Author: Dwight Clough

[Jesus] said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." — Matthew 13:52 One day I asked the Lord if He would share with me something that is in His heart."I have heard the cries of the children," is the reply I heard, "and I have come to rescue them."I don’t know if you realize it or not, but the struggle for dominance between the dominion of darkness and the Kingdom of…

Do everything without complaining … — Philippians 2:14 I don’t know about you, but complaining comes easily for me. Especially when I’m tired, cranky and irritable. But the Lord taught me something about complaining one day that I want to share with you.I was upset. In the Bible, Jonah was angry enough to die, and I could relate. So I got away for a walk in the country. I thought I would pour out my complaint to God.I started my prayer like this. "I don’t mean to complain … "(I was planning to add, " … but … " and…

"O sun, stand still … " — Joshua 10:12I’m always struck by this passage. Joshua gives a command to the heavenly bodies, and God rearranges the laws of physics so that they obey him. It’s one of the greatest miracles in all of scripture. In its scientific magnitude, it is an even greater miracle than the parting of the Red Sea.But that isn’t the main reason I’m so taken by what happened here. I’m struck by the context. Joshua just blew it. The Gibeonites, posing as distant travelers, deceived Joshua and the other leaders into making a prohibited treaty with…

… the LORD had closed her womb … — 1 Samuel 1:6We sometimes wonder, deep down, if God knows what He’s doing. A woman experiences the pain of being childless, and God stands up and takes full responsibility for it. If that wasn’t enough, as a direct result, a rival gloats and provokes (verse 7), a husband doesn’t understand (verse 8), her soul is bitter (verse 10), she is falsely judged (verses 13-14), and she experiences great anguish (verse 16).This part of the story had to be written first. Without Hannah’s pain — so arbitrary and meaningless all by itself…

… without faith it is impossible to please God … — Hebrews 11:6What about doubt? What about those little voices that tell us that God won’t come through for us, that God isn’t really kind, that God is going to leave us hanging, that God as we know Him doesn’t really even exist?The disciples knew those voices of doubt. "Lord," they said, "increase our faith."Jesus didn’t seem to be troubled by their request. Instead, He said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can …" Every doubt is an opportunity for God to show up in…

… those who walk in pride He is able to humble. — Daniel 4:37 NIV Now, here is reason to rejoice! Not for the other guy, but for ourselves. You and I can bring our pride to God. We don’t need to hide it from the Lord any more. God knows what to do with it. Do you think that God is eager to humiliate you? He is not. Is God unkind? Of course not! We may rush to Him with all our sins and all our temptations. He not only forgives our sins, but He also cleanses us from…

And lead us not into temptation … — Matthew 6:13 There is an easy way and a hard way to live the Christian life. Personally, I prefer the easy way. I always thought this verse — asking God to remove temptations from my life — was a decoration. Until one day I decided to try it. Being male, I decided to try it with respect to women dressed to capture my eyes and tug at my desires. "God, please mark out a path for me and tell temptation to stay away." The result was amazing. Where did all the women…

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." — Luke 4:18-19Those of you who fly frequently can probably recite this from memory: "If we should experience a sudden loss of cabin pressure, an oxygen mask will appear … please secure your own mask before assisting any children who might be with you."At our house we call this the "oxygen…

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem… — Luke 2:4Like migrant workers, Joseph and Mary seem always on the move. Mary travels to Judea, stays with Elizabeth, then returns to Galilee. The Romans tell Joseph that he and very expectant Mary must make a difficult journey. They try to settle down in Bethlehem, but a power-mad king drives them away to Egypt. Yet Egypt isn’t home, so they head back to Judea, and change their destination mid-route – ending up in Galilee. When the story picks up again, Jesus is twelve,…

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree … — Luke 2:1You never know how God is going to use an event in your life. When I was a high school student, I was consumed with the idea of winning the national high school debate tournament. I spent every spare moment working on debate, researching the topic for that year, combing through books from the University Law Library that would put any normal person fast asleep in six minutes flat. My mother decided I needed some balance in my life, so, one hot summer day, she hauled me off to…