Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-September 2, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Do All To The Glory Of God-

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

(1 Corinthians 10:31).

Paul wants us to know that we can do anything and everything to the glory of God. This is true as long as we are not sinning. From the simplest task to the most complex; from the workplace to the home front; from church to running errands; from doing chores to helping others; all should be done to the glory of God.

What does it mean to do something to the glory of God? It means to thank Him for the strength and ability He has given us, do everything for Jesus and in His name, and give Him all the credit for what we accomplish. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:31 quoting the OT, “that as it is written, He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

We so often want to be acknowledged for what we do, but instead we should appreciate other’s compliments but always direct people to the Lord. It is always best to say, “Thank you, praise God!” In giving glory to God, we should say, “Everything I have is from God; everything I do is for God; and everything I accomplish is by God.” It really helps us keep everything in proper perspective.

Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The key to this verse is, “through Christ who strengthens me.” Jesus told His disciples in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Simply put, with Christ and in Christ we can do all things, without Christ or outside His will we can do nothing.

Today, we will do many things, big and small, spiritual or secular, significant or relatively insignificant, let’s do everything to the glory of God. Paul covered pretty much everything when he said, “Therefore whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” With this in mind, we find our days to go faster, smoother, and less complicated. Jesus will give us a song in our hearts, even praise to our God!

Have a blessed day doing all to the glory of God and thanking Him for everything. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-We Can Do It, But Should We?

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.”

(1 Corinthians 10:23-24).

The Apostle Paul had to deal with some difficult issues in his letters to the Corinthians, one of which greatly affected the early church: should one eat meat sacrificed to idols? There was liberty to do it, but it could have a negative affect on other believers. Paul addressed this controversy also in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10, as well as in Romans 14, in Galatians 5, and in Colossians 2. There were other issues of the day, but this one seemed to be the most important.

Paul is saying that we have freedom to do certain things, that in and of themselves are not wrong, but can be wrong if they harm or stumble others. Christian liberty goes as far as Christian love. We never want to stumble or hinder a brother or sister in Christ for whom Christ died. Paul wrote in Romans 14:14, “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”

Nowadays, there is the controversy over drinking wine. It is lawful but not always helpful or edifying. It can stumble a young Christian who may see us drinking wine and think it is okay for them too and lead to terrible results. Our consideration when deciding to do something or not, is not just is it right or wrong but does it glorify the Lord and will others be helped, edified, and encouraged. If we can’t answer yes to all these things, we shouldn’t do it.

The law of love always trumps the law of liberty. During the new stages of the pandemic we have the issue of whether to wear masks or not and whether to be vaccinated or not. This controversy has even affected churches. Many have changed the discussion from medical considerations to civil liberty or political ones. Love and what is best for others should always rule the day.

So, to answer the question of the day, we can do it, but should we? The answer is often no if by doing it, it stumbles a weak or sensitive brother or sister. Paul concluded in 1 Corinthians 8:13, “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” There are choices we make every day, and there are times when we must sacrifice our personal liberty in order to be a blessing to others. If it is something questionable, we shouldn’t do it. It is always better to refrain than to cause another pain.

Have a blessed day living by the law of love in all we do and say and not letting our liberty stumble others. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-August 31, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-Let Us Worship God Our Shepherd And Follow Him-

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice:”

(Psalm 95:6-7).

Psalm 95 is a rich and beautiful psalm written by an unknown writer. Six times in this psalm, the psalmist uses the expression “let us.” He says, “Let us sing” (v.1); “Let us shout,” (v.1); “Let us come” (v.2); “Let us shout,” (v.2); “Let us worship and bow down,” (v.6); “Let us kneel,” (v.6). This represents one man’s call for worship to the congregation of God’s people. We commonly hear this expression in our churches today, “Let us pray,” “let us sing,” “let us take the bread and wine,” and “let us open the Word of God.” We gather together and worship together.

The psalmist refers to God as our Maker, and by inference as our Shepherd. God created us, saved us, and He cares for us. One of His titles is Shepherd. David wrote in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” David was a shepherd before he was a soldier and a king. He found God’s care in every area and aspect of his life. A shepherd must feed, water, lead, and protect, and provide for the sheep. A shepherd has more than one sheep but cares for each sheep as it was his only one. In some parts of the world today there are shepherds still working with sheep.

Jesus is our Shepherd. He is called the Good Shepherd (John 10:11); the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20-21); and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:2-4). We are His sheep. Sheep are dense and defenseless. They need constant care and supervision lest they wander off and fall prey to some predators. Being a sheep is not very flattering to our human egos, but when we are shepherded by Jesus it is uplifting and encouraging. We are fully dependent on Him. We hear His voice and follow Him. He leads us to the green pastures and still waters.

Sheep are very fearful creatures. The shepherd must constantly assure the sheep that they will be safe and secure. We too are by nature very fearful creatures. This is why the expression, “Fear not,” is found some 365 times, once for each day of the year. There are so many things that cause us fear, but our faith in Christ overcomes our fear. As someone said, “Never fear when Jesus is near.” Because He is always with us, there is nothing to fear. Maybe today something is troubling your heart or weighing heavily on your mind. Seek the Lord our Shepherd and give the matter to Him.

Let us worship and bow down to our Lord, our Shepherd today. May we stay close to Him and not stray in any way. He will feed us, guide us, care for us, provide for us, and protect us. We are His beloved sheep, He is our beloved and blessed Shepherd.

Have a blessed day following our Shepherd who loves us and cares for us. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-August 30, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-Learning From The Lessons Of The Scriptures-

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).

The OT explains the NT, and the NT explains the OT. There are so many lessons we can learn, especially from the OT. There are a positive examples to emulate and negative ones to avoid. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1-11 how with most the the Israelites God was not pleased because of their unbelief and idolatry. All the men who came out of Egypt perished in the wilderness, except for Joshua and Caleb. God brought all their children into the Promised Land.

It is so important that we learn from the past, from our mistakes and the mistakes of others. George Santayana, a Spanish Philosopher said, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” For us as believers in Jesus Christ, we have no excuses for not learning the lessons of Scripture. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:6, “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.”

God gave us His Word from Genesis to Revelation to learn from. The Scriptures come alive when we put ourselves into the sandals of the men and women of the Bible and apply God’s Word to our lives today. The Scriptures were given for our learning and admonition so that we may have patience, comfort, and hope.

The word admonition means, “an act or action of admonishing; authoritative counsel or warning.” By heeding the lessons of Scripture we can avoid many of the pitfalls of the past and make the right choices for today. Moses, Samuel, Jeremiah, Paul, Peter, John, and James were great admonishers. Their words were authoritative and powerful. They spoke words that convicted, exhorted, warned, and encouraged.

God could have included only the good examples of Scripture but that would have made us think we could never live up to them. He included the mistakes, failures, and sins of His children so that we can relate to them. In James 5:17-18, it says of the mighty prophet Elijah, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”

No one in the Scriptures was perfect. They had their strengths and weaknesses. So many of them overcame their failures to be victorious for God. It gives us hope that we too can be overcomers by the blood of Christ , the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit. If and when we fail or fall, let’s get up, confess our sins, and move on. That is what Jacob, Moses, Jonah, and Peter did. God used them to do great things.

There are many lessons for us to learn from, let’s learn them. We should learn from the mistakes and failures of others as well as from our own mistakes and failures. God is patient with us and is a God of second chances. The song writer Randy Thomas wrote, “We must wait, wait, wait on the Lord, we must wait, wait, wait on the Lord. And learn our lessons well, in His timing He will tell us, what to do, where to go, and what to say.”

Have a blessed day learning our lessons from the past to gain the victory in the present and future. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-August 29, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-Oneness And Equality In Christ-

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

(Galatians 3:26-28).

In the days of Christ and the apostles there were many social, cultural, and religious differences between people. Jesus came to die for all people and breakdown all the barriers. Only the gospel can save people and show us how to love one another and live in unity as one body of believers.

Here in our text, Paul cites several divergent and diametrically opposed group that are now one in Christ. Jews and Gentiles never got a long, slaves were subjugated to free, and men and women were so opposite. The cross of Jesus Christ breaks down all the natural barriers.

Ephesians 2:13-14 says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once were afar off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” All distinctions are gone. We are all one in Christ. All races, colors, and backgrounds can join together as one. This is true equality in the midst of diversity.

We look around the world and in our country and we see some much prejudice, conflict, and opposition between people outside of Christ. Jesus brings people together, the devil drives them apart. Wherever the gospel is preached the status of everyone is elevated. We are all one and equal in Christ. We are brothers and sisters in Christ.

In the world there are many classes but in Christ there is but one: believers in Jesus Christ. We may not speak the same language but we all speak the language of the love of Christ. We share the same Lord, the same salvation, and have been washed in the same blood of Christ.

Ephesians 4:4-6 says, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” These are “the seven ones.” The number seven in the Scriptures is the number of completion and perfection. Our bond in Christ is eternally strong as is our bond with with one another.

May we stand together as one in Christ, love one another, and serve one another. Praise God we are equal and one in Christ. We will spend eternity together in heaven.

Have a blessed day as children and heirs of God living in love and unity. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean