Blog Post
Good From Bad (Your Worst Day Can Become Your Best) from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Today I want to talk about how God can bring good things out of the bad. How He can change your worst day, into your best. How He can change bad situations, into incredible opportunities. He has done it all through scripture, He has done it for me, and He will do it for you.
(Romans 8:28 NKJV) And...
Blog Post
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” Ephesians 4: 11-12
For years, it has seemed our Nation has become so split in our beliefs. You could feel it among our families, our churches, our work places and even among our friends. A generation...
Blog Post
God Almighty from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
There is a lot of fear and uncertainty in the world today and I feel that many are losing their focus by spending too much time listening to the news, and too little time listening to the Lord. We must remember that what we feed in our mind will grow, and what we starve will die. Things that we focus on grow bigger and bigger. I believe that...
Blog Post
When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. Behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying, 'Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean.' Jesus stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, 'I want to. Be made clean.' Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:1 WEBAn outcast waited by the roadside, hoping to see Jesus. He was a leper and had a skin disease that...
Blog Post
Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he was making a work on the wheels. When the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, House of Israel, can't I do with you as this potter?' Jeremiah 18:3 WEBWhen I was young, I followed the family tradition...
Blog Post
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
All my life, I was a person that lived in fear and anxiety over things that I allowed the enemy to defeat me. I was exhausted with the fear to the point it took me into a very dark time in my life. It was a time that I honestly felt there was no hope. My world was dim and gray, I saw...
Blog Post
Pestilence: The White Horse from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Today I want to talk about pestilence in scripture. A hot topic on the news today is the Coronavirus that is ravaging countries. While I am writing this, the cases reported have increased thirteen fold in China, and Italy has now shut down all transportation except to medical facilities and grocery stores. It has become a serious...
Blog Post
Thank you for being a part of Refreshing Hope Ministries. Like everyone else, we have been monitoring the Corona Virus (COVID-19) outbreak and praying about it. As of today, many church services and public gatherings are being canceled around the world. It is a difficult time for many, and fear is on the rise on a global scale. While it is important to take reasonable precautions, both for ourselves...
Blog Post
The House of God from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Today I want to talk about The House of God, the place where we go to meet God. When the Israelites left Egypt, Moses met with God in a tent called “The Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 33:7). When Moses went inside, the pillar of cloud would descend on it and the Lord would talk with Moses. Then the Lord gave Moses instructions to build...
Blog Post
Overwhelmed from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Today I want to talk about feeling overwhelmed by the things that you are facing. Sometimes life hands us things that seem too weighty, too much to deal with. Let’s begin by looking at a little Bible history.
Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet, prophesied for around forty years, warning backslidden Israel that disaster was coming. As...
Blog Post
May He grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! Psalms 20:4 ESVIt was so hot in the field that day that people were getting sick to their stomachs and the rest of us had to crop their row. As a young boy about twelve working in the tobacco field, my world was very small. My family was the least of the least and I was in my twenties before I even knew what college was, and we could...
Blog Post
David said, 'Yahweh who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.' Saul said to David, 'Go! Yahweh will be with you.' 1 Samuel 17:37 WEBYoung David was probably around fifteen years old and was now facing the greatest challenge of his life, Goliath. He was a real giant of a man that was just over nine feet tall and...
Blog Post
Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. He said to him, 'I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Get behind me, satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.' ' Matthew 4:7 WEBJesus was now a young man of about...
Blog Post
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together! I sought the LORD, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. Psalms 34:3 ESVDavid was now in the enemies' camp and surrounded by the relatives of those that he had...
Blog Post
Farther Along from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Today I want to talk about dealing with things that we don’t understand. There will be times in life when the path becomes dark, and we have to walk by faith. I want to begin in Psalm 119:
(Psalm 119:105 NKJV) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
The lamp in this Psalm is an oil lamp, which only gives a small circle...
Blog Post
You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience; among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest....
Blog Post
In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?' Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the midst of them, and said, 'Most assuredly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom...
Blog Post
Conditionals from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Today I want to talk about conditionals in the word of God, blessings, promises, even curses that are triggered by a certain action. It is something that we should always be aware of. God’s laws work much like gravity: you drop a cup and it always falls towards the Earth. Many of God’s promises work like this, an action followed...
Blog Post
One Day at A Time from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Today I want to talk about God’s supply chain and how He takes care of us. Too many times we see people confuse God with Santa Claus and their prayer becomes gimme, gimme, gimme. We have received prayer requests that were like this: “Please pray for the Lord to give me a large brick house, fully furnished, and paid for. A new...
Blog Post
Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land. Yahweh's word came to Jonah the second time, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I give you.' So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh Jonah 2:10 WEBJonah landed on the beach and stood up, covered in fish vomit. The giant fish had puked him onto the beach and He probably wanted to go back...
Blog Post
Don't be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don't give up. Galatians 6:6 WEBAs I fell through the air from the top of the building in seemingly slow-motion,...
Blog Post
He Touched Me from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Today I want to talk about the unclean, the outcasts, the lepers who lived during the time of Jesus.
(Mark 1:40–42 NKJV) Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and...
Blog Post
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV
Welcome to 2020! Thank you so much for reading our devotional and for being a part of Refreshing Hope Ministries. I hope that this message finds you blessed, healthy, and happy wherever you are.
For the last couple of years, Sylvia and I have managed to...
Blog Post
Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.' John 14:6 WEBWhen people around me started praying for someone, I used to shy away or stand quietly by. If they really had their eyes closed and were praying the way they should have, they should not have noticed me anyway. I always thought 'If they really knew me, they would not have asked for...
Blog Post
I See You from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
When I was young in the Lord, I felt insignificant in His eyes. I had been beaten down by life pretty good and often the clothes I wore had as well. When I started going to church, I was often surrounded by people wearing suits and driving cars that I could never have afforded, even if it had been financed. I was just a laborer. So I mostly stayed...
Blog Post
If He comes suddenly, do not let Him find you sleeping. Mark 13:36 NIVThere was a time in our life when our business started failing and our income got less, and less, and then stopped. As the bills started piling up, we tried everything, but nothing seemed to help. We gave more, prayed more, fasted more, served more, tried to find any job possible and then as the last straw, we prepared to move out...
Blog Post
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...
Blog Post
A Scattered Flock from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Jesus was the good Shepherd (John 10:1), and He was also our example of how to live a perfect life. He came to Earth at a dark, difficult time, especially in religion, for God’s presence had left the temple. The last book in the Old Testament is the prophet Malachi, and this is what the Lord told the priests that took care of His...
Blog Post
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. James 5:13'15 NIVAs I got out of bed, I was more tired than when I had laid down. We had not slept now for weeks except for a brief...
Blog Post
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree,” that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13–14 WEB
In Roman times, slaves were sold on an auction block under a spear. When a spear...