven! One day we will see the Lord face to face, and we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. May we keep our eyes in Jesus!

Have a blessed day living close to the Lord and when we sin in any form to confess it, repent, and forsake it. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean