Words of Hope Daily Devotional

START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE

Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read His Word, and meet with Him in prayer. Available in print and email.

START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE

Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read His Word, and meet with Him in prayer. Available in print and email.

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

Honesty before God

Read: Acts 5:1-16

Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. (v. 12)

Today’s Bible reading clearly shows us the best and worst of the early days of the church. The followers of Jesus experienced together the Holy Spirit fire released from heaven, astounding great numbers of people converted at a single time, and a sweet, generous communion that left no one in need. What a time to be alive. But there was a flipside that cannot be ignored. Acts 5 shows this in grim detail. Ananias and Sapphira profited from sale of property and told no one about it. But God knew because he can see in the dark, even into the murky darkness of the human heart.

This sad scene is a kind of living commentary on a conviction that the apostle Paul later makes crystal clear: “I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Rom. 7:19 NIV). Honesty demands that we admit we are no better. So what do we do?

For centuries believers in Jesus have had the courage to be honest enough before God and one another to confess their sins. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, shows us the way: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:8-9).

As you pray, ask God to give you courage to be honest, and then confess any sin that you have been holding back.

Dr. Timothy Brown is the Henry Bast Professor of Preaching and President Emeritus at Western Theological Seminary where he served from 1995-2021. Tim continues to actively coach and encourage former students and pastors who seek help in their preaching life and he has become a certified public school substitute teacher so that he can continue investing in the lives of young people. He is married to Nancy and together they have three children and ten grandchildren.

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.

Loving God

Read: Acts 1:1-5 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. (v. 1) I have a friend that I have known since college days. I was once his pastor before

Read More »

Finding Our Safe Place

Read: Psalm 46 Be still, and know that I am God. (v. 10) Natural disasters are scary. Destroyed homes, loss of life, and the chaos of displacement—experiencing it ourselves is devastating, but even seeing images in the news and on

Read More »

Lifted Up

Read: Psalm 30 I shall never be moved. (v. 6) Do you remember climbing the first hill on your first rollercoaster ride? You got to the top, and for a moment the world stopped—the ground was a distant memory, and

Read More »

Staying the Course

Read: Psalm 18:27-42 You equipped me with strength for the battle. (v. 39) For me, long distance running didn’t come easy. I started by walking, and I wasn’t fast. Over time, through many months and years of training, I racked

Read More »

A United Heart

Read: Psalm 86 Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. (v. 11) The heart is vital to our bodies. In a lifetime of 70 years, it will

Read More »

Lost and Found

Read: Psalm 107 He delivered them from their distress. (v. 6) It had been a while since I’d cried hot, angry tears, but there they were, uncontrollably rolling down my face. I was in one of those moments in life

Read More »

Find Us on the Bible App

Engage with Words of Hope devotionals on YouVersion.

Pray with Us

Join us in praying members of the Words of Hope family around the world.