Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-February 28, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-The Well Rounded Victorious Life-

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

(2 Timothy 1:7).

People in the world are always striving for balance and a well rounded life. Apart from Christ it is nearly impossible to achieve. Case in point: at the beginning of each year people make so many new year’s resolutions. So many start with great intentions that last perhaps a month or two before petering out. The expression “petering out” is very apropos, it means “ to gradually become smaller, weaker, or less before stopping or ending.”

We as Christians don’t need resolutions we need commitment to Christ and full surrender to Him. He is the One who helps us achieve anything and everything in this world. Jesus said, “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). Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Paul in writing to his son in the faith, the pastor at Ephesus, instructs him on how to live victoriously in Christ in today’s text. After reminding him of his spiritual heritage passed onto to him from his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois, and of his calling and gifts in 2 Timothy 1:5-6, he shares with him how to live victoriously in Christ. There are four things that make the well rounded victorious Christian life: courage, (lack of fear), power, love, and of a sound mind.

• For God has not given us a spirit of fear – There is no place for fear in our lives. The opposite of fear is courage and faith. Fear is of the devil. The term “fear not,” is found some 365 times in the Scriptures, once for every day of the year. It means that it is very important to be repeated so many times in the Word of God. We as humans are so prone to fear. We fear some many people and things. God never gives us fear, but grows our faith to overcome our fear.

• Of power – God has given us power to be victorious, overcomers through the Holy Spirit. This is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. That is impressive, awesome power to face the devil, temptation, trials, problems, or difficulties. Just as a body builder doesn’t get stronger without training with heavy weights, we don’t get stronger without trials and the Word of God and prayer.

• Of love – As strong as we are, it profits us nothing without love. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:3, “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” We simply can live successfully and victoriously without it. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Let all that you do be done with love.” In every action, reaction, and interaction, love must prevail.

• Of a sound mind – A sound mind simply means to have the mind of Christ in our thoughts, plans, attitudes, motives, and desires. When Jesus cast out the demons from the demonic, He changed His life completely. The one who was uncontrollable, violent, cutting himself, and living among the tombs was now new creation. Luke 8:35 says, “Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.”

May the Lord help us not to fear but have courage, walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, show His love, and have sound minds. Then we will be victorious and successful in all we do. It worked for Paul, Timothy, and all believers since, and it will work for us too.

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

Dean

-February 27, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-Compassion Should Lead To Action-

“And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.”

(Mark 6:34).

Jesus loved people, men, women, and children. This is clearly evident in Mark 6:30-44. His heart of compassion led to action in meeting their needs, first spiritually then physically. Jesus saw the need, was moved with compassion, and taught them many things. As believers this should be our priority as well.

• He saw a great multitude – Jesus looks at all people and knows their seeks their great need to be saved from their sins. Without this nothing else will help them. Christian work must have this as our priority. Our Savior not only saw the crowd but also the individuals in the crowd. We need large evangelistic meetings but we also need one on one sharing with those who do not know the Lord.

• He was moved with compassion – Jesus did not just see the people, He felt with them and for them. He knew their pain, problems, and needs. He had both sympathy for them, thus feeling for them; and empathy with them, thus feeling with them. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.” Jesus went through everything that we go through: He was hungry, thirsty, tired, sad, and lonely. He was truly the Man of Sorrows.

• He taught them many things – Jesus saw the people as sheep without a shepherd. They needed to His Word and know how to apply it to their lives. He thus travelled so many miles to preach and teach, not only in the large cities, but in the small villages. He went to them and they came to Him.

Our Lord not only cared for the spiritual needs of the people, but their physical needs as well. After this instead of sending them home hungry, He fed them, some 5,000 men plus women and children with five loaves and two fish. They all were amply filled and the left over fragments filled twelve baskets. Jesus met their spiritual needs first then their physical ones.

May the Lord help us to have compassion for people that leads to action. There are so many other needs people have and they want to see that we care for them. We cannot help them unless we listen to them and take action to help them. James wrote, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18).

Have a blessed day seeing the needs and meeting them. Let compassion lead to action. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-February 26, 2021-

-The Sin Of Unbelief-

Good morning, happy Friday,

“And He marveled because of their unbelief.”

(Mark 6:6).

Two things made Jesus marvel: great faith especially by Gentiles and great unbelief by His own countrymen. These two qualities are opposites and are in opposition to one another. Today’s text shows us how terrible unbelief is and how it actually hinders the work of God.

Jesus did many mighty miracles and the common people rejoiced and praised God. They loved Him and flocked to Him. The religious leaders, the very ones who should have believed in Him, rejected Him and crucified Him. Their hatred was fueled by their jealousy and unbelief.

This incident of unbelief in Mark 6:1-5, was especially sad and very disappointing to our Savior because the people in His hometown of Nazareth, that should have loved and appreciated Him most, did not believe. Their unbelief affected His ministry among them. They knew His background as a carpenter, they knew his mother, brothers, and sisters. Instead of thanking God for a local man making good, they were offended at Him.

Jesus said in Mark 6:4, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” This is a spiritual principle: those closest to us and know us most, often appreciate us the least. The old expression is so true, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” Even Jesus’ brothers did not believe in Him until later. As we mentioned before, they became leaders in the early church and each wrote an epistle in the NT.

Not only did the widespread unbelief affect Nazareth, it hindered the work of God in their midst. Mark 6:5 says, “Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Divine omnipotence was thwarted by human unbelief. Faith is the only antidote to unbelief.

Our text tells us, “And He marveled because of their unbelief.” Jesus was sad that they rejected His love, but even sadder at how their unbelief affected His work among them in His hometown. I am sure His heart was grieved. Each person in the world has a freewill and must choose to either receive Christ as Lord and Savior or to reject Him. There are only two choices. Even if a person does not openly and verbally reject Him, they are in effect rejecting Him by not accepting Him.

As believers, we must guard against unbelief in every form. Mark 16:14 says, “Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.” There are times He has to do the same with us. We do not believe He can or will do a miracle in our lives. The Lord has proven Himself mighty in our lives time and time again, yet we still doubt at times.

We must be honest and examine our own hearts. Where there is doubt, unbelief, or hardness of heart, we must confess it as sin to the Lord. We only see blessing when we believe. Jesus hates unbelief and we should too.

Have a blessed day and weekend in expressing our faith victoriously in Jesus. Let us drive out doubt and unbelief. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-February 25, 2021-

-God Blessed Caleb For His Spirit And For Following Him Fully-

“But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.”

(Numbers 14:24).

What singled Caleb out for this special blessing? He honored and obeyed God fully. He was among the twelve spies that Moses sent out to spy out the land of Canaan. There was one spy for each of the twelve tribes; Caleb and Joshua brought back a good report, while the other ten brought back a bad report. They all agreed on how good the land was, a land flowing with milk and honey. It was a fruitful and bountiful land. But that is where their agreement ended.

The ten spies saw giants living in fortified cities as such, no way of taking the land. They saw only insurmountable obstacles, concluding the conquest could not be successful. They viewed the outward circumstances from man’s perspective. Caleb and Joshua saw the circumstances as favorable because God was with them. Thus Caleb had a different spirit, a godly and obedient spirit. Caleb pleased God.

Numbers 13:30 says, “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, saying, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’” Caleb and Joshua saw with the eyes of faith. God was thus well pleased. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

As a result, God blessed both Caleb and Joshua for their faith. He promised Caleb and his descendants the land as an inheritance. The other ten spies all died in the wilderness and never got any inheritance in the Promised Land. Are you like the ten other spies? Do you see obstacles and giants in your way? Or are you like Caleb seeing with eyes of faith? Do you have a different spirit? Are you following God fully, no turning back?

Have a blessed day walking by faith, trusting in a great God. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-February 24, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-God’s Thoughts And Plans For Us Are The Best-

“For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your future outcome.”

(Jeremiah 29:11 – Amplified Bible).

God has always loved His people and taken care of them. In today’s text, God expresses that love and care in His thoughts and plans for Israel. The prophet Jeremiah warned them of the Babylonian captivity which was coming upon them and would last for seventy years. Jeremiah 29:10 says, “For thus says the Lord: After seventy are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.”

Even before the captivity began, God promised their return to the land. He even told them which specific ruler would authorize their return and rebuilding the temple. King Cyrus would issue the decree and it happened just that way. Many Jews returned to their homeland, building the temple and the walls around Jerusalem. God’s prophesies and promises always come to pass perfectly.

We as believers are waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus to take us home to glory. Then will come the Tribulation, Armageddon, and Christ’s return to earth with His saints, the Millennium, and the Great White Throne judgment on the unsaved. We will rule and reign with our Lord forever in heaven. God will fulfill everything perfectly according to His plan. Our hope, which a confident expectation, is fully assured by His promises.

In the meantime, we trust in the Lord one day at a time, serve Him with all our hearts, and praise and thank Him for who He is and what He has done for us. God thinks about us and has plans for us to give us a future and a hope. We think of Him so little compared to how much He thinks of us. He knows the future and we can rest in that. What happens to us on earth is for our good and His glory. God is a God of hope, who gives us hope; He is a God of peace, who gives us peace; and He is a God of the future, who gives us a bright and blessed future.

We need not fear, worry, or be anxious as we see all the signs of the times around us that show us His coming is near. Who would have thought we would experience this Coronavirus pandemic and it would last this long? Only God knew. He has a plan and will use this and other signs to bring people to Christ. Jeremiah 29:12-13 tells what we need to do: “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

God’s thoughts and plans are best and He will see us through every test! Have a blessed day seeking Him and leaving everything in His hands. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean