Heads or Tails
by Dion Todd July 27th, 2024
For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees? But if we hope for that which we don't see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:24-25 WEB.
"Oh, I just can't face tomorrow. I have a bad feeling about this." On and on we go, into a spiral of self-pity and hopelessness. Fear, anxiety, and depression begin to snowball around us, and it soon consumes...
Snow Flakes
by Dion Todd July 26th, 2024
For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well. My frame wasn't hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when...
The Car Wash
by Dion Todd July 25th, 2024
Jesus answered him, "If I don't wash you, you have no part with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed, but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you." For he knew him who would betray him, therefore he said, "You are not all clean." John 13:8-11 WEB.
After spending...
The Possibilities Book
by Dion Todd July 24th, 2024
Jesus, looking at them, said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27 WEB.
Have you ever faced a seemingly impossible circumstance that looked entirely hopeless? Jesus said that ALL things are possible with God. There is nothing out of reach or that He cannot do. The Bible is a possibilities book. It contains so many instances of God creating...
Talk is Cheap
by Dion Todd July 23rd, 2024
They answered him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham didn't do this. You do the works of your father." They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God." Therefore Jesus said to them, "If God were...
Devil Cane
by Dion Todd July 22nd, 2024
Devil Cane from
Refreshing Hope Ministries on
Vimeo.
Some years ago, we bought an adjacent property that had been neglected for years after my brother passed away.
It was mostly reclaimed by the woods and covered in pine trees, thorns, briars, poison ivy, and poison oak. We spent time clearing away the collapsing house and debris, hauling in...
The Morning Update
by Dion Todd July 21st, 2024
Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there. Simon and those who were with him searched for him. They found him and told him, "Everyone is looking for you." Mark 1:35-37 WEB.
Jesus often withdrew from the noisy crowds to be alone with His Heavenly Father in prayer. Here, He chose His Apostles, refreshed His strength,...
This Is the One
by Dion Todd July 20th, 2024
Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, "Yahweh has not chosen these." Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your children here?" He said, "There remains yet the youngest. Behold, he is keeping the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance....
The Star Lord
by Dion Todd July 19th, 2024
God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. Genesis 1:16 WEB.
He also made the stars—what a sentence. I sometimes read this and am amazed by how much the Bible packs into a single verse. Humans cannot create a single star, but they keep finding more of them as they develop devices that let them see further into...
The Hidden Well
by Dion Todd July 18th, 2024
God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Don't be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him with your hand. For I will make him a great nation." God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the container with water, and gave the boy a drink....
The Rock and a Hot Place
by Dion Todd July 17th, 2024
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, "Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up." Daniel 3:16-18 WEB.
While...
Justice
by Dion Todd July 16th, 2024
Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful. Don't judge, and you won't be judged. Don't condemn, and you won't be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you. The same measure you measure will be measured back to you. Luke 6:36-38 WEB.
I once heard an elder at...
Grace Under Fire
by Dion Todd July 15th, 2024
Grace Under Fire from
Refreshing Hope Ministries on
Vimeo.
In the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul and his group left their home church at Antioch, planning to visit some of the house churches they had established on their first missionary journey. However, soon after they began, the Holy Spirit stopped them.
(Acts 16:6–8 NKJV) Now when they had...
Icy Paint Buckets
by Dion Todd July 14th, 2024
He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? If you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? Luke 16:10–12 WEB.
It was a gray, cold morning in Myrtle...
The Gentle Whisper
by Dion Todd July 13th, 2024
He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh." Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice....
Catch Me if You Can
by Dion Todd July 12th, 2024
Now Yahweh's word came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach against it, for their wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid its fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. Jonah...
Vineyards
by Dion Todd July 11th, 2024
For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. Matthew 20:1 WEB.
Vineyards that produce some of the best wines limit the grapevines' water to make their roots go deeper into the soil. The resulting grapes are small...
Thunderstorms
by Dion Todd July 10th, 2024
Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. Psalm 131:2 WEB.
Thunderstorms in the deep south can be terrible, especially for children. Blackened skies, winds that blow down trees, walls of rain you cannot see through, accompanied by bolts of lightning that hit the ground and sound as if an artillery shell exploded. Once...
Taking Care of Pharaoh
by Dion Todd July 9th, 2024
He said to Abram, "Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years. I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth" Genesis 15:13–14 WEB.
God told Abram that his descendants would become slaves for four hundred years in a foreign land. But He...
Son Shine
by Dion Todd July 8th, 2024
Son Shine from
Refreshing Hope Ministries on
Vimeo.
In the book of Exodus in the Old Testament, when Moses emerged from speaking with the Lord. His face was so radiant that people were scared of him, and he had to wear a veil over his face. The Glory of God affected the surface of Moses' skin, like being in the sun for too long affects mine, but Moses'...
The Unnamed Servant
by Dion Todd July 7th, 2024
Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, 'Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink,' then she says, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink,'—let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master. Genesis 24:14 WEB.
The man in this story was a servant of Abraham. Other than that, we know little about...
The Lord Listens
by Dion Todd July 6th, 2024
Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation that complain against me? I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel, which they complain against me. Tell them, 'As I live, says Yahweh, surely as you have spoken in my ears, so I will do to you.' Numbers 14:26-28 WEB.
Several times in my walk with the Lord, I have seen the idle words I spoke...
A Fresh Start
by Dion Todd July 5th, 2024
But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger. They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle. Jesus,...
Peace of Mind
by Dion Todd July 4th, 2024
In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7 WEB.
In the past, many saints and martyrs have faced terrible trials and death with peace in their hearts that no one could explain. Some sang...
Shock Treatment
by Dion Todd July 3rd, 2024
Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days disciplined us as seemed good to them, but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful...
Too Much Time On My Hands
by Dion Todd July 2nd, 2024
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Don't throw me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalms 51:10–12 WEB.
King David strolled around his palace's rooftop terrace one lazy afternoon and spotted one of his neighbors bathing. Apparently, his balcony was above hers so...
Window of Opportunity
by Dion Todd July 1st, 2024
Window of Opportunity from
Refreshing Hope Ministries on
Vimeo.
In 2 Kings chapter 13, King Joash visits the Prophet Elisha. Joash was king of Israel and reigned for sixteen years from 798 to 782 BC. For decades, the Syrians had oppressed and invaded Israel, weakening them.
Elisha the Prophet was a pain to the Syrians. They would make secret plans...
Backs To The Wall
by Dion Todd June 30th, 2024
Moses said to the people, "Don't be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see them again. Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still." Exodus 14:13–14 WEB.
Standing by the Red Sea with their back to the water, a group of unarmed former slaves stared out at the most powerful army in...
The Lone Ranger
by Dion Todd June 29th, 2024
Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8–9 WEB.
When lions hunt water buffalo, they follow them and watch. Then they pick a straggler off on its own or try to separate one...
Alone In The Quiet
by Dion Todd June 28th, 2024
Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid or scared of them, for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 WEB.
Sometimes, we can become so withdrawn that we begin to feel that it is us against the world. That no one cares or even notices what we are going through and struggling with. Even in the middle of a crowd, we can feel alone, and all...