Daily Dose of Hope New Hope

Daily Dose of Hope
June 24, 2024
Day 2 of Week 13
 
Scripture:  Deuteronomy 32-34; Psalm 13; Luke 13
 
Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church Daily Bible Reading plan.  Today, we conclude the book of Deuteronomy.  Good job, everyone!  It’s been a journey walking through this Scripture.  I would love to hear some of your big takeaways from this book.
 
It’s chapter 32 and it’s time for Moses to step aside and allow God to commission Joshua for the job of leading the Israelites into the promised land.  (Just FYI...Moses was forty years old when he left Egypt and fled for Midian, eighty years old at the time of the exodus, and now he is one hundred twenty years old as the people are about to enter Canaan.)  Over the years, Moses was an effective leader for the people, essentially a mouthpiece for God in many ways.  The people knew him and listened to him.  Thus, it was so important for the people to repeatedly hear that Joshua was God's chosen successor for Moses and that God would offer Joshua divine presence and protection.  A change in leadership can be difficult and this was a big one!  The people had been following Moses for forty years.  He had carried them through some pretty tough situations, usually of their own making.  Now, it's Joshua's time to lead.  We don't get much insight into what Joshua is thinking but my guess is he's a little nervous and also a little excited.  The shoes he is filling are big, the job is very important, and let's be honest, the people are difficult.  While he knew this would be his destiny for years, it's different when it's finally right before him. 
 
In chapter 33, God gives Moses his final instructions before the torch is passed to Joshua and Moses passes away.  He is to teach the people the words to a song (32:1-33) which was intended to serve as a witness to the covenant that God was entering into with the people.  This was a normal element in mid-east treaties.  What God was agreeing to was available for all to see.  The song also would serve as a reminder for the people of what they agreed to and it was intended to be repeated and sung for years to come. 
Moses gathers the people to teach them the song and tells them to take the words of the song, as well as the whole law, to heart.  He stresses, "these are not just idle words for you-they are your life."  The people needed to live and breathe these words because they represented their relationship with God.  If the words were not on the forefront of their mind, then they would drift and fall out of covenant.  Truly, these words were life for them. 
I couldn’t help but think about how we also have access to God's Word through Scripture.  The words of the Bible are not idle words but truly life for us.  It’s through God’s Word that we get to know God and hear his voice. When we fail to read Scripture regularly, then we also are tempted to drift away and break covenant with God.  How important it is to stay connected to the words of life and allow them to soak down deep within us.
Moses’ final act before death was to bestow blessings on the tribes of Israel.  He has led these people for forty years.  I’m sure his emotions were strong as he spoke these blessings to the people he shepherded and loved.  Bestowing blessings before death was a common tradition at the time.  Think of Jacob and Esau competing for their father’s blessing on his deathbed.  There was some prophetical element to the blessings but also Moses was sharing his own thoughts about each tribe as he blesses them.  These are words the people can hold onto and remember as they transition to a new place and way of life. 
It’s always been interesting to me what famous people say on their deathbed.  In mid-east tradition, it was important to impart blessings on those you love most.  In Western tradition, we tend to focus on the final

Daily Dose of Hope
June 23, 2024
Day 1 of Week 13
 
Scripture:  Deuteronomy 27-31; Luke 12
 
Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Bible reading plan.  We are starting week 13 today!  Can you believe it?  I am learning so much.  I hope you are too.  Give me an occasional message – I love your feedback.  Let’s start with Deuteronomy.  We are covering chapters 27-31 today.
 
Chapter 27 details the curses that will come to the Israelites if they deliberately sin against the Lord.  The curses range from idolatry to leading the blind astray.  These were sins against God and others.  Chapter 28 details the blessings that will come upon the Israelites if they obey the laws that God has given them. It also lists the curses that will come upon them if they fail to obey the laws and uphold their side of the covenant.  God would reveal himself through the people of Israel.  He would do this by blessing them so much that the rest of the world would know God blessed them or he would curse them so much that the rest of the world would know God cursed them.  One way or another, God would be revealed. 
 
While we live on the other side of the cross under a new covenant, God still wants to reveal himself to us. We see the hand of God in so many things: a sunset, answered prayer, a strong conviction, a word from God as we pray or read Scripture, or simply his supernatural comfort and presence.  How has God revealed himself to you this week?  Make sure you share this with at least one other person in your life.
 
Chapter 29 talks about the assembly.  It’s described with unusual fullness-the leaders, chief men, elders, officials, other men of Israel, wives, children, and even foreigners. Everybody was included in the covenant.  Yes, the covenant was meant to be for the whole body but it also included individual people from all walks of life.  They all were committing to a covenant renewal with God, just as they were on the cusp of moving into the promised land.  Remember, the original covenant was made at Horeb with their parents.  That wasn't sufficient.  This new generation needed to commit themselves to the Lord and recognize their own responsibility in the covenant.
 
God doesn't have grandchildren, only children.  This passage reminds me of this truth.  Our children must make a commitment to God on their own, they must have their own faith. They cannot ride on our coattails.  The new generation of Jews heading into Canaan had to make anew commitment to God on their own, just as our children must make a commitment to God in their own right.  There are some religions in which you are born into that tradition. While you might be born into a Christian family, you aren't born a Christian. Rather, it's a decision that each individual must make on their own.  Will I follow the Lord or will I not?  I can't make thatcommitment for my kids anymore than you can make that commitment for yours. How are you encouraging the next generation of young people to follow Jesus?  Is there a young person in your life that you currently pray for and disciple? What specific actions do weas a church need to make to lead children and young adults into a life of faith?
 
Okay, let’s talk about Luke 12. There is a lot of great stuff in this chapter and we could probably go into depth with each section.  But I thought we could talk about the section on worry.  I actually have several of these verses printed out and hanging in my bathroom so I can read them every day, multiple times a day.
 
What is it about us and worry?  I have struggled with worry and anxiety for most of my life!  I finally had to admit to myself that worrying is lack of trust in God.  After all, God loves me and God has promised to care for me.  He cares for the birds of the fields; certainly he cares for me.  This doesn’t mean things will always go my way.   Nor doe

Daily Dose of Hope June 20, 2024, Day 5 Week 12 
Scripture: Deuteronomy Chapter 23-26: the gospel of Luke Chapter 11
Welcome back to the daily dose of hope, the devotional and podcast that complements New Hope Church’s Bible reading plan. 
Let’s get into our scripture today: Today our chapters of scriptures deal with purity. All of these laws are geared in conjunction with the seventh through the tenth commandment. These passages of scriptures begin with lengthy commands about keeping the land and people pure. It is interesting that purity is maintained by excluding inacceptable groups from being part of Israel’s religious community. The gathering was not a matter of sin. It was a ceremonial rule meant to teach Israel the need for perfection before the Lord. 
Even when the army camps out during war, they must keep themselves pure going as far as burying their waste underground. There was a righteous way to be cleansed from bodily emission and to disposed of daily waste in order to keep the camp ceremonially clean so that our Holy God could dwell among his people. Moses was stern in his direction of not allowing the Israelites to defile the land. Cult prostitution was prevalent in Canaan at this time therefore Moses continually warns the Israelites not to be tempt with evil by patronize the Canaanite prostitute. Their wages earned if brought into the house of the Lord would defile it as a form of wicked worship. Our God is righteous in all that he does whether in covenant relationship or not. It is evident how he showed love in providing asylum to fugitive slaves by letting them live and not returning them to their masters.
As we move along through the text Moses continue with commands given by God that promote social responsibility in not taking possession of others. Our God believe in fairness and mercy for his people , but he did not exclude revenge when he felt it was justified. God wanted his people free to live in harmony, free of oppression. 1 Peter 3:8-10 states , “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” This happen because we place ourselves under God’s rule and authority. This text ends with a concluding exhortation of Moses reminding the Israelites what God had done and what things he required of them upon entering the promised land. In preparation to enter the promise land the Israelites were required to give a first fruit offering. A first fruit offering of their harvest was an opportunity for the people to remind themselves and to declare publicly that God had indeed given them the land as promise and the produce was the proof. Along with the offering, the Israelites were to recite the story of their deliverance from Egypt to never forget their progress.
This is our story too. We have broken God’s law as well. Some of us may escape them in this life, but God is not a liar. Moses concludes this lengthy message about Israel’s covenant relationship by calling them to commitment and obedience to his statutes and ordinances. Their responses were to obey God willingly and fully with their heart and soul. They affirmed that the Lord was their God and God response my making them a holy people to himself. As Christian the good news is we have this same hope. We will inherit every blessing promised in this text and more (2 Corinthians 1:20). We will enter the new and final garden of Eden in the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21:1). We will be free from death, disease, and pain (Revelation 21:4). Best of all, we will be with Jesus. That’s what really makes the land good.
Moving to our New Testament text Luke Chapter 11
As Jesus continues to make his way to Jerusalem the gospel writer Luke make radical departure in Jesus’ biography from His ministry in performance to

Daily Dose of Hope June 19, 2024, Day 4 of week 12
Scripture: Deuteronomy chapter 19 through 22, Psalm 6, and the gospel Luke chapter 10 
Welcome back to the daily dose of hope, the devotional and podcast that complements New Hope Church’s Bible reading plan. 
Let get into our scripture today: 
Chapter 19-22 of Deuteronomy continues to lay out the rules and laws that God expected the Israelites to govern themselves by. In essence God wants them to behave and learn to live together with mutual respect. All of these laws are geared in conjunction with the 6th commandments. "You shall not murder". The representative laws in these chapters all protected people who were vulnerable for one reason or another. Criminal law, specifically crimes against persons, is in view. God instructed Moses to cover the regulation that dealt with various circumstances the Israelites would have to encounter before they reach Canaan. God's concern for His people's possessions and reputations, as well as their lives, stands out clearly in these  chapters. What can we learn from this passage of scripture? Whatever we come up against God has our back. “Do not be afraid, for the LORD your God is with you.” A quote from God that often spoke to the Israelites. Understanding God’s love for his chosen people was key to him protecting them even in their rebellion.  To arrive at Canaan there had to be some sort of respect for human lives, but also the  Israelites needed to know how to protect themselves. Israel’s warfare as they journey to Canaan was not to eliminate their enemies. God just wanted peace among the people as the Israelites inhabit the land. God wanted them to possess. This section ends with various laws being enacted, one in particular is laws concerning sexual relations. These statues defended the sanctity of marriage, the purity and innocence of virginity, and the honor of a women’s reputation. One way they were to express faithfulness to God was by honoring the covenant of marriage. The same is true for us. 
Moving to Psalm 6. In this psalm, David is seeking to discover the reasons behind his suffering. He believes his suffering is the result of God disciplining him due to his sin. Like a son appealing to his father , he asks for relief from his earned rebuke. David had sin, and his spiritual condition has physical and emotional repercussions. How long would he have to suffer, he asked of the Lord? But notice David does not run from God; He runs to God. His pleads to  God was on the basis of his covenant and faithful love to God. He asks God to rescue him before he descended to the grave. He is confident the Lord heard his weeping plea for help and his prayer for mercy and deliverance has been accepted. He looks forward to how God would act on his behalf, turn back his enemies, and disgrace them for their deeds against God’s anointed one. As Christian we too can go to God for mercy and understanding according to (1 John 1:5-9) even in the context of our sin and failure because our covenant relationship with him through Jesus Christ. My friend that Good News for all of us. 
Lastly moving to the New Testament; Luke chapter 10. We continue looking at heading toward Jerusalem. This chapter of scripture brings us back to some familiar texts. The sending out of the seventy, the good Samaritan and a visit to Martha and Mary. Here we see Jesus draws away from public ministry and theological debates to focus on his continue preparation of his disciples for what will happen in Jerusalem. This was a kind of “internship,” a training time while Jesus was still with them. Although Jesus wanted those then and wants Christian now to spread the message concerning the teaching of the Kingdom of God. He knew it would not be a simple task. It was difficult to give a message many in the world did not want to hear then and now. Still, efforts to tell others about our savior is our Christian’s responsibility. If we do not tell t

Daily Dose of Hope June 18, 2024, Day 3 of week 12
Scripture: Deuteronomy chapter 15 through 18, Psalm 115, and Luke chapter 9 
Welcome back to the daily dose of hope, the devotional and podcast that complements New Hope Church’s Bible reading plan. 

Let get into our scriptures today: 
We begin with Moses telling the Israelites how God wants them to behave. Here we see God instructing his people to show concern for the welfare of every individual regardless of their economic or social status. In the Sabbatical year, which was seven years after a person accrued a debt. Everyone who has lent money to anyone must cancel the debt. It is interesting that God guarded against extreme wealth and extreme poverty. In God’s economy concessions were had for His people not to endure hardship. As we move further into the text, we see Moses repeating  the instructions regarding the  three most important feasts, which included sacrificial meals, that the people would eat at the tabernacle. These festival serves as a reminder of what God had done to deliver them out of  Egypt and a requirement of all Israelites male to assembled at the sanctuary three times a year to celebrate the Passover, the Pentecost, and Festival of Booth. It was a time to reflect on Israel allegiance to Yahweh, their Lord, and their God, on their redemption from sin, their spiritually enslaved condition, while rejoicing in God's provisions, corporately and regularly.
This passage of scripture stressed legislation that advocated for respecting authority figures in the nation and to their extended family. God wanted Israel to show itself to be a holy nation. This means in religious worship as well as in political relationships. Moses stresses here the key principle of justice on how to behave in public. The chapter ends with Moses letting the people know God will raise another Prophet like him as a way to prepare them for Mose’ departure since he would not enter the promise land. Moses exhortation was a measuring stick to hold up against any prophet who claimed to speak in God’s name. Ultimately, Jesus would be the only prophet who will speak for God perfectly without any sin or impurity.
Moving to Psalm 115:
This psalm tells  us to trust in the LORD. This means, believe what the LORD says, and wait until on him  to send you help when you need it. The important thing that the psalm teaches us is there is only one God. All other gods are man-made and cannot do anything to help us. The God that we serve is the God in heaven and he does whatever he please. God is sovereign! Our job on earth is to believe and praise the Lord. Only if we acknowledge him now will we be with him forever. In death it is too late to make this decision.
Moving to the New Testament the gospel of Luke Chapter 9
This is a familiar text to most of us where Jesus began to prepare the twelve for what had to take place in Jerusalem. Once Peter reveal Jesus to be the Messiah. Jesus validated his mission to the disciples as being the Messiah and he would be rejected by Israel religious leaders to be killed, buried  and then raised on the third day. This conversation allowed Jesus’ to communicate to the disciples some expectation of what life would be like to serve as a disciple. In preparation eight days later, Jesus took his inner circle of disciples, Peter, John, and James to the mountain where Jesus was transformed as Moses and Elijah appeared in glory speaking of his departure once he accomplished his mission  in Jerusalem. All of the other passage deals with Jesus divine powers and authority in the earth. This chapter ends with Jesus explaining who is fit for the kingdom of God. No one who looks back is fit for the kingdom. To all who want to have it both ways, Jesus insist that loyalty to him mean following him. As Christians, we  have a responsibility to share the gospel. We must still share it even when it is rejected by unbelievers. Remember, as believers, we’re

Daily Dose of Hope
June 17, 2024
Day 2 of Week 12
 
Scripture: Deuteronomy 10-14; Psalm 5; Luke 8
 
Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the daily devotional and podcast that complements New Hope Church’s Bible reading plan.  We have a lot of Scripture to cover today so let’s get started.  We are going to start by walking through the passages in Deuteronomy chapter by chapter. 
 
Let’s start with Deuteronomy 10.  What does God ask of his people?  He asks them to be obedient.  The Lord of all, the one who put the stars in the sky and put the planets into motion, is the same God who chose Israel to be his people.  He has chosen to reveal himself to a particular group of people, the Israelites.  There wasn't anything particularly special about the people.  Afterall, they were people like you and me.  They messed up and sinned over and over again.  Their brokenness was evident.  But God chose this group of people to call his own. The one who created the entire cosmos was the one who showed up among this stiff-necked people. 
 
This chapter gives us a glimpse into the heart of God. Though he is Lord of Lords, all powerful and all knowing, he is also the God who cares about the orphans, the widows, and the oppressed.  He has chosen a particular group of people to form into a holy nation.  Though they are a mess and he often gets frustrated with them, he continues to be faithful.  How have you seen the faithfulness of God in your own life?
 
Now, let’s move on to chapter 11.  Heartfelt obedience would be required for the people of God to drive out the people groups currently residing in the promised land.  Simply going through the motions, engaging in religious ceremony, and professing faith would not be enough.  They needed to seek relationship with God through love, obedience, and steadfastness.  When they did this, all the land would be theirs.  Obviously, our circumstances are different. 
 
Obviously, we live on the other side of the cross under a new covenant. But as people, are we all that different? Don't we also simply go through the motions sometimes, professing religious faith but not really loving God?  How often do we engage in religious ritual without connection and obedience to a holy God?  After thousands of years, God is still seeking an intimate relationship with us, one that is marked with love, obedience, and steadfastness.  He wants to be the center of our lives.  Take some time today and think about the Israelites, just as they are on the cusp of entering the promised land. How are you different from them?  How are you similar?
 
Chapter 12 offers some more review of how the Israelites are to worship.  After commanding the removal and destruction of idols, we now move on to where and how God must be worshiped.  The worship of the one true God was to look very different from the worship of pagan idols.  It was to be in a place chosen by God himself.  It was to be in one place alone and there God would take up residence.  This would be God's tabernacle, his temple, among his people. 
 
Throughout the Old Testament, God dwells in a specific place. His presence is found in the tabernacle and then eventually the temple in Jerusalem.  Obviously, God is omnipotent and can be everywhere all at once.  But for his people, that specific place was holy.  It was a beautiful picture of God's presence among them. 
 
When Jesus came, he became the temple.  He was the very presence of God.  Once Jesus ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit was given to the church.  Now, the presence of God resided within the people.  If you have said yes to Jesus, then the Spirit of the Living God lives within you!  I find it amazing and spectacular how God continues to do a new thing among his people.  Now, we can definitely say that the presence of God is here with us. We don't have to go to a specific building.  God's presence is closer than our very breath.