Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-May 25, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

– Being Swift To Hear, Slow To Speak And Slow To Anger-

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

(James 1:19-20).

The strongest people in the world are those with a strong character. They don’t get ruffled, bent out of shape, or upset just because things don’t go their way. All of us need to be more peaceful and calm during adversity.

James, the half brother of Jesus is so practical in his epistle. The Book of James has often been called the Proverbs of the NT. He calls himself a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. In speaking of the trials that come into our lives, he mentions three essential things that will help us successfully navigate the difficult circumstances we face: being swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.

• Be Swift to hear – Being a good listener is something we can all improve on. Our problem is we like to talk, make our opinions known, and show what we know. The fact is, God gave us two ears to hear and one tongue for a reason. We learn by listening to others. To be swift or quick to hear or listen is vital to being good communicators. It greatly enhances our teachability and how well with get along with others.

• Be slow to speak – We have all said things we have regretted; and we can’t take the words back. Words can hurt people very badly. The old adage is just not true, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Bodies heal faster than hearts. Case in point, people carry hurts and grudges for years. If we would just think before we speak, we would avoid some many problems and issues. It is like an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Having to ask for forgiveness is much harder than not saying something hurtful to start with. Our mother’s advice is so needed: “If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything.”

• Be slow to wrath – This is a touchy subject. We all have gotten angry and usually at the very people we know best and love most. It never produces good results. We can ask ourselves, “Do I have short fuse or a longer one? Do I fly off the handle, sometimes at some very minor things? The more we read, study, and meditate on God’s Word, the better we can handle life’s frustrations and disappointments. The wrath or anger of man does not produce or achieve the righteousness of God. Anger is toxic!

Conviction is a good thing. When the Lord points out something that needs to change in our lives, we had better change, and change now. We need to change our whole way of listening, speaking, and behaving. Let us start today being quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. Then we we will see a big improvement in our relationships. Just remember it is easier to see these things in others than in ourselves.

Have a blessed day listening more and speaking and getting angry less. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 24, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-All Success Is Because Of The Lord-

“So David went on and became great, and the Lord of hosts was with him.”

(1 Chronicles 11:9).

What made David such a great king over Israel? Why did he win every battle and achieve such great success? The reason is found in today’s text: “The Lord of hosts was with him.” He had very humble beginnings as a shepherd boy, then he defeated Goliath, served under king Saul both as a musician then as one of his commanders, and after waiting several years became king of Judah then over all Israel. He loved the Lord and sought His guidance in every area of his life. The Lord gave him successes, achievements, and victories. He stayed humble.

David wasn’t perfect, and in fact, his sin of adultery and murder in the incident with Bathsheba and Uriah proved that. He also sinned in numbering the people. He confessed his sins, and God forgave him and showed him great mercy and marvelous grace. In both cases however, he suffered the consequences of his actions. Still, God called him, “A man after My own heart.” We often hear the expression, Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” This is true. When we trust and obey Him, walk with Him and serve Him, He blesses us tremendously.

This was true also of Joshua after he took over the command of Israel after Moses. The Lord told him In Joshua 1:8-9, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Others in Scripture found this principle to be true, such as Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Samuel, Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther, and many others who honored God and achieved great success spiritually, physically, materially, and financially in honored positions of leadership. It was because they honored God and He honored them. Jesus told the disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

May we realize that all true success, achievement, award, or victory is only possible with the Lord’s presence and power. Just as the Lord was with David, He is with us. When He blesses us we should give Him all the glory. All success is because of Him. This keeps us humble and dependent on the Lord, not on ourselves.

Have a blessed day with prosperity and success putting the Lord first in our lives and obeying Him fully. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 23, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-The Jews Demanded That Jesus Be Crucified-

“But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and the chief priests prevailed. So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.”

(Luke 23:13-14).

Man crucified Jesus the Son of God on the cross. The Jews got their way and Pilate caved into to their demands. Three times in Luke 23, Pilate tried to release Him, knowing He was innocent and did not deserve to die, especially in the manner of crucifixion. In fact, Pilate’s wife sent word to him to not go through with it. Matthew 27:19 says, “While he was on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, ‘Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.’”

If it were not God’s will for our Savior to die in the cross for our sins, no mortal or demon could prevail against Him. He willingly gave His life for us, dying in our place, shedding His precious blood. He died for our sins and rose for our justification. Through faith in His finished work on the cross we have eternal life, forgiveness, and salvation.

God’s plan for man’s salvation was set in motion even before the foundation of the world and before man sinned in the Garden of Eden. Judas betrayed Him, the Jews arrested Him and condemned Him, and Pilate and the Romans carried out the crucifixion; but God’s plan and purpose was fulfilled.

Peter in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost proclaimed, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:23-24). He also wrote of our Savior in 1 Peter 2:24, “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sin, might live to righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed.”

Jesus was the innocent, sinless Lamb of God that died for sinners. All our sins were laid on Him. We were as guilty of His death as the Jews and the Romans. In actuality, we were among those whose voices demanded His death. We were His enemies. Thank God that justice and mercy met at the cross. He paid our sin debt so that God’s mercy toward us would prevail. Let us thank Him for His love and sacrifice on our behalf. Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God’s will prevailed and Satan was defeated and death and sin conquered once for all.

Have a blessed day thanking God for saving us. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 22, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-Liberty in Christ: To Serve Others In Love, Not To Sin Or Stumble Others-

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:13).

“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).

Liberty in Christ is a wonderful blessing. We are set free from the bondage of our sins, from Satan’s control, and the world’s influence on us. We are free to do what we want as long as it is according to God’s will and is for the good of others. Jesus said, “…If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” John 8:31-32; John 8:36).

This is the greatest liberty, the most awesome freedom; with it comes tremendous privilege and responsibility. Each believer must consider his conduct both in the light of Scripture and how it may affect other believers. The last thing we want to do is to use our liberty as a license to sin or to stumble someone else. In the NT, we find the law of liberty, which is also the law of love.

Paul tells us in verse 14, “…through love serve one another.” Doing this may limit our liberty, but love trumps liberty in such cases. In NT times there was the hot topic of whether to eat meat sacrificed to idols. A good example of this today is Christians drinking wine or beer. We have the liberty to do it, but it has a greater likelihood of stumbling a new and or young believer. It is a very controversial subject in the church today, and one with serious repercussions toward the saved and unsaved.

If our goal is to be a blessing and point people to Christ, our testimony is so very important. To edify someone is to build them up; to serve them is help them and encourage them in their walk with Christ. Self and selfishness have no place in the body of Christ. Our ego must be checked at the door.

May the Lord help us to rejoice in our liberty that we have in Christ to serve others and be a blessing. If something is questionable, don’t do it. If something is not clearly mentioned in Scripture, it doesn’t mean that we can go right ahead and do it. We must follow the principles of Scripture and the law of liberty and love in all we do.

Have a blessed day walking in liberty and serving others in love. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 21, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Unity And Oneness In The Body Of Christ-

“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

(1 Corinthians 1:10).

The Apostle Paul was appalled at the lack of unity and the divisions in the church at Corinth. He had heard it from a reliable source, those in Chloe’s household, that there were contentions among the saints. If Christians can’t get along, how can we testify and witness effectively for the Lord. The devil is always the one who is behind such division and strife.

Paul uses strong language with the Corinthians, writing, “I plead with you, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Lord Jesus is our Head and we are all members of His body; there is no room for division or contention. Every believer should be in unity, be one in Christ, and get a long well in love.

When we get saved we are a new creation. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We have a new life, under a new covenant, with a new nature. The men in the church are our brothers and the women are our sisters. The bond we have in Christ is stronger than even in our natural families. The church in the NT is called the body, the building, and the bride of Christ.

All this said, we still have our individual backgrounds, experiences, and personalities, which differ greatly. In spite of this, there must be unity in diversity. We have one mind, the mind of Christ. We may not agree on some minor issues, but in the basic major ones we do. The devil does his utmost to divide believers and cause disruption and a lack of unity. Today there are so many denominations that segregate believers. This was not true in the first century church, though they still had issues with divisions. The key to unity then and now is the same: love.

Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “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 love for one another.” Our Savior loved us unconditionally, sacrificially, and eternally. Our love for each other should follow His example.

May the Lord help us through the Holy Spirit to be one with one another, speak the same language, have unity, and be joined in the same mind and judgment. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Let all that you do be done with love.” May love prevail in every detail!

Have a blessed day in unity and love so we can present Christ and represent Him in this world. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean