Author: Dwight Clough

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 1:18-19Here 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…

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 4:10The 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…

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God … — Romans 1:16Never 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…

… after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin … — James 1:15Now 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…

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 7:22There 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…

The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. — Psalm 103:6We must understand that what is true in the short run can be, and often is, false in the long run.For example, many people are eager to teach their children that life isn’t fair. This is a short term truth. Many times life isn’t fair. Horrible things are done to people for no good reason. This is not fair. It is not good. It is not right. But I would like to suggest to you that life is fair because God will make it fair. There is no…

But the father wasn’t listening. — Luke 15:22 The MessageTo me, this is one of the most moving moments in all of scripture. The prodigal son had ruined his life. He was returning home, a failure for all to see. When he met his father, he was begging not for his rights as son to be restored — he knew he could never dare ask for that — but rather that he might be taken on as a hired hand.But the father wasn’t listening. Eugene Peterson in his paraphrase The Message, captures the spirit of this verse so well with…

Can a man be of benefit to God? — Job 22:2Yes. The answer is yes. Eliphaz assumes the answer is no, and structures his argument around it. But he is wrong.As this conversation between Job and his three friends continues, they seem to become more and more disconnected with who Job really is and who God really is. Eliphaz paints a picture of a stern God aloof from human existence, intervening only to provide swift and terrible justice. Pastor Cho of South Korea said, "Most people think God has no needs. They are wrong. God is love. Because He is…

My intercessor is my friend. — Job 16:20To me, one of the most comforting promises in the Bible is that the Holy Spirit and Jesus pray for us (Romans 8:26-27, Hebrews 7:25). If you heard some of my prayers, you would know why that’s a comfort! Many times I don’t have a clue how to pray. I just know that the situation is beyond my ability to figure out or to do anything about it. But I rejoice that Someone knows how to pray for me and He knows how to pray for others who are in much bigger messes…

And God said, "Let …" — Genesis 1:3Jesus replied, "Let …" — Matthew 3:15In the Bible, God’s first word is "let." Permit. Allow. Give room for. Break free. God, the One who is so often characterized as the narrow-minded maker of restrictions, opens the universe with the word "let." God permits His plans to unfold. He allows His creation to take shape. He gives room for free moral agents to come into being, some to choose Him and others to reject Him forever.In the Bible, Jesus’ first word is also "let." "Let it be so now …" Allow things to…