Daily Devotions For The Deaf

If you put a wooden box in water, the wood will soak up the water. In time, the wood will swell and rot. Eventually, the box will be destroyed. A similar thing happens when we are angry toward another person. If we hold onto our anger, it will damage our attitudes and the way we treat other people. If we refuse to forgive someone who has hurt us, that bitterness can destroy us. In our Bible verses, Jesus commanded us to forgive. Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone. Jesus said, “You must continue to forgive them even if they do wrong to you seventy-seven times” (verse 22b). Jesus was saying that we should forgive other people again and again. If someone has hurt you, I encourage you to focus on Jesus, not on your hurt feelings. If you focus on Jesus, He will give you the courage to forgive the other person. He will give you His peace and help you put away your anger and bitterness.

The other workers and I were not happy with our boss. We did not agree with some decisions he had made. So we said some bad things about the boss. Later, he found out that we had said negative things about him. I felt separated from my boss because of what I had done. I knew that God was not pleased with me. So I went to my boss, confessed what I had done and asked him to forgive me. Then my attitude changed, and I respected my boss more. We had a better relationship after that. Our Bible verses tell us about Onesimus, who ran away from his master, Philemon. Paul encouraged Philemon to accept Onesimus back as a brother in Christ so that they could have a good relationship again. Sin separates us from God and from other people, too. Maybe there is someone you need to ask to forgive you or a relationship that needs to healed. Ask God to help you do what is right.

After Moses died, Joshua became the leader of the Israelites. Our Bible verses today tell us some of the instructions God gave Joshua when he became the leader of the Israelites. God told Joshua to obey Moses’ commands and to remember what was written in the book of law. He also told Joshua to not be afraid. But God told Joshua one thing over and over again, “Be strong and brave” (verses 6, 7 and 9). Joshua and the Israelites faced many things in the years after that. They faced great armies and strong cities. But Joshua always reminded the people that they should be strong and brave. What kind of difficult situation are you facing today — illness, loss of a job, the death of a loved one? No matter what you have to face, you can depend on God to be with you. Be strong and brave like Joshua today!

God told the Israelites that He would give them a wonderful place to live. This place was called Canaan. God told Moses to send some men to explore the land of Canaan. So God chose twelve men to go to Canaan. Joshua was one of those twelve men. When the men returned from Canaan, Joshua and Caleb said that it was a good land. They said that God would help them live in that land. But the other ten men were afraid. They did not trust God to protect them. Verse 4 of our Bible Reading tells us that these men were so afraid, they wanted to choose another leader and go back to Egypt! Joshua and Caleb trusted God. They told the Israelites that God would take care of them and lead them into the land. Later, God blessed Joshua and Caleb because of their faithfulness (Numbers 26:65). Sometimes we are scared and we are tempted to stop trusting God. But we should be like Joshua. We should depend on God to take care of us.

Today we will continue to talk about how God rescues us from sin. Imagine that a person is on the ocean in a rubber raft. The raft has a hole in it. What will happen? The raft will sink and the person will probably drown. That is how we are lost in sin. We have all made bad choices in life. We have disobeyed God. It is like we are lost and drowning in our sin. We cannot save ourselves. We don’t even deserve to be saved. We need someone to rescue us. That person is Jesus! He was not only willing to rescue us, He was willing to take our place and die for us. Then our sins are removed and we are pure before God. Verse 2 of our Bible Reading talks about this. “It is a great blessing when the Lord says they are not guilty, when they don’t try to hide their sins.” God loves you, and He sent Jesus to die for you. That’s amazing! I hope you will let Jesus rescue you today!

You have probably seen a news story on TV about a little kitten that has climbed a tree and is too frightened to climb down. The kitten sits on a branch and meows for someone to help him. Usually the story ends with a fireman or some other person climbing a ladder and rescuing the kitten. We are all like that kitten. We are trapped in life by sin. Sin controls us, and we can’t rescue ourselves. But praise God that He sent Jesus to earth to rescue us. His death on the cross and resurrection rescued us from sin. Our Bible verses for today are a cry for help. In verse 5 the writer says to God, “Lord, you are the God we can trust. I put my life in your hands. Save me!” When we ask God to rescue us from sin, He will save us and make us one of His children. If you are trapped in sin today, turn to God. Ask Him to help you understand how you can follow and obey His Word.

There are blessings when you give to God! First, God uses your gifts to expand His kingdom. In this world we live in, it takes money to do God’s work. Paul’s work was supported by different churches during his time on earth. The church in Philippi sent offerings to Paul while he ministered in Thessalonica (Philippians 4:15-16). Also, the Philippians supported Paul while he preached in Corinth (2 Corinthians 11:9). It takes money to build church buildings, send missionaries, print Bibles and care for the poor, widows and orphans. Second, God uses your gifts to help you grow in Him. Remember that God owns everything. When you give to God and others you become more and more like God and His character. Don’t give because you have to. Give because you want to! Give because of what God has given to you! Give because you want to see His kingdom expand and because you truly desire to grow spiritually!

There are a couple more important things to remember about giving. First, giving to God is a beautiful way to worship Him. Giving was a part of the worship experience in the early church. In our Bible reading for today, the believers were happy to give to God and share with each other! In 1 Corinthians 16:2, Paul told the Christians in Corinth, “On the first day of every week, each of you should take some of your money and put it in a special place.” Second, giving to God shows your love to Him. Everything we do as Christians is motivated by love for God and for others. 1 John 3:18 says, “My children, our love should not be only words and talk. No, our love must be real. We must show our love by the things we do.” God has already shown the full extent of His love. Giving back to God is a marvelous way to show our love for Him in return. Worship God by giving to Him and others. And remember that giving to God shows how much we love Him.

God’s gifts to us are far greater than anything we could ever give back to Him. For this we should always be very, very thankful! The most precious gift God has given to us is His Son, Jesus. John 3:16 says, “Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life.” Another beautiful gift God has given us is eternal life. Romans 6:23b says, “…God gives his people a free gift – eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Here Paul is telling us that God’s gift is free. We cannot buy it or earn it. We only can humbly receive it from God. God also gives wisdom. James 1:5 says, “Do any of you need wisdom? Ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to everyone. So he will give you wisdom.” Since God knows everything, ask Him to give you wisdom. God has given us His Son, eternal life and wisdom! Take time to praise God and appreciate all that God has given us!

Another important thing to remember about giving is that every Christian is a steward. A steward is one who oversees and takes care of another’s property. Every Christian is to be a steward of what God has given us. In our Bible reading, Jesus told a parable about three servants. The servants were given bags of money. One servant received five bags. Another servant received two bags. The third servant received one bag. The first two servants invested their money and earned more money. The third servant did not invest his money. The first two servants were rewarded for doing something with their money. The third servant was punished for not being a good steward of the money he was given. Many Christians think that money is theirs and they are giving their money to God. Instead we need to understand that everything belongs to God, and He gives us opportunities to give back to Him. Let’s use what God gives us to please and honor Him!

In this devotion and the next few devotions, we will look at what the Bible says about giving. The first important thing to understand about giving is that God owns everything. God says in Psalm 50:12b, “I already own the world and everything in it.” Here are some specific things that both the Old and New Testaments say belong to God: Land — in Leviticus 25:23, God told the Israelites, “The land really belongs to me, so you cannot sell it permanently. You are foreigners and travelers living on my land with me.” Rivers — in Ezekiel 29:9b, God said, “This is my river. I made this river.” Silver and gold — in Haggai 2:8a, God declared, “All their silver really belongs to me! And all the gold is mine!” Our bodies — Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit that you received from God and that lives in you. You don’t own yourselves. God paid a very high price to make you his. So honor God with your body.” Thank God for all He has made and given to us.

There is much diversity in our world today — different races, different cultures and different ways of living. These differences are good, but sometimes they are barriers to our unity as brothers and sisters in Christ. Often we see problems come up in churches because people cannot agree on who should be the leaders in the church or what color the carpet should be in the church building. In our Bible verses, Paul reminds us that we should be united. He says that there is “one body and one Spirit...one Lord, one faith, and one baptism” (verses 4-5). There should be no division in God’s kingdom. We should be in unity with one another. Paul tells us that we should forget our differences and be humble, gentle and patient, and “accept each other with love” (verse 2). I hope you will do that and live in unity with other Christians.

In our Bible verses, we learn that God told the prophet Samuel to go to Bethlehem to choose one of Jesse’s sons to be the king of Israel. But Jesse only took some of his sons to see Samuel. He left his youngest son, David, to take care of the sheep. Why didn’t Jesse take David to see Samuel? Maybe Jesse thought that David was not important. But God thought that David was important. He chose David to be a king over all Israel. When David came to Samuel, God told him, “He is the one” (verse 12b). Sometimes people reject us and think that we are not important. But God thinks we are important! God made each one of us, and He thinks that we are special. We are so special to God that He sent His only Son to die for us. Maybe you are feeling unimportant today. Remember that God loves you and thinks you are very important.

One summer I was hiking in the mountains. Suddenly a strong wind came down the mountain and into the valley. The trees swayed back and forth, but they did not break. No matter how strong the wind blew, the trees stood strong. Our Bible Reading today reminds us that God is very powerful. Verses 4 and 5 say, “The Lord’s voice is powerful. It shows the Lord’s glory. The Lord’s voice shatters great cedar trees. The Lord breaks the great cedars of Lebanon.” God is so powerful that even the sound of His voice can break strong trees! Because God is powerful, we should praise Him and thank Him for what He has done for us. Our response to Him should be to bow down and worship Him. Take time today to think about God’s great power. Thank Him for the things He has made and for His gift of salvation.

There was an old college professor who lived on the top floor of a tall building on a college campus. This man was happy to live there, but often people would ask, “Don’t you get lonely living up there?” The professor would always answer, “No, my only neighbor is God. He is always busy, but He’s quiet.” In our Bible Reading today, Jesus was busy healing and helping people. Jesus said, “My Father never stops working, and so I work too” (verse 17). God is always at work in our lives. Sometimes God works in dramatic ways — when He heals us from a sickness or when He suddenly answers our prayer in an amazing way. But often God works quietly in our lives. He is always with us and pays attention to our prayers. God continues to encourage and strengthen us as we work every day. Thank God today that He is always busy working in your life!