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  • 13 hours ago
    Posted by Dion Todd
    Yahweh said to Joshua, "Get up! Why have you fallen on your face like that?" Joshua 7:10 WEB.Joshua lay prostrate before the ark of the Lord all that evening. Yesterday, he had been a mighty warrior. Now Israel had lost the battle at Ai, all because one of the men with him had become greedy and brok...
  • Wed at 3:01 AM
    Posted by Dion Todd
    Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, "Don't fight with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel." When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is the king of Israel!" Therefore they turned around to fight against him. But Jehoshap...
  • Tue at 3:01 AM
    Posted by Dion Todd
    But Naaman was angry, and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper' " 2 Kings 5:11 WEB.Naaman stared at his new skin with amazement when he came up from the muddy wa...
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  • March 25, 2022 - led by Lynn Brown
    This is a group for RHM sponsored events like corporate fasts. Everyone is welcome to join and participate in things currently going on in the ministry. We love you and thank you for being a part of Refreshing Hope!
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Resting in a Storm

  • Resting in a Storm from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

    Our Lord Jesus Christ lived on Earth as our example and lived a simple life of trust and peace. Once when Jesus and the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee on their fishing boat, a great storm came, and Jesus slept soundly in the bottom of the vessel while the rest were stressed out. Jesus had learned to rest from stress. 

    (Matthew 8:23–25 NKJV)  Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

    (Matthew 8:26 NKJV)  But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

    Jesus rebuked the storm, and the disciples for waking Him up, then probably went back to sleep. The storm was stressful for the disciples but not for Jesus. What was the difference? Jesus said it was their small amount of faith. That the disciples had "little faith." 

    I want to clarify that we can go past the disciple's "little faith" today, for we have their experience to build on. We have the Holy Spirit, who came down to us when Jesus went up. We have the New Testament and their lives recorded as our example while they pioneered the way for us. 

    It was difficult for them to learn who the Holy Spirit was while battling ideas like "Can gentiles even be saved?" or "Do men have to be circumcised to be saved?" But by doing that, they paved the way for us to go further. Yet, what have we done with that?

    The Bible portrays Jesus as lovingly calm and patient. In Luke 9:55, when a Samaritan village didn't welcome them, James and John offered to call down fire from heaven and burn them up. They wanted to save Jesus the trouble. Jesus told them: "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." 

    Jesus didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. What a statement! There is a stark contrast when you look back over the long and bloody history of the church that often tried to destroy anyone who disagreed with it. Destroying men's lives didn't come from Jesus. 

    A few chapters after calming the storm, Jesus said this:

    (Matthew 11:28–30 NKJV)  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

    "Rest for your souls" is something amazingly rare today. Is your soul at rest, or are you constantly stressed about what may come tomorrow? Are you terrified when storms approach and yell, "Jesus! I perish!" Or have you already prepared yourself by praying and telling the Lord about the things worrying you before they come?

    I find that trouble often avoids those who are prepared for it. We once took a course by Dave Ramsey on managing your finances, and the first thing he advised was setting aside an amount of money for an emergency fund. He had lived a life full of stress and emergencies but said after he did this, the emergencies stopped coming. Oddly enough, we tried it and found the same thing. 

    Jesus could sleep in the boat during a violent storm because He had already prayed and had that inner peace. Jesus was prepared for whatever came His way that day. There is a direct link between peace and trusting God. When we lack peace in our lives, it comes from a lack of trust that He will take care of us. Consider Isaiah 26:3:

    (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV)  You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

    This describes how Jesus could sleep in the boat during a storm. He completely trusted God to take care of Him. He knew He wouldn't leave the Earth until He had fulfilled His time here. Jesus wasn't concerned with tomorrow or things beyond His control. Jesus prayed. He spoke in faith, and He trusted the Father. 

    I am not saying that we are a failure if we can't walk on water, but Jesus rebuked those disciples for their "little faith" because they were supposed to have more of it. So learn to pray and trust Him to help you before you need it. 

    Also, be flexible. Don't tell the Lord how to bless your plans. Instead, get in line with His plan. Then do your part no matter how small, and let Him take care of the rest. You don't have to worry about ten thousand things you can't change. Pray, rest, and take comfort, knowing that you aren't alone in this.

    You can pray this with me if you like: 

    Prayer: Heavenly Father, please open my mind to understand Your word. I give You my heart, and I choose to trust You today. You are my peace. You are my rest. I am not alone, for You are with me, and that gives me great comfort. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!


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24 comments
  • 2
Debi Burton
Debi Burton Heavenly Father, please open my mind to understand Your word. I give You my heart, and I choose to trust You today. You are my peace. You are my rest. I am not alone, for You are with me, and that gives me great comfort. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen! ❤️
November 7, 2022
  • 4
Liesel  aka  Lisa Wardle
Liesel aka Lisa Wardle

Amen and Amen!!! Giving thanks to the Lord for you both especially as we celebrate "Thanksgiving" this month, even though thanksgiving should be on our lips and in our hearts each and every day!!! May the Lord bless you above and beyond and meet all of your needs according to His riches, goodness and mercy, in the name of Jesus, Amen!!! (h5) (L)

November 6, 2022
  • 1
Marisa Jackson
Marisa Jackson

Amen!!

November 6, 2022
  • 4
Tyler Velau
Tyler Velau

Another winner from the Lord and Pastor Dion. These messages are exactly what folks need to hear. Thanks for the message and for reminding folks that hope is still there. 

November 6, 2022
  • 2
Schalk  de Beer
Schalk de Beer

Yes, amen Lord. 

November 7, 2022
  • 4
Madalyn Myers
Madalyn Myers

This Devotional is a blessing. It let's me know to trust God and believe in him. No matter what happens. My Mom taught me to love Jesus and depend on him. My Dad taught me to love Angels because they watch over us. Both of my parents are deceased. Thank You Pastor Dion for the blessed Devotional Reading.

November 7, 2022
  • 1
Kay Collinsworth
Kay Collinsworth

Amen 

November 7, 2022
  • 1
Celeste Strenn
Celeste Strenn

Amen

November 7, 2022
  • 1
Narciso Salas
Narciso Salas

 Amen

November 7, 2022
  • 3
Patricia Walker
Patricia Walkeredited: November 7, 2022

AMEN.  Heavenly Father, my Faith and Trust is in the Lord. I am not alone for you are with me.  AMEN

November 7, 2022
  • 2
Dana Rozell
Dana Rozell

In Jesus Name Amen.

November 7, 2022
  • 2
Wanda Pennington
Wanda Pennington

Jesus i trust you today and for all my tomorrow's..Thank you Jesus for helping me All the time.  Amen 

November 7, 2022
  • 2
David  Earlywine
David Earlywine

Wonderful message, thank you. Amen 

November 7, 2022
  • 2
Yvette York
Yvette York

Amen Good Morning Everyone 

November 7, 2022
  • 1
Maria Melendez
Maria Melendez

Amen !

November 7, 2022
  • 2
Lynn Brown
Lynn Brown

Thank you for this message and reminder Pastor Dion! I trust in the Lord, Amen!

November 7, 2022
  • 1
David Krull
David Krull

Amen. Awesome study and my wife sat and listened in. She has done that couple times. Thank you Father for opening my wife's eyes to her unfounded anger. I bind up and cast down that spirit of anger satan. Bless her and speak to her about being loving towards me in action not just words. Help us both over come our wills, our flesh and walk in love towards each other. I trust you to work in us both.  In Jesus Christ Name. 

November 7, 2022
  • 2
Richard Mondello
Richard Mondello

Praise God! Continuing to pray for you both. 

November 7, 2022
  • 2
David Krull
David Krull

Bless you

November 8, 2022
  • 1
Richard Mondello
Richard Mondello

With my whole heart I lean on You Father Yahweh. In Christ Yeshua's name I pray this, Amen. 

November 7, 2022
  • 1
Mari Kaufmann
Mari Kaufmann

I've been gaining more confidence in believing. My faith has grown and I'm trying to stay calm and just keep praying through whatever comes. Amen

November 7, 2022
  • 1
David Fabillaran
David Fabillaran

Amen Lord Jesus!

November 7, 2022
  • 1
Wesley Paulus
Wesley Paulus

Amen! 

November 8, 2022
  • 1
Nell Neathery
Nell Neathery

My pastor's sermon this past Sunday was about storm.

The sermon was about Paul and storms in Acts 27.

We had recently had a tornado warning durng the week before Sunday.

I was in a tornado before I moved to Quinlan, Texas in August 2019.

Thank goodness I was a survivor of both of these storms.

Thank goodness, I am a survivor of many previous storms in my life!

It is good we are able to rebuke storms from us in the name of Jesus, Amen

With the weather, my mattress not helping me to rest, Philip's and my words in disapgreement, a med change....Sunday morning, I woke up at 6 a.m. instead of 7 a.m.  At 7 a.m. is when I usually start getting ready for church.  so with all of these issues slowly being resolved, I was able to get rest in the last couple of nights.

God bless you all on this Wednesday November 9, 2022

November 9, 2022