Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-June 4, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-All Praise To Our Great God-

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and majesty; for all that is in heaven and on earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord.”

(1 Chronicles 29:11).

How do we describe the greatness and glory of God? David tried his best, but of course, he fell short. We mortals do not have the words to adequately declare His greatness and glory. David tells of God’s greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty. God is a great king and His kingdom is over all.

David loved the Lord so much that He desired to build a temple for the Lord. God knew his heart, but because he had been a man of war and blood shed, God chose his son Solomon to build the temple. I am sure he was disappointed, but he did not let it stop him from preparing the materials as mentioned in this chapter: gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, onyx, and marble. It was a huge undertaking and David accepted his part in the preparation. The house of the Lord had to be great because God is great. Anything we do for the Lord must be reflective of the Lord.

We need to praise the Lord and give Him all the glory. Paul wrote in Romans 11:33, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.” Paul came to the clear realization that the more we know God and His ways, the more we understand how much we do not know. God is the Creator, Savior, Redeemer, Lord, and King. There is no end to His kingdom or His glory. He reigns in heaven and He reigns in our hearts.

All of God’s attributes, taken together, describe who He is. Even though He is so great, He loves us and delights to spend time with us in prayer and in His Word. The doxology that we sing says, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below; praise Him above all heavenly host, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” We close our breaking of bread services with this song each week, which is very appropriate indeed.

Let us praise Him, worship Him, and adore Him today and every day. He is so worthy. One day we will see our Lord face to face in all of His glory. Earthly rulers come and go, their kingdoms rise and fall, but our unchanging God reigns forever above all!

Have a blessed day praising God for who He is as well as what He does. Stay safe and healthy.

-June 3, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Our Words Have An Effect On Others-

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

(Proverbs 15:1).

The words we use and the tone we speak them in, have a powerful influence on others. Words are much like the internet, they can be used for great good or great evil, depending how one uses it. Words are also like fire; the same fire that keeps one warm and cooks a meal, can also destroy a home or take your life.

Solomon, the wisest man ever, shows the contrast between soft words and harsh words. The former diffuse a difficult, heated situation, while the latter only intensifies it, making a bad situation much worse. In the analogy of a fire, water puts it out, gasoline causes it to explode.

Solomon writes, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” Keeping our cool, speaking quietly, and choosing positive and encouraging words, keeps conversations and relationships under control. If someone uses nasty words to us, we must not respond in kind, but rather respond with kindness and love. When we do, the other person is put to shame, and often apologizes at the time or shortly thereafter.

The voice of calm and reason will prevail over the voice of anger and meanness. The believer in Christ must choose kind words and speak them kindly. Proverbs 15:23 says, “A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!”

Harsh words only stir up more anger and make things worse. The NBA playoffs are going on right now. We have all seen what happens when two players start saying bad things to each other, it can lead to technical fouls, fights, ejections, and fines. If one player keeps his cool and walks away, things will deescalate pretty quickly. Usually the veteran players, knowing the situation, take this approach.

Proverbs 14:29 says, “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.” It reminds me of the story of the two rams. Each one wanted to pass the narrow mountain trail but only one could do so. They could battle out but one or both of them would surely fall off the cliff. They were at an impasse. Suddenly, one of the rams laid down his body over the trail and let the other walk across his body safely, then he walked by unimpeded. This is the attitude we need in situations where each person thinks he is right. To duck under and agree to disagree is the best approach we can take.

May the Lord help us to stay calm, and speak soft words. We must remember what we say is important, but how we say it is often even more important. You wouldn’t wrap your baby in burlap but in cotton, so too, we shouldn’t wrap our words in harshness and anger.

Have a blessed day considering our words and tone so that we can be a blessing. Winning a argument may lead to losing a friend. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-June 2, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Our Future In Heaven Will Be Glorious-

“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’”

(Revelation 21:3-4).

It is always good to have something good to look forward to, something better than we have now. For the believer in Jesus Christ, our future on earth may be good but our life heaven will be greater than anything this world has to offer. Life here in this world is at best uncertain. One thing we know for sure it will have its share of pain, sorrow, tears, and death. It is inevitable and inescapable. The older we get, the more aches and pains we feel.

Heaven will be great for many reasons, the greatest of which is we will see and be with Jesus forever. The angel announces, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” One of Jesus’ names is Immanuel, meaning, “God with us.” When He was born on earth, He came to dwell among us. John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Matthew 1:23 also tells us, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.’”

In His first advent, He came to suffer and die on the cross to save us from our sins. He was the Man of Sorrows. He was despised and rejected. The cross always precedes the crown. He died, rose again, and ascended back to heaven with the promise, “In My Father’s house are many mansions, if if were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3).

We have quite a few details about heaven in NT, especially in the Book of Revelation, such as: streets of gold, a pure river, pearly gates, precious stones, and the tree of life. But even better than this will be the quality of life. All things will become new. There will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain. Imagine how great that will be! We will need no more doctors, medicines, or hospitals because there will be no pain or disease; there will be no funerals because there will be no death; there will be no tears because there nothing to make us sad. This passage in Revelation is called, “The No Mores.”

The Father’s house will be so fabulous and far, far greater than any mansion on earth. It will be our home for all eternity. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “But it is written, ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’” It will beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations.

Let us rejoice in what God has in store for us in heaven forevermore. May we thank Him for everything He has done for us and has given us now as well. Our future in heaven will be glorious. As my cousin Jessica says, “I am livin for heaven.”

Have a blessed day thanking God and thinking ahead to heaven. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-June 1, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-The Comfort Of The Lord’s Coming-

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

The coming of the Lord to take us home to heaven is one of the most exciting, encouraging, and energizing subjects in all the Scriptures. Though the word Rapture is not found in the Bible, the concept is. The word rapture in the original Greek means, “A snatching away.” Those of us who are alive will be gathered together with those who have died in Christ. We will meet the Lord in the air.

Three things are associated with the Lord’s coming: the shout of the Lord, the voice of the archangel, which we know to be Michael, and the trumpet of God. Only believers will hear and see these things. In the OT, trumpets were used to gather the people of Israel together for feasts, to move out from their camp, and for battle.

Paul mentions that the dead in Christ will rise first. The saints who have died and preceded us to glory are already with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 says, “We are confident, yes, well pleased, rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” There were those false teachers in the early church sought to upset the saints regarding those who died, or as the NT says, “have fallen asleep in Jesus.” The believers wondered would become of those who died in Christ before them. There is no need to worry, they are with the Lord and they will rise first. Their bodies will be reunited with their souls and spirits.

Then we who are alive at the time of Christ’s coming will be raised up to meet them in the air. O what a reunion that will be! During this pandemic we have not been able gather as a church for about 15 months. It will be so exciting to be back together at church again. And just think of the saints who have departed to be with Christ. We miss them and we will see them again.

It will all happen so suddenly and quickly. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed —in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Paul concludes our passage with the words, “…And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” Just as the disciples rejoiced to see Jesus risen from the dead, we will be excited to see Him physically for the very first time. Peter who saw the Lord on earth wrote, “Whom (that is Jesus) having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” I get goosebumps just thinking about it! I am ready to go! The Lord’s coming is imminent, meaning He could come at any time. Those who are saved are ready, but if you are unsaved, you are not ready. There will be no second chances for those left behind.

There are but two men in the history of the world according to Scripture who did not die but were taken directly to heaven: Enoch and Elijah. Of Enoch it says, “God took him.” And of Elijah, it says he went up to heaven in a chariot of fire.”

Let us then rejoice as we contemplate the Lord’s coming and comfort one another. We win either way, whether we die in Christ or we are raptured, we go to be with the Lord forever. He may come today!

Have a blessed day waiting for Christ’s return and serving Him all the way until we enter into glory. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

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-May 31, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday, Happy Memorial Day,

-The Ultimate Price Is Giving One’s Life-

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for His friends.”

(John 15:16).

Today is Memorial Day, a day we as a country remember those who gave their lives in the service of our country. Many died in wartime, others in peacetime, some in accidents, others in friendly fire incidents. They all wore the uniform of the United States, and they all paid the ultimate price. Each one gave every ounce of devotion to protect our freedom.

President Abraham Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address on November 18, 1863, with the Civil War still raging. He said, “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate— we can not consecrate— we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but we can never forget what they did here. It is for the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us— that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain— that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

We cannot personally thank those who have died for our country, but we can appreciate what they did for us, and remember them. Most, but not all, are buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The first Memorial Day took place on May 30, 1868 (originally known as Decoration Day) At Arlington National Cemetery. The national observance of Memorial Day still takes place there today, with the placing of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the decoration of each grave with a small American flag. In 1971, federal law changed the observance of the holiday to the last Monday in May and extended it to include all those who died in American wars. People pay tribute not only with flowers but also with speeches and parades.

As I am writing these words today, our President Joe Biden has just laid the wreath at Arlington National Cemetery in the annual tribute to those who died for us. It is tradition, but it is much more, it is appreciation.

Jesus Christ our Savior laid His life for us for on the cross. He didn’t just die for Jews, He died for everyone. He called His disciples His friends. He said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down His life for His friends.” Earlier in John 10:17-18, He said, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I received from My Father.”

Jesus set the example of demonstrating His love on the cross. 1 John 3:16 says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” As a result, there have been so many soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in battle to save their fellow soldiers; and there have been so many Christians who laid down their lives for Christ and their fellow believers.

Today is a solemn day, a cherished day, an honored day. Yes, we have fun, with picnics, barbecues, and other activities, but let us never forget those who died to make it all possible. Let us remember above all the price Jesus paid for us all. For us as believers, we remember His death and resurrection every Sunday until He comes. Happy Memorial Day!

In His grace,

Dean