Daily Dose of Hope

April 22, 2026

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4

Prayer: Father God, hear our prayer this morning. We are awed by your power and strength. We are amazed by your love. Thank you, Lord, for the many ways you show in our lives to teach us and care for us. Help us gather our scattered thoughts right now and focus on you. In these next few moments of silence, help us (help me) be still and know that you are God...Come Holy Spirit, and help us walk through this Scripture in a way that honors you. Show up and help us discover whatever it is you want us to learn. This is your Word and we want to hear from you. In Your powerful name, Amen.

Welcome back, everyone, to the Daily Dose of Hope, a devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. As most of you know, we are well into Paul's letters at this point. In fact, we are in the middle of our eleventh letter, 1 Timothy. We are moving right along.

Today's Scripture reading is 1 Timothy 4. Paul makes some interesting and powerful statements in the beginning of the chapter about those who would leave the faith. He very astutely points out that just because someone initially commits to the faith doesn't mean they will stick with it. When things get tough, when false teachers rear their ugly head, when it is no longer convenient, then they may turn away. Paul seems to make the point that this is not an if but a when. This simply means their initial confession was not sincere. While I don't want to spend a lot of time on this topic, I think we often find this in modern faith circles. Just because someone has said the words of a sinner's prayer does not mean they actually know Jesus or understand what they have said. Something to think about for sure and speaks to the absolute necessity of discipling and nurturing new believers.

In the middle of the chapter, Paul is speaking directly to Timothy. He must have been a timid young man. Paul wants him to take authority and not allow people to dismiss him because he was younger. He needed to guide and lead the church both in his words and preaching but also in his lifestyle. Even as a younger man, Paul encourages him to lead by example.

While we give lip service to including young people in the leadership of the church, the reality is that we don't do it enough. We have lots of reasons for this (I've found myself giving excuses too). But God doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called. If God calls one of our teenagers or young adults to be a leader, then we need to embrace them, nurture them, and give them the space to lead. While I don't think we have that many young people who subscribe to the Daily Dose, but whoever is out there, please listen closely: You are called and God will empower you to lead! Want to serve in leadership at New Hope? Come and talk to me directly.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki