Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-July 16, 2020-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-All The Fulness Dwells In Christ And We Are Complete In Him-

“For in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

(Colossians 2:9-10).

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul addresses the issue of the deity of Christ. There were the Gnostics in Colosse who did not believe that Jesus was God and died on the cross for our sins. We are blessed to have great teaching in this letter on the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote, “In Him, that is in Christ, dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily…” Jesus is the eternal Son of God; He dwells in the Father and the Father dwells in Him. Therefore all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him in bodily form.

Colossians 1:19 says, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.” In the Godhead there is order and each person of the Godhead has a distinct part to play. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world to save sinners; Our Savior mentioned that upon His departure, the Holy Spirit would come and indwell us.

Paul described our Lord Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:15–18 as: the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation, that by Him all things were created, all things were created through Him and for Him, He is before all things, in Him all things consist, and He is the Head of the body, the church, He is the beginning, the first born from the dead, and He has the preeminence in all things.

Being in Christ, Paul wrote, “and you are complete in Him.” There is nothing to be added to us, we are fully complete in Jesus. God sees us as perfect in Jesus.

The hymn writer wrote, “It’s not by works of righteousness; But by His grace alone. It’s not by works of righteousness; But by His grace alone. It’s not by works of righteousness; But by His grace alone. And we are complete in Him. Complete, complete, complete in Him. We are complete in Him. Complete, complete, complete in Him. We are complete in Him.”

Let us thank God that all the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwells in Christ and He dwells in us. We are complete in Him. What a blessing!

Have a blessed day as compete in Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-July 15, 2020-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-Laying Aside Filthiness And Wickedness, Receiving The Implanted Word Of God-

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

(James 1:21).

The world is against Christ because all it represents is in opposition to the principles that Jesus taught. There is spiritual, moral, ethical, and social wickedness and evil. We are in a daily battle against spiritual forces of evil. These demons are led by the devil and have gotten our world into the terrible problems we are in.

It is thus imperative that we as believers in Christ stand in and for the truth. We will never be popular but we will be pleasing to the Lord. Jesus taught that one cannot seek the approval of God and the approval of man at the same time.

Now is the time for Christians everywhere to stand together for Jesus. It is the time to be separation from the world and be set apart for God. The same Greek word hagios means holy, separated, sanctified. James tells us how: Lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness.” Hebrews 12:1 says,”Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is before us.”

In both James 1:21 and Hebrews 12:1 we find the solution is to lay aside sin and worldliness in any form, and instead receive the implanted Word of God. This involves holiness in spirit, soul, and body. If we do anything wrong, the Holy Spirit will convict us. We then need to confess and forsake it.

The world says, “Go with the flow.” “Don‘t rock the boat.” Don’t make waves.” Compromise with the world is a foolish and insidious way to live in this world. We must know what believe and stand on it and for it. The world wants to squeeze us into its mold. Jesus has a different mold for us, the mold of holiness, righteousness, and purity in this corrupt, evil, sinful world.

Paul wrote in Philippians 3:14-15, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” The stars in the sky are brightest with the sky is darkest. Our testimony for Christ should be even more clear in these dark, sinful times.

May the Lord help us to lay aside all sin, evil, and wickedness; receiving the implanted Word of God in a spirit of meekness or gentleness. We aren’t here to argue or dispute with others, but to present Christ as Lord and Savior!

Have a blessed day walking in the Word of God despite what is going on all around us. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-July 14, 2020-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

-Abide In Christ’s Love By Keeping His Commandments-

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”

The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. His whole delight is to love and obey the Father, keeping His commandments. The relationship we have with Him is based on His relationship with the Father,

In John chapters 14 and 15, Jesus discusses with disciples the vital link between love and obedience. Jesus said in our verse today, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love…” We cannot we love our Savior if we don’t obey Him. In John 14:15 Jesus told them, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was the one who reclined his head on Jesus’ bosom and was so close to our Lord, It is no wonder that he was the apostle who spoke of love so often, in all of His writings in the Gospel of John and his three letters of 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John.

Our greatest motive for serving our Lord Jesus Christ is love. In 1 John 4:19, John wrote, says, “We love because He first loved us.” Love is a great emotion, but even more it is a commitment of the heart. Jesus loved the Father so much that it was His great delight to please Him, keep His commandments, and do His will. Thus, we love Jesus so much that it our delight to obey Him, follow Him, and serve Him.

Everything we do for the Lord is an expression of our love to Him. When we serve others, we are showing our love for the Lord and for them. It is the greatest and highest privilege to serve the Lord for His glory and according to His love.

John expresses this wonderful love in 1 John 3:16-18, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. For whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in Him?” My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue (or merely with words) but in deed and in truth.”

May the Lord help us to abide in Christ’s love by keeping all His commandments. Let us show and prove our love for Him by loving others and serving them as well. Love is the greatest emotion and commitment of our hearts. We show our love by actions.

Have a blessed day in abiding in the love of Jesus, keeping His commandments, and showing His love to Him and others. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-July 13, 2020-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-Happy Is The One Who Has The Lord As His Help And His Hope-

“Happy is he who has has God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.”

Psalm 146, like quite a few psalms, is anonymous. Though we don’t know who the author is, the title is: “The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord.” The happy man is the one who doesn’t put his trust in man, but in the Lord. There is no spiritual help for us in human beings who came from dust and will return there.

Only the Lord is our help and our hope. He gives help for today and the hope for a better and brighter tomorrow. Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills – From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” God’s help is only a prayer away. We need His help every day and in every way.

A number of years ago, American Express ran a series of ads with the slogan, “American Express: Don’t leave home without it.” The same could be said regarding prayer in asking for God’s help: Don’t leave home without it. In Samuel’s day, the Philistines attacked Israel and the people of God were afraid. They asked Samuel to pray that they would be saved. The Lord answered and brought a loud thunder upon the Philistines and they were defeated. God’s help came at the right time, in the right way, with the right results.

1 Samuel 7:12 says, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, then called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” This stone was was a physical reminder to the nation that their help and hope comes from the Lord.

When God answers prayer and does great things for us we should add it to our spiritual faith bank account. It serves as an encouragement for future times of great trial and need. We can then make a withdrawal from our account. God has a perfect track record.

No matter the trial, burden, problem, or difficulty, we can trust the Lord for His help and His hope in our time of need. He is with us, in us, and for us. Paul wrote in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

The hymn writer said, “We’ve come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord, trusting in His Holy Word , He’s never failed us yet. Oh’ we can’t turn around, we’ve come this far by faith.” The Lord has never failed us nor will He ever fail us in the future.

May the Lord encourage us today to look to Him, pray to Him for His help, and rest our hope fully on Him. He alone is our help and our hope. All other sources and resources of man will fail, but Jesus never fails!

Have a blessed day seeking the Lord’s help in and for everything. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-July 12, 2020-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day,

-We Need The Word of God Daily-

“But He answered him and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

(Matthew 4:4).

Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. He was weakened physically, but was strong spiritually. Jesus is God so He was and is sinless. The temptation was real and Jesus wanted to show us we can defeat the devil with the Word of God. The Bible is the sword of the Spirit, the only offensive weapon among the armor of God mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18.

Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus taught us how to skillfully use the Scriptures against the devil as well as to build us up and strengthen us for each day.

Jesus answered each of the devil’s temptations and attacks using the Word of God. This is one of the many blessings of memorizing the Scripture. The Lord wants us to be victorious over our three great enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Not only is the Word of God our weapon, it is our daily food. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3 which refers to God providing manna from heaven for the Israelites to eat daily.

For us today, the Word of God is our food, and like the food we eat, we need it daily to survive and thrive. The Bible is both our milk and our meat. Peter wrote, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Hebrews tells that as we grow and mature, we need the meat of the word: “But solid food (or meat) belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14). We must move from the milk to the meat lest we stay baby or carnal Christians. Paul chides the Corinthians for this in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4.

We wouldn’t think about missing our daily meals. Most people eat three meals a day. We need the Word of God in this way also. The Scriptures give us our spiritual nourishment and sustenance to live, grow, and be strong. Thus, just as we do need bread to live physically, we need the Word of God to live spiritually. The Word convicts, instructs, encourages, and comforts us. The Lord speaks to our hearts when we get quiet before Him with an open heart and an open Bible.

May the Lord help us to feed on His Word daily in our personal devotions, Bible reading, and Bible study with our spouses and kids. The only way to make these times effective is through prayer and applying the Word to our lives. O that the Lord would give us a healthy spiritual appetite for the truth!

Have a blessed day in God’s Word. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean