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The Vineyard from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. I have always admired Amos, who was a shepherd in a field when the Lord told him to go and prophesy to King Jeroboam in Bethel. The priest Amaziah told him to prophesy somewhere else. They weren't interested in what the Lord had to say, but A... -
for a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity. Proverbs 24:16 WEB.Once again, I was the one who promised he would never do it again, then went and did it again. I had slowly drifted away one more time. I have found that it's easy to make promises...
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Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Haven't you made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth your hand now, and touch all t...
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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!
Love in the Checkout Line
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A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34'35 WEB.
If you study Jesus in the gospels, His defining characteristics are love, compassion, grace, and wisdom. He was humble, kind, and He cared for the people. He touched the outcasts, and He ate with the sinners. He is rich in love. He told us to love one another, and by this, people would know that we are truly His disciples.
I once read that patience is not our ability to wait but our ability to keep a good attitude while we wait. To be slow to anger, loving, gracious, and compassionate while waiting. Don't feel bad if you fail the patience test, for you are not the only one. I am still working on that one as well. When I am waiting in line, I feel like my life force is draining away. There are so many things that I need to be doing instead of waiting.
One day we went shopping for supplies at Sam's Club during a long juice fast. Now fasting brings pressure that causes hidden things in you to come to the surface like a zit. When we got to the checkout lines, the one on the right had two people. One of the men there was buying for a restaurant, and he had a long commercial flat cart with supplies stacked up about three feet high, at least 75 items. Then there was a cart in front of him, and another joined behind him.
The other checkout line had one elderly lady with three items, so we chose that one and got behind her. Big mistake! By the time we got to the cash register, the restauranteur had completed his purchase, parked his cart, went over to get a hotdog, and sat down to eat it. The next person in his line had already gone through as well. The conversation in our line went something like this:
Cashier: "You could save 5 percent if you sign up for our credit card."
Lady: "Oh yes, I have been meaning to get one of those."
Cashier: "Great! Then fill out this form."
Lady: "Ok. Do you have a pen?"
(Slowly scratches on the paper for a while with the pen.)
Cashier: "I see that your membership will expire in six months. Would you like us to go ahead and renew it?"
Lady: "Oh yes, I almost forgot about that. Let's renew it."
Cashier: "We offer an extended warranty on that toaster for $4.99. Would you like to add that on as well?"
Lady: "I guess it is better to be safe than sorry."
(At this point, she turned and smiled at us.)
Cashier: "Excellent, just fill out this registration card for me."
(More slow scratching on the paper')
By the end, it took so long that I was struggling not to laugh out loud at the absurdity of the wait. We could have gone to another store, shopped, and been checked out faster than people remaining in that line. We had clearly been chosen for a test. I tried hard to bite my tongue and laugh it off, really hard. I could feel something inside me screaming, but as I refused to react, it slowly died, and then the peace of God came.
So if you have to stand in a checkout line today, and the cashier is completely incompetent, and the people are digging through their purses for coupons, and that line hasn't moved in thirty minutes: Try to smile, be kind, be rich in love, and be glad that you are not the one that all of those angry people are looking at. Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
As a child of the King, you carry the Lord's name with you wherever you go. People watch you, and your actions speak much louder than your words. So try to live a life that gives glory to God and doesn't bring disgrace on His family. Don't give His enemies a chance to blaspheme His name as David did (2 Samuel 12:14). Remember that what you feed in your life will grow, and what you starve will die.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank You for loving me. Please help me love others as You love me. Help me see the big picture. Walk with me today and help me make the right decisions. Put a guard over my mouth. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!
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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Yes, amen Lord.
Amen!
Amen!
Amen....
Every red light on your route that day, ..lol...
Amen love the message
Yes Lord. I was at an Arby's drive thru last week. Sat at the order window for 10 minutes with no cars ahead in line moving. The woman apologized they couldn't take my order as couldn't get people to work. I drove off..blessed them in Jesus name and went and had great Mexican food at a place been wanting to try.
Amen
Amen
Amen. Heavenly Father, Thank you for Blessing me with all that i need. Thank you for patients & guidance. Amen
That was good dialogue, like screen writing for a sitcom!
Ever see the SNL skit which shows a high rise professional building where you hear a guy being told by his doctor he has 6 minutes (not months) to live and the guy is shocked and exasperated ("6 minutes??? Not months???") but then resolves to live the rest of his life to the fullest. He tells his doctor he is going to do all he could to live the rest of his life to the fullest. So he gets on elevator to go down from one of the top floors and as he's going down and elevator keeps stopping and people keep getting on and then off until a young preteen boy gets on and hits every button from his floor down to the lobby? Then the shot pans to the outside of the tall building and you hear the patient with 6 minutes to live screaming "nooooo"!
i just had similar experience at Walmart. Took my mom there. She can barely walk and uses cart to walk. She was Afraid to drive the motorized cart. When she is finally done shopping, I direct her to self serve check out when she says "oh we have to do it (ring it up and bag it)?" So I relent and say "fine let's go over there" so she has to hobble 150 feet to one of 2 manned check outs. Then the lady before us has enough stuff to line the conveyor belt including 5 loaves of bread, 2 bags of 10 green bananas, tons of cheap chachki's so much so that her bill is $299 of small items. The checkout guy is old from India. He's slow. The lady pays $100 cash and the rest on a card. Finally she's leaves and my mom is up. Again, the checker is very slow one item at a time. Until we are almost done. A female worker comes up to the old cheekout guy from India and whispers "3 minutes per cart." Rather than speed up, he stops, tells her "they have a lot of stuff" and then starts demanding "you want to press me?? You want to stand here? You don't press me!" Then another employee tells him "it's okay Raj, just hurry up and look at all the people in line." That fuels his fire. My mom's cart is 80% rung up and I am quietly watching this all up close. Raj ain't backing down and doesn't fear losing this job. Finally they tell him "come with us, leave your station , and another worker waits to take over." He finally leaves and follows them all the while telling them off and not to try to "press" him.
So we went from a self serve checkout I could have rang up in less than 5 minutes to walking out 20-25 minutes later with my mom slowly pushing her cart saying to me "I should take one of those motorized carts" and me replying "I thought you said you did not know how to drive it" after I suggested it the last time.
i thought about the absurdity often later that night and wanted to say something to my mom but just let it go.
1 Corinthians 13 comes to mind (now, not then).
love is patient love is kind love is not self seeking.
Someone just told me BIBLE is Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth. Imagine the people who don't read the Bible (like me pre-2007) or think it's a useless relic?!
Well, thank you Dion. Thank you Lord.
Thanks for sharing your experience and insights, John! PTL for His lessons. ❤️
lol, I can picture that so vividly... Thank you for sharing that. Poor Raj, you no press me! Love is patient. Dion is working on it :)
Heavenly Father please help us with patience! Amen
Bless us and unite us on this National Prayer day. It should be everyday. Amen
Amen Good Morning Everyone
Amen!!
Amen
Yes Lord, I need more patience in all areas of my life. Help me in times of waiting! Amen.
A timely Word for my day, Pastor Dion! Lord, walk with me today and help me make the right decisions. Put a guard over my mouth. Amen
Heavenly Father I humbly ask You to lead us today when situations appear, to stop any angry feelings and show love as You has loved me. Give me the patience I need to make the right decision. In Jesus Christ name I pray, Amen.
Great devotional Pastor, God bless you and Sylvia, Amen.
Amen, thank you for your love and kindness Father
Amen, Lord God help me!
Amen!
I must admit that I have struggled with my short fuse. I generally have it under control, but there are still moments that I lose my cool. I pray about it and immediately ask for forgiveness when it happens. My kids taught my patience. I think that's why God gave them to me. God is great!
Amen
In Lord Yeshua's name I ask this, Amen.
Excellent devotion today! I know I am guilty of not being too patient sometimes. I try really hard but after a reasonable amount of time and the situation has not change I can sometimes lose my cool. This is a great reminder that the world is watching us and we need to shine as the followers of Jesus Christ. We can say we are followers of Jesus Christ but our actions truley do speak louder than words. On another note.. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and grandmothers, blessings to you and yoru family !!