Author: Dwight Clough

For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them … — Exodus 20:11Six days … why did He take so long? God could have spoken the whole universe into existence with one word – one moment, one nanosecond. But He stretches it out over six days.Why did God instruct Naaman to dip seven times in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5)? Why didn’t He just have Elisha wave his hand over the spot to instantaneously cure the leprosy? Doesn’t God know that we’re busy, and we are in a…

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. — Philippians 3:10-11 NIV(I wrote this article a couple years ago, but I’d like to share it again this year.)Personally, I’d like to be indestructible. You know, like superman, only more so.There’s a good reason:I don’t like pain in any of its many varieties. I don’t like being hurt. I don’t like being vulnerable. I don’t like being fragile.I try to explain all this…

… He was buried … 1 Corinthians 15:4There comes a moment when it seems like the plan of God has failed. God’s work seems to come to a stop. All we hoped for lies silent and unmoving. While we look at each other in bewilderment, the world carries on its smug celebration. The Teacher was dead. Now there was no one to make sense of a senseless world of Roman occupation and religious hypocrisy. The Healer was dead. Now life and health belonged only to the lucky, medical care to the rich. The Friend of sinners was dead. Now shame…

Jesus said, "It is finished." — John 19:30Evil drove men to hammer spikes into the hands and feet of Jesus. Envy, jealousy, malice, cruelty, deceit and hate were all at work here. Yet none of these things triumphed.You cannot fight against God and hope to win. Every move the enemy made only served to make God’s victory more secure. The world in its present form is passing away. But the triumph of God lives on forever. It is finished. Jesus won.Be encouraged!Dwight Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church…

… the joy set before Him … Hebrews 12:2After Jesus died on the cross and rose again, Peter went fishing. He went fishing because we always act out of our identity. We act according to who we believe we really are.They had fish for breakfast, but Jesus was not ready to let go of Simon Peter. Peter might believe that he was nothing more than a humble fisherman, but Jesus was not about to revoke the identity He had stamped on Peter’s life."You have a job to do," Jesus told him. "And your job flows from your real identity. Remember…

Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together. — Psalm 34:3Why do we need to exalt God’s name? Is it because God’s name is in such trouble that it needs to be propped up by us?I don’t think so. Rather, God is inviting us to come out of the darkness into the light. When we see God clearly, in the light, then exalting His name is as automatic and as necessary as breathing. We may exalt God’s name in many different ways. Some are overwhelmed by the cross. Others by the love of God. Others by the…

“What do you want me to do for you?” — Mark 10:51The Lord brings me back to this question again and again. Sometimes I’ve been so beat up or so distracted that I can’t remember what I want the Lord to do for me. I can’t bring it into focus.But the Lord doesn’t let go of the question.Today my wife sent me to the grocery store. She didn’t say, "Go get some groceries." I asked her to make a list, and I took it with me to the store. While I was there, I saw a few other things I…

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will. — Romans 12:2Transformation frees you to enjoy life. Most people need things to be happy — a new car, a new house, whatever. You will experience the freedom of being happy with or without the trinkets. You will enjoy what you have — your spouse, your family, your home, your work, your life. Married people will often experience a new…

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will. — Romans 12:2Tired of try-hard religion? I am. God’s gift of transformation brings you into a whole new dimension where the things that were so difficult and impossible before are now effortless. This is great news for all of us, but especially for those among us who struggle with addictions and other life-controlling issues. For example, if your issue is…

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will. — Romans 12:2Transformation creates a wall of spiritual and emotional protection. Most of human misery can be traced to a lack of protection. Without transformation people don’t understand who they really are or the power they really have. As a result many become mired in unhealthy relationships, get trapped by unwise choices and leave themselves vulnerable to spiritual attack. Transformation…