Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-February 1, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-The Greatest Commandment Of All: To Love God-

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord, our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

(Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

The word great or greatest is bandied about so much today. Whether it is the greatest leader, greatest country, greatest company, greatest team, or greatest player now or for all time. With all the hyperbole, there is no doubt that today’s verse represents the greatest commandment in the Scriptures. God is great, His Word is great, and to love Him with every fabric of our being is the greatest commandment of all.

This verse is called the Shema in the Hebrew. It is very sacred among Orthodox Jews to this day. It begins by expressing the oneness of God, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one. He is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the very first book of the Bible we read in Genesis 1:26-27, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” The Hebrew word for God in this portion is Elohim, a plural pronoun. Just as there is the triune God, man is also a tripartite being: spirit, soul, and body. You and I are one person with three distinct parts.

God’s love is the greatest of all. He loves all people, and desires that everyone get saved. His love is eternal. God can never and would stop loving us. He has a special love for His children. In the NT, the Greek word for God’s love is agape; it is a sacrificial, unselfish, and giving love. We will never fully know why God would love us.

God calls upon us to love Him as He loves us with all our heart, soul, and strength. In the NT, love and obedience go together as it does here in our verse. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:15; John 14:21).

Love is the greatest virtue and love for God is the greatest love. The only way to love Him is with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength. We love each other, our parents, spouses, children, and friends, but none can compare to our love for God. All other loves are based on His love.

May the Lord help us to love the Lord and by being obedient to Him, devoted to Him, to live for Him, and to serve Him. Love for our Lord is the greatest motivation of all.

Have a blessed day loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 31, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-The Lord Is Good And Ready With Forgiveness And Mercy-

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”

(Psalm 86:5).

David, the author of Psalm 86, loved the Lord and walked closely with Him all his life. He wrote so many beautiful psalms that bless our hearts so much. He did not feel God was far away but by faith knew that the Lord was right there with him in every circumstance.

He found that the Lord is good, ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all who call upon Him. With every answer to prayer, every victory in battle, and every blessing, his faith grew and relationship with the Lord matured. Even so he knew his share of pain, sorrow, and loss.

David found that the Lord was good and good all the time. He was not under the illusion that his own strength and wisdom was the reason behind his success, but recognized God’s power and help in his life. He gave all the glory to God. He was indeed the greatest king of all time.

David, like all believers and all people was not perfect. In fact, his sin of adultery and murder was evil in the sight of God and scandalous among the people of God. God forgave him and restored him, yet he had to suffer the consequences of his sin in his family. His sons Amnon and Absalom were both killed, the latter of which usurped his kingdom and sought to kill him. We as believers, like David, and others such as Moses, Peter, and Paul need to be forgiven. We cannot justify our sin but need to confess it, repent, and forsake it. God is always ready to forgive.

David also experienced God’s abundant mercy. Mercy means God does not give us what we deserve. In Psalm 103:8-11, David wrote, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.” God’s mercy showers us daily.

Let us say with David, “The Lord is good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all who call upon Him.” The song writer Don Moen wrote, “For the Lord is good and His love endures forever, He’s a faithful God to all generations. For the Lord is good and His mercies will not fail us, they are new each day, O lift your voice and say, ‘the Lord is good.’ Great is your faithfulness, O Lord, Your lovingkindness fills our hearts to overflowing. Songs of rejoicing and sweet praise, they fill our hearts, they fill our days.”

Have a blessed day in His presence rejoicing in His forgiveness and mercy through the death of Christ for our sins. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 30, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-The Worthy Walk Of The Believer-

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

(Ephesians 4:1-3).

Every one of us strives to walk with Lord in such a way as to be pleasing to Him and worthy of Him. A worthy walk glorifies the Lord and is a testimony before both the saved and unsaved. In Colossians 1:10, Paul wrote, “That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Paul wrote to several churches: Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, and Thessalonica. He taught them, encouraged them, and comforted them. He covered many of the same topics in his epistles. His goal was that all the saints walk with the Lord and please Him daily. Here in our text, he mentions five qualities that show a worthy walk: lowliness, gentleness, longsuffering (or patience), love, and unity in peace.

• Lowliness – To get along with each other we must be humble, take the lowly place, esteem others better than ourselves, and give credit to others. Paul best expressed his humility in Ephesians 3:8, “To me, who am less than the least of all saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” If the great apostle Paul felt he was less than the least of all saints, about us?

• Gentleness – Treating others with gentleness is so important. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and as such, we should treat one another as Christ has treated us. Gentleness is one of the fruit of the Spirit and is so needed in the church and in the world today. Someone once said, “A gentleman is a combination of gentle strength and strong gentleness.”

• Longsuffering (or Patience) – Just as the Lord is so patient with us, we should be patient with each other. None of us are perfect; We make mistakes, we sin, we fail. The word longsuffering means we have a long fuse. We must suffer long without complaint. Our patience is tested every day.

• Love – Love is the lubricate that make everything in our lives work smoothly. Just as an automobile needs enough clean oil, so too, love is the most important virtue and is the first of the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “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 have love for one another.”

• Unity in peace – The Holy Spirit joins us together in unity in the bond of peace. We must do all we can to maintain it. Paul wrote in Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” In the church there is great diversity and at the same time great unity. We are all washed in the blood of Christ.

May the Lord help us today to walk in the Lord in a worthy way showing lowliness, gentleness, longsuffering, love, and unity with peace. We can only do it through the power of Holy Spirit. A worthy walk is pleasing to the Lord and blesses others.

Have a blessed day in walking worthy of the Lord and treating others well. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 29, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-How To Be First In The Kingdom Of God: Be Last And Servant Of All-

“And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.’”

(Mark 9:35).

Today’s text is what we call in modern vernacular, “a teachable moment.” Jesus is the Master teacher and we as His disciples are His followers. Jesus used moments like this not to scold the twelve disciples but to shape them. On this occasion, the lesson was on on greatness and prominence in the kingdom. They had debated on the road which one of them was the greatest. Jesus knew the answer but still asked them the question in Mark 9:33, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” They kept silent for they disputed among themselves who was the greatest. I think they were embarrassed to admit it.

Jesus tells them, “…If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Normally in business, government, sports, or any other organization, the brightest, strongest, and most talented climb the ladder of success and become leaders. The first are the first, and the last are last, and there are many in the middle. Jesus turns it upside down by saying the way to be first is to be last of all and servant of all. Jesus taught humility and servanthood by example.

This was a hard lesson for the disciples as it is for us. The issue came up on several occasions and Jesus patiently taught them. The flesh is so strong in all of us. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak as Jesus said. Jesus even brought in a little child to show them how each of them are children of God. Jesus said in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

In the upper room, Jesus taught and showed them how to be last and servant of all. He took the place of a servant or slave and took water and a towel and washed the feet of each disciple one by one. Jesus said to them in John 13:13-15, “…Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

Leaders in the church are followers of Christ, and servants among the flock. They are not to lead by force, but by example in the love of Christ. They are teachers and trainers for the saints to do the ministry of the Lord. May the Lord help us to take the lowly place, to be last and servant of all. Let the Lord use us to be examples to others. There is great power in humility and service. This is especially true when we take on menial in tasks and ones that no one else wants to do. When doing them silently and in secret, the Lord is glorified.

Have a blessed day and weekend humbly serving the Lord as examples to others. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 28, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-How To Worship The Lord-

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

(John 4:24).

It is not where you worship but who you worship that counts. The Samaritan woman engaged our Lord on this very subject. She, and all the other Samaritans believed that one must God worship on the mountain that their forefathers worshipped on, and the Jews believed that one should worship in Jerusalem. Jesus told her in John 4:22, “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.” Correct doctrine is extremely important.

Jesus directed her to the essential issue: who and how one worships. He told her, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The only times in Scripture that man saw God was when He took on Himself human flesh. In the OT, the Angel of the Lord appeared to man as God. It is also called a theophany. At the Incarnation, God became flesh and dwelt among men.

Many who came to Jesus and were healed, worshipped Him. Jesus never told anyone that he was a mere man and not to worship Him. Those who love the Lord will worship Him. The wise men worshipped Him, the disciples worshipped Him, and even a healed leper bowed and worshipped Him.

We can worship the Lord at church, at home or wherever we go. The key is to worship Him in spirit and in truth. He is so worthy. The hymn writer Inglis Fleming wrote, “We worship Thee all glorious Lord, forever be Thy name adored! We worship Thee all glorious Lord, forever be Thy name adored!”

May the Lord help us to worship Him and teach our children to worship Him. We can worship Him with music as David did or in silent meditation, or in sharing from the Word or in prayer; Our hearts just need to be in it. Worship comes from the word “worth.” We consider His worth when we remember His Person and work. Hallelujah what a Savior!

Have a blessed day of worshipping the Lord in spirit and truth. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean