Author: Dwight Clough
"So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ " — Luke 17:10"I no longer call you servants…" — John 15:15Unworthy does not mean worthless. Jesus did not die for junk. He died to redeem the diamonds that were covered in the mud of sin. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.What was that joy? It wasn’t the Father — He already had communion with the Father. It wasn’t the angels, He had communion with the elect angels. I don’t think…
But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. — Revelation 11:11The #1 evil man on earth kills God’s two witnesses and refuses them burial. The whole world celebrates, but nobody counted on the power of God. God makes it abundantly clear that life and death belong to God, not to the beast. God could have let them lie and resurrected them along with everyone else later on. But He doesn’t. He sends a clear message: Even though the world…
[The elders] were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. — Revelation 5:8How are our prayers treated? With special honor in heaven. I often feel like my prayers are little more than babble, yet here they are in heaven, treated as treasure. If you study the prayers of the saints in Revelation, you discover two things: (1) they are always sweet to God, and (2) they usually are bad news for the evildoers left on earth.God remembers the slander and persecution His children endure. He has heard their cry, and He treats that cry…
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. — Philippians 4:12-13The deeper you get into situations you don’t like, the more you discover that Jesus is already there. Where did I find joy? When I was grieving the death of someone I loved. Where did I find peace? At the center of my anxieties. Where do I find contentment? As…
The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. — Judges 20:18Today I want to take on the myth that if you do God’s will, everything will go smoothly. Sorry, folks, it just doesn’t always happen that way.Judges 19-21 tells the sad story of a violent crime and a quest for justice. Evil men were shielded by the tribe of Benjamin, and the rest of the Israelites went to war with them.Is this a good time to seek the Lord? You bet. Why do you inquire of God before a battle? Because you want to make sure you’re doing…
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in … — Revelation 3:20We human beings really have only one power: to say "yes" or "no" to God. If we are righteous, why are we righteous? Not because we did righteous things, but because we said "yes" to God. If we are unrighteous, look around inside. Somewhere we closed the door in God’s face. Somewhere we said "no." We like to use Revelation 3:20 as a salvation verse. Open the door of your heart and let Jesus in. But it is also a Christian life verse. Once…
Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals." — Revelation 5:5What happens when you open the scroll? Judgment comes. History ends. Eternity begins.Why can’t anybody open the scroll? Because too much is at stake. Every precious person that God loves has no defense against judgment until he or she is hidden in Christ. What is the message? God is protecting His children from judgment. We may have troubles, but the judgment of…
Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." — Revelation 4:8This is the center of the book of Revelation. An unchanging God, fully in charge of the church, the pagans, the spirits, the devils, the angels, the dead and the living — takes His place as King of the universe, under the constant inspection of these super intelligent and powerful creatures.And they are in awe.…
… there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it … — Revelation 4:2Why does the apostle John not fill in the blanks? Why does he not name the Person on heaven’s throne? In 1 John 3:2, we discover that we shall become like Jesus when we see Him as He is. Encountering the Living God is so life changing, that we don’t even have words to describe it. It needs to be that way. We have, all of us, been deeply touched by the pain and corruption of the fall. But now God is pulling…
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. — Revelation 1:1It’s a big world out there. And things get bigger, much bigger, when God steps in to bring history to a screeching halt. Like a great wave, humanity’s hatred of God rushes in, but, like any other wave, it breaks on the shore of eternity and it is no more.The day of evil is coming to an end. How do we wrap our minds around the enormity of God’s plan? How do we find room in our hearts to contain…