Recent Blog Entries

  • 10 hours ago
    Posted by Dion Todd
    Yahweh said to Joshua, "Get up! Why have you fallen on your face like that?" Joshua 7:10 WEB.Joshua lay prostrate before the ark of the Lord all that evening. Yesterday, he had been a mighty warrior. Now Israel had lost the battle at Ai, all because one of the men with him had become greedy and brok...
  • Wed at 3:01 AM
    Posted by Dion Todd
    Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, "Don't fight with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel." When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is the king of Israel!" Therefore they turned around to fight against him. But Jehoshap...
  • Tue at 3:01 AM
    Posted by Dion Todd
    But Naaman was angry, and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper' " 2 Kings 5:11 WEB.Naaman stared at his new skin with amazement when he came up from the muddy wa...
View All
  • March 25, 2022 - led by Lynn Brown
    This is a group for RHM sponsored events like corporate fasts. Everyone is welcome to join and participate in things currently going on in the ministry. We love you and thank you for being a part of Refreshing Hope!
View All

Strengthen Yourself

  • Strengthen Yourself from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

    Today I want to talk about strengthening yourself in the Lord. It is important that you learn to have a direct relationship with God that does not depend on anyone else. There will be times in this life when those whom you once trusted, turn their back on you. Sometimes even those that you look up to spiritually may let you down, and when they do, you need to be able to continue walking with the Lord without them.

    After ministering together for many years, Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement over taking John Mark with them and they stopped traveling together. They both continued to walk with the Lord, just separately (Acts 15:39). The Lord went with each of them. That is what we need to be able to do when something like this happens.

    Too many get “church hurt” and then fall away from God because they viewed their church as their connection to Him, but He is also with each of us at home or while at work. The church certainly connects us to others in the body of Christ, but I have been used by the Holy Spirit while playing music in bars to lead people to the Lord. You do not have to be in a church to connect with the Lord.

    In 1st Samuel 30:6, David and his men returned home to their town of Ziklag and found it burned to the ground, their families kidnapped, and their belongings stolen. The men who were with David blamed him for it and discussed killing him. Let’s read it:

    Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” 1 Samuel 30:6–8 NKJV

    When everyone turned their backs on him, David strengthened himself in the Lord, spoke to Him directly, and the Lord answered him back directly. Though a priest was standing right there, David spoke to God instead and he received the answer to his question. That is how all of the great leaders in scripture did it. The author of Hebrews wrote: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16 NKJV). We come before His throne.

    When everyone on Earth lets you down, you need to be able to strengthen yourself in the Lord. Get somewhere alone, pour your heart out to God, and there you will find new strength. There you will find grace to help in your time of need.

    James wrote: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray” (James 5:13 NKJV) and “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16 NKJV).

    Each of us need to be connected directly to God, to be able to pray, and to hear what the Holy Spirit is speaking. We should not have to depend on others to tell us what the Lord wants for us. It is great to have people that you can trust for advice, but that should only be a confirmation of what the Holy Spirit has told you. Others cannot be your spiritual connection, for if they die, so will your connection. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, and this is what He told them:

    Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.” (Luke 11:1–4 NKJV). 

    Jesus taught the disciples to pray directly to “Our Father in heaven”, not to bring their prayer requests to Him, or anyone else. It is great for us to pray for one another, but that does not replace praying yourself. Your hope, your joy, your insight and inspiration comes when you pray.

    I am happy to pray with you and for you, but it is my desire that you are able to pray for me, and for others. I want you to be directly connected to the Holy Spirit and able to lift me up when I am down. What David went through is real. What Paul and Barnabas went through is real. It has happened to us several times, and it can happen to you. When it does, you need to be able to find strength in the Lord and to get your answers from Him directly.

    You can pray this with me if you like:

    Prayer: Heavenly Father, please speak to me in a way that I understand and teach me to recognize Your voice. I want to know You in a deeper way. Help me heal from the spiritual injuries that I have received and to put my trust in You, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.


Tip: You must be logged into the website to leave comments.

 

Social Sharing

20 comments
  • 1
Marisa Jackson
Marisa Jackson

Amen!! 

October 20, 2019
  • 1
Liesel  aka  Lisa Wardle
Liesel aka Lisa Wardle

Amen!!!

October 20, 2019
  • 1
Sherry McCosh
Sherry McCosh

Thank you for this message today. God has to be number one in our life and we need to be able to come to Him with our problems. God wants us to talk to Him and He wants to have a relationship with him. Jesus is my Rock and my salvation! Bless the name of the Lord! There is no one like the Lord!  He is worthy to be praised!! Amen!!

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Kay Collinsworth
Kay Collinsworth

Amen!!

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Yvette York
Yvette York

Amen

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Patricia Walker
Patricia Walker

Amen. I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me. Amen. 

October 21, 2019
  • 2
Jim Jarrell
Jim Jarrell

Amen! Dion, the messages have been so good lately. I just thought you might want to know. How is you Mom by the way?

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Dion Todd
Dion Toddedited: October 22, 2019

Thank you Jim. We went to see Mom after church on Sunday. Her kidneys are not working properly and she is having dialysis 3 times a week, but besides that, she is doing well. We prayed with her, painted her lips, eye brows, and finger nails, then my aunt fixed her hair and added her favorite perfume. She was pretty happy  :)

October 22, 2019
  • 1
Wanda Pennington
Wanda Pennington

Amen

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Linda Clark
Linda Clark

Amen what a great way to start my week praise God!

October 21, 2019
  • 1
David  Earlywine
David Earlywine

Amen,thank you Pastor Dion and Sylvia.God loves you all and so do we.

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Joseph Adams, Jr.
Joseph Adams, Jr.

AMEN

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Robert Hayes
Robert Hayes

This is excellent!

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Mari Kaufmann
Mari Kaufmann

Dearest God I ask in the name of Jesus that you strengthen me and help us please God. Open doors for us motivate my grandchildren Amen 

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Jose Simo
Jose Simo

Heavenly Father I thank You for all You have given me through life, teach me how to listen to Your voice and that Your Holy Spirit lead me to hear and understand Your voice in every situation. I can do everything through Jesus Christ who always strengthen me, in Jesus name I pray. Amen. 

Thank you Pastor for this great devotional, God bless you. 

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Wesley Paulus
Wesley Paulus

 Amen!

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Schalk  de Beer
Schalk de Beer

Yes Lord Jesus, amen

October 21, 2019
  • 1
Pranoti  Kumar
Pranoti Kumar

Amen

October 22, 2019
  • 1
Pamela Dyson
Pamela Dyson

Amen in Jesus name

October 23, 2019
  • 1
Stacie Chambers-Franklin
Stacie Chambers-Franklin

Looooove!!! Thank you!!!

October 24, 2019