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.
Our God Is a Great God
Read: Mark 1:32-39 [Jesus] drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. (Matt. 8:16 NIV) Feliciana is an Amatenango Tzeltal, who lives with her brother and family. She was haunted by voices telling her to run into the woods at night. Feliciana and her family understood these to be the voices of evil spirits. One day a neighbor told her that there was a powerful, loving God who could free her from the voices. “The evangelical church leaders will pray for you,” the neighbor said. Some time later, Feliciana became very ill, unable to eat and afraid she might die. Again the voices lured her into the woods during a rainstorm. Her brother and others went to look for her. Hours later, they found her huddled in the forest, weak and cold. Not
Thanking God for Little Things
Read: Luke 17:11-19 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” (vv. 17-18 NIV) When we had recently arrived as missionaries to the Tzeltals
The Beginning of the Trail
Read: Psalm 138 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; before “the gods” I will sing your praise. (v. 1 NIV) It was 1958. Sam, my future husband, was a third-year student at Western Theological Seminary in Holland,
And So We Came to Rome
Read: Acts 28:11-31 And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. (v. 16) Paul’s fourth missionary journey was a wild one. As a result of having been blown off
Blessed Assurance
Read: Acts 27:1-11; 14-18; 21-25 An angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship . . . said, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar.” (vv. 23-24) Last autumn, as mentioned earlier, my
Powerful Testimony of a Changed Man
Read: Acts 26:1-18 I not only locked up many of the saints in prison . . . but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. (v. 10) The Roman governor Festus honestly didn’t know what
Paul Appeals to Caesar
Read: Acts 25:1-12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.” (v. 12) What a gift to the church was the apostle Paul! Thanks to his big vision,
Testifying before Felix
Read: Acts 24:1-27 And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed. (v. 25) It seems amazing to me that Paul wrote most of the New Testament. Where indeed did he find the time?
Paul Reveals His Roman Citizenship
Read: Acts 22:22-30 Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” (v. 25) Paul had once again run into trouble in Jerusalem. In
The Family of God
Read: Acts 21:1-16 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. (v. 4) Paul was on his way back to Jerusalem. But he had a ways to go. So, on the way he made a number
Falling Asleep during the Sermon
Read: Acts 20:7-12 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. (v. 9) It wasn’t the first time. And it certainly wouldn’t be the last time. Someone had
Willing Hands for God’s Work
Read: Acts 19:8-12; 23-41 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. (v. 11) One of the overriding themes that we see regarding Paul in the book of Acts is the fierce determination and courage he displays
Recognizing the Holy Spirit
Read: Acts 18:24–19:7 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” (19:2) We may be surprised to read that some of the early Christians