Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-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

-May 20, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Do Not Judge According To Appearance But With Righteous Judgement-

“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

(John 7:24).

It is so easy to jump to conclusions based upon on what we see and hear. We often use our personal experiences, and make assumptions. We also hear one side of a story and take sides without even hearing the other side.

The Jews in Jesus’ day, judged Him based on their traditions and not upon the Word of God. They thought they knew Jesus, His family, His hometown, His upbringing, and His education; they made their conclusion accordingly. They rejected Him and because of envy, sought to kill Him. Jesus said of the Pharisees and scribes in Matthew 15:6-9, “…Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, saying, ‘These people draw near with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Bill MacDonald, in his Believer’s Bible Commentary, wrote, “The trouble with the Jews was that they judged things according to outward appearance not inward reality. Their judgment was not righteous. Human nature always tends to judge according to sight rather than according to reality.” Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

We must base our decisions and conclusions not on our emotions but on the Word of God. We need to ask ourselves, what does the Bible say? What would Jesus do? We need God’s wisdom and insight into a matter. The word discernment is key. It is defined as, “The ability to judge well.” For us as believers it means “In the process of spiritual discernment God guides the individual to help them arrive at the best decision.”

Do you need to make an important decision today? Perhaps regarding which college to attend, which job to take, what home to buy or rent, which church to attend, or what to buy? Seek the mind of Christ, read the Word of God and pray, and seek godly counsel. Things are not always what they seem. There are repercussions and ramifications we may not consider by ourselves.

May the Lord help us to judge with righteous judgment not according to appearance. Something may seem so good but be so wrong; or seem so wrong or less desirable, but be God’s perfect will for us. He gives the peace in our decisions when we are in His will.

Have a blessed day seeking God’s will and praying for wisdom, insight, and discernment. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 19, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Heavenly Wisdom For Earthly Living-

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13).

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is down in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:17-18).

Heavenly wisdom is needed every day of our lives. Wisdom is putting knowledge and understanding into practice. Solomon was the wisest man and king on the face of the earth since God gave him wisdom from above. God asked him what he wanted Him to give to him; he chose wisdom and understanding.

God’s wisdom is always available to us as believers. James wrote in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” There is an old axiom that says, “He is so heavenly minded, he is no earthly good.” That should never be said of us. Being heavenly minded with heavenly wisdom should make us even more useful for earthly good.

In today’s verses we see how practical heavenly wisdom is in our lives. We show by our good conduct that our works are done in the meekness of wisdom. James contrasts heavenly and earthly wisdom by showing its sources and its results.

Earthly wisdom is from earth, originated by the devil, and leads to sensuality, envy, self seeking, confusion, and every evil thing (James 3:14-16). When we read the news or watch it on TV or the internet, we see the results of man’s wisdom all over the world.

By contrast in James 3:17-18, we see that God’s wisdom is the total opposite: it is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Oh how different the world would be if God’s wisdom prevailed in society today! We would all get along well in peace without conflicts.

As believers in Christ, by practicing heavenly wisdom from God, we will be examples of Christ in this world. We will peacemakers, role models, and good citizens of heaven and of earth. No one can find fault in any of these characteristics; And best of all we will represent Christ and point people to Him.

May the Lord help us to pray for wisdom daily in order to live lives pleasing to Him. We will thus be a blessing to the saved and the unsaved in all righteousness, holiness, and godliness, and peace.

Have a blessed day walking in God’s wisdom. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 18, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-God Never Forgets Our Service For Him-

“For God not unjust to forget work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and so minister.”

(Hebrews 6:10).

Because we are so forgetful of what we have done, we tend to think of God that way, especially in remembering what we have done for Him over the years, some big things but mostly a lot small things. The Lord sees and hears everything, and He will reward us for them all. As long as we serve Him with pure motives and do all the name of Jesus and for His glory.

The writer of Hebrews is unknown but is mostly regarded to be the Apostle Paul. Today’s verse is so encouraging. There are three things that are true of our service for the Lord: it is a work and labor of love, it is shown to His name, and is a ministry to the saints.

• Work and labor of love – God’s work in the NT was not done by professional clergymen but by all believers working together side by side in unity and love. The leaders taught and equipped the saints to do the work of service. Ephesians 4:11 says, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” Ministry is another word for service. Our service is work and labor, yet it is joyful work done out of love for our Savior. We can call it our delightful duty.

• Shown toward His name – Our service for the Lord is not to elevate self but to glorify Christ. Everything we do should be in His name, for His sake, and for His glory. In Mark 9:41, Jesus said, “For whoever gives a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will be no means lose his reward.” If we are rewarded for such small acts, we will be rewarded for the larger ones as well. The Sunday School teacher will be rewarded the same as the pastor, preacher, and missionary; those who set up and clean up the church will be rewarded the same as the elders and deacons.

• Done to the saints – When we serve the saints, we serve the Lord. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” With this mind, no job is too menial or insignificant. The hymn writer Kittie Louise Suffield wrote, “Little is much when God is in it, labor not for wealth or fame; there’s a crown and you can win it, if you go in Jesus’ name.”

May the Lord remind us how important our service is to the Lord and He will never forget our work and labor, shown to His name, and ministered to the saints. All service, great or small is important, and He will reward us for them all. One day He will tell us, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.”

Have a blessed day serving the Lord in His name and for His glory. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean