Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-December 14, 2020-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-Highly Favored, Fully Blessed-

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’”

(Luke 1:26-28).

The gospel of Luke contains more detail on the birth of Christ than the other three gospels. Today’s verses reflect the encounter and conversation between the angel Gabriel and the virgin Mary. Mary was a young girl, likely a teenager, from the city of Nazareth. She was to be the mother of the Messiah. According to Luke 1:35, Gabriel told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Mary was troubled or fearful of the angel’s presence and words. The angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30). There was no doubt that the baby to be born would be the Messiah. She must have felt so overwhelmed and unworthy. In Luke 1:28, the angel tells her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.”

• Highly favored one – Mary found favor with God. God chose her to be the mother of Jesus. This is all by the grace of God. She was not only favored but highly favored or honored in the eyes of God. Was she better than the other girls of her day? No, but God saw her heart and knew she would be obedient and carry out the mission of mothering the Messiah.

• The Lord is with you – Mary could do nothing without the Lord and His help. She was assured of the Lord’s presence and power in her life. Her reaction to the entirety of the angel’s message is found in Luke 1:38, “Then Mary said, ‘Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word…” She did not question it, argue about it, or refuse it. God gave her the grace each step of the way.

• Blessed are you among women – She was truly blessed among women. She was chosen among many for this awesome responsibility and privilege. Other notable examples in Scripture of those found who found favor: Ruth found favor in the eyes of Boaz; Esther found favor in the eyes of King Ahasuerus; Joshua, the successor of Moses found favor with God.

The application to our lives is clear. God has favored us, showered with His grace, is with us, and has richly blessed us. Who are we to be saved? We are so unworthy and undeserving of His blessings. We can truly say that we too are highly favored and fully blessed. We like Mary should be willing to do God’s will fully and to serve Him daily, for He is worthy!

Have a blessed day serving the greatest Master, Lord, Savior, and King. Merry Christmas. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-December 13, 2020

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day — Merry Christmas,

-Christ Was Born In Bethlehem-

“And when he (Herod) had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judaea, for thus it is written by the prophet.’”

(Matthew 2:4-5).

Herod was an evil king with very bad motives. He did not want to come before the Christ Child to worship as the wise men did. He was jealous of Child and sought to kill Him. Matthew 2:16 says, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.”

Herod was not the first to attempt to kill Jesus before He went to the cross to die for our sins. In Nazareth, there were those who tried to push Him off the steepest place of the city. Every attempt failed miserably. Think how many young toddlers Herod killed. There was great anguish and sorrow over these little ones whom he killed. It reminds us of how Pharaoh ordered all the male Israelite children to be put to death. Satan was behind all attempts to kill the Jews and to kill Jesus.

Herod knew who ask when he had a question from the Scriptures. He sought out the chief priests and scribes. They were educated and very knowledgeable in the OT. Knowledge is a good thing, education is a good thing, and theology is a good thing, as long as one puts it into practice and honors and obeys God. Otherwise it is of little value. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 8:1b-3, “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.”

These are the men who should have known that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah. They should have welcomed Him, honored Him, and worshipped Him. But they like Herod envied Him, rejected Him, and crucified Him.

These chief priests and scribes rightly knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea. There was another city named Bethlehem so they added, “of Judea.” Bethlehem of Judea or Judah, was a small, yet significant city. King David was born there, and Boaz, who married Ruth lived there. It was also Naomi’s hometown. The prophet Micah identified it as the birthplace of the Messiah in Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me, the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting.” The eternal Son of God was born in a small town.

The lesson for us is that God considers big what men consider little, and uses the small places and small things to accomplish big things, great things. God uses us as His humble servants to do great things for Him. The hymn writer Phillips Brooks wrote, “O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light: The hopes are fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

You might also consider yourself little, your gifts little, your labor little for our great Lord and Savior, but realize God can use you for His glory. In fact, the greater our weakness, the more glory God receives. God knows what He is doing, and what we can do through Him. Bethlehem, though small, played a big part in God’s plan.

Have a blessed and joyful day serving our Lord and rejoicing in His birth in Bethlehem. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-December 12, 2020-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-God Sent His Son At Perfect Time To Redeem Us And Make Us His Sons-

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

(Galatians 4:4-5).

Today’s verses are so encouraging, especially this time of year. The doctrinal term is incarnation, meaning God becoming flesh. God’s plan of salvation was conceived in eternity past, carried out in a specific time in history, and with eternal results. Only God could do this to save mankind.

• But when the fullness of the time had come – God works off a completely different timetable than man, and His timing is always perfect. The phrase, “fullness of the time,” really means when the time was ripe. The word ripe is most often associated with fruits. To enjoy a piece of fruit to its fullest, it must be ripe but not over ripe. God sent His Son into the world at the right time, not a minute too soon nor a minute too late.

In our Christian lives, we marvel at God’s perfect timing in accomplishing His will. There is the perfect time for graduations, weddings, births of our children, jobs, promotions, ministries, retirement, and so many other things. We thank God for His perfect timing and His perfect will in our lives. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”

• God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law – Jesus was born of a woman, not a man and a woman. The virgin Mary was with child by the Holy Spirit, apart from man. His birth was unique, unprecedented, and unbelievable. Our Savior was born a Jew, born under the law. By being both God and man, He was sinless and perfect. He was the only person who could keep the law perfectly.

There are so many who still try to keep the law in order to be saved. God never intended the law to save us but to expose our sin and show us our need of Christ. Others try to live moral lives, do good works, and practice religion in hopes of being saved. It never works. Jesus came into this world to die on the cross, in our place, bearing our sins, in order to save us, forgive us, and give us the gift of eternal life. God is just and saves all people by the blood of Christ.

• To redeem those under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons – To redeem is to buy back. All those born into this world from Adam are born in sin and conceived in iniquity. We are separated from God and need a Savior. Not only did God save us and bring us near by the blood of Christ, but He also adopted us into His family as sons. We have our place in God’s family and at His table for all eternity.

In the days of the Romans, a son had all the privileges of sonship. He carried the family name and was responsible for living as a son and his behavior reflected upon the father. As sons of God, we represent Him in this world. Our words and actions need to show Jesus to this world. We live by a higher standard.

The hymn writer William R. Newell wrote, “O the love that drew salvation’s plan! O the grace that brought it down to man! O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free, pardon there was multiplied to me, there my burdened soul found liberty — at Calvary.” From sinners to saints, from strangers and aliens to sons of the King, and from death to life, we are so blessed.

Have a blessed day living as a son of God and pointing others to Him. Jesus is the reason for the season. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean ✝️

-December 11, 2020-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-The Birth Of Immanuel Through The Virgin Mary-

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

(Isaiah 7:14).

Today’s verse is called the Immanuel Prophecy and predicts the virgin birth of Christ. It was the most blessed and miraculous birth in the history of the world. Two of greatest miracles in the Bible are the virgin birth and the resurrection of Christ. Many down through the years have sought to disprove them, only to come fail miserably and come to believe them and receive Christ.

There are three wonderful statements in our verse: the Lord Himself gives the sign, the virgin conceives and bears a Son, and His name shall be called Immanuel. Christmas is quickly approaching, in fact it is two weeks away. For us as believers we should never lose the sense of wonder in God becoming man in order to save man.

• The Lord Himself will give you a sign – The Lord had asked King Ahaz to ask for a sign but he refused to do it. God Himself then gives a sign that pointed to Bethlehem hundreds of years later. Throughout Scripture, God gave signs to Israel through the prophets, in dreams, and visions. For every sign there was a purpose from God.

In Jesus’ day, the Jews demanded a sign to authenticate His authority, but He gave them the sign of the prophet Jonah, who was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, just as He would die and be buried and rise again the third day.

• The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son – The birth of a child through a virgin is impossible humanly speaking, but nothing is impossible with God. The Holy Spirit worked this miracle apart from sinful man. When Mary gave birth to Jesus it was the fulfillment of this prophecy and the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary and separately to Joseph. God is not limited by man or his thinking or by anything else.

• And shall call His name Immanuel – The name Immanuel is significant since it means God with us. Our Savior’s name is Jesus, meaning Savior as given by the angel. The name Immanuel is one of His names and titles. It is so precious because it means, “God with us.”

When the angel spoke to Joseph in a dream, he quoted this verse to him. Matthew 1:23 says, “ Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.’” God sent His Son down to this world to be with us, to show us the Father’s love, and to die on the cross for our sins.

For us, it is so encouraging that He is with us. Jesus promised to be with us even to the end of the age. Fast forward to the book of Revelation, “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God’” (Revelation 21:3).

Let us rejoice this Christmas that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, coming as Immanuel into this world to save sinners. He is with us spiritually but one day we shall see Him face to face and be with Him forever.

Have a blessed day and Christmas. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-December 10, 2020-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-God Promised To Raise Up A Prophet Like Moses-

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, and from your brethren. Him you shall hear” (Deuteronomy 18:15).

“I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him” (Deuteronomy 18:17-18).

Moses was unquestionably the greatest leader, prophet, and judge that Israel has ever known. He tells the people that God will raise up a Prophet from their midst whom they need to hear and obey. Though Joshua took over for Moses as their leader of Israel after his death, he was not the Prophet.

The Prophet came hundreds of years later in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Interestingly, Moses and Elijah were the ones whom to be on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus was transfigured before the disciples, Peter, James, and John.

Author William MacDonald commented, “Notice the description in verses 15, 18, and 19: 1) a Prophet, that is, one who speaks God’s word; 2) from your midst — i.e. that is truly human; 3) from your brethren — i.e. an Israelite; 4) like me — i.e. like Moses in the sense of being raised up by God; 5) I will put My words in his mouth — fullness of inspiration; 6) He shall speak to them all that I command Him — fullness of revelation; 7) all are responsible to listen to Him and obey Him. This section also teaches that this prophet would serve as a Mediator between God and man.”

All these things point to Jesus. Peter specifically says in Acts 3:22-23 that this portion in Deuteronomy is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is the Prophet with a capital P. God always fulfills His promises and His Word. Let us thank God that our Lord Jesus Christ was born into the world and fulfilled all the OT Scriptures.

Have a blessed day rejoicing in Christ’s coming into the world. Stay safe and health.

Dean