Author: Dwight Clough

Abraham reasoned … — Hebrews 11:19Abraham was given an impossible assignment — to sacrifice his son, Isaac, the child of promise. After waiting 100 years, Abraham finally had a son — Isaac — the name means laughter. But it appeared that God was going to take all laughter away.Abraham obeyed. We all know the story. He raised the knife to slay his son, and God called to him, "Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy …"But before that moment, when Abraham knew nothing but the command and character of God, what did he do?He reasoned.Nothing made sense,…

They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. — Hebrews 11:13In this chapter, God honors those who put their faith in Him. They please Him. And they believed, even when they did not receive.There is something to be said for the name it and claim it gospel. But these heroes of the faith went way beyond that. They went to claim it and came back empty. That did not deter them. They trusted God to meet them with the things promised, even if they had to travel through death to make…

All these people were still living by faith when they died. — Hebrews 11:13There’s something deeply imprinted inside each of us that says this life is not enough. Death always seems to rob, to cheat us out of what is supposed to be ours.I have reached the point where I am most likely more than halfway done with my life here on this earth. Many of my dreams remain unaccomplished — so far — I’m not licensed to fly a plane; I’m not ordained to pastor a church; I’m not a novelist, nor am I a filmmaker, nor am I…

Do your friends know about “Discoveries – Inspiration in Your Inbox” Devotionals? Feel free to pass these messages on to them. They can learn more at http://www.dwightclough.com/discoveries.phpFor [Abraham] was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. — Hebrews 11:10Where I live you have to dig down about four feet to put in footings if you want to build a house. If you don’t, freezing and thawing will damage your foundation, and your building will eventually crumble. Without a good foundation, a building, a city, a life is vulnerable and insecure. It won’t stand up…

Because [Abraham] believed God, he lived like a stranger in the land God promised him. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob. They had the same promise he had. — Hebrews 11:9 WEAppearances can be deceiving. In Tolkein’s classic novel, Lord of the Rings, the ragged ranger, Strider, is actually Aragorn, the high king of Gondor. In the same way, some among us who seem odd or unimportant will receive great honor in heaven, while others who seem great won’t even make it through the door.Abraham "lived like a foreigner in the country God promised to give him" (New…

By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. — Hebrews 11:8Boy, can I relate to this verse! We men are destination centered. I’ve discovered that now that I have four children. My idea of traveling is to drive until we get there. But that doesn’t work, especially with kids who get carsick. Anyway, if we can’t get there as fast as we possibly can, we at least like to know where…

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. — Hebrews 11:7I want to focus in on the words "holy fear." Unholy fear usually paralyzes us or causes us to do cowardly things. But holy fear inspired Noah to buck the crowd, to reject the consensus of evil, to do what no one else understood. Holy fear energized Noah with courage and with a plan. His holy fear kept him afloat when…

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. — Hebrews 11:6All relationships are based on trust, and this is where God starts with us. He doesn’t want our money or our talent or all our hard work so much as He wants our trust. Does God exist and does He reward? I think we all believe that in our heads. The delight of the Christian life is discovering God in all those places in our hearts that don’t know…

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. — Hebrews 11:5Enoch is a man who captured my imagination from the time I was a young boy. What would it be like to go for a walk with God and end up at His home? Maybe that’s part of the reason I take a walk often and use that time for prayer.Enoch, of course, is the father of Methuselah, the…

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. — Hebrews 11:4Faith gives us the power to find and make good choices. For example, the blood sacrifice of Abel foreshadowed the Passion of Jesus Christ, while Cain’s offering spoke of sullen self righteousness. Most of us want to know the will of God. We learn the will of God by getting our beliefs straightened out so we have the power to…