Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-August 20, 2020-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-We Look To The Lord Who Is At Our Right Hand-

“I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

(Psalm 16:8).

The writer of Psalm 16 is David. He is a prime example of trusting in the Lord at all times. He faced many difficulties and trials, and was victorious for he had a close personal relationship with the Lord. He recognized that the Lord was his hope and his help.

Today’s verse shows us what we must do to ensure the victory in our lives and stand in confidence in Him: remember who is and where He is. The Lord is near, we need not fear.

David wrote, “I have set the Lord always before me…” We ask ourselves how do we set the Lord before us? The answer is choosing to focus on Him not ourselves or our circumstances. That is certainly easier said than done. Our difficulties, trials, and troubles are like mountains in front of us. We often see no way out.

The hymn writer said, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” We must turn to Jesus to receive help from Jesus. There is no much bad news happening around us that would steal away our attention from our Lord.

When we look to the Lord and focus on who He is and what He has done for us, we cannot help but trust Him and thank Him. After all, as David said, “Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” The Lord is always near, at our right hand. He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us; He with us always, even to the end of the age.

The Christian who leans on Jesus shall not be moved. Our Savior is strong enough to lean on when everything around us is crumbling. He is our Rock, our Refuge, and our Redeemer. Let us say with David, “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” When we focus on Jesus it will be easy to follow Jesus.

Have a blessed day looking unto Jesus, focusing on Him, and trusting in His power. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-August 19, 2020-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Blessed Assurance: Have The Son, Have Eternal Life-

“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

(1 John 5:11-13).

Salvation is both a free gift and a choice one must make to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Eternal life is bound to Christ not to anything we do to attain it. Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day for us. Once one is saved, he or she saved forever. No one can lose their salvation. The Scriptures are very clear on this.

God has given us the testimony, the assurance to everyone who believes. Verse 12 is crystal clear: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” God desires that each person be saved and be with Him in heaven. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “God is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willingly that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

In John 3:16-18 Jesus said, “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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but He who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

You either have the Son of God and have eternal life or you don’t. There are only two choices, with two eternal destinies. The decision we make now on earth will affect where we will spend eternity: either in heaven or in hell. Have you received Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? If you haven’t, please do so today.

God not only wants us to be saved but also to have the assurance of our salvation. John said in verse 13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” This indeed is a blessed assurance! We are in the hand of the Father and of the Son, and sealed with the Holy Spirit.

May the Lord help us to thank Him for our salvation and rejoice in the assurance of it. Fanny Crosby wrote, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.”

Help a blessed day as a child of God living in the sunshine of His grace. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-August 18, 2020-

Good morning happy Tuesday,

-To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain-

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

(Philippians 1:21).

The Apostle Paul was a great servant of our Lord Jesus Christ. From the moment he was saved on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:1-19, he was fully committed to Christ as an apostle, preacher, teacher, evangelist, and missionary. He wrote 13 of the 27 books of the NT.

The Lord Jesus Christ told Ananias who helped him after his conversion, “…Go for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15). All of things came to pass exactly as the Lord said.

Paul lived completely for the Lord and died the same way. He tells us, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” In this passage in Philippians 1:21-24, he describes how hard pressed he was to depart and be with Christ which is far better for him or to stay and be a blessing to all the believers and to win souls to Christ.

Of course, none of us, including Paul have the choice. The time of our stay on this earth is in the Lord’s hands; however He will not take us home to heaven until our mission on earth is completed. We will either all be taken at the Rapture or our death will come before His coming. This is why we serve the Lord so willingly and faithfully until He calls us home.

These words should be our life’s mission: “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” He is why we get up in the morning, He is our reason for living, and He is the One we live for and serve. We want to do His will and be a blessing. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Jim Elliott, one of the three young missionaries to Peru who were martyred for their faith, said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

We should also remember that the Lord caught up Paul to the third heaven, where God dwells and showed him amazing and wonderful things that he was not permitted to tell anyone about. No wonder he says in today’s verse, “to die is gain.” He knew firsthand that heaven was not just better but “far better.” I want to go there so badly, just as we all do. It will be so worth the wait when we finally reach heaven’s pearly gate.”

May we live by the same words that Paul lived by, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” At the end of Paul’s life he wrote to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

Have a blessed day living for Christ and serving Him with all your heart. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-August 17, 2020-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-The Important Thing Is Whom The Lord Commends-

“But ‘he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’ For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.”

(2 Corinthians 10:17-18).

Paul calls upon us to glory in the Lord not in ourselves. Our opinion of ourselves is not what is important but what does the Lord think of us, does He commend us? There were those who opposed Paul and doubted his apostleship. Paul had to defend himself against those who commended themselves and discredited him.

Everything we have is from the Lord and we should give Him all the glory. Paul’s goal was simply to please the Lord and serve Him humbly. This should be our goal as well. One day our Lord Jesus Christ will say to us, Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21, 23).

Man’s opinion is not what counts. Some people may like us and commend us, we may even commend ourselves, but that will not matter in eternity. We will one day stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and He will evaluate our lives. He will reward us for faithful service and we will receive crowns from Him.

In 1 Corinthians 3:12-14, “Paul discuses the believers evaluation at the Judgment Seat of Christ. He says, “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be tested by fire; and the fire will test each man’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

The gold, silver, and precious stones represent the things we do for Lord with good motives, for His glory. These are what we should strive for. The wood, hay, and straw are those things we do for our glory, with bad motives. They will all be burned up and count for nothing. Even if this is the case the believer is still saved and is in heaven because of what Christ did for us on the cross and our faith in Him.

May the Lord help us to glory in Him, serve Him with a loyal, faithful heart to please Him and help others. The Lord will be pleased and He will commend us. That is what really counts.

Have a blessed day glorifying the Lord and serving Him. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-August 16, 2020-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-Cleansing Ourselves From Spiritual And Physical Defilement, Perfecting Holiness-

“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

(2 Corinthians 7:1).

We must remember that Paul is writing these words to the Corinthians who are believers in Christ. They, like us today, are confronted with all kinds of spiritual, physical, moral, and ethical defilement on a daily basis. We cannot escape it. We are bombarded with it on TV, radio, internet, magazines, and everywhere else.

Paul had been speaking of separation from this world in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. He told them not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, and to come out from them and be separate. Every believer should be separated from the world and set apart for God. This includes relationships in marriage, business, and close personal friendships with the unsaved. God has given us relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage us and help us in our walk with Christ. We need to hold each other accountable to the Lord.

In our text Paul says, Therefore, having these promises, beloved….” What promises is he referring to? In 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 he lists them: “I will receive you, I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters.” These are the promises we can claim when we come out from among them and are separate, not touching what is unclean.

It is a daily battle against sin, evil, and wickedness. The devil is fighting against us and we must put on the whole armor of God which Paul discusses in Ephesians 6:10-18. Temptations come in many forms and we must be on guard. Jesus said, “Watch and pray, lest enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

We can only be victorious through the power of the Holy Spirit. We must “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 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.’” The Greek word hagios is translated as our English words holy, separation, and sanctification.

Personal holiness is so vital in our lives today. Hebrews 12:14 tells us, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” May the Lord help us to perfect holiness in the fear of God. To do this we must be in prayer and in the Word daily in order to be victorious in our character, conduct, and conversation.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day walking in holiness before the Lord. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean