Author: Dwight Clough

By the word of the LORD one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, "Strike me with your weapon," but the man refused. So the prophet said, "Because you have not obeyed the LORD, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you." And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him. — 1 Kings 20:35-36The man refused to obey. "No," he said, "clearly you are made in the image of God, and you have done nothing wrong, and I have no right to assault you, and my hands will not…

So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!""Here I am," he replied."I am God, the God of your father," He said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes." — Genesis 46:1-4Every time I return…

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. — Psalm 63:5One of the delights of being a father is listening to my children sing. I’m not talking so much about scheduled song — as in a church service. I’m talking about spontaneous expression of joy and peace and security. I don’t know, exactly, how they learn it. They seem somehow to be born with it, because without any prompting on our part, sometimes they just sing, even when they are very small.It isn’t a show. It isn’t a performance. …

O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. — Psalm 63:1I’ve felt a bit intimidated by this passage, to tell you the truth. My desire for God seems pretty weak by comparison. How much energy do I put into seeking God? By comparison, I feel casual, almost shallow. The author, David, must be in a whole different league of spirituality than me. Or so I thought.What is the difference between the "spiritual" and the not so "spiritual"? …

"Don’t ask for just a few." — 2 Kings 4:3Did you ever stop to think of things from God’s point of view. Here He is, limitless love, wanting to pour Himself out into our lives. There’s only one problem: our limited capacity to receive. So what does God do? He increases our capacity. He wants to give us more.In this story, a woman was in a panic. Her sons were about to sold into slavery to cover her late husband’s debt. She had nothing — no money, no power, and very little hope. But God said, "I can turn this…

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Corinthians 15:57Here’s the seventh paradigm shift that has changed my life: Getting attacked by the enemy can be a good thing.I’ll credit Dr. Ed Smith for this one. He helped me to understand what is really going on.Any of you who are out on the front lines doing the Lord’s work know what it’s like to be attacked. People turn against you at strategic moments. Things break down inexplicably. You find yourself irritable, worried or panicked. All sorts of unpleasant things show up…

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. — Romans 8:18Here’s the sixth paradigm shift: Trials are opportunities, not punishments.It’s pretty easy to get the idea that our trials are some kind of Divine retribution, God’s way of showing His displeasure for our actions, how God "gets back" at us when we misbehave. Here’s how that viewpoint translates into real life: When we see others with problems, we become "Job’s counselors," quick to tell others what they did wrong to get into such a mess. When we have problems…

In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this?…" — Luke 8:25Here’s the fifth paradigm shift: You need truth in your gut as well as your head.My wife doesn’t like the term "gut," so let me paste in the word "heart" if that works better for you.For many years I had a cerebral faith. I knew about God. I knew the Bible. In fact, I could probably run circles around most people when it came to knowing the Bible. But all that knowledge wasn’t helping me in some critical ways.I knew I shouldn’t be bitter. I tried very…

From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. — Psalm 22:10Here’s the fourth paradigm shift: The past is part of you.I spent years trying to divorce myself from my past. I tried to ignore it, to overcome it, to forget it, to pretend it didn’t happen. But none of those things worked.I finally realized the truth: You can try to forget the past, but the past doesn’t forget you.You are that three year old, that sixteen year old. They are part of you. Everything in the present flows out of the past.…

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! — 2 Corinthians 5:17Here’s the third paradigm shift: We are already righteous.At first this may seem to contradict everything I said yesterday. But it does not. When God sees us, He sees righteous men and women, holy saints, children of God, seated in heavenly places. What gives? Is God blind? Is He living in some kind of Divine denial?No.God sees what is not always altogether evident to us. God likes us and He can receive our honesty because He, better than…