The Storm Comes from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. We live near the coast of South Carolina, and every year we have to prepare for hurricane season. When a major storm comes through, it can be devastating. The electricity may be out for a week, and the roads are often closed because of flooding or blocked with downed trees and power lines. We make certain we have a good supply of batteries,...

Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can't bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4'5 WEB.The ministry of Jesus, from the first recorded miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana...

The Great I Am from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Moses had been a shepherd for forty years in the land of Midian when the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush. The bush was self-sustaining and wouldn't burn up. The Lord told Moses He had heard the cries of the Israelite people who were enslaved in Egypt. Then He said, "Come now, and I will send you." (Exodus 3:10). Then an interesting...

Jesus therefore answered them, "Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. John 5:19 WEB.Their eyes welled up with tears as I handed them the envelope. They knew what was inside of it, for though they had told no one, they had been silently praying for help. All the while, they were...

The Point of No Return from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Jesus chose twelve men out of thousands of disciples, and He named them apostles (Luke 6:13). He taught them all things, gave them power over unclean spirits, and the ability to heal all manners of sickness and disease. (Luke 9:1–2 NKJV)  Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over...

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. Psalms 46:10 WEB.It was another busy day with so much to do, so many bills, and a lot going on. The pressure and anxiety had kept me up most of the night. It seemed like I spent most of my time these days trying to solve tomorrow's problems before they got here, and don't even get me started on the...

When they had gone over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be on me." 2 Kings 2:9 WEB.While walking down the road together, Elisha was just a humble servant to the mighty prophet Elijah. This prophet was renowned for calling fire down from heaven multiple times. His words had brought a drought on...

In a Little While from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. When Joseph was a young boy of about seventeen years, God gave him a dream showing that he would be a ruler one day. But when Joseph told his brothers about it, they became jealous and angry. (Genesis 37:5–8 NKJV)  Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, "Please...

Wisdom in the Workplace from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. What if there was an edge you could have that would set you apart from anyone else in your field? If you had deeper insight and understanding than your peers, that caused you to stand out from the rest. Would you be interested? There is, and it's called wisdom. Wisdom is probably best defined as "the practical use of knowledge."...

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27 WEB.Jesus said His sheep would hear His voice, and they would follow Him, "and a stranger, they would not follow" (John 10:5). God speaks to His people individually as well as collectively. Some are so concerned about being deceived...

The Cornerstone from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. After Jesus made a whip of cords and drove the money changers out of the temple in Jerusalem, He had an interesting conversation with the Jewish leaders. They asked for a sign, and He told them this: (John 2:18–21 NKJV)  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" Jesus answered...

The Shepherd Calls from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Jesus Christ said He was the Good Shepherd and that He calls His sheep by their name. He knows the name of each of us. Isn't that beautiful? He knows you, and He speaks to you. We get to hear His voice. (John 10:1–5 NKJV) Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way,...

Let It Rain from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. There is the sound of abundant rain in the heavens, and the clouds are heavy. Sylvia and I went out shopping this week. It was a sunny morning, but the moment we opened the house door, it started raining. It seemed localized. There were small patches of rain that tended to follow our car. Yet, long stretches of perfectly dry highway. We passed...

Then his lord called him in, and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me. Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?' His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him. So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don't each forgive your brother from your...

Wherever he entered'into villages, or into cities, or into the country'they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched him were made well. Mark 6:56 WEB.As we knelt down to pray together, my friend had mixed emotions of fear, conviction, and uncertainty. At that moment, He questioned whether Jesus was even real. We had...

Rise! from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. What if you knew today was your last one, and you would be standing before the judgment seat of Christ in a matter of hours. Would that affect how you lived your life right now? It shouldn't. I feel too many times, we are focusing on our immediate worldly needs while ignoring the eternal. Then it slips up on us, just like Christmas. I mean, the Lord...

God said, "Let's make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in his own image. In God's image he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26-27 WEB.I love cars, always have. When I was younger,...

 During the last supper, on the night that Jesus was arrested, He told those who were with Him this: (John 14:15–18 NKJV)  "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for...

The Ladder from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. For many years, I was a painter, and if it has anything to do with painting, I have probably done it. I've painted houses, hospitals, hotels, schools, factories, cars, and crow-footed plaster walls in 200-year-old mansions. For a year, I walked on stilts and cut in ceilings day after day while we remodeled oceanfront high-rises. I grew used to...

Don't remember the former things, and don't consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don't you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19 WEB.I was sitting in church one morning listening to the guest speaker's monotone message. When to put it frankly, I became bored. I yawned, searched for the time, and wondered...

Now Yahweh said to Abram, "Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. Genesis 12:1'2 WEB.Abram came to a crossroads in his life where he had to make a radical choice: to follow God's path or to continue on where he was. Following God meant...

How Low Can You Go from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. (James 4:10 NKJV)  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. One Sunday morning, several years ago, I was working at the coffee counter at our local church when the Lord gave me a word for a member of the praise team. It was just a single sentence that dropped into my spirit when I saw him come in that...

As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me." Jesus answered her, "Martha,...

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...

Let the Wind Blow from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Jesus had thousands of followers. Some were with Him occasionally, while others almost constantly. In Matthew 14:13, Jesus miraculously multiplied food and fed over 5,000 people who had been listening to Him teach. Out of all those followers, Jesus chose twelve, and He named them Apostles. Then there was an inner three, Peter, James, and...

David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God. 1 Samuel 30:6 WEB.David was distressed. When they had returned to their village earlier, they found it burned to the ground. All of their wives, children, and belongings had been taken away...

Therefore all those who devour you will be devoured. All your adversaries, everyone of them, will go into captivity. Those who plunder you will be plunder. I will make all who prey on you become prey. For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says Yahweh, "because they have called you an outcast, saying, 'It is Zion, whom no man seeks after.' " Jeremiah 30:16-17 WEB.It was...

When they had come, he looked at Eliab, and said, "Surely Yahweh's anointed is before him." But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Don't look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don't see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:6-7 WEB.When Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel, he was handsome and...

The Anointing from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. In Scripture, God commanded certain people and items to be anointed with oil. It set them apart for His use, and it was often done before they took on a new office or role of authority. Some of the things anointed in the Old Testament were pillars, the tabernacle, its furniture, shields, kings, priests, and prophets. It's probably easiest to...

But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life....