Words of Hope Daily Devotional

The Words of Hope Devotional is a non-profit, donor-supported publication whose goal is to encourage readers to grow in faith through the practice of daily Bible reading and prayer.

The devotional is available in your email and in print.

The New Natural

Read: Acts 8:26-39

The Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away. (v. 39)

The first time I went to a magic show, I was mesmerized as the magician made objects disappear and reappear, and sawed his assistant in two. Yet I was also skeptical. I was convinced there was a natural explanation for the “magic” I was seeing.

The book of Acts is full of events that appear supernatural. In fact, these events represent a “new natural.” Take, for example, the final verses of Acts 8. The chapter ends with Philip’s encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch. Philip shares the gospel, and the eunuch believes and is baptized. He’s toweling off when Philip disappears. Yet that was no magic trick—because of Jesus’s resurrection and ascension, heaven now supports the work of God’s kingdom on earth. This includes healing bodies and souls, opening prison doors, and, occasionally, routing apostles through heaven when necessary.

Why is this weird story included? First, because it actually happened. Luke asserts that he’s simply relaying eyewitness accounts from Jesus’s earthly ministry (Luke 1:1). Second, the story illustrates the kinds of things that happened after the resurrection—that is, after Jesus made the barrier between heaven and earth permeable. Third, it establishes that there are no barriers to the Lord’s work in, and through, his servants.

What does this mean for you and me? It means that with heaven on our side, there are no barriers to the work the Lord wants to do in and through us. In our “new natural,” the resources of heaven are available to us.

As you pray, ask the Lord to show you what’s possible.

About the Author

Ben Van Arragon

Ben Van Arragon is a preacher and writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He preaches and teaches the Bible in church, online, and anywhere else he has the opportunity.

Daily Devotional Template

Read: Revelation 1:4-6; 5:1-14 . . . to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. (Rev. 1:6) In Greek, doxology means a “word of glory.” Doxologies are brief ascriptions of praise that Christians have used in worship since the

Read More »

Blessed Reading, Blessed Hearing

Read: Revelation 1:1-3 Blessed is the one who reads . . . this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it. (v. 3) Jesus didn’t just rise from the dead; he is risen.

Read More »

Who Moved the Stone?

Read: John 20:1-10 Who will roll away the stone for us? (v. 3) More than eighty years ago an English skeptic named Frank Morison set out to explain Jesus’s resurrection in non-supernatural terms. His study led him to call that

Read More »

On the Third Day

Read: Matthew 28:1-10 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. (Matt. 28:6) What a story! Several of the women who were closest to Jesus went out to the garden tomb early Sunday morning to finish the

Read More »

Dead and Buried

Read: John 19:31-42 Since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. (v. 42) On Saturday, Jesus was dead. Christians call this day, the day when life itself stopped and Jesus’s body lay in the tomb, Holy Saturday.

Read More »

Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Read: John 19:17-30 And I, when I am lifted up . . . will draw all people to myself. (John 12:32) Beneath the cross of Jesus was not a nice place to be. The sights and sounds and smells of

Read More »

YouVersion Series

Words of Hope devotionals are available on The Bible App!

Books

Autobiographies and reading plans for groups or individuals.