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Inspiration from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about inspiration, when a creative idea suddenly downloads into your brain. That is not an accident. It happens for a purpose, and it may be more important than we think. Let’s begin in Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 4: Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before...

Yahweh's angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur. He said, 'Hagar, Sarai's servant, where did you come from? Where are you going?' She said, 'I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.' Genesis 16:7 WEBHagar wandered alone in the desert. She had always done what she was told, but now it had become too much and she had ran from the painful life...

His Blood and Our Testimony from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about what Jesus has done for us, and what we are expected to do for Him. Let’s start by examining Revelation 12:10: Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who...

King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.' Agrippa said to Paul, 'With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Christian?' Paul said, 'I pray to God, that whether with little or with much, not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these bonds.' Acts 26:27 WEBWhen a net is pulled out of the water on a fishing boat, it may contain...

God and the Workplace from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the importance of learning to serve God right where you are, doing exactly what you are doing. Get to know Him there, for if you will not serve Him there, you will not serve Him anywhere else. Wherever you find yourself, and whatever you are doing, begin to involve God in it every day. Many feel that they...

Good Neighbors from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the importance of being a good neighbor. Ever since Adam and Eve had kids and one killed the other, it has been an ongoing thing, learning to live with one another. Most of the ten commandments are about how we treat our neighbor.  Over the years, God had to give many, many commandments about neighbors. Apparently...

When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn't hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Psalms 32:3 WEBDavid wrote Psalm 32 after his affair and marriage to Bathsheba....

The Wonder of You from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the wonder of the Lord. I believe that wonder is a great definition of what it feels like to have the Holy Spirit moving in your life. It can feel almost magical, surreal, at times you may ask yourself “Is this really happening?” The word “wonder” means: Wonder (noun) 1 a feeling of surprise...

Hand in Hand from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about walking with the Lord, hand in hand, and what that may look like. He has not called us to walk alone, and so much frustration comes when we rely on our own strength, and our own wisdom. Until we get to know His ways of communicating with us, walking with Him can seem to be very mysterious. We think that if we were...

Dust on the Bottle from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about something we try to avoid: growing older. It is something that everyone blessed with a long life will face. As gray hair begins to come, we can begin to feel less useful, like our time has passed, when it may not have gotten here. While it is true that there is time for changing the guard, there is always a proper...

The Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn't fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.' Luke 22:31 WEBPeter told Jesus that he was ready to go to prison and to die for Him if needed, which was a very bold statement. Then Jesus told Peter that satan had asked to test him,...

By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, a thorn in the flesh was given to me: a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively. Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Most gladly...

Training Wheels from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the journey of becoming more like Jesus, and it is a journey. I will be talking mostly about the life of the Apostle Peter, but I want to begin with something Jesus said to all of His disciples in Luke 6:40: A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. Luke...

let's hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful. Let's consider how to provoke one another to love and good works, not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23 WEBMy home state of South Carolina carries this inscription on the state seal:...

Bible Study, Acts Chapter 28 from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Transcript: Today we are going to study Acts chapter 28 verse by verse, and you can follow along in your own Bible if you like. I will be reading from the World English Bible because it is currently the only modern English translation that is copyright free, and I can read the entire Bible on video without any legal drama or...

Flow Through Me from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about something that is at the very core of knowing Jesus: the Holy Spirit. This is fundamental stuff, but sometimes we build our doctrines so high that we can no longer see the foundation, yet it is very important that it is still there. Please keep a teachable spirit and don’t shut me out automatically if I happen...

Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that Yahweh will work for us; for there is no restraint to Yahweh to save by many or by few.' 1 Samuel 14:6 WEBGreatly outnumbered, Saul and about 600 Israelites were cowering in fear from the Philistines who had come against them. Only king Saul and his son Jonathan had a sword...

Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men. The angel answered the women, 'Don't be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for...

The Fixer Upper from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When I young, it was common for a church to wet you, set you, and forget you. Basically once you were saved and baptized, they didn’t know what else to do with you. Oh, they would teach on tithing, let’s not forget that one, but it was a common belief that you got everything...

Therefore don't be anxious, saying, 'What will we eat?', 'What will we drink?' or, 'With what will we be clothed?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for...

The Wind from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the Wind. We cannot see the wind blowing, but we can see the effects of it and we can feel the air movement on our skin. For example you can see someone’s hair blowing in the wind, but you can’t see the wind itself that is moving it. I want to begin in Acts chapter 2: When the Day of Pentecost had fully come,...

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 of eden. Then the serpent talked Eve into disobeying the command of God so that she could have the knowledge...

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron. Hezron became the father of Ram. Ram became the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon. Nahshon...

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh's glory has risen on you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:1 WEBNightfall came faster than I was anticipating and it was black night as I made my way through...

But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But as the disciples stood around him, he rose up, and entered into the city. On the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe. Acts 14:19 WEBAfter Paul and Barnabas healed a crippled man and preached the good news in the city of Lystra,...

The Lack of Knowledge from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today, I want to talk about the lack of knowledge. Specifically, the lack of knowledge of God and His word. There has always been far too much hearsay in the church, people repeating what they have heard well-meaning preachers tell them. Let’s begin in Hosea chapter 4 verse 6: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because...

Elijah said to her, 'Don't be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son. For Yahweh, the God of Israel says, 'The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.' She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and...

Do Not Be Dismayed from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about becoming “Dismayed.” To be dismayed means “to be downcast, disappointed, disheartened, filled with terror.” It replaces hope and will lead you to a dark place. We become ineffective and paralyzed. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10) and it is hard to be joyful when you are...

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2 WEBMy Dad was born during the great depression in the early 1930s. They had no electricity or running water in the rural areas where he grew up. There was no refrigeration,...

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 so easy for us to become used to having positions, titles, and levels in the workplace during our life and then carry those ideas over into the church. After we have been around a while, we can begin to feel that...