Recent Blog Entries
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The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matt 23:11 ESVWhen I showed up at a church work day event, the job that got assigned to me was scrubbing all the bathrooms: upstairs, downstairs, and down the hall. I di... -
Do Not Be Dismayed from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about becoming “Dismayed.” To be dismayed means “to be downcast, disappointed, disheartened, filled with terror.” It replaces hope and will lead you to a dark place. We become ineffective and...
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Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2 WEBMy Dad was born during the great depression in the early 1930s...
Sweet and Sour
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Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness.' Jeremiah 31:3 WEB
There is a saying that you can catch more flies with honey, than you can with vinegar. Yet when I was growing up in the Bible Belt, most of the things that I heard about God were seasoned with vinegar.
Sort of like: 'God does love you, but He will kill you if do not do what I said.' Over the years, I have learned that God is not like that at all, but that people will create their own version of god, then want you to bow down to the god that they created, much like Nebuchadnezzar did (Daniel 3:1). The only way to know the difference, is to know His word.
While Jesus was ministering on the earth, the pharisees condemned Him for not teaching His disciples to follow their traditions. Some of the disciples did not wash their hands up to the elbow seven times before eating (Mark 7:1). This was just a man made tradition that had been passed down through the generations and taught alongside the word of God, as if it were from God. The problem was that it wasn't.
In my own life, it has taken years to weed through that baggage, and I still find pieces that don't belong now. For some reason it is easy for us to believe the lie that God is mean, or that He is mad at us. It is much more difficult to believe that He truly loves us, that we are forgiven, that we can now come boldly before Him, but this is the truth that scripture teaches.
The first time that I read the Bible completely through, I was most amazed by what was not in there, and sometimes by what was. So we have a choice: To believe what we have been told is in the Bible, or look for ourselves and see what is actually in there.
What is in there is this: God loves us with an everlasting love, and that love never changes based on your behavior. He does not love you more when you think that you are good, or less when you think that you are bad. He draws us with His loving kindness to get us to turn to Him. When you fall, get up, He still loves you. When you come to know the Lord, you will only find sweetness, compassion, and unconditional love.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your unconditional love. Help me to filter out the traditions of man and to focus on actually knowing You and Your word. Teach me the things that I need to know. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
Note: Happy Friday! If you are in need of prayer, please do not hesitate to let us know at our prayer network. We are here for you! Here is the link RHM Prayer Network> You can subscribe to our daily devotional here <
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Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your unconditional love. Help me to filter out the traditions of man and to focus on actually knowing You and Your word. Teach me the things that I need to know. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen Thank you <3
Amen, sister <3!
Amen!
So true. Amen
Amen praise God for his love
So good! Thankful!
Thank God for His Unconditional Love.
Thank you , Pastor Dion, for sharing this message.
Truth!
Amen!!
Amen!
Thank you Father for Loving me, even though you know me inside out.
Amen! That is what I want most, a real realtionship with God!
Thank You Father for my relationship with You. Always lead me to Your word, Amen.
Thank you Pastor for this devotional.
Amen!!
Oh my goodness Amen to that! My prayer was answered by your words and The Lord's. Be happy enjoy each day it's a gift every breath is. The Lord King of Kings loves us. Amen and Thank You Lord.
Amen He is our Abba Father, He never stops loving us. As a parent I know that no matter what my children ever did, I will always still love them, I will always be here for them. In this same way and much more because Abba Father's love is a perfect unending love, He is always here for us and He is always having loving thoughts towards us. He is our Father in Heaven and we will ALWAYS be His children PERIOD.
Amen Lord Jesus.
Amen!
Amen!
Amen. Praise God! Thanks Pastor Todd! This nurtured my soul today! Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your unconditional love. Help me to filter out the traditions of man and to focus on actually knowing You and Your word. Teach me the things that I need to know. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your unconditional love. Help me to filter out the traditions of man and to focus on actually knowing You and Your word. Teach me the things that I need to know. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen <3
Thank you for your time for our daily devotions Pastor Dion :-)