From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 1 13:41:20 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:41:20 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-03-08 Real estate -- Genesis 13:18 Message-ID: <47C9A350.5010809@dwightclough.com> *Do your friends know about "Discoveries -- Inspiration in Your Inbox" Devotionals? * *Feel free to pass these messages on to them. They can learn more at http://www.dwightclough.com/discoveries.php* /*"So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord." -- Genesis 13:18*/ The man of faith has just been edged out of the best portion, and asked to take the leftovers, the hand-me-downs, the dry crust, the worthless land. So what does he do? I don't see any sign of resentment, whining, or complaining. Abram just moves on and sets up shop. And notice how he sets up shop: Abram builds an altar to the LORD. Things are not what they appear. Abram knows that abundance and prosperity are where God is. The land chosen by his nephew, Lot, soon becomes a desolate waste, and Lot ends up a lonely old man living in a cave. Abram, however, prospers where he is at because he measures the value of real estate by its proximity to God, not by its location next to the wealth of the world. We might not have the finest cars or the fanciest houses. But if our tent is pitched near the altar, we have genuine wealth. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 1 13:41:55 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:41:55 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-04-08 A look into the heavens -- Genesis 15:5 Message-ID: <47C9A373.3070402@dwightclough.com> /*He [God] took him [Abram] outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars -- if indeed you can count them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be." -- Genesis 15:5*/ God always has a plan, and it's always bigger than we are able to imagine. Who can understand the stars? The more we know, the more we realize how much we don't know. No one can count the stars. No one knows how big the universe is. In the middle of Abram's doubt and discouragement, God came to him with the encouraging truth: Look up, see the incomprehensible, and know that I have a plan for you. In our times of doubt and discouragement, I believe God takes us outside for a look into the heavens. There we see that He hasn't forgotten us. His plan for us is far greater than anything we could construct on our own. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 1 13:42:41 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:42:41 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-05-08 How can I know? -- Genesis 15:6,8 Message-ID: <47C9A3A1.5030902@dwightclough.com> /*Abram believed the LORD ... but Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know ...?" -- Genesis 15:6,8*/ How can I know? God is not offended by this question. Abram believed up to a point. Then he reached the limits of his faith. This would put many Christians at an impasse. But Abram, the father of faith, turns his doubts over to God. How can I know? We are all a mixture of doubt and faith, of truth and lies, of darkness and light. Deep inside every Christian is truth, faith and light, because we are born of God. But somewhere between the core of who we are and the part of us who lives day to day, trust in God wavers, and this is where we need God. How can I know? God will answer that question a bit differently for each person. For Abram, He gave him a dream inside a ceremony that made sense in his culture. For you and me, He will find some other way to speak with us. How does our faith grow? God grows it inside us when He answers our heartfelt question, "How can I know?" Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 1 13:43:20 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:43:20 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-06-08 God and our human plans -- Genesis 16:7 Message-ID: <47C9A3C8.4060102@dwightclough.com> /*The angel of the LORD found Hagar ... -- Genesis 16:7*/ Hagar was in a mess. She was deeply embroiled in a human plan that went bad. Pregnant with Abram's first son, she made the mistake of getting snooty with Sarai, and Sarai was furious. Jealous, no doubt. Blaming. Even vindictive. Abram threw up his hands, hoping the problem would go away if he just stayed out of it. The problem didn't go away, but Hagar did. I suspect all of us have been here. We want God's plan, it doesn't seem to be happening, so we try to jump start it with a plan of our own. Our own plans go awry, and suddenly we have more trouble than we know what to do with. What will God do? Will He be like Abram? Will He just stay out of it? Will He be like Sarai? Will He become furious with us for doing the wrong thing? Neither. He comes looking for us. He finds us. When He does, He will have a word for us that puts us back on the path of favor. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 1 13:43:50 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:43:50 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-07-08 Seeing the plan of God -- Genesis 17:5 Message-ID: <47C9A3E6.7090006@dwightclough.com> /*No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. -- Genesis 17:5*/ When Abram was 99 years old, God gave him a new name. Why a new name? Sometimes we get stuck. We get as far as we can, and can't go any further until God steps in and does the impossible. And such was the condition of Abram. His human plan had run its course. Ishmael was almost a teenager, but Sarai was barren, and the child of promise had not yet been conceived. The plan of God had not yet been released. >From a human perspective, it looked like things were going nowhere. But God doesn't see things the way we do. One day I was making bread in the bread machine. I mixed in all the ingredients with my six year old helping out. Then I turned it on and watched it start to mix and knead. Everything was working just the way I wanted it to. But my then six year old couldn't see what was happening until I picked her up high enough to see into the machine. Sometimes God picks us up and gives us a look. He gave Abram a new name so that every time someone spoke to him, he would see the plan of God. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 1 13:44:26 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:44:26 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-08-08 Steering the ship -- Genesis 17:18 Message-ID: <47C9A40A.2080205@dwightclough.com> /*"If only Ishmael might live under Your blessing!" -- Genesis 17:18*/ Question: How do you steer an ocean liner? Answer: Give it time and space to turn. I've read that when you turn the wheel on the largest ships they keep going straight for as much as two miles before they finally start to turn. I don't know if that's true or not, but I do know that you won't be parallel parking an aircraft carrier in downtown Manhattan. God is weaning Abraham from the human plan, so that he can move to the Divine plan. Although Ishmael was a valuable human being, and though God had a plan for Ishmael's life, Isaac, not Ishmael, was the child of promise. When you read the story, you see that Abraham hears God say this, Abraham repeats it, he appears to understand it, but he doesn't. Sometimes God tells us something, but we just don't get it. We think we're tracking with God, but we're still lost in our own human plans. God knows that it takes time and space for us to get His plan in our heads. So He meets us where we are and steers us in the direction we are to go. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 1 13:44:57 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:44:57 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-09-08 The space between -- Genesis 18:33 Message-ID: <47C9A429.8010204@dwightclough.com> /*When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He left, and Abraham returned home. -- Genesis 18:33*/ What an awesome privilege Abraham had -- to make a meal for God Himself. And he made quite a production of it -- bringing water to wash their feet, baking the equivalent of about 35 loaves of bread. This 99 year old man ran to the herd, to select the best calf he owned to butcher for these men. Then Abraham stood before the LORD and pleaded for the people of Sodom. And then the visit was over. God left, and Abraham returned home. I'm amazed at how much space God gives us. I'm a meddling firstborn; I like to have my mitts on everything. If I were God, I wouldn't just visit -- I'd move in, so I could personally supervise every detail of their lives. But God is wiser than I am. He gives us space to be us. We love our encounters with God. But the space between those encounters is also a gift from God. It is the gift of open handed love. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 8 11:01:39 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:01:39 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-10-08 Don't look back! -- Genesis 19:17 Message-ID: <47D2B863.5070500@dwightclough.com> *Do your friends know about "Discoveries -- Inspiration in Your Inbox" Devotionals? * *Feel free to pass these messages on to them. They can learn more at http://www.dwightclough.com/discoveries.php* /*"Don't look back ...!" -- Genesis 19:17*/ Here is a lesson on value. Lot misjudged value. He didn't understand the value of real estate -- he pitched his tent toward Sodom. He didn't understand value in people -- when he tried to reason with the young men he had chosen to marry his daughters, they thought he was joking. Now he was given a final choice: the mountains or Sodom. Lot still struggled with this. He couldn't see that camping out with God was far better than sharing the finest hotel with the devil. Even in warnings, even in crises, God is teaching, guiding and holding out hope for His children. Lot lost much, but God was at work to ensure that he kept what was most important. If the Lord is trimming the world out of your life, don't look back. What lies ahead is better; God will give you the best. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 8 11:02:14 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:02:14 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-11-08 Laughter -- Genesis 21:6 Message-ID: <47D2B886.4040801@dwightclough.com> /*Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." -- Genesis 21:6*/ There are many different kinds of laughter. Some laugh to be cruel, mocking the pain of others. There is the laughter of surprise, the sudden release when we get to the punch line of a good joke. Some laugh in amazement, others in disbelief or cynicism. Sarah laughed the laughter of joy, of a long-awaited promise come true. If you read between the lines, it seems that the barrenness of her womb had been matched by a bleak emptiness in her soul. Now color had come back into her world. The Lord reproved Sarah for her laughter of disbelief in chapter 18. But now the Lord has given her the gift of laughter, a rich return to the goodness of life. God chose the name Isaac for the child of promise, the name that means laughter. This is His gift to all who believe. Through whatever path He is leading you, He will bring you to the laughter of joy. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 8 11:25:25 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:25:25 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-12-08 Test time -- Genesis 22:1 Message-ID: <47D2BDF5.5030600@dwightclough.com> /*"Some time later, God tested Abraham." -- Genesis 22:1*/ Why does God test us? Because He expects to find something good. This is, by the way, exactly the opposite reason why Satan tempts us. Satan expects to find something bad. But even if our weaknesses are revealed by the test, God expects to use that as an opportunity for good. Peter's fears were revealed in the courtyard. But God used that as an opportunity to get Peter honest with himself about His need for God, and it led to Peter's restoration. In the years that followed, Peter was tested many times, but those fears were erased and the tests revealed courage instead. What does a test from God mean? It means that He is working with us, and His work inside us will be revealed. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 8 11:25:54 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:25:54 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-13-08 You are an answer -- Genesis 24:19 Message-ID: <47D2BE12.5000805@dwightclough.com> /*"I'll draw water for your camels too ... " -- Genesis 24:19*/ So much rested on finding the right wife for Isaac. The future of God's promises to Abraham would be fulfilled, in part, through Rebekah. She would shape the character of a nation. Just as Abraham ran to the herd (Genesis 18:7) to provide the best in hospitality, so also Rebekah goes the extra mile and keeps on going to provide the best in hospitality. She didn't know that she was an answer to prayer and the fulfillment of Abraham's prophecy. She didn't know that she was about to get the reward of a lifetime. This was her character -- doing what she could to honor and bless those around her. Today you are an answer to someone's prayer. You are a gift beyond measure because the character of Christ is inside you. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Wed Mar 12 10:49:01 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:49:01 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] Note to Discoveries / Inspiration in Your Inbox readers Message-ID: <47D7ED5D.20307@dwightclough.com> Hi Everyone I am so excited to have a shipment of Russell Stendal's new book, /Rescue the Captors 2/. For those of you who don't know, Russell Stendal was kidnapped by guerrillas in Colombia about 20 years ago. While this ordeal could have been the tragic end of a promising ministry, God showed up (like He always does) and turned the whole thing around for good. As a result, the Stendals have one of the most amazing ministries on earth - walking right into the "lion's den" of danger and bringing the gospel and reconciliation to people caught in a three-way civil war. If you want to discover a whole different dimension of Christianity, I encourage you to check out my book page, order a few copies of /Rescue the Captors 2/ and any of the other books you see there. Remember that books make great graduation gifts; you can stock up now and be prepared. http://www.dwightclough.com/books.php Blessings to all! Dwight -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 8 11:26:29 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:26:29 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-14-08 I am with you -- Genesis 26:23 Message-ID: <47D2BE35.2070306@dwightclough.com> /*"Do not be afraid, for I am with you." -- Genesis 26:23*/ Isaac is on the run -- the Philistines are crowding him out of the land, filling up his wells, telling him to move on. Isaac, like Abraham before him, was ripped off by the inhabitants of the land. They took advantage of him, but Isaac kept a level head, and didn't do anything stupid. Then the LORD appeared to him to put it all in perspective. Do not be afraid, God says to us. Every command carries a promise, a truth meant to be anchored deep inside our hearts. God is here. He wants us to understand that His presence will make everything okay. What does it mean when God is with us? It means that there is some purpose to all this running. God would not put us on the run if it didn't fulfill a good purpose. It means that God takes note of our pursuers and will deal with them. It means that God's plans will unfold, even if they seem fragile and weak. They are, in reality, indestructible in the hands of God. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 8 11:26:57 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:26:57 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-15-08 Joy and grief -- 1 Peter 1:6 Message-ID: <47D2BE51.50504@dwightclough.com> /*In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief ... -- 1 Peter 1:6*/ On the surface, this seems contradictory. Joy and grief? How can they coexist? If joy is the opposite of grief, then wouldn't you need to get rid of all grief in order to have joy? Not so. When we were mourning the loss of a loved one, I made an amazing discovery. Underneath are the everlasting arms. While others grieved without hope, falling through emptiness in a bottomless pit of sorrow, we were buoyed up by something far bigger than us or our pain. The sorrow passed, but the joy remained. One day I received an email from the husband of a woman who could feel no love. Like so many others, she was the adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse. There simply is no way to measure the devastation caused by this childhood trauma. Yet her approach was to shut it down, to never "go there." Of course. Who would want to "go there"? Yet, by shutting down the grief, she also lost the joy. She became unable to feel. Joy is greater than grief. But sometimes the path to joy, takes us through grief. There in our place of sorrow, Jesus meets us, and sorrow is exchanged for joy. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 8 11:27:34 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:27:34 -0600 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-16-08 The lesson of the still small voice -- 1 Kings 19:12 Message-ID: <47D2BE76.6030403@dwightclough.com> /*... after the fire [came] a still small voice. -- 1 Kings 19:12*/ Sometimes we underestimate the power of the "still small voice." After Elijah's great victory on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), the enemy cut through Elijah's defenses and found the same lies that plague many of us: "My life is defined by the enemy's threats." "I'm all alone." "There's something wrong with me or I wouldn't be in this mess." God sent fireworks on Mount Carmel. And He could have sent fire down from heaven to consume Jezebel, but He didn't. Instead, he taught Elijah the lesson of the still small voice. We may have major problems in life. When we do, we like fireworks. We want miracles with flash and pizzazz that wipe away our difficulties. Quite often, however, God leaves us in our place of difficulty until He finishes teaching us the lesson of the still small voice. What did the gentle whisper from God do for Elijah? God's quiet voice brought the calming truth back into the core of Elijah's being. Elijah wasn't alone. God had preserved a remnant. He had plans to eliminate the worship of false gods, and Elijah would have a role in setting those plans in motion. It was Jezebel, not Elijah, who was truly in danger. Again and again, God's still small voice has come to me, teaching me the truth about Him, about myself, about life. Sometimes the whisper is so quiet, I catch myself wondering, "Is this really You, God?" But then I look at the fruit. Even when my circumstances get worse and worse, I feel more and more peace. My cares seem lighter and lighter, because Jesus takes them from me with a gentle whisper. May the Lord's still small voice be with you today. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 15 11:46:01 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:46:01 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-17-08 Less than perfect -- Genesis 27:19 Message-ID: <47DBEF39.2040300@dwightclough.com> *Do your friends know about "Discoveries -- Inspiration in Your Inbox" Devotionals? * *Feel free to pass these messages on to them. They can learn more at http://www.dwightclough.com/discoveries.php* /*Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn...." -- Genesis 27:19*/ God's plan, man's way. Several things about this whole story trouble me. Each parent had a favorite. Isaac and Rebekah were miles apart. Isaac didn't seem to perceive the will of God. Jacob was a cheat. And yet Jacob was God's choice. I contrast Jacob and David in my mind. What made David such a great man of God? He didn't force God's hand. He could have killed Saul, but he didn't. He suffered persecution he didn't deserve from a king who didn't deserve to be a king, and he did nothing to change the situation, except obey God. But Jacob listened to Rebekah, and followed her scheme to get the will of God past her husband Isaac. I don't know about you, but it was a painful lesson for me to discover that my heroes weren't perfect. I came close to losing my faith, to be honest. I got so cynical and so bitter because Christian leaders were so flawed. But the Lord showed what I needed to mend my heart. The same God who put these leaders in their office of leadership knows how to work around all their faults, just like He knows how to work around mine. God didn't choose Jacob because he was perfect. Instead, God custom designed Jacob's life to show us all that He knows how to lead and to purify us flawed human beings. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 15 11:46:34 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:46:34 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-18-08 Connected to heaven -- Genesis 28:12-13a Message-ID: <47DBEF5A.7010606@dwightclough.com> /*[Jacob] had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD ... -- Genesis 28:12-13a*/ Jacob's deception was beginning to backfire. He had won his father's blessing but lost his father. In place of blessing, he was a fugitive, running for his life. Yes, he had a cover story -- he was looking for a wife. But the real motivation for the trip was to escape Esau's revenge. And while Jacob did gain a wife, he seems to have lost his mother; she is never mentioned again. The road ahead for Jacob would not be easy. He would learn what it was like to be on the business end of a scam. He would spend years working to build up his household only to see his family and wealth almost taken away first by Laban, then by Esau. His dear Rachel would die in childbirth. Dinah would be raped. Bilhah would be defiled by Reuben. Simeon and Levi would nearly get them all killed. Judah's sons would die. Joseph would disappear. Simeon would be taken prisoner. Benjamin would almost become a slave while famine gnawed away at their wealth and threatened their very lives. But central to Jacob's life is not deception, nor is it tragedy and loss. Central to Jacob's life is his connection with heaven. All his troubles would have no meaning apart from his connection to the One who stands above the stairway. And what are all these angels doing -- ministering to those who will inherit salvation? The God who seems so remote and far away in our times of trouble is near, and busy with His angels keeping us connected to heaven, giving all our troubles a depth of meaning they would otherwise never have. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 15 11:47:02 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:47:02 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-19-08 Finding love -- Genesis 29:25 Message-ID: <47DBEF76.1000801@dwightclough.com> /*"When morning came, there was Leah!" -- Genesis 29:25*/ In the dirty tricks department, this has to rank as one the cruelest deceptions in the Bible. I've often thought about Jacob's dismay, but today I'm thinking about Leah. What pain she must have suffered! Her wedding night should have been one of the happiest moments in her life. Instead, she was trapped in her father's deception, forced to receive the affections and attention that she knew were intended for someone else. And so began a lifetime of misery, knowing that she was unloved, that she would always live in the shadow of her younger sister, never measuring up. God gave Leah six sons and a daughter. Without her husband's love, it seems that her children were all she had. The last time Leah is mentioned, she and her children are being used as a human shield to protect Rachel and Joseph from Esau. Like so many other people, Leah lived a broken life. Where do we find happiness when our dreams are dashed to the ground like broken pottery? I catch a hint of the answer in 29:31, "When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren." Perhaps Jacob didn't have enough sense to love Leah at first -- or maybe at all -- but the LORD loved her. We sing this little song: "Jesus loves me, this I know." How do we know? We know God's love with our logical minds because the Bible tells us so. But we need to know deep inside, so we have something big enough and strong enough to carry us through the deep hurts of life. How? There is only one way. We must bring all of those unloved places in our hearts to God, and let Him love us back to peace and joy. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 15 11:47:32 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:47:32 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-20-08 Unreasonable demands -- Genesis 30:1 Message-ID: <47DBEF94.1030208@dwightclough.com> /*"Give me children, or I'll die!" -- Genesis 30:1*/ Forced to compete with each other for love and status, Rachel and Leah were both in a lose-lose situation. As Leah bore Jacob son after son, Rachel's exasperation over her own childlessness expressed itself in blame. Read between the lines. "It's your fault, Jacob," she is saying. "You are the cause of my unhappiness." In one form or another, I think almost every marriage weathers this kind of storm. The spouse that was supposed to bring so much happiness fails, and the finger of blame is pointed. And every spouse will fail. The most beautiful, the most handsome, the most romantic, the most godly, the richest, the strongest -- they will all fail. No other person can bring us what we need deep inside. I love and I like my wife. She loves and she likes me. But here's the amazing thing: The less I need my wife to make me happy, the more I enjoy her. There is a great freedom in letting God meet these impossible needs. God's love never fails. It reaches into the neediest places in our hearts and fills up all of the void. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 15 11:48:00 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:48:00 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-21-08 Making requests -- Genesis 30:24 Message-ID: <47DBEFB0.5020109@dwightclough.com> /*"May the LORD add to me another son." -- Genesis 30:24*/ Rachel seems to have grown up a little bit. She seems to understand that God is the One who gives us what we want. Now the question is this: Do we really know what we want? Rachel thought she wanted another son. But, if she had known in advance that she would die in childbirth with that second son, what would have happened to her request? It seems very obvious to us what it will take to make us happy. We bring our requests to God and try to get Him to see the wisdom in our petitions. "Dear God," we pray, "if only you give me what I want, then I will truly be happy forever." How does God deal with these requests? Does He scold us for presumption? Does He grant our requests and then laugh at us as we deal with the fallout of our own stupidity? No, instead He sends Someone to pray for us, Someone who can make intercession for us according to the will of God. We can't outdo God in coming up with a plan that will make us eternally happy. That's why He delays or ignores some of our urgent requests, to make room for something far, far better. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 15 11:48:28 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:48:28 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 3-22-08 A little bit extra -- Genesis 31:19 Message-ID: <47DBEFCC.9090703@dwightclough.com> /*When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods. -- Genesis 31:19*/ Sometimes you just wonder. What was Rachel thinking? I guess she thought she needed all the luck she could get. I have a little rhyme I used to say to my son, "Two plus two equals four, seldom less, sometimes more." Here is a situation where addition doesn't work. You can't add to God and get more. You only get less. When we add our efforts to God's, we don't end up ahead, we end up behind. God quietly steps out of the way until our own efforts run their doomed course. As Abram stepped out into the unknown, God stepped out with him. He wanted to do the same for Rachel, and He wants to do the same for us. Whatever "rabbit's foot" we bring along for extra security only puts a hole in our defenses. The Bible doesn't say, but it may be that Rachel clung to these gods for another ten to fifteen years until the slaughter at Shechem (Genesis 34 & 35) threatened to wipe out Jacob's entire family. There, with danger all around, she may have finally learned that security only comes from the one true God. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 15 11:48:54 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:48:54 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-23-08 Deferring judgment to God -- Genesis 31:53 Message-ID: <47DBEFE6.2000907@dwightclough.com> /*"May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." -- Genesis 31:53*/ The differences between Jacob and Laban are irreconcilable because they are based on lies. Jacob thinks his family is being falsely accused of stealing Laban's household gods. Jacob is wrong. Laban discounts Jacob's twenty years of labor and looks at his wives, children and flocks as his own possession, taken away by Jacob. Laban is wrong. It's election year here in the USA, and every time there's a Presidential election, I get angry. I'm angry because lies are told about the candidates -- and I know there are people out there who believe them. They aren't so much lies of fact as they are lies of nuance, lies of emphasis, subtle and sophisticated lies designed to color and skew everyone's perspective. For being so mixed up about so many things, I think Laban makes a prudent move here. He defers all judgment to God. God really is the only One who sees clearly. Jacob and Laban were both mistaken, but God is not. There is no such thing as an objective journalist, but God is objective, trustworthy and true. Every conflict whether between spouses or between nations will ultimately be decided by God. He knows what the real issues are. Some day we will stand in awe before Him, at the unraveling of all things, and we will rejoice because God is Judge. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 22 08:10:12 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:10:12 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-24-08 Wrestling -- Genesis 32:24 Message-ID: <47E4F724.1030000@dwightclough.com> *Do your friends know about "Discoveries -- Inspiration in Your Inbox" Devotionals? * *Feel free to pass these messages on to them. They can learn more at http://www.dwightclough.com/discoveries.php* /*So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. -- Genesis 32:24*/ If ever Jacob needed a word of encouragement, now was the time. His brother Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. That could mean only one thing, Jacob was in great danger. Everything he had worked for in the last twenty years could be gone in a few hours. His wives and his children could be taken from him, and he would be powerless to prevent it. My two boys -- then ages 8 and 11 -- were fighting one day. There were angry words and tears and more angry words. I suppose I could have sat them down and said, "Now, boys, this is how you should be nice to each other." But, somehow, I didn't think that would work. So I told them both to come here, that I was going to beat some sense into them. (Of course I didn't actually beat them. I just wrestled with them a bit.) Then the three of us sat down on the couch - one on each side of me - and we looked at a book I got from the library on military aircraft. There we sat for fifteen minutes or so looking at Tomcats and Harriers and cargo planes. At first they were both pretty sullen, but it wasn't long before all three of us got lost in figuring out how big these planes were, how fast they flew, what they carried and who flew them. After fifteen (or was it twenty-five?) minutes, I looked at them and asked, "If I let you guys go, do you think you can figure out how to get along with each other?" The younger one got up and hugged the older one. Then the older one stood up and hugged the younger one. Then they both walked back into their world. I honestly don't know if that's good parenting or not. It just seemed like the right thing to do. And here God meets with Jacob, but he doesn't say a word. All He does is wrestle with him. What must have been going through Jacob's mind? Everything Jacob had was on the line -- his own survival was a major question mark. And now this. Yet, at the end of the night, something changed. Jacob discovered something about God he could find out no other way. And God gave him a new name to show him that you can wrestle with God and with men and prevail. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 22 08:11:02 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:11:02 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-25-08 Esau's face -- Genesis 33:10 Message-ID: <47E4F756.5060204@dwightclough.com> /*For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. -- Genesis 33:10*/ How is the face of Esau like the face of God? For twenty years Jacob lived a fugitive. Sure, he was working. He was raising a family and building a career. But in the back of his mind was one nagging thought that wouldn't go away: Esau. Somewhere there was a man who wanted Jacob dead. With the passage of time, would he calm down and forget about it? Or would he show up in Jacob's tent some night in the middle of the night with a sword in his hand? For years Jacob waited for the word that never came. His mother promised to send word when Esau calmed down. But Esau didn't calm down. Instead, with revenge on his heart, he built an army of 400 men. Jacob lived as a fugitive. And so do we sometimes. On the day I originally wrote this devotional, I wrestled with temptations. Thoughts in my mind that I didn't want to be there, but I couldn't seem to drive them away. No matter what I did, the thoughts came back like a swarm of hungry mosquitoes. When it was time to write this devotional, I thought to myself, "How can I possibly do this? What do I have to offer anybody? Why am I writing these devotionals anyway? What made me think I could do this?" Deep in my heart I felt that I was not a child of God "seated with Christ in heavenly places," but rather a sinner, on the run, a fugitive, hoping God wouldn't find me with His sword of exposure and disapproval. I was running, but as so often happens I wasn't really looking where I was going and I ran into the arms of God. No, I don't suppose that I myself have much to share, but here from this place where God's arms are wrapped around me, I write to you and say that Esau's face was like the face of God. In the place of wrath, we found mercy and tears of reconciliation. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 22 08:11:42 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:11:42 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-26-08 God's answer -- Genesis 35:1 Message-ID: <47E4F77E.3050508@dwightclough.com> /*Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." -- Genesis 35:1*/ Things fell apart for Jacob. His daughter went out to find some female friends. The most eligible bachelor in the area found her, and turned her into a piece of property. Her brothers were, of course, enraged, so they cooked up a scheme to kill him and all the men in the city, claiming all their women and children for themselves. It doesn't take a Philadelphia lawyer to figure out that Jacob and family quickly became Public Enemy Number One in the eyes of the other inhabitants of the land. When wisdom is absent, problems have a way of escalating until they are entirely out of control. Simeon and Levi, Jacob's violent sons, seem to have a short memory. They have forgotten the stories of how God delivered their great-grandmother back to her husband not once, but twice, without a shot being fired. Enter God. God is pragmatic. He knows what He's dealing with. In this case, He knew that the fuse was short, the match was near, and this whole thing could explode. So He gave the direction of wisdom: "Start over somewhere else." I don't know what your situation is, but whatever it is, God has the solution for you. It might mean moving and starting over. It might not. His solution will involve the practical things you can do (Jacob and his family moved), and the supernatural things that only God can do (the terror of the Lord fell upon the surrounding people as Jacob set out). No problem is too complicated for God to solve. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 22 08:12:21 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:12:21 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-27-08 Looking forward -- Genesis 35:18 Message-ID: <47E4F7A5.2010609@dwightclough.com> /*As [Rachel] breathed her last -- for she was dying -- she named [her newborn son] Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. -- Genesis 35:18*/ I always feel a great sense of sorrow when I read this passage. I imagine a man, first on the run because of his brother, now later on the run because of his sons, with no permanent home. Here, on the way, he pauses to watch his wife die. What can he do? He has no permanent home, so all he can do is bury her on the way, pile up some stones, and walk away to probably never see his wife's grave again. Sixteen years ago, Kim and I were homeless -- for eight months we stayed in a friend's basement some of the time, in my parents' house some of the time, a little bit here and a little bit there. And sixteen years ago this summer my wife experienced her second of several miscarriages. I remember standing at the bottom of the basement steps, looking at my wife, afraid to spend too much time in this family's one bathroom, feeling so desolate and so alone. To be honest, life seemed bitter and cruel that day, and I think part of my heart closed to keep out the pain. "Son of my sorrow" or "son of my right hand." Jacob stood there at the great divide looking at the end of one life and the beginning of another and made the decision to look forward. He changed his son's name to reflect the future, not the past. Even in our sorrow, God has a great store of hope, and He is not sparing with His children. Kim and I have four children here on earth and that many in heaven. I often think about them. What will I learn from them? I know they are beautiful and I can't wait to meet them. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 22 08:12:56 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:12:56 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-28-08 Your dream -- Genesis 37:5 Message-ID: <47E4F7C8.2050709@dwightclough.com> /*Joseph had a dream ... -- Genesis 37:5*/ Why does God give us dreams? To let us know that everything that doesn't make sense is headed someplace. Someplace good. There was much about Joseph's life that didn't make sense. His brothers hated him. He lost his freedom. He lost his reputation. He lost his chance. He was forgotten, ignored, marginalized, underrated. My life and my world often hasn't made sense either. If I could call all the shots, it would look very different. But God has given me a dream, just like He has given you a dream. In that dream God tells us something about who we really are. Joseph was the ruler of the land. Everyone bowed before him. But nobody knew that when he was thrown into prison for a crime he didn't commit. Only God and Joseph knew. And Joseph was probably tempted to forget. The bigger your dream, the more God needs to empty you from it, so He can step in and fill it. When God had removed all hope of Joseph ever becoming what his dream prescribed, then God stepped in and worked the miracle. God has not forgotten the dream that He has given to you. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 22 08:13:28 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:13:28 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-29-08 Setbacks and opportunities -- Genesis 37:19 Message-ID: <47E4F7E8.4010408@dwightclough.com> /*"Come now, let's kill [Joseph] and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." -- Genesis 37:19*/ God is so smart. He knows that the enemy schemes to destroy you and to destroy me. God could, of course, just stop every one of those schemes before it starts -- and, no doubt, He often does. But look here, God uses the very schemes of the enemy to bring about the triumph of God's people. We see it here. God adjusts the plans of the jealous brothers, and Joseph is sent off to Egypt where he will become the ruler to whom they will bow. We see it in the evil plan of Caiaphas who said, "... it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish" (John 11:50). We can look at all of our setbacks as attacks from the devil that need to be fought off. And they may be. But they are also opportunities for God to run circles around his foes. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 22 08:14:06 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:14:06 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-30-08 The robe of favor -- Genesis 37:23 Message-ID: <47E4F80E.6000208@dwightclough.com> /*So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe -- the richly ornamented robe he was wearing ... -- Genesis 37:23*/ Each of us has been given a robe, for each of us is a favorite of the Father. What is this robe? It is the favor, the attention, the undisguised devotion of the Father. These are robes. They are not uniforms. I cannot wear yours, nor can you wear mine. It wouldn't fit. It wouldn't look right. Your robe is for you alone. Joseph's brothers believed the lie that they were not loved. They simply could not see into the future ages to understand the honor that was theirs. They tried to suck their brother into their small world, where favor was measured in grudging spoonfuls rather than in buckets overflowing. Joseph owed them a debt, they reasoned. He received too much love and most of it needed to be taken away from him. The Bible says that we love because God first loved us. Soaking up the Father's love is a wonderful thing because it releases the love of God inside us for others. When we know the truth that God loves us, we are free to love one another. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 29 16:09:45 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:09:45 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 04-01-08 It's Who you know that counts -- Genesis 39:20-21 Message-ID: <47EEA209.9090603@dwightclough.com> /*But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. -- Genesis 39:20-21*/ What makes heaven what it is? According to John 17:3, eternal life is knowing (experiencing) God. God's presence makes heaven heavenly. Some time after my grandmother died, our family went through her little home to get it ready for sale. I was astounded at what I experienced on that hot summer day. Her cottage which seemed so full of warmth and life and love when she was alive, now seemed empty. The things that seemed to be treasures when she was with us, now seemed like worthless junk. Her house was an empty shell, filled with papers and trinkets that we now needed to box up or throw away. If God could somehow be removed from heaven, it too would seem hollow by comparison. So heaven really isn't streets of gold, or white robes, or beautiful music. It is the presence of God. We need this so badly in our lives, because we are sometimes stationed in drab, hollow, empty places. Joseph was in prison. Perhaps you are in a place that seems bleak and desolate. But God is here. And here is where we will experience Him. So heaven really isn't a location at all, but rather a deep drink from the Water of Life. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 29 16:09:09 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:09:09 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 03-31-08 When our reputations are broken -- Genesis 39:16-18 Message-ID: <47EEA1E5.1090102@dwightclough.com> *Do your friends know about "Discoveries -- Inspiration in Your Inbox" Devotionals? * *Feel free to pass these messages on to them. They can learn more at http://www.dwightclough.com/discoveries.php* /*[Potiphar's wife] kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house." -- Genesis 39:16-18*/ I'm glad this story is in the Bible, because we need it. Who among us hasn't been falsely accused! My wife was once accused of stealing fifty dollars from the cash register where she worked. She didn't take the money, but even now, over thirty years later, I'm not sure the owner believes her. I know of two people who have been accused of sexual harassment and/or assault. In both cases, I have strong reason to believe that the charges are false. Nevertheless, the accusations are tearing their lives apart. They have lost money, ministry, trust, friends, and more. Even if they are exonerated, the damage cannot be undone. There are powerful lessons here: The prudent see danger and take refuge. That woman (or man) who seems so inviting can be a death trap. The fly thinks the spider is harmless until he is caught in her web. Some people will happily destroy the life of another for fun or for financial gain. Most importantly, the success of Potiphar's wife was short lived. God weaved her treachery into His plan and brought His servant out as the ruler of the land. Our reputations are precious, yet fragile. But if they are broken, God will see to it that we are honored once again. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 29 16:10:17 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:10:17 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 04-02-08 God's perspective -- Genesis 40:8 Message-ID: <47EEA229.7060301@dwightclough.com> /*"Do not interpretations belong to God?" -- Genesis 40:8*/ Dreams aren't the only things that need to be interpreted. Throughout life -- from the very beginning to our last breath on earth -- we are confronted with a bewildering array of events that need interpretation. Apart from God we will not interpret these events correctly. We will fail to take into account God's presence, His restraining hand, His care, His empathy, His ingenuity, His ability to literally take all things and turn them around for good for His children. We need God to see things from God's perspective. We must remember that God is the only objective Person in the universe. This is good news for those of us who can't make sense of our circumstances. God, open up our eyes, our ears, our hearts to know the warm smile of Your approval, the gentle hand of Your correction, the tears of Your compassion, the laughter of Your sure and joyous triumph in our lives. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 29 16:10:48 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:10:48 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 04-03-08 Quickly -- Genesis 41:14 Message-ID: <47EEA248.1080001@dwightclough.com> /*So Pharaoh sent for Joseph and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. -- Genesis 41:14*/ I want to focus on the word "quickly." At the right time, God's deliverance will come. And when it comes, it will not dilly dally. At exactly the right moment, Joseph was brought quickly from the dungeon. At exactly the right moment, the walls of Jericho fell. At the right moment, fire fell from heaven and consumed Elijah's sacrifice. At the right moment, the trumpet will sound, the graves will be opened, and we will step into eternity. In our book, /Amazing Faith/, Tom Shaw and I tell the story of Ruth Senter who compared her trials to carrot cake. The ingredients for the most part are unpleasant. The heat seems unbearable. But the result is fragrant and delicious. God does not go on baking this cake forever. That would harm and damage. Instead, at the right moment, he brings us out, and He will not hesitate, not even for a second. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 29 16:11:14 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:11:14 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 04-04-08 Forgetting the past -- Genesis 41:51 Message-ID: <47EEA262.8000908@dwightclough.com> /*Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." -- Genesis 41:51*/ There are two ways to forget the past. One is to deny it, to pretend it never happened, to pack it away and never "go there." That would be fine, if it worked. The problem is -- it doesn't. We may try to forget the past this way, but the past doesn't forget us. It comes back to haunt us. The second way to forget the past is go there with God, face all the "demons" of the past with Jesus so that He can put it rest forever. Once the power of the past is broken, then it no longer can control any part of your life. God made Joseph forget. How? He met him in all his troubles. In the place of his suffering, God revealed to Joseph who He really is. Once Joseph received from God, the past troubles could torment him no longer. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 29 16:11:41 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:11:41 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 04-05-08 Fruitful in suffering -- Genesis 41:52 Message-ID: <47EEA27D.1010800@dwightclough.com> /*The second son [Joseph] named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." -- Genesis 41:52*/ All of us want to bear fruit in our Christian lives. We want to deeply touch other people so that their lives are enriched and their eternal destiny is changed for the better. I always tried to convince God that I was smart, gifted and talented. That He could really use someone like me. That the world needed me. Of course, you can guess how far that went with God, and with anybody else. It wasn't until I suffered that I began to bear fruit. When I suffered, I discovered that all my gifts, talents and intelligence didn't help me. So I needed to put them aside and find out what did. When I suffered, I began to hear the cries of others who felt the same pain I did. If I hadn't suffered, my ears would not have opened to their cries. When Jesus comforted me in my times of trouble, I began to see that I don't offer people the cup -- I offer them the water that is inside the cup. Likewise, I don't offer people my smarts or talents -- I'm just the cup. What I offer is the Jesus inside me. I don't have any answers; but He is the Answer. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Mar 29 16:12:17 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:12:17 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 04-06-08 Punishment -- Genesis 42:21 Message-ID: <47EEA2A1.3070200@dwightclough.com> /*They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished ... " -- Genesis 42:21*/ Joseph's ten brothers didn't understand what was going on. They thought this would be a simple trip: Go to Egypt; buy grain. But suddenly they were caught in the middle of something that didn't make sense. They were accused of a capital offense. They were thrown in jail. Now one of them was to be held long term as a hostage. They reasoned that they were being punished. How can you account for it any other way? But were they being punished? No. They were being rescued. It isn't hard to see that they were being rescued from seven years of famine. That was why God sent Joseph to Egypt -- to rescue his father's family from starvation. But there was more. They were being rescued from the envy that caused them to sell their brother, and from the hard heartedness that closed their ears to his cries. The brothers thought they would get rid of favoritism when they sold Joseph into slavery. But they did not. Benjamin quickly took Joseph's place as the favorite in the family. Was that fair? No. Was that right? No. But God was putting the question to them, how were they going to handle it? Now that they were in Egypt, God was setting up a test for the brothers through Joseph. God would soon arrange for it to be within their power for them to leave Benjamin behind in Egypt. They could get rid of another "favorite," and blame it on someone else. What would they do? We all know the story. The test revealed that God had done some important work in the hearts of these brothers. They weren't the same men who sold their brother into slavery. Look around you. All around, you will find people struggling with every kind of test. It's very easy to assume that they are being punished. But let me suggest a different possibility. Could it be that these tests are meant to reveal the work of God? Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: