Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-October 30, 2020-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-Saved By Grace Through Faith-

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

(Ephesians 2:8,9).

The first ten verses of Ephesians chapter 2 show the greatest contrast between where we were in sin to where God’s grace has taken us to salvation and eternal life. The word grace is used four times in verses 1-10. It shows the greatest “before and after” story man has ever known.

We were dead in our trespasses and sins, in which we walked according to the course of this world, according to prince of the power of the air (the devil), according to the spirit of disobedience. We conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind, and were nature (through our natural birth) children of wrath. It was ugly, it couldn’t have been any worse. It wasn’t God’s fault, it was our fault. We were and are sinners by nature and by practice.

But God loved us and showed us abundant mercy and grace in saving us, making us alive in Christ, and raising us up to be with Christ in the heavenly places. As much as we deserved our former state, we don’t deserve our foremost state. It is all by God’s matchless grace. We are sinners, but sinners saved by grace.

Our text today serves a dual purpose: showing us both how to be saved and reminding us of how we have absolutely no part in our salvation. Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.”

It shows us that salvation is all by God’s pure grace, yet it must be coupled by our faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Eternal life is a gift that we must choose to receive from the hand of God. We couldn’t take it if God didn’t offer it and we couldn’t take without believing in the message of the gospel. Jesus had to die for sinners and everyone is a sinner.

No one is heaven or will be heaven by deserving it. God’s is completely fair to all, saving us all by the blood of Christ not by our works. If anyone could be saved by his works, he could and would boast. All the applause, accolades, and attention in heaven will be on Jesus for all eternity. Even the rewards we receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ go to Him. We will all cast them at His feet.

Let us then never forget His grace in our salvation, in our daily lives, and reflect on that grace which will be the theme of eternity. Anything we do or achieve in this world is because of His grace. He gives us the gifts and rewards us for serving Him. It is all by grace. We are saved grace, kept by grace, and blessed by grace.

Have a blessed day and weekend basking in the sunshine of God’s grace. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-October 29, 2020-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Presenting Our Bodies As Living Sacrifices-

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

(Romans 12:1).

As believers we belong to Jesus, spirit, soul, and body. In today’s text, Paul is writing to the Romans regarding their bodies. He beseeches us to present our bodies to Christ as a living sacrifice. This involves yielding ourselves fully to the Lord to be used fully in His service.

Paul clearly states just how important the body is in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, of and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” We don’t belong to ourselves any longer, we belong to Jesus.

Since the body is the temple of Holy Spirit, we must guard it from all defilement in this world. When we present our bodies to the Lord it is for His use and glory. We must present our bodies as a living sacrifice daily on the altar of consecration. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:15-16, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”

This is acceptable to God and is our reasonable service, or as can be translated, “our spiritual service of worship.” May the Lord help us to be living sacrifices today and every day.

Have a blessed day living sacrifice. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-October 28, 2020-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-The Word Of God Endures Forever-

“Because ‘all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ Now this the word which by the gospel was preached to you.”

(1 Peter 1:24-25).

The expression is true for most everything in the world, “Nothing lasts forever.” Not money, not possessions, not even our bodies, nothing. The only exceptions are the souls of people and the Word of God. It is the latter our text today is speaking about.

Like God, His word is eternal. Everyone will die but their souls will live on into eternity either in heaven with the Lord if they are saved or in hell if they are not. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will be no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

The Bible has stood the test of time and will also stand the test of eternity. Many evil people have tried to destroy it, and the devil has tried to eradicate it, but all efforts have failed and will fail. In the days of Jeremiah, God gave him a message to pass onto to all Judah. The wicked king Jehoiakim burned the scroll. Jeremiah 36:23 says, “And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.” God had Jeremiah write another one to replace it.

We have God’s promise in verse 25, “But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Man can confiscate it, burn it, or destroy it, but it will last forever. It is not to say we can take our Bibles with us to heaven but the Word of God will be there.

If the Word of God endures forever, should we not read it, study it, meditate on it, memorize it, obey it, and apply it to our lives? The Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, it is the Word of God. Every word is profitable for us.

Let us rejoice that we have God’s Word. We are so blessed. It has been translated into nearly every language in the world. The gospel has been preached from shore to shore, and eternal souls have saved.

Have a blessed day reading and obeying the Word of God. There are commands to obey, promises to claim, and principles to live by. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-October 27, 2020-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-The Word Of God Cuts Deeply And Reveals Our Condition-

(Hebrews 4:12).

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

God is omnipotent and His Word is just as powerful in our lives. God uses His Word to convict us, reveal our condition as sinners, and point us to Christ to receive Him as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to touch and change our lives.

God does not stop working in our lives after we are saved, in fact salvation is just the beginning. As we as believers read the Bible, God speaks to our hearts to grow our faith, instruct us in His truth, and convict us when we do wrong. His goal for us is that we be conformed to the image of Christ. Our verse describes the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit, how it cuts deeply, and what it reveals.

• For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword – The Word of God is not just a book with words on paper, it is alive. It is fresh every time we read it and just as relevant today as it was when God inspired it. It is powerful to convict, strengthen, encourage, and comfort us in our time of need. It is like a sharp two-edged sword that cuts one way to convict and the other way to encourage. God knows we need both.

• Piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow – God is the Chief Surgeon who performs is delicate surgery on us. The tools of the surgeon must be sharp enough to cut through tissues, joints, tendons, and even bones. There is pain in order to bring healing. The same is true in our spiritual lives. The Word of God cuts deeply into us to get the desired and needed effect.

• And is discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart – The Lord knows all about us through and through, but He wants us to see ourselves for who we are and where we are at spiritually. Jeremiah described the heart as, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). God has to reveal to us the ugliness of our character and sin before He can change us from without and from within!

In the following verse 13, it says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. Since nothing is hidden from God, let us be honest with Him and listen to His voice speaking to us through His Word. Let’s be doers of the Word not just hearers.

Praise God for the Word of God. Where would we be without it? It is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces us down to the very division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow; it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our heart. It cuts precisely and perfectly to show where we are so He change us to where He wants us to be: like Jesus.

Have a blessed day in the Word asking God to show you where you at and what you need to do. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-October 26, 2020-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-The Profitability Of The Scriptures-

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

(2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The Word of God, called the sword of the Spirit, is the only offensive weapon among the pieces of the armor of God. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

The Scriptures are profitable for our use to equip us and others that we share it with. Paul told Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). It is so important to know the Word of God, OT and NT, and what it says, what it means, and what means to us. Paul uses the phrase, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (or literally in the Greek, “God breathed.”). The Bible is inspired by God, it is inerrant, that is without error, and is efficacious, fully effective, and profitable. Paul mentions four things that the Word is profitable for.

1. Doctrine – Another word for doctrine is teaching. The Word of God is what God uses to teach us the truth. We learn it, know it, and teach it to others. It is the textbook of the Christian faith. It teaches about God, sin, the cross, salvation, forgiveness of sin, eternal life, and so much more.

2. Reproof – To reprove is to point out the wrong or error in someone not for their shame but for their good. It requires courage and love. We might call it “tough love.” It isn’t easy to tell someone they were wrong or out of line, but it is needed.

3. Correction – We notice correction follows reproof for a reason. When we point out the wrong we must also show the right. God’s goal is always restoration for His people. Reproof and correction go hand in hand.

4. Instruction in righteousness – The Scriptures tells how we should live in this world. We are made righteous through the blood of Christ and we must now live righteous lives in all godliness, holiness, and truth. It is important to do what is right in God’s sight. To do so we must obey the Word of God.

We can never overvalue, overestimate, or overuse the Scriptures. God intends that each of His people be complete, that is mature, thoroughly equipped for every good work. We need to carry the Bible both in our hands and also in our hearts. We must know it and know how to use it properly. It takes not just reading it but studying it, meditating on it, and memorizing it in order to benefit from it and use it to help others for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.

Have a blessed day in the Word of God, using it for the glory of God. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean