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  • September 18, 2025; Luke 20:20-47

    September 18, 2025; Luke 20:20-47
    2025/09/18
    Daily Dose of Hope September 18, 2025 Scripture – Luke 20:20-47 Prayer: Amazing Father and Lord, Thank you for who you are. Thank you for how you care for us. We get distracted. We veer away from you and your Word. For that, we are so very sorry. Forgive us, Lord. Help us to abide in you. Help us to remain close so that we can be fruitful and effective for your Kingdom. Help us get outside ourselves and see others as you see them. Lord, we belong to you. In Your Name, Amen. Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional/podcast that goes along with the daily Bible reading at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are currently deep diving into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we finish Luke 20. In this chapter, we get a pretty clear picture of how hard the Pharisees are trying to catch Jesus saying or doing something punishable by Jewish law. They keep trying to trick him; they have no idea with whom they are dealing! No one enjoys paying taxes, and in first century Palestine, this was a particularly sticky topic. The Jewish leaders are trying to trap Jesus so they ask him if it is lawful to pay taxes, meaning according to God’s law. If Jesus says it isn’t lawful, then he could get in trouble with the Romans. The Jewish authorities are hoping he will be in trouble no matter which way he answers. But Jesus is not deceived. He asks for a coin, which had Emperor Tiberius’ image stamped on it, and asked who was on it. When they said Caesar, he told them to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what it God’s. It left no room for argument and his enemies are literally stunned silent. Jesus is making the point that we are citizens of both earth and heaven at the same time. While we have allegiance to both our nation and God, there is no question that our first and primary loyalty is to God. Jesus is Lord over all the earth, over our nation, over the church, and over our lives. Think of Paul’s words in Philippians 3, But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. After the coin incident, there are some Sadducees who want to grill him on the concept of the resurrection of the dead. By addressing Levirate marriage, they also are trying to trap Jesus in his words. The Sadducees, the intellectual aristocracy of the day, did not believe in resurrection. They were pressing Jesus on the topic, hoping to make him look foolish. If you will recall from Mark and Matthew, levirate law was intended to protect widows without a male heir. When a brother died, leaving his wife without children, a surviving brother marries the widow with the sole intention of producing an heir. If a son is conceived, he is actually considered to be the deceased brother’s child. In ancient near-East culture, a widow without any connection to a male would either starve or be forced to beg or prostitute herself. Thus, the Sadducees question makes a little more sense even though it is a bit absurd. A woman’s husband dies and she marries a brother. That brother dies and she marries another brother and so forth until she has been married to all seven brothers. Then she dies. Whose wife will she be at the resurrection? Keep in mind, they ask this question knowing that they think the resurrection is false. Jesus basically tells them they are missing the point. In the resurrection, our bodies will be different – perfect and glorious. There will also be a change in our spiritual nature. Jesus is saying that in regard to marriage and sexual matters, we will be like the angels (note that he did not say we will be angels but we will be like them.) But the Sadducees were mistaken so significantly not because of this absurd question but because they didn’t believe in the resurrection. This is a fundamental aspect of Jesus’ teaching and they missed it entirely. Rather than allowing the Pharisees to continue trying to trap him, Jesus decides to ask a hard question of them. He asks the group, “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They immediately respond, “The son of David.” How then, Jesus asked, could David call him by the Spirit ‘Lord’ when he said, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’ (Psalm 110:1). “If David”, Jesus said, “Calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” The Pharisees were unable to answer and “from that day on no one dared to question him any longer”. Jesus’ point was missed. Of course, Jesus had descended from David. He was the Son of God. He was the Messiah, the one the Jews had been waiting for, for hundreds of years. He was right before their eyes and they were missing it. How...
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    8 分
  • September 17, 2025; Luke 20:1-19

    September 17, 2025; Luke 20:1-19
    2025/09/17
    Daily Dose of Hope September 17, 2025 Scripture - Luke 20:1-19 Prayer: Heavenly Father, Provider, Sustainer, Thank you for being the God who creates, cares, loves, and saves. All we have is from you. As we talk about today’s text, give us a fresh revelation; help us see your Word in a new way. Lord, thank you most of all for Jesus. Thank you for his sacrifice. Thank you for showing us a different way of doing life. Help us actually live the way you taught us. In Your Name, Amen. Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we begin a deep dive into Luke 20. We start today’s text with the Pharisees asking Jesus by what authority he speaks and teaches. Keep in mind, this was right after Jesus cleanses the Temple and the Pharisees are a bit annoyed. In Jewish culture, authority was based on lineage and education. Jesus’ authority was divine and so these earthly leaders are feeling incredibly threatened. They are more concerned with losing their own power and authority than anything else at this point, or so it seems. I do love how Jesus so often answers a question with a question, as he does in this text. He asks the men where the authority of John of Baptist came from. They were in a bind and knew that whatever they answered, it would get them into trouble. So, because they said they didn’t know, Jesus told them he had no need to say from where his authority came from either. We move from there to the parable of the tenants. This is a hard parable with violence involved in every aspect of it. A landowner, presumably a man of means, builds a vineyard and gets it set up with all the right equipment. He has tenants plant the vines and run the farm for him, while he lives in another place. When the harvest comes, the absent landowner sends a slave to collect his portion of the harvest or profits. The slave is beaten up pretty badly by the tenant farmers and limps away. You would think the landowner might do something different next time but he doesn’t. He sends another slave. Actually, he sends a lot of different slaves to collect on his behalf. Some are badly beaten while others are actually killed. We get the impression this happens over many growing seasons. The landowner decides he has one option left, his beloved son. He feels assured that the tenants won’t hurt him. Did the son feel the same way? Not sure. But things don’t go so well. The tenants know this is the heir and they kill him too, throwing his body out to the wild animals. The question that Jesus asks is what will the landowner do? The answer is that he will come there himself, kill the tenants, and give the land to others (or possibly get new tenants.) What in the world is meant by all of this? There are several possible things to think about here and none of them are pleasant. First, throughout the Bible, the concept of the vineyard is associated with the people of Israel. With that as a backdrop, could it be that God is the stubborn landowner, the slaves are prophets, and the son is Jesus? That would make the tenant farmers the corrupt religious leaders. Second, there are aspects to the parable that the first-century hearers would get that aren’t necessarily evident to us. It wasn’t that unusual for the wealthy to obtain the land of those who were poor, possibly because of outstanding debts or because the impoverished are forced to sell land to feed their families. Life was hard. It also wasn’t that unusual for landlords to live elsewhere and demand a large percentage of the harvest from those who are performing the labor. The reaction of the parable will be different for different people, depending on where they fall on the social ladder in Israel. There are those who will identify with the slaves. There are those who will see the landowner as uncaring and reckless and possibly identify with the plight of the tenants. There are those who will identify with the landowner and his son. Every single reaction is unsettling. One thing I do want to mention is that people have used this parable over the years in an antisemitic way, stating that it was the Jews who killed the son and it is the Jews who should then be killed by the landowner. Jesus is not speaking of ethnicity or religion here, he is speaking about faithfulness. The big issue in the parable is not the identity of the players but rather the failure of the tenants to respond faithfully to their obligations. It’s no secret that Christians over the centuries have also treated the cornerstone with disrespect, irreverence, and indignation, while Jews can (and many have) responded faithfully to God’s revelation. What do you make of this parable? Why...
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    8 分
  • September 16, 2025; Luke 19:28-48

    September 16, 2025; Luke 19:28-48
    2025/09/16
    Daily Dose of Hope September 16, 2025 Scripture – Luke 19:28-48 Prayer: Lord, We need you. Our world is unstable and unjust. It is a place where innocent people die and power and control take precedent over mercy and compassion. While we know that sin and brokenness are everywhere, it is still hard to take it in. We don’t know which way to turn. So, we need you. We need your peace, your justice, and your wisdom. Help us be the people you have called us to be, even when it’s hard. Fill us with your courage to speak truth and grace. More of you and less of me. In Your Name, Amen. Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we finish up Luke 19. We start with Jesus entering Jerusalem as King; this is what we call the Palm Sunday passage. We are so used to this narrative that sometimes we don’t see the strangeness of it. This is an odd scene. Jesus sends two of his disciples to go on ahead to the village and find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. If someone asks why you are taking it, then just say the Lord needs it. What this says to us is that Jesus has taken care of every single detail. We don’t know how he has done it, but Jesus is God and he has made sure everything is right. So, they get the colt. They put their cloaks on the colt and Jesus rides on it. Others spread their cloaks on the road. As he makes his way down the Mount of Olives, a crowd of his disciples gather and begin praising God. Now, this isn’t just the twelve disciples. This is probably a fairly large group of believers that have seen his power, the people who have heard his teaching, watched his miracles. And they shout out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” A couple things to note here: · All of this is very intentional. This is not a coincidence. This is a very intentional show of power. Jesus is being given a royal welcoming. First, he is riding on a colt. In the Old Testament, new kings would come riding in on the mule or donkey of the the previous king. We see in 1 Kings 1 that David puts his son Solomon on his own mule, a trumpet is sounded, and the people rejoice and shout, then the priest and the prophet Nathan anoint him as king of Israel. The mule is like the presidential limo, a sign of power and prestige that says that this is the new leader. · What’s interesting here is that Jesus is not riding on the previous king’s mule or donkey. He is riding on a colt that has never been ridden. Scripture makes a point of telling us this. Why? Because God is doing a new thing, Jesus is a different kind of king. · Then, there is this whole issue of the cloaks being thrown down on the path for Jesus to pass. The people are running ahead and shouting his praises. This is the kind of welcome that a royal official of the Roman government would receive. Think of it like the red carpet being rolled out. This is the sign that a very important leader, the new king, has arrived. All of this has meaning. And for the Jews in the crowd, and most of them would have been Jewish, they would have known that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. Zechariah 9:9, Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. All of this is pointing to the fact that Jesus is the king. This large group of disciples were praising God joyfully and shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord…” What might not be apparent to us is that when they shout this – Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, Peace in heaven and glory on highest” they are expressing that this is the Messiah, this is the anointed one, the one they had been waiting for that God had sent to save them. These words echo Psalm 118:22-26, The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. 25 Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success!26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Surely, this is the long-expected Messiah, this is the one that God sent to sit on the throne of David, just as he promised some 600 years before. You see, its all coming together for them. And thus, there is much joy and celebration for God has sent King Jesus to save us. But what happens next is worth noting. The Pharisees tell Jesus to make his disciples stop. Stop the praising. Stop the quoting of Scripture. In fact, what they say is, “Teacher, rebuke your...
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    13 分
  • September 15, 2025; Luke 19:1-27

    September 15, 2025; Luke 19:1-27
    2025/09/15
    Daily Dose of Hope September 15, 2025 Scripture - Luke 19:1-27 Prayer (from St. Augustine): Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy. Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we begin a deep dive into Luke 19. At the beginning of the chapter, we meet Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus’ encounter with Jesus is worth a fair amount of reflection. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. The Roman government hired local Jews to actually go around collecting the taxes for them. One article I read said that they didn't receive a salary per se but instead collected significantly more in taxes than was owed so they could keep that money for themselves and evidence suggests they took a lot for themselves. Thus, tax collectors tended to be wealthy and they were hated by their fellow Jews. The Jews thought of them as selling their services to a foreign oppressor at the expense of their own people. The rabbinical writings refer to these tax collectors as "robbers" and the Gospels call them "sinners." They were the scum of the Jewish community. And Zacchaeus was one of them. Zacchaeus wasn't just a run of the mill tax collector but a chief tax collector. You typically don't get to be chief of something unless you have worked at it for a while and climbed your way to the top so I'm thinking Zacchaeus had probably been living a dishonest life for years, extorting and deceiving others for his own financial gain. He wasn't a newbie at this. Zacchaeus lived in the town of Jericho, which was Jesus' last stop on his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. It's interesting...people must have heard that Jesus was coming through. Zacchaeus must have heard it because he is determined to see him. I'm curious what it was that made Zacchaeus want to see Jesus so badly-curiosity or conviction-but Scripture says that the crowd that had gathered was quite large and he couldn't see over all the people because he was short. But he was persistent, so he ran ahead to a place where he knew that Jesus would walk by, he climbs a tree, and he waits. As Jesus walks by, he notices Zacchaeus and he calls him by name. He knows him. (I hope each of you know that Jesus knows your name too!) When Jesus calls to him, he tells Zacchaeus to climb down from the tree, for he had plans to go to his home. We might not recognize the significance of this, but to go to someone's home, to dine with them, demonstrated connection and belonging. To break bread with someone was a big deal. It was pretty much a given that the Pharisees didn't like this. He was hanging out with "those" people again. But Jesus goes to Zacchaeus' home and possibly while they are dining together, something happens within Zacchaeus. Maybe it started when Zacchaeus heard Jesus was coming through Jericho-something within him stirred for a different way of doing life. Maybe it started when Jesus really knew him and saw him up in that tree. Maybe it was when Jesus offered him the gift of acceptance by offering to dine with him. Maybe it was in their dinner conversation (I wonder what they talked about over their meal)...but we know that because of his encounter with Jesus, something changes within Zacchaeus. In fact, he eventually tells Jesus, "I'm going to give half of my money to the poor and if I have cheated people, I will payback four times as much.” Four times! He didn't just say, I'll pay them back, I'll make amends ,but he specifically says he will pay them four times as much as he took. He was no longer the crooked, thieving Roman sympathizing tax collector, but rather a repentant, generous Jesus follower. What can we learn here? · God has the power to transform any person, no matter how far gone we think they are. God isn’t done with anyone yet! I’m guessing many people had given up on Zacchaeus but Jesus wasn’t one of them. · Never discount how God may use you to be prevenient grace for someone else. I think about how Jesus noticed Zacchaeus in the tree. There were many people, probably lots of noise and distractions, and yet Jesus notices individual people and responds to their needs. That was an act of prevenient grace that led Zacchaeus closer to a place of change. Do we notice individual people around us, do we really notice them, and show them care and kindness in a way that leads them closer to Jesus? Immediately after his interaction with Zaccheaus, on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus shares the parable of the minas. This is very similar to the parable of the talents, which we talked about in Matthew, ...
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    9 分
  • September 12, 2025; Luke 18:18-43

    September 12, 2025; Luke 18:18-43
    2025/09/12
    Daily Dose of Hope September 12, 2025 Scripture - Luke 18:18-43 Prayer: Heavenly Father, We come before you today in awe of your Word. Thank you for speaking to us through Scripture. Help us commit to being grounded in your truth. Help us make learning more about you a priority. We get so distracted! The world comes at us from all sides. Lord, in these next few moments of silence, help us set aside our scattered thoughts and focus on you...In Your Name, Amen. Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we finish our deep dive into Luke 18. Today’s reading begins with people bringing their babies to Jesus. The disciples rebuke them. At the time, children really had very little value. I know that is hard for us to understand because we value both human life and the innocence of children. But in the ancient world, children had the absolute lowest status. Jews would have considered children a blessing but they were also needed to be part of the family workforce. Young children worked full time and they worked hard. There was nothing innocent or romantic about being a child in the first century. Enter Jesus. He had a totally different idea about the value of children. He said the Kingdom of God belonged to those who are like the little children. Basically, Jesus picks up a toddler and says, “You have to be like this little one. You have to be willing to be nothing, to totally give up your status. Why? Because my Kingdom is not about raising up rulers of this world but its about giving dignity and life to the least of these.” You see, over and over again Jesus is showing us that he is not interested in what the world values and sees in people. Rather, he is actually interested in the people themselves. They have value to Jesus. We move from the children to the rich ruler. A man comes to Jesus and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus says, “Well you need to follow all the commandments.” And he lists them, you shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, give false testimony. You shall honor your father and mother. The man simply says, “Yes, I’ve done all those things since I was a boy.” Jesus looks at him and says there is still one thing you lack. Yes, you follow all the laws, but there is still something you lack. It was assumed that if one followed the law perfectly (we know that’s impossible but if one did a good job following the law) then they would receive eternal life. Jesus is saying, that is not the case. Jesus isn’t denying that this man is following the law, he isn’t disputing that. This is obviously a man of high integrity who is clearly doing all he can to be obedient to God’s laws. “One thing you lack,” Jesus said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The text says that the man’s face fell. He went away sad because he had great wealth. This is the irony. The children in the former story who possess nothing are told that the kingdom of God is theirs; yet this man who possesses everything still lacks something! Only when he sells all he has—only when he becomes like a vulnerable child—will he possess everything. But he isn’t willing to do that. He decides to walk away from Jesus. The man wasn’t expecting to have to make that kind of sacrifice. He had no idea following Jesus would be so hard. This is confusing. Jesus talks about the sacrifices needed to enter the Kingdom. Jesus tells the disciples, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Most of us should feel at least slightly uncomfortable when we read this passage. Don’t dismiss that feeling, rest in it a bit before you move on. The reality is that we are all wealthy in comparison to the rest of the world. Jesus isn’t saying that having possessions is a bad thing. Allowing our stuff, our resources, to get in the way of our relationship with Jesus is a bad thing though. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? I think we have so often fallen into the trap of thinking that following Jesus, being a disciple, is about following a list of rules: following commandments, generally being a good person, going to church, giving some money to good causes, and doing good “Christian” things. But here Jesus is saying that being a disciple is not about following a list of rules. If that were the case, then the rich young ruler would have been a shoo-in. Jesus is saying, following him is about denying yourself and picking up your cross. And we don’t like to deny ourselves. We don’t like to be uncomfortable. It means looking at your life and renouncing any part of it that gets in the way of your walk with Jesus...
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    8 分
  • September 11, 2025; Luke 18:1-17

    September 11, 2025; Luke 18:1-17
    2025/09/11

    Daily Dose of Hope

    September 11, 2025

    Scripture – Luke 18:1-17

    Prayer: Almighty God, We come before you with awe and humility. Help us remember all you have done for us. We are nothing without you. We need you desperately, Lord. Help us gather our scattered thoughts today as we focus on you. In these next few moments of silence, help us remember that we belong to you. Help us lay our worries and cares on the throne of your grace...We pray this in the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

    Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we begin to dive into Luke 18.

    We begin with the parable of the persistent widow. I’ve always found this to be a fascinating parable. Jesus uses two opposing characters to make an important point about prayer. First, we have a judge who is arrogant and without integrity. Then, we have a widow, who continues to go to the judge for help from her adversary. A widow at the time would have represented helplessness and vulnerability. She must not have had money to bribe the judge so she does the only thing she can–she pesters him! She will not leave him alone until he gives her justice.

    Since even an unjust judge can do justice, how much more should we expect from a loving, righteous God. God wants his people to be persistent in prayer. Don’t give up! God will answer, although it may not be in our timing or in the way we desire. But God always answers.

    Is there some situation or person for which you have stopped praying? Be like the persistent widow. Continue to plead before a loving and just God.

    And then we have the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. Both go to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee prays loudly, thanking God that he isn’t like the other sinners around him. He lists his “religious activity.” The tax collector, recognizing his sinfulness, stands back and prays humbly. Jesus says that it is in the tax collector who is justified. Why?

    Jesus was speaking to a group of people who saw themselves as righteous before God because of their actions. They kept the law, they fasted, they were religious in every sense of the word. But their hearts were far from God. They trusted in themselves, rather than God. Their righteousness was something to be grasped and attained.

    The tax collector, on the other hand, is totally different. His head is bowed. He asks God for mercy rather than pointing out the sins of others. He is quick to call himself a sinner. And he certainly could have been; tax collectors were known for manipulation and thievery. But he goes home justified because he recognizes the pain he has caused others. He is repentant. He recognizes what he has done and it appears he seeks some form of transformation.

    Recognizing that all of our hearts have strayed from God is key. Each of us are sinners. The more mature we are as Christians, the more we realize our own sinfulness and the less we are inclined to point out the sinfulness of others.

    How have you experienced this?

    Blessings,

    Pastor Vicki
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    5 分
  • September 10, 2025; Luke 17:20-37

    September 10, 2025; Luke 17:20-37
    2025/09/10

    Daily Dose of Hope

    September 10, 2025

    Scripture – Luke 17:20-37

    Prayer: Almighty God, we start by pausing before you. Help us set aside the distractions of the morning or the day and focus on you. In these next few moments of silence, help us gather our scattered thoughts and think only of you...Help us be still and know you are God. God, we rejoice that we can freely read your Word and we are grateful that you speak to It’s truly a miracle. Holy Spirit, we also invite you to join us as we seek to grow deeper in relationship with you. In Your Name, Amen.

    Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. This is the podcast and devotional that goes along with the Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida.

    It’s Wednesday so that means Recharge day. If you are local, I hope to see you tonight at New Hope, on the Moon Ave. side of campus, for worship, fellowship, prayer, and small groups.

    Today, we are finishing up Luke 17. Jesus is initially asked by a Pharisee about the Kingdom of God. Keep in mind, the Pharisees expected God’s Kingdom to be an earthly one, a Kingdom that would overthrow the Romans and allow the Jews to govern themselves, as they once did. But when Jesus speaks of God’s Kingdom, he is talking about something quite different.

    We’ve discussed the Kingdom of God quite a bit in the Daily Dose of Hope, but let’s do a little review. God’s Kingdom exists anywhere that God reigns as king and his values are at work, where the world is working in the way that God always intended it to work. The kingdom of God was central to the message of Jesus and wherever he traveled, he proclaimed its coming. Jesus truly lived out the Kingdom in all he did, in all he taught, and in the way he did life. In God’s Kingdom, there is no sickness, so Jesus healed the sick. In God’s Kingdom, there is no discrimination, so Jesus elevated the oppressed, he ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. In God’s Kingdom, there is justice, there is mercy, there is love. So Jesus offered forgiveness, he offered acceptance, he offered LOVE in all he did, ultimately giving up his life in the greatest act of love in the history of the world.

    Thus, it makes sense that Jesus says to the Pharisee that the Kingdom is not something that can be observed, but rather it is something that is in your midst. Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God. The disciples and the early church continued Jesus’ mission of growing the Kingdom. Even we are part of expanding the boundaries of God’s Kingdom today. It is here in our midst. But at the same time, there are elements of God’s Kingdom that will not be fully realized until Jesus returns in final victory. The Kingdom has a NOW and a NOT YET quality about it. It’s possible that Jesus is alluding to this.

    And then, Jesus not so subtly steers the conversation to the last days. He speaks of how people in the time of Noah and with the destruction of Sodom were caught off guard by the judgement. They should not have been, as there were warnings, but they were. And people will also be caught off guard when Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead.

    We get this warning once again – be ready. Be watchful and be prepared because Jesus will return again and it will be at a time that is most unexpected. When the disciples ask Jesus where this will happen, he responds with a proverb, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” Basically, the location is not the point. Rather, the fact that judgment will occur is the point and it will occur wherever there is sin and spiritual death. The vultures gathering gives us a word picture for what’s going to happen --- they will gather around the spiritual “carcass” or dead body.

    What are your thoughts about the end times? Media and Hollywood have given us a lot of bad information about what will happen when Jesus returns. The Left Behind series, while entertaining, is not very scriptural accurate. As believers, we really don’t have a lot to fear. In fact, we have nothing to fear, we simply need to be ready. Are you ready?

    Blessings,

    Pastor Vicki
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    7 分
  • September 9, 2025; Luke 17:1-19

    September 9, 2025; Luke 17:1-19
    2025/09/09
    Daily Dose of Hope September 9, 2025 Scripture – Luke 17:1-19 Prayer: Holy God, How amazing it is that we can come before you today. You are God of all things, Lord of everything, and yet you care about each of us. We give you glory and praise. We thank you most of all for Jesus, who made it possible for us to walk hand in hand with a holy God. Help us see today’s Scripture through fresh eyes. Keep teaching us, Lord. Continue to reveal yourself to us. We are open and grateful. In Your Name, Amen. Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are currently working our way through a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we start Luke 17. As we start this chapter, Jesus is listing some pretty serious requirements for discipleship. He warns against causing little ones (children, new believers, those who are vulnerable) to stumble. He tells his followers that radical forgiveness is required toward one another. Jesus continues to remind his followers that being a disciple is life-changing in the most extreme way. This obviously challenges the disciples. They proclaim, “Increase our faith.” Jesus’ answer probably wasn’t what they wanted to hear. He tells them about just needing the faith of a mustard seed. I picture the disciples rolling their eyes at this. “Really, just a mustard seed-sized faith? I feel like I need a bit more.” So what was Jesus’ point? Faith isn’t easily quantified. It doesn’t just magically increase with some special prayer. Faith increases through our life experiences. Faith increases only through practice, as we begin to trust God and see him come through for us. Faith increases as we begin to see Jesus at work in our lives, giving us comfort, peace, and strength, in the good and bad times. It’s usually not a fast process. How have you seen your faith grow through experience? What kinds of things in the past few years have had the most impact on your faith journey with Jesus? The next portion of today’s reading is another miracle. Jesus heals ten men with leprosy. This is such a wonderful text! A couple things to note... First, Jesus told the men to show themselves to a priest while they still had leprosy. It was as they went that they were cured. If the priest examined them and they were no longer sick, then they were able to behave like normal people again, socialize, and live normal lives. Walking to the priests while they still had leprosy meant trusting God even when they didn't really have grounds to do so. They really didn’t know what was going to happen. They could have gotten to the priests and still been sick and been yelled at or banned or worse. But they had faith and trusted Jesus. That's a definition of faith–trusting in what we cannot prove. In Hebrews 11:1 it's described as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." If we want everything plain and clear before we take a step of faith, it's not really faith. Faith is trust, even when we don't understand and even when the evidence is against us. It’s interesting that the one who comes back is a Samaritan. As you know from previous readings, Samaritans were enemies of Jews; they hated each other. So why was he the one to come back, rather than the Jews? Maybe he had a deeper sense of what had been done for him. Maybe the Jewish men felt entitled, like they deserved a healing and the Samaritan man did not. Regardless, it speaks of God's grace to everyone. The men's healing doesn't depend on them coming back to say thanks. Jesus heals them anyway; it's not as if the healing of the other nine would be miraculously withdrawn because they didn't return. God does lots of good things for everyone, whether they acknowledge it or not. He makes the sun shine on the righteous and unrighteous and the rain fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). There are many people who are not Christians, but who are still blessed. At one level, Christians ought just to be the people who acknowledge what God's done for them, and turn back to say "Thank you." What do you need to thank God for? Even when circumstances are hard, we are called to spend time rejoicing in what God has blessed us with. It’s so easy to fall into an attitude of negativity and complaining. But God wants us to have an attitude of gratitude, spending more time recognizing how he has healed us, blessed us, saved us, taken care of us, and loved us rather than focus on all the crummy stuff. We will finish up chapter 17 tomorrow. Blessings, Pastor Vicki
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