Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-January 24, 2021-

Good morning happy Lord’s Day,

-The Goal Is Restoration Not Condemnation-

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”

(Galatians 6:1).

Today’s verse reminds me to of two questions, one asked by Cain and the other asked by a lawyer. Cain got angry and blamed his brother for his own sin. When the Lord asked him where his brother Abel was, whom he had murdered, he responded, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper” Genesis 4:9)? When the lawyer asked Jesus, which commandment was the greatest, Jesus told to love God with all ones heart, soul, and mind, and the second is like it to love one’s neighbor as oneself. He asked Jesus, “who is my neighbor?” Jesus then told him the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Man by nature is very selfish. We only care about ourselves, our families, and our own personal interests. When we get saved, the Lord changes our hearts and we begin to think of others, pray for others, and help others. This is what we have before us today. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:4, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

In our text, Paul tells the Galatians, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness…” The first thing to note is he is speaking to Christians. It is a sad thing when a Christian sins, but it does happen. To be overtaken in any trespass means, any sin, large or small. There is shame in the one who sins, and those who are spiritual, that are walking with God, should restore the erring one in a spirit of gentleness. The Lord is gentle with us and we should be gentle with others.

It is not a time for harshness, condemnation, or punitive measures, it is a time for restoration. God has forgiven and restored us and we should do the same with others. Let us remember how merciful God was with David who committed adultery and murder; Jonah who ran away from his gospel mission to Nineveh; and Peter who denied the Lord three times. In each case the sin is dealt first, then comes forgiveness and restoration. We cannot sweep sin under the carpet.

We must also remember Paul’s words, “…considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” We must be prayerful for the sinning one and careful for ourselves not to fall into the same sin. Who is my brother’s keeper? I am. Who is my neighbor? Anyone in need. It is so important to restore others.

Have a blessed day working for the Lord to help others. It takes a lot of compassion and care. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 23, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-Praying For Wisdom From God-

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

(James 1:5).

Today’s verse is so encouraging. In James 1:1-8, James writes about the way to profit from our trials by counting them all joy and recognizing the benefit we gain in patience. It is within this context that James urges those who lack wisdom to ask it from God. This is exactly what King Solomon did when God invited him to ask whatever he wanted. He chose wisdom and understanding to govern God’s people Israel. Wisdom is more valuable than gold, rubies, or any other precious commodity.

When James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom,” it does not mean that there are some who do not need God’s wisdom, we all need it every day. There are certain times when we need it more than others. God’s wisdom is the opposite of man’s wisdom and is so much greater. Later in the epistle, James defines God’s wisdom as, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partially and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). Oh how wonderful is His wisdom! It is personal, practical, and precious!

If we are honest with God, ourselves, and others, we greatly need God’s wisdom. The two main things we pray for ourselves is strength and wisdom. The former helps us physically with our daily tasks and the latter helps us spiritually to apply God’s Word to every situation of life. Knowledge is acquainting ourselves with God’s truth, understanding is knowing what it means, especially to us, and wisdom is applying that knowledge and understanding to our daily lives.

Let us then pray for wisdom every morning for the day to come. Only our Lord knows what lies ahead today. We want to know and do God’s will in wisdom. James 3:18 says, “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” We who have peace with God and experience the peace of God that passes all understanding must be peacemakers. This is so needed in our world today.

God promises to give us wisdom when we ask Him. He gives it to us liberally and without reproach to those who ask in faith without any doubting.

Have a blessed day asking for and walking in God’s wisdom. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 22, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Asking, Seeking, And Knocking-

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

Why is it that we do not ask more from the Lord? Why do we pray about something and stop? Why do we question why the Lord has not answered our requests? Here in our text, Jesus tells us to ask, seek, and knock. The tense of the Greek is a progressive one. It should read, “Ask, and keep on asking; seek, and keep on seeking; knock, and keeping on asking.”

• Ask – Jesus wants us to bring our requests to the Father in His name. In John 16:24, Jesus said, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” James, who wrote very directly and honestly said, “…Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:2d-5). We should always pray for God’s will and it will be given to us.

• Seek – We need seek God’s presence and His kingdom. In Matthew 6:33 our Savior said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” We must be clean when we seek the Lord and confess all known sin, otherwise God will not hear us. When we seek we will find.

• Knock – Nowadays most people do not knock at the door anymore, they ring the bell. For some there is a small little glass hole to see who is at our door. With the modern technology, we can see now who is there at the door on our smartphones. Cameras capture the person very clearly. Our Heavenly Father delights to open to us. He will never turn us away. Let us knock and keep on knocking at the door of heaven as we bring our requests and He will open the door to us.

God the Father delights to hear our prayers in the name of His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His will, through the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us. The Spirit takes our words and intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered or are to deep for words. Let us then ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking, and knock and keep on knock until the answer comes.

Have a blessed day and weekend in prayer for great things as well as the smaller ones. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 21, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-We Reap What We Sow-

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”

(Galatians 6:7-9).

It is a spiritual principle that one reaps what he sows. People in the world do not believe that their deeds will catch up with them, but they will and they do. Life is all about the choices we make; good choices and behavior amount to sowing to the Spirit and bad choices and behavior leads to sowing to the flesh.

Sowing to the flesh is doing what is of the old nature. It comes naturally to us, but has disastrous results. In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul lists the works of the flesh, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, and the like…” It is an ugly list.

On the other hand, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control…” (Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit produces these qualities in our lives, enabling us to sow to the Spirit.

We sow and reap every day. The important way to sow to the Spirit is fill our hearts and minds with the Word of God and to spend time in prayer. Doing good to and for others is vital in our service for Lord. Paul wrote, “And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” We will reap in this life and at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Charles Stanley always says, we shall reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow.”

Thus it is up to us what we sow and and what we reap. The other type of sowing in the NT is sharing the gospel with others. Some of us sow the seed, others water it, and still others reap the harvest of a soul saved. We perform all these functions at different times with different people. May the Lord help us to sow to the Spirit and not lose heart. The results will be glorious and eternal.

Have a blessed day sowing and reaping for Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 20, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday, happy Inauguration Day-

-Treat Others As You Want To Be Treated-

“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and Prophets.”

(Matthew 7:12).

Today’s verse is such a powerful and inclusive verse. It covers our lifestyle, and the way we treat others in all our relationships. It is commonly known as the “Golden Rule.” So many people erroneously think that by following it, they will go to heaven, which it totally wrong. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross.

This verse among many others, directs us as believers how to live as Christians in this world. To apply this verse correctly one must ask, “How do I want to be treated? What does the Bible say in both the OT and the NT about how to do good to others? Then we can follow the words of Jesus, “…Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:36-39 says, “Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” We cannot love our neighbor as ourselves without loving God with everything we have.

The way we treat others shows a lot about our Christianity. Jesus Christ is our example. Our goal is to live as He lived, to love as He loved, and to labor as He labored. He had great compassion on people and never turned anyone in need away. We all want to be loved, accepted, forgiven, respected, and be shown justice, fairness, kindness and gentleness. Then we must treat others that way. This should be a challenge to each and every one of us. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to do it.

If every Christian lived this way, what a difference we would make in this world! May the Lord help us to treat others as we want to be treated. People want to see that we care about them. If they don’t, they won’t listen to our message.

Have a blessed day treating others as we want to be treated and to love them as ourselves. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean