Do You Hear What I Hear
by Dion Todd July 17th, 2022
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.The Israelites came out of Egypt and saw incredible miracles each day while...
It Takes Two
by Dion Todd July 10th, 2022
It Takes Two from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
It is a simple fact that if you never opened your mouth, you would never have an argument. I am including our text-based social media conversations as dialogue as well. In short, we are always part of the problem. None of our disagreements escalate without our help. I am talking about personal relationships and keeping the peace. People don't...
The Fishing Boat
by Dion Todd July 10th, 2022
Simon Peter said to them, "I'm going fishing." They told him, "We are also coming with you." They immediately went out, and entered into the boat. That night, they caught nothing. But when day had already come, Jesus stood on the beach, yet the disciples didn't know that it was Jesus. John 21:3'4 WEB.Peter stood on the shore of the sea of Galilee and watched the waves roll in. He was so discouraged....
The Way Maker
by Dion Todd July 3rd, 2022
The Way Maker from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
The Israelites had lived in Egypt for centuries when the Lord sent Moses to free them from slavery. A hundred years may seem like a long time to us, but to the Lord, it's merely a dramatic pause. The Lord had told Abram what was coming long before it happened, and it began with his great-grandson Joseph.
(Genesis 15:13–14 NASB) ...
Free Falling
by Dion Todd July 3rd, 2022
Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him. I will satisfy him with long life, and show him my salvation.' Psalm 91:14'16 WEB.In high school gym class, we once had a "trust your teammates" session where you had to fall...
The Bad Note Blues
by Dion Todd July 2nd, 2022
For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Don't be afraid; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13 WEB.We have a proverb we live by when performing live music: "If you hit a bad note, hit it good." Yes, it should be "hit it well," but that's the phrase I grew up hearing in South Carolina. In other words, don't let the fear of failure keep you from trying your very best in a song. If you...
The Secret Admirer
by Dion Todd July 1st, 2022
I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Psalms 56:11 WEB.I walked down the aisle at Church to the offering basket and dropped in my tithes for the week. It had been a few awful weeks in a row now, and it was starting to show at home. My tithe was ten percent of almost nothing once again.Later, when I got home, I opened my Bible and found an envelope tucked inside it....
Shackled
by Dion Todd June 26th, 2022
Shackled from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
When given a task, we tend to look at ourselves, what we currently have, and our available tools. We mentally dig through our toolbox. Our solution is often confined to what we have already experienced, so we have limited vision and resources for attempting new things. Your mind can become shackled by your past.
The Lord sees more potential...
Hot Pursuit
by Dion Todd June 26th, 2022
Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, "Don't fight with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel." When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is the king of Israel!" Therefore they turned around to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and Yahweh helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. 2 Chronicles 18:31'32 WEB.Jehoshaphat...
Walk This Way
by Dion Todd June 25th, 2022
But Naaman was angry, and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper' " 2 Kings 5:11 WEB.Naaman stared at his new skin with amazement when he came up from the muddy water for the seventh time. His skin which had been covered in running sores, was now smooth as a baby....
A Coming Storm
by Dion Todd June 19th, 2022
A Coming Storm from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
The Sermon on the Mount is the longest continuous teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ that we have a record of. It was very in-depth, and Jesus taught a lot about common things people deal with every day.
He covered topics like anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, love, charitable deeds, prayer, fasting, giving, greed, wealth, judging others, the...
In Tune
by Dion Todd June 12th, 2022
In Tune from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
In Acts chapter 14, the Apostle Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch after a long mission trip. The Holy Spirit had worked with them to confirm their words with signs, and they had led many Gentiles to the Lord Jesus Christ. To be clear, a Gentile is anyone who is not a Jew. When they returned, they gathered the church and told them about the trip.
(Acts...
Wearing Out the Saints
by Dion Todd June 11th, 2022
For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:12-13 WEB.Paul wrote that we do not...
The Giant Killers
by Dion Todd June 10th, 2022
David therefore departed there, and escaped to the cave of Adullam: and when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented, gathered themselves to him; and he became captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. 1 Samuel 22:1'2 WEB.Saul, the king of Israel,...
Come Walk on the Water
by Dion Todd June 9th, 2022
Peter answered him and said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters." He said, "Come!" Peter stepped down from the boat and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith,...
The Twins
by Dion Todd June 8th, 2022
Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his wife. Isaac entreated Yahweh for his wife, because she was barren. Yahweh was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. Genesis 25:20-21 WEB.Rebekah was barren. She could not have children. But after her husband Isaac prayed for her, she became pregnant...
Whitewash
by Dion Todd June 5th, 2022
Whitewash from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
The Lord Jesus Christ had an astounding way of seeing right through lies and deception. This trait was both wonderful and alarming to those around Him. The religious elite of the day, the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, grew more and more envious of Jesus. God had raised Him up outside their circle and without their approval. Jesus bypassed...
The Wineskin
by Dion Todd May 31st, 2022
No one puts new wine into old wine skins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wine skins, and both are preserved. Luke 5:37-38 WEB (Paralleled in: Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22).The most radical change recorded in the Bible was the change from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. John the Baptist was the...
Will You Believe
by Dion Todd May 29th, 2022
Will You Believe from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
The word "Believe" occurs 309 times in the Bible (NKJV), and one-third of those are in the book of John. While writing his Gospel, John wrote "believe" 101 times. Apparently, he believed it to be a very important word.
John was one of Christ's earliest Apostles and very close to Him. Peter, James, and John were often with Jesus when He...
Grace And Truth
by Dion Todd May 25th, 2022
You were running well! Who interfered with you that you should not obey the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. Galatians 5:7'8 WEB.The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians who had been turned away from grace by some legalistic brothers. Though the Galatians were gentiles (non-Jewish believers), they were taught that they had to obey the 613 commandments of the law as if...
The Son Rises
by Dion Todd May 22nd, 2022
The Son Rises from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
The Lord Jesus Christ took Peter, James, and John up to a high mountain to pray, leaving nine other Apostles down in the valley with the multitudes of people. Jesus often withdrew from the crowds to pray, and this time, He took three of His Apostles with Him. The Apostles grew "heavy with sleep," as they often did while Jesus prayed (Luke 9:32,...
The Rebellion
by Dion Todd May 22nd, 2022
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence firm to the end, while it is said, "Today if you will hear his voice, don't harden your hearts, as in the rebellion." For who, when they heard, rebelled? Wasn't it all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? Hebrews 3:15'16 WEB.When Joshua and Caleb returned to the Israelite camp after spying on the promised land,...
Song Birds
by Dion Todd May 17th, 2022
Aren't five sparrows sold for two assaria coins? Not one of them is forgotten by God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore don't be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:6'7 WEB.We live near the coast of South Carolina in the countryside and have a large oak tree in our yard that overshadows our porch. Sometimes we sit outside and read when the weather is...
Hidden Talent
by Dion Todd May 15th, 2022
Hidden Talent from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
One of the last public sermons Jesus gave was on the Mount of Olives and called "The Olivet Discourse." It was right before His crucifixion. Jesus and His disciples were at the temple in Jerusalem, and when they were leaving, the disciples were in awe of the colossal structure. Maybe they had wandered around sightseeing, for they began pointing...
Face Against The Glass
by Dion Todd May 15th, 2022
When Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Mark 2:17 WEB.Jesus walked up to a tax collector's booth in the fishing village of Capernaum, and to the shock of His disciples, He told the tax man sitting there to "Follow Me!" Then Matthew, the tax collector, immediately...
A Healthy Body
by Dion Todd May 14th, 2022
For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot would say, "Because I'm not the hand, I'm not part of the body," it is not therefore not part of the body. If the ear would say, "Because I'm not the eye, I'm not part of the body," it's not therefore not part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? 1 Corinthians...
Inspiration from Desperation
by Dion Todd May 8th, 2022
Inspiration from Desperation from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
"Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!" David wrote these words after the Lord rescued him from the Philistines. David was anointed, overjoyed, and an amazing songwriter. Yet strangely, his life was in shambles when he wrote these inspiring words.
David worked hard as a soldier in Israel and rose...
Worst Day Ever
by Dion Todd May 4th, 2022
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said to Daniel, Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you. A stone was brought, and laid on the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Daniel 6:16'17 WEB.After serving God...
Intervention
by Dion Todd May 1st, 2022
He came into a house. The multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him: for they said, "He is insane." The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul" Mark 3:19'22 WEB.When I first gave my heart to Jesus, I lost every friend I had but quickly gained new ones in my church family. I was born an American...
Joy Comes In The Morning
by Dion Todd April 29th, 2022
For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, But joy comes in the morning. Psalms 30:5 WEB.I tossed and turned on the bed, unable to sleep. The pressure of what was going on in our life was tormenting, and even though we were exhausted, we could not sleep because we knew what we had to face the next day. When the morning finally arrived, all the worry...