Daily Devotions For The Deaf

It is wintertime in Iowa. A few days ago, we had a terrible snowstorm. We had several inches of snow and there were high drifts covering the roads. I do not like this kind of weather, but my dog, Gretchen, loves the snow. She enjoys playing in the snow and jumping over the drifts. As the snow was coming down and the wind was blowing, I was thinking about all the bad things that could happen because of the storm. Then I looked at Gretchen. She was lying on her back on the floor, sound asleep. She wasn’t worried at all. This made me stop and think about God and His protection. God was with us during that storm, just as He is every other day of our lives. In our Bible Reading today, Jesus and His disciples faced a storm on a lake. The disciples thought that they would drown. But Jesus was asleep during the storm. He woke up and calmed the wind and the waves. Maybe you will face problems in your life today. Depend on God to take care of you.

Before the beginning of time, God knew that you would need to be saved from your sins. And God already had a plan to save you. God’s plan was to send Jesus. Jesus did not sin. So Jesus did not deserve to die. But Jesus chose to accept the punishment for your sins. Then, God raised Jesus from death. Jesus overcame death. If you accept Jesus’ gift of salvation, you will be with Him forever in heaven. God made this plan before you were born. In fact, God made this plan before He made the world. This is God’s plan of how He will show His grace to you. Maybe you have already accepted this gift. But God’s plan for you does not end when you accept Jesus. God wants you to share the Good News about Jesus with someone else. Probably you know someone who has not yet accepted Jesus. Share God’s plan with that person today!

The book of Philmeon is a letter Paul wrote to a Christian man named Philemon. Philemon had a servant named Onesimus. Onesimus was not a Christian. He ran away from Philemon. When Paul was in prison, he met Onesimus. Paul told him about Jesus, and Onesimus became a Christian, too. Onesimus decided to return to Philemon, so Paul wrote this letter and sent it with Onesimus. In the letter, Paul asked Philemon to show grace and forgiveness to Onesimus. Notice that Paul started and ended the letter with words about God’s grace (verses 3 and 25). This is more than just a greeting; it helped remind Philemon about the grace he had received from God. In verses 18-20, Paul says that if Onesmius had hurt Philemon, Paul would accept responsibility for the things Onesimus did. This is similar to the way Jesus accepted the punishment for our sins! The book of Philemon is a good lesson for us about grace.

Our Bible verses today contain a list of Jesus’ earthly family line. Verse 1 says, “This is the family history of Jesus the Messiah. He came from the family of David, who was from the family of Abraham.” Many times in the New Testament Jesus is called “Son of David.” A week before Jesus was killed, He came into the city of Jerusalem. The people treated Jesus like He was a king. In Matthew 21:9b we read, “They all shouted, ‘Praise to the Son of David! Welcome! God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’” It was very important for the Jewish people to know that Jesus was born into David’s family. Many years before, God told the Jews He would send His Son into the world. God said His Son would be born from David’s family line. God said it would happen, and it happened! We should remember that God always keeps His promises. God has promised that Christians will live forever with Him. God has said this will happen, and it will happen!

A few days ago, we read about Isaiah prophesying that Jesus would be called “Immanuel.” In our Bible Reading today, Isaiah said that Jesus would be called the “Prince of Peace.” Verse 6b says, “His name will be ‘Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.’” Verse 7a continues, “His power will continue to grow, and there will be peace without end.” Today many people talk about peace. These people talk about a peace that means no war or fighting. But Jesus’ peace is different. His peace is inside of us. This peace happens because we know that Jesus died for our sins. Christians can have peace in their hearts even if they live among people who are fighting. Jesus is the Prince, or Ruler, over that peace that happens in our lives. The book of Revelation tells us that Jesus will reign in heaven as the Prince of Peace forever. Do you have true peace in your life today? Give your life to Jesus and follow Him every day.

An angel from God came to a group of shepherds near Bethlehem. This angel told the shepherds that Jesus had been born. The angel said (verse 11), “Today your Savior was born in David’s town. He is the Messiah, the Lord.” For many years, the Jews had waited for God to send someone to save them from their sins. The Jews used the name “Messiah” to describe the one who would be God’s special person. The word “Christ” means the same thing as “Messiah.” When the shepherds heard that the Christ had been born, they hurried to Bethlehem to see Him. Later the shepherds returned to their sheep. Verse 20a of our Bible Reading tells us that the “shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything they had seen and heard.” The shepherds praised and thanked God for Jesus. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s chosen one, praise and thank Him today.

We read in Luke 1:35b that the angel told Mary, “The baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God.” Mary’s son was Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus was with God before the world was created (John 17:5). Jesus has always lived and will continue to live forever. Our Bible Reading tells us that when Jesus was ready to begin His ministry, He went to the Jordan River. Jesus asked John to baptize Him. After Jesus was baptized, God spoke from heaven. He said (verse 17b), “This is my Son, the one I love. I am very pleased with him.” John 3:16a says, “Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son.” This tells us that Jesus is God’s only Son. But through Jesus, we can become God’s sons and daughters, too. John 1:12b says about Jesus, “...some people did accept him. They believed in him, and he gave them the right to become children of God.” I hope you are God’s son or daughter. Thank Him today that you are part of His wonderful family.

Our Bible Reading today tells us that the wise men came to King Herod in Jerusalem. They said (verse 2), “Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews?” The wise men were looking for Jesus. They knew that baby Jesus was born to rule over the Jews. Micah prophesied in Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are the smallest town in Judah. Your family is almost too small to count, but the ‘Ruler of Israel’ will come from you to rule for me. His beginnings are from ancient times, from long, long ago.” Micah said that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. He also said that Jesus would be the ruler of Israel. While Jesus was on earth, He worked and lived among the Jews. He taught them He had come to bring salvation. Later God told Peter that salvation through Jesus was for the Gentiles (non-Jews), too. God wants all people to follow Jesus. I hope that Jesus is the ruler of your life. Jesus wants you to follow Him as your Lord and Savior today!

In our Bible Reading yesterday, we read from Matthew, chapter 1. Verse 23 said, “The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a son. They will name him Immanuel. (Immanuel means ‘God with us.’)” This verse is a quote from the book of Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied that a virgin (Mary) would give birth to a baby (Jesus). Isaiah also said that Mary’s baby would be called “Immanuel.” Jesus came to earth as a baby. This event was God coming to live among people. Jesus was born just like you and I were born. He grew up, He ate food, and He worked. But Jesus was different. He was a man, and He was also God! God came to earth in the form of Jesus. He suffered like we suffer. God and Jesus understand what it feels like to be sad or hungry or lonely or tempted. Because God and Jesus understand these things, they can give us help and comfort. Thank God for Jesus — His wonderful gift to the world!

We can read the story about Jesus’ birth in the New Testament books of Matthew and Luke. Several Old Testament prophets talked about Jesus’ birth, too. When we read these verses, we learn that Jesus was called different names. Today and for the next few days, we will look at seven names for Jesus. In our Bible Reading today, we read that an angel came to Joseph in a dream. The angel told Joseph to give Mary’s baby the name Jesus. This is the name that most New Testament writers use. But what does the name Jesus mean? Verse 21b says, “Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.” “Jesus” means savior or salvation. God sent Jesus to the earth to die on the cross. Jesus died to save you and me from the punishment for our sins. Jesus is our Savior. This Christmas season, don’t just think about baby Jesus. Remember that Jesus grew up and became the Savior of the world. Thank God for His wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus.

God wants us to be like Him. In our Bible Reading today, Peter tells us that Jesus has given us some wonderful gifts. With these gifts we “can share in being like God” (verse 4b). Because we have these gifts, we “will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want” (verse 4b). Then Peter says that we should add these things to our lives: faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, patience, devotion to God, kindness and love. If these things are growing in our lives, we “will never fail to be useful to God” (verse 8b). How can we add these things to our lives? Every day we should look for ways to do good things for other people, to control ourselves when we are tempted to do something wrong, to be patient with other people and to be kind and loving. I want to do these things and be like God. I hope you want to be like God, too!

I have several friends who are missionaries, ministers or some kind of specialized Christian workers. I have always thought that they were the only people who could show others how to become Christians. But then I read the verses in our Bible Reading for today. Verse 9b says, “He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done.” God has chosen each one of us to tell other people how He has changed our lives. We don’t need to make a formal speech. We can just sit down with someone and tell them how Jesus has touched our lives. And when we tell someone how God has changed us, we should also remember to thank God and praise Him. Why? Because God has bought us “out of the darkness of sin and into his wonderful light” (verse 9b). Tell someone today what God has done for you. And don’t forget to thank God for His wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus.

Carolyn’s husband, Steve, had four strokes. Each stroke was worse than the one before. Finally, Steve’s brain was damaged. Carolyn had health problems, too, but she had to keep working so they would have insurance. Carolyn had to hire a person to take care of Steve while she was at work. In our Bible Reading today, Paul encourages us to act like God’s holy people. “Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient” (verse 12b). We can do those things by helping people like Steve and Carolyn. There are probably people you know who take care of their family members. Often these caregivers do not eat well or get enough sleep. We can pray for these people. But maybe we need to do more. We can take care of the sick person so the caregiver can have some rest. We can take meals to them or just visit with them for a short time. Look for ways today to show God’s love to other people!

If you live in the United States, today is Thanksgiving Day. I hope that you will give thanks to God, no matter where you live. Our last question about giving thanks is: How should we give thanks? First, I think we need to remember that the only way to God is through Jesus. Verse 6 of our Bible Reading says, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.’” When we pray to God and thank Him, we should do it in Jesus’ name. Second, our thanks should not only be spoken or signed. Our thanks should come from our hearts. If we are truly thankful, we will show our thankfulness through obeying God. If we pray and try to obey God’s Word, we show Him that we are thankful. I hope you will take time to think about giving thanks to God. And I hope that you will be thankful to God every day of the year.

We have discussed four questions about giving thanks. Maybe now you are thinking, “Why should we give thanks?” That is a good question, and the answer is very clear in the Bible. Psalm 107:2 tells people who are saved to praise and thank the Lord. So we should give thanks because God has commanded it. Many times the Bible reminds Christians to be thankful. It is an honor to give thanks to God. God has blessed us so much. It is right for us to give thanks to Him. We should be happy to have the opportunity to thank God for all He has done. In Romans, chapter 1, Paul talks about God being angry with people. What bad thing did these people do? Romans 1:21 says, “People knew God, but they did not honor him as God, and they did not thank him.” God wants us to thank Him. I hope that you want to please God. You can please Him by telling Him that You are thankful for all His wonderful blessings.