Author: Dwight Clough

Do you think all GOD wants are sacrifices — empty rituals just for show? — 1 Samuel 15:22 The MessageHow easy it is to get lured into a performance! Jesus reserved His sharpest criticism for religionists and hypocrites. How do we steer clear of a performance-based religion? Let’s go back to the Garden. Adam and Eve sinned. They hid. They sewed fig leaves. But the fig leaves and the Garden could not cover their folly and their sin. Only God Himself could clothe them and take away their nakedness. There are two honesties at work here. One is honesty with…

He will not falter or be discouraged till He establishes justice on earth … — Isaiah 42:4Like many of you, I have listened to political leaders speak and members of the media comment on those speeches. When I listen to leaders and their critics, I think about truth and lies, and how lies can be dressed up to sound like the truth to some. We live in a time of great conflict between good and evil, where deception is foundational to the enemy’s strategy, and the battle lines are drawn, not along the borders of nations, but inside each person’s…

A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench … — Isaiah 42:3No matter how tough we are on the outside, there are places inside that are fragile. Many people spend most of their lives avoiding these places. After all, who wants to feel weak?This is, by the way, a big reason why anger hangs on us and we hang on to it. Anger covers over those scary places where we are weak. If we make enough noise with our anger, then no one will hear our fear, our shame, our loneliness. But Jesus…

In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. — Ephesians 4:26Sometimes we want to hand our anger over to Jesus, and, yet, we don’t want to. There is a great struggle inside. The Christian self says, "Give the anger to Jesus," but other voices say, "No way!" What do we do?Do we force ourselves to give up that anger?Let me suggest there is a better way. We bring Jesus into this struggle, because He makes the impossible easy. When I’m praying with someone who is trying to process their anger,…

In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. — Ephesians 4:26God doesn’t make mistakes. He created us with the ability and the need to get angry sometimes. But in this mixed-up world, sometimes we cannot use that anger for its intended use — to correct a problem or injustice — because we don’t have the freedom to do so.So what do we do? We trade up. We hand the anger over to Jesus and see what He has in exchange for us. It might be peace. It might be joy. …

In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. — Ephesians 4:26Anger is like a milkshake. It’s great when it’s fresh, but ignore it long enough and it will get pretty disgusting. Does God get angry? You bet. Does He want His kids angry? Sometimes. Anger is God-given energy designed to correct a problem or injustice. So, what do you do when you don’t have the freedom to use anger for its intended purpose. You may have a perfectly good reason to be angry, but no real power in the situation…

If your feelings could talk, what would they say?The fruit of the Spirit is … joy [and] peace … — Galatians 5:22Did you know that God cares about how you feel? I’m glad that joy and peace are fruit of the Spirit because it’s hard to fake joy and it’s hard to fake peace. They are not an act that we can put on, not the result of behavior modification, but rather the product of inner transformation.Jesus was at peace as He slept in the bottom of the boat during the raging storm. And what enabled Jesus to endure the…

Tell how He freed you … — Psalm 107:2 from The MessageThe world needs to hear your story. The church needs to hear your story. Never underestimate the value or importance of the work God has done in your life. Your story matters. Your life is worth celebrating because God treasures you. He is at work in you.When we hear your story, we gain the courage and the tools to experience God for ourselves. You show us the way, because God has taken you to places that only you can convey. In the end, God’s glory will be revealed in…

Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. — John 17:3So what will heaven be like? Will it be bold and wild? Or will it be quiet and thoughtful? It occurs to me as I write this that every desire we have, in its pure, uncorrupted form, is a desire for God. What do we want? We want God. Why does a baby come forth from the womb, struggling for life? Because life is where you meet your Creator. The greatest gift we can give anyone is…

I left Tophimus sick in Miletus. — 2 Timothy 4:20… Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. — 2 Timothy 1:12I believe in healing. Yet sometimes people aren’t healed. My daughter was born with birth defects. I prayed and believed God for a miracle. I sat in the waiting room of the hospital praying and believing for supernatural healing. But, five hours later, as I propped her bloodstained cast on a pillow, I looked into the eyes…