Author: Dwight Clough

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. — Exodus 20:17Why would we think that a gift from the devil is better than a gift from God? The whole point of this commandment is this: God gives good gifts.There have been times in my marriage when I couldn’t figure out what drug induced me to say, "I do." This is usually the time when the devil brings out the dessert tray and whispers, "See what you’re missing!"We all know, I hope, that there’s nothing but candy-coated poison on that tray.But what is God getting at here, when he tells us to…

Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. — 2 Kings 5:2I have a question for you. Was it God’s will for this young girl to be taken captive?In few words, the writer of this passage sweeps over an enormous personal tragedy. A village was burned. Men were cut down. Women were violated. Children were scattered. Human beings were uprooted from all that was good and sure and secure, and turned into property.How could this be the will of God?Most of us know the story. The writer…

… 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…

… 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…

They are lazy. — Exodus 5:8Do you want to be a better Christian? Try harder. This advice is ubiquitous, but where does it come from? Doesn’t it come from Pharaoh? Pharaoh says, "Oh, you don’t like being slaves? Try harder. Supply your own straw for making bricks. Try harder. Don’t reduce your quota. Try harder." God is not another pharaoh. When we crossed the Red Sea, we stepped into freedom. God has done the hard work. As Jesus said, our work is to believe (John 6:29).Be encouraged!Dwight Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active…

Then [Elijah] cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have You brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?" — 1 Kings 17:20I want to focus in on one word in this verse: the word "also."God’s judgment had fallen upon a nation. For three successive years, famine left people starving and in desperate need. Dying of hunger or of disease was a commonplace fact of life. I’m sure the survivors looked at each other and asked, "Where will it end?" and "Are we all going to die?"A widow’s son gets…

A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all. — Psalm 34:19When trouble comes, our misperceptions rush to the surface…. I’m trapped. God has forgotten about me. It will only get worse. God doesn’t like me any more. God is just punishing me for something I must have done wrong. God likes to see me squirm.Then God gives us an opportunity to replace doubt with faith. This is Divine work — we cannot do it on our own. We can only bring our deepest fears to Jesus and see what He wants to do…

Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. — Exodus 22:22-24This is the last of the verses that my daughter gave me to write devotionals on.I’m glad she chose this passage, because it shows that she is thinking about our world, justice and injustice, the use and misuse of power.Here is a warning. Every path we choose, no matter what it…

His brothers said, "Do you really think you will be king over us? Do you truly think you will rule over us?" His brothers hated him even more now… — Genesis 37:8 NCVBut his brothers said to him, "No, my master. We come as your servants just to buy food…" — Genesis 42:10 NCVSometimes the Lord humbles us so we can see things we weren’t willing to see before. Joseph’s brothers were unwilling to embrace Joseph’s destiny because they felt so threatened by it and by him. They didn’t realize that Joseph’s call to rule would one day save their…

But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" — Exodus 3:11As I said yesterday: This is exactly where we should and should not be.Moses finally knew what he had to offer. He knew he didn’t have the answers. He knew he didn’t have the power, the brains, the wealth, the ability to do what God wanted done.Forty years earlier, Moses was so full of Moses that there was little or no room for God. But now he saw who he really was, and how empty he really…