Recent Blog Entries

  • 8 hours ago
    Posted by Dion Todd
    A Living Sacrifice from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Various sacrifices were required under the old covenant. Some of the sacrifices helped feed the priests and those who worked at the temple, but a burnt offering was placed on the altar and completely consumed by fire. You can read about...
  • 13 hours ago
    Posted by Dion Todd
    Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38 WEB.We once had a prophet come to our church who was scheduled to preach elsewhere but was canceled...
  • Sat at 3:01 AM
    Posted by Dion Todd
    My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27 WEB.Jesus said His sheep would hear His voice, and they would follow Him, "and a stranger, they would not follow" (John 10:5). God ...
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  • 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!
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Faith in Action

  • Faith in Action from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

    One day when Jesus came ashore after crossing the sea of Galilee, Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, came to meet Him. Jairus begged Jesus to come and heal his daughter, who was at the point of death. Jesus went with him, but on the way, a life-changing event happened for someone else.

    There was a woman in the crowd who had been hemorrhaging blood for twelve years. She had spent all she had in doctors, yet it grew worse. She said within herself, if I can only touch His clothes, I will be healed. So when Jesus came by, she slipped up behind Him in the crowd and touched His clothing. The moment she did, she was instantly healed. 

    (Mark 5:25–34 NKJV)  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

    And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' " And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

    There was a huge crowd following Jesus that day, as He had been out of the region and just returned. There were many needs among the people. Yet, there was one woman who put her faith in action by actually doing something.

    Jesus felt the healing power go out of Him, so He stopped and asked, "Who touched My clothes?" The woman knew she was healed, so she came out of the crowd, fell to her knees, and told Him the whole truth.

    Then Jesus said something very interesting, "Daughter, your faith has made you well." What faith was He talking about that made her well? It was her act of touching His garment. She believed enough in the unseen to take physical action.

    Jesus accompanied Jairus to his house, though his daughter had already died. When messengers brought them the news of her death, Jesus told Jairus, "Don't be afraid; Only believe." Keep believing enough to move forward. When they arrived at the house, Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead and told them to give her something to eat.

    (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

    The word "substance" here means "being sure." Faith is being sure enough of the things we hope for to take action, even though they are invisible. Remember the woman in the crowd reaching out to touch His garment? If I can only touch His clothes, I will be healed. Then she did and was.

    (Hebrews 11:3 NKJV)  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

    Today, we know that the things around us are not actually solid but are made from tiny building blocks called atoms. Everything in the universe, except energy, is formed by atoms. Though invisible to the human eye, the word of God causes them to take any shape He wishes.

    Jesus "passed through" angry mobs actively trying to stone Him and walked across the top of liquid water (Luke 4:30, Matthew 14:25). He was "transfigured" into another being in front of Peter, James, and John (Matthew 17:2).

    Things like that are probably trivial when you control the atoms around you. Jesus was quite possibly the burning bush that spoke to Moses, at least the fiery part. I believe Jesus could have just as easily changed into a giant robot like Optimus Prime on the Mount of Transfiguration if He had wanted to.

    Back to the message, seeing the invisible enough to do something. Jesus told us when you give, when you pray, and when you fast (Matthew 6). All of these things mean you believe in something enough to take action on it. Those are all things His disciples are supposed to do, not just say. If you want to see something new happen, then try something different.

    Let me give you an example from our life. When Sylvia and I started Refreshing Hope, it was through an email devotional. As the devotional went out, we would sometimes receive 200 replies and prayer requests a day. We tried to answer each one by hand, and it took all day. We found that many of our readers were those who had fallen through the cracks of the church. Many had been hurt and forgotten by churches. Many were alone, disabled, and home-bound.

    Shortly after I became a pastor, the Lord impressed Ezekiel 34 on me, and it would be the focus of our ministry. At first, someone emailed it to me. So I printed it out and thumbtacked it to the wall beside me. The next morning when I came in, it was lying in my chair again. This happened a few times. In short, we would reach His scattered people right where they are, even if they are lying in a hospital bed in another country. Here is just a couple of excerpts:

    (Ezekiel 34:6 NKJV)  My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them."

    (Ezekiel 34:11 NKJV)  'For thus says the Lord GOD: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

    It was amazing at times and almost scary. We got letters from people about to commit suicide when our devotional popped up in their email. They didn't even remember signing up for it, but it was a word directly for them. The Lord was speaking to His people electronically, and His sheep recognized His voice.

    (Now, I am just happy to be on the bus and here for such a time as this. For it's all the Lord making it happen. I am nothing but a water hose He chooses to flow through occasionally. )

    We met so many people who were connected to us, but not to others. So the idea came to us that we could connect these people together with an online church. They could have other Christian friends who would pray with them and encourage them without leaving home. We prayed about it and felt this was the way forward. We would call it "Refreshing Hope."

    Sylvia and I sat down together and calculated what we would need to get started in an excel spreadsheet. We decided that if we re-purposed some old equipment we had left from our computer business, we could get a community online for $2,500. That was a whole lot of money for us! We were about the only tithers to the ministry then, and though we accepted donations, they were often between $5 and $10. It would take a lot of those.

    We prayed about it again and felt the Lord say yes. So I pulled a 10-year-old Dell Power-edge 2850 server out of the closet, put it on our kitchen table, and began formatting in and installing Linux. Within thirty minutes, someone came to our website and donated exactly $2,500. We had not told a soul what the Lord had put on our hearts.

    Signs follow those who believe, and it is our faith in action that causes miracles to happen. Don't be afraid; only believe. Yet, what if I don't know what He has for me? This is how I find my way:

    (Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV)  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

    When I put Him first, I find that my paths are automatically aligned for me. Old doors close, and new doors open as they are needed. I don't always understand why something is happening, but I find I don't need to. I only need to center my life on Him, and the other things fall into place. Don't be afraid; only believe.

    You can pray this with me if you like:

    Prayer: Heavenly Father, please direct my paths. Help me to include You in whatever I am doing. I want to see my faith in action. Here I am, Lord. Use me. What can I do for You today? In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!


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Social Sharing

19 comments
  • 1
Schalk  de Beer
Schalk de Beer

Yes Lord, use me, in Jesus's name I pray, amen. 

October 24, 2021
  • 1
Sharon Leonard
Sharon Leonard

AMAZING HOW GOD PUTS PEOPLE ON YOUR LIFE...SOMETIMES IT LOOKS UNCOMFORTABLE AND KINDA FAR FETCHED BUT GOD KNOWS BEST. WELL, ALL I CAN SAY IS PRAISE GOD. I WAS IN NEED OF MAJOR HELP...HE SENT ME A PERSON THAT ALSO NEEDED MAJOR HELP. I JUST HAVE TO TRUST THE LORD TO CREATE MY PATH ON HELPING THIS PERSON. PRAY FOR KENNETH TO BE HEALED & MADE WHOLE. PRAY FOR HIS MOM SUE, ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS, TO CALM HER WORRIES...FOR GOD TO GIVE ME STRENGH AND UNDERSTANDING, PATIENCE WITH IT ALL. I KNOW GOD IS AT WORK !!! 

XO

SHARON

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Cathy Webb
Cathy Webb

Lord, joining in Sharon's prayer for healing for Kenneth, for victory over worry for Sue, and for strength, understanding, and patience for Sharon. Thank you. In Jesus' name, Amen

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Sharon Leonard
Sharon Leonardedited: October 27, 2021

THANK YOU ..XO

October 26, 2021
  • 1
Kay Collinsworth
Kay Collinsworth

Amen Father I am Yours, use me

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Celeste Strenn
Celeste Strenn

Amen thank you 

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Wanda Pennington
Wanda Pennington

Awesome teaching today.  Thank you Jesus for Dion and Sylvia.  They are your tools and I'm thankful I found them. Lord I believe you will take care of me and my family.  Amen 

October 25, 2021
  • 1
David  Earlywine
David Earlywine

Thank you Jesus for all our blessings. Amen 

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Patricia Walker
Patricia Walker

AMEN. Heavenly Father,  I Thank You for Blessing me. And thank you for placing Pastor Dion and Sylvia to teach your word. Amen. God Bless us all. 

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Dana Rozell
Dana Rozell

Amen!!!

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Brenda F
Brenda F

AMEN

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Marisa Jackson
Marisa Jackson

Amen!!

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Yvette York
Yvette York

Amen Good Morning Everyone 

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Scott Riegelmann
Scott Riegelmann

Great Sunday message pastor Dion and Sylvia thank you for your prayers and support God bless RHM

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Jose Simo
Jose Simo

Heavenly Father I thank You for bringing me to this Ministry where I have found the right meaning of founding Your Son Jesus, light up my path to do what You want me to do and use me. In the Holy name of Your Son Jesus Christ I pray, Amen. Thank You Lord. 

Awesome message Pastor, thank you and Sylvia for all you have done in my life through your devotionals .God bless you both, Amen. 

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Mari Kaufmann
Mari Kaufmann

Strengthen my faith Amen

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Cathy Webb
Cathy Webb

Thanks for the motivational message, Pastor Dion!  Lord, please direct my paths. Help me to include You in whatever I am doing. I want to see my faith in action. Here I am, Lord. Use me. What can I do for You today? In the name of Jesus, Amen

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Wesley Paulus
Wesley Paulus

Amen!

October 25, 2021
  • 1
Linda Oliver
Linda Oliver

Amen. I Love it. Faith is the substance/BEING SURE of things hoped for.....2020 I had to put my faith in to action, I had to exercise it. And realized that's what pleases God! & Terrified satan. If satan can steal our faith he knows you can't move for God, FAITH is the evidence of things not seen. Exercise our Faith so we can move in the things of God.... Amen 

 

October 29, 2021