The Deaf Devo from The Deaf Missions in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States "Weather (9)" Bible Reading: John 6:16-21

The Deaf Devo from The Deaf Missions in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States "Weather (9)" Bible Reading: John 6:16-21

John 6:16 When evening came, his talmidim went down to the lake, 17 got into a boat and set out across the lake toward K’far-Nachum. By now it was dark, Yeshua had not yet joined them, 18 and the sea was getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Yeshua approaching the boat, walking on the lake! They were terrified; 20 but he said to them, “Stop being afraid, it is I.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and instantly the boat reached the land they were heading for.

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I used to live on a hill out in the country. It seemed that the wind was always blowing there. Sometimes I got tired of the wind and wished that it would stop blowing. But the wind is a very important part of our weather here on earth. The wind produces clouds and moves precipitation from place to place.

Our Bible Reading today tells us about a time when the wind was blowing very hard on Lake Galilee. Jesus' disciples were in a boat. It was nighttime, and the wind was blowing and making waves on the lake. Suddenly these disciples saw Jesus "walking on the water, coming to the boat" (verse 19). The disciples were afraid! But Jesus told them, "Don't be afraid. It's me" (verse 20b). This was a miracle - something that could only happen by God's power. Jesus did many miracles to help people and to show them that He was truly God's Son. 

We can read about Jesus' miracles in the Bible. These help us know for sure that Jesus is the only way we can be saved and live forever with Him.[JK]

"There is only one God, and there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Christ Jesus."[1 Timothy 2:5a]

PRAYER: God, thank You for Jesus. In His name. Amen.

The Deaf Devo from The Deaf Missions in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States "Weather (8)" Bible Reading: Revelation 21:1-27

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,[Revelation 21:1 Isaiah 65:17, 66:22] for the old heaven and the old earth had passed away, and the sea was no longer there. 2 Also I saw the holy city, New Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “See! God’s Sh’khinah is with mankind, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and he himself, God-with-them, will be their God.[Revelation 21:3 Leviticus 26:11–12; Isaiah 7:14; 8:8, 10; Jeremiah 31:33(34); Ezekiel 37:27; 2 Chronicles 6:18] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will no longer be any death; and there will no longer be any mourning, crying or pain; because the old order has passed away.”

5 Then the One sitting on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new!” Also he said, “Write, ‘These words are true and trustworthy!’” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the ‘A’ and the ‘Z,’ the Beginning and the End. To anyone who is thirsty I myself will give water free of charge from the Fountain of Life. 7 He who wins the victory will receive these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the untrustworthy, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those involved with the occult and with drugs, idol-worshippers, and all liars — their destiny is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, the second death.”

9 One of the seven angels having the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues approached me and said, “Come! I will show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.” 10 He carried me off in the Spirit to the top of a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Yerushalayim, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It had the Sh’khinah of God, so that its brilliance was like that of a priceless jewel, like a crystal-clear diamond. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates; at the gates were twelve angels; and inscribed on the gates were the names of the twelve tribes of Isra’el. 13 There were three gates to the east, three gates to the north, three gates to the south and three gates to the west. 14 The wall of the city was built on twelve foundation-stones, and on these were the twelve names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.

15 The angel speaking with me had a gold measuring-rod with which to measure the city, its gates and its wall. 16 The city is laid out in a square, its length equal to its width. With his rod he measured the city at 1,500 miles, with length, width and height the same. 17 He measured its wall at 216 feet by human standards of measurement, which the angel was using. 18 The wall was made of diamond and the city of pure gold resembling pure glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were decorated with all kinds of precious stones — the first foundation stone was diamond, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh turquoise and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate made of a single pearl. The city’s main street was pure gold, transparent as glass.

22 I saw no Temple in the city, for Adonai, God of heaven’s armies, is its Temple, as is the Lamb. 23 The city has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s Sh’khinah gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 Its gates will never close, they stay open all day because night will not exist there, 26 and the honor and splendor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure may enter it, nor anyone who does shameful things or lies; the only ones who may enter are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

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The sun gives light and heat to the earth. The sun gives us just the right amount of heat and light to help us live on our planet. Genesis, chapter 1, tells us that God made the sun. Genesis 1:16 calls the sun "the larger light." The "smaller light" is the moon. We see the sun and what it does every day. 

In our Bible verses we learn about the New Jerusalem, the place where God will live forever with His followers. These verses describe a place where there "will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain" (verse 4b). Verse 23 tells us that this city will not "need the sun or the moon to shine on it." The glory of God will give the city light, and the Lamb (Jesus) will be the "city's lamp" (verse 23b).

I am excited to think about living forever with God in such a beautiful place. Have you given your life to God? Are you obeying Him and His Word every day? If you are obeying God, then you can look forward to this wonderful place and eternal life with Him.[JK]

"All those who win the victory will receive all this. And I will be their God, and they will be my children."[Revelation 21:7]

PRAYER: Father, thank You for making a place for me to live with You forever. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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The Deaf Devo from The deaf Missions in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States "Weather (7)" Bible Reading: Luke 17:24-30

Luke 17:24 because the Son of Man in his day will be like lightning that flashes and lights up the sky from one horizon to the other. 25 But first he must endure horrible suffering and be rejected by this generation.

26 “Also, at the time of the Son of Man, it will be just as it was at the time of Noach. 27 People ate and drank, and men and women married, right up until the day Noach entered the ark; then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, as it was in the time of Lot — people ate and drank, bought and sold, planted and built; 29 but the day Lot left S’dom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

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Although lightning can sometimes be scary, I love to watch lightning steak across the sky. Often the colors in lightning are amazing.

A lightning bolt moves at 3,700 miles per second. That is very fast! In our Bible Reading, Jesus compares His return to earth with lightning. "When the Son of Man comes again, you will know it. On that day he will shine like lightning flashes across the sky" (verse 24). This verse tells me that when Jesus comes again, all people will be able to see Him. And, it will happen very fast. 

Jesus also talked about that day in Mark 13:32: "No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don't know when that day or time will be . Only the Father knows." Because Jesus' coming will happen very fast, we need to always be ready.

The Bible teaches us how to have a right relationship with God. Study and obey God's Word. Then you will be ready to meet Jesus![JK]

"It will only take the time of a second. We will be changed as quickly as an eye blinks. This will happen when the last trumpet blows. The trumpet will blow and those who have died will be raised to live forever."[1 Corinthians 15:52a]

PRAYER: God, I want to be ready for Jesus. In His name. Amen.

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The Deaf Devo from The Deaf Missions in Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States "Weather (6)" Bible Reading: Exodus 9:13-35Exodus 9:13 Adonai said to Moshe, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Here is what Adonai says: “Let my people go, so that they can worship me. 14 For this time, I will inflict my plagues on you, yourself, and on your officials and your people; so that you will realize that I am without equal in all the earth. 15 By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with such severe plagues that you would have been wiped off the earth. 16 But it is for this very reason that I have kept you alive — to show you my power, and so that my name may resound throughout the whole earth. (vii) 17 Since you are still setting yourself up against my people and not letting them go, 18 tomorrow, about this time, I will cause a hailstorm so heavy that Egypt has had nothing like it from the day it was founded until now. 19 Therefore, send and hurry to bring indoors all your livestock and everything else you have in the field. For hail will fall on every human being and animal left in the field that hasn’t been brought home, and they will die.”’”

20 Whoever among Pharaoh’s servants feared what Adonai had said had his slaves and livestock escape into the houses; 21 but those who had no regard for what Adonai had said left their slaves and livestock in the field.

22 Adonai said to Moshe, “Reach out your hand toward the sky, so that there will be hail in all the land of Egypt, falling on people, animals and everything growing in the field, throughout the land of Egypt.” 23 Moshe reached out with his staff toward the sky, and Adonai sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. Adonai caused it to hail on the land of Egypt — 24 it hailed, and fire flashed up with the hail; it was terrible, worse than any hailstorm in all of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 Throughout all the land of Egypt, the hail struck everything in the field, people and animals; and the hail struck every plant growing in the field and broke every tree there. 26 But in the land of Goshen, where the people of Isra’el were, there was no hail.

27 Pharaoh summoned Moshe and Aharon and said to them, “This time I have sinned: Adonai is in the right; I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Intercede with Adonai — we can’t take any more of this terrible thunder and hail; and I will let you go, you will stay no longer.” 29 Moshe said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to Adonai; the thunder will end, and there won’t be any more hail — so that you can know that the earth belongs to Adonai. 30 But you and your servants, I know you still won’t fear Adonai, God.” 31 The flax and barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe and the flax in bud. 32 But the wheat and buckwheat were not ruined, because they come up later. (Maftir) 33 Moshe went out of the city, away from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to Adonai. The thunder and hail ended, and the rain stopped pouring down on the earth. 34 When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail and thunder had ended, he sinned still more by making himself hardhearted, he and his servants. 35 Pharaoh was made hardhearted, and he didn’t let the people of Isra’el go, just as Adonai had said through Moshe.

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One of the most destructive weather events that can happen to a farm crop is hail. I have seen entire fields of corn ripped apart by a hailstorm.
Our Bible Reading today tells us about one of the ten terrible happenings that God sent on the land of Egypt. God sent hail, thunder and lightning. That must have been an awful storm! "It was the worst hailstorm that had ever hit Egypt since it had become a nation. The storm destroyed everything in the fields in Egypt. The hail destroyed people, animals, and plants. The hail also broke all the trees in the field" (verses 24b-25).
These verses show us two things about God. First, God is all-powerful. Second, they show us that God takes care of His people. Verse 26 tells us the only place that did not get hail was Goshen, the area where the Israelites lived.
God took care of the Israelites, and He takes care of Christians today. Depend on God every day. He will never fail you![JK]
"He is our God, and we are the people he cares for, his sheep that walk by his side. Listen to his voice today."[Psalm 95:7]
PRAYER: God, I know I can depend on You to take care of me today. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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Deaf Missions

21199 Greenview Road

Council Bluffs, Iowa 51503, United States
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