Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-May 7, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-The Will Of God Is Obey The Word Of God-

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Christianity is not complicated, but that does not make it easy. It takes effort on our part, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Today’s text shows us that doing God’s will involves obedience to His Word. There are three simple admonitions for us to follow daily that lead to successful and victorious living: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. They are simple and clear truths to live by.

• Rejoice always – Being joyful all the time makes no sense to the world. How can we do this even when we experience sorrow, pain, trouble, and loss? The reason is our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. He never changes and neither does our relationship with Him. Our joy is internal and not affected by the external. Rejoicing is what we choose to do. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice.” He wrote these words while in prison for his faith in Christ! We must chose to rejoice in the Lord. Someone once said, “Pain is inevitable, misery is optional.”

• Pray without ceasing – This does not mean we go around praying every moment; otherwise we couldn’t do anything else like work, go to school, or do other things. What it does mean is to be in a spirit of prayer always. We need to have a definite prayer time daily, but we also need to call upon the Lord for His help as we go through our day. In other words, prayer is more a circle without beginning or end, rather than a straight line, with a beginning and an end. We would pray a lot more if we kept this in mind!

• In everything give thanks – We should thank the Lord in and for everything each and every day. The Lord delights when we thank Him for things both big and small. Ephesians 5:20 says, “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This doesn’t mean we should ignore adverse circumstances but rather thank Him in all circumstances. Things could always be worse, we can always seek His help with them, and we can thank Him for what He is doing in our lives to grow our faith.

These three simple things are God’s will for us: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. One of my dear friends, who is an elder in our church, calls these three things our spiritual vitamins. When we do them, we are doing God’s will. They never go out of style! Are you doing them consistently? Why not start today?

Have a blessed day of rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 6, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-God opens the Scriptures To Us-

“And they said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road? And while He opened the Scriptures to us?’”

(Luke 24:32).

Luke is the only gospel writer who included this incident in the lives of two disciples on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection. Emmaus was about seven miles from Jerusalem. One was named Cleopas and the other is unnamed. The story is found in Luke 24:13-33 and is such a blessing. The risen Lord Himself appeared to them, spending time with them, sharing a meal with them, and opening the Scriptures to them.

They did not recognize who this stranger was until He had just vanished from their sight. This was not the first time His followers had failed to recognize Him after His resurrection. Mary Magdalene thought He was the gardener; and the apostles thought He was a kind man offering them breakfast on the shores of Galilee after fishing all night and catching nothing. Here in Luke 24:16 it says, “But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know them.”

These two disciples were at first so sad that their Lord was crucified. Jesus changed their hearts and minds; He turned their sorrow into joy. He rebuked them and reminded them of His purpose for coming into this world. Luke 24:25-26 says, “Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’”

Jesus beginning at the law and the prophets

, taught them about Himself. What a Bible study that was. I am sure that He covered Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, along with many others. Jesus is on every page of Scripture in one form or another. In the OT He appears as the Angel of the Lord, in what are called theophanies, meaning appearances of God in human form born His birth into the world.

They were so moved, that after Jesus vanished from they both said, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” They immediately turned and went back to Jerusalem to tell the eleven disciples what they saw and heard!

As believers today we also so blessed to spend time with Jesus in prayer and the Word. Though we cannot see Him physically or hear audibly, He speaks to our hearts and encourages us as He did these two disciples. He turns our sorrow into joy, directs our paths, and feeds our souls. Are you facing some hardship, problem, need, or decision? Jesus knows and cares.

Hebrews 4:14-16, says, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

May we spend time with Jesus our Savior every single day in prayer and in His Word. He will train us, maintain us, and sustain us!

Have a blessed day walking with Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 5, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Be Anxious For Nothing, Pray About Everything-

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 4:6-7).

Paul’s words to the Philippians are so encouraging to us. Just as in his day, there are so many things to be anxious about. The present has so many challenges with so few solutions; the future is so uncertain. The key to joy is our relationship to our Lord Jesus Christ. When we pray, God hears and answers our prayers, and He gives us the peace of God that surpasses all understanding.

The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, nor about your body, what you will put on, is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” He uses the example of birds and flowers to show us how God takes care of them and we are of much value are we more than them. So often we worry about things that never happen. God takes care of us. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Instead of being anxious, worried, troubled, or stressed out, we should pray about everything, and thank Him for all that He has given to us. As we pray and thank Him, we will not be anxious because we have brought our needs, problems, and concerns to the One who loves us.

God hears us and gives us the peace that surpasses all understanding. There are two types of peace in the NT, peace with God which comes through our faith in Christ. It is once for all, and does not change. Paul wrote, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The second type of peace is one in our text that comes in the midst our circumstances to comfort and encourage us. It is available to us as we pray and leave matters in His hands. For the Christian, peace is the greatest renewable resource we have available to us. Prayer + Thanksgiving = Peace. It is my favorite mathematical equation. It is like a scale with prayer and thanksgiving, our part, on one side, and peace, God’s part, on the other side; they balance so beautifully. We cannot have one without the other.

May we be prayerful, not anxious, peaceful, not troubled. This will lead to calm, peace, and rest even in the midst of the storms of life.

Have a blessed day resting in Jesus, calling on Him, and experiencing His peace. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 4, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-Repentance Precedes Restoration And Revival-

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

(2 Chronicles 7:14).

We often hear of this verse being applied to our nation, which is very valid, but its primary application was to the nation of Israel, and is also applicable to the church as well. We as believers are God’s people and we need repentance and revival just as our country does.

Repentance means to turn away from sin and toward God. When we do, it leads to restoration and revival. The key word in our text is the word “if.” God will never force anyone to repent, if must be our willing choice. There are four things we must do as believers and or as a country: humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways.

• Humble ourselves – We must humble ourselves before God, His greatness and His glory. We must see God for who He is before we can see ourselves for who we are. We then can see our weaknesses and nothingness. It says in James 4:10, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

• Pray – Once we see God in all His holiness and righteousness, it causes us to turn to Him in prayer for His help. We must confess our sins, forsake them, and turn from them. It is like looking in a mirror and seeing yourself as you really are. The prophet Isaiah experienced this in Isaiah 6:5, “So I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the Lord of hosts.’”

• Seek His face – So often we seek God’s hand but not His face. In other words, we want the blessings more than the Blesser. God’s desire is for us to love Him and seek Him for who He is not just for what He does for us. I still remember a brother preaching on this some 40 years ago!

• Turn from our wicked ways – We have all heard the expression, “Call a spade a spade.” We must call sin in our lives for what it is: an abomination to God, wickedness, and evil. We cannot “sugarcoat it,” nor justify ourselves in God’s sight. David repented of sin of adultery and murder in Psalm 51. He wrote in Psalm 51:3-4, “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight — That You are just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.” All sin is against the holiness of God.

May the Lord help us to repent, be restored, and be revived. It takes honesty to admit our sin, confess it, and forsake it. If we do, God will send revival in our lives. It will start with us and spread to many others. Let us humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our sinful ways. God will then forgive us and heal our land and our lives.

Have a blessed day of soul searching honestly before God. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-May 3, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-Looking To The Lord When All Else Is Crumbling Around Us-

“Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.”

(Romans 12:12).

Paul’s familiar pattern in his epistles is to cover doctrine first then practice. Romans is no exception. In the last four chapters 12-16, he speaks of practical Christian living. In particular, Romans 12:9-13 is titled, “Behave Like A Christian.” It involves how we treat each other as believers.

Today’s text is the key to putting the rest of passage into practice since it directed toward the Lord. There are three qualities we need in abundance: hope, patience, and steadfastness. We cannot be victorious without all three.

• Rejoicing in hope – Hope looks to the future. Paul tells us to not just have hope but to have it joyfully. Praise God our hope goes beyond this world and into eternity. Paul was able to see beyond his present circumstances and this caused his heart to rejoice in the Lord even Ashe sat in prison for his faith in Christ. In Philippians 4:4 he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice.” Are you rejoicing in the Lord today? Our attitude determines our gratitude!

• Patient in tribulation – Patience is so important as we wait upon the Lord. Often we want the Lord to work at a faster speed than He is working. We fail to understand God’s plans and purposes. He is never in a hurry. James 1:2-4 tells us, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Trials produce patience. Job, and so many others in Scripture, experienced this for themselves.

• Continuing steadfastly in prayer – We must pray and keep on praying. Steadfastness is holding on no matter what happens to us. One of my favorite lines of the hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” says, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Prayer is our lifeline and how we communicate with the Lord and seek His help and guidance.

Let us then rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and steadfast in prayer. David wrote in Psalm 57:1, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.” We can face anything with the Lord, but nothing without Him!

Have a blessed day in hope, patience, and steadfastness. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean