But when they deliver you up, don't be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Matthew 10:19 WEBA truly great coach is almost transparent. They are always behind the team, pressing them on to improve their game. They are proud of their team's accomplishments, but at the same...

As it was in the days of Noah, even so will it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26 WEBAs Noah labored on the ark day after day, life went on around him. People were eating, drinking, attending weddings, and carrying on with their...

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards to the throne will I be greater than you. Genesis 41:39'40 ESVJoseph had to pinch himself to be sure that he was awake. A few hours ago, he was a slave in prison serving time for a false...

Christmas Message 2016: Jesus   Christmas Message 2016: Jesus from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.   Today is Christmas, and I want to talk about Jesus. Who exactly is Jesus, and why is He important to us today. Over time things can become distorted and forgotten when passed down by word of mouth, so I want to refresh our minds on what the birth of Jesus means for us in a simple,...

But he answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4 ESVAfter months out of work, the days counted down until we were about to move out of our home. Meanwhile on the other side of town, someone else came into work each morning with a nagging feeling that they should have a pastor on staff, but put it off a little longer.Having...

Christmas Newsletter - 2016 Thank you for reading our devotional and being a part of Refreshing Hope Ministries. This is an update on what has been happening here during the last couple of months and I thank you for taking time to read it. Last month, Sylvia and I flew out to Arizona for an interview during the Guideposts National Cabinet Meeting and then went on to visit her family in California...

What Time is it? Part 5: The Beasts 2   What Time is it? Part Five: The Beasts 2 from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. This is part 5 of our series on end time beliefs. In this section, I want to continue on with the prophetic beasts of Daniel and Revelation. Last week we covered the first two beasts, the head of gold being Babylon, and the chest and arms of silver being Medo-Persia. For...

Then Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land. Yahweh's word came to Jonah the second time, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I give you.' So Jonah arose, and went to Nineveh Jonah 2:10 WEBJonah landed on the beach and stood up, covered in fish vomit. He probably thought of going back to the water to rinse off, but knowing that...

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living. Psalms 27:13 WEBDavid was now a wanted man and on the run for his life. Once a hero in the eyes of the people, the ones that he had trusted now sought to kill him. He was on the run when he wrote Psalm 27, either from Saul when Doeg the Edomite reported him, or from his own son Absalom who attempted to overthrow...

it happened, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Yahweh; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised Yahweh, saying, For he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever; that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of Yahweh, so that the priests could not stand...

What Time is it? Part 4: The Beasts   What Time is it? Part Four: The Beasts from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. This is part 4 of our series on end time beliefs. In this section, I want to cover the prophetic beasts of Daniel and Revelation. I grew up on a farm as the youngest of thirteen children, and I was a step-child. The step-family side of the relationship was very poor and I didn’t...

He said, 'Go out, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.' Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire passed; but Yahweh was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a still small voice....

Don't be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don't give up. Galatians 6:6 WEBAs I fell through the air from the top of the building in seemingly slow-motion,...

What Time is it? Part 3: The Outcasts and the Establishment   What Time Is It, Part 3: The Outcasts and the Establishment from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. This is part 3 of our series on end time beliefs. In this section, I want to compare the life of Jesus and the existing religious system. The coming Messiah had been prophesied in scripture from the book of Genesis all the way...

God spoke all these words, saying, 'I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for...

Moses said to Yahweh, 'Behold, you tell me, 'Bring up this people:' and you haven't let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.' Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you, so that I may find favor in your sight: and consider that this nation is your people.' He...

But you, when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. In praying, don't use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. Matthew 6:6 WEBAs the speaker walked up to the pulpit, I could feel the hair on the back of my neck...

See the birds of the sky, that they don't sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you of much more value than they? Which of you, by being anxious, can add one cubit to the measure of his life?Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don't toil, neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in...

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? Genesis 17:17 ESVAbraham lay on his face and laughed when God told him that he would soon have a son because he was almost one-hundred years old, and his wife Sarah was ninety. Still, the following year they had a son named Isaac....

Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.' But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. John 7:37 WEBIn the hot Southern summer here, the air conditioners struggle to keep our data...

Yahweh appeared of old to me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3 WEBSo many times in my life, I have felt that I let God down, failed Him, and then stopped even trying. "What was the use", I thought. I was a failure and He was disappointed in me anyway. Like a puppy with his tail between his legs, I would sulk and walk...

Gideon said to God, If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken, behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground, then shall I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken. It was so; for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a...

Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. David's two wives were taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David strengthened...

And Elijah said to her, Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth. 1 Kings 17:13 ESVAs I listened to the preacher pray...

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 WEBThe ministry of Jesus from the first recorded miracle of turning water into wine, until His resurrection...

Moses said to the people, 'Don't be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see them again. Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still.' Yahweh said to Moses, 'Why do you cry to me? Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward.' Exodus 14:13 WEBMoses and the Israelite people...

What Time is it? Part 2: Surrounded By Armies   What Time is it? Part Two: Surrounded By Armies from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.   This is part 2 of our series on end time beliefs. In this section, I want to take a deeper look at Matthew 24, and compare it to history. If you have a Bible, turn there and follow along. We want to see “Who will be surrounded by armies?”...

He said, 'Come!' Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?' Matthew 14:29 WEBAs Peter walked across the surface of the water, the...

Now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to me. Moreover I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. Moses said to God, 'Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?' He said, 'Certainly...

God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the bottle with water, and gave the boy drink. Genesis 21:19 WEBHours went by while I struggled with a bug in the annoying computer program, until I finally gave up and walked out to get away from it for a bit. Why did this have to be so difficult, I thought. This should have been a ten minute job, but I have spent all day on it. All...