Words of Hope Daily Devotional
START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE
THE DEVOTIONAL IS AVAILABLE IN YOUR EMAIL AND IN PRINT.
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 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.
DINNER WITH JESUS
Breakfast on the Beach
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.
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- Ben Van Arragon#molongui-disabled-link
- Ben Van Arragon#molongui-disabled-link
- Ben Van Arragon#molongui-disabled-link

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rev. First Last
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, including Why Doesn’t God Act More Like God, Christ in the Psalms, and A Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.

Daily Devotional Template
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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

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