See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity! Psalms 133:1 WEBWood, I grew up around it. Often I was carrying it, sawing it, nailing it or pulling the splinters from my hands. My dad was a carpenter for fifty-five years, so I grew up with woodworking and I have always enjoyed building things. I find that is a valuable skill in our everyday life and am thankful for those...

Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb says: 'I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by myself; Isaiah 44:24 WEBIn the Bible when someone was in trouble, danger, or in need, a male relative could 'redeem' them. This relative was called a 'kinsmen redeemer' and would step in and pay off their debt, buy back their property,...

For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. 2 Timmothy 1:6 WEBHave you ever felt a sense of dread come over you? Have you been afraid of that monster in the closet or under your bed? My older brother who had the driver's license, was a horror movie...

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? Psalms 56:3 WEBTired and needing a rest, David had been on the run from Saul. His own father-in-law was seeking to kill him out of pure jealousy. Everything that David owned, he had to leave behind him. Now he was seeking refuge in Gath, a Philistine city whom...

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) July 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. August...

So Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. Job 42:12 WEBJob was a very wealthy man who went through a terrible trial, but when it was over and Job prayed for his friends, all that he had lost was returned double. In chapter...

Modern Day Pharisees   Note: If you cannot enable full screen click here to watch on Viemo: Modern Day Pharisees from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Message notes: Jesus had a different view of God’s law than the scribes and pharisees did at several points in His ministry. + His disciples did not wash their hands a certain way before a meal (Mark 7:3-4).- Hand washing...

When they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh set ambushers against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were struck. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. When they had finished the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy each other. 2 Chronicles 20:22 WEBA great army...

Where Did You Read That?     If you cannot view full screen, click here:  Where Did You Read That? from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.   I grew up in the Bible Belt of the South, with people that love God, but are steeped in religious tradition. When I began to study the Bible, I was amazed at what was not in it, and sometimes at what was written in there. This message...

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Phil 4:5 KJVThere are so many things in this life that God has given us to enjoy and He does want us to have pleasure while we are here. Relationships, eating, drinking, work, health, exercise, hobbies, are all valuable pursuits. However, none of these are to become the end goal and sole focus of your life.Anytime something becomes more...

  This is the word of the week from Pastor Dion. "If you want to know Me, Talk to Me."  Note: If you cannot make the video fullscreen, then you can click here:  Talk to Me also you can follow Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Talk to Me “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways,...

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 healing a crippled man and preaching the good news in the city of Lystra, the people...

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. Matthew 13:44 WEBJesus told a parable of a man who found treasure hidden in a field, then he joyfully sold all that he had so that he could buy it and make it his own. He could not take the treasure without buying the entire field, and though...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10 KJVJob went through a terrible time in his life where he lost everything. As he sat in a pile of ashes with sores covering his body, his friends told him that it was the sinful life that he had lived that had caused all of this to happen. Actually, Job had lived...

Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings. Psalm 33:2 WEBWhen I ran my fingers across the strings, I knew instantly that this was the most beautiful sounding thing that I had ever picked up and that I had to have one. It was a twelve string acoustic guitar, a deep red sun-burst, and it was in perfect tune. I am not much of a guitar player, but even strumming...

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 1Pet. 4:12 ESVI have a testimony that I share sometimes where the Lord gave me a horrible job in a plant polishing brass and sweeping the floor. Within...

Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were bound, and he was there in custody. But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Gen. 39:20 WEBJoseph was his father's favorite son and though he had done nothing wrong, he was sold into slavery by his older brothers, who were jealous....

Then David gave to Solomon his son the plans for the porch of the temple, for its houses, for its treasuries, for its upper rooms, for its inner rooms, for the place of the mercy seat; and the plans of all that he had by the Spirit, 1 Chronicles 28:11 WEBDavid gave Solomon all the plans for the new temple that he was to build, but all of those plans were originally given to David by the Holy Spirit....

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread. Psalm 37:25 WEBDavid had been through a lot when he wrote this verse. He had been anointed by Samuel as a young boy and went on to kill lions, bears, and giants. As he grew, David became an experienced shepherd, an accomplished musician, and an excellent soldier. He had to run and hide...