Dean Allen's Daily Devotional

-November 2, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Saturday,

“There is hope in your future, says the Lord, that your children shall come back to their own border.”

(Jeremiah 31:17).

God is the God of hope. God can do miracles and bring the prodigals home—to Himself, to their families, to their church families. God never gives up on anyone.

The promise of this verse was in the future, when after the 70 year Babylonian captivity, a remnant of the Jews returned to their homeland. This verse has a double fulfillment, for God will bring back the Jews to the land of Israel during the Tribulation.

This verse certainly brings hope to Christian parents who are praying for their wayward adult children who need to be saved. As long as they are still alive, God can bring them back.

Jesus told the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. It tells of a son in search of excitement and fulfillment, in this sinful world, asking his father for his inheritance early. He left and travelled down a dark sinful road to the far country. After spending all his money on sinful things, he ended up feeding pigs on a pig farm. He hit rock bottom. Penniless, discouraged, and hungry, he made the decision to go home to his father.

Like Naomi, he went out full but came home empty. He planned to humble himself and tell his father that he had sinned against him and heaven, and was not worthy to be called his son, and to ask his father to make him like one of his hired servants. He never finished his whole speech. His father ran to greet him, kissed him, put a robe on him, sandals on his feet, and a ring on his finger. His father also threw the biggest party ever to celebrate his homecoming.

The hymn writer Will Thompson wrote, “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; patient and loving, He’s waiting and watching, watching for you and for me.”

Do you have any prodigals who need to come home? Don’t give up, don’t stop praying, don’t lose hope. There is hope in your future. Have a blessed day waiting and watching. Stay safe and healthy.

The longer someone is away, the hardest it is to come back, to come home; but the greater the joy.

Dean

-November 1, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Friday,

“In hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie, promised before life began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of our our Savior.”

(Titus 1:2).

Every presidential election, or any other election for that matter, we hear candidates touting many promises, many of which they don’t fulfill. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a truth Geiger counter that would immediately go off in someone lied to us.

There are lies everywhere we look nowadays. It seems almost everyone lies at one time or another. It is imbedded in our human sinful nature. Those who are gullible believe everything; those are cynical believe nothing.

Paul tells Silas his son in the faith that God cannot lie. When I was growing up, my parents, teachers, and the world in general, taught us to tell the truth. Today, this isn’t the the case. People justify telling lies, calling them “little whites.” All lies are sins.

God who cannot lie wants us to always tell the truth. Sometimes we are reluctant to tell the truth because we are afraid of the consequences. As believers we know that telling the truth actually gets us into less trouble than lying. Lies can and will be exposed.

God is truth and His word is truth. His promises are yes and amen. So let us tell the truth, and live by the truth of God’s Word. If we do lie, confess to God and apologize to those we said it to, and tell the truth.

Have a blessed day walking in the truth, living by God’s standards. Stay safe and healthy.

The truth never changes; lies always change.

Dean

-October 31, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Thursday,

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

(John 15:2).

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the true vine, and the Father is the vinedresser. God’s will for us that we bear fruit, more fruit, and much fruit.

All believers have the capacity to bear fruit as long as we abide in Christ. Unfortunately, not every Christian is a fruitful Christian. Jesus said in Matthew 13:23, “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

We should a be hundredfold believers. There are however, hindrances, obstacles, and distractions all around us on a daily basis; we must fight the good fight. Our flesh is our worst enemy. Paul implores us in Colossians 1:10, “that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

To be fruitful and more fruitful we must obey the Lord, walk with Him, grow in Him, and serve Him. The pruning process is a necessary part of the health, growth, and fruitfulness of the fruit tree. It is a painful process, but it yields wonderful results. Branches must be cut off and trimmed back in order to bear more and larger fruit. God uses trials in our lives to prune us.

Just as no one enjoys pain, suffering, difficulties, and sorrows, they are necessary for our growth. When we stand before the Lord one day in heaven, we will realize what God did in our lives and how He used it to grow us and make us like Christ.

Have a blessed day learning and growing through the trials we go through. Stay safe and healthy.

God knows what to prune, how to prune, and when to prune to make us the most fruitful.

Dean

-October 30, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord.”

(Jeremiah 17:7).

In a book of sorrow and chastisement, this nugget of truth is imbedded in the tapestry of its contents. Today’s verse is so encouraging to every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah spoke of the upcoming seventy year Babylonian captivity and the eventual return to their land. For the remnant of the Jews who trusted the Lord there was hope—real hope. The lesson for us is to trust the Lord and put our hope in Him alone.

If we can’t trust the Lord, who can we trust. We put our trust in God and His Word, even when things are crumbling around us. The word trust is found hundreds of times in the Scriptures. If God spoke of it that much, it must be very important. The key words in our verse are, “in the Lord,” which are mentioned twice.

As mortals, our propensity is to only trust what we can see, hear, and touch; but faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible. We put our trust in the Lord who never fails.

Our hope is in the Lord, who is the God of hope. Paul wrote in Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Hope gives us the joy to wake up each morning and look forward to the new day.

The name Hope is a beautiful female name. My mother’s middle name was Hope. I have also known of ladies with the names of Charity, Faith, Grace, and Mercy, Their names remind us of what Christ has done for us.

Jeremiah shows the stark contrast of trusting God verses trusting man. The former are blessed, the latter are cursed. Every person must choose whom to trust. Whom have you chosen to trust in? Many trust in their wealth, possessions, position, intelligence, talent, or achievements. The wise trust in the Lord alone.

Have a blessed day trusting God, looking forward in hope. Stay safe and healthy.

When have nothing left but God, we have all we need and more.

Dean

-October 29, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Tuesday,

“You therefore be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

(2 Timothy 2:1).

When our smart phones, tablets, or smartwatches need charging, we charge them by plugging into a power source. If we don’t, our devices shut down and won’t work. Our Christian lives function the same way.

We can get run down spiritually unless we are spending sufficient quality time with the Lord in prayer and in His Word. We want to be empowered by the Holy Spirit from the beginning of the day to the end. Paul instructed Timothy on many things, and this is one of the most important: “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

As believers we are saved by grace by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). But God’s grace doesn’t stop at conversion but continues in our lives until we go home to be with Jesus. God’s grace is the strength to face whatever comes our way.

Bill MacDonald commented on this verse, “To be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus means to be courageous with the strength which His grace provides, to go on faithfully for the Lord with the undeserved ability that comes through union with Him.” Jesus told His disciples in John 15:4, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

The Lord Jesus answered Paul, who had prayed three times that the thorn in his flesh be removed, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness…” (1 Corinthians 12:9). It is better to have God’s grace to get us through than to be healed or delivered immediately. We learn to trust Him through the trials we go through with Him. He teaches us so much in the process, on the journey, through it all.

Have a blessed day plugging into the power source of God’s grace. Stay safe and healthy.

There is nothing we can’t face by His sufficient grace.

Dean