Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-February 18, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Follow Me-

“And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”

(Mark 1:16-18).

Jesus called His disciples with two words: “Follow Me.” Here in Mark 1:16-29, our Savior called four fishermen, two sets of brothers, Simon and Andrew, James and John.” Our Lord knows the hearts and chose these men. He did have to convince them or persuade them, they were willing. What did Jesus offer them? He told them they would become fishers of men.

He did not promise them riches, though they would be rich spiritually forever in Christ; He did not promise them notoriety, though they would be known throughout the world then still to this day; He did promise them power, yet through the Holy Spirit, they would be so powerful in the gospel. All they had to do was follow Him, trusting and obeying Jesus.

The disciples did not question Him or raise any objections, He said, “Follow Me,” and they followed Him! If Jesus were to say to you today, “Follow Me.” Would you? Jesus said in John 8:12, “…I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Jesus is our Lord, Master, and King. Where He sends us we go, and He goes with us; what He tells to say, we say it by the power of the Holy Spirit; and what He shows us to do, we do it for His glory.

The hymn writer E. W. Blandly wrote, “Where He leads me I will follow, where He leads me I will follow, where He leads me I will follow, I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.” Can we say these words as our prayer today? I will follow Jesus no turning back.

Have a blessed day following Jesus. The path will not always be smooth, straight, or simple but it will be the best way. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-February 17, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Nothing Shall Separate From The Love Of Christ: We Are More Than Conquerors-

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword (Romans 8:35)?

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

We live in a very difficult, problematic world. Everyday we face huge challenges from every side. It is important to take a step back, reflect on the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, pray, and go forward in His victory. We have come so far, yet we have farther to go until we get to heaven.

There is nothing, including the Corona virus pandemic that can separate us from the love of Christ. Paul lists all that he can think of in Romans 8:35, 8:38-39. He mentions 17 different things: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, life, angels, principalities, powers, present things, future things, height, depth, or any other created thing. He added the last one to include anything else he or anyone may think of.

We are more the conquerors through Christ who loved and loves us. We are victorious because Christ is victorious, and we are on His side. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” John concluded, “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith” (1 John 4:4).

But what does all that mean to us living in the world in 2021? It means everything in every circumstance! We are not just conquerors, but more than conquerors through Him who loved us. He is with us always, to the end of the age. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Romans 8:31 says, “What shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

There is no reason to falter, fear, or frustrate ourselves. We rejoice in the Lord who has brought us through thus far. He knows what we are thinking and what we are going through. He wants us to trust Him for the victory and not depend on ourselves. Nothing and no one can separate us from His love. The hymn writer Lina Sandell Berg wrote, “Neither life nor death can ever, from the Lord His children sever, for His love and deep compassion comforts them in tribulation.” Yes, we are are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!

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

Dean

-February 16, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-The Great Commissioner Gives The Great Commission-

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”

(Matthew 28:18-20).

When the Lord Jesus came to earth, He came to die on the cross for our sins and then ascend back to heaven. He preached, taught, healed, and helped so many. He also did many awesome miracles. When He left this world the mission was not complete, we as His people must complete it. Acts 1:1-2 says, “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all Jesus began both to do and teach, until He was taken up after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen.”

The Lord Jesus is the Great Commissioner. He says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and earth.” When we go forth in bringing the gospel to the world, we are doing so by His word and authority. The Father gave Him this authority. Jesus prepared the apostles to spread the gospel to the whole world, we now must carry it that mission.

The Great Commission is found here in Matthew, and also in Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:46-49; and Acts 1:8. Matthew’s account gives us the most detail. It represents the last commandment of Jesus to His followers before His ascension to heaven. The hymn writer James McGranahan wrote, “All pow’r is given unto Me, all pow’r is given unto Me, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel, and lo, I am with you alway.”

Our Savior gives three things for us to do: go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them. It is a simple mission but there will be much will much opposition, resistance, and rejection; we must continue to be faithful to the mission of the great commission. It is of eternal significance.

• Go and make disciples of all nations – This entails more than preaching the gospel and sharing our faith. It takes in prayer, follow up, and discipleship. When we win a soul to Christ, that is just the beginning of making that person a disciple who can disciple others. It is called spiritual reproduction. It takes hard work and effort.

• Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit – Baptism is the first step in obedience to Christ. The new believer identifies himself with Christ publicly in His death, burial, and resurrection. The Scriptures teach baptism by full immersion to properly symbolize the identification of the believer to Christ.

• Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you – This is vital to the growth of the new teach Christian the Word of God. They must be grounded in doctrine and how to read, study, and apply the Word to their lives. Everyone needs a spiritual mentor.

It may seem a daunting and difficult task, but the Lord Jesus has promised us, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” He is with us and will through the power of the Holy Spirit use us to win souls, make disciples, baptize them and teach them.

Have a blessed day in the work of the Lord in spreading the gospel. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-February 15, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday, happy President’s Day,

-God’s Love Brought About The Propitiation For Our Sins-

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

God’s love is eternal just as He is eternal. He chose to love us and initiated His love toward us, even when we were still sinners. We can never explain why He would love us. God knew that left to ourselves we would not have chosen Him nor loved Him. Thus, He loved us first and took action to deliver us and forgive us for our sins.

The word propitiation means the appeasement or satisfaction, specifically toward God. It is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him. Thus propitiation is reconciliation, atonement, and redemption. It comes through the sacrifice of Christ and His shed blood on the cross. It is a term that is connected to the mercy seat in the OT.

Romans 3:24-25 says, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance passed over the sins that were previously committed.” God is holy and righteous; in order for Him to forgive our sins, Christ had to bear them in His own body on the cross. He paid our sin debt in full, once for all time and eternity.

We are all sinners, but now we are sinners saved by grace. We deserved God’s wrath and judgment but instead He showed us His mercy. We deserved hell but He has given us an eternal home in heaven. We deserved nothing from God, but He has given us everything through His grace. Mercy and grace are intrinsically linked: His mercy does not give us what we deserve, and His grace gives us what we did not deserve.

There is a beautiful song by Kurt Kaiser that says, “O, how He loves you and me, O, how He loves you and me; He gave His life, what more could He give: O, how He loves you, O, how He loves me, O, how He loves you and me. Jesus to Calvary did go, His love for mankind to show; What He did there brought hope from despair: O, how He loves you, O, how He loves me, O, how He loves you and me.” Christ demonstrated His love for us in a personal and practical way.

Let us thank the Lord that He loved us, came down from heaven to earth to save us, and showed His mercy and grace to us. Oh what a love! O what a Savior! O what a sacrifice! The doctrine of propitiation is beautiful, and once we understand it, we realize how incredibly blessed we are as children of God.

Have a blessed day appreciating His love and mercy that has been shown to us through death and resurrection of Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

“

-February 14, 2021-

Happy Lord’s Day, Happy Valentine’s Day

-The Testimony Of Love-

“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 one another.”

(John 13:34-35).

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples in the upper room before He went to the cross and died for their sins, our sins, and the sins of the world. He proved His love in the greatest way possible. These words are part of Upper Room Discourse in John chapters 13-17.

Jesus said in John 15:14, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Jesus always taught His disciples by word, by deed, and by example. He now calls on them to love one another as He loved them. Though love is taught in the OT, in a sense it is a new commandment given to them from Him to carry on. It would become the the calling card of the early Christians and is still true today.

It is a high standard to love others as He has loved us. We know from some many other verses that it is only possible through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. John certainly carried this theme of love in his writings. Paul and Peter also had much to say about love. In 1 Corinthians 16:14, Paul wrote, “Let all that you do be done in love.” In, fact, the whole Bible is “God’s Love Letter to man.”

After our Savior gave them the commandment, standard, and example of love, He then gave them the challenge to love. Three times He uses the word love and once the word loved in these two verses. He says, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” The little word “all” means everyone saved and unsaved.

We know that message came across clearly to the Jews and to the Gentiles. Acts 4:13 says, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.” The message of the gospel is best preached through vessels of love and devotion.

Our testimony of love is beautiful and powerful when we point people to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We must show them His love. Others can argue our doctrine but they cannot argue our changed lives. Jesus makes all the difference. When our actions shown in love back up our words, it is a powerful testimony. Conversely, if they don’t, we come across as hypocrites.

May the Lord help us to love others as He loves us. The greatest complement we may receive on earth is that they can see Jesus in our lives. Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.

Have a blessed day loving others and showing them what Jesus has done in our lives. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean