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Sunshine and Roses from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Something that puzzled me when I first decided to take my relationship with Jesus seriously was that my life suddenly became more challenging. I mean, what's going on with that? "I'm a child of the King! He fights my battles." Uh-huh... For me, it felt like the more I dedicated myself to...

One Day at a Time from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. First, I want to say there's absolutely nothing wrong with being ignorant. It simply means there's a lack of knowledge or awareness about something, or perhaps being a bit uneducated or unsophisticated. The Lord knows all, and He understands our limitations. After all, He created our minds,...

Shipwrecked Faith from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. You must develop a direct relationship with Jesus Christ that is not dependent on anyone else. Far too many people have their faith shipwrecked when they get spiritually hurt by someone in the church, especially if it comes from the church leadership they look up to. We have seen members...

The Fleece from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. In Judges chapter six, there is a young man named Gideon who is the least of the least. For seven years, raiders from the land of Midian invaded Israel at harvest time, set up camps, and systematically stole their crops and livestock, destroying and pillaging anything of value. The raiders came...

Secret Service from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today, I would like to discuss God's timing. Too many of us read the Scriptures and feel that God is outdated or out of touch with modern times when nothing could be further from the truth. He invented time. He created the Sun that the Earth orbits. Sometimes, we can feel that He is distant...

The Church of Acts from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. What God designs and establishes is always perfect and never needs to be improved on or replaced. He always gets it right the first time. For example, look at Noah's ark which is a pattern of the Church, both designed by God, built by carpenters, and those inside are saved. Now, the Church...

Pentecost from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. We have recently covered the events of Holy Week and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. What happened next? After Jesus was crucified, laid to rest in a tomb, and resurrected early Sunday morning, He remained on Earth for another forty days and appeared to many (Acts 1:3). Here is a brief summary: *...

The Blood of the Lamb from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today, we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, which occurred around 1992 years ago. Last week, we covered the events that happened during "Holy Week," beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Jesus being arrested, scourged, and crucified on Friday, mostly because...

Holy Week from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today marks the beginning of Holy Week—the week leading up to the most important events in Jesus' life. Tradition tells us that Holy Week began on Palm Sunday, around 33 AD. At that time, Jesus was in his early thirties. We use the BC/AD dating system, which was established around his birth,...

The God of the Valley from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. The human brain is a natural gap-filler—it quickly fills in missing details even when we don't give it the whole picture. For instance, if I simply say "dog," you likely picture an image in your mind based on your own experiences, even before I mention the breed. The same applies...

Who Was Matthew from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. How much do we know about Matthew, who became one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus? We know that Matthew was the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14). Another of Jesus' disciples, James the Lesser, is also identified as the son of Alphaeus. However, it seems unlikely that the two were closely related....

The Shadow from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. When I was around ten, a well-meaning soul took me bar-hopping after a long day of fishing. Jesus said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and I do believe that's what they would have liked done to them. It was a fairly common occurrence. That was a school day, so they stopped in,...

Positive and Negative from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. We live in uncertain and troublesome times. Fear is on the rise, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring. The news seems only bad, and each day, something new stokes the fire, replacing what we thought was the worst with something worse. The ingenious Homer Simpson, when his son...

Overcoming Fear in a Turbulent World from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt when he was about 80. However, upon reaching the Promised Land, the people discovered there were giants living there, which made them feel like grasshoppers (Numbers 13:33). Consequently, they decided to stone Moses, appoint...

The Woman at the Well from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. When Jesus was traveling from Judea to Galilee, He stopped in a town called Sychar. While resting at the well and waiting for His disciples to return from grocery shopping, He had a conversation with a Samaritan woman who came to the well during the heat of the day. (John 4:3–6 NASB)...

Rivers of Living Water from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. When someone is speaking, it is helpful to know the context and their environment to fully grasp what they mean. Consider the words of Jesus in John chapter 7: (John 7:37 NKJV) On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let...

Good Neighbors from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. We need to be good neighbors, and in turn, make the world a better place. Ever since Adam and Eve had children and one killed the other, learning to live in peace has been an ongoing thing. Most of the Ten Commandments are about how we treat each other. The word neighbor occurs about 153 times...

The Carpenter from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Jesus left His hometown of Nazareth around the age of thirty, where He had grown up and worked as a carpenter. Later, He returned as a rabbi with a group of disciples following Him, and the locals were astonished. (Mark 6:1–3 NKJV) Then He went out from there and came to His own country,...

Cranking It to Eleven from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. This is not the message I sat down to write. Partway through, the Holy Spirit hijacked it and made it something else. I don't want to upset you, but like Paul, I also don't want you to be ignorant (1 Corinthians 12:1). This is a rather long message, but it would be an injustice not...

Prayer Warrior from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. I have heard people teach that one should pray once "in faith" and never mention it again. The idea is that God has heard you and will bring it to pass when He is ready. There may be a time for that, but that is not how Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, Paul, or Jesus Christ prayed. Now, I totally...

The Underdogs from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. In today's world, people too often chase superficial and fleeting beauty. Supermodels are everywhere in advertising. Even the computer geeks we see on TV now have six-pack abs - if only that were true! We're bombarded with images of glamour models flaunting their wealth, fancy yachts, perfect...

Go in the Strength You Have from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. The Lord will intentionally place you in hopeless situations and separate you from those who might have helped you in order to teach you to trust in Him. He has done this throughout scripture, just as He instructed Abraham to leave his father's house and homeland to travel to a...

The Dark Night of the Soul from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. As Pastors, we receive many prayer requests about hearing the Lord, or more specifically, not hearing Him. When people are in a difficult situation, it becomes difficult to hear Him, and too often, they begin to feel like failures. They blame themselves and feel as if there must be...

Giants and Grasshoppers from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. There are unseen forces all around us that we don't notice and may even take for granted. Consider gravity, without which we would drift off into space. You can't see it, though you interact with it all day. It holds your couch to the floor and your house to the ground. Although you...

The Night Before Christmas from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Imagine what it must have been like to be in Bethlehem, a cozy little town surrounded by green rolling hills, on the very first Christmas Eve over 2,000 years ago. Think about a time before we had electricity, twinkling Christmas lights and the happy holiday songs we sing today....

Treasure Chests from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Treasure chests are special boxes crafted to hold something precious. Just as a treasure chest, we, too, can be vessels for something incredibly valuable: the Holy Spirit. Think about the Ark of the Covenant, which Moses constructed according to God's precise blueprint: (Exodus 25:10–11...

The Door from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Over the years, I have sometimes asked the Lord what I am supposed to be doing now. That door closed, and that job ended. What now? What is Your perfect will for me? Sometimes, this became stressful because I couldn't hear anything when I thought I really needed to. Yet, most of the time, it was...

I Will Not Fear from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. When God calls you to do something, fear is usually the first guardian you will encounter if you manage to overcome laziness and procrastination. It is so important to press on even though we are afraid of what may happen. In 1 Samuel, young David had a calling on his life to become the...

Jesus said there was one way to show everyone we are truly His disciples: by loving one another. Love is not a choice, an option, a recommendation, or a suggestion; it is a commandment. Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you." If we do not love each other, we are disobedient. (John 13:34–35 NKJV) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as...

Teachings inspired by the Holy Spirit are refreshing, but teachings from men are like throwing a wet blanket on the fire: they quench the Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings freedom, but legalism and men's doctrines bring bondage. Consider these two verses: (2 Corinthians 3:17 NKJV) Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (Luke 11:46...