Daily Dose of Hope from New Hope

New Hope Church
New Hope Church
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The Daily Dose of Hope is a devotional intended to provide context and reflection to the New Hope Church Bible Reading Plan. It's our goal to read the Bible in a year together as a family of faith. Five days a week we read. Two days a week we either rest or catch up. Reading the Bible is the number one way to grow in our walk with Jesus. We have to know God's Word to live God's Word. Now for our Daily Dose of Hope.

  1. 14h ago

    November 4, 2026; Exodus 11

    Daily Dose of Hope November 4, 2026   Scripture: Exodus 11   Prayer:  Holy God, We come before you today rejoicing in your powerful name.  Thank you for who you are and all you do.  Thank you for loving us.  Help us gather our scattered thoughts, help us set aside distractions, and truly focus on you right now.  In these next few moments of silence, Lord, we want to hear your voice...In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome back, everyone, to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan.  We are in the midst of a deep dive into Exodus.  Today's reading is Exodus 11.   Today's chapter is rather short, but there are still some important things to address here.  God tells Moses that the tenth and final plague is coming.  The Hebrews are to ask their Egyptian neighbors for silver and gold.  They aren't going to leave Egypt empty-handed.  The Egyptians by this point probably want the Hebrews to go.  This has been a tough season for them and it's only going to get tougher.   What is the final plague?  It's a horrible one – the death of firstborn sons.  I want us to take a moment and let that sink in.  This is heartbreaking and tragic - the death of babies.  I have to admit; this is a hard one to take.  I can't help but think about the Egyptian moms who will grieve.  Maybe you do too.   So, let's sit here a minute.  How do we make sense of this?  We know that the Pharoahs of the plagues have been evil.  They have themselves been baby killers, oppressors, and disobedient to the one true God.  They have been evil.  God, through Moses, gave lots of warnings and lots of chances to let the Hebrew people go.  Pharoah saw God's power but he continued to rebel and disobey.  Nothing has worked.  So now, God is going to do something that is going to get the attention of everyone.  Is it hard to take?  Is it tragic?  Yes.    I think this is where I've landed.  Sin and evil have consequences.  And I have to trust that God knows what's best.  He is all-loving and totally just.  He knows what each situation needs.  I, on the other hand, have a definite human sense of fairness.  But God's vision is so much bigger.  He sees the whole picture which is impossible for us to see.  I trust that.  God knew what the Hebrews needed.  He knew what Pharoah needed.  His plan is bigger than any leader or us.  I trust that.  Do you?   What are your thoughts?   Blessings, Pastor Vicki

  2. 1d ago

    November 3, 2026; Exodus 10

    Daily Dose of Hope November 3, 2026   Scripture: Exodus 10   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 to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan for New Hope church.  We are currently doing a deep dive into the book of Exodus.  Our reading for today is Exodus 10.   The land of Egypt is really battered by this point.  They have faced frogs, insects, dying livestock, boils (which sounds horrible), and destructive hail.  But there is more to come.  We start today's chapter with the Lord telling Moses to go back to Pharoah.  But be forewarned because his heart is hardened.  By this point, Pharoah is unbending.  God is clear that he is performing these signs so that people will know that he is God and that the Israelites will be able to share with future generations how God dealt harshly with the Egyptians.  This is no longer about getting Pharoah to repent.  We are well past that point.    It's time for the locusts.  I looked up locusts.  Locusts are short-horned grasshoppers in case you were wondering.  So, all locusts are grasshoppers but not all grasshoppers are locusts.  Unlike average grasshoppers, locusts have the ability to swarm.  They generally do this when there is a drought or other environmental disaster.  And the result is devastating.  They can totally destroy whatever vegetation they swarm upon.  There is actually a form of locust, the desert locust, which can have 80 million locusts in a swarm and that swarm can eat 400 million pounds of plants in a day.    So, you can see why Pharoah's officials were not apply with the locust news.  They knew that Egypt couldn't take one more thing, especially locusts.  And it almost seemed like Pharoah might relent.  But he didn't, not really, because he decided only the men could go.  Thus, the Lord had Moses raise his hands over Egypt and the locusts came and ate everything that was green.  After this significant devastation, Pharoah admitted he sinned against the Lord and asked Moses to call out to God to make the locusts go away.  Of course Moses did so, but Pharoah's repentance was once again short-lived.   The ninth plague is darkness.  The land is dark for three days.  It's interesting, you probably caught that the areas where the Hebrews lived still had light, but the Egyptian neighborhoods were totally dark.  It's during this plague that Pharoah agrees to allow the Hebrews to go worship the Lord, but he said they must leave their livestock there.  Of course, this wouldn't work.  They needed their livestock for sacrifices and for basic living.   This seems to put Pharoah over the edge.  He tells Moses to get out of his sight.  In fact, he tells Moses that he never wants to see him again.  And if Moses does see Pharoah again, Pharoah will see to it that he dies.  So there's that.    More tomorrow.   Blessings, Pastor Vicki

  3. 2d ago

    November 2, 2026; Exodus 9

    Daily Dose of Hope November 2, 2026   Scripture: Exodus 9   Prayer: Holy God, We come before you today rejoicing in your powerful name.  Thank you for who you are and all you do.  Thank you for loving us.  Help us gather our scattered thoughts, help us set aside distractions, and truly focus on you right now.  In these next few moments of silence, Lord, we want to hear your voice...In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan.  We have started a deep dive into the book of Exodus and today, we are reading Exodus 9.    More plagues.  The fifth through seventh plagues seem a bit more serious.  We go from frogs and bugs to livestock dying, boils covering bodies, and horrible hail which has the potential to destroy all the crops.    For the first time, Pharoah actually admits some wrong.  Verses 27-28 read like this, Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. "This time I have sinned," he said to them. "The Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don't have to stay any longer."  Wow, is this repentance?  Well, sort of.   Notice that Pharoah qualifies his repentance.  This time he sinned.  What about all the other times, Pharoah???  Could it be that when we qualify our repentance, we aren't really repentant?  Can you think of a time in which you were sorry, but not really?  Your heart was not in the right place.  Maybe your sin felt justified.  You were okay with saying, "I'm sorry," but it was really a means to an end.  I think that's what's happening here with Pharoah.  His heart is hard.  This isn't true repentance.  It's just doing enough, saying enough, to try to get what he wants.    And just like he did the other times, Pharoah changed his mind.  Maybe he was never really planning on letting the Hebrews go free.  The problem is that every time Pharoah fails to relent, the next plague is going to get worse.  The consequences of our sin gradually get worse and worse and worse.  But he was just too arrogant to think anything could touch him.  And that will be his downfall.    Blessings, Pastor Vicki

  4. 5d ago

    Exodus 5-8

    The Daily Dose of Hope is a devotional intended to provide context and reflection to the New Hope Church Bible Reading Plan.  It's our goal  to read the Bible in a year together as a family of faith.  Five days a week we read.  Two days a week we either rest or catch up.  Reading the Bible is the number one way to grow in our walk with Jesus.  We have to know God's Word to live God's Word.  Now for our Daily Dose of Hope… https://www.findnewhope.com

  5. 6d ago

    October 29, 2026; Exodus 8

    Daily Dose of Hope October 29, 2026   Scripture: Exodus 8   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 daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church.  We have recently started a deep dive into the book of Exodus and today, our reading is Exodus 8.   How about a few more plagues for your Thursday morning reading?  The confrontation between God and Pharoah is escalating.  I would say the confrontation between Moses and Pharoah but really Moses doesn't have a lot to do with it.  He is being obedient, but he has no power in the situation.  God is the one with all the power.    Today, we read about the second through fourth plagues – frogs, gnats (some translations say lice), and flies.  After each plague, Pharoah is exasperated and wants the frogs, gnats, or flies, gone.  And after each plague, Pharoah promises Moses that if he speaks to God and gets the vile creatures to stop bothering Egypt, Pharoah will allow the Hebrews to leave.  But as soon as they have some relief from the plague, Pharoah's heart is hardened and he goes back on his word.   I think it's worth taking a moment and discussing what it means for Pharoah's heart to be hardened in this circumstance.  Is Pharoah hardening his own heart or is God hardening Pharoah's heart?  One important piece of the story that isn't obvious in the Scripture is that Pharoah isn't one man.  This happened over a period of years, and there were a number of different pharaohs that Moses and Aaron were dealing with.  But they were all basically the epitome of evil.  A hardened, arrogant heart would not be at all surprising when you are dealing with a series of really wicked leaders who have rejected the one true God.    Now back to the plagues.  It appears that for the first five plagues, Pharoah is hardening his own heart or there is a passive comment about his heart being hard.  Look at verse 15 from today, But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. Pharoah is making an intentional choice of defiance.  In verse 19, we read about this passive or ambiguous hardness, ...But Pharaoh's heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.  And God had warned Moses this would happen.  Remember, God can foreknow our freely made choices.    But for the last five plagues, the pattern changes.  We haven't gotten there yet, but I'm going to skip ahead a bit.  In plagues six through ten, the language is more that God hardened Pharoah's heart.  God gave Pharoah five times to repent and allow his people to go.  Instead, he resisted and even mocked God with his choices.  Now, God is bigger and stronger than any evil.  God can steer this kind of evil for his purposes.  I don't believe that God took away Pharoah's free will but he allowed him to experience the consequences of his own evil choices.  At this point, Pharoah was already heading in a really bad direction.  Could he have stopped?  Maybe.  That can be a discussion for another day.   One last thought.  Did you notice how Pharoah's magicians and sorcerers were able to conjure up the frogs but they couldn't conjure up the gnats and flies.  So interesting.  There were limits to their powers.  I think I can safely say there are limits to demonic powers.  God is bigger.  God is stronger.  And if you have said yes to Jesus, then you belong to God.  We have nothing to fear as long as we stay connected to Jesus and don't open the door to any kind of demonic power (as we discussed yesterday).  Our God is so much stronger and more powerful than anything else.   Blessings, Pastor Vicki

  6. Oct 28

    October 28, 2026; Exodus 7

    Daily Dose of Hope October 28, 2026   Scripture: Exodus 7   Prayer:  Almighty God and Risen Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, We come before you today with praise and a sense of awe. Even though you are incredibly mighty and take care of us in such fundamental ways, we struggle to stay focused on our faith.  Help us gather our scattered and distracted thoughts.  Help us take a moment of silence and remember who you are...Holy Spirit, speak to us today.  We want to hear your voice.  In Your Name, Amen.   Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope church daily Bible reading plan.  We have just recently started a deep dive into the book of Exodus.  Today's reading is Exodus 7.   Pharoah's heart is hard.  God warns Moses of this again, possibly so he won't get incredibly depressed when his pleas to Pharoah go nowhere.  What's fascinating to me is that God has given Moses the ability to do specific signs to show the Egyptians that God is the one true God.  First, there is the staff that turns into a snake.  Second, there is the plague of blood when Moses (really God) is able to turn the whole Nile River into blood, killing all the fish and creating quite a stench.   But Pharoah, who seems to think he knows better, brings in his own wise men and magicians.  They are also able to use their power to turn staffs into snakes and the Nile into blood.  If you are like me, you might be thinking, how is this even possible?  It makes sense for God to do it, but Pharoah's thugs?  Most scholars believe that these were sorcerers who used demonic power to make things happen.    I think it's worth mentioning that there are different kinds of powers in this world.  But if it isn't God's power, it isn't something we want to mess with at all.  Remember, there is a battle going on between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness.  Satan is real and these spiritual battles been happening for millennia.  They were happening when Moses was confronting Pharoah.  Pharoah's magicians were messing with a kind of power that was very real but also very dangerous.  As we are going to see tomorrow, eventually these sorcerers won't have enough power to keep up with the various plagues.  This kind of power has its limits.  The power of God is stronger than anything else in the world.    As believers, we don't need to be messing with anything that has to do with sorcery or the occult.  That is opening a door to the enemy in our lives that is dangerous.  This includes tarot cards, palm reading, or seeing a psychic.  While some are scams, some aren't.  And they are more from the world of evil Pharoah than the world of God.   More tomorrow.   Blessings, Pastor Vicki

  7. Oct 27

    October 27, 2026; Exodus 6

    Daily Dose of Hope October 27, 2026   Scripture: Exodus 6   Prayer: Almighty Father, Thank you for loving us despite our many faults.  Thank you for showing us a different way of doing life.  Help us seek holiness in all we do.  Help us become the people you desire us to be.  As we work through today's Scripture and devotional, I pray that you speak to our hearts.  Help us see things differently.  We want to hear from you.  In Your Name, 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 working our way through the book of Exodus.  Today's reading is Exodus 6.   After Moses' initial discouragement, God is reiterating who he is and what he will do.  He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  And yes, he is going to bring the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt and he is going to use Moses to do it.  Now, he wants Moses to go tell the Israelites that this is exactly what is going to happen.  Not surprisingly, Moses isn't so keen on the idea.  We might surmise that Moses is going through a time of despair or even depression.  The people won't listen to him and he feels bad for bringing extra hardship on their shoulders.  Moses becomes a man of great faith, but right now, he is struggling.  He isn't sure that God is going to do what God says he will do.  Have you been there?   The second half of the chapter is a list of family names, a genealogy.  Here we have the clans of Jacob's oldest three sons.  Remember, when the author includes a genealogy, it is for a specific reason.  Look closely at the clan of Levi.  Here we see where Moses and Aaron came from.  They are not just some random guys that showed up on the scene to save the Hebrews.  They were real people who were intricately connected to this group of people.  The author is grounding Moses and Aaron among their people.    Finally, at the end of the chapter, God again tells Moses that he is going to need to go see Pharoah and speak on behalf of his people.  Moses is scared.  Then, there is a very uncomfortable chapter divide.  So, I'm going to spoil the story a bit.  God has compassion on Moses' fear and inability to speak well.  God says that his brother Aaron will be the one to speak.  Moses isn't getting out of this, but he will have an ally for the terribly uncomfortable interactions with Pharoah.    Can you relate to this?  Oftentimes, God calls us to do something hard.  But rarely, does he call us to it alone.  We have each other.  We have our brothers and sisters in Christ for support, encouragement, and guidance.  God is calling you to something, my friend, and I'm there to support you through it.   Blessings, Pastor Vicki

  8. Oct 26

    October 26, 2026; Exodus 5

    Daily Dose of Hope October 26, 2026   Scripture:  Exodus 5   Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father, I come before you today with humility.  You are holy, you are perfect, and I am painfully flawed.  Forgive me, Lord, for the way I fall short over and over again.  Forgive me for not being loving, patient, and kind.  Jesus, I want to follow your example.  I want to have a clean and pure heart.  How I need you.  Create in me a pure heart, Lord, and renew a right spirit within me.  I love you.  Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope daily Bible reading plan.  We recently finished a deep dive into the book of Genesis.  Last week, we started diving into the book of Exodus and that's where we are now.  Today's reading is Exodus 5.   Moses is obedient.  He does exactly what God told him to do.  He and Aaron march into Pharoah's palace and tell Pharoah to let the Hebrews go.   They specifically ask for Pharoah to allow the Hebrews to have a festival to God in the wilderness.  Well, not surprisingly, this doesn't go over very well with Pharoah.   He mocks them, asking, "Who is this god?" and  "Why in the world do you expect me to allow the Hebrews to take a vacation?"    Pharoah is so filled with disgust at the request that he decides to double down on the Hebrew workload.  Now, they won't be given the straw to make the bricks, they will have to go collect their own straw and then make the bricks.  But they will be required to make the same number of bricks.  The slave drivers will be extra brutal as well.   Of course, this doesn't go over well with the Hebrew overseers, who ask Moses why he did this to them.  And Moses is left asking the same question.  He did what God asked but he made everything worse.  Instead of things improving, they got worse, much worse.   Now, if you remember, God told Moses this would happen.  Back in chapters 3 and 4, God told Moses that Pharoah's heart would be hard and there will be multiple confrontations.  I doubt that Moses forgot this in God's instructions, but I wonder if he just wasn't fully prepared for what the rejection would feel like.  He was rejected by Pharoah but he was also rejected by his own people, and that is usually the most painful kind of rejection.  I have learned this the hard way many times as a leader – hearing God's call is one thing, living it is something entirely different.    Moses could have tried to explain the plan to the people.  He could have told them, "But this is God's plan.  Pharoah is going to turn me away a few times, there will be some plagues, then we are finally going to leave."  But he doesn't do this.  Why not?  Probably because God didn't tell him to do so.  God has been pretty specific with Moses about what he needs to do.  Giving the Hebrew people a long explanation wasn't part of the instructions.  And would they believe Moses at this point?  Would they shake themselves off from a horrible day of finding straw and making bricks and thank Moses and be encouraged because Moses is the man of the hour?  Probably not.  These were not long game people at this point, they were one day at a time kind of people.  And so Moses is the one who has to trust God FOR the people.  He is the one who has to believe on behalf of the people and know that God has a plan and deliverance is going to happen.  Like the leaders before him and the many who will come after him, Moses needs to develop some thick skin and stand knowing that God has got this.  Can you relate?   Blessings, Pastor Vicki

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The Daily Dose of Hope is a devotional intended to provide context and reflection to the New Hope Church Bible Reading Plan. It's our goal to read the Bible in a year together as a family of faith. Five days a week we read. Two days a week we either rest or catch up. Reading the Bible is the number one way to grow in our walk with Jesus. We have to know God's Word to live God's Word. Now for our Daily Dose of Hope.

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