Daily Dose of Hope

December 15, 2025

Scripture - Acts 17

Prayer: Holy God, Almighty Father, the Great I AM, throughout all time, you are good. Your ways are perfect. Teach us your ways, Lord. Help us to know you better, to know you more. Lord, on our own, we are powerless. We are desperate for your wisdom, love, and mercy. 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 Bible reading plan. We have now walked through the Gospels and we are in the second half of the book of Acts. Today, we will discuss Acts 17.

In this chapter, Paul preaches in Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. At each place, he tailors his message to his audience but it's still clearly the Gospel. The reception he receives at each location is different too. In Thessalonica and Berea, he starts at the synagogue, which has been his pattern. He preaches the Gospel to the Jews first. Some Jews believe in Jesus, as did a number of prominent Greek men and women. But things turn south pretty quickly. A number of Jews in Thessalonica are jealous at Paul's success and they raise up a mob to stop him. They actually go to home in which they are staying and drag out Jason and other believers, arresting them and forcing them to post bond. Paul and Silas were being helped by other believers, who were aiding their travel to Berea.

In Berea, they were accepted warming at first. People believe. But the troublemakers from Thessalonica find out that Paul and Silas are there and they try to get hold of them there. But Paul and Silas are helped once again by believers who help them get to the coast.

In Athens, things are different still. The philosophers are interested in what Paul has to say and he shares the Gospel and there are varied reactions – belief, sneering, and wanting more information. But they aren't beaten up or thrown in jail, so that is quite a relief.

In each city, as different as they are, there are some people who take to the Gospel message right away and others who have more questions. I think this is such a great model for us. We share as God leads us and we tailor the message to those who are listening. If we are telling the Jesus story to Jews, then we will focus on the Old Testament and the various prophecies about Jesus. If we are telling the Jesus story to Gentiles, then the story will be spoken in a way that makes sense to them. Paul appealed to what they knew – think about his use of the altar to an unknown God in Athens.

In our world, I present the Gospel to someone who grew up in the church differently than I do to someone who has never heard of Jesus. I guess the theme here is know your audience and listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

December 12, 2025

Scripture: Acts 16

Prayer: Holy God, We come before you this morning with humility. You, Lord of all Creation, Almighty God, came down to earth to become one of us. You didn't come because you needed to, but because we needed you to. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the gift of incarnation. As we continue through this Advent season, help us prepare our hearts for your coming. Help us remember who and whose we are. In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We have been walking through the Gospels and now we are mid-way through Acts. Today, we are in Acts 16.

There are two parts of this passage I want us to discuss. The first is when Paul meets Timothy and decides to bring him on his missionary journey, he circumcises him. Wait? Didn't Paul just argue at the Council of Jerusalem that circumcision and the law were an unnecessary burden for Gentiles? Yes, he did. Now he circumcises Timothy. Is he contradicting himself? I don't believe so, but there are some layers to unpack.

Timothy's mother was Jewish and his father was Greek so he would not have been circumcised. Now, Timothy and Paul are going to be visiting many young churches, some filled with Jewish believers. While circumcision wouldn't be required, it probably gave Timothy a bit more authority in the eyes of those new Jewish converts. It was probably also a debate they just didn't want to have. They wanted the focus to be on salvation through Jesus Christ and they wanted to avoid anything that would be a distraction. Of course, I'm thinking – was there a circumcision check at the door? How would they even know? But I digress.

The other part of the passage that is fascinating to me is how the Spirit of God discourages Paul and crew from going one way so that they would end up in Macedonia. I mean, they had a route already planned out and they were prevented from taking that route. And then Paul has a dream about a man calling to them and begging for them to come to Macedonia. So they head in that direction. When they go into Macedonia, it opens up a whole new area to the Gospel. They head to Philippi, where they meet a woman named Lydia and she accepts Jesus. She welcomes them into her home, which later becomes a house church. This is only the beginning! By listening to the Spirit and not insisting on their own way, the Gospel was advanced.

How often do we want to force our own way with God? Yet, the Spirit is always trying to guide us, if we let him.

I can't finish today's devotional without at least addressing the prison story. Paul and Silas are arrested after a debacle of sorts with a servant girl. She had a spirit in her that told the future. Keep in mind, this spirit would not have been of God, so most likely the power was demonic. She followed the men around and was really wearing on Paul's nerves so he cast out that spirit. But she was quite a money-maker for her owners. When they find out the future-telling spirit is gone, they are livid. They drag Paul and Silas into the public square and have them beaten. Then, they are put in prison. It feels a lot like a local mob gone crazy.

But God is always up to something. An earthquake basically opens up the prison so the men could have theoretically walked out. But they didn't. I don't know why they didn't leave. Maybe the Holy Spirit impressed upon them to stay, we don't have that information. But because they stayed, the jailer is saved and so is his family! One door opens another.

God is always opening at doors, always at work, but we have to be paying attention. How have you seen God working behind the scenes in your life this week?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

December 11, 2025

Scripture – Acts 15

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 to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that goes along with the New Hope Church Bible reading plan. Today, we are working through Acts 15.

This is a pretty crucial moment for the young church. Some people from Judea have gone to the churches and said that to follow Jesus, you must first be a Jew first and follow the law of Moses. That means being circumcised and the whole bit. Well, Paul and Barnabas are appalled and they debate fiercely with these men. Thus, they are invited to go to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and elders to discuss the matter. This is a pivotal moment. Will the council in Jerusalem put the burden of the Law on these new Gentile believers? Because the Law is a heavy burden. Even the Jews can't handle it.

Amazingly, it seems that the discussion at the council meeting is both civil and Spirit-filled. Don't we wish all church meetings could be this way? Paul and Barnabas give testimony to what they have witnessed with Gentile believers receiving the Holy Spirit. James stands up and quotes Scripture from the prophets which points to Gentiles accepting the Lord. Thus, they come up with a compromise to not make the burden too heavy for the new believers. They are to avoid sexual immorality, not eat meat dedicated to idols or meat from strangled animals or blood. All three of these were very pagan behaviors associated with idol worship. This is where they decide to draw the line and it makes sense. We know this won't be the end of the story but it is a great place to start.

As the chapter progresses, there is a sharp dispute between Paul and Barnabas. They are ready for another missionary journey and Barnabas wants to bring John Mark. Paul does not. Apparently, John Mark abandoned them on the last journey. It must have been a pretty heated argument in which neither party backed down. So, they went their separate ways. Barnabas took John Mark and they went one way. Paul took Silas and they went another way. While some of us might be surprised that believers had such an intense dispute, they are still human beings. It appears they weren't ugly about it and they came up with a solution.

This is the truth. We will not always agree. Even as Christians. We aren't always going to agree but we don't have to be disagreeable. We can show respect, we can be kind, and we can do our best to find a compromise. In the end, the Gospel won out because now there were two different missionary journeys occurring at the same time. More people get to hear about Jesus!

This would be a good time to talk about conflict. Are you in one? How are you dealing with it?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki