Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-June 21, 2020-

Good morning, happy Lord’s Day, happy Father’s Day,

-Jesus Delighted To Do The Father’s Will-

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart.’”

(Psalm 40:6-8).

The death of Christ fulfilled God’s will and brought about our salvation. This passage was quoted by the writer of Hebrews hundreds of years later in Hebrews 10:5-7. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, delighted to do the Father’s will in giving His life for us on the cross in order to redeem us.

From the book of Genesis onward, God established the sacrificial system of the shedding of blood in offering a sacrifice to God. Lambs, bulls, and rams were killed and their blood poured out in the place of the sinner. In the NT, we see that Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness and give Himself once and for all for the sins of the world.

In Hebrews 10:9 we read, “Then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of body of Christ once for all.” Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave His body and His blood to save us. He delighted to do the Father’s will and He completed His mission on the cross.

Jesus did not just do the Father’s will, He delighted to do it. Isaiah 6:8 reveals the heavenly conversation, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send Me.’” Jesus volunteered for the mission and He was the only one who could do it. He was perfect God and perfect man. He had no sin of His own, thus He bore our sins and the sins of the world in His own body.

God prepared a body for Him and He gave it willingly, joyfully, and fully for us. The word delight is a beautiful word to describe Jesus’ devotion to the Father’s will. He agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane with the realization of what suffering on the cross would entail. He prayed three times that if it was possible to remove the cup from Him, but added, “…nevertheless not My will but Your’s be done.”

Jesus loved the Father so much that He delighted to do His will, even as difficult as it was. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We thank God that Jesus delighted to do the Father’s will and fulfilled it. He loved us so much, even to the point of death on the cross. May the Lord help us as His disciples to delight to do the Father’s will in our lives, no matter what He asks us to do, to accept, or to reject. God’s will is not often easy but it the best for us and He has a purpose for everything. It was hard to accept the death of our dear brother Jim as God’s will but we did and we do. God knows best and His will is best. We cannot doubt or question His will.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day and Father’s Day. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-June 20, 2020-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

-The Lord Is Our Shepherd And Meets All Our Needs-

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

(Psalm 23:1).

Throughout the Scriptures, God is shown as the Shepherd and His people are His sheep. The shepherd always cares for the sheep, leads them, feeds them, provides for them, and protects them.

David in his early years was a shepherd who cared for his father’s sheep. Later in his life he became king and shepherded God’s people Israel. In his personal walk with the Lord, David recognized that God was his shepherd and wonderfully provided for him, his sheep. We notice how personal the relationship is between the Lord and David. He said, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

In the NT, Jesus is the shepherd and we are His sheep. He is the Good Shepherd, who gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11, 14); He is the Great Shepherd, whom God raised from the dead having died and shed His blood (Hebrews 13:20); and He is the Chief Shepherd who will come again to take us home to heaven and give us the crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4).

David had found his shepherd to always be faithful and provide his needs. He says, “…I shall not want.” David shows us that God always takes care of our needs not necessarily our wants. He was content with what the Lord had given him and done for him.

Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” God’s resources are infinite, hence His riches in glory. Oh how thankful we should be!

In this familiar 23rd Psalm, the shepherd provides green pastures, still waters, restored souls, paths of righteousness, His presence, His discipline and care, a table in the presence of our enemies, overwhelming blessings, and continual goodness and mercy.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect shepherd for us. He knows when to bring trials into our lives and when to send us His blessings. We should always follow and obey our shepherd and not question His will for our lives. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” He has provided for us in the past and will do so in the present and future as well. We are not shielded from adversity but He is with us in adversity.

Isaiah 40:11 shows the tender care of our shepherd, “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather his lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.” We are hurting right now with the death of our dear and precious brother Jim. He will carry us in His bosom and gently lead us.

Have a blessed day following Christ our shepherd. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-June 19, 2020-

Good morning, happy Friday,

-The Death Of The Saints Is Precious To The Lord-

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

(Psalm 116:15).

The Lord loves all people and desires each one to be saved. Those are saved are called saints, those who are born again, His children. He loves us with a special love and we will be with Him in heaven forever and ever.

We are only passing through this world on our way to glory. Everyone must die at some point unless the Lord comes first to take us all into His presence. When the Lord Jesus Christ died for us and rose again, He removed the sting of death and turned death from a ruler to a servant to accomplish His purpose of taking us home to be with Him.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

Our natural bodies were not meant to be eternal. Man was created from dust and to dust he will return. However our soul and spirit live forever. Paul told us in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “For we are confident, yes well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

While leaving this world is sorrowful for those we leave behind: our families, our friends, and our brothers and sisters in Christ, it is joyful for the one going into the presence of the Lord. The death of every saint is precious to our Lord. One leaves behind this world of sin, corruption, evil, sorrow, and pain and goes to a glorious place in heaven.

Our brother Jim who went to be with the Lord yesterday has already seen Jesus and been reunited with saints that have gone before us. Just this year, we said “until we meet again” to three brothers in our church. God always has a purpose in what He does and when He does it. We should never question the Lord.

We do not sorrow like those who have no hope. Our hope is in Jesus. It still hurts, we still weep, we still miss them, but we know where they are with the Lord which comforts our hearts. Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29; Matthew 10:31).

We who are still in the land of the living should remember how brief life on earth is and that we do not know how much time we have left. Let us realize afresh how precious our lives are. Life is a gift to be treasured not a time to be measured. It is the quality not the quantity of our lives that counts. So let us make today count for Jesus!

Have blessed day looking to Jesus and serving Him. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-June 18, 2020-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

-With God All Things Are Possible-

“But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

(Matthew 19:26).

Though the context of this verse is regarding how difficult it is for rich people to get saved, it also applies to other aspects of life. All things are possible with God. It is like a two sided coin: one one side it says ‘all things are possible with God; and in the other side it says, ‘nothing is impossible with God.’ Both are very encouraging to us.

Jesus said, “With men this is impossible.”There are things in life that are impossible for us to do, things that are out of our control. We are failing, fallible, and finite people. We need the Lord so much; Without Him we can do nothing.

The angel Gabriel told Mary the mother of Jesus in Luke 1:37, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” There is only one thing that is impossible for God to do: to lie. Other than that He is all powerful and limitless. He is not limited by time, space, or even the natural laws He put in place for us.

There are times doctors admit that there is nothing more than they can do for someone. It is beyond medical science. It is at these times when a miracle from God is needed. This is the case with our dear brother Jim. He is in critical condition and he is in the hands of God. The more impossible the situation, the more glory goes to the Lord.

In the next part of the verse, Jesus says, “…with God all things are possible.” We must have faith in the Lord and He will do what we need. A man had brought his demon possessed son to Jesus’ disciples to cast out a demon from him but they could not. Jesus had just been on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John. The man said to our Lord, “… If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” You can almost hear the desperation in his voice. Jesus responded, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:22-23).

The man was very honest in his reaction to our Savior and said in Mark 9:24, “…Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” Though he called Jesus ‘Lord, he admitted his doubts and lack of faith. We are very much like this man. God is very gracious and merciful to us! Christ cast out the demon and healed the boy.

Let us never forget that God is able and more than able to come through for us and those we love so much. Nothing is impossible with God and all things are possible for Him. We should continue to beseech God and never give up.

P-U-S-H- is a great acronym that I found for prayer:

Pray

Until

Something

Happens

Have a blessed God looking to the One who cannot and will not fail us. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean

-June 17, 2020-

Good morning, happy Wednesday,

-What Can The Righteous Do?

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

(Psalm 11:3).

One of the signs of the times is that lawlessness will abound. Jesus said in Matthew 24:13, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” We have seen this happening and we will continue to see it more and more. In our nation there is such animosity, hatred, discord, division, and strife. The is racial injustice, prejudice, discrimination, and acts of police brutality in the improper use of force against black people and others.

Law and order is one of the great foundations of our country that we value and cherish. This verse in the NLT says, “The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?” Bill MacDonald many years ago wrote in his Believer’s Bible commentary, “Criminals now have the upper hand, and they are armed to the teeth, ready to gun down decent law-abiding citizens. Law and order have vanished and the foundations of society are crumbling. This being so, what hope is there for a righteous person like you?”

Not only is the foundation of law and order under attack but also marriage, the family, religious liberty, morality, prayer, the Word of God, and so many other things that we as believers and Americans hold dear. The question that David raises is both relevant and justified: “What can the righteous do?”

On thing we can’t do is sit back and let evildoers destroy our nation. We must pray for our nation and our leaders, lead by example in how we honor our troops, our police officers and firefighters, denounce injustice wherever it is found, and most of all preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The only way to true change is through salvation in Jesus Christ.

With all our foundations under attack and crumbling around us, let us remember our foundation is in Christ. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:19-21, “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.”

Let us not lose heart or give up. We must pray on and press on. In Christ we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. The church is built on Christ and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. There is a lot the righteous can and should do. Are we willing? It won’t be easy, but we must fight the good fight of faith on our knees.

Have a blessed day fighting the good fight of faith. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean