Recent Blog Entries
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RHM Devotional: Teach a Man to Fish from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about listening to the Holy Spirit, instead of relying on someone else to tell you what He said you should do. We need to get to a place in our walk where we can discern what the Holy Spirit is tryi... -
being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 WEBIt was late Saturday night and we were both exhausted. A simple job that should have taken us a couple of hours, had now taken a couple of days, but we had chos...
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One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?' Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is...
From The Inside Out
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When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, Surely the LORDS anointed stands here before the LORD. But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:6 NIV
King Saul was chosen to be the king of Israel, the most handsome and tallest man in the land (1Sam. 9:2). Yet despite these "assets", when the Lord told him to destroy the Amalekites, he was afraid of the people and disobeyed the Lord (1 Sam 15:24). He looked strong on the outside, but was weak within.
God chose a new king and told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint him. When Samuel arrived there and saw Jesses son Eliab standing tall and strong, he was ready to anoint him, but the Lord told him this is not the one. Seven of Jesses sons passed before Samuel and the Lord said no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Finally the line of would-be kings reached the end. Samuel was confused and asked Jesse if this was all of his sons. Jesse reluctantly admitted that the youngest one was tending the sheep. The word that Jesse used for David was the same word that we use for "runt", meaning insignificant, lesser, or small. Samuel told Jesse to bring him and when little David walked up, the Lord said, This is the one. Anoint him.
We see people from the outside in and often judge them by their attractiveness, talent, or wealth. God sees us from the inside out. Who you are when no one is looking is who you really are. The unseen things that you do, are seen by the only One who matters, so make it count.
David, the little shepherd boy, was anointed and went on to become the greatest king ever. God saw more inside of David than anyone else did. God knows your heart. Though you may be the least and not in a position of power yet, though you take care of smelly things that others are too good to do, God sees you and there will be a reward.
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I can relate! I was bullied and ridiculed by classmates, tormented at work, bullied by my parents and then, my ex husband.Right now, my ex still lives with me, but he can be the nastiest man alive, also, he is NOT a believer! He claims the Bible is "fantasy", or fairy tales. What we women put up with sometimes--LOL!
I have always felt insignificant, I have been in the ministry for over thirty years, I am always beating myself up, and a couple of people in my church reminded me of the scripture where we are created in the image of God and that we are beautiful and wonderfully made. I am fighting low self esteem, due to my childhood, and the way my ex made me feel. I just willingly in the last few years started accepting the fact that God called me to carry his word, even though I was preaching, I wasn't willingly doing it. So as tears form in my eyes knowing that God saw me and still found me worthy even though I felt like I wasn't. I am still struggling with this, but I am leaning and depending on his word to me. I appreciate your devotionals.
Each morning I start with my thanks to the Lord for another day then I pray even throughout the day and at night when I am speaking to my Lord I tell Him I know he knows what is in my heart and that's all that matters to me. People can say what they like about me but I let it go and Give it to My Lord. I used to be very defensive and react especially to injustice but none of that matters. My Lord knows me and my heart and I have peace. Thank you Jesus. Amen
This an imperative message to reflect upon in today's world - whereas your car, clothes, bank account and credit score tells others all there is to know about you. Unfortunately, most are unaware that God sees us as we came out the womb - innocent, naked and unblemished by the world's material things. He yearns for our spirit to remain newly born - open only to love and obedience. When we witness the carefree laughter and playfulness of a small child, we see ourselves through the eyes of the Almighty, and how He intends for us all to be - joyful and bound only to His glory and grace. Rather than weep in despair over conditions created by an ungodly world, Let us rejoice as children in the great gift of His abiding love.
I too have always felt to be less than others, not ss smart, not as pretty, just not good enough. Then I decided to walk with my Lord and He has allowed me the ability to realize that I am beautiful of heart and I am always loved by Him. Through his Grace I have been given oppprtunities I never dreamed possible and I will use them in a manner that I pray will always be pleasing to Him.
I am so glad that Jesus knew us even before we were conceived. He knew our hearts as we grew in the womb and He knew what our hearts would be like as we began to grow up. I He loves us no matter what, but He wants us to accept Him as our Savior, and be in His perfect will. So I really began to try to think as a little child, so that I could be humble.
Tamara, thanks for sharing your heart for the Holy Spirit! Giving God our every moment, joyful or sad, is made even more difficult with this constantly "on demand" world. It's been both a chllenge for me to give up control, and also easy for me as I've always had the heart of a broken child. I so needed Him in my life, very early on, to overcome the darkness which haunts my past. I'll forever remember the day & place where I became born again into His redemption & salvation. I pray for you, and us all, to place a childlike trust in His endless mercy, grace and spiritual protection. It has helped me to reflect on Ephesians 6:10 regularly so as not to allow Satan's plot to kil, steal and destroy our path to everlasting life. God bless you and your family.
Rose, that you seek to be less reactive to injustice brings inspiration to me, as this is my area of great weakness.
To have experienced it so many times in life, witness it inflicted on the most vulnerable of us all (women & children,) it is often a daily or even hourly struggle for me. In Jesus' name, I pray that your peace and strength as exemplified in the Parable of the Vineyard Workers in Matthew 20:16, "So the last will be first and the first last," continues to grow as a strong testimony to others as it has been to me on this matter. Amen!
When I was young in my faith, i confided to a Christian sister that I felt it impossible to walk with and serve God in this world filled with evil and temptation, waiting around every corner. Now, where I'm from its more than a struggle, it's a regular hometown throw-down! We routinely saw homeless people shooting drugs, assaulting one another for no apparent reason, like a pack of wild animals (Except animals don't get hooked on meth or heroine, as far as I know.)
She responded that if I would envision, for example, my Uncle Joe (who was my hero & protector,) walking next to me, it in the openeqdedebefore me and behind mew that it might help me to relate that feeling to my growing relationship with God. My dear Uncle went to be with God after a fatal car accident, and I can honestly say I would have completely fallen apart without the image of our Heavenly Father holding me in the palm of His hands.
Apologies, friends - I don't understand what happened with that non-word above. My point is that, her advice has served me well throughout the past thirty-some years as a born again Christian. I did attend Catholic schools, but unfortunately I did not know God nor the Holy Spirit. I hold this vision (of us all being held so closely by Him,) for everyone who struggles.
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