Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-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

-September 24, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“For you need endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”

(Hebrews 10:36).

Endurance is not something one is born with, it comes with time, testing, and effort. God builds endurance in our lives by allowing hardships, difficulties, and sorrows. God doesn’t promise to keep us from them, but He does promise to keep us through them; He promises to be with us day by day, step by step.

Our faith gets stronger. Faith is like a muscle that must be used to get stronger. It reminds me of any form of exercise, such as walking, jogging, running, or any other physical exertion. One must start off slow and build up speed; and start with a short distance and go then go farther. So many start off with such enthusiasm but fizzle out by overdoing it in the beginning.

The same is true in the Christian life in regard to prayer, reading the Word of God, and serving the Lord. The Lord wants us to be consistent. Satan will always put roadblocks in our way. We must keep pressing on and we will find added strength and endurance.

Today’s verse shows that God gives the promise after we have done the will of God. We recently saw some amazing performers at the Summer Olympics. These athletes trained all their lives for the Olympics. Some won medals and many did not. You have to finish the race or event in the first, second, or third position to win a medal. Some enter the event as a clear favorite but don’t win, while others exceed expectations and win.

God wants us to have endurance so that whatever adversity we face, we keep on going. There is no room for giving up and or quitting. Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” The real test is how well we handle adversity. We must keep on keeping on.

May the Lord help us to build up and maintain our endurance over the long haul. This is how to accomplish God’s Will and receive the reward. How is your endurance? No matter where we are at today, we can build more endurance. It takes time and effort, but there are rewards in this life and especially in eternity.

Have a blessed day enduring whatever is in front of you and keep going. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean