Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-May 17, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-Do Not Be Afraid, Jesus Is With Us-

“Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’”

(John 6:18-20).

This incident of Jesus walking on water is recorded in Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-51; and John 6:15-21. It is an amazing sign and miracle that He showed His disciples. There were present in the boat that night four experienced fisherman who were familiar with the Sea of Galilee, with its strong winds and storms: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Yet, even they were greatly afraid, for no one ever saw anyone walking on the water before.

In Matthew’s account he includes the part of Peter walking on the water to Jesus. At first the disciples did not recognize Jesus, for they supposed that He was a ghost. Jesus was testing their faith. He made them get into the boat to travel to Bethsaida while He dismissed the multitude and went up on the mountain to pray. The wind became so strong that they had to strain at rowing the boat. It was in the middle of the sea in the middle of the night; it was pitch dark.

Our Savior saw them in need and came to their rescue. He spoke to them these beautiful words, “It is I; do not be afraid.” There are many things in life that can make us afraid: loss of health, job, family, money, home, possessions, and even of our own lives. This Coronavirus pandemic has made the whole world terribly fearful. Fear leads to stress which causes many health issues. Even young children and adolescents are feeling it just like grown ups.

How do you handle fear? Do you turn to Jesus and seek His help and guidance? Or do you seek man’s solutions or answers ? The disciples received Jesus into the boat and immediately reached their destination safely. Peter learned a big lesson himself about trusting in the Lord. Matthew records how he asked Jesus if it was really Him, to ask him to walk on the water to Him. At first all was well until Peter saw that the wind was boisterous, then he doubted and began to sink. He cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him and brought him safely into the boat. Our Lord asked him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” As soon as Peter was safely in the boat the wind ceased.

God allows storms in our lives. There are things that are out of our control. It tests our faith and causes us to fully depend on Him. The hymn writer William C. Poole wrote, “Just when I need Him, Jesus is near, just i falter, just when I fear; Ready to help me, ready to cheer, just when I need Him most.” The Lord promised us in Matthew 28:20, “…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Never fear when Jesus is near! He is with us in the boat, in the storm, in the very things that make us afraid; yet He says, “It is I; do not be afraid.” The end of our journey is heaven where we will spend eternity with Him. Someone once said, “Feed your faith, and your fear will starve to death.” Let us feed on the Word of God and pray in faith. God will do great things for us.

Have a blessed day walking with Jesus safely and securely. Let us not be afraid, He is our heavenly aid. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 16, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-The Lord Is With Us To Give Us Victory With Joy-

“The Lord your God is in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

(Zephaniah 3:17).

The book of Zephaniah is one of the minor prophets. The minor prophets are called that not because they are less important or significant, but because they are short in length compared to the major prophets. Zephaniah’s message focuses on the Day of the Lord and God’s dealings with Israel and the other nations.

God is always faithful to His earthly people Israel and to us His church. He is the One who is with us and gives us the victory. There are three promises in our text today in the form of “He will’s,” that are so encouraging: He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, and He will rejoice over you with singing.

This past 15 months or so have been extremely hard on the whole world. The pandemic has brought sickness and death to millions across the globe. We in America have been hit especially hard. We are now toward the end of it, but we still must be very careful and conscientious to the very end. The Lord has been with us all the way, in our midst to save us and protect us. He is so faithful and so powerful. He is the Mighty One and He is still on the throne and nothing can thwart His plans for the end of times. Even while this pandemic has raged on, there have been racial tensions and social unrest, political conflicts, and right now things are boiling over in Gaza. It is so important to cling to the Lord and trust in Him for the victory.

• He will rejoice over you with gladness – Joy is not based on our circumstances but on our relationship with Christ. Because He cares for us and is with us, we can and should choose to rejoice. Paul writing from prison because of his faith in Christ wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). We as believers need to be an example to others in these difficult times.

• He will quiet you with His love – This phrase reminds me of a mother holding her child, burning up with fever and crushed with pain. As she rocks her dear one, she assures him that everything will be okay and he will get well. She quiets him with her love. The Lord also does this Dior us. Psalm 107:30 says, “Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.” This world is not our home, heaven is our desired haven, our haven of rest. He will take us there in His time.

• He will rejoice over you with singing – Singing has always been part of worship and praise. In glad times it increases our joy and thanks to God for the victories He gives us; In sad times, He strengthens our hearts in the midst of sorrow and pain, giving us His sufficient grace. Right after Jesus spent time with His disciples in the Upper Room, and right before they went to the Garden of Gethsemane where He would be arrested and shortly go to the cross and die for us, He sang a hymn with them. He knew that He would bring us victory, forgiveness of sin, salvation, and eternal life through His death on the cross. He tasted death so that we might have life, abundant and eternal.

The Lord rejoices over us with gladness, quiets us with His love, and rejoices over us with singing. May we be thankful that we are His people and He will give us victory. He will be with us no matter what we go through, and will never give us more than we can handle. Praise be to our faithful God.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day rejoicing and singing praises to Him for our salvation and all His blessings. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 15, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-We Do Not Know The Works Of God-

“As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything.”

(Ecclesiastes 11:5).

There are many things we do not understand about God’s works. We are so limited and finite, and He is so limitless and infinite. We have so many questions and we may have to wait until we get to heaven to find out why God worked as He did.

The writer of Ecclesiastes was Solomon known also in this book as “the Preacher.” He was the wisest king who ever lived, yet in his older years sought out everything he could to find pleasure and satisfaction in the things of this world without God and concluded, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Fortunately, he came to the proper conclusion at the end of the book In Ecclesiastes 12:13 he wrote, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.”

Solomon uses two examples of things we do not understand in nature and biology and medical science respectively. First, we do not understand the way of the wind. It blows from any of several directions: north, northeast, northwest, south, southeast, southwest, east, and west. We cannot see the wind but we hear it and see the result of it. Jesus used the wind to illustrate the working of the Spirit in our lives through the new birth. John 3:8 says, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. God’s works are beyond our understanding but they have powerful effects on our lives.

The second example is how the bones of a child grow inside the mother’s womb. When a baby is born, he or she has the tiniest fingers and toes, arms and legs. Each birth is a miracle of God. You do not have to understand it to appreciate it. David wrote in Psalm 139:15, “My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret.”

Jesus in speaking to Nicodemus about the New Birth in John 3:12 said, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” Thank God that Nicodemus did believe and became a believer and follower of Jesus Christ.

There are things we do understand and yet you faith we believe. The gospel is God’s perfect plan of salvation. It is simple enough for a child to believe, and yet deep enough for the wisest and most mature saint to revel in its wonders! Job rightly concluded in Job 42:2-3, “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

The older we get and the more we learn from the Bible, the more we realize how much we do not know, how much more we still have to learn about God and His ways and His works. May God give us the hunger and thirst for Him. Though we may not know why God works as He does, we trust that He knows best.

Have a blessed day seeking Him and continually learning and growing. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 14, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-God Knew Us Before Our Birth-

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:13-14).

“My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest part of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:15-16).

Psalm 139, written by David, reveals God’s perfect knowledge of man. David is amazed at how much God knew of him, even before he was born. God not only knew us but He formed us even in our mother’s womb. So much so that he declared, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Man is an amazing being, created by God in the image of God, with a spirit, soul, and body.

Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” God created Adam first then Eve. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Of Eve it says, “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21-22). God performed the first surgery and this is why men have one less rib than women have.

Of all God’s creation, man is unique, very special. God made man to have fellowship with Him and to glorify Him. God gave man an intricate body, composed of bones, ligaments, joints, and tendons. He made a central nervous system, a blood stream with organs. And the human brain is itself so amazing. Everything God made is for man’s good and functionality. From an embryo to a fetus, to a human being, wow! No wonder why David was amazed! We are fearfully and wonderfully made!

The Scripture is very clear that life begins at conception. God gives life and He takes it way. We came from dust and when we die, our bodies return to dust but our spirit and soul live forever. For us who are saved, we will be absent from the body and present with the Lord.

God told the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” God knew us and what we would become. He knew it even before we were born. God had a plan for us and is working out that plan in our lives. He isn’t finished with us yet.

Let us thank God that He created us, but even more that He saved us from sins. Our great Creator became our Savior. We should never loose our sense of awe at what God has done, is doing, and will do for us. It is such a blessing that we can commune with Him, walk with Him, and serve Him. It is all by His grace.

Have a blessed day reflecting on our great God and the amazing things that He has done for us. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 13, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Divine Appointments-

“But He needed to go through Samaria” (John 4:4).

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:13-14).’”

What is a divine appointment? It is an occurrence where God brings a person into our lives at just the right time and place for a spiritual encounter. The story of “the Woman at the Well,” is such an occurrence in John 4:1-26. This Samaritan woman is unnamed but her life was not unknown to Jesus.

Verse 4, is a wonderful verse, “But He needed to go through Samaria.” Jews and Samaritans were bitter enemies and both groups did their best to avoid the other. Jesus could have avoided going through Samaria and gone around it to reach His destination in Galilee, but He had a purpose to meet and win this Samaritan woman, and many other Samaritans. Jesus breaks down all barriers in saving souls. He loves each person.

Jesus went to a city of Samaria called Sychar, where Jacob’s Well was located. He was wearied from His journey and it was noontime. The clock in those days began at 6:00 am, called the first hour of the day, and ended at 6:00 pm, the twelfth hour. It coincided with the time when the sun rose and set. His disciples departed and went into the city to buy food.

Jesus knew from her sinful lifestyle that she would be alone at the hottest time of the day; He initiated the conversation by asking this woman for a drink of water. Her life mattered to Jesus, and that was the most important thing. Today, it would be like Jews and Palestinians getting together. Currently there is some of the worse conflicts and violence in Gaza and throughout Israel.

The conversation begins with an earthly topic, a cup of water on a hot day, but soon moves to a spiritual one, living water from God. Jesus knew all about her past. She had been married five times and the man she was currently with was not her husband. We are all sinners, and our sin must be dealt with. Our Savior died for our sins so that by believing in Him we may be saved, forgiven, and have eternal life.

This woman’s life was changed that day. She realized and believed that Jesus was the Messiah. She left her waterpot at the well and went into the city to tell everyone about Jesus and what He had done for her. She said in John 4:39, “…He told me all that I ever did.” Many Samaritans believed because she told them and they heard Him for themselves. This divine appointment lead to the salvation of many. The people said, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world” (John 4:42).

Oh, what a day that was for the woman and the whole town. It led to a revival in Samaria. Divine appointments are such a blessing in our lives and to those around us. This why we have to be ready to share when God brings someone into our lives. We don’t want to lose the opportunity to share the gospel, the good news, with those who need Jesus.

Jesus gave this woman and the others living water to quench their spiritual thirst. Once someone drinks of this water, he will live forever and never be thirsty again! The hymn writer Richard Blanchard wrote, “Like the woman at the well I was seeking for things that could not satisfy; And then I heard my Savior speaking: Draw from My well that never shall run dry.” The refrain says, “Fill my cup, Lord, I lift it up Lord! Come and quench this thirsting of my soul; Bread of heaven, feed me ‘till I want no more — fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!”

May the Lord use us in His service to testify and witness of what He has done for us. We don’t know what divine appointments may come into our lives today!

Have a blessed day in Jesus. Be ready and willing to share. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean