Daily Dose of Hope

November 12, 2025

Scripture – John 19

Prayer: Holy God, You are a God of order and a God of purpose. The world may seem chaotic, but you are not. You have ordered your world with perfection. Help us trust you. Lord, fill us with your perfect peace. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. As most of you know, we have been walking through the Gospels and will soon walk through Acts. Today, we begin John 19.

Our passage begins with Jesus before Pilate. Even Pilate, the Roman official, recognizes that Jesus has done nothing wrong. Pontius Pilate is an interesting guy. He knows that Jesus hasn't done anything wrong, certainly nothing worthy of execution, and he truly wants to free Jesus. The text indicates that Pilate is somewhat scared of Jesus. He tries to placate the Jewish leaders. He has Jesus flogged. He offers to release Barrabas, a noted insurrectionist, thinking for sure they would rather have Jesus set free rather than a murderer. But that isn't what happened. And Pilate isn't willing to stand up for what he knows is right. His own role in Jesus' death lands him a mention in the Apostle's Creed, the most famous and oldest Christian Creed. Think about it, for two thousand years, Christians around the globe have been declaring that Jesus died under Pontius Pilate.

Bottom line: The Jewish officials are desperate to get rid of Jesus. They are blinded by fear, jealousy, and contempt. In an attempt to get Pilate to cooperate with their plans, they threaten to report him to Caesar. After all, Jesus claimed to be king and anyone who made such a claim would be considered a threat to the emperor. The great irony here is that the Jews are essentially presenting themselves as better Roman citizens than Pilate, the Roman official. When it's convenient for them, they are happy to use the pagan Roman government to get their way. They will sacrifice their own ethics to ensure that Jesus is killed.

The thing about sacrificing our ethics is that it's a slippery slope, is it not? These Jewish officials were probably very pious men. They thought they were doing the right thing. Afterall, Jesus was saying blasphemous things and he didn't follow their rules. They needed to step in and take care of it. But gradually their dislike of Jesus became hate. They so badly wanted him gone that they were willing to do anything, break their own laws, disobey Torah, simply to get rid of him. They were willing to do anything, no matter how shady it was or low they had to go.

Has your hatred of another person ever made you compromise your own values? We think we are so much better than these Jewish officials but I think sometimes we are just like these Jewish officials. Dig deep today, friends. Examine your own heart.

The remainder of the chapter is pretty powerful. Jesus carries his own cross to the place of his execution. The soldiers cast lots for his clothing. He breathes his last breath without any of his bones being broken by the soldiers. They pierced his side with a spear. Lots of prophecy being fulfilled here.

Finally, two faithful Jewish men, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, take Jesus' body and place it in a tomb. Not a lot can be done to prepare the body for burial because it's Friday afternoon and the Sabbath is upon them. Things will have to wait. But things may look a lot different on Sunday morning.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

November 11, 2025

Scripture - John 18:19-40

Prayer: Lord, Let us start by thanking you for a new day. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the one who was, and is, and is to come. You are all powerful and all knowing. We give thanks for your love and wisdom. We give thanks for your presence. Help us, Lord, gather our scattered thoughts. Help us set aside distractions and listen to what you have for us today. In these next few moments of silence, hear our prayers...Jesus, we love you. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional/podcast that goes along with the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We have been doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we are finishing up John 18.

Jesus has been before the Jewish high priest and the Jewish ruling council. They can't stand him. They not only feel threatened by him, but they are appalled about how he speaks of forgiving sins and being like the Father. They physically assault him. They want him to die but they don't have the power to execute him under Roman law. They have to take him to the Roman governor, who happens to be Pontius Pilate. As you will see, Pilate does not find Jesus to have done anything worthy of death at all but he is scared of the Jewish leaders.

We could go in a lot of different directions with this. But I want to focus on a portion of verses 37-38, ...Jesus responded, "You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."

"What is truth?" Pilate asked...

Jesus came to testify to the truth. Pilate questions if there can be truth. The Greek word for "truth" is aletheia, and it means something like "divine revelation." It literally means "what can't be hidden." The Hebrew word for "truth" is emeth, which means firmness and immovability.

This is such an important discussion because we live in a world in which people are still searching for truth and meaning. There is an idea that it's okay for you to have your truth and me to have mine. But yet, that only works up until a point, until our disagreements become really fundamental.

Here is some truth for you: Truth is not relative, nor does it change from person to person. Truth can be offensive to some because they simply don't like how it makes them feel. The reality is that many things can have some truth but there is only one TRUTH. For believers, TRUTH is Jesus Christ. John 14:6 reads, Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." When Jesus says, "I am the way," he doesn't say "I am a way." How the Greek sentence is constructed makes it absolutely clear and irrefutable that Jesus is making an exclusive claim here. He is basically saying, don't go looking to anyone else to point you in those directions, because I am the only one who can!" Jesus is the map that leads us to all truth.

If we really believe this, this fundamentally changes how we think about the world. If Jesus is truth, then everything he said throughout the Gospels is true. It means he came back from the dead and will return to judge all people. It means he is God. Do you believe this? Do you? I'm pressing this point a bit, I know. And it's for a reason. Because if we really, really believe Jesus is truth, then this one fact will inform every other piece of our life.

It will affect how we treat others.

It will affect how we worship.

It will certain affect our priorities.

It will change how we spend our money.

It affects what we think about during the day.

It will change how we talk to people.

We will think about sharing Jesus a lot more.

We will think about Jesus a lot more in general.

We will pray more. We will read the Bible more. We will become more deeply devoted to God because he is Truth and nothing else in the world is.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

November 10, 2025

Scripture - John 18:1-18

Prayer: Holy God, We come before you today in humility and awe. You are a good God. You, who put the stars and planets in motion, also created us. You care about the most minute details of our lives. You have numbered the hairs on our head. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for caring so much. Help us be put even a small reflection of your love toward those around us. More of you and less of me, Jesus. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently in the book of John, as we walk through the whole of the Gospels and the book of Acts. Today, we start John 18.

We start in the Garden. Unlike Mark's Gospel, Jesus does not plead that the cup be taken from him. Rather, he steps forward and boldly declares that he is Jesus of Nazareth, the one they are looking for. The Garden of Gethsemane is a common place. He is not hiding and he is not apprehensive. He offers himself in place of his disciples who are there with him. He affirms the anti-violent path given to him by God and rebukes Peter when he cuts the high priest's slave's ear off. Jesus will not allow anyone, including Peter, to deprive him of his role in God's victory. Jesus knows he is innocent, he knows this is unjust, but he also knows it is necessary so he will do what must be done, not for his sake but for ours.

I always wonder what Judas is thinking in this moment. Does he have a sense of satisfaction? Or, is there part of him that has regret? Does he see Jesus' innocence and begin to see what he has done? I don't think we will ever know but I can't help but wonder. Judas was a complicated character and if we are honest, we've all been Judas at one time or another. We have all betrayed Jesus.

Speaking of betrayal, we also get to read about Peter's first denial of Jesus to the servant girl in the high priest's courtyard. The first of three, of course. What was going on in Peter's head? We know he had to be scared to death. Was he praying? Had he forgotten everything Jesus taught him? Was he trying to figure out how to just get out of the situation alive? I mean, he was Jesus' very best friend.

More tomorrow.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

November 7, 2025

Scripture - John 17

Prayer: Dear Holy God, Your love is amazing. Thank you for the way you care for us. In these next few moments of silence, Lord, help us focus on you...Lord Jesus, help us set aside every distraction and take this time to lean on you. We want to hear your voice. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily bible reading plan. We are currently in the book of John as we walk through the Gospels and Acts. Today, we are deep diving into John 17.

In our passage, John 17, Jesus is praying, out loud, with the disciples around him. There is a lot of substance here. You probably noticed that there are three sections to Jesus' prayer, the prayer that God will glorify Jesus, a prayer for the disciples, and a prayer for all believers. Unlike the Lord's Prayer which offers a model for prayer, this prayer is more instructive to the disciples about who they are and who Jesus is to them. What might it have been like for the disciples to be seated around a table with Jesus as he prayed out loud for them? Think about what it's like when someone prays out loud for you. It changes your experience of the prayer. It makes it very, very personal.

One interesting aspect of this prayer is that Jesus starts by giving a clear definition of eternal life and it isn't the typical one. He says, ...this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. That seems rather simple - eternal life is to know God and Jesus. How does Jesus' definition here change what we imagine in this life?

Really, the whole prayer paints a picture about what it looks like to be in relationship with God. What does it look like for the disciples to be in relationship with God? What does it look like for us, as the believers who have come after them? We are to be in unity with God but also in unity with one another. In fact, the way the world will know that Jesus was sent by God is because of the love and unity of his followers. Considering the disunity of the body of Christ now and in the past, this just makes me cry!

I was at a conference this past week in which the opening speaker mentioned this specific prayer by Jesus regarding Christian unity. He said it had been his study and prayer focus for several months now. He confessed that it used to really bother him because Christians have failed so miserably at being unified. But after this time of prayer and study, he came to the conclusion that Jesus would not pray something that wasn't possible. And that makes sense. It's not in Jesus' character to set us up for failure. Just because something is difficult does not mean it's impossible. But it is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us as God's people. It's going to take a lot of humility and repentance too!!!

What are your thoughts? Is Christian unity possible?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

October 6, 2025

Scripture – John 16

Prayer: Lord, our Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth! We magnify your precious and powerful name. How often we forget how mighty you are. You created all. You created us. Thank you, Lord, for who you are. Most of all, thank you for loving us with all our flaws and brokenness. In all we do, in who we are, help us to be more like you. We pray for humility, mercy, and compassion. Help us see others through your eyes. In Your Name, Amen.`

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that goes along with the New Hope daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. We are going through the book of John currently as part of our deep dive into the Gospels and Acts. Today, we are taking a look at John 16.

Jesus starts by telling the disciples that he is teaching them all of this because things are going to get hard. He wants them to know just how hard. Not only will Jesus be arrested and killed, but the disciples themselves will experience persecution. I'm not sure that this has crossed their minds. Remember, they are still thinking that Jesus will establish an earthly Kingdom that will overthrow the Romans.

Jesus reiterates that he will be going away, there will be grief, but then there will be joy. He uses the analogy of a woman having a baby. There is lots of pain during childbirth but when the child comes, it's all worth it. There is so much joy in holding that new baby. So Jesus says that the disciples will have tremendous grief but then they will have tremendous joy. They question him, of course, because they really don't understand. This is still very confusing to them. This doesn't fit their idea of what it supposed to happen.

But the final verse of this chapter is one of my favorites and definitely worth memorizing. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Jesus knows that they don't get it and that the next few days are going to be excruciating. Really, the next few years will be hard. But we live in a broken world. He didn't come to take away pain and suffering. In fact, he says that in this world, we will have trouble. Expect it. But because of Jesus, we can actually have peace in the midst of trouble. We can have the kind of peace the world does not offer, a peace that only makes sense connected to Jesus. Jesus is the one who conquered death, he overcame evil, he won victory over Satan. Because of his victory, we also can experience victory. Because of his resurrection, we also can experience resurrection. All the troubles of this world won't go away for us, but we can get through them. Jesus can make a way when their seems to be absolutely no way. He can bring peace to our chaos. He is the one who overcame the world. And that, my friends, is such great news.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki