I love those who love Me. Those who seek me diligently will find Me. Proverbs 8:17 WEBI came out of my prayer room that morning feeling like I was walking on a cloud with tears of joy in my eyes. If you would have told me that the world was getting ready to explode, I would have said 'Let 'er blow!' I truly did not have a care in the world. An hour earlier, I felt like the weight of the world was on...

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to kindness. Break up your fallow ground; For it is time to seek Yahweh, Until He comes and rains righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12 WEBI grew up on a farm and over the long cold winter, the ground of the fields would become so hard that water would just run off of it like it was rock. The rain would no longer penetrate the crust but just ran through...

The Comforter from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the work of the Comforter. Before Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, He promised the disciples that He would send Someone else to them. He knew that His time on Earth would soon be completed and that He would return to heaven, but He would not abandon the disciples or leave them all alone. It...

In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things...

The Choice from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the choice that each person has to make when Jesus calls us them. We read about the disciples and apostles that followed Jesus and assume that this was set in stone, meant to be, that they automatically followed Him, but they were each given a choice. Some people chose not to. Jesus called some fishermen in Matthew chapter...

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 WEBJesus said that His sheep would hear His voice and that they would follow Him 'and a stranger, they would not follow" (John 10:5). God speaks to His people individually and collectively. Some are so concerned on being deceived that...

Elijah said to her, Don't be afraid; go and do as you have said; but make me of it a little cake first, and bring it forth to me, and afterward make for you and for your son. For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, The jar of meal shall not empty, neither shall the jar of oil fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth. She went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he,...

Recalculating from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about getting your life back on course after a mistake. Walking with God is a bit like traveling with a GPS. You can miss an exit or make a wrong turn and the GPS will recalculate your route to get you to your destination, from wherever you are at that moment. The Holy Spirit works much the same way. We can make a complete...

He said therefore, What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches. Luke 13:18 ESVAs I stared out of the window at the huge oak tree in our yard, I thought of what it looked like thirty years ago, when I first moved here. It...

Rejected Identity from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about rejection, especially in your calling, your gifts, your talents, by those who are familiar with you. We can read the Bible and feel like Jesus had an automatic win button in every circumstance. Storms, disease, demons, even death obeyed His words, but there was one thing on Earth that did not: people. Not everyone...

The Journey from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the journey of life. Our thinking is often consumed with what is happening today, or tomorrow, or sometimes what happened yesterday. God thinks in the long term. He can see our entire life at once. Think of it like this: if our life were a bicycle wheel and each day a spoke, then God sees it from the hub in the center...

He said, 'Abba, Father, all things are possible to you.' Mark 14:36 WEBAfter growing up in the Bible Belt, my image of God was as a complete disciplinarian, an angry, white-haired, lightning bolt throwing super being who stalked me. He was rightly called 'The Lion of Judah.' He was always watching, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting soul that broke one of those precious commandments. There were a...

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...

Goldfish from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about a very strange miracle of Jesus that is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. When Jesus and the disciples came to Peter’s hometown of Capernaum, tax collectors came up to them and asked them for money. Only Matthew wrote about this, and it may have stood out to him because he had been a tax collector in Capernaum himself....

White Knuckle Driving from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about what I call “white knuckle driving.” It is when you clutch the steering wheel of a car so hard that your knuckles become white. For example, my son once called us on Easter weekend. He had been involved in an accident and his leg was broken in several places. He was taken to a hospital, then transferred...

Strengthen Yourself from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about strengthening yourself in the Lord. It is important that you learn to have a direct relationship with God that does not depend on anyone else. There will be times in this life when those whom you once trusted, turn their back on you. Sometimes even those that you look up to spiritually may let you down, and...

I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; Ezekiel 34:16 WEBAs the tears flowed down my face, I knew they weren't mine. I had a rough upbringing. I could count the people that I trusted on one hand, and still have a couple of fingers left. Yet, as I laid hands on this hopelessly lost...

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 ESVSo there I sat in my prayer room, feeling washed up and wondering why I was there at all that day. After going through a drawn out messy divorce, I didn't go to church at all and rarely prayed. I felt that the Lord was done with me. I had let Him down and the whole church...

Now Yahweh's word came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.' Then I said, 'Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, I don't know how to speak; for I am a child.' Jeremiah 1:4 WEBJeremiah tried to reason with the Lord and explain about why he was not the one for this prophet job, but the Lord would not take...

Inspiration from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about inspiration, when a creative idea suddenly downloads into your brain. That is not an accident. It happens for a purpose, and it may be more important than we think. Let’s begin in Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 4: Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before...

Yahweh's angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur. He said, 'Hagar, Sarai's servant, where did you come from? Where are you going?' She said, 'I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.' Genesis 16:7 WEBHagar wandered alone in the desert. She had always done what she was told, but now it had become too much and she had ran from the painful life...

His Blood and Our Testimony from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about what Jesus has done for us, and what we are expected to do for Him. Let’s start by examining Revelation 12:10: Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who...

King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.' Agrippa said to Paul, 'With a little persuasion are you trying to make me a Christian?' Paul said, 'I pray to God, that whether with little or with much, not only you, but also all that hear me today, might become such as I am, except for these bonds.' Acts 26:27 WEBWhen a net is pulled out of the water on a fishing boat, it may contain...

God and the Workplace from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the importance of learning to serve God right where you are, doing exactly what you are doing. Get to know Him there, for if you will not serve Him there, you will not serve Him anywhere else. Wherever you find yourself, and whatever you are doing, begin to involve God in it every day. Many feel that they...

Good Neighbors from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the importance of being a good neighbor. Ever since Adam and Eve had kids and one killed the other, it has been an ongoing thing, learning to live with one another. Most of the ten commandments are about how we treat our neighbor.  Over the years, God had to give many, many commandments about neighbors. Apparently...

When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn't hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Psalms 32:3 WEBDavid wrote Psalm 32 after his affair and marriage to Bathsheba....

The Wonder of You from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the wonder of the Lord. I believe that wonder is a great definition of what it feels like to have the Holy Spirit moving in your life. It can feel almost magical, surreal, at times you may ask yourself “Is this really happening?” The word “wonder” means: Wonder (noun) 1 a feeling of surprise...

Hand in Hand from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about walking with the Lord, hand in hand, and what that may look like. He has not called us to walk alone, and so much frustration comes when we rely on our own strength, and our own wisdom. Until we get to know His ways of communicating with us, walking with Him can seem to be very mysterious. We think that if we were...

Dust on the Bottle from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about something we try to avoid: growing older. It is something that everyone blessed with a long life will face. As gray hair begins to come, we can begin to feel less useful, like our time has passed, when it may not have gotten here. While it is true that there is time for changing the guard, there is always a proper...

The Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn't fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.' Luke 22:31 WEBPeter told Jesus that he was ready to go to prison and to die for Him if needed, which was a very bold statement. Then Jesus told Peter that satan had asked to test him,...