Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-September 10, 2010-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-God Carries Us From The Womb To The Tomb-

“Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

(Isaiah 46:4).

What a wonderful God we have! He with us all the way on the journey of life from the womb to the tomb. All through the years, all through the tears; from the beginning to the end. He is the eternal God who is without beginning or end.

The Israelites had a beginning in Egypt and God delivered them from Pharaoh and all Egypt and took them through the wilderness to the Promised Land. God carried and delivered them, and He carries and delivers us as well.

God loves His people so much and honors them even when they are old and gray haired. God takes of His aged saints much better than the world does. He sees them as wise, mature, and godly. The gray head is a sign of respect and honor. The world relegates the elderly to nursing homes and sees them as less needed and desired by society. They are put out to pasture as one would old horses.

Psalm 92:12-14 says, “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing.” The Ancient of Days is with us all our days. God has no retirement age for His servants.

We can all thank the Lord that He has carried us thus far. He has promised to be with us, and to never leave us nor forsake us. In the poem, “Footprints,” the man had a dream and saw two sets of footprints most of the way in the sand, but noticed at the lowest and saddest times of his life there was just one set of footprints. When he asked the Lord about it, the Lord replied, “My precious, precious. Child, I love you and would never, never leave you. During your times of trial and sufferings when you saw only one set of footprints, that was when I carried you.”

This world is not our home, nor our final destination, heaven is. We can’t wait to go home. Then our journey and work on earth will be done. We then be able to rejoice in how God carried us through and delivered from so many things. But we don’t have to wait until the end of life to reflect on what God has done for us. We should do it now.

So whether we have just begun the Christian journey or we have reached more than the half way mark, we thank the Lord for all He has done for us and what He will do for us.

Have a blessed day on the journey carried by the Lord and delivered. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-September 9, 2020-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Qualities Of A Sound Church-

“That the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience.”

(Titus 2:2).

Sound doctrine leads to sound lives which lead to sound churches. Living godly Christian lives doesn’t just happen. It takes strong leadership, sound biblical preaching and teaching, and the unity among the members who live out the Word of God in their lives. Paul wrote to Titus to teach the saints in Crete how to practice their faith. Paul advises Titus to instruct the members of the church in Titus 2:1-9 how to live as older men, older women, young women, and young men.

Paul begins with the older men. These men include the elders and others with responsibilities to serve in the church. Older men are likely to have been saved longer and have more experience. Most were married but some were single. The qualities Paul speaks of apply to everyone and we should all practice them.

Paul tells Titus to teach these older men to be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, and in patience. Older men must be good role models to their families and to the members of the church family. These principles must be practiced at church, at home, at work, and wherever we go. We can’t live double lives. We must be the same everywhere we are.

• Be sober – Being sober goes beyond not getting drunk, and it involves seriousness in our walk with Christ. We should still laugh and enjoy life but do so in the light of eternity and the Lord’s soon coming.

• Be reverent – Reverence has to do with godliness. It is honoring God in in obedience to His Word. It has to do with our attitude toward God and respect for Him. We must guard against “a holier than thou” attitude thinking we are better than others.

• Be temperate – Temperance is another word for self-control. Whether in eating or drinking, or with our temper, it is being disciplined in all things.

• Be sound in faith – Sound faith leads to sound decisions and sound lives. It is putting our faith into action in practical ways. When we hear of a man falling into sin, it didn’t just happen. There were signs in their lives, whether others saw them or not.

• Be sound in love – Love is the greatest and most essential quality of all. If we don’t love God and others, our lives won’t be successful. Nothing else we do can compensate for a lack of love.

• Be sound in patience – Patience is another quality we all need. Just as God is patient with us, we must be patient with others, especially with those who wrong us. Impatience leads to many different problems.

These six qualities will not only keep us out of trouble but keep us right with God and others. Our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationship with others go hand in hand. May God help us to be good examples and role models, whether we are older or younger. People tend to watch us and listen to our words to see if we are genuine or not. May our lives be characterized by soberness, reverence, temperance, faith, love, and patience. This way our lives will be sound.

Have a blessed day practicing what we preach and being good examples. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-September 8, 2020-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-We Need To Learn God’s Will And Do It-

“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.”

(Psalm 143:10).

It seems one of the most important subjects Christians think about and discuss is the will of God: how to seek it, how to know it and how to do it. David prays to the Lord, “Teach me to do your will.” God wants us to know and do His will.

The Bible is the Word of God and everything in it is His will for us. If we read and study the Word, meditate on it, and obey it and apply to our lives we will be doing the will of God. Some Bible teachers say that this covers about 90% of the will of God. The other 10% covers our individual circumstances and what the Lord wants us to do on a daily basis.

We want to know what college and major to choose; what career to pursue and which job to take; which person to marry; which ministry to be involved in, when to retire, and other specific things in life. As much as we want to know these things, God wants us to know them even more. But how do we do it?

The key is to desire the will of God, determine the will of God and to do the will of God. This means praying to the Lord and asking Him to teach us His will so we can do it. It means searching the Scriptures, seeking godly counsel, and considering how God is working through our circumstances and through people around us. God will show us His will and give us the peace as we do. Doing God’s will doesn’t mean a pain free or trouble free life. There will always be trials, difficulties, and opposition from the devil. We must continue forward in God’s will, walking by faith, trusting in Him, and obeying Him fully.

David considers three things about the Lord that assures him that God’s will is the best: God is his God, His Spirit is good, and God’s leads him in the land of uprightness. He knows God’s will is best for him, for God knows everything and knows what is best in every situation.

We are living in difficult times. Instead of the land of uprightness we see around us the land of uptightness. There is so much division, strife, and partisanship. Lawlessness is everywhere. The Coronavirus is still raging and people are getting sick and dying. Despite all these things, God is still in control and still on His throne. For us as believers there is the land of uprightness when we obey the Lord, claim His promises, and do His will.

Have a blessed day learning and doing God’s will. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-September 7, 2020-

Good morning, happy Monday, happy Labor Day,

-Our Labor Is Not In Vain In the Lord-

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor is not vain in the Lord.”

When something is in vain, it is worthless, a waste of time, effort, or money. Sometimes we get frustrated or angry over these things. But when it comes to the Lord’s work done according to His will, it is a different story: Our labor is not in vain in the Lord. In order for this to be true we have to do our part. Paul mentions three things we must do: be steadfast, immovable, and always abound in the work of the Lord.

1. Be steadfast – To be steadfast is to keep going, persevering, and enduring without quitting or giving up. It means to keep on keeping on. Nothing comes easy in life, especially in the Lord’s work. The lumberjack doesn’t know the exact number of axe strokes it will take to fell the tree, but he does know at least one more. In our work for the Lord, the flesh is against us, the world is against us, and the devil is against us.

2. Be immovable – To be immovable is be not easily moved. When we think of this word, we think of a large stone or rock. When the Lord Jesus was placed in the tomb, it was sealed with a huge stone. The women who came to anoint His body on Sunday morning, didn’t know how they would move such a stone. They found to their amazement that it was already moved out of the way. In terms of our trials, difficulties, problems, losses, sicknesses, or anything else, they cannot move the believer in Christ. God still rolls away stones in our lives.

3. Always abound in the work of the Lord – When we abound in something, we do it wholeheartedly, we give it our all. The phrase Paul uses is, “Always abounding in the work of the Lord.” This is exactly what Paul did and what we should do as well. The great missionary Hudson Taylor once said, “Depend on it. God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.” God gives the sufficient grace for His eternal work. He chooses to work through us His humble, weak vessels.

2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” God is glorified and His strength is made perfect in our weakness. The Lord is the best Boss to work for. He gives us the gifts, talents, abilities, and all other resources to do the job, and rewards us for what we do for Him. He always appreciates what we do for Him.

On this Labor Day, let us labor for the Lord with all our hearts, seeking His help and guidance. The hymn writer James Black wrote, “Let us labor for the Master from the dawn to setting sun, let us talk of all His wondrous love and care; Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done, and the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.” May the Lord encourage us to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. It will never be in vain.

Have a happy Labor Day laboring for Jesus with great joy. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-September 6, 2020-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-Love, Obedience, And Fellowship With God-

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him.’”

(John 14:23).

The words of our text follow a question that Judas, not Iscariot, asked Jesus in John 14:22, “…Lord, how is it that You manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” Judas, like the other disciples, wondered why Jesus did not manifest Himself to the world as the Messiah and rule according to the Scriptures. Jesus first coming was to die on the cross to make salvation available to all those who believe.

The disciples were privileged to be with Jesus for three years, to follow Him, to hear His words and teachings, and to witness healings and His other miracles. Now He is about to go to the cross and die for the sins of the world, rise again, and ascend back to the Father in heaven. His Second Coming will usher in His reign over the whole world.

Jesus did not answer Judas’ question directly; instead He spoke of love, obedience, and fellowship with God. The disciples were blessed with a close, personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We today have this same privilege as well. Jesus tells of three privileges we have in Him.

Love and obedience go together – “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.” Jesus had just said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” We show our love for Christ by being obedient to Him. Consequently, we cannot say we love Him if we do not keep His commandments. He is our Lord and Master. We must do His will in all things.

The Father will love us – Jesus said, “My Father will love him.” The Father loves the Son and whoever loves and follows Him. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God loves everyone in the world, but He has a special love for His children.

God makes a home with His people – Our Lord proclaimed, “And We will come to him and make our home with him.” What a tremendous blessing that the God of the universe wants to make His home with us and have a close fellowship with us. He desires to talk with us through His Word, and for us to talk to Him in prayer. Our future with the Lord is assured in John 14:2 Jesus said in My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” For now we see Him just by faith, but in the future face to face.

May the Lord help us to realize how blessed we are to be saved and have fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3 says, “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.” There is a definite link between love, obedience, and fellowship. Let us love Him and obey Him and walk in close fellowship with Him.

Have a blessed day in the Lord and with the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean