Daily Dose of Hope
December 8, 2025
Scripture – Acts 12
Prayer: Lord Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, We give you all the glory and praise. Thank you for being a God who provides. Thank you for being a God who heals. Thank you for being a God who sees past our brokenness and invites us into relationship with you. Help us, Lord, to grow more deeply in love with you every day. More of you and less of me. In Your Name, Amen.
Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan. We are getting to the end of our reading plan after months of walking through the Gospels and Acts. I would love to hear what you have learned. What have been your big takeaways?
Today, we walk through Acts 12. Things are getting rough for Peter and the Christians. Persecution is increasing. Herod is getting especially agitated and throws Peter in prison. I want to talk about the miracle of Peter being released but first let's discuss the Herod dynasty because I think that's important. The Herodians were given power of the region of Judea by the Romans. While they were brutal and power-hungry, they did consider themselves to be Jews. This Herod from Acts 12 is Herod Agrippa I. His grandfather was Herod the Great; he was the Herod who called for the killing of the Jewish baby boys after Jesus' birth. He was the nephew of Herod Antipas, who ordered the beheading of John the Baptist and to whom Jesus was brought.
All of these Herodian kings were insecure and felt easily threatened by those who criticized them or their way of life. Thus, this Herod was persecuting Christians and had already executed James, the brother of John.
Peter is arrested and thrown in prison with many, many layers of security. But no soldiers or shackles can stop God! He sends an angel who frees Peter and leads him out of the prison to a home where many believers were meeting. The believers had been praying fervently for Peter's release and then they were shocked when he shows up at the door of the home where they had gathered. Talk about answered prayer! This is just the beginning of the miracles God is going to do.
Do you believe in answered prayers? Do you pray bold prayers like these believers? The boldness of our prayers speak volumes about how we feel about God. It's clear that the early church believed that God was all-powerful, that God was a God of miracles, a God of provision, and a God who would take care of their every need. The big question is – do we?
Finally, let's talk about Herod's death. After securing some kind of peace deal, King Herod stands before the people and gives his royal address. The people go wild! They begin to say this is the voice of a god, not a man. And insecure Herod just soaks it up. But God is having none of it, and he strikes him down dead. Y'all, arrogance does not pay.
God calls his people to be humble. All glory and honor belong to God. Yes, there are times in which we can be appropriately proud but we have to be very, very careful. The way of Christ is always humility.
Blessings,
Pastor Vicki
