Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-November 10, 2024-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.”

(1 Timothy 3:16).

Yesterday we considered the first phrase, “God was manifested in the flesh.” This speaks of the incarnation and how Jesus became human flesh, yet without sin. He was perfect God and perfect man.

There are some scholars who believe that there is a chronological order here in our verse. It is a very reasonable conclusion based on each of the phrases.

Today’s phrase is, “justified in the Spirit.” When Jesus was conceived, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Later on when our Savior was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove. Also, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Jesus was justified in the Spirit. He relied on the Holy Spirit’s power to heal people, do miracles, and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. Even when He was raised from the dead, it was by the power of the Spirit.

Jesus promised that after His ascension, the Helper (the Holy Spirit) would come to dwell in them. The Trinity was involved in our salvation: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We as believers are led by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, gifted by the Spirit, and empowered by the Spirit. Let us follow the Spirit’s leading and rely on His power.

Have a blessed day walking in the Spirit. Stay safe and healthy.

Relying on the Spirit, not on ourselves.

Dean

-December 9, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Monday,

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.”

(1 Timothy 3:16).

How do you describe the indescribable? Eyewitness testimony is the strongest evidence one can find in our judicial system. Those in the media interview eyewitness all the time.

In the NT, Peter, John, James, Jude, Matthew, Mark, and Paul were all eyewitnesses of Jesus. Paul saw Jesus in the road to Damascus when He got saved and God used him to write the majority of the NT.

Paul’s description of Jesus in today’s text is so amazing, powerful and encouraging. He employs one long sentence that captures the essence of Christ with six words: manifested, justified, seen, preached, believed, and received. Each of these is a message in and of themselves.

God was manifested in the flesh, meaning Jesus was born into this world as God in the flesh. He was fully God and fully man. The word manifest means, “display or show (a quality or feeling) by one’s acts or appearance; demonstrate; readily perceived by the senses, especially by the sense of sight.”

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:20, “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last days for you.” John wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life and which was manifested to us” (1 John 1:1-2).

Our mission today is to proclaim who He is what He has done for us. We have not seen Him with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of the heart. As our brother Rick preached yesterday, we all have a story to tell how Jesus saved us and changed our lives forever.

Have a blessed day reflecting on who Jesus is and how He was born to save us. Stay safe and healthy.

Once you’ve seen Jesus, you will never be the same, let us then praise His name.

Dean

-December 8, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Lord’s Day,

Lori Today’s verse is really a Christmas verse. God so loved the whole world, every person, so much that He gave His only begotten Son. Jesus willingly came down to this world, knowing He would be reproached, reviled, and rejected.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16).

“If our greatest need had been education, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was for forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.”

God planned it before the foundation of the world, before Adam and Eve were created and sinned. There is hymn we love to sing, written by William R. Newell, entitled, “At Calvary.” The fourth verse says, “O the love that drew salvation’s plan! O the grace that brought it down to man! O the mighty gulf that God can span at Calvary.”

God’s motive was love, His mission was love, His map to this earth was love for you and for me. Jesus was born to die to save us from sins. He paid the price in full. 1 John 4:10 tells us, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

God gave heaven’s best to save earth’s worst. We are all wretched sinners in need of a Savior. I once received a Christmas card with the most wonderful words that summarized why God sent our Lord Jesus Christ. It comes from an unknown writer.

Let us worship our Father who sent His Son to give His life for us on the cross; to suffer, bleed, and die in our place so that through faith in Him we have forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.

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

God is the greatest Lover who loved the unlovable, reached the unreachable, and saved the incorrigible.

Dean

-December 7, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Saturday,

“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

(1 Timothy 2:5-6).

This world was in a heap of trouble, sin abounded everywhere, people were lost without God and with hope in this world. We needed a Savior, a Redeemer, a Reconciler, a Mediator.

Jesus came down from heaven to bring us to God in heaven. He was the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins on the cross. Someone likened it to Jesus taking our hand and God’s hand and bringing the two together. God didn’t to be reconciled to us, we needed to be reconciled to Him.

The word mediator is defined as, “a person who attempts to make people involved in a conflict come to an agreement; a go-between.” Jesus bore our sins on the cross so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Thus Jesus is the Mediator of a better covenant. Hebrews 9:15 says, “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”

Let us rejoice this Christmas that Jesus was born for the ministry of reconciliation. He gave Himself for His church, that we might be holy and blameless, without spot or blemish. Through faith in Jesus and work on the cross we are now sons of God.

Have a blessed day sharing the good news of glad tidings and great joy. Stay safe and healthy.

Where would we be without Jesus; praise God our eternity is secure.

Dean

-December 6, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

(John 1:14).

The incarnation is one of the most amazing occurrences in the Bible. The word incarnation is defined as, “a person who embodies in the flesh a deity, spirit, or abstract quality.”

The only true incarnation in the history of the world is found in person of Jesus Christ our Lord. Just think, God became flesh to dwell among us. At Christmas we remember the birth of our Savior in Bethlehem’s manger. He existed as perfect God and perfect Man.

He grew from a tiny baby to a child; from a child to an adolescent; from an adolescent to a man. He went about doing good, proclaiming the message of salvation, healing, helping, and doing the will of the Father. His primary mission though was to die on the cross for our sins, to rise again, and ascend back to heaven.

Paul speaking of Jesus coming into the world, wrote in Philippians 2:6-7, “who being in the form of God, did not consider it to be robbery (or something to be held onto) to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”

God created man in His own image; when Christ came as God manifested in the flesh, God took on our image, yet with sin. No Hollywood writer could conceive such a story. Only God in His infinite wisdom could do such a miraculous work.

I think of the story of the man who knew that a flood was coming and would sweep away the ants. He felt compassion on them and wondered how he could help them. He decided to become an ant to save the ants. It serves to illustrate God’s love, mercy, compassion, and grace to us His lost creatures.

Let us this Christmas season, reflect on the coming of Christ into the world to save us and give us eternal life. Have a blessed day being servants to help others to come to Christ. Stay safe and healthy.

Jesus came down in order to raise us up; He died that might live.

Dean