From discoveries at dwightclough.com Fri Nov 2 15:56:08 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:56:08 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-05-07 The anatomy of trouble -- Psalm 34:19 Message-ID: <472B80D8.3030909@dwightclough.com> /*A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all. -- Psalm 34:19*/ When trouble comes, our misperceptions rush to the surface.... I'm trapped. God has forgotten about me. It will only get worse. God doesn't like me any more. God is just punishing me for something I must have done wrong. God likes to see me squirm. Then God gives us an opportunity to replace doubt with faith. This is Divine work -- we cannot do it on our own. We can only bring our deepest fears to Jesus and see what He wants to do with them. We hand our fear to Jesus; He hands faith to us. We invite Him into the scariest places. Then, when trouble has finished doing its work, God shows us how small the problem really was compared to His boundless solution. So why does a righteous man have many troubles? Because every time we get to know Jesus a little more; His comfort sinks a little deeper into the core of who we are. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Fri Nov 2 15:57:06 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:57:06 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-06-07 Dealing with doubt -- Hebrews 11:6 Message-ID: <472B8112.3020709@dwightclough.com> /*... without faith it is impossible to please God ... -- Hebrews 11:6*/ What about doubt? What about those little voices that tell us that God won't come through for us, that God isn't really kind, that God is going to leave us hanging, that God as we know Him doesn't really even exist? The disciples knew those voices of doubt. "Lord," they said, "increase our faith." Jesus didn't seem to be troubled by their request. Instead, He said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can ..." Every doubt is an opportunity for God to show up in our place of weakness and do something supernatural. When we bring our doubts to the Master and hear the Word of God, something inside us changes forever. We begin to taste and see that God is good. What is faith? In part, faith opens the door on all these secret chambers of doubt and allows a life-changing God to come inside. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Fri Nov 2 15:57:56 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:57:56 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-07-07 God's sign to this generation -- Mark 8:12 Message-ID: <472B8144.1060204@dwightclough.com> /*"Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it." -- Mark 8:12*/ What a balancing act God must maintain! The clerics asked for a sign. Jesus refused. For, if God should open the heavens for even one second, there would be no more atheists, no more agnostics, no more followers of false religion. There would only be those who love God and those who hate Him. In every generation people have taunted God, daring Him to act, mocking Him when He doesn't. But God ignores them. He knows that their hatred of Him would not go away, even if He catered to their dares. Instead, God confines Himself, most of the time, to the beliefs we hold and the choices we make. That is to say, He honors faith and gives us opportunity to choose. What does that mean? That means that you and I are God's sign to this generation. When we show up, God shows up, because He works through us. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Fri Nov 2 15:58:33 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:58:33 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-08-07 Creatively transformed -- Mark 8:35 Message-ID: <472B8169.1040503@dwightclough.com> /*For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the gospel will save it. -- Mark 8:35*/ God isn't into erasing; He's into transforming. Give Him a handful of fish and bread, and He feeds the multitudes. Hand Him a coin and He baffles the religionists who tried to trap Him. Give Him an ocean and He creates a path for His people. Give Him a giant bully, and He creates an unforgettable story of triumph. Give Him our mortal lives, and He hands back eternity. Some of us will hand over our lives to God at the end of a persecutor's sword. But most of us will hand our lives to Him each little piece at a time. Today, right now, our dreams, our secret fears, our troubles, our frustrations, those things we hold most dear. What does God do with all these things we hand to Him? I don't know exactly. Except whatever we hold can be taken away, but what God holds can never be taken away. Some day all these things will be handed back to us, creatively transformed, filled with eternal abundance. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Fri Nov 2 15:58:56 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:58:56 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-09-07 The Man who understands -- Mark 8:32 Message-ID: <472B8180.6010101@dwightclough.com> /*Peter took [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke Him. -- Mark 8:32*/ Sometimes the gospel is discordant to human ears. We would all like to hear a gospel that promises us Cadillacs, mansions, and oodles of servants to pamper us day and night. But instead there is a streak of suffering that goes through the story of the redeemed. Nobody likes that. Job's friends didn't like it; it messed with their theology. Peter didn't like it. We don't like it either. We all wonder why. And "Why?" is such a big question that most of the answer doesn't fit inside a single lifetime. But here's the beginning of the answer. Because Jesus suffered, none of us suffers alone. When I hear about those who have suffered terribly, I secretly hope that God has given them some special toughness so the pain and grief won't bother them like it would bother me. But then I realize that Jesus didn't have have any special toughness. He drank the whole cup. If it were within my power, I would take the suffering out of your life and out of mine. I pray that God will do just that. But while we wait for the answer, we take the hand of the Man who understands. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Fri Nov 2 15:59:23 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:59:23 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-10-07 How can leaves heal? -- Revelation 22:2 Message-ID: <472B819B.2050306@dwightclough.com> /*And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. -- Revelation 22:2*/ How can leaves heal? This is my question for the Lord. Leaves can heal because they are connected to the tree, the tree to the root, the root draws from the water of life that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb. What a lot of healing is needed! One of the things I do is pray with people who are living with the after effects of childhood abuse. Often the stuff that happened is so painful that we don't even want to go there. Yet "there" is where Jesus is with leaves of healing. Kim and I have spent many years finding God's path to healing. We know -- to some extent -- how stubborn pain can be. But God is going to heal the nations. Healing is God's great work. Pain is overwhelming. If you aren't overwhelmed by your own pain, look around. There is plenty to spare. But when God shows up, glory grows and pain shrinks. It shrinks so small that a little leaf will take it all away. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Fri Nov 2 16:00:42 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:00:42 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-11-07 Everything is possible -- Mark 9:23 Message-ID: <472B81EA.3030802@dwightclough.com> /*"Everything is possible for him who believes." -- Mark 9:23*/ What is "everything"? "Everything" is the power to call into being the plan of God and the patience to wait with expectation while everything we see contradicts what God says He will do. It is perseverance that goes beyond the borders of this life. "Everything" is the awakening that tells us we don't belong here, and that really is okay. Whose faith does God commend? He commends the faith of those who did not receive what was promised. (See Hebrews 11:39.) Those are the heroes of faith. They kept on believing God even when everything in their lives said that God was a liar. "Everything" will someday be gathered together and put on display. The stubborn expectation of the people of God will not, in the end, be disappointed. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 10 16:51:45 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:51:45 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] =?windows-1252?q?11-12-07_A_new_name_=96_Revelation?= =?windows-1252?q?_2=3A17?= Message-ID: <473627F1.7000601@dwightclough.com> /*... I will give him ... a new name ... -- Revelation 2:17*/ When I was a ten-year-old boy living in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, I gave my dad the nickname ?Hubcap.? Somehow the nickname stuck, and that's what we ended up calling him for the rest of his life. From that point on we never called him ?Dad? or ?Daddy? or ?Father,? but, instead, ?Hubcap.? So much hinges on a name. If I could go back in time, I would nix the name ?Hubcap? and call him ?Dad? instead. I almost wanted to do that before he died, but somehow I could never get my lips to form the word ?Dad? when I was in his presence. Baggage from the past kept me from giving him the title that belonged to him. So much has changed. I no longer fear my dad like I did when I was a child. I no longer have contempt for him like I did in my arrogant twenties. My anger has melted away into understanding. I now, at age fifty, can freely admit that he was, in many ways, a better man than I am. My dad entered this world 77 years ago today. I could tell you his story, but I won't. I could tell you his virtues, but I won't. Instead, I invite you to pause to contemplate the virtues of those who set the compass for your life, who ? despite their imperfections ? invested themselves in you. Why does God give us a new name? Because when God finishes with us the old names can't contain who we really are. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional ? Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 10 16:52:18 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:52:18 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-13-07 Letting God be God -- Mark 9:40 Message-ID: <47362812.7020903@dwightclough.com> /*"... whoever is not against us is for us." -- Mark 9:40*/ I have seen many brands of Christianity. Each franchise believes it has the doctrine, the experience, the incantation that makes you a real Christian or a first-class Christian. Those who don't fit it are sometimes quietly disdained or publicly maligned. In this passage, Jesus gently reminds His disciples that you don't have to be a member of the club to be a member of the family. God's work in each Christian is unique to that child of God. Yes, it is the same Jesus, the same Bible, the same standard of righteousness. But the process varies. God works with enormous differences in personality, culture, circumstance and history, and He always does it with finesse. I pray with people for emotional healing. Jesus shows up nearly every time, but He never shows up exactly the same way twice. I might expect the process to go one way, but Jesus surprises me and walks through the back door while I'm wondering how He's going to get through the front door. There is delight in letting God be God! Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 10 16:53:00 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:53:00 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-14-07 A new answer -- Isaiah 38:1,5 Message-ID: <4736283C.6080809@dwightclough.com> /*"... you will not recover ... I will add fifteen years to your life." -- Isaiah 38:1,5*/ King Hezekiah became ill. The prophet informed him that this was it, he wasn't going to recover. Soon he would be dead. But Hezekiah wept and prayed, and the Lord healed him and added years to his life. I'm glad this story is here. For one thing, it makes me feel a little better about all the times I say "no" to my children, and then listen to their appeals and change my mind and say "yes." But more than that, it shows me that God is not so remote, so unyielding. He enters into our world, hears our prayers, and will even change plans in response to our cries. I like that. I know that I can't get God to do anything He doesn't want to do. I can't manipulate Him. Nobody can. But He does hear the cries of our heart, He does care, and He may -- just maybe -- change His answer. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 10 16:53:34 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:53:34 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-15-07 Faith that tries a different way -- Matthew 15:24, 28 Message-ID: <4736285E.20100@dwightclough.com> /*"I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. ... Your request is granted." -- Matthew 15:24,28*/ Again, the Lord changes a "no" to a "yes." In today's passage, it isn't so much a cry or a plea that the Lord honors, but rather persistent, creative faith. The Canaanite woman begs Jesus to deliver her demonized daughter. He brushes her off not once, but twice. Yet she understands that the love of God is big enough to include her family, so she doesn't quit, she asks a different way, and He grants her request. This reminds me of a story I heard many years ago. There was a salesman who called on a businessman. The secretary carried the sales representative's card back to the businessman. He promptly threw it away and told her that he was much too busy to see the sales guy. When she delivered the news, the salesman asked for his business card back. The secretary returned to the businessman who couldn't find the card, so he gave the secretary a nickel to give to representative to pay for the loss. The salesman smiled when he got the nickel, handed the secretary another business card, and said, "Tell your boss I sell two cards for a nickel." God honors the faith that doesn't quit, that tries again, that tries another way. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 10 16:54:08 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:54:08 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-16-07 Who is the greatest? -- Mark 9:33-34 Message-ID: <47362880.6050904@dwightclough.com> /*[Jesus] asked [the disciples], "What were you arguing about on the road?"*/ /*But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. -- Mark 9:33-34*/ Humility 101. I like the disciples. They argue about what we would probably argue about if we dared say what was in our hearts. I think it's interesting that Jesus responded to this by taking a little child into His arms. I have four children. Believe me, children argue about who is the greatest. It seems like kids are competing for market share (of their parents' love and affection) from the moment they clear the womb. But what does Jesus do? He welcomes the little child and teaches us to do the same. He embraces the disciples who are still competing for attention, status and power. The key to greatness, He explains, is to love and serve the one who thinks he's greater than you. Do you catch what Jesus is doing? He meets their need for approval by showing them that even the smallest child is welcomed by God. He even shows them how to get what they want ... greatness. And, in the process, he turns competition into servanthood, replacing jealousy in relationships with love. It's good to know that we can bring anything that's in our hearts to God and He will turn it around into something wonderful. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 10 16:54:44 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:54:44 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-17-07 How do you explain? -- Mark 10:33-34 Message-ID: <473628A4.9040705@dwightclough.com> /*"We are going up to Jerusalem," [Jesus] said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. Three days later He will rise." -- Mark 10:33-34*/ God has a big challenge on His hands. How do you communicate a big message to a small person? I remember the first time my daughter had surgery, she was only six months old. I had no way of preparing her. All I could do is walk back and forth in front of the fish tank in the pediatric waiting room, holding her, and singing, "Jesus loves me, this I know ..." Jesus prepares His disciples for the greatest event in history, and they cannot comprehend what He is saying. I wonder if this is why Christians argue so much about end time prophecies. Maybe God is saying it plainly and we can't take it in. The disciples didn't understand what Jesus was saying until after He rose from the dead. But isn't this the way it is with so much of life? We need to experience the truth before we understand it. This is why a young preacher straight out of seminary can preach a sermon filled with wonderful theology and we look at him and say "huh?" -- yet a man of God who has walked with God for many years (experience) will stand up and share simple Bible truths and we walk away with our lives transformed. God's explanations will someday make sense -- but you will probably need to experience them before you can understand them. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 10 16:55:16 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:55:16 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-18-07 Expectation -- Mark 12:41 Message-ID: <473628C4.9090108@dwightclough.com> /*Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. -- Mark 12:41*/ What was Jesus looking for? The next couple verses make it clear. He wasn't looking for money. God has no shortage of money. Instead He was looking for faith, courage and sacrifice. Faith to believe that God can be trusted with everything we have. Courage to give recklessly to God. And the sacrifice that says, "I will give even if it hurts." Jesus was watching because He expected to find something good. And He was not disappointed. Jesus is watching us, as well, as we offer up what we have -- small or great, much or little -- to God. I sense He's excited because He expects to find something good. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 17 11:44:39 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:44:39 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-19-07 God remembers -- Mark 14:6 Message-ID: <473F1A77.1030507@dwightclough.com> /*"Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to Me." -- Mark 14:6*/ Jesus cut through the fog of moral confusion and found the one thing that mattered: Here was a woman who loved God. We all know the story. A woman breaks open a bottle of perfume worth a year's wages and anoints Jesus. Those present tried to shame her for her impractical devotion. But Jesus comes to her rescue. Her extravagance was well-placed, says Jesus. It earned her a place in history. This is the joy of serving God. He won't be boxed in, and neither will He allow His children to be boxed in by someone else's rigid requirements. He drinks in our expressions of love for Him, as many and as varied as they are. They mean something to Him. Your act of worship will not be forgotten. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 17 11:45:15 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:45:15 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-20-07 Achievement -- Mark 13:2 Message-ID: <473F1A9B.1080306@dwightclough.com> /*"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." -- Mark 13:2*/ Twice in my life I've worked an entire year without making any money. Not too many people can say that -- not too many people would want to admit it! But watching all my efforts wash down the drain has given me perspective. For one thing, I've discovered that it doesn't matter how smart you are or how hard you work. Unless God prospers you, nothing you try is going to succeed. We are all very needy whether we realize it or not. Every morsel of sustenance is from the hand of God. In this passage, Jesus reminds us that a lifetime of labor can be wiped out in a moment. When God looks at us and at our lives, he measures success differently than we do. He measures those things which cannot be shaken, the stones than cannot be torn down. God's work in us may seem wispy and intangible. But He knows what things are eternal. God is building in you a work which cannot be destroyed. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 17 11:46:11 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:46:11 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-21-07 Staying the same -- Mark 14:62 Message-ID: <473F1AD3.7070007@dwightclough.com> /*"... you will see the Son of Man ..." -- Mark 14:62*/ I'm struck with how Jesus maintains His composure even under duress. He never gets "stressed out." He never snaps. He suffers, but He never ceases to be exactly who He is. People who make other people suffer often want to change their victims -- change their behavior, change their beliefs, change their very identity. But Jesus didn't change. He remained the Son of God, solid and unshakable. In this passage, He tells it like it is -- with no hint of panic or revenge or desperation. He just tells them the truth. I think this is why Jesus keeps offering to go through the suffering with us. He knows how fragile we are. He knows how much we need Him. When we fellowship with Christ in the places of our suffering, He brings us back to center. Years ago I listened to a friend mourn the loss of one she loved. I was struck by her grief -- she cried as though she was falling into a bottomless pit of sorrow -- she kept falling, and falling, and falling. That was, I think, the first time I realized something of what we have in Christ. Yes, I have cried. But I didn't fall. I couldn't fall. Underneath my tears was the Solid Rock. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 17 11:47:00 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:47:00 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-22-07 Thanksgiving -- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Message-ID: <473F1B04.90601@dwightclough.com> /*... give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. -- 1 Thessalonians 5:18*/ Why would God ask us to do such a difficult thing? I heard a wonderful testimony one night on PBS by an atheist. Even though this man didn't believe in God, his story was dripping with Divine intervention. He was lost on a mountainside in a blizzard. As he dangled over a cliff with a broken leg, his partner unable to communicate with him, gave him up as dead. So he cut the rope, causing him to fall into a crevasse in the ice. Perched on a ledge within the crevasse, unable to climb the 80 feet of sheer ice to get out he was faced with a choice. He could sit there and await his own death, or he could climb down and see if there was a way of escape. He got to the bottom of the crevasse and discovered, to his complete surprise, a light. There was an opening in the ice. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanksgiving is like this. It is a light in a dark place -- not because it is, in itself, some kind of magical incantation, but rather because it brings God near, and He is our way of escape. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 17 11:47:28 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:47:28 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-23-07 Our anger toward God -- Mark 14:64 Message-ID: <473F1B20.6030002@dwightclough.com> /*They all condemned Him as worthy of death. -- Mark 14:64*/ I think all of us know that we don't have a right to judge God. Yet, made in God's image, we are constantly making moral evaluations about our experiences. We must do that in order to avoid sinning. So what happens when God does something that seems to violate our sense of what is right? It helps me to remember that we judge God because our minds, our hearts, our lives are too small to take in His purposes, His goodness, His love. That's one reason why God gives us the gift of eternal life -- He knows that we cannot completely know Him without it. It also helps me to remember that while the core of who I am as a child of God is in perfect agreement with the Father, parts of my mind are not. This is where honesty comes in. Rather than burying my anger so that resentment against God is allowed to smolder deep inside, I just tell Him what's happening inside. He knows anyway. Our anger toward God is always based on a lie. So every time we feel like condemning God, God is giving us an opportunity to get to know the truth about Him. When we bring to God our anger toward God, when we offer it up recognizing that we are powerless to change our minds unless and until God shows us what we need to know. And, as Job learned, we don't always need to know the answers. We just need to know that Somebody bigger than us has the answers. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 17 11:47:57 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:47:57 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-24-07 The tearing of the curtain -- Mark 15:38 Message-ID: <473F1B3D.4010405@dwightclough.com> /*The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. -- Mark 15:38*/ The distance to God has been removed. God remains holy, but His presence has been extended to His people. When the curtain opened, the inner sanctuary was not defiled. Rather, the people of God were made holy. The Holy of Holies has moved from a building to a place inside you and me. There is another curtain, of course. A curtain inside our hearts. Opening that curtain is God's work. If you are looking for the glory of God, it is already inside you. Remember, the glory will someday be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). What does that mean? It means it's already there. It took Solomon seven years to build the temple. But it takes God a lifetime to build a believer. Someday a new curtain will be torn from top to bottom and we will stand in awe at what we see. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Nov 17 11:48:28 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:48:28 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-25-07 Well rounded Christians -- 2 Samuel 18:10-11 Message-ID: <473F1B5C.9070703@dwightclough.com> /*One of the men ... told Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree."*/ /*Joab said to the man who had told him this, "What! You saw him? Why didn't you strike him to the ground right there?" -- 2 Samuel 18:10-11*/ Joab had one solution to every problem: death. This paradigm was so deeply ingrained in him that he couldn't hear David's instructions to be gentle with Absalom, and he couldn't understand those among his troops who wished to follow the king's orders. In a way, Joab reminds me of the World War II American General George Patton. In a battle, there's no one you would rather have in command. But, when the occasion called for diplomacy, Geoge Patton was like a stick of dynamite in the hands of a five year old. We wonder why God spends so much time working on our weaknesses. It is because He doesn't want us to be another Joab, only useful for a very limited purpose, and getting in the way of God's plans in every other situation. Thank God that He is working with us to smooth our rough edges! Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sun Nov 25 10:13:05 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:13:05 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-26-07 What do you want? -- 2 Samuel 19:38 Message-ID: <47499101.90100@dwightclough.com> /*And anything you desire from me, I will do for you. -- 2 Samuel 19:38*/ What a rash promise! King David is rewarding the aged Barzillai for his assistance when David fled from his rebel son Absalom, and he hands him, in essence, a blank check. But Jesus offers his disciples the same thing. He says, "My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name." God seems to be saying, "You come up with the desire, and I will grant it." How reckless! Yet, He doesn't make the offer to just anybody. David and Jesus make the offer to those who shared risk and hardship, to those with loyalty larger than life. David spells out God's parameters in Psalm 37:4: "Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart." For those who delight in God, the message from God remains: "You come up with the desire, and I will grant it." Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sun Nov 25 10:13:46 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:13:46 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-27-07 What is lacking? -- Colossians 1:24 Message-ID: <4749912A.603@dwightclough.com> /*I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions. -- Colossians 1:24*/ What is lacking in the sufferings of Christ? Is it brutality? No. There was no shortage of cruelty, hatred, contempt and indifference. Atonement? No, Jesus paid the full and terrible cost of sin. To add our own sacrifice only cheapens the grace of God. So what is lacking? Think about it. More tomorrow. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sun Nov 25 10:14:27 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:14:27 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-28-07 What we add -- Colossians 1:24 Message-ID: <47499153.9080109@dwightclough.com> /*I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions. -- Colossians 1:24*/ /(Continued from yesterday.) / What is lacking? Let me suggest that two answers: 1. Contact. None of us wants to suffer, but our suffering grabs the complacency of this world by the throat and demands a response. Some cannot yet measure by the cross, but they can measure love by the price we pay. 2. Participation. Every time we lay down our wants and say, "Not my will but Yours be done," we enter into fellowship with the Christ who died for us. Jesus suffered alone. But, because He suffered, we will never suffer alone. And His entrance into our sufferings changes us forever. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sun Nov 25 10:14:56 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:14:56 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-29-07 "Don't cry." -- Luke 7:13 Message-ID: <47499170.8090701@dwightclough.com> /*"Don't cry." -- Luke 7:13*/ I go around and around the Bible and I keep coming back to this verse. A widow has lost her only son. The funeral procession carries his dead body to the grave. Everyone is clothed with sadness. Everyone but Jesus. "Don't cry," He says. Call it audacity. Call it power. Call it compassion. Jesus slices through human tragedy and brings to us what we didn't dare imagine: life from the dead. This time when I visit this verse, I ask God the question that troubles me. "Why did You only raise one widow's son? There were many. Why did you leave the rest?" The Lord reminds me that the show isn't over. This world is too small and this life is too short for God to show us the whole load of kindness. The book doesn't end in chapter one, though God shows us enough about Himself so that we start to have a pretty good idea of how things are going to turn out. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sun Nov 25 10:16:27 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:16:27 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-30-07 The taste we need -- Luke 1:4 Message-ID: <474991CB.1090103@dwightclough.com> /*... so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. -- Luke 1:4*/ One night I watched part of a show on network television about faith. In one of the segments, a scientist hooked up electrodes to create brain activity that caused his subject to have a "spiritual experience." Some concluded from this that religion was nothing more than brain chemistry. Others concluded that God had "wired" our brains to respond to Him. We must understand that God would have no difficulty proving His existence or anything else about Himself to anybody anytime He wants. There are no atheists among the demons (James 2:19). But He chooses to leave us in a world where we must taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). In our passage for today, Luke wanted us to be certain. The certainty that His gospel brings to us won't answer all our questions. But it will give us the taste we need to know that God is good. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sun Nov 25 10:17:00 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:17:00 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 12-01-07 When the label doesn't fit -- Luke 1:7 Message-ID: <474991EC.9080607@dwightclough.com> /*... Elizabeth was barren ... -- Luke 1:7*/ I don't know what statement may have characterized your life up to this point, but I want you to know that God can, in a moment, redefine your life. Elizabeth lived most of her life under the label "barren." But in God's mind, she was not barren. She was the mother of John the Baptist, perhaps the greatest prophet who ever lived. We remember her for her greeting to Mary -- these two mothers whose sons changed a nation, a world, history. Remember that Elizabeth lived MOST of her life with the label that didn't fit. But God changed everything. Likewise, you will not always be barren. God has a bigger plan for you. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sun Nov 25 10:17:30 2007 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:17:30 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 12-02-07 Seeing the truth -- Luke 1:51 Message-ID: <4749920A.20405@dwightclough.com> /*He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. -- Luke 1:51*/ An unbeliever would scoff at Mary's song. The boot of the Roman empire was on the neck of the Jewish nation. Mighty deeds were measured in columns of marching Roman soldiers. The great miracles of deliverance for Israel were history -- ancient history it seemed. The people of Israel lived and died under the watchful eye of the Roman state. But God gives a great gift to His children. He enables us to see what others cannot see. The unbeliever may look at our lives and see financial calamity, terminal illness, pain of every kind, addiction, hypocrisy and failure. But we look up and see the Shepherd bringing us to quiet waters. We see the Father opening His arms to us. We see our Defender demolishing the schemes of the enemy. We see our Savior holding our hands in His own, looking us in the eye and telling us that we belong to Him. We look up and see the truth. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: