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Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?" — Genesis 3:1At the root of every temptation is a lie. This was the opening punch. It wasn’t designed to knock Eve out, just to throw her off balance. Here’s the message behind it: What kind of God do you serve? Why does He deprive you of what is good?You’ll find a lie something like this at the core of every temptation you face. …

Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. — 2 Kings 2:7In the previous chapter, Elijah called down fire from heaven on two groups of fifty soldiers sent by an evil king with the intention of bullying the prophet into blessing the king. Now good men — another group of fifty — stood at a distance. They knew that this prophet and his God were not to be trifled with. I suspect they were afraid.There is a fear of God that is based…

Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Mark 1:41 NIVWhat we touch can make us unclean. Pornography is a perfect example. Touch it and be stained. This is one reason why holiness seems so painful to so many of us. We imagine we will achieve it by not touching. I won’t touch lust, greed, envy, bitterness, pride, gluttony, hatred, perversion, gossip, and the list goes on. Keeping clean in this way can be very tiresome. Especially if something inside me wants to lust after that woman walking down…

I originally wrote this on 9/12/2003, but I think it might be a good thought to come back to."Have you noticed … ?" 1 Kings 21:29God is talking here to the prophet Elijah. "Have you noticed … ?" He asks.I just finished taking an hour walk in the rain. I was walking through a nature preserve and, predictably, it was deserted. Who would be crazy enough to be out in a rainstorm? But there I was, walking along, getting soaked, not much minding because my heart was full of wonder, noticing things.I was watching the life-giving rain fall on the…

Little by little I will drive them out before you … — Exodus 23:30Thank God for small miracles.As many of you know, most of my life I’ve been terrified of dogs. Exactly why, I don’t know. My mind can tell me that most dogs are friendly; that you can survive a dog bite; that very few dogs are really dangerous; that if you aren’t afraid of them, they will most likely leave you alone; and so on. But all of those pep talks disappeared whenever I got into the presence of a barking dog. Instead, I froze, paralyzed by fear.Over…

Kim and I are looking into starting a meal preparation service to support our family and ministry. We would love to get your input and ideas: http://www.dwightclough.com/survey/… God has called us to live in peace. – 1 Corinthians 7:15The reality is this: All of us have people in our lives that we wish would change or go away. Quite often those people live under the same roof we do. I want to especially encourage those of you who are married to someone you don’t like any more, someone who won’t change, someone who is, well, a jerk.God sees you. He…

Thank you!$810 has been raised toward the prayer ministry conference in November. We're almost halfway! As a way of saying thank you, we want to send you a free book if you make your donation of $36 or more before August 15. Dwight Clough Ministries Inc. is a 501(c)3 corporation. http://www.dwightclough.com/donations.htmlSome time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came … 1 Kings 17:7-8I want to focus on the word "Then."Brooks don't dry up overnight. The water level fell, little by little, and Elijah is just like…

… we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has appeared to us. — 1 John 1:2Eternal life is a good thing. It’s as good as anything gets. But it’s not good because it’s really, really, really long. It’s not good because it doesn’t end. It’s good because it’s connected to a Person.Years ago I was asking the Lord what heaven would be like. His answer was simple: "I’m going to be there and you’re going to be there. What else matters?"As an aside: Some of us have loved ones who aren’t going to be…

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. — 1 John 1:1Please notice that our faith has roots in experience.We don’t believe some spiritual-sounding idea that somebody cooked up a long time ago. The message came to us become someone had a life-changing experience with God.When I was a little boy, my grandparents told me not to touch the cookstove. Why? Because somebody touched it, and somebody got burned. My grandmother offered…

… 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 12:2Twenty-eight years ago today I started my first job out of college as a parole and probation officer. It seemed an oddball fit for me; a guy who got picked on while I was growing up – yet here I was arresting hardened criminals or ordering their arrest; interrogating them, going off to gun school, and doing my best to keep my part of the world safe from burglars,…