Daily Dose of Hope

January 19, 2026

Scripture: I Thessalonians 5

Prayer: A prayer from Martin Luther King, Jr...

Thou Eternal God, out of whose absolute power and infinite intelligence the whole universe has come into being, we humbly confess that we have not loved thee with our hearts, souls and minds, and we have not loved our neighbors as Christ loved us. We have all too often lived by our own selfish impulses rather than by the life of sacrificial love as revealed by Christ. We often give in order to receive. We love our friends and hate our enemies. We go the first mile but dare not travel the second. We forgive but dare not forget. And so as we look within ourselves, we are confronted with the appalling fact that the history of our lives is the history of an eternal revolt against you. But thou, O God, have mercy upon us. Forgive us for what we could have been but failed to be. Give us the intelligence to know your will. Give us the courage to do your will. Give us the devotion to love your will. In the name and spirit of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that goes along with the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are currently journeying through Paul's letters. Right now, we are walking through I Thessalonians.

Today, we read I Thessalonians 5. Paul is focusing on the end times not to scare people or bully people into accepting Jesus. Rather, these words were intended to provide comfort to his congregations. He is reiterating some of Jesus' teaching here – how the Lord's return will come like a thief in the night. Paul doesn't quote the Gospels directly but we can see here in this letter, that Jesus' teaching was part of Paul's teaching.

Paul tells them to be alert and sober. This would have been in contrast to many in the area. Dionysus, the god of wine, was worshiped in Thessalonica, and his late night parties were known for being wild and crazy events. The Thessalonians, then, needed to reject those false gods to serve the living God. In doing so, they will be children of the light/day, awake, alert, watchful.

Jesus' return and their identity as people of the light/day are intended to be words of encouragement to them. They have nothing to fear when the Lord comes but will actually excel even more. There is much to be excited for and they are to encourage one another with this hope.

This is fascinating to me. We don't typically encourage each other by remembering that Jesus will return. Unfortunately, popular media and Hollywood have made people, even Christians, afraid of Jesus' return. And we have nothing to be scared of! For the Thessalonians, this was the ultimate hope. It was a reminder that this world, and the persecutions and hardships they faced, were temporary. But they would eventually be with Jesus forever.

Does this give you hope? Why or why not?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki