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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...

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...

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...

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...

The Wind from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the Wind. We cannot see the wind blowing, but we can see the effects of it and we can feel the air movement on our skin. For example you can see someone’s hair blowing in the wind, but you can’t see the wind itself that is moving it. I want to begin in Acts chapter 2: When the Day of Pentecost had fully come,...

The Lack of Knowledge from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today, I want to talk about the lack of knowledge. Specifically, the lack of knowledge of God and His word. There has always been far too much hearsay in the church, people repeating what they have heard well-meaning preachers tell them. Let’s begin in Hosea chapter 4 verse 6: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because...

Do Not Be Dismayed from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about becoming “Dismayed.” To be dismayed means “to be downcast, disappointed, disheartened, filled with terror.” It replaces hope and will lead you to a dark place. We become ineffective and paralyzed. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10) and it is hard to be joyful when you are...

Walking on Water from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the importance of believing the Lord, of shaking off the naysayers and continuing on your own journey. People have a tendency to not want you to go where they have not been. Leaders cannot lead you, where they have not been. Let’s examine a moment in the life of Peter, beginning in Matthew 14:25: Now in...

Broken from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about being broken in Spirit, for the Lord will not be able to use you until you are. Let’s look at Matthew 11:29: 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.” Matthew 11:29–30 NKJV The yoke that...

Answered Prayers from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about Answered Prayers and how they come about. We hear a lot about “unanswered prayers” and I think those are great, but for me, I love the answered ones. I want to take a complex, multi-layered subject and try to make it as simple as possible. Picture in your mind the army of God, with Jesus being the...

Rest from Stress from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about resting from stress. Jesus Christ, who lived on Earth as our example, lived a simple life of trust and peace. When He and the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee on their fishing boat and a great storm came, Jesus slept soundly in the bottom of the boat. That is what I call resting from stress. Let’s read...

Thank You from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the importance of being thankful. Jesus lived on Earth as our example, and He was so thankful and full of praise. No matter what you have been through, there are still some things that you can be thankful about. An important one is that you woke up today.  For some people, yesterday was their last day on Earth. I...

Drive My Car from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to tell you a story about how I felt when I let someone drive our car for the first time. One year we visited some family members for Christmas, and then all of us traveled together to a tournament in Las Vegas. Since Sylvia and I had brought an SUV along that was big enough for all of us, we decided to ride together. They had made...

The Crazy Ones from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the crazy ones, the saints of old who followed God through thick and thin while the rest of the people in the world thought they were, crazy. As you grow closer to God, He will begin to change you, and tweak your wants and desires. You begin to think differently. Expect a time to come when you no longer fit in as...

Soul Anchor from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about Hope, the anchor of our soul, the protector of our mind. Hope is so important in our daily lives and overcoming the storms that we all face. Everyone that has committed suicide, first lost all hope. Hopelessness is a very dark place to be. The South Carolina motto here is “While I breathe, I hope.” I want...

Fear Not from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about fear, and the importance of pressing on even though we are afraid. When God calls you to do something, often fear is the first guardian that will be sent to stop you from accomplishing it. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and told him this in his second letter: Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which...

God is Able from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about underestimating God, the Almighty. There is no one like Him, there is no one as powerful, there is no one as smart. Yet too often we allow our circumstances to break our hope that God will help us. Our circumstances become more powerful in our mind, than God. As we focus on them, our problems become bigger, and He becomes...

The God Box from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about an interesting story in 1 Samuel chapter 2. In verse 12 we read about the high priest Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who were priests serving at the temple, and they were very interesting priests. It says that they were “worthless men” who did not know the Lord. That is really strong language...

Living on the Edge from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about living on the edge. Too much of the church is playing it safe, staying out of the game, afraid to really let go and trust God to take care of them. This leads to a bland, colorless, powerless version of Christianity that no one is interested in. Paul wrote to Timothy that in the last days, men would be lovers...

Baby Jesus from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about “Who is Jesus?” I feel that we take it for granted that people actually know that much about Him. In the world we see Jesus as a baby in a manger, then crucified on a cross. The life of Jesus seems to span about three months. There was so much more to His life than that. Jesus is a divine Being and had “always”...

Three Crosses from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the three crosses that were placed on the hill of Calvary the day that Jesus Christ was crucified. We will pick this up in Matthew chapter 27: And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. And above His head...

The Long Haul from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about living the Christian life successfully, and with as little frustration as possible. I have learned that when we become frustrated, hopeless, and begin to feel stuck, that we are simply thinking too small, too focused on a tiny detail. I am one of the world’s worst at this. I have never multi-tasked that well....

Go in the Strength You Have from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. When I was praying about the message this week, “Go in the Strength You Have” came to me and then this entire message downloaded to my mind over the next minute. The core of the message is this: The Lord will intentionally put you into hopeless situations, and separate you from those that would have helped, in order...

RHM Devotional: Shipwrecked from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the ability of God to be in control, even when your life seems out of control. Most of us have been through times when we were powerless to change our circumstances. Some of you may be going through such a moment even now. Looking back, I can tell you of many times when I thought that I must have missed...

Bible Study, Acts Chapter 27 from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today we are going to study Acts chapter 27 in depth. You can follow along in your own Bible if you like. I will be reading from the World English Bible because it is the only modern English translation that is copyright free, and I can read the entire Bible on video without any legal drama...

RHM Devotional: Treasure Chests from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about containers, particularly treasure chests: boxes that hold things. Let’s start with the Ark of the Covenant in Exodus 25. God told Moses: They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. You...

RHM Devotional: Doors from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about recognizing the doors that God opens for us in our life. Think of them as doors of opportunity. This has always His way, He opens a door for us, and then we have to walk through it. Paul prayed that doors would open in his life: Colossians 4:2–3: "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with...

RHM Devotional: The Missing Bread from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the lack of provision, and all the things that seem to come with it. When we are faced with the lack of something, we tend to look at ourselves, what can “we” do, in our strength, and with the provisions that we have. We tend to take our eyes off Jesus, and soon plummet into a life...

Bible Study, Acts Chapter 26 from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today we are going to study Acts chapter 26 in depth. You can follow along in your own Bible if you like. I will be reading from the World English Bible because it is the only modern English translation that is copyright free, and I can read the entire Bible on video without any legal drama...