Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-January 14, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Love God And Others-

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

(1 John 4:20-21).

Love for God and love for others go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. John goes so far as calling one who loves God but not his brother a liar. It is a sham, real hypocrisy. We must love God and our brothers and sisters and everyone else also.

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 on another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Love is powerful and has a great impact on people; Love warms the soul.

Often when we think of love, we think of emotion, sentiment, attraction, and affection. While it does include all of those, it is much greater; it involves commitment, sacrifice, and sharing. When we love God it also means obedience to Him. Our Savior said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

May the Lord help us love the Lord and love each other. There is so little of God’s love being shown. We need to show the way.

Have a blessed day walking in love. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 13, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Being Reconciled To God Through Christ-

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

(2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

One of the greatest blessings we have as believers is being reconciled to God. Nowadays we hear the word connected with bringing two opposing sides together. The word reconciliation is defined as, “the restoration of friendly relations; the action of making one view or belief compatible with another.” Reconciliation, in Christian theology, is an element of salvation that refers to the results of atonement. Reconciliation is the end of the estrangement, caused by original sin, between God and humanity.

To be clear, God did not need to be reconciled to us, we needed to be reconciled to Him. We are sinners by nature through Adam, and by practice by our own sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Herein is the great exchange: our sin and unrighteousness for His forgiveness, atonement, and righteousness. Jesus died in our place, bore our sin in His own body, became sin for us, in order to save us and give us eternal life.

God is in the restoration business. He takes a sinner and turns him into a saint; a lost soul into a saved soul; a spiritually dead person and makes Him alive in Christ; one walking in darkness now to dwell in His light.

Because we have been reconciled to God through His Son Jesus Christ, we now have the ministry of reconciliation to help others be reconciled to God. God sends us out as ambassadors for Christ to win souls to Him. Someone once said “it is like one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” It is just as Philip introduced Nathanael to Jesus, who then believed in Him for himself. He simply told him, “Come and see.” The woman at the well did the same thing when she shared with the whole town about what Jesus had said to her and done for her.

It is such a joy to share Jesus with others and how He changed our lives. The gospel, the good news, is what we have to share. God offers salvation as free to all who believe. Not only are we reconciled to God, we are now His children and He is our Father. We have a personal relationship with God through Christ. We are forgiven of every sin and have eternal life. There is nothing better than that!

Have a blessed day living as ambassadors for Christ with the ministry of reconciliation. Stay safe and healthy.

-January 12, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-The Need Is Great, The Laborers Are Few-

“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

(Matthew 9:37-38).

Jesus was moved compassion on all the people because they were scattered, like sheep without a Shepherd. He saw that the need was so great for so many needed to be saved. It is no different today, the difference is the time is shorter before our Lord and Savior comes to call us home to glory.

So few are saved today compared to the general population. Jesus is not content to save a few, He wants to save them all. He died for the sins of the whole world and offers salvation and eternal life to those who believe. His plan of salvation is carried out through those who have come to Him for salvation. That means you and me as well as all believers across the world.

• The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few – As I said, the need is great because so few are saved. People are dead in their trespasses and sins, lost, separated from God, and destined for 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.”

With such a great need, Jesus says, “but the laborers are few.” Not only are the number of Christians few, but of those, the laborers are few. The mission to win souls is of such vital importance that we must answer the call. Jesus said in John 4:35-36, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.” Every time we share the gospel we sow the seed in the hearts of those who hear, and reap when we lead to people to Christ. Sowers and reapers are both important, needed, and will be rewarded.

• Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest – The need for missionaries today is very great. We need to pray that the Lord will call and burden the hearts of His people to go forth into all the world preaching the gospel to every person. This is our part in missions: to pray, to give, and be missionaries right where we are in our neighborhoods, communities, schools, workplaces, or wherever we go.

When the United States went to war in 1941, everyone had a part in the war, from the soldiers, sailors, and airmen, to those who built the ships and planes, to those who prayed and sacrificed, and rationed needed commodities. It lead to victory. We need this same collective effort in spreading the gospel. It takes more than a few to achieve the goal.

Are you willing to pray, to give, and to share the gospel? And if God calls you to go out into the world as a foreign missionary are we willing to go? The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Compassion leads to action.

Have a blessed day as missionaries and ambassadors for Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 11, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-Call On The Lord Who Is On Our Side-

“I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

(Psalm 118:5-6).

The writer of this beautiful Psalm is David. He had a close, personal walk with the Lord. It is important to realize that those in the Bible who walked closest with the Lord had the most severe trials. This was true of David, Joseph, Job, Daniel, Paul, and others.

In verse five, David writes, “I called on the Lord in distress.” Distress indicates great severity. David prayed to the Lord who answered him, setting him in a broad place. David knew to whom he should turn: to the Lord in prayer. So often in our distress we try every solution on our own first before praying to the only One who can help us. Instead of praying last after all else fails, we should pray first to the Lord who never fails.

David understood that the Lord was on his side, so he concluded that there was nothing to fear. He even asks the question, “What can man do to me?”He knew that his enemies could kill his body but they could harm his soul. In verses 8 and 9 of this chapter, he writes, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.”

King Saul could not kill David nor could his own son Absalom, though both tried. The Lord protected him in every battle and he was victorious. It is wonderful to know that the Lord is on our side and we are on His side. Our faith in Christ drives out our fear. The Lord has never failed us and He never will. He has brought us through thus far and will carry us through to the end of our journey on earth and take us to heaven.

Distresses are often overwhelming, whether spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, or financial. The Lord is right with us in our trials, hears and answers our prayers, and delivers us. Let go to Him first in prayer and plead for His help. He has helped us in the past and will also help us in the present and the future.

There is no need to fear man or anything else that may happen to us. Paul wrote in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things, if God is for us, who can be against us.” Let us pray and trust in Him.

Have a blessed day trusting in the Lord no matter what distresses we face. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 10, 2021-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-Be holy For God is Holy-

“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”

(1 Peter 1:15-16).

God is holy and He made us holy through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is our position before God. To be holy is to be separated from the world and and set apart for the Lord. Our sins are forgiven and we are the people of God. We are citizens of heaven as well as citizens of earth.

As we have be made holy, God calls us to be holy in all our conduct. This is our practice. Our practice in Christ will never fully match our position until we see Jesus face to face. Then we will be fully like Him. We have two natures, the old nature and the new nature. We are to put off the old and put on the new.

We are the holy people of God and we must live holy lives in this world. We can’t do it on our own, we need the Holy Spirit using the Holy Scriptures in our lives. The more time we spend with Jesus in prayer and the Word, the more we will be like Him.

There are two aspects of holiness, to be separated from the world and to be set apart for the Lord. Separation is not isolation. We live in the world but we are not of this world. The world’s system is evil, wicked, and against Christ. We must be different in our character, conduct, and conversation. The other aspect is to be set apart for God. We are His children and we need to live that way. We belong to Jesus and our desire is to live like Him and for Him. We are here on earth to share the gospel and to serve Him all the days of our lives.

As someone aptly said, “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.” While this is certainly true, we must not use it as an excuse for sin and unholiness. Holiness is a lifestyle that we cultivate and grow in. We call it personal holiness, for it is the way God wants us to live as individuals. Therefore, the challenge to us is, “be holy in all your conduct.” All means at all times, in all circumstances, with all people, not just other Christians. May the Lord help us to be holy in the home, in the church, in the school, in the workplace, and wherever go.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day in walking in holiness. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean