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
Called Christians
Read: Acts 11:19-29
In Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. (v. 26)
It’s astounding to me that there was an actual moment in time with precise geographical coordinates when the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Christian literally means “little Christs.” It was given as a term of derision, but the earliest believers wore it as a badge of honor. They did what Jesus did. They said what Jesus said. The similarities between the Lord and his followers were so precise that there was nothing more left to call them but “little Christs.” Clearly, this must be the highest goal for our lives too.
I have been preaching and teaching the gospel for over 50 years. While I certainly can’t remember all the sermons I have preached, I most definitely remember one of the first. It was in a poorly attended little Bible church off Capital Avenue in Battle Creek, Michigan. My dad, who was a building contractor, had recently built it. He must have told the pastor that his son was studying to be a preacher, so I got invited. There weren’t many people there to hear my feeble attempt at preaching, but this is what they heard that night. Jesus loves us so much and trusts us so much that he is willing to let us bear his name—it was a challenge then and it remains a challenge now.
We are followers of Jesus. We are Christians. We bear his name, and we must act accordingly.
As you pray, confess your love for Jesus, and ask him to help you bear his name and act accordingly.
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.
An Encourager
Read: Acts 11:19-26 [Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. (v. 24) Apart from Jesus, who in the Bible would you most like to emulate? There are so many to choose from: Abraham’s willing
No Partiality
Read: Acts 10:1-48 Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (vv. 34-35) Today’s passage takes us precisely to the epicenter of a
Once Lost, Now Found
Read: Acts 9:1-19 Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. (v. 17) “Amazing grace
Jesus in the Old Testament
Read: Acts 8:26-40 Beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. (v. 35) The traveler from Ethiopia is a somewhat mysterious figure. Drawn to worship at the temple in Jerusalem, he was in a position of
Stephen: Telling the Truth
Read: Acts 7 You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. (v. 51) I once heard Eugene Peterson say to a group of pastors, “When people come
Stephen: The Face of an Angel
Read: Acts 6:8-15 His face was like the face of an angel. (v. 15) Among the most notable characters in the early church was a champion of the gospel named Stephen. Chosen by the apostles as one of the original