The Cornerstone
by Dion Todd August 22nd, 2021
The Cornerstone from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
After Jesus made a whip of cords and drove the money changers out of the temple in Jerusalem, He had an interesting conversation with the Jewish leaders. They asked for a sign, and He told them this:
(John 2:18–21 NKJV) So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" Jesus answered...
The Shepherd Calls
by Dion Todd August 15th, 2021
The Shepherd Calls from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Jesus Christ said He was the Good Shepherd and that He calls His sheep by their name. He knows the name of each of us. Isn't that beautiful? He knows you, and He speaks to you. We get to hear His voice.
(John 10:1–5 NKJV) Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way,...
Let It Rain
by Dion Todd August 8th, 2021
Let It Rain from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
There is the sound of abundant rain in the heavens, and the clouds are heavy. Sylvia and I went out shopping this week. It was a sunny morning, but the moment we opened the house door, it started raining. It seemed localized. There were small patches of rain that tended to follow our car. Yet, long stretches of perfectly dry highway. We passed...
Kevin and Harry
by Dion Todd August 6th, 2021
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...
The Touch of the Master
by Dion Todd August 4th, 2021
Wherever he entered'into villages, or into cities, or into the country'they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched him were made well. Mark 6:56 WEB.As we knelt down to pray together, my friend had mixed emotions of fear, conviction, and uncertainty. At that moment, He questioned whether Jesus was even real. We had...
Rise!
by Dion Todd August 1st, 2021
Rise! from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
What if you knew today was your last one, and you would be standing before the judgment seat of Christ in a matter of hours. Would that affect how you lived your life right now? It shouldn't. I feel too many times, we are focusing on our immediate worldly needs while ignoring the eternal. Then it slips up on us, just like Christmas. I mean, the Lord...
Old Pontiacs
by Dion Todd July 27th, 2021
God said, "Let's make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." God created man in his own image. In God's image he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26-27 WEB.I love cars, always have. When I was younger,...
The Homeless Legion
by Dion Todd July 25th, 2021
During the last supper, on the night that Jesus was arrested, He told those who were with Him this:
(John 14:15–18 NKJV) "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for...
The Ladder
by Dion Todd July 18th, 2021
The Ladder from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
For many years, I was a painter, and if it has anything to do with painting, I have probably done it. I've painted houses, hospitals, hotels, schools, factories, cars, and crow-footed plaster walls in 200-year-old mansions.
For a year, I walked on stilts and cut in ceilings day after day while we remodeled oceanfront high-rises. I grew used to...
Talking Donkeys
by Dion Todd July 18th, 2021
Don't remember the former things, and don't consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don't you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:18-19 WEB.I was sitting in church one morning listening to the guest speaker's monotone message. When to put it frankly, I became bored. I yawned, searched for the time, and wondered...
IF and THEN
by Dion Todd July 15th, 2021
Now Yahweh said to Abram, "Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. Genesis 12:1'2 WEB.Abram came to a crossroads in his life where he had to make a radical choice: to follow God's path or to continue on where he was. Following God meant...
How Low Can You Go
by Dion Todd July 11th, 2021
How Low Can You Go from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
(James 4:10 NKJV) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
One Sunday morning, several years ago, I was working at the coffee counter at our local church when the Lord gave me a word for a member of the praise team. It was just a single sentence that dropped into my spirit when I saw him come in that...
The Hostess
by Dion Todd July 9th, 2021
As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me." Jesus answered her, "Martha,...
Say Nothing Negative
by Dion Todd July 8th, 2021
Therefore don't be anxious, saying, 'What will we eat?', 'What will we drink?' or, 'With what will we be clothed?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for...
Let the Wind Blow
by Dion Todd July 4th, 2021
Let the Wind Blow from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Jesus had thousands of followers. Some were with Him occasionally, while others almost constantly. In Matthew 14:13, Jesus miraculously multiplied food and fed over 5,000 people who had been listening to Him teach. Out of all those followers, Jesus chose twelve, and He named them Apostles.
Then there was an inner three, Peter, James, and...
When All is Lost
by Dion Todd July 4th, 2021
David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God. 1 Samuel 30:6 WEB.David was distressed. When they had returned to their village earlier, they found it burned to the ground. All of their wives, children, and belongings had been taken away...
The Outcasts
by Dion Todd July 2nd, 2021
Therefore all those who devour you will be devoured. All your adversaries, everyone of them, will go into captivity. Those who plunder you will be plunder. I will make all who prey on you become prey. For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says Yahweh, "because they have called you an outcast, saying, 'It is Zion, whom no man seeks after.' " Jeremiah 30:16-17 WEB.It was...
From The Inside Out
by Dion Todd June 30th, 2021
When they had come, he looked at Eliab, and said, "Surely Yahweh's anointed is before him." But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Don't look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don't see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:6-7 WEB.When Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel, he was handsome and...
The Anointing
by Dion Todd June 27th, 2021
The Anointing from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
In Scripture, God commanded certain people and items to be anointed with oil. It set them apart for His use, and it was often done before they took on a new office or role of authority. Some of the things anointed in the Old Testament were pillars, the tabernacle, its furniture, shields, kings, priests, and prophets. It's probably easiest to...
The Game Changer
by Dion Todd June 27th, 2021
But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life....
Man On The Run
by Dion Todd June 24th, 2021
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don't make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time!" When he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But...
Hello Old Friend
by Dion Todd June 23rd, 2021
In those days Hezekiah was terminally ill, and he prayed to Yahweh; and he spoke to him, and gave him a sign. But Hezekiah didn't reciprocate appropriate to the benefit done for him, because his heart was lifted up. Therefore there was wrath on him, Judah, and Jerusalem. However, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that Yahweh's wrath didn't...
Sons and Daughters
by Dion Todd June 20th, 2021
Sons and Daughters from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
I had a great Dad who always managed to have hope even in the darkest times. I remember once when I was little, the engine in his car began knocking, and he had no money for parts. So he jacked it up in the yard and pulled the oil pan off. Then he cut some leather strips from an old boot and used it as a spacer behind the worn-out main...
Skeletons in The Closet
by Dion Todd June 19th, 2021
The man said, "They have left here, for I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.' " Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan. They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, "Behold, this dreamer comes. Come now therefore, and let's kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, 'An evil animal has...
The Grocery Buggy
by Dion Todd June 16th, 2021
As you would like people to do to you, do exactly so to them. Luke 6:31 WEB.We had to park way out in the parking lot that day, and it was hot when we came out of the grocery store. There were no cart returns nearby, and I didn't really feel like taking the buggy all the way back to the building. I saw a few other shopping carts nearby that people had left out in the parking lot. As I contemplated...
The Golden Era
by Dion Todd June 13th, 2021
The Golden Era from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
There is a time coming that will be the most glorious the Earth has ever seen, the golden era. A time of complete peace. A world free from war, sickness, and disease. When Jesus Christ rules and reigns on the Earth. Yes, there may be dark days between now and then, but this hope we have and hold onto. Occasionally we need to remind ourselves...
Here Comes the Son
by Dion Todd June 6th, 2021
Here Comes the Son from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Noah was a righteous man in his generation. He lived differently than the others. Though it had never rained on the Earth, the Lord told Noah to build an ark because there was a flood coming. Noah didn't know what day or hour the rain would start, but he believed God, and he started working on that boat. When the rain began to fall, Noah...
Dirty Laundry
by Dion Todd June 6th, 2021
Consider the lilies, how they grow. They don't toil, neither do they spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which today exists and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? "Don't seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious. For...
Yes Jesus Loves Me
by Dion Todd June 5th, 2021
And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood Revelation 1:5 WEB."Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong."Many of us learned these words when we were kids. They are so simple, but yet today, so forgotten....
The Pack of Nails
by Dion Todd June 1st, 2021
You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. Deuteronomy 8:2 WEB.It was summertime. An elder at our church had a leaky spot on his roof, and I was helping him repair it. My dad was a life-long carpenter, and I got to work with...