Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-May 30, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-Trusting God And Not Fearing Man-

“In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?”

(Psalm 56:4).

David, the writer of this psalm, was in a very tight spot. He had fled from Saul who vowed to kill him. In seeking to find safety he went to the land of the Philistines, the enemies of Israel. He was in a place he should not have been with people he should have been with. As it tells us in Scripture, he even stooped so low to feign madness before them so they would not kill him.

The Philistines could have killed him and all his mighty men, but God did not allow it. David wrote in Psalm 56:13, “You have delivered my soul from death, have You not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.” After all, Samuel had anointed him king in place of Saul, though Saul was still king. He just had to wait for God’s timing.

The Lord has to promised to be with us as He was with David. We should resist the temptation to take matters into our own hands. The Lord loves us, cares for us, guides us, and helps us. We, like David, are living behind enemy lines, the world, the flesh, and the devil are against us. We must trust in the Lord and not fear man. The Word of God encourages us. We need to read it, meditate on it, study it, and memorize it daily.

David asked the question twice, once in verse 4 and once in verse 11: “What can flesh do to me? What can man do to me?” The worst thing someone can do to us is kill our bodies; no one can harm our souls. David wrote in Psalm 118:6, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

David also made the wise assertion, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes” (Psalm 118:8-9). Sadly, in this instance, he sought man’s help and protection with the Philistines. We make that mistake when we think money, a job, a marriage, a family, or any earthly thing can satisfy us or shield us in in our times of trouble. Only the Lord is our refuge and help. We should not fear man or seek man’s help. He is the living God, all other gods are idols. We must seek Him in prayer and not turn to earthly resources.

Have a blessed day trusting the Lord and not fearing man or any of the dangers around us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-May 29, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-God’s Mercy And Righteousness Are On Us and Our Children-

“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them.”

(Psalm 103:17-18).

Psalm 103 is a beautiful psalm written by David. It speaks of God’s mercy toward us. Verse 4 speaks of God’s tender mercies; verse 8 tells us that God is merciful and gracious; verse 11 refers to God’s great mercy; and in our text in verse 17, we read of His everlasting mercy to us and our children and grandchildren.

Our God is everlasting, and so is His mercy toward us. His mercy means that He does not give us what we deserve; His grace on the other hand means He gives what we do not deserve. This psalm is full of blessings coming from God. We should always remember to thank and praise the Blesser not just take the blessings as if somehow we deserved them.

Verse 10 says, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.” Our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. He loves so much and forgives us over and over. His mercy is everlasting on those who fear Him. God forgave David for adultery and murder; He forgave Jonah for disobeying and running away from his mission in Nineveh; and He forgave Peter for denying Jesus three times. Our God is a God of second chances, and in fact many more chances for His people.

We have a responsibility to pass His Word to our children and grandchildren. When we obey God’s truth we are showing an example to them. Despite the conditions in the world today, I have faith in the next generation of believers. God never leaves Himself without His witnesses and servants in this world.

Mercy and righteousness go together so perfectly. We must teach God’s principles to our children so they can carry on in the future. Moses the man of God wrote in Psalm 90:1-2, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Five times this phrase, “from everlasting to everlasting” is used in the Bible.

We are so incredibly blessed to be saved and have all God’s blessings and promises. Let us not take them lightly or for granted. His mercy is so great. Lenny LeBlanc’s modern classic song says, “His mercy flows like a river wide, and healing comes from Your hands, suffering children are safe in Your arms, there is one like You. There is one like You, no one else can touch My heart like you do, I could search for all eternity long and find, there is none like You.”

Have blessed day basking in God’s mercy and living in His righteousness. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-May 28, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Empathizing With Our Brethren-

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

Romans 12:15).

The concept of empathy goes back to the NT. In the early days of the church people were being saved: Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rich and poor, slaves and freemen. Their backgrounds were vastly different, but the common denominator was: salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. They loved one another and were one body in Christ.

The Merriam Webster on line Dictionary defines the word empathy as, “The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.” It is a very important part of Christian living.

The difference between sympathy and empathy is the former is feeling for someone, the latter is feeling with someone. You can feel sympathy for someone grieving, hurting, or experiencing loss; you often express it in words. The difference is you empathize with them by putting yourself in their shoes and walking with it with them, by their side and helping them.

The Apostle Paul discusses both the positive as well as the negative feelings based on the present circumstances. He simply says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” In either case, it is denying ourselves for the good of others.

• Rejoice with those who rejoice – It sounds easy enough, but is a lot harder than one may think. It is being genuinely happy for another who succeeds or achieves something very positive in their lives. It could be a graduation, anniversary, having a child, being hired for a job, getting a promotion, going on a special vacation, winning an award, buying a new home or car, or any number of other positive things. The flesh in us is strong, we may get envious, and wish we had been the one to experience these things not the other person. We must remember the words of Galatians 5:14, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

• Weep with those weep – We often associate empathy with sorrow more than joy. Just this week ten people were murdered by a crazed individual in our area. We can hardly imagine the pain of their families and loved ones. There was a vigil in their city of San Jose that brought out thousands of people to mourn and support each of those who lost loved ones. Job’s three friends came to support him. They started off with good intentions; they sat with him for seven days, saying not a word. Unfortunately, when they did speak they wrongly accused him of sin. Being there for someone and weeping with them doesn’t need words or very many words anyway. The danger here is that we feel better that at least it did not happen to us. Instead, we should feel as if it did really happen to us.

Therefore, let us rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. The love of Christ enables us to do both genuinely, sincerely, and deeply. Two miracles of Jesus symbolize these two different emotions: at Cana of Galilee Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding that He and His mother and disciples were invited to. Wine is a symbol of joy. He rejoiced with those who rejoiced. The second case was at the tomb of Lazarus who had died. Jesus wept with those who were weeping, especially Mary and Martha.

Have a blessed day feeling with others in their joy or in their sorrow. We show we love and care for them in both scenarios. Stay safe and healthy.

In His grace,

Dean

-May 27, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Let Nothing Move Us Or Keep Us From Our Mission-

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

(Ephesians 20:24).

The day came for the Apostle Paul to say goodbye to the saints and elders of the church in Ephesus. He spent over three years there preaching and teaching the Word of God. He calls for the elders and shares with them words of warning and encouragement in Acts 20:17-38. It is never easy to say goodbye, especially to those we love so much in the body of Christ.

Paul uses his life an an example for the Ephesians to follow. In Acts 20:18-19, he says, “…You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul faced certain arrest, imprisonment and many trials ahead in Jerusalem but he was going despite this. None of that moved him; he was resolute in His commitment to Christ and to preaching the gospel. He did not consider his life dear to himself. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Paul chose the latter and could truly say that his goal was “to finish his race with joy.” He later wrote to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). He had no regrets and no looking back; he was beheaded by the Romans for his faith in Christ.

We, like Paul, cannot let anything move us: not the things happening in the world, not Satan’s opposition or attacks, and not our own fears, troubles, or doubts. Paul kept on going to the end. He had the burning passion to serve the Lord. He was the greatest apostle, preacher, teacher, and missionary in the history of the church. He gave all the glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I cannot wait to meet him in heaven.

The best advice Paul gave to the Ephesian elders is found in Acts 20:32, “So now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” Live by the Word, obey the Word, teach and preach the Word. When we do we will not only survive, but we will thrive in this world. Don’t let anything or anyone move you, but keep looking to Christ and pressing on.

Have a blessed day serving the Lord with joy and running the race. Stay safe and healthy.

By His grace,

Dean

-May 26, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Working The Works Of God While We Have the Time-

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

(John 9:4-5).

If you have experienced a power outage, and most all of us have many times, you know how limiting it is especially in the winter when the number of daylight hours is lower. In Jesus’ day, there was no electricity, so they depended on the sun to get their work done.

Jesus uses this analogy of the daylight hours to relate how brief life is. He was conscious of time because he created time. There are twenty four hours in a day but less hours of sunshine. He was on a mission to serve the Father and accomplish His work. He lived but thirty three years on this earth and His ministry was just three years.

None of us knows how long we have left on this earth; we are growing older and we are cognizant that we are living in the last days. There are so many signs that point to the soon coming of Christ. The proverbial clocks of our lives is ticking and the time to serve the Lord is less now than when we first believed.

Jesus said in John 4:34, “…My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” Then later in John 17:4, as He neared the time of His death on the cross, He said to the Father, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work You have given Me to do.” Oh, that this would be our desire today: to glorify God and finish the work He has given us to do today and every day.

The brevity of life is portrayed so clearly and perfectly in James 4:13-15, which says, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’” Life is but a vapor, a breath that we see on a cold day, then it is gone. Life is so short, especially in the light of eternity. Right now we are in the day, but night is coming, and is almost here.

Let us then use the time, strength, gifts, talents, skills, abilities and material and financial resources that God has given us to serve Him. Time is passing so fast. We may have already squandered so many opportunities. May we confess it to the Lord and move forward with greater zeal and determination to live for and serve our Lord Jesus Christ. Night is coming when no man can work.

Have a blessed day pressing the restart button in our lives and serving Him more going forward. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean