Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-December 4, 2020-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Jesus Christ Is The Light Of The World-

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’”

(John 8:12).

This world is darkness and Jesus is the light that came into the world. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” He was born into this world to shine in the darkness and show people the Father’s love and bring forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life through His death on the cross. By believing in Him we become children of light in this world.

John 1:6-8 says, “There was a man sent from God, and his name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”

John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus. He said in John 1:29, “…Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” He also proclaimed in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John was like a candle pointing people to the flood light of Jesus.

Our Savior brought light, glory, hope, and peace into the world. Jesus said in John 3:19-21, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

As sinners we had to come to Christ as sinners, repent of our sins, believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and receive Him as Lord and Savior. The light of Christ and the gospel reveals what we are and that same light is what we walk in. Jesus said, “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.

Jesus has now called us to be His lights in this dark world and point people to Him. He told His followers in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. He went on to say, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

As Christmas is coming, let us remember that Jesus is the light of the world and we bear witness of His light and power to change lives. Today’s verse is special to me. I have on it my personalized license plate John812. I get a chance to quote it to those who ask about it. It has been a great blessing on all my cars since 1991.

May the Christmas lights on the Christmas trees and homes serve to remind us of Jesus, the light of the world, and how we point people to Him. Have a Merry Christmas!

Have a blessed day walking in the light of Christ and being a light bearer to all those around you. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-December 3, 2020-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-The Bread Of Life Came From Heaven To Feed Our Souls-

“And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’”

(John 6:35).

Jesus came down from heaven to earth to give spiritual sustenance to the hungry and spiritual drink to the thirsty. Only He can do it, for He is the bread of life. In the days of Moses and the people of Israel in the wilderness, God sent them manna from heaven to feed them on their journey to the Promised Land. It kept coming for 40 years, until they reached Canaan, and could eat of the produce of the land. God instructed them to it gather every morning for five days a week and twice a day on Friday, enough for two days. No gathering was to be made on the Sabbath. Each person had enough, in fact plenty to eat.

Jesus came from God to satisfy not just the physical needs of His people but their spiritual needs as well. When Jesus meets a need, it is met forever. Physically we must eat every day for nourishment, but spiritually Jesus satisfies all our needs, but we still need spiritual nourishment from the Word of God for growth and edification.

Just as Jesus satisfies us with Himself, He also quenches our spiritual thirst. Jesus told the woman at the well, “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give Him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

When Jesus saves us, He eternally satisfies us. The hymn writer Clara T. Williams wrote, “All my life-long I had panted, for a drink from some cool spring, that I hoped would quench the burning, of the thirst I felt within. Feeding on the the husks around me, ‘til my strength was almost gone; Longed my soul for something better, only still to hunger on. Well of water, ever springing, Bread of life, so rich and free, untold wealth that never faileth, My Redeemer is to me. The chorus says, “Hallelujah! I have found Him — whom my soul so has long has craved! Jesus satisfies my longing; through His blood I now am saved.”

Have you trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior? Is He your eternal joy and satisfaction? Is He your all in all, your enough? He is the bread of life, the living water! When everyone and everything else fails us, He is there for us. He is all we need, all we want.

Have a blessed day finding your satisfaction in Jesus not in this world. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-December 2, 2020-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Jesus Christ The Heir Of All Things And We Share His Inheritance-

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.”

(Hebrews 1:1-2).

Every sacrifice offered in the OT pointed forward to the sacrifice of Christ. He is the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. He is the Prophet about whom Moses wrote. As the book of Hebrews tells us, He is superior to angels, to Moses, to the Aaronic priesthood, to the law, and to everything and everyone else. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

Hebrews 1:8-9 says, “But to the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness; hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.’”

After the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead, He ascended back to heaven and sits at the right hand of God. He has promised to come again and take us home to glory. The Father has appointed Him Heir of all things; He has given Him all authority to judge the world. God has given Him an everlasting kingdom.

Because our Savior is the Heir, all things belong to Him and we are joint heirs of His kingdom and all His inheritance. An heir in the world is in line to receive an inheritance upon the death of the testator. We read in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, “Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come — all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”

We as believers have a glorious and eternal inheritance. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,”

Earthly heirs often spends their inheritance and it is gone. Heirs can also be robbed or scammed. Not so with us, ours is reserved in heaven for us. It is incorruptible and undefiled. We are so privileged to be heirs to the Heir of the greatest inheritance in the universe. We are rich beyond measure!

Our Lord was born into this world as the eternal Son, the Heir of all things; yet He was the Man of Sorrows, the homeless Stranger, the rejected King. He was crucified on the cross for us, dying for our sins. He should have welcomed and celebrated in His birth and life but was instead rejected and reviled.

Let us rejoice this Christmas in His birth into the world and that through Him we have life eternal and abundant. Our sins are forgiven, our names are written in heaven, and we will be with Him in heaven forever. It is great to be heirs. Romans 8:16-17 says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” We as Christians are hated in this world because we belong to Christ. This world is not our home, heaven is.

Have a blessed day day you heir of God with all you have in Christ our Heir. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-December 1, 2020-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-Jesus Christ Is The Eternal Living Word-

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1-2).

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The Christmas season is officially begun, culminating with Christmas Day on December 25th. Each day we will look at a portion of Scripture that pertains to the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and the lessons we can learn for our lives.

It is interesting that neither Mark nor John writes of the birth of Christ. Matthew and Luke give us quite a few details, especially Luke. There are so many verses in OT that speak of the birth of our Savior. There are also other verses in the NT as well.

Today’s text takes us back into eternity past. We know that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He had no beginning and had no end. Our human minds cannot grasp eternity very well since everything in this world had a beginning and has an end. Here in John 1:1-16, we see a glimpse of our Jesus Christ, the Living Word. The Greek word for Word is logos. We know from Scripture that Jesus is the Living Word of God and the Bible is the written Word of God.

John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” It reminds us of Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Scriptures teach us of the triune God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.” Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to our likeness…” The Hebrew word for God is Elohim, s plural noun. There is one God in three persons, the holy Trinity.

This Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The great Creator became our Savior. Paul said of Christ, “He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist”(Colossians 1:15-17).

Our Lord Jesus Christ stepped out eternity and into time; He took upon Himself human flesh; and was the perfect God Man, the man Christ Jesus. He came to die on the cross for our sins and to bring us forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. He was born to die so that we may live.

Let us bow before our Living Word and worship Him as the wisemen did. They brought Him gifts of gold, speaking of His deity, frankincense, speaking of His humanity, and myrrh, speaking of His sorrow, pain, and death. Hebrews 13:8 tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” He is with us and will never leave us nor forsake us. One day we will see Him face to face in all of His glory!

Have a blessed day contemplating who Jesus is and what He has done for us in coming into the world. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-November 30, 2020-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-What Manner Of Persons Ought We To Be In Holy Conduct And Godliness?-

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?”

(2 Peter 3:10-11).

There is no doubt we are living in the end times. The next great event on God’s prophetic calendar is the Rapture. The Lord Jesus Christ will come in the air to take us to heaven. After this the Seven year tribulation will begin on earth. This time was prophesied in the OT as the Day of the Lord and Jacob’s trouble. It will be a time of unparalleled plagues and judgments on the earth. Much of the earth will be destroyed and many people will die. Our text refers to the time right after the tribulation.

Our text tells us that God will burn up the heavens and earth with fire, and He will create a new heavens and a new earth. The new earth is where the Jews will live forever and we as believers will dwell in the New Jerusalem. Peter in reflecting on this, asks the great question: “What manner of persons ought we to be in holy conduct and godliness?”

The knowledge of God and His Word leads to godly living. We as believers who read and study the Bible know what will happen in the future days and for all eternity. It gives us hope and encouragement, but also sobers us to the reality of the judgment on the unsaved at the Great White Throne where they will cast into the lake of fire.

This should compel us to be more diligent to share the gospel and to live godly and holy lives in this world. It reminds us of the days of Noah and the Ark. It took Noah and his sons 120 years to build it and only eight people were saved from the great flood that killed all the people and living things on earth. Noah was a man of faith and he obeyed God fully.

Every person on earth at that time could have been saved in the Ark had they chosen to come in. Instead people did not believe such a flood was coming and scorned Noah for building the Ark. Still Noah did God’s will and lived a holy and godly life along with his wife, three sons, and their wives, eight in all, plus all the animals and living creatures.

There are those that may mock us for our faith in Jesus Christ. Just as Noah spoke of a coming judgment, we speak of God’s judgment coming on those who reject Christ. We stand for God and His truth in these days of darkness, wickedness, and lawlessness.

May the Lord help us to live holy and godly lives and share the gospel. Our responsibility is to live and preach the truth, God will do His part to bring souls to Christ. The time is short and need is great.

Have a blessed day of living holy and godly lives in these last days and sharing the truth. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean