Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-March 5, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Walk And Talk The Word Everywhere-

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you as sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

(Deuteronomy 6:6-7).

The Word of God is for all times and all seasons; for all people in all generations; and in all circumstances and situations. The Scriptures are as relevant today als when they were written. It is vital to pass on the truth of God’s Word to our children and all the next generation.

We must walk and talk the Word. The Psalmist wrote, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:9-11).

Before we can teach and encourage others in the Word, it must be in our hearts. We must be excited ourselves by the Word; then we can be a blessing to others. Children learn by observing the examples of their parents, elders, and Sunday School teachers. Our walk must match our talk.

Moses, the writer of these verses, wanted the people to communicate God’s Word in everyday situations of life. They didn’t have the Word to carry around with them, so they relied on word of mouth sharing, especially in the family. May the Lord help us to walk as and talk the Word.

Have a blessed day in the Word and sharing it with others, especially your children. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-March 4, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Be Strong And Of Good Courage For The Lord Is With Us-

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord God is with you wherever you go.”

(Joshua 1:9).

Joshua became the leader of the people of Israel after the death of Moses. He then led them into the Promised Land. The Lord called him, equipped him, and strengthened him for this important mission. In this passage, Joshua 1:1-9, the Lord instructs him what to do: “observe to do according to all the law which Moses commanded him, do not turn to the right hand or to the left, and meditate on the law day and night, and observe to do it all.”

Today’s verse is God’s encouragement before Joshua led through the people across the Jordan River into the land that God promised them. Like, Joshua, we need to be encouraged, challenged, and strengthened to fulfill the ministry to which God has called us to. The devil opposes us all the way; the world attracts us and distracts us; and the flesh pulls us toward sin. We must be victorious! We need to remember to be strong and of good courage, not to be afraid or dismayed, and that the Lord is with us wherever we go.

• Be strong and of good courage – The soldier of Christ is strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, puts on the whole armor of God, and stands against the schemes of the devil. Our strength is from the Lord, not from us. He gives us the victory. Man by nature, through Adam is weak and cowardly; man through Christ is strong and courageous through the Holy Spirit.

• Do not be afraid nor dismayed – Fear paralyses us and impedes us in our spiritual growth and warfare. Faith, on the other hand, helps us overcome our fears and gives us confidence and assurance. The world, the flesh, and the devil are defeated foes. Jesus conquered them at the cross. The devil is a roaring lion, but he cannot harm us. He uses fear and intimidation to scare us.

• The Lord is with us wherever we go – What a tremendous promise! He is with is all the time, wherever we go. Joshua 1:5 says, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” Before Jesus ascended back to heaven, he told His disciples, “… Lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20c).

Therefore, let us be strong and of good courage, not being afraid or dismayed, for the Lord is with us. We are on the Lord’s side, and He is on our side. God tells us in Isaiah 54:17, “‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,’ says the Lord.”

Have a blessed and victorious day. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-March 3, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-God’s Thoughts And Ways Are Higher Than Our’s-

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

(Isaiah 55:8-9).

We think we have answers, solutions, understanding, knowledge, and wisdom. We believe we can make our own plans, choices, and decisions without God; we are so wrong. God is God, we are human beings that He has created. God rules the universe. He has infinite knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and power.

Thus it makes sense that His thoughts and His ways are higher than ours. He is eternal, He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He knows the future way better than we know the past or present. He has a master plan for the ages as well as for our individual lives. The title of the popular old TV series was, “Father Knows Best.” We as Christians can certainly say, “Our heavenly Father knows best.”

When Jesus gave His disciples the Lord’s Prayer, He said at the beginning, “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven… (Matthew 6:9b-10). “ God’s will in heaven is done immediately, willingly, and completely; that is exactly how we should do it on earth. When we carry out God’s will we are happiest. When we pray, we pray according to God’s will.

Often our children ask us why they must obey us; we tell them because we are their parents and we said so. It is for their good. They learn in time how true that is, especially when they have their own children. We as believers must learn to obey the Lord and leave everything in His hands.

Under the great weight of Job’s trials, he wanted to debate the Lord over everything that was happening to him. After all Job’s words and those of his friends, God spoke to Job, asking where he was when He created the world and all its creatures. Job rightly said, “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” (Job 42:2-3). He then concluded in Job 42:5-6, “I have heard You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

We, like Job, have so much to learn about God and His Word. The more we learn and know, the more we realize how much we do not know. This humbles us and helps us to praise and worship God for who He is what He has done for us. Let us then remember that His thoughts and ways are so far beyond ours. The creature is not greater than the Creator. The clay cannot say to the potter, “why have you made me this way?”

Have a blessed day in thinking on the greatness of God and following and obeying Him. Our Father knows best. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-March 2, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-God’s Refining Process In Our Lives-

“But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.”

(Job 23:10-11).

Job, more than anyone in the Bible, experienced the greatest trials; and they all came upon him at once. He was a godly man, a contemporary of Abraham. God had blessed him so much and he was very wealthy and respected. Job 1:1 says, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil.”

His family, his business, and all his possessions are mentioned in Job 1:2-3, “And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred toke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.” The security company Bay Alarm, has the slogan, “What do you have to lose?” He had a lot and he lost it all.

Satan was behind all the troubles that he went through. God allowed him to be tested to grow his faith and refine his character. On one day, his sons and daughters died, as did his servants and animals. God used the great trials to refine him, humble him, and increase his faith.

He makes the statement, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me I shall come forth as gold.” Gold and silver are precious metals that are not destroyed by fire but refined by fire. Dross is “the scum or unwanted material that forms on the surface of molten metal.” Fire burns away the dross and refines the metal.

There is much “scum” that God wants to remove from our lives so that we can please and serve Him more. He works on our character, which is a painful process for us, but has eternal value. Malachi 3:3 says of God and His people, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.”

Job kept his integrity throughout his trials and did not blame God. James wrote, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord — that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 4:11). God restored what Job had lost and blessed him with even more. His end was better than his beginning. Job learned valuable lessons on the power and wisdom of God and his own frailty and weakness.

May the Lord continue his refining process in our lives to bring us forth as gold refined in the fire of His affliction. The anonymous hymn writer wrote, “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”

Have a blessed day learning, trusting, and growing in Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-March 1, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-Christianity Is All About A Personal Relationship With Christ-

“Whom I have in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

(Psalm 73:25-26).

The Psalmist Asaph who wrote this psalm began this psalm looking around him at the prosperity of the wicked. He even questioned whether living a godly life was in vain. But then he went into the sanctuary of the Lord, and understood the end of the wicked. He came to his senses and realized that he had the Lord and that is all he needed in heaven and on earth.

In verses 23-28, he uses the personal pronoun “my” eight times and “me” once. The greatest blessing of Christianity after the forgiveness our sins is our personal relationship with Christ. The Lord has a personal relationship with each of His children all at the same time.

Asaph asked the question, whom have I in heaven but You? There are and will be many saints in heaven but none can compare to the Lord Jesus Christ! The hymn writer Charles J. Butler wrote, “What matters where on earth we dwell? On mountaintop, or in the dell? In cottage, or in mansion fair, where Jesus is, ‘tis heaven there.” As great as heaven is, without Jesus it would nothing.

The psalmist also wrote, “And there is none on earth that I desire besides You.” Only the child of God can say this. There are many things we desire on this earth but none can compare to Jesus and our relationship to Him. He is our eternal, loving Lord and Savior. All the things of earth are temporary and transitory. We will leave everything behind when we exit this earthly scene to abide in heaven with the Lord. We have Him on earth, we have Him in heaven, Oh what a salvation that we have been given!

The psalm realized that this blessed relationship he had wasn’t based on his own goodness and behavior for his flesh and heart may fail; but on God who is the strength of his heart and his portion forever. We are not only saved by grace but also kept by grace. The Lord is everything to us.

The song writer put it well, “He is my everything, He is my all, He is my everything, both great and small. He gave His life for me, made everything new, He is my everything, now how about you?” Can you say today, Jesus is my everything, I desire nothing and no one else?

Let us have the right perspective as we view the rich people, famous people, and powerful people in this world; they have much, but if they don’t have Jesus, they are poor and have nothing. We are blessed beyond measure and beyond earthly treasure.

Have a blessed day with Jesus and desire only Him. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean