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Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” When He had said these things, as they were looking, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. While they were looking steadfastly into the sky as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white clothing, who also said, “You men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who was received up from you into the sky will come back in the same way as you saw Him going into the sky.” Acts 1:6–11 WEB

September Newsletter - 2015

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 hope that you will take the time to read it.

Sylvia and I spent the month of August fasting and praying, to clear our ears, to rekindle the flame, to get direction and a fresh vision from the Lord. We have the online church back online, it is growing daily and we are adding new features every week, but what now. Jesus spent time with the Father, got His assignment and completed it, then went back for the next step. Before He chose the twelve Apostles, He spent all night in prayer. That is a normal part of walking with the Lord. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

We have received so many emails and messages from people that are concerned about what is coming on the earth. Financial collapse, comets, jade helm, the blood moon and many other looming threats are on the horizon. As I took all this to the Lord in prayer, He basically told me the same thing that Jesus told the Apostles two-thousand years ago:

“Stop looking at the sky, you have work to do.”

The Apostles asked Jesus about the coming kingdom and He told them that it wasn’t for them to know the time set by the Father, but that they would receive power and be witnesses for Him to the uttermost parts of the earth. In other words, focus, you have got work to do.

That is our mission today and I am excited to be alive during this generation. We were brought here for such a time as this, bring it on! Yes, there are a lot of things coming. Jesus said “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25–26 WEB).

For those serving God, it will be the time that we have waited on, the return of Jesus. It is closer than ever: “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near” (Luke 21:27-28 WEB).

Wake up Church, it is time to live the Bible that you have been reading. Let the world be scared, we are the Church of Jesus Christ. Our hearts are not to be failing us in fear. We are not to be concerned about the “expectation of things that are coming on the world.” Our faith is secure, our future is going to be living with God anyway. Does it really matter if it comes today or 100 years away? We are all one heartbeat from meeting Him now.

“I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalms 56:11 WEB). “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalms 23:4 WEB). “A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes, And see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, And the Most High your dwelling place, No evil shall happen to you, Neither shall any plague come near your dwelling” (Psalms 91:7–10).

As I prayed, He reassured me that He will do His job and that we need to focus on ours, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ around the earth and showing love towards each other. We are to bring fresh hope to the weary. As we take care of Him, He will take care of us. This is a Psalms 91 moment. So after He put me in my place, I changed my focus back to what is my next job here? That is where the conversation got interesting, and a bit scary.

He told me some things that are far beyond our means and almost scare me, but I have learned that if He brings you to it, He will bring you through it. Great things can be accomplished over time when tackled in small sections. I will be sharing some of the things that I learned during the month of fasting in the coming months and I plan to release a new book soon journaling the experience.

I believe that the next thing that He has for me to do at Refreshing Hope is a weekly video sermon. This is the next step of many to come. Something like “Word of the Week from Pastor Dion.” I will cover what the Lord has told me and it will probably include the long version of my favorite devotional from that week. I believe that it will bring hope to many, and a fresh word from the Lord to those interested in what the Spirit is saying to the Church. We should be able to use Vimeo so that you can stream it to your television with a Roku box, or watch it on your computer, tablet or phone. Like all of our ministry, it will be delivered over the Internet and available 24/7.

As many things are that He calls us to do, we have no means to make this happen. In order to start a video ministry we need a fair amount of equipment, a decent camera, a mixer board, lapel mike and various other things. The PA system that I currently use during my worship time here is 31 years old. It is great for practice, but the buzz would be too much for live video. Even when we get that, we then have to work through making it all happen and streaming it so it may take a little while to get the first one online.

It will be a time of stretching for me as well because I am an introvert and enjoy my quiet time in my prayer room alone, but I can share it once a week with you. Until a couple of years ago, I would not even have a Facebook account and used fake names when near the Internet. Now, here I am. The Lord is slowly peeling me open like an onion, layer after layer. To begin with I plan to just film the video in my prayer room at my keyboard and then follow His plan for us one step at a time.

If this message resonates with you, please consider supporting us and praying with us. When our site was attacked last month, a lot of the support was interrupted. I sincerely thank those that continued to support and pray for us even while the site was down. It was touching and we were so thankful. Many people just unsubscribed, but you stood with us through thick and thin. Our bills are paid, but we are not able to move forward until our support comes back up.

We set up a prayer wall in our home and post all the cards, letters and prayer requests that you have sent to us on that wall. We pray over the mail that comes in, and when I walk past them, I often ask that the Lord will bless them, prosper you, heal you, and return your gifts one-hundred fold. Thank you so much for caring and thinking of us.

This is a time for us to focus on Jesus and completing the commission that He gave us. Stop worrying about what is coming, stop looking at the sky, and use that energy to participate in His work. We can always use more members and prayer partners at www.refreshinghope.org. We cannot help everyone, but everyone can help someone. You may have the encouraging word that someone else needs to hear today.

Online Church News: We now have 2,250 members at www.refreshinghope.org. Our weekly Bible study is now in its seventeenth week as we progress through the book of Luke together. Refreshing Hope has some members that are isolated, blind, some are deaf, and some are disabled, some are in the military. There are people from all walks of life in nations around the world participating, making friends and learning about Jesus. It is a good work for the latter days. People are online and we are providing a place of hope for them to come.

Thank you so much for sticking with us, and for all who have supported us throughout the month with prayer, encouragement and financial resources. We could not do it without you. We are learning as we go and mistakes happen. When we fall, we just try and get back up and do it better next time. I pray that the Lord richly blesses you and that you are covered with His presence as you read these words, in the name of Jesus. May He guide your every step and fan the flames within you. May the Lord lead us all into everything that He has for us as we follow Him one step at a time.

Pastor Dion