Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-August 15, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-Jesus Died And Rose To Save Us And Make Us His People To Live For Him-

“If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”

(Romans 14:8).

When Jesus was born into this world, He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He fulfilled the Scriptures perfectly and died on the cross for our sins and rose again. By receiving Him as our Lord and Savior, we made alive together with Him. He bought us with His own precious blood. Our sins are forgiven and we have eternal life.

We are no longer under Satan’s control, sin’s control, or the flesh’s control. We now belong to Jesus. We now live to the Lord and die to the Lord. For the believer, the fear of death is gone. We know that when we die, we will go to be with the Lord forever. If the Rapture happens before we die, we will go up to heaven without dying. Either way we we will be the Lord.

Our mission in life is to live for the Lord. Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” We have much to do for the Lord, and the time is short. Each day we have life, we have the blessed privilege to live for Christ and to serve Him. None us of us knows when our time will come to leave this world and go to be with the Lord.

Let us live for the Lord fully and serve Him completely, one day at a time. We represent our Savior in this lost, dark, and sinful world. We are ambassadors for Christ, lights shining in the darkness, servants of the most high God. We must always live for the Lord and not for ourselves. Our greatest joy is to be pleasing to Him.

Have a blessed day living for and serving Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-August 14, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

(Revelation 3:19-20).

In the book of Revelation, there are seven churches. Each one existed in John’s day. These seven churches also represent the various times in the history of the church. The Apostle John wrote this book along with the Gospel of God, and three letters, first, second, and third John.

When John was old and banished to the island of Patmos for his faith in Jesus Christ, he wrote the Revelation of Jesus Christ. At this time, the apostle received a direct revelation from our Savior. Revelation 1:19 says, “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.”

The Seven churches are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The Lord Jesus speaks with specific words for each one. They are found in Revelation 2 and 3. Today’s text is directed to the last of the seven churches, Laodicea. The faithful church Philadelphia exists side by side with the lukewarm church Laodicea.

The message to Laodicea is to be zealous and repent. Our Lord rebuked them for being lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, and for being proud and self-reliant. He described their spiritual condition as saying that “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” It is a sad and dangerous thing when those who name the name of Christ have this disposition. The opposite was really true, Jesus called them “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”

We as believers today need to walk closely with Lord, depend fully on Him, obey His Word, and show His light and love in this the dark, sinful world. We must be on guard against spiritual pride and the feelings of superiority over others. Verse 20 is so often applied to the gospel to the unsaved, and it is applicable to that purpose, but it is written to those religious people who the name of Christ but do not follow His teachings or walk in His ways. Their religion is stiff, stale, and off track.

Jesus stands and the door and patiently knocks at one’s heart, seeking to come in and have fellowship. The door knob of the heart is not on the outside but on the inside, He will never force His way in. He has given each person a choice to receive Him as Lord and Savior and give over the controls of one’s heart to Him. My heart, your heart is a throne. There is only room for one to sit on that throne, Jesus or you and me.

In our world today, so many think they are so intelligent, educated, talented, and self-sufficient that they do not need Jesus. They feel they can make their own decisions, control their own destinies. They are on a path that leads to death and destruction. We need Jesus! We need Him to be in control, to guide us, direct us, and help us. We cannot make it on our own! When we open our hearts to Him, He will lead us in the right way, the straight and narrow way that leads to everlasting life. We must choose to open our lives to Him, fully and completely. He will only reign over surrendered hearts.

Have a blessed day of inviting Jesus into your life and giving Him full control. He is patiently knocking. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-August 13, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Saved By Grace, Created For Good Works-

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

(Ephesians 2:9-10).

There is no way verses nine and ten can be separated from one another. We are saved by God’s matchless grace, completely apart from our works. Once we are saved, however, good works follow as a result. Some may ask how our works really work? If our works cannot save us, what role do they have in our lives? Works are the result of the Holy Spirit in dwelling us and empowering us to do good to others in Jesus’ name.

From verse ten we see that God created us in Christ Jesus for good works. Good works demonstrate how God changes our lives from being self oriented to be being Christ and others oriented. Doing good to others flows from our relationship with Christ.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” This is our part to shine the light of Christ in this dark, sinful world. It has such a powerful impact on the unsaved as well as on the saved. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:10, “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” When the opportunity is present, good works should be prevalent.

Christians need to be prepared to do good works to help others. Paul instructed Titus to encourage the saints in Crete, to do good. They were to be, “ready for good works, to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs.” The people of Crete had a very bad reputation for “always being liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons.” They needed Titus to teach them, train them, and prod them. We need the same teaching, training, and prodding today.

May the Lord help us to fulfill our destiny in doing good for others. It will not always be easy since those we do good to don’t always appreciate it. Even if others don’t thank us, Jesus will be glorified and others will be impacted. Doing good is easy to understand, but much harder to do!

Have a blessed day going good for others in Jesus’ name. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-August 12, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Praising God For His Daily Mercies And Faithfulness-

“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.”

(Psalm 89:1).

This psalm was written by a relatively obscure man named Ethan, the Ezrahite. He, like Moses and Solomon wrote just one psalm each. David wrote about half of them, then as we have mentioned before, there were others written by Asaph, the sons of Korah, and a number were written by anonymous writers.

Ethan the Ezrahite was a contemporary of King Solomon. He was a very wise man but he couldn’t compare to Solomon whom God gave tremendous wisdom. 1 Kings 4:29-31, says of Solomon’s wisdom, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand of the seashore. Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men — than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in the surrounding nations.” Ethan was among the wisest in Israel.

Throughout this beautiful psalm, Ethan, who was one of the singers, praised God in song. My friend at church, Allan and his wife named their son Ethan. The man Ethan Allen was a leading figure in the days of the Revolutionary War. Ethan the Ezrahite was greatly affected by God’s mercies and faithfulness.

• “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever.” – Every day the Lord showers His mercies upon us. Three times Ethan uses the word mercy in this psalm. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” God’s mercy does not give us what we deserve, which is judgment, condemnation, and an eternity in hell because of our sin. He has shown rich and abundant mercy and grace through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross to atone for our sins.

• “With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.” – Ethan uses the word faithfulness six times in this psalm. Just as God’s mercies come to us every morning with each new sunrise, so God’s faithfulness is there at the end of the day to remind us of how the Lord has blessed us, helped us, provided for us, and protected us for that day as He always has in the past and always will in the future.

The Lord is so good to us in His mercies and faithfulness. One of the greatest and most consistent geysers in the world is called “Old Faithful,” located near Calistoga, California. In the early days of the National Geographic Society, Old Faithful was declared one of only three “faithful geysers” in the world because of its regular eruptions. God is even more faithful than “Old Faithful.” He never fails in His promises and His continual working in our lives.

Let us praise God for His mercies and faithfulness to us and to all generations. The hymn writer Thomas O. Chisholm wrote, “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father! There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not: as Thou has been Thou forever wilt be. Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided— Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me. Amen.”

Have a blessed day praising God for His daily mercies and faithfulness. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-August 11, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-The Word Of God Is Better Than All Riches-

“Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes more than fine gold” (Psalm 119:127)!

“I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, as much as in all riches” (Psalm 119:14).

Psalm 119 is focused on the Word of God in nearly every one of the 176 verses. Psalms is the longest book of the Bible with 150 chapters, and this psalm is by far the longest in psalms and in the entire Bible. The author of Psalm 119 is unknown, but its effects are well known in the lives of God’s people.

In Bible days as well as today, money and riches are more than commodities, but are hoarded, saved, and loved more than almost anything. The rich want to be richer and the poor want to be rich, and those in the middle strive to gain more and more. You would think that gold, silver, precious jewels, money, and other riches would last forever, but they don’t. When we die we leave it all behind!

Not so with the Word of God, for it lasts forever. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Why is it that people do not put more value in it? The devil causes people to strive after empty and vain things instead of eternal things. The psalmist saw through to the true value of what means the most. He rejoiced in the Word of God and loved all God’s truth more than all the riches of this world.

The hymn writer Rhea F. Miller wrote, “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold, I’d rather be His than have riches untold; I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands, I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand. Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held by sin’s dread sway; I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.” Having Jesus and His Word is more precious and valuable than all all the riches of this world put together.

May the Word of God be our joy every day and in every way. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path as it says in Psalm 119:105. It is sweeter than honey to the taste as it says in Psalm 119:103. Let us read it, obey it, and apply it to our lives. May we study it, mediate on it, and memorize it. We are the richest people on earth because we have the true riches in Christ.

Have a blessed day loving the Lord and His Word and being guided by it. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean