Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-July 31, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-God’s Invitation For Man’s Salvation –

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

(John 1:12-13).

When you plan an event, you want everyone to come. You carefully prepare all the details from the food, drink, and schedule. You send out an RSVP to all those invited. Usually, you are limited by space and or money who you can invite. If some can’t come, you invite others.

God devised His plan of salvation even before He created the world and well before man sinned. In God’s plan, He planned to send His Son Jesus Christ to die for the sins of every person. He invites everyone to accept His offer of salvation, not just a few.

William R. Newell in His beautiful hymn, “At Calvary,” wrote, “O the love that drew salvation’s plan! O the grace that brought it down to man! O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary.” Only God could devise such a great plan of salvation!

But sadly, so few take advantage of God’s offer of salvation, though it is free, and they would need to believe and receive the gift of eternal life. John 1:10-11 says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” Praise God for words of our text, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” God in righteousness and justice could have let us go our own way in sin and be lost forever but He loved us too much to do that.

It definitely saddens the heart of God when men and women reject Him and His offer of eternal life and forgiveness. On the other hand, there is great joy in heaven when one soul is saved. In Luke 15, Jesus told three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost or prodigal son. Luke 15:10 says, “Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The new birth that Jesus told Nicodemus about in John chapter 3 shows that salvation is completely from God. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” To receive Christ one must repent of his sins, believe that Jesus died for him on the cross and rose again, and receive Him as his Lord and Savior.

When one is born again, it is “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” God will never force anyone to believe and receive His offer of salvation. Each person must make his or her own decision. What will you choose? It is a life or death choice: to be with Christ in heaven forever or to be lost in hell forever.

Have a blessed day rejoicing in Christ for a wonderful salvation. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-July 30, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Lead Us To The Rock That Is Higher-

“From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

(Psalm 61:2).

David is the author of Psalm 61. The title of this psalm is, “Assurance of God’s Protection.” It is so encouraging and uplifting. He uses such words as rock (v.2), shelter (vs. 3-4), strong tower (v.3), tabernacle (v.4), and wings (v.4). All of these words speak of God’s strong help and protection in our lives.

Today’s verse speaks of Jesus, our Rock. He is no small stone but a great boulder; He is the Rock of our salvation. In science, it is often said “the irresistible force meets the immovable object.” There are many irresistible forces in this world that come against us us daily, but none can get by our rock. David calls on the Lord from the ends of the earth when his heart is overwhelmed.

The word overwhelm is defined as, “bury or drown beneath a huge mass; defeat completely.” This is how David felt under the immense weight of his circumstances. He knew that going to the Lord for help was his only hope. Psalm 62:5-7 says, “He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.”

We face many troubles and struggles in this world, which seem overwhelming to us. This why we can and must run to the Rock which is higher than us. The Lord does not always deliver us from our pain, sorrow, loss, illness, injury, or trouble, illness, He is always with us in them to bring us through them. God has done both for me at various times in my life. Just yesterday I was involved in a car accident on the freeway where a car hit quite hard from the rear. My car was badly damaged but I was not hurt. The angels of God protected me. Cars are things that can be repaired or replaced; people cannot be.

Our prayer, like David’s is, “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” David wrote in Psalm 60:11, “Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless.” Let is not be overwhelmed by our troubles but be overcomers through Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is a beautiful hymn, “Jesus Never Fails,” written by Arthur A. Luther that says, “In life’s dark and bitter hour love will still prevail; Trust His everlasting power — Jesus will not fail. Jesus never fails, Jesus never fails; Heaven and earth may pass away, but Jesus never fails.” Let us come to Him our rock for His providence. He is the Rock that is higher than us, the immovable object of our faith.

In His grace,

Dean

-July 29, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Cast Your Burden In the Lord-

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”

(Psalm 55:22).

Today’s verse is so encouraging: it is a command with two promises attached. If we do our part, God will do His part. David wrote this psalm when he experienced the disloyalty of friends. He is speaking of his close personal friend and advisor Athithophel. When David’s son Absalom usurped his kingdom and sought to kill him, Athithophel turned against David and sided with Absalom.

It hurts to be betrayed, especially by those we love and trust. David sent another friend and loyal servant Hushai back to Jerusalem to thwart the counsel of Athithophel, which he did. It led to David’s overwhelming victory over Absalom and those who fought with him. Absalom was killed by Joab, and Athithophel killed himself after his counsel was rejected.

It is a great verse to memorize; we had it as one of our Scripture memory verses at church. David realized that only the Lord could bear his burden, sustain him and keep him from being moved.

David says, “Cast your burden on the Lord.” In times of distress, difficulty, and despair, the Lord is with us. The Lord is our Burden Bearer. He bore our sins on the cross, and He daily bears our burdens. He wants us to cast our burdens in Him. His shoulders are broad and His arms are strong, and He is with us to help us all the day long.

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” There is no burden that our Lord cannot bear. Our Savior Himself was betrayed by Judas. He suffered rejection and was crucified for us. He had no one to bear His burdens; Jesus knows first hand how our burdens burden us. He desires to bear our burdens when we bring them before Him at the Throne of Grace.

The Lord promises to sustain us and keep us from being moved. The definition of the word is sustain is, “strengthen or support physically or mentally.” This is exactly what the Lord does for us. As believers we can certainly add spiritually and emotionally to that. Recently two star athletes, Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles have been overwhelmed by mental fatigue and pressure that has taken them out of competition. Other athletes have suffered from depression and it is a big issue in our society today. We are so blessed to be sustained by God’s strength. He showers us with mercy and Grace daily.

The Lord also promises us that we shall not be moved. He is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer. Nothing moves Him and He won’t let anything move us. Mavis Staples wrote the song entitled, “We Shall Not Be Moved.” One line says, “Well I’m on my way to heaven, we shall not be moved; On my way to heaven, we shall not be moved. Just like a tree standing by the water’s side, we shall not be moved.”

May we cast all our burdens, one by one on the Lord and leave them there. The Lord shall sustain us and we shall not be moved. We can face anything from anyone at anytime with the Lord. Paul wrote, “If God be for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31)?

Have a blessed day casting your burdens and cares on Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-July 28, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Press On Toward The Goal-

“I press on toward the goal toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ.”

(Philippians 3:14).

Paul was a tremendous example of pressing on for Christ. Persecution, opposition, chains, and imprisonment could not stop him from his goal of living for Christ and serving Him all his days. In Philippians 3:12-14, he twice uses the phrase, “I press on.” He not only preached it, he practiced it.

Every believer must do the same thing. We have to press on despite our circumstances, difficulties, trials, sorrows, troubles, and hardships. We press on in Jesus’ name, in His strength, and for His glory. In Romans 8:35, Paul asks the questions, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” These are formidable things, no question, but the Lord is with us to give us the victory.

Paul answers his own questions in Romans 8:37-39, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The Summer Olympics are well into its first week and there have been ups and downs, great victories and devastating losses. Katie Ledeky’s determination to persevere and press in has been inspirational and motivational. She is a great swimmer but she finished second in one race and fifth in another. She had to swim her longest race, the 1500 meter freestyle just over an hour after her previous race. This race is new to the Olympics for the women. The distance is almost one mile! She blasted off into the lead. With every stroke she pressed on. As I watched I was imagining how tired she was, but on she swam maintaining a sizable lead and winning the gold metal. I got tired just watching her!

I am reminded of the song entitled, “We Press On” by Selah. It says, “When the valley is deep, when the mountains are steep, when the body is weary, when we stumble and fall. When the choices are hard, when we’re battered and scarred, when we’ve spent our resources, when we’ve given our all. In Jesus’ name, we press on, in Jesus’ name, we press on, Dear Lord with the prize, clear before our eyes, we find the strength to press on.”

Let us press on and keep pressing on to the end. Jesus is leading us and giving us the strength to press on. His grace is sufficient for us. One day we will see our Savior and be with Him in heaven forever. Oh, what day that will be! We don’t talk about the labor pains, we celebrated the birth of the baby.

Have a blessed day pressing on for Jesus toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-July 27, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-Running With Endurance The Race Set Before Us-

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

(Hebrews 12:1).

The 2020 Summer Olympics are well underway in Tokyo, Japan. It was postponed last year due to COVID-19, and arguably should have been pushed out another year due to the new Delta variant. The Summer Games has always been one of my favorite sporting events. I so enjoy watching athletes from all over the world gathering and competing. They have prepared all their lives for this moment. They have trained, practiced, and sacrificed to be ready to compete. Many will win gold, silver, and bronze metals and prize money that goes with them. So many others will not bring home any medals, only the joy of participation.

The marathon is one of the most grueling and challenging of all the events at the Games and comes at the very end before the closing ceremonies. It is race of 26.2 miles that ends with a lap around the stadium to the finish line. Only one can win the race and just three can take home medals. There are no preliminary rounds, just one race for the men and one for the women.

In the days of the NT, athletes competed in Greece and the long distance race was one of the most important. The writer of Hebrews, familiar with it, uses the race as an analogy of Christian life. It says in our text to, “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” But before he says that he tells us of the needed preparation. We only see the runners at the starting line, during the race, and at the finish line. We don’t see all the training and effort they have put in to build up their endurance.

Here in our text we see what must do in our Christian lives in order to run with endurance: lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily entangles us. Runners must be as light as possible in their clothing and shoes; any extra weight will slow them down. For us, the weight of our worries, cares, fears, and doubts can interfere with our performance. Sin of course, in any form is the ultimate hindrance and detriment to us.

We have two great rooting sections cheering us on: a cloud of witnesses, who are all those saints that are found in Hebrews chapter 11 and Jesus Christ our Lord, our great coach. We are nearing the finish line, and like the runners in the Olympics, we need encouragement to finish the race strong. This year due to the pandemic and spread of the virus in Japan, there are no spectators to see it live.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate (or is self-controlled) in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.” In Paul days the athletes didn’t win precious medals, thousands of dollars, or sign lucrative endorsement contracts, they were given a wreath which was very perishable.

May the Lord help us to run with endurance the race that is set before us. It is long and challenging, but we can make it with the Lord’s help. Let us cast off any hindrance and reject every sin. The finish line is just ahead at the Lord’s coming. May we keep running all the way to the victory!

Have a blessed day running the race set before us with endurance, effort, and energy. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean