Daily Dose of Hope

February 20, 2026

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5

Prayer: Almighty God, As we move into our Friday, we pray that today will be a day that we see glimpses of your glory. We need you, we yearn for you. Lord, help us set aside our distractions and settle our scattered thoughts so we can focus on you and you alone. In the next few moments of silence, Lord, hear our prayers... 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 in Brandon, Florida. We have been journeying through Paul's New Testament letters. I don't know about you, but its been great to learn more about Paul's relationship with his churches. There is so much substance here. Currently, we are in 2 Corinthians.

Today's reading is 2 Corinthians 5. In the first ten verses of the chapter, Paul is tackling the difficult topic of what happens to us when we die. In Paul's culture (as in ours), there was fascination but also fear regarding the end of physical life. This piece of Scripture discusses the future resurrection and transformation of believers and the certainty of being with Jesus after death. We can be assured of this based on God placing the Spirit within us (Paul calls it a deposit). The Holy Spirit offers us assurance of salvation and that this earthly life is not the end.

Now, let's take a moment and talk about verse 17, one of my favorite verses of Scripture. Paul starts with the statement, "Therefore..." because the previous statement pointed out that Christ is no longer viewed from a human perspective, as he is God. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior and his life, death, and resurrection form this radical, fundamental breakthrough for all creation. Because of this, things are different. God's Kingdom has been inaugurated and a new way of doing life is here. So, if someone is in Christ, meaning they have accepted Jesus and are united with a life-giving Savior, then this new way of living and being has started. They are no longer the same person. They are being transformed from the inside out by the power of the Spirit of God. The old person, the "pre-Jesus" life, is in the past. They now do life differently - new attitudes, new behaviors, new ways of thinking-focused on the ways of Jesus rather than the ways of the world

I want to add that becoming a new person is a choice. Others call it a process. It's both really. Becoming the person that God created us to be in Jesus Christ is not going to simply happen by accident. We participate in the process. The Holy Spirit works in us and we cooperate with God in the transformation. What has your "becoming a new creation" process looked like? None of us have arrived either. What are the places in your life in which God may be still calling you to change to look more like Jesus?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

February 19, 2026

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4

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 goes along with the New Hope Bible reading plan. We have been on a journey through the letters of Paul, working through them chronologically. We started with Galatians, then we walked through I and 2 Thessalonians. We recently finished I Corinthians and now we are in 2 Corinthians. It's been a great journey thus far.

Today's reading is 2 Corinthians 4. Paul wants the Corinthians to know that his ministry is not about letters of judgment. Yes, he is sending them a letter of rebuke but that is different from judgment. He disapproves of their actions, but he loves them. Paul wants them to know that his is a ministry of the Holy Spirit. And where the Spirit is, there is freedom that comes from knowing and being transformed by Jesus.

The message of Jesus is an amazing treasure that we have been given, but we keep it in jars of clay, our frail, broken bodies. Jars of clay would have been a normal sight in Paul's day. They were basic, earthenware vessels, used for everything from cooking utensils to toilets. They were inexpensive but breakable and could easily be knocked over and damaged.

And we, as Christ-followers, get to be the vessels that hold the Good News of Jesus. God chooses to store his greatest treasure in our own weak and flawed human bodies. They aren't too unlike the clay jars, common and fragile. Yet, God chooses us. In all our brokenness, God chooses us. In the mess of the world, God chooses us. In the midst of hardship and oppression, God still chooses us. We get to be the bearers of the greatest news in the history of all humanity. God chooses us.

Just let that sink in a bit.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki

Daily Dose of Hope

February 18, 2026

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3

Prayer: Holy God, We are weary. We are tired. We need you. You are great and mighty. You are merciful and loving. How we need that right now! Lord, speak to us today. We need to hear your voice. We pray that your voice will be louder and clearer than all the other voices that crowd our thoughts. Lord, in these next few moments of silence, please speak to us... God, we give you all the glory. In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. Happy Ash Wednesday. If you live in the greater Brandon, Florida, area, I invite you to attend the New Hope Church Ash Wednesday service at 6:30pm in Logan Hall. There will be meaningful worship, a brief message, and the imposition of ashes.

For our devotional, we are currently journeying through Paul's letters. We have just started our fifth pastoral letter, 2 Corinthians. Today, we are taking a look at chapter 3. In the beginning of the chapter, Paul is explaining why he doesn't need letters of recommendation. Apparently, this was a common practice to provide letters that verified the authenticity of an apostle or leader. Paul mentions providing them in some of his other epistles but does not feel the need to have them for the church at Corinth. After all, he founded the Corinthian church so they should be well aware of his gifts and skills as an apostle. This whole discussion gives us a bigger picture of what Paul is dealing with-people are challenging his credentials and leadership. This must have been very distressing for Paul, who put so much love and self-sacrifice into his churches.

Paul then moves on to a discussion about boldness and spiritual blindness. He can be bold because there is no veil separating him from God. Remember, Moses had to pull a veil over his face when he went to speak with God to protect himself and the Israelites from God's powerful glory. It also reminds me of another veil-the curtain that separated the priest from the holiest of holies in the temple, where God's presence dwelt. Under the Old Covenant, there were many veils which served to protect people from God's power and glory. While it was for their protection, it was also a physical and spiritual separation.

Paul makes the point that even then, while the veil was technically gone, the Jews still behaved as if it was there; they experienced a spiritual blindness of sorts. But in Christ, there is freedom. There doesn't have to be separation from God or blind adherence to the Old Covenant. Christ introduced a new way of doing life, where the veil is gone, and we can now contemplate God's glory. In fact, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can day by day be transformed into his likeness.

Verse 18 really resonates with me today. "...we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory..." This is sanctification. The more we grow in our walk with Jesus, the more we experience his grace and look more and more like him.

A question: do you look more like Jesus today than you did five years ago? Why or why not? What do you want to look like five years from now?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki