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"Don't be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you." Isaiah 43:1'2 WEB... -
The Day of Small Things from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. As with many of my messages, this was a word for me, but I will share it with you as I found it encouraging. I have been building a new social media website for Refreshing Hope behind the scenes for months. It is a massive undertak...
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Now after these things, the Lord also appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two ahead of him into every city and place where he was about to come. Then he said to them, "The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send ou...
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- led by Lynn BrownThis 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!
Top God
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God spoke all these words, saying, 'I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God' Exodus 20:1 WEB
The first of the ten commandments is that you shall have no other gods before Me. The ten plagues on Egypt were directed against the gods they worshiped. The Egyptians worshiped the guardian god of the Nile river, but it turned to blood. They worshiped the sun god, but it turned to darkness (Exodus 7-12).
While the Philistines were celebrating to their god dagon, the Lord used Samson to bring the entire building down on them (Judges 16:23). Later when backslidden Israel tried to use the Ark of God as a tool, the Lord allowed the Ark to be captured by the Philistine army. They celebrated and happily placed the Ark in their temple, right in front of the statue of dagon. The next morning, dagon was broken and laying on his face in front of the Ark (1 Samuel 5:2).
This all sounds foreign, but it is still relevant today. We are given a choice as to who we will serve. Often we choose to be our own god and live just like we want. Sometimes we chase after asheroth ( a god of sex and fertility ) other times we chase after baal ( a god of money, the economy, and materialism ).
Your choice will be tested on this just as sure as Shadrach's and the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar set up (Daniel 3:7). Choose today who you will serve, because God Almighty will not share His place in your life with other 'gods.'
If you love other gods, you can have them, but you will not have Him along with it. Like Jesus said, no one can serve two masters. It is like a divine election, and only one god wins the top spot in your life. Who will be the top God in your life?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I choose You today! Thank You and I pray that You reveal to me clearly anything that comes before You in my life. Help me root the idols out of my life, for I want to please You Lord. Teach me, guide me, walk with me today, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
Note: Ladies, today is Thankful Thursday at the "Ladies in Distress" group (our RHM women's group)! You are welcome to join in our weekly sharing of thankfulness for the Lord's presence and any blessings you may have experienced, big or small! "Ladies in Distress" is a private group, so if you have any problems joining, just post anywhere and we will help you :). Here is the link: Ladies in Distress> You can subscribe to our daily devotional here <
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Pastor Dion has an important reminder to all of us about putting God first over our two very important groups of sins or gods in our lives. And he does this by pointing out the two opposite extremes of two cultures' "gods" are really a statement about the wages of sin in all of us when we go "overboard" either are envious or are jealous of those who have those things in such an abundance, that our pride becomes uncontrollable and we hoard, or "store up" up in excess to the determent of others. in order to "keep" our possessions on a permanent basis. Egypt's and the Philistines are our models of what can happen when we allow such items to become the main focus of our lives. The "wages of sin is death" is a well-known phrase. Most of us think of this only in terms of physical death...But as Egypt and the Middle Eastern Religions of today teach us, this phrase is about much more than a physical death! It is worse: It is the death of these sinful actions which can cause death to one's spirit! And doubly worse is that kind of death caused by these sins not only causes deadly harm to the perpetrator of them, but to all whom they harm as a result of such behavior! Jesus' Parable of the Rich man who decided to store up excessive grains in his storehouses, who dies that night is one example of such gluttony, one the high or positive side of the Scales of Life. Jesus spent much of His life here on earth with the poor...which is another form of the word wanton or ones in desperate need. Is it possible, He was not "ignoring" the more wealthy, not because they "had everything", but as a sign or what they ought to be doing to share from their bountiful supply? He talks about this side of life having much pride, because a big part of pride for all of us, is we have been successful in some way, and we think we "know it all"!! And the thing is Jesus DID "know it all"; but when He spoke the truth, the rich did not listen because they were successful, and didn't "need" HIM telling them how to do something! Those who were the neediest in the society wanted to know...so they listened to Him. BUT, but it wasn't because He was Godly Wise! It was because maybe, just maybe He might have the key to getting them higher on the rung of the ladder of success! It is said in the New Testament: Jesus knew the hearts of men...Aren't the Egyptians and the Philistines really prefigurements of us? Of you and of me? It fits pretty well this way, into the story of my life, how does it fit in yours? Maybe we ought to reread Scriptures and put ourselves in each character role we read--both the good and bad: honestly, truthfully, and meditate on how we can make some changes for the better. If we all did this, what a better world we might notice tomorrow!!
Amen Father
It is so easy to be worshipping something or someone, other than God, in this fast paced world of today. We need to be focused on the Lord and His word to be safe. Thank you Pastor Dion for a good reminder.
Thank you Heavenly Father, the Creator of Heaven and earth. Your son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. You are my savior and one true God. I praise you in the name of Jesus. Amen
Amen! Thank You Lord!
Amen. Without a doubt, it is the Almighty God to whom I choose. He has and will always be my #1..Amen
The Father is first in my life, Amen.
Amen!
Amen
Amen!
Jesus,we choose you as our Savior.We love and worship you. Amen
Teach me, guide me, walk with me today. Thank you, Lord. Amen
Amen!!
Amen
Amen!
Thank you dear Godfor this hope i need. Amen
Amen!!!
Amen
YES LORD