From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat May 3 10:13:59 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 09:13:59 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-05-08 Secret dreams -- 2 Kings 4:28 Message-ID: <481C7327.2060906@dwightclough.com> /*"Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?" -- 2 Kings 4:28*/ In the years before her son was born, this woman's hope to be a mother had quietly slipped away. She had resigned herself to something less than God's plan for her. She was cautious, not daring to dream any more. When she was asked what she wanted from God, she dared not even voice her secret desire. No. She would live her life childless and then slip away into eternity. But the Lord pulled this desire from the deep recesses of her soul. He found her secret dream and He fulfilled it. But now her son was dead. How cruel this seemed. How tragic. That God would give her what she dared not ask for, and then suddenly take it away. This passage and this devotional are not mainly about children; they are mainly about those secret dreams that are quietly dying inside. God puts the question to us: Will we dance with Him? Will we take the plunge? Will we open up our hearts so wide that maybe we will lose part of ourselves to God? God has a wonderful sense of adventure. There will be moments when all seems dark. Jesus led the disciples out into the stormy sea because only in the storm could He reveal Himself to them. We all know the story. The woman's son was raised to life. So also, your most fragile and precious dreams are eternally safe with 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 May 3 10:14:39 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 09:14:39 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-06-08 A better meal -- Revelation 3:20 Message-ID: <481C734F.2000101@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*/ Jesus stands at the door and knocks. Why does He knock at the doors of our hearts? The Bible says that He wants to come in and dine with us. Let me suggest something. Jesus is bringing the meal with Him. One day I drove by a homeless man who was climbing into a dumpster to find a meal. He was hungry and he was scavenging for the best food he could find. The more we invite Jesus in, the more we feed on what He brings to the table, the more dumpster food looks, smells and tastes like dumpster food. It makes little sense to criticize a homeless man for eating from the garbage. After all, that's all he has. Instead, we may offer him something better. We must understand that sin is the best food that most people can find. Most don't know that Jesus offers something better. Even many Christians secretly want to sin because they are still feeding on leftover scraps from yesterday's Jesus or somebody else's Jesus, instead of hosting Him at the table right now, today. All of this is wonderful news because we don't need to wait. This moment was created for you and Jesus. 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 May 3 10:15:21 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 09:15:21 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-07-08 Overcoming -- Revelation 12:7-8, 12:11 Message-ID: <481C7379.1010701@dwightclough.com> /*And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. -- Revelation 12:7-8*/ /*They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. -- Revelation 12:11*/ Some people think that God and Satan are locked in some kind of cosmic duel, each vying for supremacy in the universe. Wrong! If God fought with Satan even for an instant, Satan would be utterly destroyed in every possible sense of the word. While Satan has always been fully responsible for each one of his evil choices, God has always used Satan to accomplish His own good purposes. God sends his servants -- angels and humans -- out to overcome the devil. In Revelation 12, the devil loses his place in heaven and he loses his grip on the children of God. Angels toss him out, and our brothers and sisters in Christ finish the job. Who are these overcomers? Let me suggest that they are ordinary people, just like you and me, living life in the grip an extraordinary 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 May 3 10:15:54 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 09:15:54 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-08-08 Harvest -- Revelation 14:16 Message-ID: <481C739A.2040700@dwightclough.com> /*So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. -- Revelation 14:16*/ In the middle of the Great Depression, my grandfather, with borrowed money, bought a farm. It was a useless tract of land on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. In town they called him a fool. $500 was an outrageous price to pay for 385 acres that would never produce a crop. "Barker, you're going to lose that farm," they told him. His eyes always twinkled when he told me that story. When I came to live on the farm 28 years later, it was a paradise. I don't know what the angels thought when God undertook to redeem the fallen human race, but now God's day has come. The fields are ripe. Harvest has come. And I believe, somewhere, there is a twinkle in God's eyes. 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 May 3 10:16:19 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 09:16:19 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-09-08 We are not God's laundry -- Revelation 20:4 Message-ID: <481C73B3.7010504@dwightclough.com> /*I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. -- Revelation 20:4*/ For many years, I figured God's only interest in me was convicting me of all my sins and generally making me feel miserable because I was such a rotten guy. I would never have expressed it that way, but deep down, that's how I usually felt. But read the Bible! We are not God's laundry. God has bigger plans for us than just washing us, so He can set us on the shelf and look at us. God is looking for ways to pull us into big roles. He is looking for people through whom He can unleash big dreams. When God fills our lives, He doesn't get smaller. Our lives get bigger. 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 May 3 10:16:52 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 09:16:52 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-10-08 Do not be afraid -- Revelation 2:10 Message-ID: <481C73D4.4040705@dwightclough.com> /*Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. -- Revelation 2:10*/ I admit to you that I have a problem with suffering. It is much on my mind that my brothers and sisters suffer pain beyond description and beyond belief. I hate pain, and I hurt for them. It bugs me that so little is said about the suffering of God's children. Perhaps others are thinking about it just as I am, but, like me, don't exactly have the words to talk about the struggle they feel inside. I can't quite get my mind and my heart around the evil that exists that brings so much pain. When I try, it seems inside that this evil eclipses the light of God's goodness. Suffering is one of those areas where we can't go it alone. Apart from Christ, suffering will destroy us. But here in this passage, the Lord speaks. He speaks with authority I do not have. He speaks as One who has suffered. He speaks as the One who walks with each child of God who suffers. He speaks as the One who has seen the other side, who shares His home with those whose suffering has ended. He speaks as One who sees what we cannot see. The One who has triumphed over suffering is extending peace to His people. How does that work? In prison, in beatings, in the cancer ward, I don't know. I haven't been there. In other places of pain and sorrow and humiliation, I do know, because I have been there. Every time it's the same. When you reach the place you don't want to go, Jesus is there. Did the pain go away? Not always, but somehow it just doesn't feel the same. One greater than pain is here. 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 May 3 10:17:20 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 03 May 2008 09:17:20 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-11-08 Truth -- Revelation 20:7-8 Message-ID: <481C73F0.6030509@dwightclough.com> /*When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations ... -- Revelation 20:7-8*/ Adolph Hitler said, "If you tell a lie to a hundred people a hundred times, a hundred and one people will believe it." I guess he should know. Why does Satan deceive? It's simple, really. He deceives, because if we knew the truth, deep inside, who would want what he has to offer? Who wants to be a slave, when you can be free? So Satan will try to fool you into believing that you will have more power if you are a slave. Many will believe him, and offer their hands and feet to the chains. We live in a world darkened with layer upon layer of lies. But, the longer I live, the better truth tastes to me. Deep inside we need to know the truth about ourselves and the truth about our God. Once we do, nothing will sway us. Today I am thankful that Jesus came to be the Truth 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 May 10 08:55:41 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 07:55:41 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-12-08 In His name -- Matthew 1:21 Message-ID: <48259B4D.3020109@dwightclough.com> /*She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. -- Matthew 1:21*/ Our condition and our solution are both wrapped up in the name of Jesus. Jesus didn't come down to earth hoping to find righteous people. He didn't have any illusions of finding suitable folks to fellowship with. He knew what He would find. Yet, He came. He came in the full power and anointing of God, knowing that His life and death and life again carried the eternal solution to everything that has ever been wrong with us. We want to clean up, but we can't. That is the secret. Jesus came to make us holy -- not to teach us how, but to do it Himself -- give us the touch that transforms us. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat May 10 08:56:24 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 07:56:24 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-13-08 Preparing the way -- Matthew 3:6 Message-ID: <48259B78.6040504@dwightclough.com> /*Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. -- Matthew 3:6*/ What can we do with sin? Absolutely nothing except this one thing: We can agree with God that we hate it. Beyond that it's all God. John prepared the way for Christ. That's all he could do. John had no answer for sin. All he could do was gather people together who were sick of what sin was doing to their lives. They -- and we -- all stand and wait for the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 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 May 10 08:57:02 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 07:57:02 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-14-08 Getting real -- Matthew 5:29-30 Message-ID: <48259B9E.10202@dwightclough.com> /*If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. -- Matthew 5:29-30*/ First of all, do hands and eyes really cause people to sin? No. Your hand and your eye is a servant to your mind and your heart. Jesus doesn't want all his children to be blind amputees. He wants us to wake up and get real about what is in our hearts. Getting real doesn't mean "Straighten up." We can't straighten up. We don't have the ability to do so. Getting real doesn't mean "Try harder." We've been trying harder all our lives. It doesn't work. Getting real means we all need to admit that there are places in our hearts where Jesus needs to do surgery. Getting real means waking up and realizing that you can't perform open heart surgery on yourself, you need Jesus to do it for you. Things that cause us to sin are buried inside each of us. There is no such thing as a person who doesn't have issues in his or her life that need a touch from Jesus. We can be offended or we can be comforted. Our deepest, darkest secrets are safe with Jesus. We can open our soul to Him. 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 May 10 08:57:33 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 07:57:33 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-15-08 What Jesus gives -- Matthew 9:2 Message-ID: <48259BBD.6020407@dwightclough.com> /*"Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." -- Matthew 9:2*/ Isn't the need healing? Hasn't this man spent his whole life paralyzed? Haven't his friends just lowered him through a hole in the roof? (Mark 2, Luke 5) Why is Jesus talking about sins? Three lessons: (1) Jesus is economical. He not only heals, but uses the occasion to show His authority to forgive sins. (2) Jesus is the solution to all our problems. Stop and think of the three things that are bugging you the most right now. Jesus is the solution to all of them. (3) Jesus always gives us more than what we ask for. The paralytic asked for healing. Jesus gave him eternal health. 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 May 10 08:58:06 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 07:58:06 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-16-08 Weeding out -- Matthew 13:41 Message-ID: <48259BDE.2020609@dwightclough.com> /*The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. -- Matthew 13:41*/ What causes sin? Why are we tempted to sin every day here, and what will happen so that we will lose all desire to sin and we won't even consider sinning for all eternity. I mean it really is us who are going to heaven, isn't it? You know, you and me. If you know your own faults like I know mine, doesn't this seem amazing to you? Sin is rooted in deception. Satan arrives on the scene in Genesis 3, twisting the truth. In Revelation, he is described as the one who deceives the nations. And Jesus refers to him as the father of lies. Clearly the angels are going to lay their hands on those who reject Christ and cling to wickedness. But there is more here, I believe. Jesus and His angels are going to turn on the light of truth and drive deception out of our lives forever. Sin won't seem attractive because, in truth, it isn't attractive. This will happen in a blazing moment in history. But it is also happening, quietly, in the hearts of Christ's followers all over the world, as each of us experiences Him who is truth in the darkened places of deception in our souls. 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 May 10 08:58:35 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 07:58:35 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-17-08 Like those who dreamed -- Psalm 126:1 Message-ID: <48259BFB.5080509@dwightclough.com> /*When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. -- Psalm 126:1*/ All of us walk through valleys. Sometimes the valley seems so deep and so dark that we will remain there forever. But we won't. All of our secret dreams go with us into the valley, and there -- sequestered from all hope -- they burrow deep inside our souls until even we forget they are there. But one giddy, hilarious morning, Jesus unlocks those dreams, and brings them up out of their dungeons. We breathe the fresh air of hope and splash in the river of life. Though we descend into the valley -- and we must, for we cannot know our Savior without sharing some of His sorrows -- we will come out of the valley again -- changed, renewed, finding to our surprise the fulfillment of all our hidden dreams. 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 May 10 08:59:04 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 07:59:04 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-18-08 Jesus, the realist -- Matthew 18:7 Message-ID: <48259C18.8000308@dwightclough.com> /*Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! -- Matthew 18:7*/ When we are tempted, there are all kinds of dynamics at work. Usually some kind of deception is present. Usually some kind of pain is screaming for a solution or some desire is begging to be indulged. Temptations can be, and often are orchestrated by the enemy. And other people sometimes have a more or less conscious role in creating temptations for us. Jesus is the ultimate realist. He knows how real temptations are for us. He knows how strong they are. He knows where they come from and how they enter our lives. But Jesus pulls us back and offers an eternal perspective. Yes, there are those who bring powerful temptations into our lives simply because they want to see us fall. Yes, that creates trouble for us. But God will not forget. That trouble will be repaid. Meanwhile, when we bring all our temptations to Jesus, His truth clears up the cloud of deception, His love soothes away our pain, His care satisfies our desires with good things. And He can outmaneuver the enemy any day of the week. 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 May 17 10:20:13 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 09:20:13 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-19-08 Responding to sin -- Matthew 18:15 Message-ID: <482EE99D.6010605@dwightclough.com> /*If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. -- Matthew 18:15*/ When we sin, what is uppermost in the mind of Jesus? Restoration. And notice how He wants it done. Quietly. Privately. Winsomely (if there is such a word). Jesus never ignores or condones sin, but He always uses it as an opportunity to build people and to build relationships. What the enemy means for evil, the Lord will turn around for good. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat May 17 10:20:55 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 09:20:55 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-20-08 Forgiveness -- Matthew 18:21 Message-ID: <482EE9C7.3000800@dwightclough.com> /*Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" -- Matthew 18:21*/ Peter is speaking from the viewpoint that most of us share: forgiving someone benefits the offender, but taxes the offended. The truth is quite different. Forgiving an offense empowers the offended. It is to a man's glory to overlook an offense. (Proverbs) Forgiving frees us from the kind of bitterness that saps away our energy and turns our whole world a muddy gray. Yes, forgiving benefits the offender, but only because it forces the offender to deal directly with God. No longer are you and I standing between God and the offender. Now God can deal with that person and use all of His ingenuity to turn that life around. One more thing. Forgiveness is not stupidity. Forgiveness is not opening the door to further abuse or mistreatment. Forgiveness does not remove boundaries. Forgiveness is not an upside down way of condoning sin. Instead, forgiveness is a gift from God to us. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat May 17 10:21:39 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 09:21:39 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-21-08 What Jesus offers -- Matthew 26:28 Message-ID: <482EE9F3.7050103@dwightclough.com> /*This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. -- Matthew 26:28*/ I'm struck here by the intimacy of what Jesus is sharing with us. He passes the cup to us and says, "This is My very life. I'm offering it to you." We just arrived at the table. But God set this table in eternity past, knowing that we could bring nothing to it. He set each place knowing the cost. Yet without the cost, without the debt being paid, no forgiveness is possible -- by God or by men. How reckless! How God spends Himself for us -- with no assurance that we will love Him back. People tell me that I am a risk taker. But I don't understand this kind of risk. God gave what was most precious, most personal, most vulnerable -- He gave it freely, and here we stand, overwhelmed. 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 May 17 10:22:07 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 09:22:07 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-22-08 Running to God -- Luke 5:8 Message-ID: <482EEA0F.1090301@dwightclough.com> /*When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" -- Luke 5:8*/ Simon Peter reflects what I suspect is in all of us -- the kind of shame that says, "Lord, go away, and please don't come back until I figure out some way to clean myself up." Running to God, rather than hiding from God, is counter-intuitive and has been ever since Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit. Yet this counter-intuitive choice is what God longs for and what the church and all humanity desperately need. Running to God with all our inadequacies, sins and imperfections frees us from trying to do what we cannot do, and it frees God to do what only He can do. Only God can clean us up. Only God can give us a pure heart and a willing spirit. Only God can untangle the mess we find ourselves in. Do you want to know the difference between success and failure in the Christian life? It boils down to one thing: which direction we run. 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 May 17 10:22:39 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 09:22:39 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-23-08 The silence of Jesus -- Matthew 15:23 Message-ID: <482EEA2F.5010400@dwightclough.com> /*Jesus did not answer a word. -- Matthew 15:23*/ This is where some of us are. We cry out to Jesus, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And what is Jesus' answer? Nothing. Nada. Not a word. Soon after, the ever-helpful disciples come along and suggest that the woman in this story be tossed into the scrap heap so the great ship of their comfort can sail forward on a clear sea. Again, some of us have been there. Laugh with me. What is going on? Why doesn't Jesus answer? And when He does, why does He appear to push her aside? Read the rest of the story. It's clear that Jesus was setting her up for more than just a miracle. He had bigger plans for her. He was drawing out her expression of faith so that it could be recorded and never forgotten. Twenty centuries later, it comes into our hands and whispers an encouraging word into our ears: "Go ahead. Ask the Lord for the impossible. Dare to believe. Dare to dream. Dare to receive." 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 May 17 10:23:11 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 09:23:11 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-24-08 Supernatural lives -- Luke 6:32 Message-ID: <482EEA4F.3010007@dwightclough.com> /*If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. -- Luke 6:32*/ Jesus brought a life changing gospel to this earth. He fully expected the gospel to make such a profound change in our lives that no one could point to human effort to account for the difference. If you set good goals, work hard, and remain disciplined you will achieve what the pagans achieve. You will live an admirable life. But Jesus isn't about creating admirable lives. He is about creating supernatural lives. What gives the gospel its power? The gospel is powerful because it plugs Jesus into our lives. Wherever Jesus is connected to life where we live it, the supernatural takes place. This verse talks about cranky people. Do you have people in your life who are impossible to love? Stop trying to love them. You can't. Instead bring your anger to Jesus and let Him do what He longs to do in you: the supernatural. 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 May 17 10:23:43 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 17 May 2008 09:23:43 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-25-08 There is a way back -- Luke 7:37-38 Message-ID: <482EEA6F.1080900@dwightclough.com> /*When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. -- Luke 7:37-38*/ I don't think this woman was stupid. I think she knew very well that she would be scorned by the Pharisee. She didn't expect welcome, but something compelled her to break through the crowd, and risk being thrown out, in order to fall at Jesus' feet, weeping. She lived a sinful life. In her flight from pain and her search for happiness, she made choices that offended God, hurt herself and created pain for others. There was no easy road back. The religious leaders had her typecast; she was pariah. But now Someone arrived with a different message. There is a way back. No, there is something better than a way back. There is a redeemer who can start new and build a whole new life. A life free from shame, from fear, from sin, from alienation. Was it too good to be true? She had to find out. And there at the feet of Jesus she found her answer. There at the feet of Jesus, she, and you, and I are transformed. 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 May 24 07:54:00 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 06:54:00 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-26-08 Faith -- Luke 7:50 Message-ID: <483801D8.3030609@dwightclough.com> /*Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." -- Luke 7:50*/ Why did Jesus say this? Why didn't He say, "My love has saved you," or "My grace has saved you," or "My atoning sacrificial death on the cross will save you"? Clearly, without these things, she wouldn't be saved. She would be forever an enemy of God. But Jesus calls attention not to these things, but rather to her faith. Several thoughts come into my mind. This may have been the first sincere compliment she had ever received. In the place of flattery that just wanted something out of her, here was Someone who found something good. Or perhaps Jesus was calling attention to her reckless abandon that pursued God at the risk of rejection and embarrassment. She forgot herself and stopped caring if she looked like a fool in front of everyone else. What a refreshing contrast to the religionists who lived in the comfort of their own cliquish snobbery! Or maybe Jesus wanted to once again let the human race know how much God values this delicate thing we call faith. I don't know about you, but someday I will be happy to stand in line and honor those who held on to their faith even when the enemy did everything in his power to rip it from their very being. It will be my great privilege to honor them. I'm not sure if I've found the reason or not. But I do know this. God sees your faith; it is not forgotten -- it mixes with God's love and becomes life changing. 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 May 24 07:54:41 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 06:54:41 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-27-08 Discovery -- Psalm 34:2 Message-ID: <48380201.90200@dwightclough.com> /*... let the afflicted hear and rejoice. -- Psalm 34:2*/ There are three kinds of trials. Those that bring us directly into the everlasting presence of God (martyrdom, death). Those where we experience God's intervention immediately. And those where we have to wait. Sometimes all we know in a trial is pain; we can't find God anywhere. Only later do we come back to those painful places and discover that God was there all along. >From God's point of view, He would never allow pain in our lives if it didn't accomplish some good that we will both agree is far greater than the pain we experienced (Romans 8:18). What is that good? I remember one day in September almost 27 years ago that I went to a church meeting with a group of friends. We were all college students, and as we got back to campus our large group scattered until there were only two of us, Kim Rohrer and Dwight Clough. I meant to say good night and go back to my dorm room, but something kept me there, under the arch in Chicago's Moody Bible Institute. This girl, this young woman, Kim, started telling me the story of her life -- her year in the Philadelphia ghetto, her trip to Israel, her experiences as a lifeguard. All of a sudden I realized that I was spellbound. I don't remember how the conversation ended or how I got back to my dorm room. I just remember lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling with a smile on my face that wouldn't go away. I had discovered the love of my life. Now I already knew Kim. I met her a year earlier. I even went grocery shopping with her once. But somehow that evening I discovered someone I never knew was there. So why can the afflicted rejoice? Because we are about to discover Someone we never knew was there. 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 May 24 07:55:11 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 06:55:11 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-28-08 The Father's surprise -- Matthew 24:36 Message-ID: <4838021F.3090104@dwightclough.com> /*No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. -- Matthew 24:36*/ This is one of the most incredible passages in all of scripture. In some way that I cannot explain, the Father knows something that no one else in the universe knows. Not even the Son. As I was contemplating this passage today, a thought came to me, and I want to share it with you. The Father is preparing a gift for His Son and for His Son's bride. The Father, who knows your mind and mine, who knows the mind of the Son, has planned something for all of us. I can't prove, of course, that this is why the Son doesn't know. But it makes sense to me. My dad loved Christmas. He always stuffed our stockings and spent money he didn't have to buy us things he thought would make us happy. I sense a similar kind of excitement on the part of the Father, as He gets ready to welcome His children into their eternal home. 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 May 24 07:55:46 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 06:55:46 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-29-08 An offering of thanks -- Psalm 50:22-23 Message-ID: <48380242.5070100@dwightclough.com> /*Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces with none to rescue. He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God. -- Psalm 50:22-23*/ I love the 50th Psalm. It is so reassuring to know that God is fully in command of the universe. It is so reassuring to know that He loves justice and He hates evil. Some day we each stand before God. The good and the bad. The fake and the authentic. The great and the small. That is the focal point of our whole existence. Everything we do today, tomorrow, and throughout our lives prepares us for that moment. And here the Lord tells us how to prepare. With thanksgiving. So, if you don't mind, I'll just go ahead and start and you can add in your own offerings of thanks. God in heaven, thank You. From the bottom of my heart I thank You for life -- my life. It is such a wild ride. I am enjoying it. Thank You for outsmarting the enemy in my life, for running circles around him. Thank You for not abandoning me when I played with sin, but instead rescuing me. Thank You for saving me from my own stupidity. Thank You for giving me eternal gifts that no one can take away. Thank You for calming the frightened little boy in me and for teaching me how to be a man. Thank You that all my bullies answer to You. Thank You for Your math which somehow has given us enough to survive month after month when there was no logical explanation for it. It is such a roller coaster ride to hang out with You. I wouldn't trade it. I love it, God, I love it. Thank You for all those precious eyes that look into mine ... family, friends, brothers and sisters, and, someday, Yours. Thank 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 May 24 07:56:16 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 06:56:16 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-30-08 The rescue operation -- Galatians 1:4 Message-ID: <48380260.2060300@dwightclough.com> /*[The Lord Jesus Christ] gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of God and Father ... -- Galatians 1:4*/ This is an interesting twist. Did you catch it? The verse doesn't say that Jesus came to rescue us from a future in hell. Rather it says that He came to rescue us from the present evil age. We've had over 6,000 years to construct our paradise here on earth. How are we doing? People who aren't in trouble don't need to be rescued. But the Father sees where we are, and says, "You don't belong here." We belong to a different age, a different world, a different standard. The rescue operation initiated by the Father, carried out by the Son, began deep in our hearts and isn't over until we're outta here. My old college roommate was rescued from a sinking ship in treacherous waters near the tip of South America. What's it like to be rescued? It's crazy from his account. It's the middle of the night. The ship is tipping over. The lifeboats are hanging in midair, suspended a couple dozen feet over swift and icy waters, broken by rocks you could hear but couldn't see. Possessions you leave behind. There's no time to play around. In his case, he had a wife and a little baby to get off that boat, out of those waters into safety. And so it should come as no surprise that our lives here are going to be a little crazy at times. We are being rescued. We are being brought to safety, home where we belong. 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 May 24 07:56:49 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 06:56:49 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 05-31-08 Look inside -- Galatians 3:2-3 Message-ID: <48380281.8090401@dwightclough.com> /*This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? -- Galatians 3:2-3 NASB*/ /*Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Galatians 3:2-3 The Message*/ The average Joe walking down the street has no clue that there is a huge difference between the gospel and religion. Here in these verses are the main components. Religion: the law plus the flesh. Doomed to failure. Constant striving. Never achieving. Crazy! The gospel: the Spirit plus faith. We hear the good news and we open the door. God comes and lives inside us. He lives through us. Guess what? Does God need a set of rules in order for Him to figure out what to do? Stop and think about it. Rules are righteous if and only if they reflect God's heart. If God's heart is alive in you, don't you have something better than rules? Remember Golding's book, /The Lord of the Flies/? Remember at the beginning the stranded boys said they would have rules, lots of them, and if anybody stepped out of line, watch out! They started with rules and ended in flames. Is God tired? After forgiving our sins and assuring us a place in heaven, did He run out of energy? Is it all up to us now? Did the Spirit of God fall asleep after He entered our hearts? The word "gospel" means "good message" or "good news." Let me suggest to you that there is lots and lots of good news. Yes, God forgives us through the atoning sacrifice of Christ and that is good news. But there is more, much more. God is alive and well in you. When you handed your life over to Christ, He handed His life over to you. What sin, what trial, what problem can possibly overcome the eternal life of Christ in us? If you are looking for success, look inside. He's already there. 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 May 24 07:57:20 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 24 May 2008 06:57:20 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 06-01-08 The successful self-righteous -- Luke 18:11 Message-ID: <483802A0.9080900@dwightclough.com> /*The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector." -- Luke 18:11*/ I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the successful self-righteous, and it occurs to me that the enemy probably wants some people to be good. There are some people who are disciplined enough to pray regularly, avoid all kinds of sin, and live an exemplary life. Why would the enemy want self-made good Christians in our churches? Very simple. So they can offer the wrong prescription to everybody else. In the passage we looked at yesterday, the apostle Paul asks us, "After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Some will answer, "Yes, and I'm doing very nicely, thank you." Meanwhile, the rest of us are forced to say, "I try and try and everything I try doesn't work." But here is the beautiful thing: When we finally realize that everything we try doesn't work, God has us right where He wants us. We have no where else to turn but to Him. None of us can boast about ourselves, but rather we can boast that our God knows what to do with those of us who have no power to do good 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 May 31 22:59:56 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 21:59:56 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 06-02-08 Fear -- Mark 11:18 Message-ID: <484210AC.1040408@dwightclough.com> /*The chief priests and the teachers of the law ... began looking for a way to kill [Jesus], for they feared Him. -- Mark 11:18*/ The chief priests and teachers of the law were educated, sophisticated, religious, successful and influential people in the mainstream of their mixed up world. They were not psychotic or schizophrenic. But they were crazy nonetheless. They were out of touch with Reality. If you've ever wondered why people do some of the wacky things they do or why men believe the outlandish things they believe, let me suggest that something like fear is probably to blame. Fear is a funny thing. It takes root deep inside and it begins to warp our minds. It keeps us from getting a true read on God and His intentions. Fear is a tool of deception in the hands of the enemy. This is why God is on a mission to deliver us from all our fears. Perfect love casts out fear. Fear does not come with an uninstall option. Time doesn't remove fear. Logic doesn't remove fear. But when God (Perfect Love) comes in to occupy those places haunted by fear, this stubborn enemy within cannot survive. Fear may have taken up residence in many rooms in our hearts. But God is tossing him out, one open door at a time. 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 May 31 23:00:25 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 22:00:25 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 06-03-08 Freedom -- Galatians 5:1 Message-ID: <484210C9.2080706@dwightclough.com> /*It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. -- Galatians 5:1*/ Prisons come in many forms. Many people do the responsible thing because they know they must. They are trapped. Caught between their own evil desires and their sense of duty. Jesus came to make desire and duty one. He came to make us whole. He came so that we too could delight in doing the will of God, so that we could consider it our highest joy. God doesn't want us to pretend to enjoy Him. He wants to get His hands on the reasons we don't. Jesus came into our hearts as a Liberator, not as an oppressor. Everywhere He goes He spreads the delicious experience of freedom. 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 May 31 23:01:05 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 22:01:05 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 06-04-08 Spirit of freedom -- Galatians 5:13, 16 Message-ID: <484210F1.1050304@dwightclough.com> /*You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather serve one another in love. ... live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. -- Galatians 5:13, 16*/ There are certain places you don't want to be. You don't want to be standing in the middle of highway in the path of a semi truck heading toward you at 70 mph. You don't want to be outside in your swimming suit when it's twenty below zero. The don't want to climb into the polar bear's cage at the zoo. You get the point, I'm sure. Freedom has boundaries, just like we have boundaries. The moat between you and the polar bear is a very nice boundary. If the polar bear is hungry, he won't have you for lunch because of the moat. In the same way, as soon as we disconnect from the Spirit, we are no longer free. Let's put it another way. Why is the Spirit here? He's here to keep you free. He's here to keep you on the right side of the moat. God cares so much about our freedom that He send His Spirit to keep us in the wide open places of freedom. 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 May 31 23:01:40 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 22:01:40 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 06-05-08 The vacuum principle - part one -- Galatians 6:1 Message-ID: <48421114.8070905@dwightclough.com> /*Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. -- Galatians 6:1*/ If you take away sin, what is left? Think about it. I think this is a very important question that most people haven't considered, yet it is the reason so many people have so many problems. I think most Christians would say that if you take away sin you are left with righteousness or obedience or goodness. But I disagree. If you take away sin, you are left with a vacuum. You are left with an emptiness that longs to be filled and will be filled quickly with something. It might be filled again with the same sin. People who wrestle with addictions understand this. They try to stop, and they can't. Or this vacuum might be filled with self righteousness. Often it is, and this is why people get such a bad taste in their mouths for what they believe to be Christianity. Jesus made it clear that if you drive out an evil spirit, that it will come back, and finding the house unoccupied, rounds up seven worse spirits and re-enters the house. It's the vacuum principle. You can bet those evil spirits wouldn't be at all interested in returning if they knocked on the front door and Jesus answered. (More tomorrow.) Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat May 31 23:02:11 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 22:02:11 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 06-06-08 The vacuum principle - part two -- Galatians 6:1 Message-ID: <48421133.6090304@dwightclough.com> /*Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. -- Galatians 6:1*/ I like chocolate. It has become a joke among those who know me well. I contend that chocolate is a great weight loss food because if you're hungry for chocolate and you eat something else, you'll eat and eat and eat and never get full. If I'm hungry for chocolate, I'll sometimes dip pretty low. I'll even eat generic kids snack chocolate that tastes more like plastic than the real thing. But give me a choice, and I'll walk away from kids chocolate, milk chocolate, coffee-flavored chocolate, white chocolate -- I'll leave it far behind for what I truly like: dark, semisweet chocolate - like what you'd find in a Mounds bar or in a Hershey's Special Dark. You can't simply get rid of sin. But you can trade it in for something better. The reason we can restore our brothers and sisters gently is this: We have the same vacuum inside -- the same cravings that only Jesus can deeply satisfy. If we want to restore people, let's find out what need they are trying to meet with their sin. At the core, we have the same needs. Now let's find a way for Jesus to meet that need. Many Christians just want to get people converted and scratch their heads when that doesn't settle everything. But Jesus wants to find His way deep into our hearts so that He fills all the vacuums left when we give our sins to Him. 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 May 31 23:02:40 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 22:02:40 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 06-07-08 New creation -- Galatians 6:16 Message-ID: <48421150.2090901@dwightclough.com> /*Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. -- Galatians 6:16*/ The work of God is deep inside our hearts. A new creation is what we are. Who does the creating? God does. What is the result? The result is you are uniquely you and I am uniquely me; and God, you and I can all celebrate that. While, yes, sin is sin, God does an amazing thing in this verse. He liberates us from cookie-cutter righteousness. Righteous you and righteous I look totally different, just like each of my four kids looks totally different. There's a family look, yeah, but that's where the similarity ends. God is reckless compared to man. People try to get everybody to line up and wear the same "this-is-how-you-should-live" uniform. But God creates us each wildly different than the other, and celebrates it all. This, by the way, is one reason we can all learn from each other. Each of us reflects something from the Master that isn't caught quite the same way by anybody else. 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 May 31 23:03:08 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 31 May 2008 22:03:08 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 06-08-08 Truth and lies -- 2 Samuel 15:3 Message-ID: <4842116C.7060106@dwightclough.com> /*Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." -- 2 Samuel 15:3*/ The most dangerous lie you can tell is one that you believe yourself. This is one of the most instructive passages in the Bible if you want to know how the devil manages to be so successful. Years earlier, the enemy laid a trap for an entire nation by getting the crown prince to rape his half sister. Without going into all the dynamics, that violation took years to set up, but it happened. King David was caught in a hard place. Not only was he dealing with his own family, but if he punished the crown prince, he would condemn himself for his earlier actions with Bathsheba. So he appeared to take the "let's-do-nothing-and-hope-this-problem-goes-away" approach. But it didn't go away. Absalom hated the crown prince for what he did to Absalom's sister. So, since King David wasn't punishing the crime, Absalom decided to take it upon himself to do so. He murdered the crown prince, Amnon. After a five year cooling off period, David decided to normalize relations with his son, Absalom. But Absalom was a time bomb. Unrepentant for his murder and convinced that his father had lost his ability to administer justice, Absalom schemes to seize the throne. All he has to do is convince the nation what Absalom already believes: With David there is no justice. Four years of campaigning, and Absalom is ready to overthrow the king. Jesus tells us that the truth sets us free. The genius of God is this: He knows exactly what truth is needed where. If Absalom had taken his pain to God instead of using it to justify sin, he would have found the truth, and he may have become king of the land. As it turned out, he ended up hanging in an oak tree with three javelins plunged into his heart. If you want to know how God outmaneuvers the enemy, here it is, in part: He knows where to deliver the truth. Be encouraged! Dwight You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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