Author: Dwight Clough

If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance against me, what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account? Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One form us both within our mothers? — Job 31:13-15I don’t know exactly why God gives some men power over others, but I do know this: He requires those in power to answer for how they use that power. Certainly you don’t have to look far to find people who misuse the…

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…

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…

Have I not wept for those in trouble? — Job 30:25There is a great connectedness among the people of God. Paul describes it this way: "When one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers with it." (1 Corinthians 12:26) We care because we are children of the God who cares. We feel for those in pain whether they live next door or on the other side of the globe.We can tell that the Spirit of Christ is among us by our ability to feel. This is not a sick "I need to take care of you to feel…

All [Job’s] brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. — Job 42:11In Job 42:11, God has finished speaking to Job, Job’s friends were rebuked by God and prayed for by Job, and we assume that Job’s health has been restored. Weeks, maybe months have passed since the Lord had given Satan permission to ruin Job without reason. Finally Job’s friends and…

"… speak to Pharaoh for me …" — Genesis 50:4Twenty-six years have passed since Joseph was "put in charge of the entire land of Egypt." The famine was now a memory, and it appears that Joseph’s influence was beginning to recede. Joseph was 56, about halfway through his 110 years. By the end of the chapter — and the end of his life, he isn’t sending messages to Pharaoh at all. Instead, he is promising his brothers that God would come to their aid and bring them up out of Egypt.I’ve lived long enough now to see that new stars…

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw [Jesus] eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: "Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?" — Mark 2:16Let’s start with this question: Why didn’t the teachers of the law eat with sinners? Why did they object? I think they were afraid. Afraid of being contaminated, no doubt. But also, perhaps, afraid of being exposed. Once you remove the religious facade, was there any substance to their lives? Was there any real power to their message, apart from the ecclesiastical power that they found in…

But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. — Mark 12:42A reporter, interviewing Mother Theresa, said to her, "It takes a lot of money to do the work of God, doesn’t it?""No," she replied, "just sacrifice."When these copper coins fell into the collection plate at the temple, I like to think that the foundations of the earth shook. Jesus stopped everything He was doing, and smiled.Here was a woman whose name we do not yet know, but I can assure you, she is well known in heaven. This…

Behold, I make all things new. — Revelation 21:5As I was praying one day, I was crying out to God on behalf of those who suffer. Evil has been done that is beyond human comprehension. The intent of the enemy, it seems, is to do irreparable damage to the people of God and to wound the very heart of God Himself. As I was praying, the Lord seemed to give me this picture. The enemy’s evil work is like castles in the sand. The tide of God’s victory is coming in. The ocean of His joyful triumph is not at…