Daily Devotions For The Deaf

My family did not have air conditioning in our home when I was growing up. Sometimes it was very hot in the summer. So I liked to sit in front of a fan to cool myself. Another way to get cool was to sit outside on the front steps of our house in the evening. During those times I would look up in the sky. I loved to watch the stars and the moon. It was hard for me to imagine how big the universe is. I felt overwhelmed when I realized that God loved me and made all this for me to enjoy. Our Bible Reading today tells us about God’s love. There is no limit to God’s love. He loves us so much that He wants us to be His children. “The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God” (verse 1a). God loves me more than any person on earth could love me. And He loves you, too! Thank Him and praise Him for His great love.

I had lots of free time during the summer when I was young. I had some chores to do every day, but I also had time to do things I enjoyed doing. One thing I liked to do was visit with Emma. She was an elderly widow who lived across the street from our house. Emma was lonely and stayed home most of the time. Often she would sit alone on her porch. I liked to sew, so I would take my latest sewing project and sit on the porch with Emma. Sometimes I took her cookies my mother had made. Emma and I shared many hours together talking and sewing. Those times with Emma were very special. I encourage you to take some time today and think about John’s words from our Bible Reading — “Dear friends, we should love each other because love comes from God” (verse 1a). Then find someone that you can share God’s love with.

My family has always loved to go camping during the summer. When my children were young, they went for walks and found things like rocks, bugs, caterpillars and frogs. I always made sure when we left the campground that my children did not take the bugs and frogs home with us! When I go camping, I love to sit under a shade tree and enjoy the cool breeze. I also enjoy watching the birds in the sky and the waves on the lake. At night I like to look at the stars as we sit around our campfire. Camping always gave me an opportunity to get away from my normal routine and enjoy God’s creation. Our Bible Reading today tells us how God made the world and everything in it. “God looked at everything he had made. And he saw that everything was very good” (verse 31a). Look around you today and notice the many wonderful things that God has made!

Each summer I would spend a week with my friend, Marilyn. Then she would spend a week with me. I lived in town, but Marilyn lived on a farm. We each had different things to do at our homes. Marilyn’s mother was in a wheelchair, so Marilyn had many chores to do. I remember trying to help her gather eggs. But sometimes the hens did not want us to take away their eggs! Marilyn and I had a lot of fun together. I would count the days until I could go to her house. I always looked forward to spending time with her on the farm. We should look forward to the time when Jesus will come again. But our Bible verses tell us that we do not know when Jesus will come. Many people have tried to predict the exact time, but only God knows. So, we must always be ready for Jesus to come and take us to live with Him forever. Are you ready today to meet Jesus?

One summer day when I was a child, I played near our basement window. I was not paying attention to what I was doing, and I accidently broke the window. I was afraid to tell my parents about the window. I even thought about pretending that I knew nothing about it. But I felt guilty, so I told my mother what I had done. She said I would have to tell my dad when he came home. When Dad came home, I did not see him. Later I checked the window, and it had been repaired! My parents had talked about the window and decided not to punish me. They never mentioned the broken window again! My parents were forgiving. Our Bible Reading today reminds us that God is forgiving, too. Verse 10 says, “We sinned against him, but he didn’t give us the punishment we deserved.” I am so thankful that God loves and forgives me. I hope you are thankful, too.

Two days ago, I told you about my parents’ garden. They usually planted a variety of vegetables — radishes, carrots, green beans, onions, sweet corn and tomatoes. We also had two apple trees that gave us fruit. My family enjoyed eating the fresh vegetables and fruit all summer long. And my mother canned some of them for us to eat after the summer was finished. This was one way that God provided food for our family. Those “garden goodies” were delicious, and we were thankful to have them. God provided for us, and He will provide for you, too. In our Bible Reading, Jesus talked about this. He said, “So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live — what you will eat, drink, or wear. Don’t worry because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things” (verses 25a and 32b). Remember that you can trust God to provide for you every day.

My family had a swing that my father made for us. During the summer, my brother and I spent many hours in that swing. Sometimes we both took turns pushing each other. Other times we would swing alone and try to see how high we could make the swing go. As I was swinging, I would look up in the sky. I saw clouds and the blue sky. It was easy for me to see the world God had made and to feel His presence. My brother and I also went into the woods near my grandmother’s farm. We enjoyed watching the butterflies and the squirrels. I especially liked to sit on a rock and think about God. During those special times, I sang and prayed to God. I felt close to God. That must have been how the writer of Psalm 145 felt. “I will praise you every day. I will praise your name forever and ever” (verse 2). Take time to praise God today!

Today and for the next few days, we will talk about summer. I live in Iowa and our summers are usually hot. I do not like hot weather, but I know that plants need hot weather and rain to make them grow. When I was a child, my parents had a garden. I helped them plant seeds, water the plants and remove weeds. The plants that my parents raised remind me of people. Just as we planted seeds in the garden, we need to plant God’s Word in our hearts. And just as plants need water to grow, we need to keep studying the Bible so we can grow spiritually. We also need Jesus to remove sin from our lives — just as we removed the weeds from our garden. Our Bible verses today tell us that we should be the kind of people God accepts. How can we do this? We can study the Bible and apply “the true teaching in the right way” (verse 15b). I encourage you to do that today!

Most of the time we think that we know what is best for us. Sometimes we may even think we are wiser than God. But our Bible Reading today teaches us that God’s “wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain what God decides. No one can understand his ways” (verse 33b). Because God is wise, He always knows what is best for us. God knows the future. He sees the “big picture” of our lives. We do not know what will happen tomorrow or next week or next year. That is why we need to ask God to help us and show us what to do. When we face difficult decisions, we should not depend on our own wisdom or wisdom from the world. We should depend on God’s wisdom. Where can we find God’s wisdom? We find God’s wisdom in His Word, the Bible. When we read the Bible and learn God’s wisdom, we are relying on Him to lead us. Trust God to help and guide you every day!

I read a story about a girl who had a rare kidney disease. The doctors said that she needed a kidney transplant, so a family member gave one of their kidneys to the girl. Several years later, the girl needed another transplant. This time another relative gave a kidney to save the girl’s life. Without these transplants, the girl would have died. That story made me think about our Bible Reading for today. Verse 5 tells us that we “were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him.” But through God’s mercy and grace, He sent Jesus to die for us. And God gives us a new life and the promise of eternal life with Him. “In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do” (verse 10). Every day we need to thank God for what He has done for us. Without His mercy and grace, we would be lost and separated forever from Him.

My husband and I have a yellow Labrador retriever named Goldie. She was a stray, so no one at the animal shelter knew anything about her. Goldie is a wonderful dog, but we think that she was abused by her previous owner. Abused dogs often become scared of humans. However, Goldie wants nothing more in life than to put her head in your lap and have you pet her. She has even fallen asleep standing up while we were petting her! When it’s time for Goldie to eat, she will not eat or drink unless my husband or I stand near her bowl. If we walk away, she will stop eating or drinking and follow us. Being with us is more important to Goldie than eating or drinking. In our Bible verses today, Paul talks about Jesus’ wonderful love for us. As Christians, we should want to be close to Jesus — just like Goldie wants to be close to us. Make Jesus the first priority in your life!

In our world today, many people do bad things and do not honor God. But this is not the first generation to reject God. For thousands of years, people have refused to believe in God. In our Bible verses, Paul tells us that God has always shown Himself to people through His creation. All we need to do is look around us and we can understand how powerful and creative God is. “But since the beginning of the world, those things have been easy for people to understand. They are made clear in what God has made” (verse 20b). Paul ends that verse by saying, “So people have no excuse for the evil they do.” Every day we have a choice. We can look at creation and honor God for what He has done. Or we can ignore God and trust things in the world. Choose today to honor God and let Him lead you every day.

My friend and I recently talked about different kinds of prayers. We discussed if we should pray long prayers or short prayers, prayers with fancy language or prayers with everyday language. Then my friend and I talked about when we should pray. Should we just pray whenever it fits our schedule? Or should we always be in an attitude of praying to God? Our Bible Reading today helps us answer these questions. In these verses, Jesus gave His disciples an example of how they should pray. Jesus listed things that we should pray about — God’s kingdom, the food we eat each day, forgiveness of sins and temptation. And Jesus also talked about having an attitude of humility and forgiveness as we pray. I challenge you this week to think about your prayer life. Take time to praise God, thank Him and share your needs. Be sure that you are connected to God every day.

As God’s children, we all have sufferings we must endure. These sufferings may be sickness or family problems or persecution. In our Bible Reading today, Paul says that these sufferings are nothing when compared with what God will give us. God has already given us His Holy Spirit to help and comfort us. But we are waiting for the time when God will “finish making us his own children” (verse 23b). At that time, everything God made will “have the same freedom and glory that belong to God’s children” (verse 21b). Until the time Jesus comes again, we are waiting like a woman waits for the birth of her baby. As a woman goes through childbirth, she suffers pain. In the same way, we will face suffering as we live on earth. I hope you are looking forward to God’s promise of a new home where there is no pain, suffering or crying. Be patient as you wait for Jesus to come again.

In 2000 a man paid $45 for some photographic plates of pictures taken in Yosemite National Park. Ten years later it was discovered that these photos were taken by the famous photographer, Ansel Adams, and they were valued to be worth $200 million! Matthew 26:47-56 tells us that Judas led some of the Jews to arrest Jesus. Our Bible verses tell us that Judas was paid 30 silver coins for doing this. That was one-fifth of the price paid for a horse at that time. To the Jews, Jesus was worth less than a horse! Jesus, the only Son of Almighty God, is the One who has redeemed us and promises us eternal life. The Jews did not realize Jesus’ value. They did not recognize Him as the Messiah who had come to save them from their sins. But Jesus is worth far more than 30 pieces of silver or $200 million. He should mean everything to us. How valuable is Jesus to you? Make Him the most important part of your life.