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When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. — Genesis 3:6What’s wrong with Eve’s reasoning? In a sense, nothing. All of these desires are good. Read the Bible. God gives us good things – like food – to enjoy. Beauty is God-given and meant to be enjoyed. Solomon and others were commended for seeking wisdom.In another sense, everything was wrong. Eve left God out of the equation. All her good desires were corrupted by the doubts and…
"Let the little children come to me and hinder them not!" — Matthew 19:14At first, this seems like nothing more than Jesus teaching his disciples a lesson about the value of every human being, regardless of age. But, if you dig deeper into this, I think you will find the basis for one of the most powerful prayers you will ever pray.We spend a great deal of time trying to deal with the fruit of sin, and not enough dealing with sin at its root. We find people caught in adultery, greed, lies, addictions, hate, gossip, whatever. And so, maybe…
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in … — Revelation 3:20We recently had some people visit our home. My wife and I wanted to have it all cleaned up and nice before our guests arrived, but one thing after another happened and we didn’t get all the cleaning done we wanted to. They had to see it as it really was.Deep inside we want to clean up for Jesus. But somehow that never works. We want Jesus in the nice clean living room, but He walks right in and asks to open the closet,…
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.htmlThen the leaders of Israel, the heads of families who were the tribal leaders in charge of those who were counted, made offerings. — Numbers 7:2The 89 verses of Numbers chapter 7 are, to the Western reader, tedious and repetitive. Each of the twelve leaders brought the same hardware, livestock…
… 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,…
Moses listened to his father-in-law [Jethro] and did everything he said. — Exodus 18:24The silence of God. No one knew God like Moses. Moses spoke with God face to face, he had a relationship with Him unparalleled in his day. Yet God never told Moses how to organize a judicial system. He was silent on that point.Why? Because God wanted Jethro to tell Moses. Jethro had administrative insight to bring to the table. I’m glad that God has put Jethros in my life. One of the most important of these advisers is my wife. She has enough common sense to…
"Why bother the Teacher any more?" — Mark 5:35While Jesus was sailing through the storm, a 12-year-old girl was getting sicker and sicker. While Jesus was delivering the man afflicted with demons, she grew weaker and weaker. Her father was frantic. Where’s Jesus?Jesus finally returned, and the father pushed his way through the crowd. He rehearsed in his mind what he was going to say. "Yes, many people are sick, but you don’t understand. This is my daughter." In a race against time, this father pleaded with Jesus to hurry. But what did Jesus do? He dawdled. He paused. He…
News ReleaseMadison, WI – A recent television ad released by Fair Wisconsin brings new meaning to misleading campaign advertising. "The statements that Fair Wisconsin makes about what Wisconsin’s Marriage Protection Amendment will do are outright lies. If Fair Wisconsin and its supporters have any integrity, they will pull these ads immediately," said Julaine Appling, President of Vote Yes for Marriage. "Fair Wisconsin knows that they can’t buy the Wisconsin voters, so now they are outright lying to them."
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. — Psalm 23:1We imagine ourselves to be very busy and terribly short on time. We must understand that this is a lie. God is not stingy. He has not shortchanged us on time. We have time in abundance. It is a joy and a privilege to finish a task, but God will release us from every unfinished work that didn’t fit into His perfect plan. We have time for God-ordained interruptions, time for acts of kindness, time for wonder and reflection.As it says in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a…