Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-January 9, 2021-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-Lay Up Treasures In Heaven-

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

(Matthew 6:19-21).

Life is all about choices and priorities. Today’s text is a great example of this. We as believers can either lay up treasures on earth or treasures in heaven. The choices we make in this life determine where are priorities are. Jesus said in verse 21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Laying up treasures on earth has so little security. Jesus tells that “moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. We all need money to live on, material things to utilize; we have ourselves and our families to think of. We also must think about retirement and having enough to live on in this world. Money is not the root of all evil, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. If we live our lives as if this world and this life was all there is, we are no different from our unsaved neighbors and friends.

When we put all our time, effort, money, and others into earthly things, it is an exercise in futility. They will either be lost, stolen, or destroyed. In fact, even if they survive to the end of our lives, we must leave them all behind when we die or at the Rapture. One day this earth will be burned up and all things in it when God creates a new heavens and a new earth.

By laying up treasures in heaven they will be there waiting for us when we go to be with the Lord. They cannot be destroyed, lost, or stolen; and they never lose their value. The question is “how do we lay up treasures in heaven?” It is really quite simple: every penny we give to the Lord’s work is part of it; everything we do for the Lord in His service is part of it; our time and effort that we expend for the Lord and His people is part of it. The Lord knows and sees and remembers. Some believers will have much in their heavenly bank account and some will have little.

The choices and decisions we make show where our heart and priorities are. We must choose to lay up treasures in heaven. Life is so short, eternity is forever. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:1-2, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on the things on the earth.”

Where is your treasure? Is it on earth or in heaven? It is time to invest in eternity, into winning souls for Christ, serving the Lord, in the Word of God, and in prayer. These things have the greatest value in eternity. Let us labor and invest in the things above not the things of this world.

Have a blessed day investing in eternity. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 8, 2021-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Serve The Lord In Secret-

“But when you do your charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; that your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:3-4).

“But you,when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6).

“But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:17-18).

Jesus taught His disciples to do everything in secret before men. This was in stark contrast to what the Pharisees did. They did everything for show, to be seen by others. They always sought the approval of man not of God. We are to be humble servants, not to care who gets the credit as long as God gets all the glory.

Man loves the limelight, to be praised, and to look good; but God sees the heart. Jesus taught that giving, praying, and fasting should always be in secret. God who sees in secret will reward us at the Judgment Seat of Christ. There are times when others find out and commend us, then we should always give all the glory to the Lord.

Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” When we give, we give in secret; and when we do good, we do it in secret.

This applies to prayer as well. We should pray in secret and bring our requests to God. Now this is not to say we shouldn’t pray publicly in prayer meetings, we should, and when we do our prayers shouldn’t be to impress others who hear us pray. Our prayers are to the Father in Jesus’ name.

Not only should we give and pray in secret, we should also fast in secret. When there is something very urgent, we should go without food and show our earnestness before God. In Scripture, prayer and fasting always went together with prayer being listed first. God always sees and hears.

Let us then give and do good in secret, pray in secret, and fast in secret. God will always see and reward us openly. He sees what is in our hearts and what our true motive us. Everything we do should be out of love for Christ and for His glory.

Have a blessed day serving the Lord in secret for His glory. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 7, 2021-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-The Lord Answers Prayer And Delivers Us From Our Fears-

“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

(Psalm 34:4).

Praise God that the Lord hears and answers prayer. David spent a lot of time in prayer, seeking the Lord’s help. He knew the secret of dependence on the the Lord. As a result he was undefeated in battle and undeterred in life.

David, like all of us, had fears, and needed the Lord’s intervention. Faith is the antidote to our fears. God loves us and delights to answer our prayers. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts our fear; because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” Over and over we are of in Scripture, we are told, “fear not.”

John showed the same confidence and faith in the Lord that David had, “Now this the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15).

Each time the Lord comes through for us, He builds our faith. He walks with us in the dark valley as well as the bright mountaintop. He loves and cares for us so much. A dear brother I know is going cancer. He is trusting the Lord and has such a wonderful testimony for Christ. His name is Don. Please pray for him. His daughter suggested memorizing this Psalm 34 during this time. A number of us have joined in this memorizing challenge. She drives him 81 miles to his cancer treatments.

Have a blessed day in prayer, and the Lord will deliver you from all your fears. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 6, 2021-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Enoch Walked With God And Pleased Him-

“After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not for God took him” (Genesis 5:22-24).

“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

Enoch was one of only two people in the history of the world whom God took home to glory without dying. The other was the the prophet Elijah. Also, he is one of only two men that it says of them that they walked with God. The other was Noah. So we can see that he is in select company in the Scriptures. He is also found in Hebrews chapter 11, the “Hall of Faith” chapter as a man of faith.

His life was a short one compared to others who lived before the flood. His father Jared lived 962 years and his son Methuselah lived the longest life of all 969 years. Thus, Enoch was just a youngster, living only 365 years. But what he lacked in the quantity of years he more than made up for the quality of his years.

He walked with God for 300 years in close fellowship with Him. He grew in his faith, and he pleased God. What a great goal for us to have this New Year to follow his example to walk with and please God each day. Colossians 1:10 says, “That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work, an increasing in the knowledge of God.” This verse really describes the life of Enoch.

Not only did Enoch walk with God and please God but he spoke for God and served Him. Jude wrote in his short epistle, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all their harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him’” Jude 1:14-15).

Thus Enoch was a prophet who spoke of the coming judgment when the Lord Jesus returns to earth with all His saints and pronounces judgment at the Great White Throne. Enoch was unafraid of speaking of sin and the wrath to come on those who reject Christ.

May the Lord help us to walk with God, please God, and speak for God this year. Time is growing short and Christ is coming soon. When the Rapture happens many more than two will be taken up to be the Lord without dying. Every living believer will join Enoch and Elijah. All those who have died with Christ are already with the Lord.

Have a blessed day walking with God and pleasing Him in all you do and say. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-January 5, 2021-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-Putting Our Faith Into Action-

“Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; Put away the evil doings from before My eyes. Cease to evil, learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”

(Isaiah 1:16-17).

Though God spoke these words to His people Israel hundreds of years before Christ, the message to us is abundantly clear: put your faith into action. Words are not enough. James wrote, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says, he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to him, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ but you do not give them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-17).

Christianity is not theoretical but practical. As J. Vernon McGee used to say, “It is where the rubber meets the road.” While doctrine is extremely important, it must be applied to our lives in practical ways. In Paul writings he speaks of doctrine first then practice. In today’s text, there are seven principles to live by in these two verses:

1. Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean – While we know we are washed in the blood of Christ, we must walk in holiness and purity in this world. We need to confess our sins to the Lord and live a clean life.

2. Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes – There are so many defiling things in this world today, on the internet, TV, movies, magazines and all around us. We must put them away, turn them off, or walk out of the movie theater.

3. Cease to do evil – Satan is the master manipulator and liar. He tempted Adam and Eve, and he tempts us too. We must judge our actions in the light of God’s Word. If it wrong or even questionable, we should not do it.

4. Learn to do good – Good is the opposite of evil. We are created in Christ Jesus for good works. It is not just about not doing evil, but we must do good. We should do good to all, especially the household of faith.

5. Seek justice – God is just and fair without prejudice or partiality. This is so relevant to our times. We should treat people equally and show the love of Christ to all. All people matter to God. He loves everyone.

6. Rebuke the oppressor – Sometimes we know what to do but we do not do it. Standing up to those who are harming others is our duty and responsibility. Not getting involved is not acceptable.

7. Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow – God has a special love for orphans and widows; it is shown over and over in the Scriptures. Often they do not have the resources to defend themselves, we we must help them.

These principles are clear and understandable to all of us. We must put our Christian faith into action, beings doers of the Word not just hearers. In other words, let us walk the talk, and practice what we preach.

Have a blessed day practicing our faith in our actions. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean