Daily Devotions For The Deaf

A little child understands love. Even before he can talk or sign, a child feels his parents’ love and accepts it. A child does not need to understand why his parents love him. He just needs to feel their love. Our Bible verses today give us a simple lesson from Jesus. In verse 3, He said, “The truth is, you must change your thinking and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter God’s kingdom.” This does not mean that we need to act like children. It means that we should have a child-like faith. We should love and follow God and His Word, the Bible. This lesson from Jesus is so simple that many people refuse to believe it. These people think that they need to understand everything about God. But we cannot completely understand God. So, we need to have faith and be willing to receive God’s love and goodness. Be humble today. Accept God’s love and salvation through Jesus.

Prayer is a wonderful gift from God. We can pray to Him anywhere or any time. When we pray, we can praise and thank God. And, we can ask God to bless other people and to bless us, too. Our Bible verses tell us about a man named Jabez. He was a very good man. We don’t know much about Jabez, but we do know that he prayed and God blessed him. Verse 10 says, “Jabez prayed to the God of Israel and said, ‘I pray that you would bless me and give me more land! Be near me and don’t let anyone hurt me! Then I will not have any pain.’ God gave Jabez what he asked for.” Sometimes when we pray, we ask God for things. God may give us those things right away or in the future. Or, God may not give us those things at all. God knows what is right for us, and He will always give us what is best. Thank God today that He has given you the wonderful gift of prayer

In February of 2012 my wife and I were in a church meeting. We were discussing supporting mission organizations in other countries. Someone mentioned a deaf orphanage in Kenya. My wife and I were interested in this. Later that year, we were part of a mission team that went to work at a deaf orphanage in Kenya. Our experience in Kenya was awesome! We worked with 14 deaf orphans. We could not understand their language, but they were thrilled to have us play with them and teach them. These orphans just wanted people to love them. Verse 27 of our Bible Reading tells us, “The worship that God wants is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence. This is the kind of worship that God accepts as pure and good.” Do you want to truly worship God? Then look for ways to serve and help other people.

I am a deaf man from the country of Chad. I am now a student living in Cameroon. I am part of a church for deaf people. There are hearing people in the church, too. One day a hearing woman gave birth to a baby girl. Later the woman found out that her daughter was deaf. This woman was very upset. She blamed God that her daughter was deaf. After that, the woman did not pray or come to church any more. Verse 17a of our Bible Reading today says, “Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky.” Everything that is good is from God, but God does allow bad things to happen to us. These bad things happen because our world is not perfect. Because of sin, there is sickness, suffering and death in the world. Remember that only good things come from God. Don’t blame God for the bad things that happen to you. Instead, praise and thank Him. Then let God use you to show good to other people.

The other day I made myself a sandwich. I ate a few bites of the sandwich and then the phone rang. The call was for my husband, so I went outside to get him. When I came back to the table, the top of my sandwich was gone! What happened to my sandwich? Our one-year-old puppy was in her kennel, and I did not know that the door of her kennel was open. While I was gone, she came out and ate my sandwich. I learned that I always need to be careful and make sure that her kennel is shut. Our Bible verses today remind us that we need to be careful. Why? Because the devil is always looking for ways to tempt us to sin. If we are not paying attention to God’s Word, we may not realize that the devil is tempting us. Then we will disobey God. Peter says we should “refuse to follow the devil. Stand strong in your faith” (verse 9a). I hope you will be careful today. Pay attention to Peter’s words when you are tempted to sin.

Imagine that it is your birthday. Many people are invited to your party. Decorations are hung and food is prepared. The people come to your birthday party, but no one pays attention to you. That would be very strange! That’s exactly what happened when Jesus came to live on earth. Verses 10b-11a of our Bible Reading say, “The world was made through him, but the world did not know him. He came to the world that was his own. And his own people did not accept him.” It is sad to think that Jesus, who made the world, was rejected by His own people. Maybe some people were jealous of Jesus. Or maybe they just didn’t want to accept Him as God’s Son. Jesus deserves our honor and obedience. He is the One who loves us and died for us. What do you think about Jesus? Is He just another good man? Or is Jesus the only true Son of God?

Our Bible Reading tells the same story that we read yesterday from the book of Mark. Today I would like to focus on verse 58. “Jesus did not do many miracles there, because the people did not believe in him.” The people in Nazareth were not willing to accept Jesus as God’s Son. They did not believe what Jesus said. These people were not willing to let God work in their lives. Because the people did not have faith in Jesus, He only did a few miracles there. Often we are like these unbelieving Jews. Maybe things are not going well, and we think that God is not helping us. We ignore things we read in the Bible and stop communicating with God. And we begin to doubt that He can do wonderful things in our lives. Do you want God to bless you and use you to make His kingdom grow? Trust Jesus and His words in the Bible. Then share your faith with other people so they can know Jesus, too.

Our Bible verses today tell us that Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth. The people there did not believe that He was the Messiah or their Savior. They only saw Him as a boy who had grown up in Nazareth. Isaiah, chapter 53, is a prophecy about God’s Son. This prophecy said that people would reject Jesus and that He would suffer and die. Many Jews thought that God’s Son would come to earth and reign as a king. They did not think He would be a servant and a person who suffered. Sometimes today people have wrong ideas about Jesus. Maybe they accept some of Jesus’ miracles but refuse to believe in His resurrection. Or they think that Jesus was only a man and not the Son of God. Be sure that you understand who Jesus really is. Read the Bible and learn about Him. Then believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life.

We have been talking about resurrection and other things that seem impossible to us. When these things happen, people are amazed. But the most amazing thing is yet to come. Some day Jesus will come back and take His followers to live with Him forever. Those Christians who have died will be resurrected. All Christians will have a new life and never die again. In our Bible Reading today, Jesus was talking to a large group of people. He called Himself the “bread that gives life” (verse 35b). Then Jesus said that it was God’s will that He come to earth. Finally, Jesus said, “Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him has eternal life. I will raise them up on the last day. This is what my Father wants” (verse 40). God wants every person in the world to follow and obey Him. He wants all people to have the opportunity to be part of the resurrection. Praise God today for His promise of eternal life.

Yesterday we talked about Jairus’ daughter. The people in the room with the little girl thought that it was impossible for her to be alive again. But Jesus raised her from the dead! The Bible is full of things that people thought were impossible. Abraham and Sarah did not think it was possible for them to have a child, but their son, Isaac, was born when Abraham was 100 years old. Gideon and the Israelite army did not think it was possible to defeat the Midianites, but God made it happen. In our Bible Reading today, Jesus told his followers, “God can do things that are not possible for people to do” (verse 27b). Many people think that it is impossible for one man to die and accept the punishment for billions of people. But Jesus did that when He died on the cross. Let God use you in His kingdom today. He can do great things through you!

Our Bible Reading today is a combination of the verses from the past two days. If you read these verses again, you may notice that Jesus did not see things the same way as other people. The people who were with Jairus’ daughter said that she was dead. But what did Jesus say? “This child is not dead. She is only sleeping” (verse 39b). Jesus knew that He was God’s Son. In John 11:25a, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection. I am life.” Jesus knew that He could bring Jairus’ daughter back to life. When we have problems or worries in our lives, we may only see the problems. But Jesus sees that these problems are a way for us to grow and learn. We may only see things to worry about. But Jesus sees opportunities for us to trust Him more. Try to see things today as Jesus does. As you go through the day, don’t just see problems and hard times. Instead, look for ways to grow and trust Jesus more.

Yesterday we read about Jairus and his daughter. Our Bible verses today tell us the rest of this story. Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ house. Some men came to tell Jairus that his daughter was dead. Imagine how Jairus felt! First, he was sad because his daughter was sick. Then, he was happy because Jesus said He would heal her. And now he was sad again because his daughter had died. What did Jesus say to Jairus? “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (verse 36b). Sometimes we feel like Jairus. We are afraid about some situation in our life. We decide that our situation is too bad and Jesus can’t take care of us. We need to remember that Jesus’ words are for us, too. We don’t need to be afraid. We can trust Him. Jairus believed in Jesus, and He raised his daughter from the dead. Jesus will help us, too. We just need to believe that He is truly God’s Son.

Everywhere that Jesus went, He brought hope to people — people who were sick, lonely, poor or without a Savior. Our Bible Reading today tells us about Jairus. He was a ruler in the place where the Jews met to pray and discuss God’s Word. Jairus’ daughter was dying. There was nothing Jairus could do to help his daughter. He was without hope. Then Jairus saw Jesus. He said to Jesus, “Please come and lay your hands on her. Then she will be healed and will live” (verse 23b). Jairus had probably heard about Jesus healing sick people. Now, Jairus hoped that Jesus would heal his daughter. Jesus is our hope, too. He fills us with His love, joy and peace. Through His death and resurrection, He gives us the hope of eternal life with Him. Thank God for the hope you have through Jesus, and share this hope with other people today.

We all want to have happy families. But sometimes family members can be selfish and only care about themselves. Maybe a son or daughter runs away from home. The parents love their child and wonder what has happened to him. That’s what happened in our Bible Reading today. The father had two sons. The younger son was foolish. He asked his father for money and left home. But the son soon lost his money and his friends. He decided to go home. Verse 20a says, “So he left and went to his father.” Meanwhile, the father had been waiting for his son to come home. He was always watching to see if his son would return. Sometimes we are like that rebellious son. We wander away from God. But God is always waiting for us to repent and return to Him. God is willing to forgive us and keep us close to Him. Have you wandered away from God? Repent of your sins and return to Him today!

Our Bible Reading tells us that Jesus and His followers were in a boat on the lake. “A very bad wind came up on the lake. The waves were coming over the sides and into the boat, and it was almost full of water” (verse 37). Where was Jesus when the wind was blowing so hard? “Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow” (verse 38a). Jesus’ followers were afraid that they would drown, so they woke Jesus. Then Jesus stood up and commanded the wind and water to be quiet. “Then the wind stopped, and the lake became calm” (verse 39b). Sometimes we may feel like the disciples in the boat with Jesus. We are facing troubles, and we feel overwhelmed. Instead of trying to solve our problems alone, we need to trust Jesus to help us. What troubles are you facing today? Lost your job? Too many bills? Car broken? No matter what troubles you have, you can depend on Jesus. He will help you and give you strength.