Daily Devotions For The Deaf

Our Bible Reading today is about Samuel. When he was very young, his mother brought him to live with Eli, the priest. One night, God spoke to Samuel. Samuel heard someone calling his name. He thought that Eli was calling him. Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed” (verse 5b). Later, God called Samuel again. Samuel said to God, “Speak, I am your servant, and I am listening” (verse 10b). Most children want to obey God. They know that God is happy when they obey. Samuel wanted to pay attention to God. He wanted to please God. Christians should be like that, too. We should pay attention to what God says in His Word, the Bible. And we should want to please God. Today you will have opportunities to do right things or wrong things. If you choose to do right things, God will be happy. If you choose to do wrong things, God will not be happy. Choose to pay attention to God and His Word.

In Mark 10:13-16, we read that people brought their children to Jesus. In verse 14, Jesus said, “...God’s kingdom belongs to people that are like these little children.” So, if I want to be part of God’s kingdom, I should have some of the same characteristics that children have. For the next several days, we will talk about these characteristics. Today we will talk about trust. Most children are very trusting. They trust their parents to do what is best for them. In our Bible Reading, we read that God told Abraham to kill his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. Isaac asked his father (verse 7b), “...where is the lamb we will burn as a sacrifice?” Abraham answered (verse 8b), “God himself is providing the lamb for the sacrifice.” Abraham was ready to kill Isaac, but an angel of the Lord stopped him. Then God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice. The Bible does not say how Isaac felt. But I think that Isaac trusted his father to do what was best for him. We should be like Isaac. We should trust God to do what is best for us every day of our lives.

Our Bible verses today are about a servant who owed a lot of money to the king. The servant owed so much money that he could never pay it back. When the servant talked with the king, he did not ask for forgiveness of his debt. Instead, he asked for more time to pay the money he owed. Then, when the king forgave his debt, the servant showed no humility or thankfulness. In fact, that servant went out and did not show mercy to someone who owed him money. Some people today are like that servant. When they realize that they have sinned, they do not ask God for forgiveness. Instead, they think that they can do good deeds to pay for their sins. Then, when they know that God is willing to forgive their sins, they are not humble and willing to forgive others. Accept God’s wonderful gift of forgiveness. And then be willing to show forgiveness to others.

Today we will talk about Jesus, our King. But He was not like an ordinary king. Verse 15b of our Bible Reading tells us that Jesus is “the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.” Human kings are born in palaces. King Jesus was born in a place where cattle lived. Human kings make mistakes. King Jesus is perfect. Human kings rule over a country. King Jesus rules over the entire universe. Human kings are temporary. King Jesus is forever! Many people have rejected Jesus as their King. But when Jesus comes again, everyone will worship and honor Him. All of God’s enemies, including the devil, will be defeated because Jesus is “Lord of lords and King of kings. And with him will be his chosen and faithful followers — the people he has called to be his” (Revelation 17:14b). Jesus is your King. Worship and honor Him in everything you do today. Merry Christmas!

Every baby is given a name. In some cultures, names are chosen before the baby is born. In other places, babies aren’t given names until they are one year old. Jesus’ name was chosen by God. Many years before Jesus’ birth, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah. In our Bible Reading, Isaiah said, “But the Lord will still show you this sign: The young woman is pregnant and will give birth to a son. She will name him Immanuel.” “Immanuel” is a special name. It means “God with us.” God called Jesus “Immanuel.” Jesus was born in a human body so that He could teach and heal people and prepare them for God’s kingdom. God sent Jesus so that we can have an eternal relationship with Him. Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins. When we believe in Jesus and obey God’s Word, we can have that eternal relationship with God. Think about this as you prepare to celebrate the birth of God’s Son.

Often we talk about Jesus being a humble, helpless baby. But Jesus was also the Lord over all people. A lord is a person who has authority, control and power over other people. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He also becomes our Lord. We tell Jesus that we want Him to be in control of our lives and have authority over us. Some people are not willing to let Jesus control their lives. These people think that Jesus will take away their freedom to do what they want. But that’s not true. When Jesus becomes our Lord, we become free. We are free to live without fear and worry. We are free to live a wonderful, exciting life that honors God! Verse 1 of our Bible verses for today says, “We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Praise God for the peace that Jesus gives us!

Verses 4 and 5 of our Bible Reading say, “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, who was born from a woman and lived under the law. God did this so that he could buy the freedom of those who were under the law. God’s purpose was to make us his children.” At just the right time, God sent Jesus to earth to be our Redeemer. What is a redeemer? A redeemer is a person who buys back something that already belongs to him. God created people to belong to Him. But then sin came into the world. That sin separated people from God. God wanted to be close to people again, so He sent His Son, Jesus, to buy people back — to redeem them. Jesus came to redeem people — that includes you and me! God wants us to be close to Him and be part of His family. Take time this Christmas season to remember what Jesus has done for you. Then thank God for Jesus, your Redeemer!

When Jesus was born, He was very much like human babies. But He was also different from other babies. How was Jesus different? Jesus was the only one who can save us from our sins. A savior is a person who rescues another person from danger. Verse 14 of our Bible Reading says, “We have seen that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world, and that is what we tell people now.” Jesus was born to be our Savior. He was born to rescue us from the danger of sin. Our sins separate us from God. God wants us to be close to Him — not separated from Him. So God sent Jesus, His Son, to save us from sin. Jesus was born as a human baby and lived a perfect, sinless life. Then He died on the cross and accepted the punishment for our sins. Because of that, we can live with God forever. Jesus loves you and wants to be your Savior. Follow and obey Him today!

When do you have trouble being patient? Maybe it’s when you are stuck in a traffic jam, waiting in the doctor’s office or standing in line at the store. Someone told me that when we are impatient, we are selfish. I thought about that for a long time, and I think that is true. People who are impatient want something done for themselves right now! We can read in the Bible about people who were not patient. God’s people, the Israelites, were often impatient with God and Moses. When Moses was up on Mount Sinai, the Israelites became impatient and made a golden calf to worship. Our Bible Reading today tells us about God’s punishment for their impatience and disobedience. Think about things that make you impatient. One way to overcome your impatience is to be thankful instead. When you are waiting in traffic, thank God for keeping you safe. When you are waiting in line at the store, thank God that you have money to buy the things you need.

Our Bible verses today were written by Paul to the church in Thessalonica. Paul wrote this letter to tell the people more about the time Jesus will come back and to encourage them as they waited for Jesus. If you want to be ready for a new day, what do you do? Do you stay in bed and sleep? No! You set your alarm, get up and get dressed. In the same way, Paul says that we need to be ready for Jesus to come back. “So we should not be like other people. We should not be sleeping. We should be awake and have self-control” (verse 6). When Jesus comes back, what will you be doing? Will you be ready to welcome Jesus, or will you be ashamed that you were not obeying Him? We do not know when Jesus will come, so we need to be ready every minute of the day. Be sure that you are ready to meet Jesus today!

Yesterday we read about the people in Jerusalem who repented and were baptized. What did they do after they were baptized? The next few verses in Acts, chapter 2, tell us what these Christians did. They spent a lot of time together, they learned more of Jesus’ teachings, they shared what they had, they ate together and they prayed. These are all things that we can do today. You and I can learn and fellowship and pray and eat with other Christians. When Christians spend time together, they encourage each other to stay strong. After we decide to follow and obey Jesus, we need to live for Him every day. He will be with us and help us when we face problems and temptations. We also need to share the Good News about Jesus with others so that they can accept His gift of salvation. Live for Jesus today!

One day Peter preached to a group of people in Jerusalem. He told them about Jesus and that He had died so their sins could be forgiven. The people were sorry for their sins. They asked Peter (verse 37), “What should we do?” Peter told them what they should do. “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (verse 38). That day 3000 people were baptized. If you believe in Jesus, have repented of your sins and confessed Jesus, you should choose to obey Peter’s words and be baptized. Baptism is a beautiful picture of Jesus’ death. “So when we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and took part in his death” (Romans 6:4a). Follow the example of the early Christians who repented and were baptized.

After we believe in Jesus and decide to repent, we need to share this news with other people. This is called confession. In verse 9 of our Bible Reading, Paul says, “If you openly say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved.” One time Jesus was with His disciples. In Matthew 16:15, He asked them, “...who do you say I am?” In the next verse, we read Peter’s answer: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter confessed that He believed that Jesus was the Son of God. When we tell other people that we believe in Jesus, it is part of our promise to continue following Him. It is also a way to identify with other Christians so they can encourage us to stay close to Jesus. Don’t be afraid to tell other people that you believe in Jesus. Your confession may encourage them to obey and follow Jesus, too.

If we believe that Jesus is God’s Son, then God wants us to change the way we live. He wants us to change from a life of sin to a life of obedience. That is called “repentance.” Our Bible Reading today is about Saul. He did not believe in Jesus, so he wanted to arrest people who were following Jesus. As Saul was traveling, Jesus appeared to him. Saul learned about Jesus and finally believed that he was truly God’s Son. Then Saul did something wonderful — he repented! He changed from hurting Christians to becoming a Christian. The rest of the book of Acts tells us that Saul spent the rest of his life sharing the Good News about Jesus with others. Maybe you believe in Jesus, but have you truly repented? Change from a life of sin to a life filled with obedience to God.

God has a plan for your life. He wants you to follow and obey Him. Today and for the next few days we will look at some things God wants us to do. If we do these things, God will work in our lives and we will be able to share eternity with Him. In our Bible verses, Peter is speaking to a man named Cornelius. Cornelius was not a Jew, but he loved and worshiped God. Peter told Cornelius and his family that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. In verse 43a, Peter said, “Everyone who believes in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.” God want us to believe in Jesus. He wants us to believe that Jesus is His only Son and that He died on the cross to save us. When we believe in Jesus, we are ready to learn more about Him and how He can forgive our sins. Believe in Jesus today. Live for Him and tell other people about Him.