Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-August 31, 2020-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-Worship And Obey The Lord-

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before he Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice.”

(Psalm 95:6-7).

Today is a call to worship and obedience. With so many believers at home during this pandemic and unable to gather together to publicly worship and service the Lord, our personal relationship with the Lord is more so important than ever. As individuals, couples, and families, we must worship and obey the Lord.

This pandemic will pass and once again we will reopen our churches safely and fully. Until then the family altar is more important than ever. We are blessed to have sermons on Sunday mornings, and devotions on Monday and Wednesday evenings. These on line studies of God’s Word are such a blessing to us.

The psalmist describes the Lord as our Maker and our God, and by inference, our Shepherd. Each of these titles are significant and show His greatnesses and glory.

Maker – The Lord is our Maker, our Creator. He fashioned us in His own image. When God created all things, He saw that it was good, but when He created man, He saw that it was very good. Man is the only creature that God can fellowship with. The term Maker is found 21 times in the Bible. Proverbs 22:2 says, “The rich and the poor have this in common, the Lord is the Maker of them all.”

God – The Lord is also our God, who not only created us but saved us through His Son, Jesus Christ. He is all powerful, yet He gives us a free will to bow to Him and obey Him. He will never force us to accept Him as Lord and Savior. One day however every knee will be compelled to bow to Him and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

Shepherd – Though the term Shepherd is not in our text directly, it is by inference when we are called the sheep of His pasture. In the OT, the Lord was Israel’s Shepherd. In the NT, Jesus is our Good Shepherd, Great Shepherd, and Chief Shepherd. We are His sheep. Sheep must obey and follow their shepherd who cares for them, feeds them, and protects them. David said in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

With the Lord as our Maker, our God, and our Shepherd, let us worship Him and bow down to Him, acknowledge His authority over us and His love for us. When we submit to Him and obey Him we are so blessed, happy, and content. If we try to make it on on our own, seeking our own will, we will fail miserably.

In Disney’s story of Pinocchio, he was a wooden puppet made by Geppetto. He wanted to be a real boy and broke the bonds with his maker/father and got into so much trouble. We are so much like him. We want to cut the strings and do things on our own and in our our own strength and wisdom; it does not work at all.

God’s paths are better to walk on and His pastures are better to graze in than anything that the world can offer. He has the best life for us both now and for all eternity. We cannot say to our Maker, why have you made me this way? or to God, why must I do it Your way? or to our Shepherd, I want a greener pasture of my own choosing. He has the best for us.

Have a blessed day on God’s path and in His pasture. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-August 30, 2020-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-The Before And After Of The People Of God-

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.”

(Ephesians 2:19-20).

It seems everyone loves a good before and after story. One popular TV series was “The Biggest Loser.” The one that lost the most weight was the big winner. We all like happy endings, and we respect those who started with nothing and rose to great riches.

The child of God is “The Biggest Gainer,” not in terms of human weight but in terms of the weight of glory we have in the Lord. We are also, “The Biggest Winners.” Today’s verse shows us what we once were and what we are now. The change has been radical, extreme, and only possible through Jesus Christ. We can take no credit for ourselves, all the glory goes to the Lord.

We were once strangers and foreigners. We were sinners separated from God, dead in our transgressions and sins, and destined for hell. Paul described our spiritual plight in Ephesians 2:1-4 and Ephesians 2:12: dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world and according to the prince of the power of the air, conducting ourselves in the lusts of our flesh and mind, and were by nature children of wrath just as the others. As Gentiles in particular, we were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. We could not have been any lower or worse off.

It was not a pretty picture. We were the biggest losers indeed. But Paul tells what changed us in Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” The blood of Christ has washed away our sins and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit has transformed our lives.

We are now fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. We who were once children of wrath are now children of God. We who were once were dead in transgressions and sins are made alive in Christ, and we who were separated from God are brought near and made to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ. We who were spiritually homeless are now part of the building of God, the foundation of which are the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as our chief cornerstone.

What a glorious transformation we had the moment we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The NT is full of all the blessings we have in Christ. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We have a new heart, a new mind, a new covenant, a new citizenship, a new home in heaven, and a new relationship with God as our Heavenly Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

Let us rejoice in what are now in Christ, we we have in Him, and what our future hope is in heaven forever with the Lord. We are truly the “biggest gainers,” and the “biggest winners.” No believer should ever suffer from an inferiority complex. We are the children and saints of God.

Have a blessed day living as citizens of heaven while on this earth. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-August 29, 2020-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-Oneness And Equality In Christ-

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

As the struggle for racial justice and equality continues on in America and around the world, we wonder will it really happen as it should on earth. Our Lord and Savior brought radical change to this world and broke down all the barriers between people. The church is composed of many different races, ethnicities, cultures, peoples, and backgrounds. There is both oneness and equality in Jesus Christ. He loves each of us and does not look at the color of our skin, where we came from, or what we once were – He looks at our hearts and what we can be in Him.

In Paul’s day, there were divisions, distinctions, and disagreements between peoples, just as there are today; but in Christ there was oneness and equality. No one was better or worse than any other. Our church has people from so many different countries and we all love each other and get along well together. The church is always a microcosm of the peoples of the world, just as heaven is.

We notice how Paul mentions Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, and males and females. Jesus taught us to love one another as He loves us. John wrote in 1 John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

Will our love on earth ever be perfect? No, since there are no perfect people, yet we strive to show the love of Christ to everyone we meet. His love transforms lives and always will. We are new creatures in Christ, under a new covenant, with a new nature. There is tremendous power in love. We must humbly show the world the way to live and love through Christ and how to have unity in diversity.

There is no room for favoritism, partiality, prejudice, or divisions in the body of Christ. We are all one and equal in Christ. His blood washed us and His Spirit indwells us. The song writer wrote,”We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, we are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord. And we pray that our unity will one day be restored, and they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes, they’ll we are Christians by our love.”

May the Lord help us to love everyone, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul wrote, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:3-6).

Have a blessed day walking in the love of Christ and showing His love to others. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-August 28, 2020-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-The Work Of God Is To Believe In Jesus-

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’”

(John 6:29).

Today’s verse is Jesus’ answer to the question that the Jews asked Him in the the preceding verse, “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? (John 6:28). No one can work the works of God unless he or she believes in Jesus. Anything anyone who is unsaved does is of no value whatsoever, it counts for nothing in God’s sight. Without salvation, nothing else matters.

Jesus told them, “…This is the work of God, that you believe in Him (Jesus) whom He (the Father) sent.” 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.” Once we have believed in Jesus and received Him as our Lord and Savior, we are saved, forgiven, and have eternal life. Then whatever do is a blessing as a good work in His kingdom.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Paul also wrote in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

All good works we do follow the first good work of believing in Jesus. We who are redeemed want to show our thanks to Jesus by serving Him. Whether it is something big or small, let us serve Him with our all in all.

Have you confessed your sins to God and repented of them? Have you believed in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Then rejoice and live for Him and serve Him? If you haven’t yet received Him, today is the day to be saved.

Have a blessed day in working for Jesus, the greatest Master. Stay safe and healthy. Have a good weekend.

Dean

-August 27, 2020-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-Peace For Those Who Fix Their Minds on The Lord, Trusting In Him-

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

(Isaiah 26:3).

What a wonderful verse we have before us today! It is inspiring, uplifting, encouraging, and challenging; especially in the light of all the things going on in the world today. From the Coronavirus to racial injustice and tensions, to the upcoming election for president, and to all the challenges of everyday life.

This verse presents a great promise of peace to the one who fixes his or her mind on the Lord and trusts in Him. The Lord wants us to dwell in perfect peace on a daily basis. He tells us that He will keep us in perfect peace, His peace. God is the God of peace who delights in our well being and victorious living.

In order to be kept in God’s perfect peace we must fix our minds on Christ not on the circumstances around us. Jesus never never changes, our circumstances always change. By looking to Him, we gain such confidence and assurance to face whatever comes our way.

The writer of Hebrews said, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (Hebrews 12:2a). To look to Jesus is to fix our minds and hearts on Him. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things.

When you fix your mind on Jesus, you find: Jesus is true, Jesus is noble, Jesus is just, Jesus is pure, Jesus is lovely, Jesus is of good report, Jesus is virtuous, and Jesus is praiseworthy. Often we hear it said, and it is true, you can’t think of two things at the same time. The devil want to distract us from Christ and divert our focus and attention on the things around us.

The hymn writer Frances Havergal must have been thinking of our verse today when she wrote, “Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace, overall victorious in its bright increase; perfect yet floweth, fuller every day, perfect yet it groweth deeper all the way. The chorus says, “Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest, finding as He promised perfect peace and rest.”

Is there something troubling your mind or burdening your heart today? Have you been distracted by all the troubles of this life? Then please turn your attention to Christ and He will encourage you. You can have His perfect peace that is perfect for you. Trusting in Jesus may seem easy, but it takes effort to stay or fix our minds on Him with everything that is happening all around us.

Have a blessed and peaceful day fixing your mind on Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean