Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-February 15, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Saturday,

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called, in one body; and be thankful.”

(Colossians 3:15).

To rule is to control and govern. Paul told the Colossians the way to accept and appropriate the peace of God in their lives and be thankful.

He wrote, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” When peace rules, calm ensues. Jesus has given us peace in a hostile, chaotic, sinful world. All we have to do is claim it and put into practice. The Lord said in Isaiah 48:18, “Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

The hymn writer Horatio G. Stafford wrote, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll—whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.” This man lost his wife and daughters at sea while they were crossing the Atlantic. He was stuck down but not destroyed by this. He left us this tremendous hymn, “It is well with my soul.”

So whatever we go through in life, whether good or bad, His peace will comfort and encourage our hearts. Just as Jesus calmed the Sea of Galilee and saved his terrified disciples from death; so also Jesus calmed the hearts of His disciples. His peace surpasses all understanding.

Let us then pray and call on the Lord. He promises to help us and give us peace. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

The Lord doesn’t just give us a piece of His peace; He gives us the whole thing.

Dean

-February 14, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday, happy Valentine’s Day,

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

(1John 4:7).

The Apostle John is affectionately known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” It is therefore appropriate that he should write so much on love. Jesus loved all of His disciples, but He had special, close relationship with John. John was the one who leaned his head in Jesus’ breast.

Today is Valentine’s Day, a day of love. St. Valentine was a real person, a genuine believer in Christ who was imprisoned and martyred for his faith in his blessed Savior. He sent out heart shaped cards from prison to the saints to encourage them on how much God loved them and he loved them.

Valentine’s Day has become a day of romantic love, but it much more. There are three Greek words in the NT for love: “agape,” God’s love, the greatest and highest love; “phileo,” the love of others, which should always flow from the love of God for us; and “eros,” which is physical or romantic love between a man and woman.

Paul spent a whole chapter, 1 Corinthians 13 on the subject of true love, what it is, what it isn’t, and the effect it has in our lives. Love goes beyond emotion to motion, or action. John tells us, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God.” 1 John 3:18 says, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t say, “I love you,” we should always, but it should be shown in actions.

When God is the source of our love, it will be true love; a love that cares, a love that shares, a love that gives, a love that sacrifices, a love that helps, a love that comforts, a love that never fails.

Valentine’s Day is for all of us, all the married couples, and even those who are single. It is also a special day for kids. There is a lady in our church named Cindy who gives a Valentine’s card, signed by Jesus, and chocolate bar to all the single people in our church every year. I consumed well before today.

Let us remember the extent, the excellence, and the expression of God true love and how to show it to others. Have a blessed Valentine’s Day with the one special person or persons in your life. Stay safe and healthy.

Love begins at home, but doesn’t end there.

Dean

-February 13, 2025-

Good morning dear friends, happy Thursday,

“I do not receive honor from men.”

(John 5:41).

Jesus is our example. He always sought to honor the Father and please Him. The Pharisees did the opposite; they sought the honor of men. They announced what they did for God, to be seen by people.

Jesus told them in John 5:44, “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the holy God.”

This problem can happen in our lives today. It speaks to our motivation. Do we seek to please others, to be praised by others, to be seen by others?

We should serve the Lord in secret, not letting our left hand know what our right hand is doing. When we seek to please the Lord, God will honor us. When our lives are fully surrendered, everything is about Christ, not about us.

May the Lord help us to be God-pleasers not people pleasers. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Man’s standards are low—God’s standards are high. People look at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart.

Dean

-February 12, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.”

(Psalm 18:6).

Psalm 18 was written by David when he was fleeing from Saul who wanted to kill him. He prayed with faith and confidence in God and He him and delivered him.

Isn’t it great that when come before the Lord, we don’t have wait in line, take a number, or make an appointment. He also doesn’t treat us like the ER and make us wait behind more serious cases.

David wrote, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God…” The word distress is a Hebrew word “tsar,” meaning straits, distress.” We still use the word distress in our modern language, and may say, “I’m in dire straits.” It comes down to being in big trouble.

Distress comes in many forms: spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, or financial. You may have some form of distress in your life today. You are pressed and stressed to your breaking point. We should share it with those who love and care for us, and ask for prayer. But even more, we need to call upon the Lord and cry to Him.

God hears our prayers in His holy temple in heaven, and they reach all the way to his ears. God hears and answers us at just the right time in just the right way.

Have a blessed day bringing your requests in faith and fervency to the throne of grace. Stay safe and healthy.

God brings redress in our distress

Dean

-February 11, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

(2 Peter 1:3).

“As His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”

In Peter’s epistles, he wrote to believers scattered across the areas of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who were called pilgrims of the Dispersion (1 Peter 1:1-2). These people were God’s elect according to knowledge, sanctification, obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Christ.

Peter focused on how precious Christ is to us and all that He has done for us. Here in today’s text, we see the extent of what He has given us. We are a forgetful people and need to be frequently reminded that, “…His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.”

Just try for a moment to drink that in and consume for your life! What are the “all things” that Peter referred to? He means all the blessings and promises of the Word of God. Paul wrote a similar truth in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

We all have needs, problems, and difficulties; we go through trials, temptations, fears, troubles, and challenges. Let us remember who we are, God’s elect people; and what we have, all things that pertain to life and godliness. He has given us all that we need, both now and for all eternity. Life and godliness covers our lives like a warm blanket on a wintery night.

Have a blessed day claiming your inheritance and using it in your life. Stay safe and healthy.

All things means everything, to all of us, all the time, in all ways.

Dean