Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-January 11, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Saturday,

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those you who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

(Matthew 5:44).

It is one thing to love your friends and those who love you back; it is quite another to love your enemies and those who hate. Jesus taught us to love and forgive, and pray for those who wrong us, even those who have malice of intent.

We can only do this by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we don’t react to the ill treatment of others, it can have a powerful effect on them.

Jesus tells how to love our enemies and showed us by His words and actions. He tells us three ways to show love: bless, do good, and pray. Each of these responses is the opposite of how the world would handle enemies.

• Bless those who curse you – King David experienced this upon fleeing from his son Absalom who had usurped his kingdom. A belligerent, obstinate man named Shimei, showed up and cursed him, kicked dust, and threw stones at him and his men. David showed tremendous restraint.

• Do good to those who hate you – Doing good for nice people is easy, but doing good to those who hate you shows the love of Christ.

• Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you – It is so important to pray for those who harm us, disparage us, and make us look bad. Some even lie about us.

May the Lord give us the grace to love the unloveable, show mercy to the merciless, and kindness to the unkind. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Showing the love of Jesus can melt the hardest heart.

Dean

-January 10, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over over all he had, ‘Please put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

(Genesis 24:2-4).

Abraham’s oldest and most trusted servant was named Eliezer of Damascus according to Genesis 15:2. Abraham at one point being childless, considered him to be his heir. Then God did a miracle and gave him a son, Isaac to be his heir.

In Bible days it was very common for people to have servants. I am sure that Abraham had many servants. We read at one point that there were 318 trained servants who joined him in fighting the kings who had taken his nephew Lot hostage. He won a great victory.

Abraham gave Eliezer an important assignment to find a young lady to be Isaac’s wife from among his family. All this was in keeping with God’s will to perpetuate the lineage of Christ. Abraham gave his servant an out in case the young woman wouldn’t come. He did however tell him that God would send His Angel before him to direct to a successful outcome.

Genesis tells the whole story of how he met Rebekah and her mother and brother. Once he explained the whole story to them and how God answered his prayer and directed him to Abraham’s brother’s daughter, they accepted it as from the Lord. Genesis 24:50-51 says, “Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, ‘This thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you either bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.’”

Eliezer was overjoyed and worshipped the Lord. He brought Rebekah to Isaac and they loved each other, married, and carried on the family name. This story had a very happy ending. This love story, along with Ruth and Boaz’s story are my favorite love stories in the Bible.

The lesson for us is to be loyal, faithful, and obedient servants of the Lord, whom He can use to accomplish His will. Whenever the Lord gives us a mission, we should do it and leave the results to Him.

Have a blessed day following the Lord’s guidance to do His will. Stay safe and healthy.

When we do God’s will, in God’s strength, in God’s way; He will receive all the glory.

Dean

-January 9, 2025-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“And Abraham said to God, ‘Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!’ Then God said: ‘No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Issac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.”

(Genesis 18:18-19).

Sometimes we have dreams, desires, and longings that never come to pass. We plan, we purpose, we pursue, but God overrules our plans for His better plans.

When I was a young man entering college, I wanted to major in physical education and become a track and cross country coach. God had others plans for me, and of course much, much, better ones. Maybe you can relate how God changed your plans according to His will.

I went on to major in Speech Communication, and I have used what I learned every day of my life since. Not only did I learn about public speaking and small group communication, and verbal and nonverbal communications, I even took a dramatic reading class and learned how to annunciate, and put feeling and emotion into my public reading. All of these helped me in my sermons, Scripture readings, and Bible studies over the years.

Abraham’s first son Ishmael was not to be his heir, but Issac would be his heir. God always knows what is best. He moves heaven and earth to bring about His will in our lives. We just have to let go of our dreams and accept God’s will

If we don’t listen to God and do our own will, our dreams can become nightmares. As it was, Abraham and Sarah took matters into their own hands in having Ishmael through Haggar. The conflicts from this are still going on to this day.

Have blessed day letting God direct us each day this year. Our ways may seem good to us, but God’s is the best. Stay safe and healthy.

When we trust our Heavenly Father to lead us, we can lean on Him.

Dean

-January 8, 2023-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“Is anything too hard for the Lord for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

(Genesis 18:14).

Abraham was 99 and Sarah was 89 when the Lord and two angels came to their tent and promised that Sarah would bear Abraham a son. If ever there was an impossible situation humanly speaking, this was it.

God often waits until we have exhausted our resources to do a wonderful miracle. When one gets old, we call it the “Sunset Years.” In the case of Abraham and Sarai, it was more like the “Sundown Years.” Their light was out in terms of having a child, Abraham lived to the ripe age of 175, and Sarah lived to be 127.

God loves to do great things in our lives, to surprise us blessings. When God first mentioned it to Abraham, he fell down laughing and Sarah laughed in her heart in the tent during this visit from on high. We often say, “It is too hard for me, I can’t do it.” God never has to say that. We can never ask the Lord for too much.

As we have made eight days into the New Year, it is good to remind ourselves that, “there is nothing too hard for the Lord” The Lord told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 32:27, “…Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for the Lord?” The angel Gabriel said a similar thing to Mary, the mother of Jesus, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

I love the story of the young boy flying alone to visit his grandparents and happened to be seated next to a seminary professor, who thought he would have some fun with young lad. He said to him, “Young man, if you can tell me something God can do, I will give you a big, shiny apple.” The youngster thought for a moment and replied, “Mister, if you can tell me something God can’t do, I’ll give you a barrel of apples.”

May we reflect on our great, infinite, limitless, omnipotent God and what He can do. Have a blessed day looking to Jesus. Stay safe and healthy.

With God the impossible is possible.

Dean

-January 7, 2025-

Good morning, beloved, happy Monday,

“As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”

(Psalm 18:20).

People make mistakes everyday, I make mistakes everyday. It is not so with God—He is perfect. I was thinking about this on way home in my car.

We look back on times in our lives and we wonder why God allowed something devastating to happen to us or those we love. It may cross our minds that God somehow made a mistake. Not true! He never makes a mistake. He is perfect in His character, His ways, and in His Word. It is a mistake to think God makes a mistake.

It may be the death of someone young, it may the loss of a job, a home, or even a marriage. God allows things in our lives to grow our faith and help fully rely on Him. I learned the acronym quite a few years ago: F-R-O-G which stands for “Fully Rely On God. “

Trusting that the Lord’s ways are best is a lifelong lesson. It is helpful to always remember how much He loves us, and wants the very best for us.

If we could see as God sees and know what God knows, we would soon realize God’s ways are perfect, even when we can’t understand them. He is fully in control. Still, how often we ask why. There are some why’s which won’t be answered until we get to heaven. We think of Joseph, who could have asked why he was sold into slavery, was falsely accused and put in prison. We think of David who was anointed as king over Israel but had to wait years to take his rightful throne.

God says in Isaiah 55:8-9, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways’’ says the Lord. For as high as the heavens above the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts your thoughts.’”

Let us let God be God to direct our lives; He knows best. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

If God could make a mistake, He wouldn’t be God.

Dean