Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-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

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-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

-February 13, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-God’s Love For The World-

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Today’s text is one of most known and loved verses in the Bible. Often when something is so well known and familiar, we tend to read past it or take it lightly or for granted. When we take the time to read it and meditate on it, it is one of the greatest verses in the Bible with such a tremendous message.

There are three parts to the verse and each one connects to the other like links on a chain. Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus who came to meet with Jesus at night. He introduced this eminent man, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, to the teaching of the new birth and that God loves everyone in the whole world.

• For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son – There are several Greek words for world in the NT. One is for the earth or the cosmos, another is for system that is against Christ and the church, and the one in our verse is the people on this planet. God loved and in fact so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to save us from our sins. This means He loves you and me. God created all people in His image and loves each person. God does not care about skin color, ethnicity, cultural background, age, gender, or financial status. He sees beyond the exterior to the heart. Jesus died for everyone so that each one can be saved. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God is the greatest lover and greatest giver, who gives the greatest gift.

• That whoever believes in Him should not perish – While the invitation for salvation is sent to everyone, only those who believe are saved. Each person must RSVP. The time is now to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Once Jesus comes or a person dies, it will be too late. God does not want any souls to perish and end up in hell. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Salvation is a free gift if one will just accept it. The soul is eternal and will live forever either in heaven if one saved or in hell if one is not saved.

• But have everlasting life – Though both the saved and unsaved will live forever, everlasting life is the result of believing in Jesus. Once a person is saved, he receives all other spiritual blessings as well. Many stumble over the gospel since the message is so simple and they do not have to do anything to obtain it but believe. Eternity is long time but few in this world consider where they will spend it. So many prepare way more for vacations, sending their kids to college, or retirement than for where they will be in eternity.

Valentine’s Day, a day of love for couples, is coming up tomorrow. Not everyone has a valentine, or even someone to love them. If that may be you, please remember God loves you and gave His Son to save you. It is far better that Jesus loves us and that we have eternal life. Let us reflect on Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Have a blessed day in the love of Jesus. His love for you is better than the love of people, no matter how special they are to you. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-February 12, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Love Keeps On Going Strong-

“[Love] does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

(1 Corinthians 13:6-8a).

God’s love has permanence to it. It lasts all during our earthly stay and forever in heaven. Man’s love, like his life, is at best temporary and transitory. When we get saved, we learn what true love is all about. Love rejoices, bears, believes, hopes, and endures. It never fails.

John 13:1 says, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” The disciples, like us, were not perfect. They were common, ordinary men that God used to spread the gospel to the whole world. From its inception on the day of Pentecost, the church has been characterized by love. The early believers loved one another as well as all men, including their enemies.

• Love does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth – We cannot live a lie nor can we rejoice in iniquity in any form. God’s Word is truth, Jesus is the truth, and thus we must live by the truth. Lies change because they are lies; Truth never changes. Jesus said in Matthew 5:37, “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No,’ No. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Truth and honesty is vital in our relationships.

• Love bears all things – There is nothing that love cannot bear. Not pain, separation, illness, sorrow, loss, death, not anything. Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God’s love through us can bear anything and everything.

• Love believes all things – This does not mean that we should believe everything we read online, in the newspaper, or on TV, but rather believe all things that God has shown us. We must stand for what we believe in Christ no matter the consequences in this life. We need to trust each other and stand by each other. However if someone is in the wrong, no matter how much we love them, we must side with the truth and with the righteous.

• Love hopes all things – Hope in the Bible is more than positive or wishful thinking, it is a confident expectation based on the Word of God. God has proven Himself over and over again to us. We must look to Him without question or doubt.

• Love endures all things – When we love God and His people we can endure the harshest conditions imaginable. God’s grace is sufficient for us on a daily basis. Love helps us to keep on keeping on. Think of the worst things you have had to endure, and you made it through, you survived, you overcame it!

• Love never fails – Love never fails because Jesus who loves us never fails. He has helped us in the past and will in the future. Man may let us down but our Savior will never fail. The hymn writer Arthur A. Luther wrote, “Earthly friends may prove untrue, doubts and fears assail; One still lives and cares for you, One who will not fail. Jesus never fails, Jesus never fails, heaven and earth may pass away, but Jesus never fails.”

Let the love of Jesus flow through you to others. His love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. His love never fails. Only God’s love is still going strong.

Have a blessed day loving others as He loves us. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean