Author: Dwight Clough

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. — Luke 2:10If I were God, I would have thrown in a word or two about the Son of God being born in the wrong place. What is royalty doing in a manger? But God seems to overlook the stable. Instead God turns and opens His arms wide to "all the people." Even the innkeeper.All the people — the inkeeper, the world, and even the church need good news. Sometimes we think the gospel, the good news, the euangellion is only for poor lost sinners…

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" — which means, "God with us." — Matthew 1:23This is a switch. In Exodus 19, God makes it clear that we are allowed only so close. If anybody set foot on the mountain God was visiting, they were to be stoned or shot with arrows. But here in Matthew, God chooses to do more than just visit. He chooses to move in with us, to hang out where we hang out, to live among us common folk.I had a professor in…

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. — Matthew 1:22Think about it! How many are trying to disrupt the plans and purposes of God? Satan and all his fallen angels, and, with them, billions of disgruntled and deceived people. Yet, here we are, in the middle of Roman oppression, of sometimes corrupt religion, of weak and miserably misinformed people, but God is going merrily along with His plans as though there was no opposition at all.Only God can do this. He announces what He’s going to do and gives the whole universe a…

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. — Matthew 1:21Years ago, a dear friend was battling cancer. It was so distressing because how do you fight something that’s inside you? Many of our readers have faced cancer and you may be one of them. If that is your struggle now, please know that my prayers are with you.Anyway, I didn’t know what to do, so I photocopied every passage in the Bible where Jesus healed someone, and pasted them into a scrapbook…

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife … — Matthew 1:20Why Joseph? Wasn’t he unnecessary? He wasn’t part of the conception. God was perfectly able to provide for and protect Mary and Jesus. And certainly no human could be a better father than God Himself.I have grown up in a world that has tried to dispense with men. The feminist who said, "A woman without a man is like a fish without a…

Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. — Matthew 1:19As we unwrap the package of life, sometimes we panic, look for the receipt, and try to find a way to take it back to the store for refund or exchange. Let’s face it: Sometimes God’s will doesn’t make any sense to us. We want smooth waters, but God sends a storm. Joseph was bewildered. He felt betrayed. His world was crashing down, and he was looking for a way out.But we…

We show people how to experience God’s love. Out of that encounter flows everything good – healing, growth, obedience, sacrifice, mission. As you plan your year-end giving, remember that a gift to Dwight Clough Ministries Inc. empowers us to help people on every continent to experience God’s love, sometimes for the very first time. See DwightClough.com for details.This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. — Matthew 1:18Mary and Joseph had big…

We show people how to experience God’s love. Out of that encounter flows everything good – healing, growth, obedience, sacrifice, mission. As you plan your year-end giving, remember that a gift to Dwight Clough Ministries Inc. empowers us to help people on every continent to experience God’s love, sometimes for the very first time. See DwightClough.com for details.Abraham was the father of Isaac … — Matthew 1:2Matthew begins his gospel by reminding us that Jesus didn’t get here by accident. He arrived as the culmination of a series of miracles and divinely-appointed "coincidences." It took the impossible to get Jesus…

We show people how to experience God’s love. Out of that encounter flows everything good – healing, growth, obedience, sacrifice, mission. As you plan your year-end giving, remember that a gift to Dwight Clough Ministries Inc. empowers us to help people on every continent to experience God’s love, sometimes for the very first time. See DwightClough.com for details…. the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed … — John 1:31John the Baptist is getting at more than just the reason for his ministry. He is getting at the reason for everything we do. Why do…

We show people how to experience God’s love. Out of that encounter flows everything good – healing, growth, obedience, sacrifice, mission. As you plan your year-end giving, remember that a gift to Dwight Clough Ministries Inc. empowers us to help people on every continent to experience God’s love, sometimes for the very first time. See DwightClough.com for details.At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was…