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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,...

By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, a thorn in the flesh was given to me: a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively. Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Most gladly...

Training Wheels from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the journey of becoming more like Jesus, and it is a journey. I will be talking mostly about the life of the Apostle Peter, but I want to begin with something Jesus said to all of His disciples in Luke 6:40: A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. Luke...

let's hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful. Let's consider how to provoke one another to love and good works, not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23 WEBMy home state of South Carolina carries this inscription on the state seal:...

Bible Study, Acts Chapter 28 from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today we are going to study Acts chapter 28 verse by verse, and you can follow along in your own Bible if you like. I will be reading from the World English Bible because it is currently the only modern English translation that is copyright free, and I can read the entire Bible on video without...

Flow Through Me from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about something that is at the very core of knowing Jesus: the Holy Spirit. This is fundamental stuff, but sometimes we build our doctrines so high that we can no longer see the foundation, yet it is very important that it is still there. Please keep a teachable spirit and don’t shut me out automatically if I happen...

Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that Yahweh will work for us; for there is no restraint to Yahweh to save by many or by few.' 1 Samuel 14:6 WEBGreatly outnumbered, Saul and about 600 Israelites were cowering in fear from the Philistines who had come against them. Only king Saul and his son Jonathan had a sword...

Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men. The angel answered the women, 'Don't be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for...

The Fixer Upper from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When I young, it was common for a church to wet you, set you, and forget you. Basically once you were saved and baptized, they didn’t know what else to do with you. Oh, they would teach on tithing, let’s not forget that one, but it was a common belief that you got everything...