Daily Dose of Hope

February 5, 2026

Scripture: I Corinthians 10

Prayer: Lord Jesus, We rejoice in you. We praise your name. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the one who was, and is, and is to come. We cannot possibly express our gratitude in words. You have offered us mercy but you have also given us freedom. Thank you for that. Help us live like free people. Help us demonstrate your love and grace to others who cross our path. Help us see people through your eyes. We love you, Lord. Amen.

Welcome back, everyone, to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that goes along with the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We have been walking through Paul's letters and it has been challenging! We've made it through Galatians, I and II Thessalonians, and we are now in I Corinthians.

Our reading for today is I Corinthians 10. The chapter starts with story-telling from the exodus out of Egypt, mainly because these stories are critical learning experiences for God's people. What's fascinating is that Paul includes his Gentile audience in these stories. Look at verse 1, For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. Paul has stressed that as Christians they are not bound to the law. Despite that, they are now a part of God's people.

However, and this is critical, they are NOT to fall into the pattern of the Israelites or so many of those in Corinth. They are not to worship other gods, they are not to intimately involve themselves with those who oppose God's people, and they are not to question the goodness of God. They need to be careful. Temptation is there and they could easily fall into sin as their ancestors did.

Paul continues to write about freedoms. Yes, we have the right to do everything but that doesn't mean we should do everything. While we may have the right to do something, the biggest question to ask is, "Is this building up the body of Christ?" Paul emphasizes that while legalism isn't good, neither is it good to be overly permissive. There are times when we should curb our freedoms if it might harm a new Christian or hurt the witness of the Gospel

The bottom line is we need to think about our words and actions in every situation. I've been in small Christian gatherings in which certain members feel the need to loudly communicate their dislikes about a specific Christian ministry, another Christian church, or even a fellow believer. Now, thinking about Paul's reasoning, they have the freedom to do this but is it beneficial? Is it building up the body of Christ? What if there was someone in the group who was a new believer or on the fence about faith? How would such a discussion affect their faith journey?

Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki