Daily Dose of Hope New Hope

Daily Dose of Hope
May 12, 2024, Day 1 of Week 7
Scripture:  Exodus 32-34; Philippians 3
 
Welcome back, friends!  It’s time to begin week 7 of our reading.  By the way, this is the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional that complements the New Hope Church Bible reading plan.  We have a lot to cover today so let’s get started!
 
We are in the final quarter of the book of Exodus and we have made it to the famous "golden calf" passage.  Moses has spent awhile on the mountain with God getting holy instructions for living and the people have grown restless.  They complain to Aaron, Moses' brother (the one who will soon lead the family of priests!) and he melts all their gold to make a golden calf for them to worship. 
 
I know what you are thinking, this is totally crazy! What in the world are these people doing???  It helps to understand (but not excuse) their behavior if we remind ourselves that the Israelites had been living in Egypt, with its many gods and idols, just a few months prior.  Now Moses has been detained for an important purpose but he isn't there to babysit them.  They fail the maturity test.  It also demonstrates how quickly people will drift from God. Without intentional connection (Moses provided this for the people), we are a fickle and distracted bunch.
 
For us as Christ-followers, we also have to be very intentional about walking with God: daily prayer, communing with God through the Scripture, staying in connection with other believers, and being part of a worshiping community.  If we don't do these things, it becomes easy to simply...drift.  Maybe we don't start worshiping a golden calf, but we certainly place other things, activities, and people before God.  I hesitate to say this but I'm going to risk it and say it anyway. Because of COVID, many people were forced to pull away from their family of faith for quite some time.  At first, maybe they stayed connected and worshiped every week online very diligently.  As time went on, though, it was easy to let things slide.  How many people do you know who just never really returned to church and Christian community?  They decided other things were more important.  It's not a golden calf but could it be worse?
 
In chapter 33, we find God wants the Israelites to leave the place they have been and move on.  They are not intended to be in the Sinai Peninsula forever.  God has better things for them.  But at the same time, God is clearly telling them that because they are a disobedient, stiff-necked people, God will no longer be present with them in the way he has been up until this point.  The people are distressed and mourn at this news.  They have been craving a divine presence (hence the golden calf debacle) and now God won't be with them as they desire because of their tremendous disobedience. 
 
The most interesting part of this passage to me is Moses' response.  He expresses what I would consider burn-out and frustration.  He says to God in verses 12-13,“You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”  Moses is advocating on behalf of these people.  He is tired and probably really mad at them for their behavior but he also loves them.  In response, God consents that he will not remove his presence from the people.  Furthermore, he will provide rest for Moses. 
 
I'm not sure I'm supposed to do this but I can't help extrapolating a bit here-could this passage be expanded to speak to those of us, volunteers and paid, who work in ministry? How often in ministry work have we felt frustrated and burned-out, in need of great rest?  Maybe our people haven't just gotten in major trouble for worshiping a golden calf but there

Daily Dose of Hope
May 9, 2024
Day 5 of Week 6
 
Scripture – Exodus 28-30; Philippians 2
 
Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope.  Can you believe we have already made it to the end of the sixth week of our reading plan?  I do hope this has been as much as a learning experience for you as it has been for me!  Keep me posted on your big takeaways.
 
Let’s dig in to our Exodus passage for today.  Chapter 28 details the garments for the priests.  A quick word on the priesthood: it was an inherited trade, passed down from generation to generation, in one particular tribe of Israel.  The idea was that the priesthood could not be bought, earned, or won in an election.  Those who became priests were priests because God made them so.  The garments or vestments worn by these men would have made them easily identifiable.  In the nation of Israel (at this point), there were no kings so the beautiful attire worn by kings in other cultures were worn by priests in this one. This identified them as representatives of the one true God, Yahweh. 
 
While chapter 28 details the clothing of the priests, chapter 29 then discusses their ordination ceremony.  The priests at the time were Aaron (Moses' brother) and his sons, but would eventually include their sons and their sons and their sons.  You get the idea.  The ceremony is very specific and detailed.  There were essentially six steps in the ceremony: washing, clothing, and anointing the priests and then preparing and carrying out the sacrifices.  There is order and precision in every single step in the process.  Nothing is taken lightly and every element of the ceremony has meaning and significance.  The whole process took a week.
 
As I read this, I can't help thinking about how we serve a God of order.  Just as the building of the tabernacle was highly ordered, so are the priestly garments and the process for ordination.  There is nothing left for happenstance; everything has a place and a purpose.  While things in this world may sometimes seem random and chaotic, the reality is that most of our world is highly ordered.  God created it that way.  Furthermore, our lives are not random exercises in confusion and haphazardness.  God knew us before we were born; God knew us as we were being knitted together in our mother's womb.  The human body is precise and complicated, designed to work in very specific, very ordered ways.  From the earth's tides to the systems of the human body to the specific guidelines for how the Israelites were to ordain their priests, our God is a God of order.
 
There is so much substance in Philippians 2. We could spend a week on this one chapter alone.  If you didn't get the opportunity to read through the whole text, please do so!  Paul begins the chapter with this amazing narrative about the attitudes that should characterize Christians.  To whom should we compare ourselves?  To Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate example of humility, sacrifice, and love.  This is some of my favorite Scripture and I can read it over and over again.  If you get a chance today, simply take some time to meditate on verses 1-11.
 
The rest of the chapter is really interesting though.  Paul is speaking to the Philippians about working out their salvation with fear and trembling.  First, obedience to God was a central concept for Paul.  Whether he was present with them or not, the expectation is that they should stay obedient to the faith.  With salvation comes an expectation of obedience. What does that mean? 
 
We know, and Paul has certainly established this in other writings, that salvation is a free gift.  We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  If we have said yes to Jesus, then we receive salvation.  However, once saved, we don't simply go on living exactly the same way (if we do, then maybe there was no real heart change to begin with).  Thus, our attitudes, behavior, and speech should demo

Daily Dose of Hope
May 8, 2024
Day 4 of Week 6
 
Scripture – Exodus 25-27; Psalm 90; Philippians 1
 
Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional that complements New Hope Church’s five day a week Bible reading plan.  We have a lot to cover today so let’s get right to it. 
 
In Exodus 25, we find God giving instructions for how to build a place of worship.  The instructions are very specific and they require sacrificial offerings on the part of the people.  God is God.  He could have easily provided all the different kinds of woods, stones, oils, leather, and other things required, but instead he asks the people to provide these various elements for worship themselves.  This required sacrifice and hard work. 
 
Even today, there is something deeply meaningful when people give sacrificially to provide for the worship of God.  When we were in Cuba several years ago, our team brought a large amount of satin fabric with us.  It was for the church to use as they saw fit.  In less than twenty-four hours, some of the ladies in the church had created beautiful and elaborate vestments to cover the communion table and other gorgeous curtains to hang around the outdoor worship area.  They must have stayed up all night to create these items in such a short time.  It was their sacrifice for the worship of God.  What sacrifice do you bring to the worship of God in our setting?
 
I’d really like to take some take and talk a bit about chapter 26.  I'm not a detail-oriented person so the details in this chapter make my head spin a bit.  There were layers upon layers of curtains, inner curtains and outer curtains, and covering layers.  The purpose of these curtains and covering layers were mainly functional but their beauty, exquisiteness, and the precision with which Scripture details them certainly underscores the importance of this place.  This was where the holy, loving, and protective presence of God was "housed."  While God's presence was invisible, the extraordinary symbols in this place were a reminder to the people that God was there. 
 
Towards the end of the chapter, there are details about the curtain that would separate the holy place from the most holy place, some translations say "holiest of holies."  In this place, the ark of the covenant would be positioned, representing the presence of God himself.  The ark was definitely a beautiful object, with much silver and gold.  The interesting thing to me is that this was an object that the Israelites, even the Levites, never laid eyes on.  God put all kinds of protective elements in place (i.e. the curtains in today's Scripture and layers upon layers of protective fabric) to ensure that no one saw the ark.  Why was this?  It's possible that the ark, in its beauty, and the objects within it, could have become an idol to the people.  Just as we are, they were prone to making idols of things.  It could also be that God wanted people to believe in him because of faith and not some extravagant object. 
 
This got me thinking. Are there certain elements in our worship that remind us of God's presence?  As products of the New Covenant, we recognize that God's presence is always with us.  We don't have to be in a church sanctuary or a special holy place to experience God.  On the other hand, there are certain places in our lives that seem to allow us to experience God in more powerful ways than others.  I've had many people mention to me that when they arrived in the New Hope sanctuary after worshiping online only (after COVID), they felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in a really strong way.  Some were moved to weeping.  What about you? Are there places that help you experience the presence of God in life-changing ways?  I would love to hear about them. God is so good, to meet us in all kinds of different places and circumstances, to hear our cries, and to simply be present with us.
Today, we are starting Paul

Daily Dose of Hope
May 7, 2024
Day 3 of Week 6
 
Scripture – Exodus 22-24; Psalm 109; Ephesians 6
 
Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional that complements New Hope Church’s Bible Reading Plan.  This is just a reminder.  If you have any particular prayer concerns or the need for pastoral care, please reach out to me!  With that, let’s get into today’s Scripture.
 
We have started working our way through the specifics of the law.  Today’s Scripture passages detail laws that pertain to personal property, justice and mercy, the Sabbath, and the annual festivals. 
 
What I want to focus on more today is chapter 24, when Moses accepts the Lord's invitation to ratify the covenant with him.  Only a certain number of Israelites were asked to ascend the mountain and Moses was the only one allowed to have any near proximity to God.  The people have agreed to live up to the covenant code with God and this ceremony essentially marks that agreement. 
 
At the end of the chapter, the Scripture speaks of the cloud covering the mountain.  If you recall, the cloud symbolizes God's presence and glory, both protective but also mysterious.  To those at the foot of the mountain, God's presence looked like fire.  The fire certainly would signify God's guidance but also his holiness and power. 
 
We probably don't speak enough about the holiness of God.  God's holiness is one of his defining characteristics.  In Hebrew, holiness refers to being separate and set apart.  It refers to his power, his goodness, his purity, and how God is totally without sin.  His holiness clearly set God apart from the other pagan gods that were worshiped at the time. 
 
But God's holiness can be totally overwhelming for humans, as we can see in today's passage.  We know that Jesus Christ, God incarnate, was also holy and called us to be holy as well.  What does this mean for us as humans to be holy?  Is it even possible?  Well, we aren't going to be holy in exactly the same way God is holy, but we can have lives characterized by holiness.  This means we live "set apart" lives.  As believers, we should behave differently from those who don't know Jesus.  This has nothing to do with what we wear or how we look on the outside (believers over the centuries have gotten this a bit wrong), it's all about what's going on in our hearts.  If we blend so well into our culture that our friends and neighbors don't know we profess faith in Jesus, then there's a problem.
 
Okay, this is our last day in the book of Ephesians.  Let’s provide a little context here.  When we take a look at the first-century church, we see the Holy Spirit at work in amazing ways.  But we also see opposition.  As we've mentioned over the past few days, Ephesus was a very pagan city.  One of the largest and most famous temples, the Temple of Artemis, was in Ephesus.  Worship of other gods was everywhere.  Forces working against God were everywhere.  While the church was growing and experiencing signs and wonders, it was also experiencing resistance and opposition.  Evil was present and real.
 
Evil is still present and real. True, it is no match for the Holy Spirit but for us mere humans, we need to be sure to stay strong in the Lord and his mighty power.  If we don't, we can easily and without our knowledge, be used by the evil forces of this world.  I often say that most of the time, we don't make the devil work that hard because we do such a good job making bad choices.  But we must be aware that evil is out there, tempting us, and looking for our weak spots.  The enemy wants us to experience defeat and discouragement, rather than the freedom and victory we can experience in Jesus. 
 
So what's the answer?  Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God.  How might we do this in practical ways?  Off the top of my head, I immediately think of frequent prayer and dwelling in God's Word.  By making these

Daily Dose of Hope
May 6, 2024
Day 2 of Week 6
 
Scripture – Exodus 19-21; Psalm 33; Ephesians 5
 
Welcome back!  This is the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional that complements New Hope Church’s Bible Reading Plan.  Let’s get right into our Scripture for today.
 
We have come to the passage in which God covenants with his people.  Moses has led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, through the Red Sea, and into the desert.  They have finally made their way to Mt. Sinai, located on the Sinai Peninsula in northeastern Egypt, very close to Israel.  It's here that God's covenant is offered to his people through Moses. 
 
What is a covenant?  God makes binding agreements with people, promising to do certain things and asking his people to do the same.  Covenant agreements were quite common in the ancient near east so basically God uses a concept that was already meaningful to the people.  He uses what already makes sense to them. 
 
God made a covenant with Abraham and with Noah.  Now, he is making one with Moses, on behalf of the Hebrew people.  God uses covenants to begin to reconcile human beings to himself, to begin to fix what went wrong in the Garden of Eden.  Through each covenant that God makes, we see how God attempts to be in relationship with stubborn human beings, demonstrating his deep love for creation, and wanting them to understand that, and so badly wanting them to reciprocate. Through these covenants, God is beginning to reveal his plan of salvation. 
 
Today’s covenant with Moses and the Israelite people is what’s known as the Old Covenant.  We read in Exodus 19 how God calls these people to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests.  If they keep up their end of the agreement, the covenant, then they will be God's treasured possession.  They agree to do so.  Today’s reading is only the beginning of the Scripture describing the Old Covenant.  It starts in Exodus 19 and basically runs through the remainder of the book of Exodus. 
 
What does life under God's Old Covenant look like?  Well, there are some very specific boundaries and guidelines which God provides his people and it's what we call the law. This includes the Ten Commandments, which we read about in Exodus 20, but also so much more.  God's law in total contained 613 commands, and they were both blessings and curses.  This points to how this was a conditional covenant.  If the people obeyed, they would be blessed by God; if they didn't obey, then they would be cursed.  We have a tendency to want to separate the law into pieces (the ceremonial laws, worship laws, the food laws, the moral laws, and so forth) but the law was a unit.  If you broke one piece of it, you broke it all.
 
The covenant was with the whole nation of Israel.  It wasn't with one person--it was for Israel as a whole.  This is important-it wasn't for Gentiles and Gentile nations.  It wasn't for the church.  It was for Israel.  If someone wanted to be a Jew, then they had to agree to live under the covenant, which included becoming circumcised for men.  A couple more things about the law: Sometimes, especially in Christian circles, we think of the law as bad.  We read about the legalistic Pharisees in the Gospels and we read through Paul's letters and we think about how horrible the law was.  But that is really the opposite from the truth.  The law, this Old Covenant, was good.  When God's people came out of Egypt after generations of living in a pagan world, having adopted pagan ways, they didn't know who God was.  They didn't understand at all who they were as God's people. 
 
After redeeming them the Israelites from bondage, God gave them guardrails in the form of the law.   Have you ever driven on a mountain road with no guardrails?  It can be really scary!  I had this happen when we were in Rocky Mountain National Park.  It felt like an eternity I was driving on these incredibly steep mountain

Daily Dose of Hope
May 5, 2024
Day 1 of Week 6
 
Scripture – Exodus 16-18; Ephesians 4
 
Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, New Hope Church’s devotional that complements our Bible reading plan.  I hope you enjoyed your two days off; now it’s time to get back to it.  Let’s start with our Old Testament reading from Exodus.
 
Well, the Israelites have begun the road trip of all road trips!!!  It’s only the middle of the second month and the Israelites are already complaining!  Just think about it.  It’s been what, roughly forty-five days, and they are already saying that Moses and Aaron should have left them in bondage in Egypt.  I can’t help but think this points to how much the people have forgotten; they have forgotten how God provides; they have forgotten God’s miraculous hand.  They saw miracles in Egypt with the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, but they are a people who has been displaced for generations.  It’s going to take some time before they really understand who and whose they are. 
 
It’s easy to get exasperated when we read about the Israelites trekking through the desert.  This won’t be the only time we find ourselves frustrated with them.  Over and over again, as we read through Exodus, we will ask these questions:  Why are they so impatient?  Why do they think the grass is always greener on the other side?  Why are they so quick to forget God?  Why do they not trust God when they have seen his miracles and goodness?  Why, why, why??? 
 
While we might not like to admit it, aren’t we just like the Israelites?  I think of how often I’ve gotten frustrated with God’s timing or forgotten God’s work in my life.  We are all quick to complain.  We are also forgetful. 
 
And yet God is still faithful.  He is faithful to us, just as he was faithful to the Israelites.  Despite their grumbling, God provided manna for them in the morning and quail at night.  They didn’t have to hunt for their food or grind grain for flour.  God provided.  When they complained about lack of water, God provided water from a rock.  When the Amalekites attacked, God provided.  At every turn, God provided.  How has God provided for you, even when you grumbled and complained?
 
Let’s chat just briefly about the Amalekite battle.  This is the first of many battles that the Israelites will be called to fight.  But this was no ordinary battle.  It wasn’t going to be won with fancy weapons or fighting skill.  In fact, we quickly learn that the outcome didn’t rest on the Israelite army’s strength or weakness at all.  Rather, victory rested in Moses lifting his arms.  When Moses lifted his hands to heaven, in a symbolic act of prayer and surrender to God, then the Israelites started winning the fight.  If Moses’ arms were to fall, they would take losses.  Thus, Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms for him.  They found a nice big rock for Moses to sit on and they each took an arm.  It took a number of hours, but Joshua and the Israelite army thoroughly defeated the Amalekites. 
 
This may not have been the intent of the passage but I can’t help but draw the analogy between this battle and our lives as followers of Christ.  When we are walking closely with Jesus, surrendered and prayerful, then things tend to go smoother.  We remember to whom we belong.  We make better choices; we demonstrate more wisdom, peace, and mercy toward others.  But we are human - we get distracted!  We listen to the wrong voices, we get caught up in other things (health issues, grief, fatigue, frustration, bitterness, etc.) and the end result is we move away from God.  This is why we need Aaron and Hurs in our life.  We need Christian friends to hold up our arms when we get tired.  We need people to walk alongside us, help us persevere, and remind us who we are.  Y’all, I need you to help hold my arms up.  Sometimes they just get tired.  I’m sure y