Daily Devotions For The Deaf

Have you ever played on a sports team? Maybe you played football, basketball, volleyball or soccer. Probably you worked hard to develop your body’s strength. Then you played many games with your teammates. Your goal was to win the championship. In our Bible Reading today, Paul talked about running in a race. He knew that people who competed in a race trained for many months before the race. Their desire was to cross the finish line first and win the race. Just as a runner trains for a race, Christians must grow stronger in their relationship with God. They must be serious about following and obeying Jesus every day. Their goal should be to receive the prize of living forever with God. Jesus died on the cross for you so that you can live forever with God. So start running the Christian race today! Look forward to winning the prize of eternal life. Run to win!

There was a time when my life was very hectic. Often I was so busy that I only prayed short prayers, and I didn’t read my Bible very much. One winter day I was driving down a street. A car came speeding onto the street in front of me. I was able to avoid hitting the car, but my car spun around several times before I could stop. I believe that God prevented me from being involved in a serious accident. This experience made me stop and think about my life. I realized I was not doing what God wanted me to do. I was not following the example in our Bible verses today. I was not trying to understand God’s teachings (verse 34), following His commands (verse 35) and obeying His instructions (verse 40). Instead I was looking at “worthless things” (verse 37). Right away I started reading my Bible more and spending time in prayer. Then I was ready to depend on God to help me get through each day. Be sure that you take time to strengthen your relationship with God today!

Soon my husband was going into surgery. He was donating one of his kidneys to a young person who was very sick. I asked my family and friends to pray for him. In response to my request, my brother sent me a message that included verse 2 from our Bible Reading. “There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” When I read that, I was afraid. Was my husband going to die? What if my husband died during surgery but the young person’s life was saved? Then I thought about Jesus. He willingly gave up His life so that we can have the gift of eternal life. I praise God that my husband got through the surgery fine. But I also praise God for reminding me about His precious gift of life through Jesus. We will all face times of sickness or death during our lives. Ask God to help you use these experiences to remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

My husband takes care of the finances in our family. He pays the bills and balances our checkbook. One time I asked him what was the hardest part of taking care of our finances. He said that the hardest part is making sure that he takes care of things every day. If he gets behind, it is hard to catch up. Prayer is the way that we communicate with God. So it is important that we pray every day. But sometimes we get busy and we don’t pray as often as we should. When I neglect to pray every day, my life suffers. I begin to think that I can do things by myself and I don’t need to depend on God. In our Bible verse for today, Paul gives us good advice about prayer. We have the freedom to pray anywhere or anytime. We can tell God how we feel and ask Him for what we need. But, we should not give up praying. Prayer should be a very important part of our day. Don’t neglect your prayer life today. Spend some time talking with your Heavenly Father!

There are lots of things in the book of Leviticus that point to Jesus in the New Testament. In yesterday’s devotion we learned that Jesus is our “burnt offering.” In today’s Bible Reading, we see another thing that points to Jesus. Aaron and his sons were appointed to be high priests. Moses put the blood of a ram on the tip of their right ears, on the thumb of their right hands, and on the big toe of their right feet. Moses also sprinkled some anointing oil and blood on Aaron and his sons’ clothing to make them holy. Aaron and his sons did everything that the Lord commanded them to do. In the New Testament, Jesus was appointed as our high priest. He was holy and did everything His Father in heaven commanded Him to do. When Jesus died on the cross, His blood was shed so that our sins may be forgiven. Thank God for His Son, Jesus, who is our High Priest!

Often people are afraid to read Leviticus. Leviticus can be a difficult book to read and understand. But we can learn many things from studying this book. There are five offerings mentioned in Leviticus — the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the trespass offering and the sin offering. Each offering has a purpose, and they all point to Jesus in the New Testament. The burnt offering mentioned in our Bible verses involved killing an animal that had nothing wrong with it. Blood had to be splashed. And God would accept it to make a person pure. Jesus became our “burnt offering.” He could do this because He never did anything wrong. He was killed on a cross, and His blood covered all our sins. Because of what Jesus did for us, we can be made pure. Then God will accept us. Isn’t that neat? Maybe now you will be more excited to read and learn from Leviticus!

Men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh helped the other Israelites fight a war. When the war was over, Joshua told them to go home. He encouraged them to continue worshiping God even though they would be living far from the other tribes. So the men from these three tribes built an altar. They explained why they built the altar, “The real reason we wanted our altar was to show our people that we worship the same God as you do. This altar will be the proof to you and us and to all our future children that we worship the Lord” (verse 27a). It is very important that we show our children and our grandchildren what we believe. Our times of worshiping God, reading and studying the Bible, praying and fellowshiping with other Christians are good examples for our children and grandchildren. Be an example to your children and grandchildren. Help them learn how to worship and obey God.

In our Bible verses for today, God spoke to Joshua. Moses had died, and Joshua had become the leader of the Israelites. God encouraged Joshua to be strong and brave. God also reminded Joshua to study His commands and obey them. If I read my Bible every day, I feel peace and comfort. Studying the Bible helps me to stay on the right path and not wander away from God. Reading and remembering God’s words helps me to avoid doing wrong things. The more you read and study the Bible, the easier it is to obey God. When Jesus was on earth, He encouraged His followers to obey His teachings. In John 14:23 Jesus said, “All who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them. My Father and I will come to them and live with them.” Do you really love Jesus? Then obey His Word today!

God gave His people, the Israelites, many rules to help them live good lives. Some of these rules are listed in our Bible Reading today. Often we call these rules “The Ten Commandments.” Some people think that Christians should not pay attention to the Ten Commandments because they are in the Old Testament. But Jesus talked about these commandments a lot. In Matthew, chapter 5, Jesus said that wanting to break these commands in our heart is the same as doing the wrong thing. In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus tells us the two most important commands we must obey. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’” If we obey these two commands, we will have a good relationship with God and get along with other people.

Our Bible verses tell us that Joseph’s brothers were worried and afraid because they had done something wrong to Joseph. Do you remember what Joseph’s brothers had done? Genesis, chapter 37, tells us that Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him. So they took him and sold him into slavery in Egypt. Now, years later, they saw Joseph again. They were afraid that Joseph was still angry with them and would punish them. But Joseph said to his brothers, “Don’t be afraid...I have no right to punish you. It is true that you planned to do something bad to me. But...God’s plan was to use me to save the lives of many people” (verse 19b). Joseph forgave his brothers! Throughout the New Testament, Jesus teaches us to forgive other people. It is not always easy to forgive someone who hurts us. But we should follow Jesus’ example and be willing to forgive others.

Yesterday we talked about Jacob and his faithfulness to God. Our Bible verses today tell us about another experience that Jacob had. “Jacob was left alone, and a man came and wrestled with him. The man fought with him until the sun came up” (verse 24). Later Jacob said, “At this place, I saw God face to face, but my life was spared” (verse 30b). God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, and gave him many children and grandchildren. These descendants became the nation of Israel. Jacob faced some difficult times in his life. We, too, will experience many things as we live here on earth. Some days will be good, and some days will be bad. But we can know that God will be with us and help us through all these experiences. Think about Jacob today. God was with Him, and God will be with you, too! Praise Him for His love and protection.

In our Bible verses for today, we read about Jacob. Jacob loved Rachel. He promised Rachel’s father, Laban, that he would work for him for seven years. Then Laban would let Jacob marry Rachel. But Laban tricked Jacob. He gave Jacob his older daughter, Leah, instead. Laban told Jacob, “Continue for the full week of the marriage ceremony, and I will also give you Rachel to marry. But you must serve me another seven years” (verse 27). Jacob worked faithfully for Laban for fourteen years so that he could marry Rachel. God blessed Jacob with many children and possessions. Many years later, Jesus was born from Jacob’s family line. All of us go through some hard times in our lives. But no matter what we face, we should always stay faithful to God. Sometimes the devil will tempt us to disobey God. But we should keep focused on God and His Word. God will be with you today to help you stay faithful to Him!

Today we will look at another lesson we can learn from the life of Abraham. Once I went rafting on a river. A leader and three other paddlers were in the boat with me. The leader told us exactly when to paddle and when to stop. As we neared a rapid, the leader told us how to make a complete spin as we were going through the rapid. We did exactly what the leader told us to do. It was a lot of fun! But if we had not followed the leader, we could have hit a rock and been thrown into the water. In our Bible Reading, we learn about Abraham. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. That must have been a very difficult thing for Abraham to do. But Abraham obeyed God completely. Then God stopped Abraham before he killed Isaac. God was very pleased with Abraham’s obedience. God may not ask us to sacrifice our children, but He does ask us to obey Him. Obey God today, and He will be happy and bless you.

For the next few days we will look at some lessons from the Old Testament. When I want to watch a football game in a stadium, I need a ticket. When I get my ticket, I keep it until the day of the game. Then I show that ticket to the gatekeeper at the stadium. This ticket is proof that I have a seat saved for me in the stadium. Our Bible verses tell us that God agreed to give Abraham land and many descendants. The proof of this agreement was circumcision. “This is the agreement between me and you and all your descendants. Every male must be circumcised” (verse 10b). God has promised to save people who follow and obey Him. The proof of this salvation is the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13b-14 says, “God put his special mark on you by giving you the Holy Spirit...The Spirit...guarantees we will get all that God has for us.” Praise God today for giving you His Holy Spirit to guide you through life!

A road that I often travel was under construction for a long time. While they were working on the road, I would watch their progress. Sometimes I thought that the road builder must be very confused! Finally the construction was completed. Then I could see that the builder had a good plan. The way he had built the road made traveling much easier than before. Sometimes I look at things happening in my life, and they seem to be a total mess — just like the road. I know that God has a plan for my life, but I do not understand how He will work everything out. Our Bible verses today remind us that God’s plan is to give us “hope and a good future” (verse 11b). Now that I am older, I can look back and see how God has worked in my life. He has led me through some tough times and always shown me His love. God has a plan for your life, too. Ask God to show you His plan.