1 Corinthians 11:1-Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I always tell everyone who will listen to me. " If you want to know what you will look like in the future, look at your personal trainer." What I mean by that is if you want to look like a body builder, you wouldn't train with a marathon runner. A marathon runner keeps no extra muscle on their bodies because it will weigh them...

They heard Yahweh God's voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you?' Genesis 3:8 WEBAdam walked with God in the garden, but after disobeying His command, withdrew and tried to hide because of it. The serpent talked Eve into risking...

Matthew 23:23-24:23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Nobody is perfect....

Ecclesiastes 11:10-So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. 2 Corinthians 4:16-Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. There is a battle that wages for the mind. We are constantly bombarded with so much on a daily basis. The enemy wants us to...

Who Told You That?   Who Told You That? from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Message Notes: “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I...

Psalm 51:6-7-Surely you desire truth in the inner parts, you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.  The Lord knows us so intimately that there truly is nothing we can hide from Him. He truly does desire truth in our inner parts. The secret places, the recesses of our hearts and minds carry that which we hold...

2 Corinthians 5:17:Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Why do we desire vacation so much? There are many reasons I am sure, but one of the largest reasons is that it removes us from the reality of our life in the world. For a week or a weekend, a year or two we get the opportunity to hit a beach, climb a mountain, or escape to the retreat...

Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. (Habakkuk 2:2 NKJV)   June Newsletter - 2016 Hello there, Thank you for reading our devotional and being a part of Refreshing Hope Ministries. This is our monthly update on what has been happening here during the last month and I thank you for taking time to read it. The...

But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth. After my skin is destroyed, then I will see God in my flesh, whom I, even I, will see on my side. My eyes will see, and not as a stranger. Job 19:25 WEBJob is the oldest book in the Bible, except for the first ten chapters of Genesis. Wealth in this book was still measured in livestock. Yet even then, Job already...

and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald cried aloud, 'To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages, that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. Whoever doesn't fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle...

Genesis 50:19-21: But Joseph said to them, Don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Joseph was betrayed. He was ridiculed, sold into slavery and left naked on an auction block. He was falsely accused and sent to prison. He was forgotten after he blessed another. This all happened as a result of his jealous brothers. They didn't understand...

My door is open, and all are welcome. My Door is Open from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. This is the message for Father's Day, 2016.06.19. My door is open, and all are welcome. Here is the message outline: God created mankind for fellowship. In the beginning, God would come down and walk with Adam in the garden of Eden during the cool of the day. Then one day God came down and...

For there is no distinction, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:22 WEBIt is easy to become used to positions, titles, and levels in the workplace during life and carry that over into the church. After a while, we can become like the pharisee that stood on the corner and thanked God that...

Yahweh, how my adversaries have increased! Many are those who rise up against me. Many there are who say of my soul, 'There is no help for him in God.' Selah. But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. Psalms 3:1 WEBDavid wrote these words while fleeing from his own son, Absalom, who plotted to kill David and become king in his place. Almost everyone that David...

Ecclesiastes 7:1: A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. Matthew 26:12-13: When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. Many people say that the woman who poured out the perfume...

1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. We are about to go into wedding season, and...

Isaiah 55:8:"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. We can get bogged down in our thinking sometimes. We are inundated with impressions daily. Don't know what I mean? Look online and you will see thousands of subliminal messages about products, services, and prescription drugs. Turn on a TV and you get the same thing, more brand reinforcement. Not...

1 Samuel 17:42-44: He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. Come here, he said, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field! The whole battle doesn't happen at all unless Goliath stands up and said:...

to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3 WEBHave you ever felt so down, so lethargic, that you begin to ask yourself, 'What is the point of it all?' There are many things in this...

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path. Proverbs 3:6 I’ve been on this incredible learning Journey… Changing my negatives to positives, counting my burdens as blessings, seeking God’s goodness and love… Would you like to know what I have found? When you Ask; it is Given > When you Seek; it is Found >When you Search; it is Discovered.    I...

Psalm 130:3: If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? Hebrews 8:12: For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Psalm 129:3: Plowmen have plowed my back and made their furrows long. But the Lord is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked. None of us in this world can boast about how good we are. Nobody can walk around...

Psalm 40:6- Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced *(additional notation), burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, Here I am, I have come--it is written about me in the scroll. Luke 24:44-He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the...

Proverbs 31: 4-7: It is not for kings, O Lemuel--not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. This is not a devotional about the evils of drinking...

“Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.” 1 Kings 18:20       When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have to truly Trust him in all the decisions in our lives because he doesn’t just want part of...

Genesis 20:11- Abraham replied, "I said to myself, there is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, this is how you can show your love to me. Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is...

Philippians 2:1-4 2 Corinthians 3:12-14 Humility or boldness which is better? Running on the road is a balance of beating down the flesh which says, you can’t do this, you should just give up, and concentrating on the power of Christ in us. I run on the road and I face oncoming traffic. As I am running, I feel this other conflict deep inside and one that says, "be humble and get out of...

Mark 11:23-24-Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, it will be done for him. So we read this scripture and wonder, why don't we look at things and tell them to do what we want them to do more often? You would think that we would be telling cancer to leave bodies, and...

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10: 13       There have been many times in my life I have been tempted in a variety of ways. Some I will admit I resisted...

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat. You clothe yourself with the wool. You kill the fatlings, but you don’t feed the sheep. You haven’t strengthened the diseased. You haven’t healed that which was sick. You haven’t bound up that which was broken. You haven’t...

Now he who betrayed him had given them a sign, saying, 'Whomever I will kiss, that is he. Seize him, and lead him away safely.' When he had come, immediately he came to him, and said, 'Rabbi! Rabbi!' and kissed him. They laid their hands on him, and seized him. Mark 14:44 WEBIt was now dark. Jesus and the disciples had finished their last supper, sang a hymn together, and then went to pray in the Garden...