Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-June 26, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-Love Your Neighbor As Yourself-

“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

(Leviticus 19:18).

When Jesus was asked by one of the lawyers which was the greatest commandment, He replied in Matthew 22:37-40, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these hang all the Law and the Prophets.” These come from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

When you think about it, all the commandments, which are so many in the OT, can be boiled down to these two: to love God and one’s neighbor. Even the Ten Commandments fit into these two great commandments. Today’s verse is the second greatest commandment. It is so important how that we treat each other with love.

If we practice these two commandments, we would get along together so much better. Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan as a lesson on how to love one’s neighbor. Helping others in need is love in action. The old expression is so true, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

If we would just think of every person we meet as a friend and a neighbor, how much better would we get along! There is far too much selfishness and self seeking in this world. Jesus taught us to love one another and think of others as more important than ourselves. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:3-4, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

May the Lord help us to love each other as we love ourselves. It is especially challenging considering that none of us are perfect. There is no room for vengeance or the holding of grudges. Our love for others is based on God’s love for us. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

Have a blessed day loving neighbors, friends, family, and our brothers and sisters in Christ as ourselves and as Christ loves us. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-June 25, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-It Is Clear That God Is Near-

“‘Am I not near at hand,’ says the Lord, ‘and not a God afar off?’ Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?’ says the Lord; ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ says the Lord.”

(Jeremiah 23:23-24).

Three times it says in today’s text, we read the words, “says the Lord.” The Bible is the only holy book that has God speaking in the first first person. Here God asks a series of questions about where He is and what He sees. God is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere present.

For those who are saved, it is a blessing that God is near, and that He sees and ears everything we do and say. For those who reject Christ and do not believe, it is most uncomfortable. This contrast is shown in John 3:19-21, “And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

It is interesting to note how people have been trying to hide their sins ever since the days of Adam and Eve. After they had sinned against God, they hid themselves among the trees of the garden and covered their nakedness with fig leaves. God provided them with animal skins for their covering. He this instituted the blood sacrifice which carried on until Christ came as the Lamb of God and died in our place on the cross. The sin issue must be dealt with, otherwise people are lost and filled with shame and guilt.

We praise God that by believing in Jesus our sins are forgiven. We no longer do we try to hide ourselves from God and others. We, who were once far from God, have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ. See Ephesians 2:13. James wrote in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

When people sin, they do it at night under the cloak of darkness. God calls them “secret places.” God sees them, no one can hide their sin from Him. He is everywhere and sees everything. The light of God’s truth is uncomfortable and convicting to those who do not know their Lord. It reminds us of when you pick up a rock, all these little creatures scurry to get back undercover in the darkness.

The same light is inviting to us but is uncomfortable to those in darkness. God is always near to us and guides us by the light of His Word. When we do sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us so that we can confess our sin and be forgiven. John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The nearness of God is our good. He wants the best for us always. May we walk in the light and be pleasing to Him. He promises to be with us always, even to the end of the age.

Have a blessed day and weekend walking with the Lord in the light and drawing near to Him. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-June 24, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-God Is Faithful To Establish And Guard Us From the Evil One-

“But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”

(2 Thessalonians 3:3).

When we look back over the years we see how faithful God has been to us. We are His children and He takes care of us. Our great enemy, the devil hates Christ and hates Christians and wants to harm us but he can’t. The Lord takes care of us and protects us. We are in His side, the victorious side.

There are three wonderful blessings in today’s verse: God is faithful, He establishes us, and He guards us. We do have troubles and trials to test our faith. We must cling to the Lord and rest on the promises of God. God has never failed or will He ever fail us.

• God is faithful – God has a perfect track record in the past and He never changes. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:9, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” His faithfulness is forever. We can count on it even more than sun rising and falling each day.

• God establishes us – Our Lord establishes our faith and helps us daily. 2 Corinthians 1:21 says, “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God.” We often speak of being established in a new job, new city, new home, or in a new marriage or family. We need God to establish us in every aspect of our lives, especially spiritually.

• God guards us – The Lord is on guard over us His people. The evil one, the devil tries his utmost to frighten us, discourage us, and defeat us, but the Lord is with us to protect us. 1 John 4:4 says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Our Lord Jesus Christ defeated the devil and protects us from him.

There is a great hymn by Lina Sandell, entitled, “Day By Day,” that is so encouraging. The second verse says, “Every day the Lord Himself is near me with a special mercy for each hour; all my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me, He whose name is Counsellor and Power. The protection of His child and treasure is a charge that on Himself He laid; ‘As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,’ this the pledge to me He made.”

May Lord help us to remember His faithfulness, His establishment, and His guarding. We are so blessed. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us and we are overcomers through His Word and power.

Have a blessed day resting in Jesus and His faithfulness. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-June 23, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Waiting On The Lord-

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

(Isaiah 40:31).

Isaiah chapter 40 is a very encouraging chapter on the greatness of God and man’s insignificance in comparison. Isaiah 40:18 asks the question, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?” In this chapter the following is said of the Lord: The Lord shall come with a strong hand (v. 10); He will feed His flock like a shepherd (v.11); He measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and the measured heaven and calculated the dust of the earth and hills (v.12); He sits above the circle of the earth (v.22); He numbers and names all His creatures (v.26); and His greatness and power are known (v.26, v.28).

We as mortals on the other hand are weak and insignificant in comparison. The nations are as a drop in the bucket and counted as nothing. We as mortals are like grasshoppers and are weak. Verse 29 says, “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” The Lord told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

In short a few weeks, the world’s greatest young athletes will gather in Tokyo, Japan for the Summer Olympics. The fastest, strongest, and fittest will compare for their counties to win gold, silver, and bronze medals. Here in this chapter it says even of the young in verse 30, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.” Just watch how the athletes give all their utmost effort and are exhausted as they complete their competitions.

But look at the contrast to those who wait on the Lord. They are blessed by the Lord beyond their own strength and abilities, in the physical, mental, emotional, and especially the spiritual realms. Ou verse today describes how God helps and strengthens us as we wait upon Him. Waiting on the Lord is not easy, but it yields such great results.

They renew their strength – Only God can do this for us. He gives us strength to carry on when we have none of our own. They mount up with wings like eagles – Eagles soar high above the earth and their eyesight is amazing. God helps us to rise above our circumstances and see things from His perspective. They run and are not weary – God builds our faith and endurance so that we can finish the race that is set before us. And they walk and do not faint. The Christian life is not easy but the Lord keeps is going one day at a time.

Are you waiting on the Lord for something today? Perhaps a job, a home, a spouse? Maybe you are waiting to test results, or some other important matter. Let us wait on the Lord for everything. God is not in a hurry, He has a plan for us. When we wait on Him, the results are always perfect for us. Chuck Wagner said, “He who waits on God never waits too long.”

Have a blessed day waiting on the Lord. He will renew, empower, and help us. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-June 22, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-The Preservation Of The Lord’s People-

“The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and our coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.”

(Psalm 121:7-8).

Psalm 121 is another of the psalms with unknown authorship. It is one of the Songs of Ascents, meaning it was sung by Jewish worshippers on their way to the temple in Jerusalem. The title of this psalm is: God the Help of Those Who Seek Him. It is one of my favorite psalms, though I have many favorites.

The key word in our text today is the word preserve, which is found three times in these two verses. The word preserve is a wonderful word in connection with the help that the Lord gives us in our lives on earth. In Psalm 121:1-2, we read, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills — From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” We look up to the Lord to help us down here on earth.

The word preserve is defined in the yourdictionary.com as, “To protect or keep something as it is in its original state; to keep or maintain intact; to keep in perfect or unaltered condition; maintain unchanged; to keep from injury, peril, or harm; protect.” This is exactly what the Lord does for us His children.

Looking back on our lives, especially since we have been saved, we trace God’s preservation in our lives. Not only spiritually, but physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, materially, and financially as well. God cares for us, not for a day, a week, a month, or a year, but for our whole lives and into eternity. He preserves us in three wonderful ways: from all evil, our souls, and our comings and goings.

• The Lord has preserve you from all evil – Evil is prevalent, pervasive, and persistent in our world today. It comes in many forms such as crime, corruption, violence, discrimination, and injustice, just to name a few. Crimes perpetrated against children and elderly people are the most heinous. We know the devil is behind all evil. Thank God He preserves us not just from evil, but from all evil. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus ends it by saying, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Your’s is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” Matthew 6:13).

• He shall preserve your soul – The Lord not only preserves our bodies but He preserves our souls. Once we are saved, we are saved forever. The Scripture clearly teaches eternal security. We are in hands of the Father and the Son, and we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. This is found most notably in John 10:27-30 and in 1 John 5:11-13.

• The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore – The Lord guards and guides our steps each and every day. We go out in the morning and return safely at night. We go to work, school, and errands; we meet with family and friends. We drive, ride bikes, walk, or run. He Lord promises to never leave us or forsake us. He is with us until the end of the age.

How has the Lord preserved you? What has He preserved you from? We may never know until we get to heaven all the times the Lord has preserved us from accidents, injuries, and even death. There are however plenty of instances that we do know of. Let us thank Him for His continued preservation until we reach our heavenly destination!

Have a blessed day knowing that God preserves us in so many ways. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean