From discoveries at dwightclough.com Thu Oct 2 09:27:20 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:27:20 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] Our brothers and sisters around the world Message-ID: <48E4CC38.40607@dwightclough.com> As many of us know, fellow believers around the world are persecuted for their faith in many nations. At the moment, persecution is particularly intense in the Indian state of Orissa. Please join me in remembering these brothers and sisters in your prayers. Thanks! Dwight PS. More information at http://www.persecution.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 4 10:41:54 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:41:54 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-06-08 A life of daily miracles -- Deuteronomy 7:22 Message-ID: <48E780B2.9080907@dwightclough.com> /*The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. -- Deuteronomy 7:22*/ There are all kinds of miracles, and all kinds of situations leading up to them. But let me focus on two of them. First, there is the back-against-the-wall, I-need-You-now kind of situation that results in the parting of the Red Sea, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the deliverance of the three Hebrew children. Second, there is the conquest of Canaan. God could have wiped out all the evil inhabitants of the land in an instant, and held the door wide open for the people of Israel to occupy. But He refused to do it that way. Instead, He promised to drive out the evil inhabitants little by little. God required them to depend on daily miracles - not a once-for-all-time miracle. Daily they needed supernatural strength and wisdom to win and not lose. Everything was at stake. In the same way, God could easily wipe out everything that holds us back in the Christian life. But don't hold your breath - it isn't going to happen. The Christian life is like the conquest of Canaan, God wants to grant you new grace for new victories day by day. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 4 10:42:29 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:42:29 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-07-08 Becoming whole -- James 1:15 Message-ID: <48E780D5.90904@dwightclough.com> /*... after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin ... -- James 1:15*/ Now how does God satisfying our desires enable us to live a supernatural Christian life? Think about it for a moment. Where do sins come from? Don't they come from our own evil desires? In fact, I'm going to throw out an alternative definition of sin: Any time we use something other than God's provision to satisfy our desires. I'm not sure that covers every instance of sin, but it covers a lot. When we go to God with our desires -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- then He can untangle them, untwist them, un-corrupt them, satisfy them and make us whole. Some time ago I exchanged a few emails with a woman who was struggling with lesbian desires. Here's a desire that isn't going to go away simply by wishing it away. She needed something more powerful than a wish. This was her Canaan. And the only way the walls of Jericho are going to fall for her is when she takes those desires to God. Only Jesus can satisfy those desires with good things. There are, of course, many other ways of receiving the grace of God for everyday supernatural Christian living. One of them is to take our hurts to God. Living in a fallen world, we expend tremendous energy managing and avoiding emotional pain. It's hard to stay in step with the Spirit when we are continually dodging the arrows of the enemy because our shield of faith is full of holes. But, when God heals the hurts with soothing Truth, the shield gets patched and the arrows don't sting anymore. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 4 10:42:55 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:42:55 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-08-08 The power of God -- Romans 1:16 Message-ID: <48E780EF.4070202@dwightclough.com> /*I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God ... -- Romans 1:16*/ Never sell your faith short. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is at work in you. What is impossible with men is possible with God. If something isn't working, it only means we haven't yet learned how to get out of the way so God can work. Maybe there's still too much of us, just like Gideon had too many soldiers. The enemy didn't trouble God at all. It was Gideon's soldiers that were in the way. When most of the army went home, then God had room to work. Expect the miraculous. Expect the supernatural. Expect to look inside and see a brand new you, because, hey, God is at work in you. I don't know what battle you are fighting or what mountain you are climbing. I don't know what challenge you face. But I do know this: If it's merely difficult, then you don't need anything I'm saying. Keep going until it becomes impossible. Then remember, there is a God in heaven who delights in doing the impossible. He will walk with you, and together you will conquer your Canaan. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 4 10:43:21 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:43:21 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-09-08 Living water -- John 4:10 Message-ID: <48E78109.6040108@dwightclough.com> /*Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and Who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water." -- John 4:10*/ The question has come up - How can we take evil desires to a holy God? Specifically, the other day, when I suggested that a lesbian take her desires to Jesus, am I sending the wrong message? To deal with this question, let's look at John, chapters 3 and 4. In chapter 4, we find the woman at the well. She was at the bottom of the heap - a Samaritan, and a woman living in sin. She had turned the institution of marriage on its head. If ever there was a person who needed a lesson on the holiness of God, it was her. Or so it seemed. But Jesus didn't start there. He started by offering to satisfy her desires. She came to the well. She was thirsty. He said, "I can give you something better than any water you can draw from this well." Contrast this with Nicodemus, the religionist, who comes to Jesus by night. Here is someone who is well schooled in the holiness of God. He is a teacher of the law, and he seemed to imagine that he was missing only one small piece of the puzzle, and then he would have it all. But Jesus told him that he wasn't even drawing puzzle pieces from the right box. He didn't need an add-on to his religion. He needed total transformation. He needed to be born again. In another case, the rich young ruler would have sat on any church board today. But Jesus told him that he needed to throw away everything that his life consisted of and start over. How is it that holy God in the flesh was labeled a friend of prostitutes and sinners? I think it's because He heard the cry of their hearts when no one else was listening. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 4 10:43:49 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:43:49 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-10-08 Why we need the wrath of God -- Romans 1:18-19 Message-ID: <48E78125.8040304@dwightclough.com> /*The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. -- Romans 1:18-19*/ Here the apostle Paul embarks on a profound journey through the realities that govern the universe. There is a holy God. There are moral absolutes. All have fallen short. All are without excuse. All of us were enemies of God. Yet while we were still God's enemies, Jesus entered our world, endured ridicule, scorn and death for us. Now, by faith, in Christ, we walk in the Spirit, apart from any condemnation. Christ has triumphed, and, in Christ, we are more than conquerors. There is a place for God's wrath. Those who inhabit heaven know this well. Remember that the souls of those who gave their lives for the gospel cried out to God to avenge their blood. (Revelation 6:9-11) And, though vengeance does not belong to us, it does belong to God. (Romans 12:19) In fact, without God's wrath, there would be no salvation. There would be no vehicle to purge sin from our world and bring us into the New Jerusalem. God's wrath will be fully expressed. By returning to the wrath of God, we remember that we have a God who cares. He cares about children who are neglected or abused. He cares about those who have been violated. He cares about those who have been deceived. He cares about those who have been traumatized or mistreated. There is almost no way to overstate the depth of his caring. He cares so much about you that He is at war with everything that corrupts you. And you - whether you love God as His child or hate Him with all your heart - you will experience the totality of His victory. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 4 10:44:15 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:44:15 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-11-08 Spiritual math -- 2 Corinthians 3:18 Message-ID: <48E7813F.6000700@dwightclough.com> /*And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. -- 2 Corinthians 3:18*/ Let's do some spiritual math. real Jesus + real you = real change real Jesus + false you = performance without transformation false Jesus + real you = deception and misery false Jesus + false you = deep deception What can we conclude from these formulas? 1. It doesn't pay to hide from God. 2. Sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is get honest with yourself. 3. When it comes to Jesus, it pays to learn to discern. When Jesus died on the cross, God tore the curtain in the temple from top to bottom. The real God is here to meet the real you. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 4 10:44:51 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:44:51 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-12-08 The line in our hearts -- Mark 9:7 NIV Message-ID: <48E78163.5080005@dwightclough.com> /*Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" -- Mark 9:7 NIV */ Every Christian has a line inside his or her heart. On one side of the line we have said "yes" to Jesus. On the other side, we haven't yet said "yes." This is good news, because that means that every day will be an adventure with God. Why haven't we said "yes"? Because we believe something bad will happen if we do. In it's classic form, we have, "God, you can do anything with my life, but don't send me into the jungle where I'll be eaten by ants and cannibals." There's the line. But, for most of us, the line is not in our calling, but in the hidden places in our hearts. It comes in forms like these: I don't want to face how angry I really am inside. If I give up my anger, then I won't have it any more to protect me. If I really own how frightened (hopeless, abandoned, shameful, trapped, etc.) I feel, then Jesus won't love me, I won't be safe, I'll look like a fool, and so on. So why is the line there? Because of our faulty beliefs. This is also good news, because Jesus specializes in correcting faulty beliefs. All we have to do is listen to Him. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 11 11:41:03 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:41:03 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-13-08 A bigger place -- John 14:2 Message-ID: <48F0C90F.6030803@dwightclough.com> /*I go to prepare a place for you ... -- John 14:2*/ Jesus tells us that He is preparing a place for us. But I would like to suggest that He is also preparing a place for Himself. Most of us would like a bigger house. We sure would. It seems like our house can barely contain our family of six, our school, work and ministry. We may imagine heaven as the bigger, fancier house that we want. And we may be right in part. But let me suggest another possibility. Heaven is a bigger house for God. Where does God live? He lives inside you. As Pastor Cho said, "His address is your address." God desires to fill us with His Spirit. We usually think of this from our point of view. We ask questions like: What will that look like? Or, How do we know that we are filled with God's Spirit? But think of it, for a moment, from God's point of view. How do we get a great big God inside a little tiny person? Doesn't it get cramped in there? Does He have any room at all to move around? God needs room. So He fills our lives with experiences - many of them designed to give Him more room. Yesterday, I spoke of the line in our hearts. Why is God so intent on moving that line? Could it be that He wants more room - more room for Him to enjoy you, and more room for you to enjoy Him? Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 11 11:41:48 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:41:48 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-14-08 Let's be reasonable -- Isaiah 1:18 Message-ID: <48F0C93C.2040008@dwightclough.com> /*"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." -- Isaiah 1:18*/ God may be absolutely holy, but don't make the mistake of thinking that holiness is unreasonable. It is not. God is seeking you. Even if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, God is still seeking you. A good husband doesn't stop courting his wife even after they say, "I do." God is seeking you, and He has an offer for you that is perfectly reasonable. The next step in your journey with God is a step just right for your feet of faith to take. "Reason together." God wants to engage you. Do you have objections? He wants to hear them. Through this process of reasoning with God, what is false falls away so what is true may remain. As all our pretensions are stripped away, and the compelling sweetness of God's offer becomes clear, we are changed. Our many sins become unsatisfying and irrelevant to our new life in Christ. They, too, drop away as the reasonableness of God takes hold. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 11 11:42:18 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:42:18 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-15-08 Built to last -- Isaiah 61:3 Message-ID: <48F0C95A.4080504@dwightclough.com> /*... and provide for those who grieve in Zion -- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor. -- Isaiah 61:3*/ My favorite wildflower is the Black-Eyed Susan. It reminds me, in a way, of a young woman, dressed in a scarf and plain clothes, hard at work on the farm, yet radiating the kind of quiet beauty that makes a young man think of all the heroics he could do to win her heart. In the same way, the Black-Eyed Susan is unassuming and unpretentious, yet her beauty makes me forget about everything else on the prairie. Every summer the Black-Eyed Susan makes its appearance here in Wisconsin. It's here for a little while, then it wilts away. But when God makes people beautiful, he follows a different path. He plants oaks of righteousness. What is an oak? An oak stands strong year after year. It weathers every kind of storm. I did some research on the web and discovered that a 1998 storm felled a 373 year old oak in Ohio -- considered the oldest tree in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River. And, according to one article, there are oaks in Israel that are thought to be 800 years old. God expects His work in us to last! Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 11 11:42:45 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:42:45 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-16-08 Real success -- Psalm 20:4-5 Message-ID: <48F0C975.1090905@dwightclough.com> /*May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. -- Psalm 20:4-5*/ I love Psalm 20:1-5. I sign my books with this blessing because I believe it so much reflects the heart of God. But this passage does raise questions. If God is so interested in our success, why does success seem to elude so many people? I would like to suggest to you that God does not fail. God gives us desires because He wants us to have them, and He wants to satisfy them. When those desires get corrupted, He purifies them. God is the One who gives us dreams and plans and goals. Like Him, we imagine the future, and in step with Him, we experience the joy of realizing our dreams. But sometimes we have to trade up. We need to exchange what we have for something better, because what we have won't work. If my early plans had succeeded, I would long ago have become a millionaire Ph.D. with a worldwide following. I also would be arrogant and worthless -- worthless to God and to anyone else. So, instead, God sent me to a school where I could really learn something -- and in this school I cleaned other people's bathrooms, and drove an old car that kept breaking down -- sometimes leaving me stranded and afraid. In those low moments, I learned life's real lessons and got an education that no certificate on a wall can match. I keep on having dreams and plans and hopes -- and God keeps on unfolding His plan in my life, and in yours. It gets better and better, because, as His plans become our plans, there is no power that can keep us from success. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 11 11:43:09 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:43:09 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-17-08 He has what He needs -- 1 Kings 17:1 Message-ID: <48F0C98D.3020002@dwightclough.com> /*Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead said to [King] Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." -- 1 Kings 17:1*/ I have always admired Elijah. He had guts. I imagine that Elijah made this announcement on an afternoon dark with clouds, that his words were punctuated with thunder and lightning, and that everyone laughed as Ahab dismissed him as a crackpot who somehow got by the palace guard. I don't know, of course, but that's what I picture. And I suppose that after the storm blew over without leaving any moisture, people began to wonder at the coincidence. Elijah appeared out of nowhere. We don't know anything about his parents, his teachers, his mentors -- if he had any. As far as we know, he wasn't even a blip on the radar screen until the nation started feeling the truth of his words. He acted alone, and the story later reveals that he felt all alone. But God had a plan. He sent Elijah, this obscure, unknown prophet, to King Ahab because God would not stand idly by and watch the people He loved drift farther and farther away. God always has a plan. It may look like He has run out of resources, but He hasn't. Tucked away somewhere God has exactly what He needs to let the people He loves know that He is alive and well and is wooing them back to Himself. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 11 11:43:37 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:43:37 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-18-08 Discovering God one step at a time. -- 1 Kings 17:2-3a Message-ID: <48F0C9A9.3010905@dwightclough.com> /*Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Leave here ..." -- 1 Kings 17:2-3a*/ This is how we discover God: He tells us to do something that makes no sense to the flesh (the part of us that still embraces sin or lies), we do it, and then He shows us the next step. Elijah needed to deliver his message to Ahab before he would learn any further details about the plan of God, and, ultimately, about God Himself. God reveals Himself to us in steps. He invites us to take His hand, we take it, and He leads us through the adventure of life. The adventure is meant to be fun. God didn't send Goliath to Israel because He wanted to terrify His people. God sent Goliath to Israel because He meant for His people to look up and see the God who towers over Goliath. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 11 11:44:07 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:44:07 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-19-08 God is practical -- 1 Kings 17:3 Message-ID: <48F0C9C7.3010704@dwightclough.com> /*"Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan." -- 1 Kings 17:3*/ God is practical. He steps into our lives as they really are. The stuff of God's leading consists of parking places and apple pies, of budget line items and a walk along the beach. In this passage, God's leading to Elijah consisted of directions and a destination, of protection and a plan. God's leading in the practical matters of this life give us reasonable hope that He will continue to be the same God who leads us into all His promises that we cannot yet see. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Discoveries Devotional -- Inspiration in Your Inbox is provided daily by Dwight Clough Ministries, Inc. 1223 West Main Street #228 Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA Dwight Clough Ministries is supported by your donations. Visit _www.DwightClough.com_ for more information. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 18 09:59:56 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:59:56 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-20-08 Creative alternatives -- 1 Kings 17:4 Message-ID: <48F9EBDC.4070402@dwightclough.com> /*"You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there." -- 1 Kings 17:4*/ God never runs out of options. When our backs are up against the wall, He has wonderful creative alternatives. Stop and think about it. How many times in history have ravens brought meals to hungry people? As far as I know, it only happened once. Another time when people were hungry, God rained down manna and quail. Another time, He split open loaves and fish. Another time he made the flour and oil jars bottomless. And then, I know of stories of groceries being left on doorsteps, of money miraculously appearing in mailboxes -- well, hey, I've experienced those things myself. One bitterly cold day I was walking along a river just downstream from a dam in Ohio. It was so cold that I was wearing two pairs of gloves and an insulated jumpsuit - and I was still shivering. The whole world was frozen, except for the rapid water flowing downstream from the dam. I thought for sure I would be the only person crazy enough to be out on day like this, but I was wrong. I came across a man wearing waders, knee deep in the river, fly fishing. As I trudged by, I mumbled some comment about us being crazy to be out on such a cold day. He laughed. "It's a wonderful day," he said, and his eyes sparkled when he said it. I've thought about that encounter many times since, because his response reminds me so much of God. Even though everybody else is complaining, God is having the time of His life. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 18 10:25:55 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:25:55 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-21-08 A few steps at a time -- 1 Kings 17:5 Message-ID: <48F9F1F3.2050505@dwightclough.com> *In two weeks, the people of the United States will elect a new president. I'm sure that many of you, like me, have strong feelings about who that president should be. I also know that good people look at the same candidates and the same issues and come to very different conclusions. We make our choices based on our best understanding. And since we don't have the opportunity to sit down and talk at length with both candidates, we must decide based on impressions, sound bytes, 2nd and 3rd hand reports which may or may not be reliable. I wonder if you would join me in praying for wisdom for the American people as we make this decision. Lord, in these last days before we vote, would you please reveal to the American people Your choice for president. Empower us to understand the implications of our decision. Where there are lies, expose them. Where there is corruption, make it known. Let the truth come out. Give us wisdom to sift and sort and come to the right decision. We also recognize that no president can properly lead our nation apart from You. So we pray that Your Spirit will come upon our next president from day one, granting him the fear of the Lord, a hatred for corruption, wisdom to know the right decisions and courage to make them in the face of opposition and adversity. In Jesus' name, amen.* /*So [Elijah] did what the Lord told him. -- 1 Kings 17:5*/ Did you ever watch ants? The ants around here have a distinctive way of walking. (I don't know if this is true worldwide -- maybe our readers on other continents can let me know.) But, around here, ants take a few steps and then they stop. I pointed this out to my children. I explained to them, "This is how you live the Christian life. God gives you direction, you follow it as far as you can, and then you get more direction. And He usually only gives you a few steps at a time." I'm deeply impressed with Elijah. Yet the bulk of his life was a very simple partnership with God. God came up with a great idea, Elijah did it, and, when he was finished, God had another great idea waiting for him. God's ideas for you are custom designed for you and for the times in which you live. Yes, they are all based on God's unchangeable character revealed in His word, but they find fresh expression every day in your life and mine. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 18 10:26:24 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:26:24 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-22-08 A new chapter -- 1 Kings 17:7 Message-ID: <48F9F210.2070902@dwightclough.com> /*Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. -- 1 Kings 17:7*/ What do you do when the brook dries up? God's blessings have ended, His protection is gone, all is bleak ... or so it seems. This is what writers call the end of a chapter. It's a cliffhanger. The hero was trying to solve a problem and got himself into bigger trouble instead. Trouble has escalated ... now things aren't just difficult, they're impossible. I don't know what Elijah was doing. Except I do know this: He was listening. Sometimes life pushes us into a corner or takes us by surprise and we don't have any idea what to do. If that has happened to you, I want to encourage you. Life isn't over. Only the chapter is over. A new chapter is about to begin. God is ready to do something new, something better, something more wonderful than you have ever experienced before. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 18 10:26:53 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:26:53 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-23-08 Asking the impossible -- 1 Kings 17:9 Message-ID: <48F9F22D.8060006@dwightclough.com> /*Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food. -- 1 Kings 17:9*/ Isn't something backwards here? A Gentile widow is providing for an Israelite man. Shouldn't it be the other way around? And why would God command a widow to supply someone's needs? Widows, at least in Bible times, were often destitute ... they had nothing. In a couple of verses we find out that this particular widow was just that ... destitute. She, herself, was on the brink of starvation. God was asking ... no, He was commanding this widow to do the impossible. Why would God do such a thing? Isn't that terribly unfair? We will probably never understand the Christian life until we begin to see that God's commands are just that ... impossible. He hasn't asked His people to do the easy, or the difficult, the challenging or that which may be done with great human effort. He wants us to do the impossible. Why? Because only when we set out to do the impossible do we discover where our resources end and God's begin. The Christian life was meant to be a display -- not of our own achievements -- but instead of God's inexhaustible resources. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 18 10:27:18 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:27:18 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-24-08 The narrow way -- 1 Kings 17:15 Message-ID: <48F9F246.1000403@dwightclough.com> /*She went away and did as Elijah had told her. -- 1 Kings 17:15*/ Faith comes in many different colors and styles. But one of the most powerful forms of faith is doing what God tells you to do, even when it doesn't make any sense. It didn't make sense for this widow to give most of her last meal to a traveling prophet, but she did it anyway. It didn't make sense for the widow in Jesus' day to give to the temple everything she had to live on. But she did it anyway. Jesus said that the gate to eternal life is narrow. The Christian life will sometimes squeeze us, and force us to choose a painful path we would rather avoid. But God knows that we cannot haul our own self-sufficiency through those narrow doors. We give up. We give away. And then we enter into God's abundance. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 18 10:27:41 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:27:41 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-25-08 The way out -- 1 Kings 17:12 Message-ID: <48F9F25D.4050400@dwightclough.com> /*I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it -- and die. -- 1 Kings 17:12*/ Notice how God builds faith in us. He starts by bringing us to the end of our own resources. That's how we learn the difference between us and Him. When we know that we have nothing, then we know that whatever is given us comes from God. When all hope dies and we cannot see any way out, then God shows us a way. He shows us a door that we didn't know was there. In the case of this widow and her son, the way out came in the form of doing something reckless -- making a meal for a prophet. The point is that God is in charge of our education. He has each of us in the school of faith. He has a plan for each of us. Like one of my children said when she was five: "Did you know that the only way out of this world is up?" Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 18 10:28:07 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:28:07 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-26-08 The difficult assignments -- 1 Kings 17:13 Message-ID: <48F9F277.7080400@dwightclough.com> /*But first make a small cake of bread for me. -- 1 Kings 17:13*/ Elijah asked the destitute widow to feed him first. He had heard her belief system: "I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it -- and die." And now he flatly contradicted it. Her perception: We are about to die. The truth: You are about to live. Her perception: We have nothing. The truth: You have abundance. Elijah didn't stand around arguing with her about her mixed up perceptions. Instead, he invited her to experience the difference that God makes. On the surface, Elijah's request seems callous and hard -- to require a starving woman and her son to give up half of their last meal. It seems self-centered and cruel. The Bible doesn't record the struggle that went on in her mind between hope and fear, faith and doubt. But we see it played out all over the world between those who curse the church for touching their precious pocketbooks and those who give up everything and experience our supernatural God. Between the widow and Elijah, I think Elijah had the more difficult assignment ... to ask someone else to sacrifice. But, if we listen to God, we will discover even in the difficult assignments that He has given us the wonderful privilege of opening up a whole new world to those around us. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 25 10:36:32 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:36:32 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-27-08 Don't be afraid -- 1 Kings 17:13 Message-ID: <49032EF0.5080303@dwightclough.com> /*Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid." -- 1 Kings 17:13*/ I like reading books on World War II. In a great war there are many fronts, and battles take place in many arenas. In WWII, some were assigned to breaking codes, others to bombing bridges, others to storming beaches, others to getting civilians into bomb shelters, and so on. In the war between good and evil, there are many fronts. The battle is played out in many ways. Truth vs. lies. Kindness vs. cruelty. Humility vs. pride. And so on. But one of the most important battle lines in this whole war is that battle line of fear. I haven't done the math on this, but I'm told that the command that appears most often in the Bible is: "Fear not" or "Do not be afraid." Clearly this is something that God is passionate about. What is God getting at? Here are some thoughts: 1. What we fear moves us. It controls us. It forces us to change our behavior. If we fear only God and nothing else, then the enemy is robbed of much of his power to mess up our lives. 2. God knows the end of the story. He keeps the eternal perspective in view and wants us to also. 3. God knows His own character. He knows the love He has for us. He knows that we will never be forgotten or abandoned, even if it looks and feels like we are. 4. We are God's sons and daughters; He wants us to live like the royalty we are. These are a few of the reasons God is so hard at work in our lives to eradicate our fears. I have many fears ... a big part of my prayer life is handing my fears over to God so He can replace them with courage, faith and peace. And God is doing that, one fear at a time. He is at work, making each of us strong. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 25 10:37:11 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:37:11 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-28-08 Exposed by God -- 1 Kings 17:17-18 Message-ID: <49032F17.7080007@dwightclough.com> /*Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?" -- 1 Kings 17:17-18*/ There's nothing like a disaster to reveal our real belief system. Here was hers: God could not truly forgive. The sin she had been trying to minimize or forget was making God more and more angry. God had already taken her husband away. Now He was back. He had sent a messenger to punish her with the deepest hurt she could imagine. I'm not going to focus on what was wrong with her beliefs. Instead I want to ask a question: Why does God do this? Why does He take steps to expose our real beliefs? Is it to show us and the whole world what rotten sinners we are? Is it so that He and His buddies can ridicule us for the lies we believe? I think not. I believe that God brings these vulnerable moments into our lives so that whatever little corner of sanity left in our souls can cry out, "Jesus, I need You!" Then Jesus can stand up, speak to the storm and say, "Peace, be still!" Jesus means to be experienced in our storms. When He enters those vulnerable places, everything changes. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 25 10:37:43 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:37:43 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-29-08 Now I know ... -- 1 Kings 17:24 Message-ID: <49032F37.2080807@dwightclough.com> /*Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth." -- 1 Kings 17:24*/ The word I want you to notice in this passage is the word "Now." When this widow gave part of her last meal to Elijah, all the food she needed was given back to her. When her son died, she gave him to the prophet Elijah. Again, by giving away, she gained back. Her son was raised to life. There are some things that we cannot learn in the classroom. We only learn by experience. Like driving, for example. I took driver's education in school. But I didn't know driving until I sat behind the wheel of a car. I like to explain it like this: Imagine a smaller circle inside a larger one. In the outer ring are all our theologies, our doctrinal statements, our arguments, our positions on controversial issues and so on. But in the inner circle are all our deeply buried beliefs about God usually based on our early, early experience with life. We can spend forever wrangling about what's in the outer ring, but it isn't going to change until Jesus enters the inner circle and corrects our experience with God. The more we experience the true Lord Jesus, the less we need to wrangle about the content of our faith. When we know God, knowing about Him falls into place. "Now, I know ... " The widow experienced God. Now she could clearly see. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 25 10:38:13 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:38:13 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-30-08 Where is heaven? -- Revelation 21:3 Message-ID: <49032F55.3030206@dwightclough.com> /*Now the dwelling of God is with men ... -- Revelation 21:3*/ We think of heaven as a destination - you die and go to heaven. We think of it as a place or a location - streets of gold, the celestial city. We think of it as relief from all our troubles - no more sickness, no more grief, sadness, suffering or pain. All of these things are true, of course. But at its essence heaven is the presence of God. This is one reason why the unrighteous are not permitted in heaven; they wouldn't like it. They could not bear the presence of God. This is why heaven is eagerly desired, not just by us, but also by God. He wants to be with us. He wants His place in our lives to grow and expand until every part of our heart is touched by the presence of God. This is why we don't hide from God. Whatever we hide from God cannot be filled with His Spirit, His presence. Is there a heaven on earth? Yes, there is. Whatever part of our lives contains the presence of God; that is heaven on earth. Years ago I asked the Lord what heaven will be like. Here's what I sensed He said in reply: "I'll be there and you'll be there. That's what really matters." And that is what matters in this life -- the presence of God, filling us up, and spilling over on everyone around us. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 25 10:38:38 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:38:38 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 10-31-08 The invitation -- Psalm 34:8 Message-ID: <49032F6E.9000503@dwightclough.com> /*Taste and see that the LORD is good ... -- Psalm 34:8*/ Why does the Lord invite us to taste? Why does He not say, for example, "Take it by faith: The LORD is good."? Why doesn't He structure this verse as a promise: "Someday you'll find out that the LORD is good."? Or a conditional promise: "If you obey, you will someday find out that the LORD is good."? Notice also, that God does not say: "Comprehend My goodness." There will always be things about God that we cannot comprehend or explain. This is why we need eternal life -- it takes all of eternity to know God. No. Our God presents us with an invitation. He wants us to taste. He wants us to experience His goodness and His love. This is a different kind of faith. This is not a faith that springs from the acceptance of a creed or a Bible verse. This is a faith that springs from experience. How will we know that God is good? The Lord invites us to taste and see. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 25 10:39:05 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:39:05 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-01-08 Carrot cake -- Psalm 34:8 Message-ID: <49032F89.4030008@dwightclough.com> /*Taste and see that the LORD is good ... -- Psalm 34:8*/ Some of you have tasted and seen that life is bad. Life is cruel. Life is unfair. But the Lord extends an invitation to experience something bigger than life. Taste and see that the LORD is good. In our book, /Amazing Faith/, my coauthor Thomas Shaw tells the story of a woman who experienced one bad thing after another until finally she was flat on her back with a broken back and in great pain. A Christian radio station was on, but instead of bringing her comfort, it only brought her irritation. She longed to get up to turn it off, but she didn't have the strength to do so. So she was stuck listening to a crazy story about a woman making a carrot cake. Carrot cake: The ingredients, by themselves, were disgusting. But, combined and baked, the product was delicious. In her pain, this woman suddenly realized that the Lord was speaking to her. Her mouth was clamped down on one of the distasteful ingredients of life - and there was no room for her to taste the love of God. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From discoveries at dwightclough.com Sat Oct 25 10:39:34 2008 From: discoveries at dwightclough.com (Inspiration in Your Inbox) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:39:34 -0500 Subject: [Discoveries] 11-02-08 The way out -- Psalm 34:8 Message-ID: <49032FA6.60406@dwightclough.com> /*Taste and see that the LORD is good ... -- Psalm 34:8*/ How do we taste and see that the Lord is good? Sometimes our mouths are full of the disgusting, distasteful ingredients of life. Sometimes we are so intent on these things that we don't realize that we have a choice. We can hold up to God all that is bitter and sour in our lives. In fact, we must. If we don't, we will never be able to taste and see that He is good. We will be stuck in a double bind: trying to create a paradise we cannot create or blaming God for a hell here on earth that He did not create. As a race, we humans overestimate our own abilities and underestimate the abilities of God. All of us believe lies about the character of God. That is part of the human condition. We don't shed these lies by deleting them from our doctrinal statements. We are released from them when we feel their apparent truth and go to God to taste the difference. Be encouraged! Dwight What happens when you partner with Dwight Clough Ministries? Victims of violent crimes and survivors of abuse are finding peace, wholeness, the power to forgive and the strength to set boundaries. Those ensnared by addictions are finding freedom. Marriages are being restored. Families are strengthened. Christian brothers and sisters in restricted lands who face persecution are finding strength and encouragement. Young believers are learning how to walk with the Lord, and people are coming into the faith for the first time. None of this happens as a result of one person's efforts, but rather this is God's work as He blesses the sacrifice of many people including yourself. We partner with you, with other ministries, and, most significantly, with the Lord. That's how the supernatural happens. 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. You may freely post, reprint or redistribute this devotional provided a reference or link back to _DwightClough.com_ is included. Change your subscription: _http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/discoveries_ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: