Daily Dose of Hope

September 9, 2024

Day 2 of Week 24

Scripture: Proverbs 19-21; Psalm 40; Romans 16

Happy Monday, everyone, and welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional that complements the New Hope Church Bible reading plan. Today, we continue in Proverbs, read a psalm, and finish with the book of Romans.

Let’s start with our first Old Testament passage, Proverbs, chapters 19-21. In chapter 19, Solomon seems to focus on the importance of personal integrity. It’s better to be moral and upright and poor than to be wealthy and disrespected. And yet, the proverbs continue, those who are wealthy are the ones who seem to have more friends. But what kind of friends stick with us simply for what we can give them? There is also a variety of wise tidbits about the importance of how we raise our children and the value of following the Lord’s guidance.

Chapters 20 and 21, likewise, have a wide variety of wise words. There are warnings against overindulging in alcohol, against engaging in conflict with authorities, and against dishonest business practices. Solomon implores his readers to use common sense in all they do. Chapter 21 gets at a slightly different theme, specifically how God knows our innermost thoughts. Just doing right is not enough to please God, but we must also exhibit humility and integrity.

Psalm 40 was written by David, possibly during one of his exiles in the wilderness. David speaks of God saving him from the slimy pit and delivering him from danger. How many times has God delivered you from the slimy pit? I can think of several times. Sometimes, I found my way into the pit myself and others times, I was pushed in by others. Regardless, it was always God who pulled me out. God is always our deliverer. He is there on our good days and our bad. I don’t know about you, but that brings me a lot of peace.

The final chapter of Romans has this beautiful section of greetings to the people that Paul has worked with and encountered in his ministry. I love how this was obviously a letter for regular people. This was not a letter intended for religious scholars. Rather, Paul sent it to people he cared about in an effort to help them in their own lives and ministries.

Another interesting note is that out of twenty-six people who are listed as special workers in ministry, nine are women. This is especially impressive because Rome was a male-dominated society and women had little, if any, social and legal standing. But in the church, things were different. There is also a variety when it comes to the names: some of Jewish, some are Latin, and many are Greek. While I'm sure the early church had its issues, it appears to be a diverse mix of men and women, from different cultural and religious backgrounds. Essentially, it was a great picture of the Kingdom of God.

God's Kingdom is universal, with people from all races, cultures, and stations in life. In God's Kingdom, men and women serve alongside each other. It's a place in which every single human life has value and no one is better than another. God's values are actively at work: love, justice, mercy, righteousness, hope, and freedom for the oppressed.

Somewhere in the history of the church, it got off track. The church became less Kingdom-focused and more about growing the institution. It began to resemble the culture around it. Certain people were excluded, corruption crept in, sin invaded. It's hard to read a church history text because it seems so far from the church Paul was trying to establish.

But all is not lost. God's mercies are new every single day! As a church, we can pray and strive to be a better picture of God's Kingdom. In fact, my on-going prayer for New Hope is that we will become a multiplying congregation-multicultural, multiracial, and multigenerational. I pray that we will be the kind of place where people from all walks of life find a place of belonging, a place to be nurtured and loved. I hope you will join me in this prayer.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki