Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-July 1, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, the grave is ready for me.”

(Job 17:1).

Christians can go through times of difficulty, discouragement, despondency, despair, and depression. It usually happens when life seems unbearable. One hard thing after another piles up on us, and the sheer weight of it brings us down.

This was Job’s story. It had several major trials that all came at the same time, and he tried to process it, to make sense of it. It is at these times we need to focus on the Lord not on ourselves.

God allowed the devil to use any means to bring Job down barring killing him. Job through it all held on by his fingernails, but he held on. His burdens seemed inescapable, incomprehensible, and interminable.

We notice Job says, “my spirit,” “my days,” and “for me.” His thoughts on himself only made things worse. If one loses hope, he loses everything.

When we are broken, only God can put us back together; when our days are extinguished, only God can reignite us; when we think we are going to die, only God can breathe into us see us through.

Job was despondent. The word despondent is defined as, “in low spirits from loss of hope or courage; feeling or showing extreme discouragement, dejection, or depression.”

Fortunately, Job looked to the Lord and concluded, “I know my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-26).

The same thing happened to the psalmist Asaph in Psalm 73. He saw how the wicked seemed to prosper while he suffered, and pondered his life in comparison. Finally he said in psalm 73:17, “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.”

Let us keep our eyes on Jesus not on ourselves or on our circumstances. Have a blessed day in the sanctuary of the Lord.

Jesus is our only hope amid hopelessness.

Dean

-June 30, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Monday,

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

(Proverbs 16:9).

We all have to make plans in life but they are all subject to the will of God. There are so many things we don’t know, but God does; we face things we can’t control, but only God can.

Yesterday I went to have a physical. The doctor went over all my medications, took all my vitals. This was a pre-opt appointment before my hernia surgery on Friday. My blood pressure was low, which it always is, due to the medications that I am taking. The doctor said when you have surgery it goes even lower, which can be dangerous. Now I am waiting to hear from my surgeon. My surgery may have to be postponed.

Throughout the Scriptures, God had another plan for so many men and women who trusted in Him. God had another plan for Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Gideon, Naomi, Daniel, and many others.

We can trust our loving, faithful, omniscient, sovereign God to lead us; we won’t always understand why God allows certain things and how He works them together for our good and for His glory.

It was certainly true of Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery. He went through false accusation, imprisonment, delays, and disappointments. Through it all he never lost faith in the Lord. God turned his life completely around and he was given charge of all Egypt by Pharaoh. God used him to preserve his family and all those going through a seven year famine.

There is a beautiful song written by the Greens, entitled, When God Has Another Plan.” The chorus says, “When God has another plan walk on and just say yes, when has another plan, be assured that He knows best. When all your dreams are shattered, rest in His sufficient grace. We don’t have to understand, when God has another plan.”

Joseph would later tell his brothers in Genesis 50:20, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

We must exercise faith, and trust in the Lord to work out His plans and purposes in our lives. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

God’s delays are not His denials; God’s postponements are not His cancelations; it’s all from His hand according to His plan.

Dean

-June 29, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Lord’s Day.,

“For he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

(Luke 7:5).

This verse is speaking of a Roman centurion whose servant was sick and ready to die. This man heard about Jesus and went to the Jews to to ask Jesus that his servant wo old be healed.

The Jews came to Jesus on his behalf to beseech our Savior’s healing touch. They respected this Roman centurion so much that he was deserving , “for he loves our nation, and built us a synagogue.”

In actuality, none of are deserving, for we are all sinners separated from God. Sometimes people we know are very nice people, but they are unsaved.

I really respect this centurion who loved the nation of Israel. Just think, the Romans occupied the land and had authority over the Jews, but his heart was soft. He had a genuine humility and faith. Before Jesus came, he sent friends to tell Jesus, “Do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof.” He simply asked Jesus to say a word and his servant would be healed. He recognized that Jesus had authority in the spiritual realm, just as he had authority in the military realm. Jesus healed the servant from afar in a wonderful way.

Jesus was so amazed by his faith, that He commented to those who followed him, “…I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.”

Do we have such a faith in God and love for our nation? We as Americans, either by birth or naturalized are blessed with such a great country. We have many faults, but we have a great nation with many freedoms, especially the right to worship God and meet together in Jesus’ name.

Today at our church our Worship Team will be performing four songs, our Kid’s choir will sing three songs, and our Blended choir three songs.

Have a blessed God and Country Day. July 4 is around the corner on Friday where we will celebrate our country’s birthday. Stay safe and healthy.

“Every heart beats true for the red, white, and blue.”

Dean

-June 28, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Saturday,

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

(John 8:32).

Something and or someone is either right or wrong—there are no gray areas. Two people may have an argument and both may staunchly believe he or she is right and the other person is wrong. These types of debates never end well.

Friendships have been severed over the most trivial things. It is better to lose an argument than a friendship. There are times when we must stand up for the Lord and His Word even if we ruffle a few feathers along the way. Secondary issues are, well, secondary.

The phrase “sincerely wrong” occurs when someone really believes he is right and is very sincere about, but sincerely wrong. A case in point was the dispute between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark. Both men took strong opposing opinions which caused a rift between two of greatest servants in the early church. Their partnership was severed. Both of them were thus sincerely wrong.

You may ask, “Wasn’t one right and the other wrong?” Its hard to say, but they were really both wrong. People don’t like to admit they are wrong.

Here are some historical examples of people being wrong: Lee de Forest, the inventor of the cathode ray tube said in 1926, “Theoretically, television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility—a development we should waste little time on.” In 1943, Thomas Watson, the chairman of the board of IBM concluded, “I think there is a world market for about five computers.” And incredibly, in 1962, a record company executive stated, “We don’t think the Beatles will do anything in their market. Guitar groups are on their way out.”

As you can see people can be dead wrong. Of course looking back at things, it is clear to us. They were all wrong—sincerely wrong. Let us make sure we are right with God, right with the truth, and right with each other. Sometimes it takes a helpful third party to expose what is right to both parties.

Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Patience and love should rule the day, and God will bless us every day.

Dean

-June 27, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born…”

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a).

We all have at least one thing in common: we have a birthday. We had no control over who are parents were, where we were born, on what particular day of the year.

It is good to celebrate our special day with family and friends. Usually we receive cards, gifts, and parties. It is our special day and we should enjoy it. In all my years of working, I can’t ever recall taking birthday off work.

I am not one to worry about age. I still feel young at 68. I am thankful for all the years God has given me. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” One cannot minimize wisdom, experience, and maturity.

God knew when each of us would be born and worked in our lives from our birth and even before. David wrote in Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they are all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

All believers in Jesus Christ have two birthdays, a physical one and more importantly a spiritual one. I was have been born on June 27 but I was born again on December 13. At our church we celebrate the birthdays of the people each month.

Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3, “…Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He also told him, “Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again” (John 3:7).

I am thankful for my birth into this world, but I am even more thankful that I have been born again, born more of God, born from above, born into the family of God.

Yes, with each passing year, we get a little older, and hopefully a bit wiser. Have a blessed day. Whatever your two birthdays fall, let us rejoice and give thanks. Stay safe and healthy.

Another year added, another year closer to heaven.

Dean