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
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 seven deacons, he was full of “faith and the Holy Spirit” (v. 5). The wisdom and spirit with which he spoke could not be withstood. We should all feel challenged by the forthrightness and courage of his preaching to speak more clearly of the things of Jesus in our own contexts.
And what’s to be made of his appearance? He was brought before the Sanhedrin, ancient Israel’s supreme court, to be tried, and they were taken aback. He had the face of an angel. The principle function of an angel is to bring the message of heaven to earth. And that’s precisely what Stephen was doing in the one place where it should have been most welcomed. But even among Israel’s most learned scholars, the message of Jesus was rejected.
This brief section from the book of Acts challenges us all to look and act more like angels; not chubby-cheeked cherubs but determined messengers, messengers so affected by the power of the gospel that they can’t help but speak it out as clearly as possible. So perhaps a few challenging questions are in order. When was the last time you spoke the name of Jesus in public? Honestly if we, who know Jesus and have enjoyed the gift of new life in him, don’t speak of him, who will?
As you pray, ask God to give you the courage to speak clearly of Jesus.
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.
All Is Well
Read: John 14:18-31 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (v. 27) Do you ever
Love Your Enemy
Read: Matthew 5:38-48 Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (vv. 44-45) In May 2023, violence broke out in the state of Manipur, India. Over the next year, more than 200 Christians were killed, more than 1,000
Under Construction
Read: Philippians 3:12-21 One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (vv. 13-14) One Sunday
A Miracle
Read: Acts 12:1-19 Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. (v. 5) In 1792, cobbler William Carey dared to leave his shoe repair shop in England and move to India.
Spiritual Dryness
Read: John 5:30-47 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (vv. 39-40)
Danger Within
Read: 2 Timothy 3:1-17 Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it. (v. 14) We live in a world of spam—junk emails, scam phone calls, and conniving social media messages. Some may