From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sun Aug 3 21:11:18 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:11:18 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-04-08 About my dad -- Exodus 20:12 Message-ID: <48965736.3010802@dwightclough.com> /*Honor your father ... -- Exodus 20:12*/ I don't know about you, but I had to grow into this command of honoring my father. I was terrified of him as a child. I could never understand other kids who wanted to spend more time with their dads -- I wanted to avoid mine at all costs. For four and a half years spread out over three occasions during my childhood, my dad was away from home on military assignments. Those times gave me space to breathe. At least then I only needed to be afraid when I was at school. I hated my dad, but I needed him, because he was the only one in my world strong enough to protect me from everything else I was terrified of. It was a strange relationship. When I was in my twenties, I worked up the courage to tell my dad that I grew up afraid of him. He was stunned. He had no idea. He saw our childhood as idyllic. And, compared to his, it was. It took a long time before I began to put together the pieces of the puzzle. My dad was flawed -- yes. But as life unfolded, I began to see many of his flaws in myself. And I began to recognize my dad's extraordinary courage. Nobody ever gave my dad any coaching, mentoring or encouragement. He had to stand alone, and that's how he learned to live his whole life. He did what he thought was right even when he had to buck the crowd to do it. My dad made some terrible mistakes that left pain in other lives. But, especially toward the end, he began to mellow. I saw him cry -- not once, but many times, hurting for his family and for his own very deep wounds. I saw a gentle side to him that I never knew was there. One day we were talking, and he said to me, "Just a minute; I need to do something." He stepped away from me to help an elderly woman in a wheelchair. In the last few days of his life, he taught me how to pray. My mom had cancer and I was trying to come up with the best prayer I could for her. But when it came his turn, no words came out. Only sobs from a broken heart. Now that he's been gone for nine years, I compare myself to my dad and come up short. As a provider, as a generous man, as a sacrificial giver of time and money, as a man who stood unshakable no matter which way the wind blew, I stand in his shadow. So folks, I'm still figuring this out. But I want to pause and honor my dad, and the God who had the wisdom to put him in my life. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 3 21:11:50 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:11:50 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-05-08 Why we are safe -- Psalm 91:3 The Message Message-ID: <48965756.5090009@dwightclough.com> /*That's right -- [God] rescues you from hidden traps ... -- Psalm 91:3 The Message*/ I think most of the time we don't even know it. We go happily through life (or unhappily, as the case may be), without comprehending the dangers all around us. I keep coming back to my children in parking lots when they were small. They strained and pulled in every direction, but I never let go. It wasn't important that they fully understood the danger. It was just important that I never let go. That's how God is with you and me; He never lets go. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 3 21:12:26 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:12:26 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-06-08 We have far more -- John 5:39 Message-ID: <4896577A.9000008@dwightclough.com> /*You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me ... -- John 5:39*/ What gives the word of God its power? Its connection to God. Remember that Satan quoted the scriptures. But in Satan's hands the word did not bring life. It only brought temptation -- a design for destruction. I say this because there are many good things in the Christian life, but none of them will take the place of Jesus. Good friends, wonderful Christian leaders, Bible studies, this devotional, Psalms and Proverbs and prophecies -- none of those things give life. Jesus gives life. Sometimes Jesus enters your life through these good things, but I cannot -- nor can anyone or anything else -- impart life apart from Jesus. The touch of Jesus is unmistakable. Where there was darkness, now there is light. Where there was turmoil, now there is peace. Where lies painfully twisted the fibers of our hearts, Jesus brings soothing, life-giving truth. Where there was death, now there is life. When we minister to each other and to others, it's always tempting to leave someone with a verse or a good idea or an encouraging word. Those things are nice, but since we have far more -- let's offer it. Let's bring Jesus to our world. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 3 21:12:55 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:12:55 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-07-08 Finding the right door -- Luke 18:22-23 Message-ID: <48965797.8060704@dwightclough.com> /*When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. -- Luke 18:22-23*/ Jesus unerringly finds the door to our heart that must be opened for Him to be our true Lord and Savior. In almost every case, that door is over our most protected pain. The rich young ruler was no exception. His problem was insecurity. I didn't catch that for a long time. I thought his problem was money or greed. But money was his solution, not his problem. Jesus stood at the door of his heart and said, "Abandon your solution. Choose Me instead. I will be your security." As we carry out the Great Commission, Jesus assures us of His ongoing presence with us. That is not an idle or irrelevant promise. We can never ask anyone to abandon his solution if we cannot offer Jesus in its place. But when we bring Jesus to the right door, we will see lives transformed. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 3 21:13:27 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:13:27 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-08-08 The power of the Great Commission -- Mark 16:15-20 Message-ID: <489657B7.8050004@dwightclough.com> /*[Jesus] said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it. -- Mark 16:15-20*/ God's work is supernatural. No, this passage is not about Charismatic vs. Non-Charismatic issues. This passage is about the power of proclaiming and believing the good news. Notice the word "all." There are places in the heart where the gospel will take root and flourish -- places that will surprise you. >From God's right hand, Jesus looks upon all us unlikely people (you and me) proclaiming the good news. From this position of great authority and majesty, He touches our words so they have electrifying power. The power to bring eternal transformation. Why is that? Because Jesus speaks through us, and beyond us to those who believe. This is the genius of God. He uses the broken, the humble, the poor to fix, to transform, to enrich many lives. Even a smile can have eternal benefit when it comes from Jesus through us. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 3 21:13:55 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:13:55 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-09-08 Jesus is here -- Matthew 28:16-20 Message-ID: <489657D3.4020308@dwightclough.com> /*Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -- Matthew 28:16-20*/ Jesus is here. Everything else flows from that. Jesus is the only One who can deliver truth with the power to change doubt into faith. His presence gives us the authority to bring life-changing transformation to one person after another until the nations themselves are changed. Who can obey without Jesus within transforming the dreary demands of the law into the delightful freedom of the children of God? We carry Jesus to our world. He's here to stay. And He has given us the power to serve the eviction notice on the enemy and see the presence of God fill lives wherever we go. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 3 21:14:20 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:14:20 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-10-08 A bigger vision -- Acts 1:4-9 Message-ID: <489657EC.1090403@dwightclough.com> /*On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. -- Acts 1:4-9*/ Why do we need power? Because God's vision is so much greater than our own. The disciples hoped for a restoration of Israel's sovereignty and preeminence among the nations. God was way, way beyond them. He was here to transform an entire world. He was looking through the generations at a redeemed people numbering in the hundreds of millions. We are God's witnesses. Does a witness need special power to testify about what he has seen? No. But God's witnesses bring light into places of darkness. Power is needed to break the domain of darkness and usher in the Kingdom of God's Dear Son. We cannot change the fact that we are connected to something bigger than us, bigger than our plans, bigger than our imagination. Get used to it. This is your place as a son or daughter of God. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 8 09:43:08 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:43:08 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-11-08 Building the Kingdom with our stories -- Acts 1:8 Message-ID: <489C4D6C.2090806@dwightclough.com> /*... you will be My witnesses. -- Acts 1:8*/ What does a witness do? He tells what he saw -- or, more likely, what he experienced. As we head into our world, we carry with us a powerful Kingdom building tool, the story of what we have experienced. God means to be experienced. That's one reason why life is so full of adventure. The waves rise. The thunder rolls. We sit in the bow of our little boat and start sliding down into the trough. Then we notice the hole in the hull. From there things go from bad to worse as we discover that the life jackets have been blown overboard. And (did I mention?) we don't know how to swim. Adventure, of course, is just a fancy word for problems. Every time we get another problem, God is writing another story in our lives. We are His witnesses. We tell our world what we have experienced -- how God showed up in the midst of our problems. Like Jesus said, if we don't do it, the rocks will cry out. No matter how obscure you feel, or how mundane you feel your difficulties are, God is fashioning in your life a story that will touch someone else for eternity. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 8 09:43:36 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:43:36 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-12-08 Thanksgiving -- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Message-ID: <489C4D88.7040905@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? About four years ago I shared with you the story of an atheist who fell into a crevasse in the ice when he and his partner were overtaken by a blizzard while mountain climbing. About 60 feet below the surface, he came to rest on a ledge. With a broken leg and no way to climb up, no way to call for help, he started climbing down, into the depths of this glacier. Each step down was irrevocable, but he had no other choice. To remain was to die. When he finally reached the bottom, he 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 What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 8 09:44:16 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:44:16 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-13-08 Means of conveyance -- 2 Kings 2:11 Message-ID: <489C4DB0.9020606@dwightclough.com> /*As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. -- 2 Kings 2:11*/ I had an interesting dream one night. I dreamed that Kim and I took hold of the hands of our children, and, as a family of six, we stepped off the porch and walked through the sky heaven bound. One thing that struck me was this: How very calm it felt, how perfectly normal to be skating through the sky on our way to meet Jesus. Enoch walked into heaven. Elijah rode. I don't know how you will get there. In a Porsche perhaps. Or an F-16. The most important thing about heaven, of course, is that God is there. The Inventor of Fun. The Designer of Us. The One who brings together in perfect harmony everything that is wild and wacky, soothing and beautiful, peaceful and delicious, awesome, serious, fun and holy. But, of course, God isn't just in heaven. He's also here. That's why, once in a while, even though you didn't quite plan on it, a bit of heaven breaks through and grabs our hearts and points us toward eternity. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 8 09:44:52 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:44:52 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-14-08 Better than a buzz -- Ephesians 5:18 Message-ID: <489C4DD4.9020400@dwightclough.com> /*Do not get drunk ... Instead, be filled with the Spirit. -- Ephesians 5:18*/ God has a better alternative. Why do people drink? I'm not a drinker, but, from what I've observed, alcohol erases fear, shame and worries. It provides a kind of freedom and courage. It creates a bond between drinking buddies that probably wouldn't be there otherwise. But, of course, we all know what happens when the alcohol is gone. Drinkers wake up to discover more things to worry about and more transgressions to be ashamed of. So the urge to escape into the fantasy world of alcohol becomes even stronger. God has a better idea. Be filled with the Spirit. He didn't say, "Straighten up," or "Quit drinking," or "Act your age." He said, "I know you are empty inside, so let Me fill that emptiness." For many years I went around asking people what it meant to be filled with the Spirit. I never really got an answer that satisfied me. So let me give you the answer I finally came up with. We are filled with the Spirit to the extent that we have welcomed the Spirit of Christ into every part of our lives. That means if God wants to enter our places of fear, shame and emptiness, we throw the door wide open and say, "Come on in!" Guess what happens when God enters our places of fear, shame and worry? That pain is erased. Courage and freedom are granted. We don't have to worry that we will wake up to discover we've done something wrong, because we are more awake with the Spirit of God filling us than we ever were before. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 8 09:45:22 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:45:22 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-15-08 Responding to bad news -- Isaiah 37:14 The Message Message-ID: <489C4DF2.5060700@dwightclough.com> /*Then [King Hezekiah] went into the sanctuary of GOD and spread the letter out before GOD. -- Isaiah 37:14 The Message*/ The invading army mocked the God of Israel. They wrote down their threats and predicted they would soon reduce Jerusalem to rubble, it's people to slavery. "Your God cannot stop us," they claimed. But they tangled with the wrong God. A few verses later 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were dead, and the rest were running for their lives. The invading king went home to face disgrace and assassination. Have you received bad news? God will read your mail if you let Him. And He will also answer it. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 15 11:50:31 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:50:31 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] note from Dwight about our home Message-ID: <48A5A5C7.6080407@dwightclough.com> Hi Everyone We're looking for a buyer for our 2-flat in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and I'd like to pass some information on to you about it, so you can pray with us and in case you know someone who might be interested. First of all, zoning allows many uses: you can put a business downstairs and live upstairs, or rent out both flats, or occupy one or both flats, or some combination of the above. Second, the building could be modified to make it into a three flat - there's enough room in the attic for a small one-bedroom or a large efficiency apartment. There are also other spaces that could be expanded into. Third, we're asking $209,000 (reasonable for our market). We're looking for someone who can close soon, because we'd like to move before school starts. It's an older home, no major problems, but a do-it-yourself-er could have a lot of fun with this. Fourth, we have stable renters (5 years!) on a month-to-month lease upstairs. More information at DwightClough.com/house Thanks! Dwight -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Fri Aug 8 09:45:57 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:45:57 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-16-08 Triumph-- Isaiah 37:22-29,35 Message-ID: <489C4E15.7040108@dwightclough.com> "The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises and mocks you. The Daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee. Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! By your messengers you have heaped insults on the Lord. And you have said, 'With my many chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains, the utmost heights of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of its pines. I have reached its remotest heights, the finest of its forests. I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.' "Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone. Their people, drained of power, are dismayed and put to shame. They are like plants in the field, like tender green shoots, like grass sprouting on the roof, scorched before it grows up. "But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came. "I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!" -- Isaiah 37:22-29,35 This is a long passage of scripture, but it's so good I really couldn't find any place to cut it down. The other day I was talking with a friend and we were observing how God often teaches us in our poverty. When we have no money, He teaches us that He is our Provider. When we are in grief, He teaches us that He is our joy. When we have no strength, He teaches us that He is God Almighty. When Assyria invaded Judah, it was like a professional boxer picking a fight with a Kindergarten kid. Assyria took city after city until the only survivors were a frightened few behind the walls of Jerusalem. Here in this place of desperation, God shows up. Notice what God does. He not only teaches us about Himself, i.e., He will save the city. But He also shows us what He wants us to know about ourselves. "The Daughter of Jerusalem tosses her head as you flee." Even in our place of great weakness, we are the victors. We are triumphant. I believe this may be the Lord's word to you today. Life's troubles may have overwhelmed you, but you will stand and look in triumph over all your foes. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 8 09:46:24 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:46:24 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-17-08 God's cry of comfort -- Isaiah 40:1 Message-ID: <489C4E30.1080605@dwightclough.com> /*"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. -- Isaiah 40:1*/ The voice of God carries through the centuries, through the generations and reaches us where we are. God knows the comfort that we need. This is not a frivolous thing that God does for you and me. Let me speak to those who might believe that the mature (or the macho) among us don't need any of this silly little comfort: We do. We need the comfort of God more than we need almost anything else. God's comfort takes all of the unsettledness out of our souls and brings us peace. There is no strength in denying that we need to be comforted, but there is great strength in receiving that comfort from God. When the tender, hurting places of our lives are given into God's hands, there they are safe -- and then we are safe. Remember how Jesus wept over Jerusalem. He longed to bring comfort, but its people would not receive His comfort. And so they were given over to their enemies. Likewise, God is here to comfort us and to grant us great peace. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 17 10:26:58 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:26:58 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-18-08 The case for comfort -- Isaiah 40:1 Message-ID: <48A83532.5090109@dwightclough.com> "/*Comfort, comfort My people," says your God. -- Isaiah 40:1*/ The key to transforming lives is ... NOT repentance (at least the way it is commonly understood) ... NOT salvation (the way it is commonly approached) ... NOT Bible knowledge ... NOT word of faith ... NOT trying harder, praying more, speaking in tongues or almost anything else that is commonly proposed. Lest you think I'm a heretic, let me reassure you: I believe in salvation. I believe in the Bible. I believe in repentance and faith and prayer. But these things do not typically transform people's lives. Saved people still get drunk and depressed. Bible scholars commit adultery. And so on. The key to transforming lives is allowing the presence of Christ through the locked doors of our souls. Everybody has doors that are locked. Everybody has rooms in their souls with big "KEEP OUT" signs on the door. What do these locked doors look like? They typically are NOT what you would think. They typically are NOT, "I'll never go to Africa," or "I'll never give up my gambling." But rather these locked doors are hurting, painful places that we want to close off to God, to ourselves and to everyone else. These hurting places are the fulcrum of the soul. If we want Christ to have the leverage that He needs to grant us real love, joy, peace, patience and so on, He needs to bring His soothing, comforting presence into these places inside that have been off limits for so long. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 17 10:27:26 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:27:26 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-19-08 Supernatural -- Psalm 34:8 Message-ID: <48A8354E.4000305@dwightclough.com> /*Taste and see that the LORD is good. -- Psalm 34:8*/ I keep coming back to this verse. I just finished reading the testimony of a man who wanted to become a Christian, but he didn't want a religion that was only a lot of talk. He wanted something supernatural, something he could experience, something he could taste. But all he could find was Christian talk, so he followed an Eastern guru and got detoured several years into demonic experiences. I want to say this: It doesn't matter whether you are a Charismatic or not, whether you are mystic or not, or whatever label you might attach to your faith. What matters is that you and I serve a supernatural God who is not content to wait until we get to heaven before He begins sharing life with us. When the God of the universe enters your life, the supernatural will occur. It will be the norm, not the exception. I don't know what form it will take. It may be very quiet or it may be flashy -- that is God's business to determine, not mine. Look around. Open the door as wide as you can. God is here. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 17 10:27:53 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:27:53 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-20-08 God's compassion -- Psalm 145:9 Message-ID: <48A83569.7010901@dwightclough.com> /*The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made. -- Psalm 145:9*/ To be honest with you, I have often puzzled over how God will judge the world. After all, so many people are products of deception. How can they be made to pay the full price for their own gullibility? I don't know the answer to that. But I know this: God has compassion on all He has made. God's compassion rises above pain. Jesus met His persecutor, Saul, on the road to Damascus. The Risen Lord could have easily killed this fanatic who led men, women and children away to slaughter. But, instead, Jesus turned Saul's (Paul's) whole life into a testimony of the compassion of God. How will God's compassion factor into His judgment on the Last Day? I don't know. I just know that it will, and yet it won't keep God from being 100% just and righteous. And the more God works on me, the more I have compassion on others. More and more, I see sinners less as rotten people, and more as precious people who have been marred within just like me. As Christ's ambassadors we carry the compassion of God into our world. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 17 10:28:24 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:28:24 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-21-08 New paradigms -- Mark 2:21 Message-ID: <48A83588.70809@dwightclough.com> /*No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. -- Mark 2:21*/ We live life through our paradigms -- that is, our way of seeing things. Within our paradigms we make small steps of growth. But then something happens to change our whole way of seeing things, and our life undergoes a transformation. For example, for many years I thought my relationship with God was all about my obedience. That was my paradigm. But then God shattered that paradigm. He showed me that if He wanted an obedience robot, He could have made one. Instead, He wanted me. He wasn't as interested in the sum total of all the things I did right as He was in me. Wow. I never knew He cared. Deep down inside, I didn't have a clue. Part of sharing life with our supernatural God is this: He will shatter our paradigms and replace them with new ways of looking at things. We cannot really grow until we break out of the straight jacket of viewpoints that confine and limit the work of God in our lives. I'm not sure if that sounds scary or exciting to you, but it is a trip (if I can use a sixties word). Moments will come when we think we are looking at the same old stuff and suddenly discover that we have been transported into a whole new world. Let it come, Lord Jesus. It's a wonderful life. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 17 10:28:48 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:28:48 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-22-08 God and desire -- Psalm 145:16 Message-ID: <48A835A0.7060109@dwightclough.com> /*You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. -- Psalm 145:16*/ Desire is basic to who we are. Without desires we wouldn't be human. God created us to want affection, approval, nourishment, love, sex, fulfillment and so on. The One who loves us and the one who hates us contend for our desires. The enemy promises shortcuts to satisfy our desires, but leaves us empty, hungry for more. The food he brings can only carry the illusion of satisfying while it creates more and more pain that twists our hearts. Ultimately, he wants to put us in such a state that nothing can satisfy our desires. I think of the sexual abuse survivor who desperately needs to be loved, but overtures of love are interpreted as carrying ulterior and destructive motives, and so love sometimes cannot be received ... without the Lord's healing. On the other hand, the Lord fulfills your longings. Sometimes God is characterized as only meeting needs, as not really caring about your wants or desires. I'm not sure how we came up with that idea. The Lord is intensely interested in all of your desires -- even the frivolous ones -- even the bad ones. He will satisfy all of them, but not always when and how you expect. God isn't mainly a "drink-your-castor-oil," "I-only-do-this-for-your-own-good" God. God created you with your own unique collection of desires. Yes, some of those desires have been corrupted, and God will take you through a process of purifying your heart so that He can satisfy all your desires with good things. If you want to get to know God, talk to Him about your desires and His. You might discover something new about His great love for you. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 17 10:29:14 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:29:14 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-23-08 Maturity and God's work -- Psalm 37:4 Message-ID: <48A835BA.4050802@dwightclough.com> /*Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. -- Psalm 37:4*/ At the beginning, we are not mature. On the surface, that seems obvious, but sometimes it's easy to forget. As we start out in life as little babies, we don't even know that other people exist, much less that we should love them even if that means personal sacrifice. That is a lesson that we learn much, much later. God's plan is for parents to nurture their little children so that they can take the steps of growth toward maturity. But parents aren't perfect, of course, and all of us suffer collateral damage living in a fallen world no matter how wonderful our parents may be. If early needs are never met, then the person gets stuck. They grow up on the outside, but stay little on the inside. Then God comes along and meets those unmet needs inside to release us to grow. This is why the "go and sin no more" always follows a life-changing encounter with Jesus. When our desires are corrupted, God satisfies them by giving us what we really need deep down inside instead of what we think we need. As we mature, our desires mature. As our hearts are purified, our desires begin to look like God's desires. What we want and what we delight in become a testimony to God's work in our life. God is not out to make us into self-indulgent brats. Rather, He satisfies our desires to release us from self indulgence and allow us to grow. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 17 10:29:40 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:29:40 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-24-08 The LORD is near -- Psalm 145:14 Message-ID: <48A835D4.2080808@dwightclough.com> /*The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. -- Psalm 145:14*/ How many of us have been humbled by a sin we thought we had defeated? How many of us have walked through humiliating circumstances -- the loss of wealth or health or reputation? A down-and-out person has very few friends. Sure, there are people who will "minister" to them, but there is a huge difference between ministry and friendship. For me, it has been cleaning toilets for a living over the years. Losing my job, going bankrupt, being homeless and trying one business idea after another only to see them all fail -- and then, once again cleaning toilets and mopping floors to survive. Of course, there is nothing dishonorable about cleaning, but it just was so different than what I had hoped for. I've sat with others who have lost everything, fallen into affairs, addictions or whatever. Most of us know what it's like to fall. I want you to know that you do have a Friend when you fall. When no one else understands, and no one else cares -- when everyone else is busy pointing their fingers at you and labeling your fall your own fault, there is One who upholds those who fall. He is near and He will not desert you. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 23 12:25:34 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:25:34 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-25-08 The hope of vindication -- Job 22:5, Psalm 37:6 Message-ID: <48B039FE.5080800@dwightclough.com> /*Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? [Eliphaz to Job] -- Job 22:5*/ /*[God] will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. -- Psalm 37:6*/ Here we have the search for sin and the promise of vindication. In the guise of religion, some are eager to search out every hidden sin. They call for repentance because they delight in exposing sin, and their world won't work without a constant reminder of how very evil we are. On the other hand, God is eager to reveal His work in us. As long as the evil one is free to stir up his lies in human hearts, we Christians will be lied about, slandered, misjudged, framed and misunderstood. But God will not allow this work of accusation to stand, because His work of redemption is greater. I think righteousness is sort of like fingerprints. Yes, fingerprints look like fingerprints. But if you examine them closely, no two are alike. So also God's righteousness gets expressed uniquely in each one of us. It's all righteousness -- it all looks alike. The standard doesn't change, only the expression. On display, for all the universe to see, is God's great work inside us. This is our hope, and this is God's promise. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 23 12:26:08 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:26:08 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-26-08 He has the answer -- John 21:3 Message-ID: <48B03A20.1080405@dwightclough.com> /*... but that night they caught nothing. -- John 21:3*/ Sometimes you come up empty. We all do. In my office, I keep a framed copy of a Calvin & Hobbes comic strip. Calvin says to Hobbes, "I thought I had a great idea, but it never really took off. ... In fact, it didn't even get on the runway. ... I guess you could say it exploded in the hangar." I can relate. Peter thought it would be a good idea to go out fishing, but an all night effort yielded nothing. His best effort was barren. I don't think Peter expected to see Jesus on the shore. In fact, I'm sure he didn't. But this is when the Lord shows up. When we're ready to give up, to admit defeat, He has the answer. Throw your net on the right side of the boat. It was so simple. It was there all along. But we will never see it, until the Lord comes along and fills our nets to overflowing. He will show you the way. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 23 12:26:46 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:26:46 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-27-08 God has a better idea -- Ephesians 4:26 Message-ID: <48B03A46.7060308@dwightclough.com> /*In your anger, do not sin ... -- Ephesians 4:26*/ (I originally wrote this devotional four years ago. As I look back, I can see that while I still get angry, it's not as often and not as easily. Why is that? Is it because I've implemented some great self-control program? Not at all. This is purely the work of God, filling up the damaged places in my soul.) I blew it today. I was crabby and grouchy most of the day. I sent a couple of emails that reflected my hostile mood, and now I'm back peddling and doing damage control and feeling like a fool. Three times today I brought my anger to the Lord. The third time, I asked my wife to pray with me. I wanted to figure out why I was angry so the Lord could deal with the real reasons instead of every little irritation that triggered me all day long. The Lord did meet with me. He comforted the hurt little boy. He forgave the sinful way I mismanaged my anger. He took my anger. He gave me a couple of constructive ideas to deal with some of the present day issues that were bothering me. (My wife also chimed in with a good idea.) And He left me with peace. No matter what the Lord asks of us, He is there to deliver it for us. Without the Lord's intervention, I would remain angry until I found some way to stuff it and pretend that I wasn't. But God, of course, has a better idea. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 23 12:27:18 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:27:18 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-28-08 Anger, an opportunity ... -- Ephesians 4:26 Message-ID: <48B03A66.50101@dwightclough.com> /*In your anger, do not sin ... -- Ephesians 4:26*/ (Another snapshot from four years ago ... ) "Why does Hans hate me?" my thirteen-year-old daughter cried to me about her eleven-year-old brother. I don't know about you other parents, but I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time refereeing fights between siblings. So I decided to make up a checklist -- things you gotta do before you bring your fight to Dad. Things like listen to the other person and restate their position and their feelings in your own words, etc. I thought I could get away with just handing the checklist to them, but my daughter wisely suggested they give it a try in my presence. I'm so glad she did that. We started off with a round of anger -- they were so angry with each other. But as they started listening to each other, they made an amazing discovery. Underneath that anger was another feeling -- a tender hurting feeling. They both were hurting deeply for exactly the same reason. What started out as a fight became a discovery that connected them on a deeper level so they could empathize with and respect one another. Of course, we spent time connecting with the Lord on these issues and emotions as well. But it seemed like the main thing the Lord wanted to do was to teach these two something about each other. Getting angry is always an opportunity. It can, of course, be an opportunity for evil. But it can also be an opportunity for God. Imagine the good God can do in our lives every time He gets His hands on our anger! Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 23 12:28:04 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:28:04 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-29-08 The marks of Jesus -- Galatians 6:17 Message-ID: <48B03A94.4010505@dwightclough.com> /*Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. -- Galatians 6:17*/ Everybody has their heroes. Let me tell you who mine are. My heroes are people who have suffered for their faith. People like Noble Alexander who spent 22 years in the Cuban gulag. Pastor Wally who turned down wealth and privilege to endure torture and an order for his execution. Tran Mai whose daughters were summoned to the police station and interrogated while he sat in a Vietnamese prison. Pastor Lamb whose wife died during his long incarceration. I stand in awe of these men and women, to be honest with you. These forgotten heroes. Many are enamored by sports stars, famous musicians or Hollywood celebrities, by business tycoons or political brokers of power. Many of these big names have worthy qualities, no doubt. Even so, they just haven't captured my imagination. None of us wants to step into the fiery furnace of persecution. But these men and women were willing to do it. I stand in awe of them, and I stand in awe of the God who lives inside them. I'm sure that deep inside they are just like me. They have fears. They get tired. They just want to quit and go home. They want a hug and some encouraging words. They probably have days when they feel like complaining. When they get hurt, they feel pain, just like I do. But somehow God has overcome all those fears in them, their anger, their discouragement and has given them His overcoming Spirit and grace. This is something I don't quite understand. Forty-two years ago, when I was a little boy, my dad was studying electronics in the Air Force. He used to let me crawl up onto his lap and there he would read his electronics books to me. You might consider that a bit odd -- reading electronics books to a five year old. But I loved it. I didn't understand it, but I loved it nevertheless. I get the same feeling now. I don't understand God's great work. But I do love to crawl up onto His lap and listen to what He has to say. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 23 12:28:34 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:28:34 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-30-08 Sin and solutions -- Psalm 51:6 Message-ID: <48B03AB2.5000006@dwightclough.com> /*"Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place." -- Psalm 51:6*/ Why do good Christians fall? Why do some surveys put pornography use among Christian men as high as 61%? Why is the incidence of moral failure as high (or higher) among pastors as it is among parishioners? Why are so many Christians trapped in Romans 7, in a sin-confess-sin-confess cycle that won't let them go? Some time ago I met with a man -- I'll call him Jim -- who had been trapped in an adulterous affair. Jim had been a good Christian husband and father. He was a leader in his church and in his community. But he fell into sin. Now everybody around him was busy telling him how rotten he was. "You are a sex addict." "You are in denial." "You need to take responsibility for your actions." "You can't be trusted." And so on. As Jim told me about this, I suspected that these admonitions, while well meaning, were only aggravating the real problem. When I met with Jim, I took a different approach. I asked him, "How did it feel when these Christian leaders told you that you couldn't be trusted?" It wasn't long before we got to feelings of shame and fear. (Yes, there was true guilt about his sin, but that had been dealt with. The leftover feeling was false shame.) Why did I ask him how he felt? Many people believe that feelings are irrelevant. But if you are ignoring feelings in your ministry, you are missing huge opportunities for God. Emotions reveal deep-down, gut-level beliefs. Emotions are not a reliable guide to right and wrong; the right thing to do is the right thing to do whether we feel like it or not. But emotions are a reliable guide to what is going on inside us. And if we want to change, we need to get real about what's inside. I asked Jim how long these feelings had been a part of his life. Pretty soon he was in memories of the abuse he received at the hands of his father. Why bother with memories? Because memories are an important part of who we are. Most of the lies we believe deep down are connected to memories where these lies were implanted. We kept inviting Jesus into all of this: the adultery, the shame, the fear, the memories. As we did this, sometimes there were sins to confess. Sometimes there was anger to give to the Lord. Sometimes there were offenses against Jim that needed to be forgiven. But mostly, Jim just needed to experience the love of Christ. He often sat in my office for fifteen, twenty minutes at a time, just basking in the love of Christ, communicated directly from God's Spirit to the damaged places in Jim's soul. What was the outcome? The "other woman" lost her attraction in Jim's life. Jim had new compassion, respect and love for his wife, as well as for the "counselors" who had berated him. Although it took time to restore Jim's marriage and his life, God met with him in these few one-hour prayer sessions and repaired damage in his heart. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 23 12:29:04 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:29:04 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 08-31-08 Truth in our heads vs. truth in our hearts -- Psalm 51:6 Message-ID: <48B03AD0.4080508@dwightclough.com> /*"Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place." -- Psalm 51:6*/ Jim's story (yesterday's devotional) illustrates several important, but often misunderstood, dynamics about sin and temptation. Why did Jim fall into sin? Jim was a church-going, Bible-believing Christian for over 30 years. Jim knew the truth. He had bucketfuls of truth stored in his head. And Jesus declared that the truth will set us free (John 8:32). But, when the right combination of circumstances came along, Jim discovered that he wasn't free at all. Why? Because truth in our heads won't change lies in our hearts. This is why you can pump all kinds of truth into your head and still sin. David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, clarifies the real need in Psalm 51:6: "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place." How do you get truth to the inner parts? You open the door to Jesus. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus tells us that He stands at the door knocking, waiting for us to open the door to Him. We like to use this verse as a salvation text. But I believe it is also a guide to the Christian life. Yes, we open the front door of our hearts to Christ at the moment of conversion. But throughout our lives, Christ is knocking at the doors inside our hearts. In every place where our hearts harbor pain-causing lies, Jesus wants to bring soothing, encouraging truth. Put another way, there is simply no substitute for experiencing God. There are no shortcuts. God doesn't want us to just know /about/ Him; He wants us to know Him. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 30 10:22:15 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:22:15 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 09-01-08 Big Idea #1 -- Mark 14:29 Message-ID: <48B95797.4080209@dwightclough.com> /*Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not." -- Mark 14:29*/ One day when I was quite discouraged, I was pouring out my complaints to the Lord. In response, I sensed that He wanted me to write down the ten most important ideas that I want to communicate to my world before I die. I hope these aren't just ideas that Dwight dreamed up, but rather scripturally valid principles that the Lord has been teaching me and has been using to change my life and the lives of many other people. Here's the first one: You and I are in the same boat: We both need God. Years ago, I went off to Bible college as a naive 17-year-old who believed he would find perfection in the form of teachers, staff and students at this Christian institution. I was mistaken, of course. The people around me were about as perfect as I was: not very. Nobody explained to me that Christian leaders are made out of clay. Of course, in those days, it was a little more difficult because vulnerability and authenticity among leaders was not in style. They were the "authority" and if I challenged them I was "sinning" and "in rebellion." So, I kept my rebellion inside where it turned to bitterness. When I shared my heart with others, most often I was rebuked for my bad attitude. For a young man with no mentors and no real understanding of what was going on, this was very confusing. Three decades later, I see all kinds of dynamics that I didn't see then. Yes, I was sinning. Yes, I was selectively interpreting what was going on around me and seeing it through the grid of deeply embedded lies that I believed. Yes, there were problems with the leadership style. And, yes, all of this could have easily been prevented. In our passage today, Peter is bragging about his loyalty to Jesus. He made the same mistake that most of us make sooner or later. He was mistaking the treasure for the clay pot that holds the treasure. Fortunately for Peter (and for us), God was kind enough to help him distinguish the difference. Peter's loyalty was not his asset. His Savior was his asset. And he was about to discover that there is a world of difference. Some people have a track record of faithfulness and credibility. But on one level we are all the same -- from Billy Graham and Mother Theresa (or whoever you want to substitute) all the way to the most vile sinner -- we all need Jesus. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. In our absolute neediness, our total dependence, we stand side by side, no different from one another. And in our place of neediness we will find strength from Him who meets every need. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 30 10:22:45 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:22:45 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 09-02-08 Big Idea #2 -- John 9:3 Message-ID: <48B957B5.5080703@dwightclough.com> "/*Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." -- John 9:3*/ Big Idea #2: God's goodness is more important than our badness. This is the foundation upon which this devotional rests. We will be further ahead if we put our focus on what God is doing right instead of what man is doing wrong. This is one of the many lessons I learned the hard way. Years ago all I could see was the wrong -- the wrong in me and the wrong in everyone else. I thought this was a mark of spirituality -- recognizing sin and false doctrine, finding the faults from which we needed to repent. And, of course, there is a place for that. But I didn't comprehend that there was anything more to the Christian life. You would think that all this attention to sin would cause me to purify my life and get rid of all known sins. But, in reality, the opposite happened. The more I focused on everything that was wrong, the more bitter, impure, and cynical my thoughts became. I finally came to the point where I gave up on myself. The verse that "saved" me was Philippians 1:6: "...being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." No longer was Dwight Clough going to accomplish anything great for God. No longer was Dwight Clough some kind of man of God. I knew better. But I began to realize that there was something greater than my apathy, my rebellion, my impurity, my anger, my fears. I began to realize that I was in the hands of God. God's work in me was the thing to celebrate, not my work for Him. I might blow it. But God doesn't blow it. He never makes any mistakes. God is so much older and smarter than we are. He runs circles around our enemy. He knows exactly how to deliver us from all our sins and problems. Stop and think about it. He's been doing this for a long, long time. He's very, very good at what He does. God is not so weak that He ran out of energy after He figured out a way to save us from hell. He has all kinds of energy and ingenuity left over to save us from anything else that might be going wrong. God is doing a great work inside you. Do you know that God's work inside you will be on display for all eternity? The seraphim knew that the whole earth is filled with God's glory. How did they know? Because His glory is being revealed in the people He redeemed. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 30 10:23:12 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:23:12 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 09-03-08 Big Idea #3 -- John 15:5 Message-ID: <48B957D0.2070603@dwightclough.com> "/*... apart from Me, you can do nothing." -- John 15:5*/ Big Idea #3. God expects the impossible ... but He doesn't expect it to be achieved without Him. We are instructed to carry the life transforming presence of Jesus Christ into our world. It is expected that we will touch people's lives and their cowardice will be turned to courage, their trembling fear into perfect peace, their anger into love, their shame into radiant joy and purity, their death into life. That's a tall order. In the meanwhile, we are expected to rejoice in the middle of trouble and suffering. We are to live a righteous life which, among other things, means delighting in doing right and detesting doing evil. I could go on with the list, but I think we all understand the point: The Christian life is impossible. Nobody can live it. You don't have to read any further than the Sermon on the Mount to know that Jesus expects the impossible. To top it off, when God wants something -- shall we say -- out of the ordinary done, He usually calls on us to do it. (Read Exodus 4 for starters.) I think there comes a point in every Christian's life when it finally dawns on us that God is asking us to do something that cannot be done. There comes a point where we throw up our hands and say, "God, this is impossible!" Then He smiles and says, "I knew you'd figure that out, sooner or later. Congratulations! You're learning." My friend, Tom, and I have a joke between us. We describe our situation in life as "brilliance obscured by inadequacy." Well, that inadequacy is there for a reason. Without our inadequacy, there would be no room for God. Josh McDowell, the famous Christian apologist, describes himself as a stuttering guy who can't think on his feet. Yet, he successfully debates atheists on college campuses all over the world. Why? Because he knows the secret. He can't do it, but there is Someone near who can. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 30 10:23:43 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:23:43 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 09-04-08 Big Idea #4 -- Revelation 3:20 Message-ID: <48B957EF.3080504@dwightclough.com> "/*Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me." -- Revelation 3:20*/ Big Idea #4. If you want God to transform your life, find the door where Jesus is knocking. Nothing of any importance happens until Jesus shows up. We can do religious things but they won't help anybody -- they will just clutter up the space God needs to work in. What are we trying to do or to be? Are we trying to win someone to the Lord? Invite Jesus in. Are we trying to deal with illness or loss? Invite Jesus in. Not sure what to do? Invite Jesus in. Now here's the trick. We need to find the door where Jesus is knocking. The rich young ruler had trouble with this. He thought Jesus was knocking on the door of his achievements. He thought Jesus wanted to come in and affirm what a wonderful guy he was for doing so many things right. Or perhaps Jesus would give him one more goal he could discipline himself to achieve. But Jesus was knocking at a different door. He was knocking on the door of his security. "You've put your faith in all you've achieved and all you possess," Jesus told him, "but these things will not save you. You need to let them go so you can put your faith in the only One who can save you." In the same way, don't be surprised if Jesus finds a door that turns your world upside down. He is in the business of transforming us. But, behind that door that we may be afraid to open, lies life beyond all that we could ask or imagine. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 30 10:24:12 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:24:12 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 09-05-08 Big Idea #5 -- John 8:10-11 Message-ID: <48B9580C.5010708@dwightclough.com> "/*Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" */ "/*No one, Sir," she said.*/ "/*Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."*/ /*-- John 8:10-11*/ Big Idea #5. Find the pain... and you will find the door. The more I meditate on this passage, the more wisdom I see in the approach Jesus used. As the story opens, a woman caught in the act of adultery, is thrown down before Jesus to see if Jesus will take a hard line on sin and insist that she be stoned according to the law of Moses. She had been exposed. She had nothing to cover herself with except guilt and shame. The opponents of Jesus thought this would be an ingenious way to trap Jesus, but God uses all the enemy's traps as opportunities for His glory. There in her place of shame, Jesus had exactly what He needed to transform her life. Why do people end up in extramarital affairs? Contrary to all the hype about marriage and sex and romance, people are unfaithful because they are searching for solutions to their own neediness, their own internal pain. Jesus was right there, dealing with the root cause -- internal pain and shame. This, by the way, is the reason so many approaches to curing moral impurity don't work. They don't work because they magnify shame instead of correctly removing it. They leave the root cause intact. But, with one sweep, Jesus takes out lifelong shame. "Neither do I condemn you." Jesus doesn't condone her sin -- he calls it what it is -- but He demonstrates to her in her place of exposed pain that His pardon is greater than all her sin. She is free. The shame is gone. The Master does not condemn her -- the pain is gone. She is free to leave her life of sin because nothing now is holding her to it. The places we protect the most are the places where we need Jesus the most. If we don't let the Physician treat the wound, we cannot get better. The deeper the pain, the more powerful will be the transformation that Jesus brings. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 30 10:24:37 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:24:37 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 09-06-08 Big Idea #6 -- 2 Timothy 2:24-26 Message-ID: <48B95825.4000601@dwightclough.com> /*And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. -- 2 Timothy 2:24-26*/ Big Idea #6. Break it down to baby steps; almost everybody has a place where they can say "yes" to God. This is a wonderful discovery. You don't have to open all the doors at once. In World War II, the outcome of the war was determined by a little piece of real estate called Normandy. Likewise, in our lives, the decisive battle is often over one pivotal place in our souls. There will be other battles, of course. But this is the one that turns the tide. I do prayer ministry with people from time to time. People come to us facing fears or problems or loneliness or whatever. So we pray with them and invite Jesus into the hurting places in their hearts. At first this was nerve-wracking for me. But then I learned a little secret: Everything revolves around belief and choice. If someone cannot make the choice to allow Jesus in, there is a reason. That reason is a belief. The belief is false. Who corrects false beliefs? The One who is the Truth! Example: Okay, you don't want to give your anger to Jesus. What do you believe would happen if you gave your anger to Jesus? [answer] Okay, Jesus, what about that? Is that true? Pretty soon, all the reasons for the wrong choice are gone. Sometimes we want people to do things they cannot do. No one can leave a life of sin unless and until we get Jesus plugged into those places in the heart that were being served by sin. So our work is sometimes slow, but always a joy, because little by little Jesus is being revealed in us. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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 Aug 30 10:25:05 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:25:05 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 09-07-08 Big Idea #7 -- John 4:48 Message-ID: <48B95841.1090109@dwightclough.com> "/*Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe." -- John 4:48*/ Big Idea #7. Every "no" has a reason; let Jesus deal with the reasons. When people say "no" to God, this should not surprise us. Deep inside we all wonder, "Can we really trust this Guy who runs the universe?" and "What is He going to do with my dreams, my marriage, my kids, my plans, my fears?" And everybody has objections. If you and I are honest with ourselves and with God, there are places inside where we have objections. ("God, do anything you want with me, but please just don't let my kids suffer." Or whatever.) There's only one way to navigate past any of these sticking points: Turn them over to Jesus. I don't know how to reassure you that God knows what He's doing. I don't even know how to reassure myself. But I do know that I can take all my objections to Jesus. Bringing us to the place of belief is the supernatural work of God. Remember that the serpent came to Eve in the Garden and told her all kinds of twisted half truths about God. What is the difference between the one who stands and the one who falls? The one who stands takes the doubts, the objections back to God. What about this, Father? What do I need to know? Every time Jesus deals with another reason behind a "no," we are strengthened. I used to pray, "God, make me slippery, so the enemy can't get a grip on me." When Jesus takes away the lies, he takes away the leverage of the enemy. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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: