Here's a year's worth of Discoveries Devotionals from Dwight Clough. Feel free to read, print, copy, use, distribute. If you publish or distribute, please include a link to DwightClough.com or EmpowerGood.com. Dwight Clough Ministries Inc. is a 501(c)3 public charity. Donations may be sent to Dwight Clough Ministries, 1223 W. Main St. #228, Sun Prairie, WI 53590 USA.

January 01 -- A vision of the Almighty -- Isaiah 6:1

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord ... -- Isaiah 6:1

King Uzziah pushed and bullied his way into the temple (2 Chronicles 26) to demand an audience with God. Uzziah's leprosy was a lingering reminder that God declined the interview.

But God showed Himself to Isaiah. You could say the purpose was to give Isaiah his commission. But it was more than that. The words of Isaiah ring out with a kind of clarity that only comes when someone has had a vision of the Almighty. During Isaiah's lifetime, the boot of Assyria fell on the neck of Israel. But Isaiah correctly saw beyond decline and defeat -- he saw God, Maker and Ruler of all.

I believe God wants us to see beyond decline and defeat -- our own, and that of others around us. I believe God wants us to lift up our heads and see the God who never runs out of options, whose well of joy never runs dry, who does His best work when everything seems impossible.

May God enable us to see.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 02 -- God doesn't quit -- Psalm 103:3

[God] forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. -- Psalm 103:3

We often focus on the terrible price Jesus paid so that our sins might be forgiven. This is important, but I think the Lord also wants us to see how much He values His children. This is the point of the story of the Prodigal Son. The father puts the best robe on his wayward son and puts a ring of authority on his finger.

God is in the business of reversing the effects of human sin. All of us have made terrible choices. But our bad choices are being swept away by the tide of God's grace. The fall and the curse touch each of us. But the story doesn't end there. God is at work.

When you fall, or when you find a brother who has fallen, don't just look at the sin. Look at the God who is bigger and smarter and stronger than sin. And when you suffer, or when a loved one suffers, don't just look at the pain. Look to Jesus who understands pain and triumphed over it.

It takes a lifetime to understand verses like this, but know this: God doesn't quit until every one of His children rests in His healing and in His forgiveness.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 03 -- A better life -- Psalm 103:4

[God] redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion. -- Psalm 103:4

This, of course, is what we are trying to do with our lives. We are trying to find some noble purpose, some worthy cause to live and die for. We are looking for a better life.

The better life that so often eludes us has not eluded God. We may be chasing rainbows, but God owns the pot of gold.

To the person next to you, you might just be another person making widgets or answering the phone. But to God your life has eternal value. God doesn't lavish His love on that which is unimportant. The point of your life may be lost on you, but it isn't lost on God.

Remember that God redeems our life FROM the pit. He goes down into the pit and pulls us out. He knows how to find you and how to fix your life. That is His plan for you.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 04 -- What God does with our evil desires -- Psalm 103:5

[God] satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. -- Psalm 103:5

A little desire snuck into the back of my mind. It was an evil desire, but it tasted good to me. Wanting to be a good Christian, I knew, of course, that I couldn't allow it in my mind. I tried to ignore it and and move on with other thoughts.

But the Lord stopped me. "Why did you desire that?" He asked me.

I wanted to squirm out of it. I was talking and praying with my wife, and to really deal with this, I'd have to admit to her what I was thinking. Yuck.

But, as you can guess, I didn't squirm away. I had to lay things out on the table. So Kim and I prayed about this evil desire and explored what was behind it. As we were praying through this, we came across a place in my heart where the enemy had some kind of foothold. We turned that over to the Lord, and, of course, He broke the enemy's power in my life, and that evil desire was replace by the Lord's peace and calm.

There is something driving every evil desire. God knows what that something is. He wants to find it and take care of it, so the enemy cannot make us hungry for things we cannot eat.

This is one big difference between the evil one and God. The enemy gives us evil desires and doesn't care whether they are fulfilled or not. God finds all our desires -- good and evil -- and satisfies them with good.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 05 -- Justice -- Psalm 103:6

The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. -- Psalm 103:6

I need this verse. I need to know that God has an answer to the Holocaust. I need to know that God has an answer for the families of the 100 million Christians who lost their lives for their faith during the 20th Century. I need to know that God will stand up and make things right for ALL the oppressed, not just the ones who agree with my theology.

How is God going to do this?

I don't know. I don't pretend to know. I just know that the word of God cannot be broken, and God will do what He says He will do.

Some day the prayers of God's saints will be hurled upon this earth. God has not forgotten the cries of His people who look to Him for righteousness and justice.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 06 -- Ways and deeds -- Psalm 103:7

He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel. -- Psalm 103:7

God meets us with both ways and deeds -- explanation and with experience. Both are needed. Explanation without experience doesn't hold up in the real world. Wind and waves don't listen to explanations. Giants don't fall with explanations. Dead don't rise with explanations.

But experience without explanation invites in every kind of false god and every kind of confusion. God wants us to know who He really is.

I briefly dated an identical twin when I was in college. She told me about young men who had called for a date. When she asked which twin the young man was calling for, he said, "It doesn't matter. They both look the same."

What an insult! They knew very well that they were different, and if the young man didn't want to take the time to discover something about their distinct personalities before inviting one of them out, he need not have bothered calling.

God will show up in our experiences, but keep in mind that the enemy will too. But let them explain themselves and we will discover a world of difference.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 07 -- An open invitation -- Psalm 103:8

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. -- Psalm 103:8

For most of my life, I have not been slow to anger. If someone insulted me, I have been quick to anger, quick to take offense. Thankfully, the Lord has been working in me, and His character is more and more taking the place of my old defensiveness.

The LORD is slow to anger. What does this mean in practical terms?

It means that we can run to God with all our faults. God's patience is an open invitation for us to receive the renewal that we need.

Do you like to sin? You can come to God. He will reason with you. He will show you a better way -- and you will be convinced deep down inside that what He has to offer is superior, more satisfying, a better deal.

Do you feel so torn up with guilt and shame that you dare not lift your head? You can come to God. He will receive you and bring the cleansing that you need.

Is your heart divided? Are you the double-minded man that James describes? You can come to a patient God who can gently touch all the different parts of your mind and make you whole.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 08 -- Better things to do -- Psalm 103:9-10

[God] will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. -- Psalm 103:9-10

There are those who will face the eternal wrath of God. There are those who hate God and devise all sorts of ways to show their hatred toward Him.

But anger is not God's first choice. God is not mean, small or calculating. He has room to look beyond the ledger and see the human being in you that He loves.

The Bible says that love keeps no record of wrongs. Why is that? Because God has better things to do.

Have you offended God? Now is the time of amnesty. Now is the time to go to Him with those offenses and receive His pardon, and to discover how God celebrates the homecoming of any prodigal who comes to Him.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 09 -- God's love -- Psalm 103:11

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him. -- Psalm 103:11

There's something about a clear night sky. One Christmas Eve we visited my wife's brother in Ohio. It was terribly cold out, but we sat in his outside hot tub, the steam forming icicles in our hair, staring up at the sky. I remember feeling a sense of wonder as I thought about what I saw in the sky. There is simply no way to comprehend the distance between the stars, the size of our galaxy, the vast, vast expanse of space.

We can look at the sky, but we cannot comprehend it. And we can look at the love of God, but we cannot take it all in. God knows this. He knows that we have to become something that we were not in order to experience His love. That is why He chose to make us eternal sons and daughters of God.

If you don't feel loved by God, try jumping up and catching the nearest star. Then know that God will stoop down and pick you up in His eternal love.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 10 -- Lost and forgotten -- Psalm 103:12

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. -- Psalm 103:12

One day I was out walking along a trail out in the country. Just for the fun of it, I picked up a piece of gravel and threw it far out into a field. After I had done that, I felt a voice inside me saying, "Go find it."

I knew instantly that finding that rock was impossible. There was nothing to mark where the stone had fallen -- only marshy grass spread out for dozens of acres in all directions.

Then I felt the Lord speak to me, "That's what I do with your sin."

God removes our transgressions from us. He takes away the guilt. He takes away the shame. He takes away the power. He takes away the desire. He takes all of this away because sin isn't part of a true eternal son or daughter of God. Sin is just part of the fake self that is passing away.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 11 -- God remembers -- Psalm 103:13-14

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust. -- Psalm 103:13-14

I need this verse. I need to know that God knows my limitations. I need to know that God knows my weaknesses, my breaking points, how small and fragile I really am.

We think we need to do so much for God. But God understands how little we are able to do for Him. That's why most of what we are trying to do, God has already done for us.

Remember how Adam was formed. God formed Adam from the dust of the ground, breathed into Him the breath of life, and Adam became a living soul. 930 years later, the dust fell. But the living soul -- God's breath -- lived on.

God has breathed His breath into us. That breath will overtake everything that is weak and fragile, corrupt and flawed in us. God's work in us will endure. Meanwhile, He is gentle with those of us who live in houses of clay.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 12 -- The rule that outlasts all others -- Psalm 103:19

The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all. -- Psalm 103:19

I need this verse also. I need to know that Someone is in charge. Chaos does not rule. God does.

In 1998, my grandmother passed away. She was 102 years old. She saw the rise and fall of the Soviet empire. She outlived Lenin, Hitler, Stalin. Her lifetime encompassed Kitty Hawk and Neil Armstrong. She was seventeen when she saw her first automobile.

She never talked about these things, of course. Her heart was all about showing kindness in a quiet, unobtrusive way to little people, to obscure and forgotten people in her corner of the world.

But when I wanted some perspective, I sat down and visited with her. The Gestapo, the KGB, the Bolsheviks were history, but this tiny quiet woman lived on.

There's a lot of noise in this world. But God's rule outlasts the noise, and His people will endure. God will triumph.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 13 -- The gift of faith -- Hebrews 11:1,3

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ... By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. -- Hebrews 11:1,3

If our five senses could take in the unseen universe, we would be overwhelmed. We simply couldn't handle it. But God graciously draws the curtain, and we don't see most of what is out there.

At the same time, God knows that we need to know some of what's on the other side of the curtain. So He gives us the gift of faith.

The thing I like about this passage is this: Faith sounds hard, until God starts explaining it to us. Then we realize that we use faith all the time. We know that everything we touch is made out of stuff we can't feel, everything we see is made out of stuff we can't see.

By faith, I knew that I wanted to marry Kim Rohrer. I had never been married before, so you could argue that I was only guessing -- that I really didn't know at all. But I was able to make a decision by faith. I married her and it proved to be the right decision.

All of us make decisions by the faith God has given us. In the end, we won't be disappointed.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 14 -- Believe and enjoy -- Hebrews 11:2

[Faith] is what the ancients were commended for. -- Hebrews 11:2

Every time I kiss my wife, every time I tell her how beautiful she is, she has a choice. She can believe and enjoy, or she can question my motives. Of course I want her to believe and enjoy, but I cannot force her to do so. That response ultimately is her choice.

I'm glad I'm a husband for many reasons. One of them is this: It helps me understand what must be going through God's heart. He knows how trustworthy He is. He knows what He has prepared for those who love Him. When we choose to believe and enjoy it strikes a deep resonance within the One who loves us.

God commends those who believe. He is excited about those who walked up to the edge with Him -- lions' den and ark, sacrificial son and widow's oil. Faith: It brings a smile to the heart of God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 15 -- Faith and power -- Hebrews 11:4

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. -- Hebrews 11:4

Faith gives us the power to find and make good choices. For example, the blood sacrifice of Abel foreshadowed the Passion of Jesus Christ, while Cain's offering spoke of sullen self righteousness.

Most of us want to know the will of God. We learn the will of God by getting our beliefs straightened out so we have the power to choose God and His will in each circumstance.

If you reread Genesis 4, you'll discover that God was working with Cain. God wanted to correct his faulty beliefs, but Cain would not open the door of his heart to God. Instead, he opened the door to murder and destroyed lives.

God grants us faith -- that is the power to believe the truth -- and that faith becomes the compass that shows us the way to righteousness, and the engine that drives us there.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 16 -- Walking away from death -- Hebrews 11:5

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. -- Hebrews 11:5

Enoch is a man who captured my imagination from the time I was a young boy. What would it be like to go for a walk with God and end up at His home? Maybe that's part of the reason I take a walk often and use that time for prayer.

Enoch, of course, is the father of Methuselah, the oldest man recorded in the Bible. I've been told that the name "Methuselah" means "after him it will come." If you do the math, you find that Noah's flood came the year Methuselah died.

How did Enoch know?

By faith we will be taken from this life. The world will look for us, but we will not be found, because God will take us away. Enoch lived during a time when violence filled the earth. Yet he walked with God, he saw the future, and curse of death lost its hold on him.

I'm glad God works outside the box -- who would have guessed Enoch would walk away from death, and who can guess what God has in store for us!

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 17 -- Meeting the Risen Lord -- Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. -- Hebrews 11:6

All relationships are based on trust, and this is where God starts with us. He doesn't want our money or our talent or all our hard work so much as He wants our trust.

Does God exist and does He reward? I think we all believe that in our heads. The delight of the Christian life is discovering God in all those places in our hearts that don't know God.

That may seem strange to you, but there are in fact vast regions of our heart that do not yet believe. The disciples discovered this in the Garden of Gethsemane when they fled into the night bewildered, frightened, overwhelmed with sorrow. But when the Risen Lord met with them, He planted faith in their lives so deep that martyrdom itself could not drive it away.

May the Risen Lord meet with you today!

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 18 -- Holy fear -- Hebrews 11:7

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. -- Hebrews 11:7

I want to focus in on the words "holy fear."

Unholy fear usually paralyzes us or causes us to do cowardly things. But holy fear inspired Noah to buck the crowd, to reject the consensus of evil, to do what no one else understood. Holy fear energized Noah with courage and with a plan.

His holy fear kept him afloat when the rest of the world was being washed away.

Holy fear is a gift from God. Like all God's gifts, it leads only to good.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 19 -- Enjoying the trip -- Hebrews 11:8

By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. -- Hebrews 11:8

Boy, can I relate to this verse!

We men are destination centered. I've discovered that now that I have four children. My idea of traveling is to drive until we get there. But that doesn't work, especially with kids who get carsick.

Anyway, if we can't get there as fast as we possibly can, we at least like to know where we are going. I almost always check an online map and directions resource before I go anyplace new. I want to know how to get there.

But God likes to share the journey with us, so He slows things down and doesn't tell us too much about where we're going, except cryptic phrases like, "You'll like it," and "Don't worry, you'll be glad once you're there." Instead of a road map, He gives us directions for the next block, the next mile, the next turn.

Thank God for Abraham. He knew how to relax and enjoy the trip. Okay, God, I put the navigation in Your hands. I'll let it rest with You. What do you have for us right now?

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 20 -- Return of the King -- Hebrews 11:9

Because [Abraham] believed God, he lived like a stranger in the land God promised him. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob. They had the same promise he had. -- Hebrews 11:9 WE

Appearances can be deceiving. In Tolkein's classic novel, Lord of the Rings, the ragged ranger, Strider, is actually Aragorn, the high king of Gondor. In the same way, some among us who seem odd or unimportant will receive great honor in heaven, while others who seem great won't even make it through the door.

Abraham "lived like a foreigner in the country God promised to give him" (New Century Version). He camped out in tents on the land that belonged to him. When he wanted to bury his wife, he had to buy plot of land.

Faith teaches us that the world is not what it appears to be. In its present form it is passing away. Something new is coming. The steward of Gondor went mad as the high king approached. In our world, a much greater High King is coming. The keepers of this world will be shaken from their thrones.

Jesus had no place to lay His head even though He owned every palace. It didn't seem to trouble Him or deter Him from His task. Sometimes we Christians play the role of the scum of the earth. Faith tells us that not only is Jesus coming back; so are we.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 21 -- The city with foundations -- Hebrews 11:10

For [Abraham] was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. -- Hebrews 11:10

Where I live you have to dig down about four feet to put in footings if you want to build a house. If you don't, freezing and thawing will damage your foundation, and your building will eventually crumble.

Without a good foundation, a building, a city, a life is vulnerable and insecure. It won't stand up to storms.

And there is a storm. The enemy is hurling everything he can think of at the people of God. This wind is not subsiding; rather it is growing in intensity and in fury.

But the city of God has foundations. The storm will not prevail. In the end, the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven like a bride beautifully adorned for her husband.

Abraham lived in a tent and, yes, his tent was fragile. But the storm could not consume him because his real home was the city with foundations. The enemy would like us to look at all that is fragile in our lives and cringe before the storm of his making. But I believe the Lord wants to remind us that our home is the city with foundations.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 22 -- Time and dreams -- Hebrews 11:13

All these people were still living by faith when they died. -- Hebrews 11:13

There's something deeply imprinted inside each of us that says this life is not enough. Death always seems to rob, to cheat us out of what is supposed to be ours.

I have reached the point where I am most likely more than halfway done with my life here on this earth. Many of my dreams remain unaccomplished -- so far -- I'm not licensed to fly a plane; I'm not ordained to pastor a church; I'm not a novelist, nor am I a filmmaker, nor am I an artist; I don't know how to play the piano and I don't speak any foreign languages; I haven't seen New Zealand or Banff; and I don't have a house out in the country. My children's dreams are growing up around me -- horseback riding, tree forts, architecture, caring for animals and going to the mission field.

Life is too short. It crowds out so many good possibilities. Engaged in the daily struggle for survival -- as so many of us are, it seems that much that is lofty and worthy is just out of reach.

And so, God comes along and says, "I know. I designed you for more than what will fit here. Don't give up your dreams. Just build them higher, because your true life was meant to contain and achieve the greatest of dreams."

As an aside, let me say this. I am working on a site that will be a safe place for people to cultivate their God-given dreams. (It will be located at EmpowerGood.com.) Many people walk around with a vision, a passion, a goal, a dream from God stamped in their hearts, but need the help and encouragement of others to bring that God-given dream into the real world. I want EmpowerGood.com to be a place where that can happen. If you can help me bring this site into reality or if you have any thoughts for me, please drop by EmpowerGood.com and send me a note.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 23 -- When God works outside our timetable -- Hebrews 11:13

They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. -- Hebrews 11:13

In this chapter, God honors those who put their faith in Him. They please Him. And they believed, even when they did not receive.

There is something to be said for the name it and claim it gospel. But these heroes of the faith went way beyond that. They went to claim it and came back empty. That did not deter them. They trusted God to meet them with the things promised, even if they had to travel through death to make the meeting.

What is out of reach in your life? The One who stands on both sides of life and death is trustworthy. He doesn't forget His promises.

Remember this: The reason God doesn't meet our timetable is that God's plans for us are way too big to fit inside our tiny schedules.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 24 -- Holy logic -- Hebrews 11:19

Abraham reasoned ... -- Hebrews 11:19

Abraham was given an impossible assignment -- to sacrifice his son, Isaac, the child of promise. After waiting 100 years, Abraham finally had a son -- Isaac -- the name means laughter. But it appeared that God was going to take all laughter away.

Abraham obeyed. We all know the story. He raised the knife to slay his son, and God called to him, "Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy ..."

But before that moment, when Abraham knew nothing but the command and character of God, what did he do?

He reasoned.

Nothing made sense, but somehow God must be true to Himself. He could not promise and then not fulfill. Somehow God would find a way, even if it meant bringing Isaac back from the dead.

Abraham's logic didn't predict the future. But it did make room for his faith.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 25 -- Sorrow turns to hope -- Hebrews 11:21

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons ... -- Hebrews 11:21

I often ponder the life of Jacob. He starts out conniving, getting his own way by shrewd and tough negotiation. But then everything goes against him. He is deprived of the woman he wants as his wife, and is only allowed to marry her in exchange for another seven years of servitude. Once he has her, she bears him no children, until the end. Finally, she dies with the birth of her second son. If that wasn't enough, the sons of his other wife sell the first son of the woman he loved into slavery and tell Jacob that Joseph was torn apart by wild animals. His daughter is raped. Famine threatens to wipe out the family. His sons go to Egypt to buy grain only for his son Simeon to be thrown into prison.

How very sad! Yet at the end of his life, God seems to say, "Come over here. Let me show you what is really going on." Simeon and Joseph are restored to him. His missing son is revealed as the savior of two nations -- the prophet and ruler that saved countless lives. Jacob, delivered from the famine, and lives to see his children's children.

It hurts every time I read of Rachel's death. I see Jacob lifting up that pillar over her grave, so helpless to get her back, not knowing what else to do.

But, in the end, his sorrow turns to hope, and his hope turns into faith. He sees the future with God's eyes. He knows his descendants will triumph over great adversity and through them all the people of the earth will be blessed.

All of us travel down paths that we would not choose. May we, like Jacob, find the treasure that eluded us, and see the future through God's eyes.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 26 -- No ordinary child-- Hebrews 11:23

... they saw he was no ordinary child ... -- Hebrews 11:23

The verse speaks of Moses, of his parents' daring defiance of the king's edict that all the baby boys are to be drowned, of their certainty that he was cut out for greatness.

I remember holding each of my newborn children, unable to grasp how it was that we were given the privilege of creating and caring for something so precious as this human life. I remember holding their hands as they took their first uncertain steps. I watched them play, without their knowing it, and drank in all over again the wonder of discovery, what it is to be a child when everything is new.

I read this verse and I want to say, "There are no ordinary children."

And I think that is true. Jesus didn't die for ordinary children. He looked at each of us and saw something far beyond the ordinary. He saw joy. He endured the cross and went seeking the one that was lost. The ninety-nine don't replace the one. Jesus seeks the one.

You are that one. You are the one Jesus seeks. The ninety-nine will never replace you in His heart.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 27 -- Those who choose -- Hebrews 11:24-25

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God ... -- Hebrews 11:24-25

There are some things which I admit I do not understand. Why Peter turned around and walked back into Rome to be crucified. Why Paul insisted on going to Jerusalem even though he knew prison and hardship awaited him. How Stephen could ask the Lord to forgive those who were stoning him. How the Father could stand to see wicked men crucify His only Son.

There are many people who suffer for the gospel. Many suffer because they have no choice -- some are children taken into slavery, others are arrested without warning. But there are those who choose to be mistreated along with the people of God.

There are people right now, for example, who are preparing to go into North Korea as missionaries. If they are discovered, if they are arrested, then death will be a kindness. They know that they go to suffering and death. But they choose to go.

The great God who never forgets has a place of honor in His kingdom for those who choose. No, I don't understand it, but He knows how to turn shame into glory, suffering into triumph.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 28 -- Miracles -- Hebrews 11:29

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. -- Hebrews 11:29

The focus is never on the miracle; it is always on the God behind the miracle. The pagans sometimes saw the supernatural acts of the God of Israel. But they didn't know the God of Israel and couldn't make His "magic" work for them. That's why they hauled the ark of the covenant into the temple of Dagon, and that's why their god fell flat on his face before the the Lord's ark.

The unbelieving religionists in Jesus' day demanded a sign, a show of power. Herod wanted Jesus to entertain him with miracles. Jesus refused. They wanted the miracle but despised the Master.

Jesus warns us not to cast our pearls before swine. In doing so, He tells us something about Himself. His miracles are not cheap toys to be played with, but rather an expression of His heart.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 29 -- The campaign to set a woman free -- Hebrews 11:31

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. -- Hebrews 11:31

God is much more optimistic than most of us are. How many of us are willing -- even quick -- to write off certain people as hopeless, as beyond our help. But even as God planned judgment for Jericho, He was also determining how to rescue Rahab.

We think people are hopeless because we forget that the Christian life is a miracle. It is supernatural. It cannot occur without the intervention of God. But when God shows up, all the obstacles that defeat us are torn out of the way.

Many invisible chains were wrapped around Rahab's life, keeping her enslaved. The campaign that opened the Promised Land, was also a campaign to set a woman free. It's no mistake that Rahab is mentioned in the ancestry of Christ. Jesus ignores the religionists and goes straight to work on the hopeless, because He brings hope to every broken heart.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 30 -- Something new -- Hebrews 11:30

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. -- Hebrews 11:30

How many cities fell because people marched around them? One.

How many times did the sun stand still? One.

How many times did the Red Sea part? One.

What's the point? God isn't stuck in yesterday. He's solidly into today. He has something new for you this moment. He doesn't make you gnaw on the crusts of yesterday's leftover revelation. He gives new illumination from his timeless word every day.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

January 31 -- Now we marvel -- Hebrews 11:30

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. -- Hebrews 11:30

God always has a plan and it doesn't always make sense ... to us. It was time to pay taxes and Jesus sent Peter fishing. It was time to take a city and God sent His people marching. It was time to save the world, and Jesus told His followers to put away their swords.

All of these things seemed crazy at the time. But now we marvel.

I don't know what your life is like, but my life seems crazy right now. I don't understand it. But what does that mean? It means God is cooking up something good.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

02-01 -- The finish line -- Hebrews 12:22-24

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. -- Hebrews 12:22-24

On the day your name was written in heaven, you became part of something bigger than you, bigger than life itself. Hebrews speaks of a race, and there is no way to measure the glory at the finish line.

Years ago I had a dream that the heavens were beginning to open and I knew at the next moment I would see God. Was I leaving this life? I didn't know. I thought that I would feel fear, but I didn't. In the place of fear was wonder, an awe which I, the writer, have not found words to describe even though 20 years have passed.

Jesus speaks of true riches. What are they? They are the face of Christ, the family of God, and the song of the Father.

I've known people who have visited heaven. None of them wanted to come back. I think the Lord wants to encourage us -- it's going to be worth it.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 02 -- Releasing the River -- John 7:38

Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. -- John 7:38

Dig deep enough inside, and you will find the indestructible you -- the you created and imagined by the mind of God. The you that will live forever, strong in the Father’s joy, rich with the Savior’s tears, afraid of nothing, understanding everything.

How do you find that hero within? How do you dig through the dirt, wash away the mud to reveal the diamond deep down?

The old way of trying harder, the shame and frustration gospel only rearranges the clay, but the diamond never comes to the light, the river is not released. We need a new and different way to submit to the Lordship of Christ. We need to rediscover the surprisingly Biblical key to connecting with God so that what we once called revival becomes simply ... life.

This journey takes us backwards, not forwards, into what we think are the darkest places in our hearts. But it is there in the helpless, hopeless, neediest places of our soul that we run smack into the heart of God. The darkness we so feared is replaced by dazzling light. Christ our Savior has appeared. In all our weakness, He has been made strong. Where we had nothing to offer, the River of His love rushes out to nourish all that is dry and parched within.

The sons and daughters of God are being revealed to this generation. The River is being released.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 03 -- Interruptions -- Luke 8:45

"Who touched Me?" Jesus asked. -- Luke 8:45

I hate interrupting people. I hate being interrupted.

Jesus, of course, was interrupted constantly. If you read through the gospels, you'll find that much -- maybe most -- of His ministry was responding to interruptions.

In this passage, Jesus is on a mission: to heal a dying twelve-year-old girl. I have two daughters so I can imagine how urgent her father's pleas were for Jesus to waste no time and come to his home right away.

Along the way, Jesus was interrupted -- not once, but constantly. The crowd was jostling Him, throwing questions at Him, making requests, pressing in from every direction. Jesus ignored all those interruptions, save one.

"Who touched Me?" He asked.

This was the one interruption that Jesus sensed was different. This interruption merited a stop -- even a stop on the way to heal a dying girl.

Why?

It's a very human story. A woman's personal physical problem was consuming her life. All she had was gone and her problem was worse instead of better. She knows that God will heal her if only she can touch the edge of the Master's robe.

I can so relate to this woman. She didn't want to interrupt the important Healer. She just wanted to sneak in, quietly get her miracle, and steal away. But Jesus said, "Why touched Me?"

In that moment, Jesus validates all of us who are afraid to interrupt. We are important too. He calls us out and He wants to hear our story. He wants to look at us. He wants to listen to us. He wants to speak to us. He wants to send us away with His blessing.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 04 -- Safety – Jude 1:24

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy ... -- Jude 1:24

When my children were little, if they wandered away, where would I go? After them, of course. If I saw them do something that would harm them, what would I do? Intervene. Pull them back. Make them safe. Keep them on the right track.

When I was a little boy first starting school, one of my biggest fears was that I would get on the wrong school bus and never make it home. Now that I'm a man, I find myself often in uncharted territory in relationships, in business, in ministry, in my work on EmpowerGood.com.

A friend and I were praying about this, and the Lord shared something with me that I want to pass on to you. God is watching over me. He didn't let me get on the wrong bus in Kindergarten, and He isn't going to let me get on the wrong bus now.

If you fear that you have taken the wrong bus, or if you fear that you might, let me reassure you. God is here, redeeming, repairing, rebuilding, restoring, guiding and keeping us safe. He isn't here to let His precious children wander away.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 05 -- Creative solutions -- Matthew 17:27

Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours. -- Matthew 17:27

This being tax season here in the US, I thought we'd get the Lord's perspective on taxes.

First of all, nobody seemed to have the money to pay the tax. Many of us can relate.

Second, Jesus wasn't upset by the lack. That is encouraging.

Third, God always has a creative solution. In this case, He sent Peter fishing.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 06 -- The triumph of God-- Proverbs 21:30

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord. -- Proverbs 21:30

Life is not so much our heroics as it is the triumph of God.

History is the record of the failed attempts of the enemy to get the best of God. The enemy does his worst, and God is not the least bit threatened by it. For over 4,000 years Satan wanted to get his hands on a fragile God. He finally got his chance at the cross. Jesus was crucified in weakness. But Satan's greatest triumph quickly became his greatest defeat.

There are many fragile people in the world whose names are written in heaven. They stumble and shake on the outside. But inside is the indestructible, undefeatable Spirit of God.

Our side wins.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 07 -- God's servants -- 1 Kings 22:19

I saw the LORD sitting on His throne with all the host of heaven standing around Him on His right and on His left. -- 1 Kings 22:19

I can't prove this, but I think the group that stood before the Lord was probably good angels and bad. I think the good angels stood on one side and the bad angels stood on the other side, and the LORD sat and talked to all of them.

If this is true (read the chapter and decide for yourself), then notice that God is in charge. God was rerouting the sinful plans of evil creatures to accomplish His own purposes. He listened to suggestions from both sides and opened the door for a lying spirit to spread lies through the prophets of an evil king.

A good prophet comes along and tells the king the truth, but, of course, the king doesn't listen, and pays with his life for his decision.

So we learn two things here. First, evil collapses upon itself. Evil only harmed evil. Second, God created angels to be His servants, and even though some of them fell into sin and chose evil, they do not cease to serve Him.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 08 -- God's will -- 1 Kings 22:20

One suggested this, and another that. -- 1 Kings 22:20

God's will, it seems, is a collaborative matter. God solicits ideas, suggestions.

Sometimes I would like God to just "tell me what to do." But He often puts the ball back in my court. "What do you want to do?" He asks.

God manages the smallest details without being a micromanager. He created creatures with intellect and emotion, and He engages us as He makes decisions. This is not a boot camp, it is a dance.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 09 -- What do you know to be true? -- Acts 4:28

They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. -- Acts 4:28

Nobody wins a fight against God. Herod and Pilate thought they were coming up with original moves on the cosmic chessboard, but they were playing right into God's plan.

This verse is part of the believer's prayer after the apostles were arrested, threatened and then released. They prayed for boldness, reminding themselves that they're on the winning side.

Sometimes when I'm praying I just get lost -- I'm not sure what to pray about or how to pray. That probably never happens to you, but it happens to me. So I look to God and He often seems to say, "What do you know to be true?"

That's where I pick up the thread. I may have all sorts of needs, but my God is bigger than all my problems. I can't figure out where to turn, but He knows the end from the beginning. He is my Shepherd. I shall not be in want.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 10 -- The beginning -- Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. -- Genesis 1:1

The Bible starts where it should: in the beginning. By kicking off the most important book in history with these words, God tells us something: We need to pay attention to where things started. God cares about how things began.

Do you have a problem? If you go to God for the solution, He will probably take you back to where the problem began, there you and He will correct it together.

Go back far enough, and you will find God. And, if you need it, you will also find a new beginning.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 11 -- Ready -- Genesis 1:2

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. -- Genesis 1:2

Four years ago I was getting ready to write a devotional on this verse. My then 12-year old daughter came into my office at that moment and asked if she could help. “Do you have any thoughts on this verse,” I asked. She looked at it and said, "It sounds like somebody's life before they become a Christian. God is there waiting and ready."

Couldn't have said it better myself. No matter how messed up things are, God is there, waiting and ready – ready for verse 3 – ready to bring the light.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 12 -- God saw -- Genesis 1:4

God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. -- Genesis 1:4

God "saw" that the light was good. Didn't He know? Yes, He knew before He created the light that it would be good. But He wanted more than knowing. He wanted to experience it. So He brought light into being and saw that it was good.

Just as the Bible invites us to "taste and see that God is good," so also God wants to experience us. He knows us inside and out, but that isn't enough for Him. He created us, He redeemed us, He pursues us because He wants more than knowing.

Before I married Kim I knew that she was godly, sweet and beautiful. So why bother marrying her? Because what was then just a thought is now every day an experience, a discovery, an enrichment.

In the same way God desires to share life with you.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 13 -- Let them rule ... -- Genesis 1:26

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule ... " -- Genesis 1:26

God intended for us to rule, to "have dominion." This point is lost on many people -- and I didn't understand it for many years.

I always defined my relationship with God by my obedience. Was I a good boy or a bad boy? Deep inside I figured God wanted someone to boss around -- and that someone was me, if I was good.

Should we be obedient? Of course.

Is God in charge? Without a doubt.

But limiting our Christian experience to "trust and obey" bleeds a lot of life out of what is supposed to be a rich relationship with God. God's plan for us is much broader, deeper and richer than just obeying orders. God wants us to experience, to desire, to enjoy, to love, to feel loved (the list goes on ...) and to rule.

God wants us in charge of a few things. He has given us authority -- and when we lost it in the garden, Jesus paid dearly to win it back on the cross. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places partly because He wants us there, and partly because we are intended for leadership.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 14 -- ... all their vast array -- Genesis 2:1

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. -- Genesis 2:1

For my devotional today, I'm going to refer you to a secular site:

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/

God doesn't need the heavens, of course. But we need the heavens and the earth to begin to comprehend who God is. The same God who arranged the galaxies, has a lofty plan that includes us. The God who shaped the earth is shaping our lives. The God who weaved together strands of DNA, is weaving our circumstances with His love. And the God who built protons and neutrons and sent electrons flying around them is the One who cares about the tiniest detail of our lives.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 15 -- The seventh day -- Genesis 2:2-3

By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. -- Genesis 2:2-3

There's something nice about closure. When the dishes are all washed and put away. When you climb into bed at night with a sense of satisfaction over a job well done. When the storm is over and the air is sweet and clean.

Each of us has been given an assignment of eternal significance. The work we do is meant to last forever. Not making widgets, or answering the phone, or doing power lunches. But rather the power of the presence of God within us. The ripples of our influence are meant to never end.

Because of Who resides within us, there is no way to measure the significance of our work. But, in keeping with God's design, our work will end someday, and we will rest just as God did.

Let me say this to encourage those of you who may feel like you are spinning your wheels and going no where. You are on assignment. Most of what you accomplish will be unseen by men, but never forgotten by God. Hang in there. Your work matters and it will soon be over. The day of rest is coming.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 16 -- God planted a garden -- Genesis 2:7 from the Jubilee Bible

And the LORD God had planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. -- Genesis 2:7 from the Jubilee Bible

I want to focus on the words "had planted." God was ready for Adam and He is ready for us. He has planted a "garden" designed just for us.

My wife knows that I love her oatmeal cookies. I've never tasted anything that remotely compares to them. So last night she stayed up late making me oatmeal cookies while I slept. It was a thoughtful act of love, and I felt honored by her consideration.

Who can measure the good that God has stored up for us? Who knows what lies right around the corner for the sons and daughters of God!

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 17 -- The first command -- Genesis 2:16

And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free ... " -- Genesis 2:16

What was he free to do?

I love watching little children play. The moments come and go with spicy unpredictability -- running barefoot through mud puddles, storing dragon's treasure in the refrigerator, digging up rocks from the garden and purifying them in the bathtub.

"How 'bout this!" is what my kids used to say, just before they make up some new twist to an old game of pretend.

God's first command to the human race starts with His enjoyment of our spontaneity. "You are free," He says. And with a twinkle in our eye and a smile on our face, we reply, "How 'bout this!"

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 18 -- The impossible gift -- Genesis 2:21

So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep ... -- Genesis 2:21

Adam had a big job, naming all the animals. But the harder he worked, the more he realized that there was something he could not do -- he could not come up with a companion that reflected back the image of God. The animals were a work of wonder, but none of them contained the very breath of God.

Nor could Adam fashion this companion himself. Unlike the Almighty, he could not gather together the dust of the ground, and breathe life into art.

This was a task way, way beyond him.

But look what God did. God put Adam in a deep sleep. And from his position of utter helplessness, Adam awoke to the greatest miracle of creation. Now humanity was complete. Now Adam and his "suitable helper" (the words seem cheap) could bring forth children stamped with the image of God.

Two lessons: First, when we set out to do the impossible, sooner or later God will put us in a deep sleep -- that is, He will get us out of the way so He can do what only He can do. And second, look at the miracle of what God has done -- and celebrate it every time you see a child; God has given us the gift of creation.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 19 -- God hears -- Genesis 4:10

"Your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground." -- Genesis 4:10

God is the One who listens to the cries of those who have been silenced.

I am at times angered, horrified, discouraged or numb over the suffering of my brothers and sisters, young and old all over the world. But I keep coming back to God, and here, at the beginning, He declares Himself. Every drop of blood cries out, and God hears those cries.

The world, in its hatred of God, tries in every way to silence the voices of His children. But those voices will be heard, and their cries will never be forgotten.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 20 -- Walking with God -- Genesis 5:22

And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. -- Genesis 5:22

I've often wondered about the time from Adam to Noah. What was life like? Think about it. In our world, it takes 1-15 years to become proficient at a profession. To take out 15 years, for example, to become a neurosurgeon, you are committed to that path probably for life. But if you live to be 800 years old, you could learn to be a surgeon, a plumber, an attorney, a writer, an architect -- whatever -- you could be all of those things. And if childbearing years stretched into the centuries, a couple might have over a hundred children. You can see why it says that people built cities. They needed cities to contain the tens of thousands of descendants they would see during their own lifetime. We think of this time as being primitive, but we don't know that. It may very well have been more advanced in many technologies than we are now.

In the middle of these centuries, a pivotal figure emerges. Enoch, the seventh from Adam. He may have had a hundred children. He may have been a surgeon, an attorney, a prophet, an architect, and who knows what all else rolled up into one. But one thing mattered above everything else: He walked with God.

This is one thing I appreciate about our Father in heaven. There are many things that may be beyond the reach of most of us. But God makes the thing that matters most easy to find. He put it on the lower shelf so all of us can reach it. He opens the door, holds out His hand and says, "Let's take a walk."

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 21 -- Comfort -- Genesis 5:28-29

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed." -- Genesis 5:28-29

We look for comfort in strange places. My first response when I read this is to say, "Asking a child to bring comfort to the parents is a laying a heavy burden on a child. Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

It appears that Lamech is saying, "God has cursed the ground. That hurts us. That puts God against us. So we cannot go to God for comfort because God is only interested in our discomfort. We cannot find comfort in ourselves. So the only thing we have left is our children."

Us vs. God. The classic lie. God won't help us so we need to look elsewhere.

I don't know. Maybe Lamech's thoughts were more lofty than I give him credit for. But look at what God did with Lamech's words. Noah did bring comfort, though in a far different way than Lamech must have imagined. Noah brought the human race to the other side of the flood, to a place where violence no longer covered the earth.

There, on the other side of the flood, Noah built an altar to the LORD, replacing murder with worship. And God responded by bringing the comfort that could only come from God. In Genesis 8:21, "The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in His heart: 'Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.'"

Even when we look elsewhere for our comfort, in the end it will come from God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 22 -- Boundaries -- Genesis 6:3

"My Spirit will not contend with man forever ... " -- Genesis 6:3

Everyone needs boundaries, and even God sets boundaries for Himself. There is a limit to what He will put up with.

This is a great comfort. The more we learn about what evil exists in this world, the more disgusting and overwhelming it may seem. But the time will come when God says, "Enough is enough."

Like every boundary, there are two sides. On this side of the boundary, God limits Himself. If we open the door, God walks in. If we slam it shut, He stays out. Here God contends with men and women, navigating through the choices made in a fallen world.

But on the other side of the boundary, God stops contending. The die is cast. We are revealed for who we truly are, and eternity awaits.

Every day I think about our brothers and sisters who suffer persecution because of who they are in Christ. All of us suffer with them; all of us feel their pain. But God has declared that He will not contend forever. Soon comes the freedom of the sons and daughters of God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 23 -- Understanding -- Genesis 6:4

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days -- and also afterward -- when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. -- Genesis 6:4

Okay, okay, what is this verse talking about? Who are the sons of God? Who are the daughters of men? Who are the Nephilim?

I don't know. And I don't think you know either. Were the sons of God angels? demons? men? We can argue about it all day long, but, when the dust settles, we just don't know for sure.

Why does God do this? Why does He put obscure verses in the Bible that we probably won't figure out on this side of glory?

I get the picture of a child sitting at a dinner table listening to adult conversation. What are these adults talking about? It doesn't make sense!

There is a certain comfort in this. As God's children, we discover He knows all about many things that we don't yet understand. And here is a gentle reminder that we don't need to understand everything. We can release those things we don't understand to God. God knows, and, when we're ready, He will explain everything we need to know.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 24 -- Shelter -- Genesis 7:16

Then the LORD shut him in. -- Genesis 7:16

Was Noah able to close the door on the ark he built? I don't doubt he knew how to close the door. But the LORD shut him in. The writer didn't need to add this little phrase, but he did, because God wanted to underline an important thought.

In this violent world, where righteous men had been murdered, God was preparing two plans: the flood and the ark, devastation and shelter, wrath and mercy. Noah was not just in the ark of his own making. God shut him in. God assured his salvation.

And God has an answer for the little voices that try to pull us out of the ark, the little voices that seek make us inherit the wrath of God. God is the One who shuts us in. God is the one who teaches us who we are, how we found grace in the eyes of the Lord, how we were found righteous in our generation, how the gift of eternal life came to be ours. God is pulling us out of the flood of shame and fear, into the ark of His favor. God is the One who shuts the door.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 25 -- History and experience -- Genesis 8:4

... on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. -- Genesis 8:4

It's easy to forget that what is now history was once experience. We have no record of Noah being informed how he would get out of the ark, of how God would keep the timbers together no matter how high the waves got to be, of how God would prevent the hull from being torn apart by some rock formation, of how the door that was shut would open again.

Many of us find ourselves in the same "boat." We don't know how we are going to get out, we just know that God is responsible for our deliverance.

If you are looking around, like I have, saying, "This is impossible!" then I have good news for both of us. God has it all figured out. Someday we will be able to look at a calendar, point to the date, and say, "On this day, my problem came to rest. This was the day of my deliverance."

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 26 -- A sense of security -- Genesis 8:22

As long as the earth edures,

seedtime and harvest,

cold and heat,

summer and winter,

day and night

will never cease.

-- Genesis 8:22

I love the spring. May is one of my favorite months. Two of my children were born in May. And May always signifies to me the end of winter and the beginning of summer.

God has built into our lives certain rhythms. They give us a sense of security. A sense of knowing what to expect. Although I find beauty in winter, my enthusiasm for cold, snow and ice isn't what it was 35 years ago. But every year I look forward to Christmas, so I can overlook the cold until Christmas comes. Then, on January 15th, I tell myself and everyone else who wants to know that it's all downhill from here -- winter in Wisconsin is on it's way out. (With La Nina giving us record snowfalls and almost unrelenting cold here in Wisconsin this year, I've needed to tell myself that more than once! It finally got up to 20F (-7C) Saturday. With the sunshine it felt like summer!)

What's the point?

The point is this: We have storms in our lives. We have winters, some of them harder than others. But spring is coming. The tide is changing. Dawn is approaching. Harvest will come. God has built rhythms deep in our experience that teach us He will bring us out, and we will be okay.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 27 -- God remembered -- Genesis 8:1

God remembered Noah ... -- Genesis 8:1

Wait a second! Hadn't God been thinking about Noah all along? How could God "remember" Noah?

On the surface it looks like God was preoccupied with something else, and then the kitchen timer went off, and God looked up and said, "Oh, yeah, that guy in the boat. I'd better do something about him."

Let me suggest another passage that might help explain this one: Psalm 78:65: "Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a man wakes from the stupor of wine."

Did God really wake up? Was God really asleep?

Of course not. But God knows that it seems that way to us sometimes. It probably seemed to Noah like God was preoccupied with something else. It may seem that way to you and to me.

At the right moment, God's intervention will be there. In our minds, it will seem like God "awoke," like God "remembered" us. But He isn't sleeping, and He has us in mind even as you read these words.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 28 -- Gain eclipses pain -- Genesis 12:1

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." -- Genesis 12:1

God was up front with Abram about the cost. It would cost him citizenship. It would cost him things familiar. It would cost him relationships.

God asks us to pay a price.

For ten years I lived a sleep deprived life. My four kids were a big part of the reason. It took them a long time to get used to the idea of getting to sleep and staying that way until morning. Kim did a lot of night time duty and so did I. And I paid for it. Many times I was driving down the road and I'd catch myself dreaming, and I'd realize I was asleep and driving and I needed to wake up.

But I don't resent the lost sleep. I was happy to hold my children, to talk to them, to share life with them. Love has no value until we pay the price.

God brought us into an eternal love relationship. As Christ's disciples, we take up our cross and follow Him. Why? Because God cares enough about us to ensure that we understand the value of what we have in Him.

But when it's over, we won't think about what we gave up. We will look into the face of God, just as I look into the faces of my children, and only think about what we have gained.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

February 29 -- The LORD appears -- Genesis 12:7

The LORD appeared to Abram ... -- Genesis 12:7

I wonder how many times Abram felt like turning back. Clearly he felt vulnerable; he felt the need to lie about his wife to protect his own skin. The years were going by and the promise that he would be made into a great nation hadn't even resulted in a single child. Every day he was reminded that he was a stranger, a guest, a pilgrim in a land he did not own -- a land where shepherds fought over grazing rights and watering holes, and if you lost the fight you might not survive.

Despite whatever fears, disappointments and struggles he faced, Abram traveled through the land.

And then the LORD appeared to him.

Many times I have prayed with people who have said, "The Lord will never speak to me." Yet before we were done praying, the Lord did speak soothing words of comfort and healing.

I knew He would, because at the right moment, the LORD will always appear. I don't know what form that will take for you. But I do know that the LORD is watching over our journey. He knows when we get tired and discouraged. He knows when we run out of hope and help. He knows when we have nothing left.

Then He will appear, and we will discover that everything we need is in Him.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 01 -- God works with what He has -- Genesis 12:17

But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. -- Genesis 12:17

Abram succumbs to fear and tells his wife to tell everyone that she is Abram's sister. In that culture, that gets Abram off the hook (they won't kill him to get his wife), but leaves Sarai in a vulnerable spot. Along comes Pharaoh. Sarai is beautiful, Pharaoh is impressed, and she gets added to the harem.

This whole scenario reminds me of a television soap opera. What a mess! Abram is getting rich on his own lies, but he's lost his wife. Sarai is beautiful but trapped. And nobody can muster the courage to tell Mr. Powerful the truth.

Think about all the ways God could have responded to this. He could have abandoned Abram and started over with someone who had the guts to tell the truth. He could have insisted that Abram go and confront Pharaoh and give back all the wealth he gained as "payment" for Sarai.

But God takes a different approach. He Himself confronts Pharaoh. He sends a very clear message to Mr. Powerful -- Pharaoh has made a mistake and he will pay dearly for it if he doesn't make things right.

What's the lesson? God works with what He has. While He has a right to demand whatever He wants from any of us, He doesn't wait until we are perfect before He intervenes on our behalf. We may have created a total mess, but He knows how to cut through it and set us free.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 02 -- The solution to quarrels -- Genesis 13:8

So Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me ... for we are brothers." -- Genesis 13:8

God wants to be the solution to our quarrels.

Kim and I argued for years and years about the same old things, and we never got anywhere. We were just mad at each other, until one of us got around to finding the humility to apologize. No matter the issue, it was always the other person's fault.

Then we started taking our anger to the Lord. We each made a startling discovery. My anger had almost nothing to do with Kim. Her anger had almost nothing to do with me. The anger came from someplace else.

No wonder the Lord didn't want us to quarrel. But God isn't asking us to just sit quiet and fume. His solution is not silent frustration. Instead, when we bring our anger to God, own it, recognize it, look at its source and give it to God, He gives us what we need to replace anger with peace, joy and confidence.

Does Kim still stir up anger in me? Sometimes. But, by comparison, hardly ever. Now, when I go to the place in my heart where the anger used to be, I find Jesus there, loving me.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 03 -- Real estate -- Genesis 13:18

"So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord." -- Genesis 13:18

The man of faith has just been edged out of the best portion, and asked to take the leftovers, the hand-me-downs, the dry crust, the worthless land. So what does he do?

I don't see any sign of resentment, whining, or complaining. Abram just moves on and sets up shop. And notice how he sets up shop: Abram builds an altar to the LORD.

Things are not what they appear. Abram knows that abundance and prosperity are where God is. The land chosen by his nephew, Lot, soon becomes a desolate waste, and Lot ends up a lonely old man living in a cave. Abram, however, prospers where he is at because he measures the value of real estate by its proximity to God, not by its location next to the wealth of the world.

We might not have the finest cars or the fanciest houses. But if our tent is pitched near the altar, we have genuine wealth.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 04 -- A look into the heavens -- Genesis 15:5

He [God] took him [Abram] outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars -- if indeed you can count them." Then He said to him, "So shall your offspring be." -- Genesis 15:5

God always has a plan, and it's always bigger than we are able to imagine. Who can understand the stars? The more we know, the more we realize how much we don't know. No one can count the stars. No one knows how big the universe is.

In the middle of Abram's doubt and discouragement, God came to him with the encouraging truth: Look up, see the incomprehensible, and know that I have a plan for you.

In our times of doubt and discouragement, I believe God takes us outside for a look into the heavens. There we see that He hasn't forgotten us. His plan for us is far greater than anything we could construct on our own.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 05 -- How can I know? -- Genesis 15:6,8

Abram believed the LORD ... but Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know ...?" -- Genesis 15:6,8

How can I know?

God is not offended by this question. Abram believed up to a point. Then he reached the limits of his faith. This would put many Christians at an impasse. But Abram, the father of faith, turns his doubts over to God.

How can I know?

We are all a mixture of doubt and faith, of truth and lies, of darkness and light. Deep inside every Christian is truth, faith and light, because we are born of God. But somewhere between the core of who we are and the part of us who lives day to day, trust in God wavers, and this is where we need God.

How can I know?

God will answer that question a bit differently for each person. For Abram, He gave him a dream inside a ceremony that made sense in his culture. For you and me, He will find some other way to speak with us. How does our faith grow? God grows it inside us when He answers our heartfelt question, "How can I know?"

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 06 -- God and our human plans -- Genesis 16:7

The angel of the LORD found Hagar ... -- Genesis 16:7

Hagar was in a mess. She was deeply embroiled in a human plan that went bad. Pregnant with Abram's first son, she made the mistake of getting snooty with Sarai, and Sarai was furious. Jealous, no doubt. Blaming. Even vindictive. Abram threw up his hands, hoping the problem would go away if he just stayed out of it.

The problem didn't go away, but Hagar did.

I suspect all of us have been here. We want God's plan, it doesn't seem to be happening, so we try to jump start it with a plan of our own. Our own plans go awry, and suddenly we have more trouble than we know what to do with.

What will God do? Will He be like Abram? Will He just stay out of it? Will He be like Sarai? Will He become furious with us for doing the wrong thing?

Neither. He comes looking for us. He finds us. When He does, He will have a word for us that puts us back on the path of favor.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 07 -- Seeing the plan of God -- Genesis 17:5

No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. -- Genesis 17:5

When Abram was 99 years old, God gave him a new name.

Why a new name?

Sometimes we get stuck. We get as far as we can, and can't go any further until God steps in and does the impossible. And such was the condition of Abram. His human plan had run its course. Ishmael was almost a teenager, but Sarai was barren, and the child of promise had not yet been conceived. The plan of God had not yet been released.

From a human perspective, it looked like things were going nowhere.

But God doesn't see things the way we do.

One day I was making bread in the bread machine. I mixed in all the ingredients with my six year old helping out. Then I turned it on and watched it start to mix and knead. Everything was working just the way I wanted it to. But my then six year old couldn't see what was happening until I picked her up high enough to see into the machine.

Sometimes God picks us up and gives us a look. He gave Abram a new name so that every time someone spoke to him, he would see the plan of God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 08 -- Steering the ship -- Genesis 17:18

"If only Ishmael might live under Your blessing!" -- Genesis 17:18

Question: How do you steer an ocean liner?

Answer: Give it time and space to turn. I've read that when you turn the wheel on the largest ships they keep going straight for as much as two miles before they finally start to turn. I don't know if that's true or not, but I do know that you won't be parallel parking an aircraft carrier in downtown Manhattan.

God is weaning Abraham from the human plan, so that he can move to the Divine plan. Although Ishmael was a valuable human being, and though God had a plan for Ishmael's life, Isaac, not Ishmael, was the child of promise. When you read the story, you see that Abraham hears God say this, Abraham repeats it, he appears to understand it, but he doesn't.

Sometimes God tells us something, but we just don't get it. We think we're tracking with God, but we're still lost in our own human plans. God knows that it takes time and space for us to get His plan in our heads. So He meets us where we are and steers us in the direction we are to go.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 09 -- The space between -- Genesis 18:33

When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, He left, and Abraham returned home. -- Genesis 18:33

What an awesome privilege Abraham had -- to make a meal for God Himself. And he made quite a production of it -- bringing water to wash their feet, baking the equivalent of about 35 loaves of bread. This 99 year old man ran to the herd, to select the best calf he owned to butcher for these men. Then Abraham stood before the LORD and pleaded for the people of Sodom.

And then the visit was over. God left, and Abraham returned home.

I'm amazed at how much space God gives us. I'm a meddling firstborn; I like to have my mitts on everything. If I were God, I wouldn't just visit -- I'd move in, so I could personally supervise every detail of their lives. But God is wiser than I am. He gives us space to be us.

We love our encounters with God. But the space between those encounters is also a gift from God. It is the gift of open handed love.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 10 -- Don't look back! -- Genesis 19:17

"Don't look back ...!" -- Genesis 19:17

Here is a lesson on value. Lot misjudged value. He didn't understand the value of real estate -- he pitched his tent toward Sodom. He didn't understand value in people -- when he tried to reason with the young men he had chosen to marry his daughters, they thought he was joking. Now he was given a final choice: the mountains or Sodom.

Lot still struggled with this. He couldn't see that camping out with God was far better than sharing the finest hotel with the devil.

Even in warnings, even in crises, God is teaching, guiding and holding out hope for His children. Lot lost much, but God was at work to ensure that he kept what was most important.

If the Lord is trimming the world out of your life, don't look back. What lies ahead is better; God will give you the best.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 11 -- Laughter -- Genesis 21:6

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." -- Genesis 21:6

There are many different kinds of laughter. Some laugh to be cruel, mocking the pain of others. There is the laughter of surprise, the sudden release when we get to the punch line of a good joke. Some laugh in amazement, others in disbelief or cynicism.

Sarah laughed the laughter of joy, of a long-awaited promise come true. If you read between the lines, it seems that the barrenness of her womb had been matched by a bleak emptiness in her soul. Now color had come back into her world.

The Lord reproved Sarah for her laughter of disbelief in chapter 18. But now the Lord has given her the gift of laughter, a rich return to the goodness of life.

God chose the name Isaac for the child of promise, the name that means laughter. This is His gift to all who believe. Through whatever path He is leading you, He will bring you to the laughter of joy.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 12 -- Test time -- Genesis 22:1

"Some time later, God tested Abraham." -- Genesis 22:1

Why does God test us? Because He expects to find something good.

This is, by the way, exactly the opposite reason why Satan tempts us. Satan expects to find something bad.

But even if our weaknesses are revealed by the test, God expects to use that as an opportunity for good. Peter's fears were revealed in the courtyard. But God used that as an opportunity to get Peter honest with himself about His need for God, and it led to Peter's restoration. In the years that followed, Peter was tested many times, but those fears were erased and the tests revealed courage instead.

What does a test from God mean? It means that He is working with us, and His work inside us will be revealed.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 13 -- You are an answer -- Genesis 24:19

"I'll draw water for your camels too ... " -- Genesis 24:19

So much rested on finding the right wife for Isaac. The future of God's promises to Abraham would be fulfilled, in part, through Rebekah. She would shape the character of a nation.

Just as Abraham ran to the herd (Genesis 18:7) to provide the best in hospitality, so also Rebekah goes the extra mile and keeps on going to provide the best in hospitality. She didn't know that she was an answer to prayer and the fulfillment of Abraham's prophecy. She didn't know that she was about to get the reward of a lifetime. This was her character -- doing what she could to honor and bless those around her.

Today you are an answer to someone's prayer. You are a gift beyond measure because the character of Christ is inside you.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 14 -- I am with you -- Genesis 26:23

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you." -- Genesis 26:23

Isaac is on the run -- the Philistines are crowding him out of the land, filling up his wells, telling him to move on. Isaac, like Abraham before him, was ripped off by the inhabitants of the land. They took advantage of him, but Isaac kept a level head, and didn't do anything stupid.

Then the LORD appeared to him to put it all in perspective.

Do not be afraid, God says to us. Every command carries a promise, a truth meant to be anchored deep inside our hearts. God is here. He wants us to understand that His presence will make everything okay.

What does it mean when God is with us? It means that there is some purpose to all this running. God would not put us on the run if it didn't fulfill a good purpose. It means that God takes note of our pursuers and will deal with them. It means that God's plans will unfold, even if they seem fragile and weak. They are, in reality, indestructible in the hands of God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 15 -- Joy and grief -- 1 Peter 1:6

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief ... -- 1 Peter 1:6

On the surface, this seems contradictory. Joy and grief? How can they coexist? If joy is the opposite of grief, then wouldn't you need to get rid of all grief in order to have joy?

Not so.

When we were mourning the loss of a loved one, I made an amazing discovery. Underneath are the everlasting arms. While others grieved without hope, falling through emptiness in a bottomless pit of sorrow, we were buoyed up by something far bigger than us or our pain. The sorrow passed, but the joy remained.

One day I received an email from the husband of a woman who could feel no love. Like so many others, she was the adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse. There simply is no way to measure the devastation caused by this childhood trauma. Yet her approach was to shut it down, to never "go there." Of course. Who would want to "go there"? Yet, by shutting down the grief, she also lost the joy. She became unable to feel.

Joy is greater than grief. But sometimes the path to joy, takes us through grief. There in our place of sorrow, Jesus meets us, and sorrow is exchanged for joy.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 16 -- The lesson of the still small voice -- 1 Kings 19:12

... after the fire [came] a still small voice. -- 1 Kings 19:12

Sometimes we underestimate the power of the "still small voice."

After Elijah's great victory on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), the enemy cut through Elijah's defenses and found the same lies that plague many of us: "My life is defined by the enemy's threats." "I'm all alone." "There's something wrong with me or I wouldn't be in this mess."

God sent fireworks on Mount Carmel. And He could have sent fire down from heaven to consume Jezebel, but He didn't. Instead, he taught Elijah the lesson of the still small voice.

We may have major problems in life. When we do, we like fireworks. We want miracles with flash and pizzazz that wipe away our difficulties. Quite often, however, God leaves us in our place of difficulty until He finishes teaching us the lesson of the still small voice.

What did the gentle whisper from God do for Elijah? God's quiet voice brought the calming truth back into the core of Elijah's being. Elijah wasn't alone. God had preserved a remnant. He had plans to eliminate the worship of false gods, and Elijah would have a role in setting those plans in motion. It was Jezebel, not Elijah, who was truly in danger.

Again and again, God's still small voice has come to me, teaching me the truth about Him, about myself, about life. Sometimes the whisper is so quiet, I catch myself wondering, "Is this really You, God?" But then I look at the fruit. Even when my circumstances get worse and worse, I feel more and more peace. My cares seem lighter and lighter, because Jesus takes them from me with a gentle whisper.

May the Lord's still small voice be with you today.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 17 -- Less than perfect -- Genesis 27:19

Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn...." -- Genesis 27:19

God's plan, man's way. Several things about this whole story trouble me. Each parent had a favorite. Isaac and Rebekah were miles apart. Isaac didn't seem to perceive the will of God. Jacob was a cheat. And yet Jacob was God's choice.

I contrast Jacob and David in my mind. What made David such a great man of God? He didn't force God's hand. He could have killed Saul, but he didn't. He suffered persecution he didn't deserve from a king who didn't deserve to be a king, and he did nothing to change the situation, except obey God.

But Jacob listened to Rebekah, and followed her scheme to get the will of God past her husband Isaac.

I don't know about you, but it was a painful lesson for me to discover that my heroes weren't perfect. I came close to losing my faith, to be honest. I got so cynical and so bitter because Christian leaders were so flawed.

But the Lord showed what I needed to mend my heart. The same God who put these leaders in their office of leadership knows how to work around all their faults, just like He knows how to work around mine. God didn't choose Jacob because he was perfect. Instead, God custom designed Jacob's life to show us all that He knows how to lead and to purify us flawed human beings.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 18 -- Connected to heaven -- Genesis 28:12-13a

[Jacob] had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD ... -- Genesis 28:12-13a

Jacob's deception was beginning to backfire. He had won his father's blessing but lost his father. In place of blessing, he was a fugitive, running for his life. Yes, he had a cover story -- he was looking for a wife. But the real motivation for the trip was to escape Esau's revenge. And while Jacob did gain a wife, he seems to have lost his mother; she is never mentioned again.

The road ahead for Jacob would not be easy. He would learn what it was like to be on the business end of a scam. He would spend years working to build up his household only to see his family and wealth almost taken away first by Laban, then by Esau. His dear Rachel would die in childbirth. Dinah would be raped. Bilhah would be defiled by Reuben. Simeon and Levi would nearly get them all killed. Judah's sons would die. Joseph would disappear. Simeon would be taken prisoner. Benjamin would almost become a slave while famine gnawed away at their wealth and threatened their very lives.

But central to Jacob's life is not deception, nor is it tragedy and loss. Central to Jacob's life is his connection with heaven. All his troubles would have no meaning apart from his connection to the One who stands above the stairway.

And what are all these angels doing -- ministering to those who will inherit salvation? The God who seems so remote and far away in our times of trouble is near, and busy with His angels keeping us connected to heaven, giving all our troubles a depth of meaning they would otherwise never have.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 19 -- Finding love -- Genesis 29:25

"When morning came, there was Leah!" -- Genesis 29:25

In the dirty tricks department, this has to rank as one the cruelest deceptions in the Bible. I've often thought about Jacob's dismay, but today I'm thinking about Leah. What pain she must have suffered! Her wedding night should have been one of the happiest moments in her life. Instead, she was trapped in her father's deception, forced to receive the affections and attention that she knew were intended for someone else.

And so began a lifetime of misery, knowing that she was unloved, that she would always live in the shadow of her younger sister, never measuring up.

God gave Leah six sons and a daughter. Without her husband's love, it seems that her children were all she had. The last time Leah is mentioned, she and her children are being used as a human shield to protect Rachel and Joseph from Esau. Like so many other people, Leah lived a broken life.

Where do we find happiness when our dreams are dashed to the ground like broken pottery?

I catch a hint of the answer in 29:31, "When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren."

Perhaps Jacob didn't have enough sense to love Leah at first -- or maybe at all -- but the LORD loved her.

We sing this little song: "Jesus loves me, this I know."

How do we know? We know God's love with our logical minds because the Bible tells us so. But we need to know deep inside, so we have something big enough and strong enough to carry us through the deep hurts of life. How? There is only one way. We must bring all of those unloved places in our hearts to God, and let Him love us back to peace and joy.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 20 -- Unreasonable demands -- Genesis 30:1

"Give me children, or I'll die!" -- Genesis 30:1

Forced to compete with each other for love and status, Rachel and Leah were both in a lose-lose situation. As Leah bore Jacob son after son, Rachel's exasperation over her own childlessness expressed itself in blame. Read between the lines. "It's your fault, Jacob," she is saying. "You are the cause of my unhappiness."

In one form or another, I think almost every marriage weathers this kind of storm. The spouse that was supposed to bring so much happiness fails, and the finger of blame is pointed.

And every spouse will fail. The most beautiful, the most handsome, the most romantic, the most godly, the richest, the strongest -- they will all fail. No other person can bring us what we need deep inside.

I love and I like my wife. She loves and she likes me. But here's the amazing thing: The less I need my wife to make me happy, the more I enjoy her. There is a great freedom in letting God meet these impossible needs. God's love never fails. It reaches into the neediest places in our hearts and fills up all of the void.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 21 -- Making requests -- Genesis 30:24

"May the LORD add to me another son." -- Genesis 30:24

Rachel seems to have grown up a little bit. She seems to understand that God is the One who gives us what we want.

Now the question is this: Do we really know what we want?

Rachel thought she wanted another son. But, if she had known in advance that she would die in childbirth with that second son, what would have happened to her request?

It seems very obvious to us what it will take to make us happy. We bring our requests to God and try to get Him to see the wisdom in our petitions. "Dear God," we pray, "if only you give me what I want, then I will truly be happy forever."

How does God deal with these requests? Does He scold us for presumption? Does He grant our requests and then laugh at us as we deal with the fallout of our own stupidity? No, instead He sends Someone to pray for us, Someone who can make intercession for us according to the will of God.

We can't outdo God in coming up with a plan that will make us eternally happy. That's why He delays or ignores some of our urgent requests, to make room for something far, far better.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 22 -- A little bit extra -- Genesis 31:19

When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's household gods. -- Genesis 31:19

Sometimes you just wonder. What was Rachel thinking? I guess she thought she needed all the luck she could get.

I have a little rhyme I used to say to my son, "Two plus two equals four, seldom less, sometimes more." Here is a situation where addition doesn't work. You can't add to God and get more. You only get less.

When we add our efforts to God's, we don't end up ahead, we end up behind. God quietly steps out of the way until our own efforts run their doomed course.

As Abram stepped out into the unknown, God stepped out with him. He wanted to do the same for Rachel, and He wants to do the same for us. Whatever "rabbit's foot" we bring along for extra security only puts a hole in our defenses.

The Bible doesn't say, but it may be that Rachel clung to these gods for another ten to fifteen years until the slaughter at Shechem (Genesis 34 & 35) threatened to wipe out Jacob's entire family. There, with danger all around, she may have finally learned that security only comes from the one true God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 23 -- Deferring judgment to God -- Genesis 31:53

"May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." -- Genesis 31:53

The differences between Jacob and Laban are irreconcilable because they are based on lies. Jacob thinks his family is being falsely accused of stealing Laban's household gods. Jacob is wrong. Laban discounts Jacob's twenty years of labor and looks at his wives, children and flocks as his own possession, taken away by Jacob. Laban is wrong.

It's election year here in the USA, and every time there's a Presidential election, I get angry. I'm angry because lies are told about the candidates -- and I know there are people out there who believe them. They aren't so much lies of fact as they are lies of nuance, lies of emphasis, subtle and sophisticated lies designed to color and skew everyone's perspective.

For being so mixed up about so many things, I think Laban makes a prudent move here. He defers all judgment to God. God really is the only One who sees clearly. Jacob and Laban were both mistaken, but God is not. There is no such thing as an objective journalist, but God is objective, trustworthy and true.

Every conflict whether between spouses or between nations will ultimately be decided by God. He knows what the real issues are. Some day we will stand in awe before Him, at the unraveling of all things, and we will rejoice because God is Judge.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 24 -- Wrestling -- Genesis 32:24

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. -- Genesis 32:24

If ever Jacob needed a word of encouragement, now was the time. His brother Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. That could mean only one thing, Jacob was in great danger. Everything he had worked for in the last twenty years could be gone in a few hours. His wives and his children could be taken from him, and he would be powerless to prevent it.

My two boys – then ages 8 and 11 -- were fighting one day. There were angry words and tears and more angry words. I suppose I could have sat them down and said, "Now, boys, this is how you should be nice to each other." But, somehow, I didn't think that would work.

So I told them both to come here, that I was going to beat some sense into them. (Of course I didn't actually beat them. I just wrestled with them a bit.) Then the three of us sat down on the couch - one on each side of me - and we looked at a book I got from the library on military aircraft. There we sat for fifteen minutes or so looking at Tomcats and Harriers and cargo planes. At first they were both pretty sullen, but it wasn't long before all three of us got lost in figuring out how big these planes were, how fast they flew, what they carried and who flew them.

After fifteen (or was it twenty-five?) minutes, I looked at them and asked, "If I let you guys go, do you think you can figure out how to get along with each other?"

The younger one got up and hugged the older one. Then the older one stood up and hugged the younger one. Then they both walked back into their world.

I honestly don't know if that's good parenting or not. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

And here God meets with Jacob, but he doesn't say a word. All He does is wrestle with him. What must have been going through Jacob's mind? Everything Jacob had was on the line -- his own survival was a major question mark. And now this.

Yet, at the end of the night, something changed. Jacob discovered something about God he could find out no other way. And God gave him a new name to show him that you can wrestle with God and with men and prevail.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 25 -- Esau's face -- Genesis 33:10

For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. -- Genesis 33:10

How is the face of Esau like the face of God?

For twenty years Jacob lived a fugitive. Sure, he was working. He was raising a family and building a career. But in the back of his mind was one nagging thought that wouldn't go away: Esau. Somewhere there was a man who wanted Jacob dead. With the passage of time, would he calm down and forget about it? Or would he show up in Jacob's tent some night in the middle of the night with a sword in his hand?

For years Jacob waited for the word that never came. His mother promised to send word when Esau calmed down. But Esau didn't calm down. Instead, with revenge on his heart, he built an army of 400 men.

Jacob lived as a fugitive.

And so do we sometimes.

On the day I originally wrote this devotional, I wrestled with temptations. Thoughts in my mind that I didn't want to be there, but I couldn't seem to drive them away. No matter what I did, the thoughts came back like a swarm of hungry mosquitoes. When it was time to write this devotional, I thought to myself, "How can I possibly do this? What do I have to offer anybody? Why am I writing these devotionals anyway? What made me think I could do this?"

Deep in my heart I felt that I was not a child of God "seated with Christ in heavenly places," but rather a sinner, on the run, a fugitive, hoping God wouldn't find me with His sword of exposure and disapproval.

I was running, but as so often happens I wasn't really looking where I was going and I ran into the arms of God. No, I don't suppose that I myself have much to share, but here from this place where God's arms are wrapped around me, I write to you and say that Esau's face was like the face of God. In the place of wrath, we found mercy and tears of reconciliation.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 26 -- God's answer -- Genesis 35:1

Then God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau." -- Genesis 35:1

Things fell apart for Jacob. His daughter went out to find some female friends. The most eligible bachelor in the area found her, and turned her into a piece of property. Her brothers were, of course, enraged, so they cooked up a scheme to kill him and all the men in the city, claiming all their women and children for themselves. It doesn't take a Philadelphia lawyer to figure out that Jacob and family quickly became Public Enemy Number One in the eyes of the other inhabitants of the land.

When wisdom is absent, problems have a way of escalating until they are entirely out of control. Simeon and Levi, Jacob's violent sons, seem to have a short memory. They have forgotten the stories of how God delivered their great-grandmother back to her husband not once, but twice, without a shot being fired.

Enter God. God is pragmatic. He knows what He's dealing with. In this case, He knew that the fuse was short, the match was near, and this whole thing could explode. So He gave the direction of wisdom: "Start over somewhere else."

I don't know what your situation is, but whatever it is, God has the solution for you. It might mean moving and starting over. It might not. His solution will involve the practical things you can do (Jacob and his family moved), and the supernatural things that only God can do (the terror of the Lord fell upon the surrounding people as Jacob set out).

No problem is too complicated for God to solve.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 27 -- Looking forward -- Genesis 35:18

As [Rachel] breathed her last -- for she was dying -- she named [her newborn son] Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. -- Genesis 35:18

I always feel a great sense of sorrow when I read this passage. I imagine a man, first on the run because of his brother, now later on the run because of his sons, with no permanent home. Here, on the way, he pauses to watch his wife die.

What can he do? He has no permanent home, so all he can do is bury her on the way, pile up some stones, and walk away to probably never see his wife's grave again.

Sixteen years ago, Kim and I were homeless -- for eight months we stayed in a friend's basement some of the time, in my parents' house some of the time, a little bit here and a little bit there. And sixteen years ago this summer my wife experienced her second of several miscarriages.

I remember standing at the bottom of the basement steps, looking at my wife, afraid to spend too much time in this family's one bathroom, feeling so desolate and so alone. To be honest, life seemed bitter and cruel that day, and I think part of my heart closed to keep out the pain.

"Son of my sorrow" or "son of my right hand."

Jacob stood there at the great divide looking at the end of one life and the beginning of another and made the decision to look forward. He changed his son's name to reflect the future, not the past.

Even in our sorrow, God has a great store of hope, and He is not sparing with His children.

Kim and I have four children here on earth and that many in heaven. I often think about them. What will I learn from them? I know they are beautiful and I can't wait to meet them.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 28 -- Your dream -- Genesis 37:5

Joseph had a dream ... -- Genesis 37:5

Why does God give us dreams? To let us know that everything that doesn't make sense is headed someplace. Someplace good.

There was much about Joseph's life that didn't make sense. His brothers hated him. He lost his freedom. He lost his reputation. He lost his chance. He was forgotten, ignored, marginalized, underrated.

My life and my world often hasn't made sense either. If I could call all the shots, it would look very different. But God has given me a dream, just like He has given you a dream.

In that dream God tells us something about who we really are. Joseph was the ruler of the land. Everyone bowed before him. But nobody knew that when he was thrown into prison for a crime he didn't commit. Only God and Joseph knew. And Joseph was probably tempted to forget.

The bigger your dream, the more God needs to empty you from it, so He can step in and fill it. When God had removed all hope of Joseph ever becoming what his dream prescribed, then God stepped in and worked the miracle.

God has not forgotten the dream that He has given to you.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 29 -- Setbacks and opportunities -- Genesis 37:19

"Come now, let's kill [Joseph] and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." -- Genesis 37:19

God is so smart. He knows that the enemy schemes to destroy you and to destroy me. God could, of course, just stop every one of those schemes before it starts -- and, no doubt, He often does. But look here, God uses the very schemes of the enemy to bring about the triumph of God's people.

We see it here. God adjusts the plans of the jealous brothers, and Joseph is sent off to Egypt where he will become the ruler to whom they will bow. We see it in the evil plan of Caiaphas who said, "... it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish" (John 11:50).

We can look at all of our setbacks as attacks from the devil that need to be fought off. And they may be. But they are also opportunities for God to run circles around his foes.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 30 -- The robe of favor -- Genesis 37:23

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe -- the richly ornamented robe he was wearing ... -- Genesis 37:23

Each of us has been given a robe, for each of us is a favorite of the Father.

What is this robe? It is the favor, the attention, the undisguised devotion of the Father.

These are robes. They are not uniforms. I cannot wear yours, nor can you wear mine. It wouldn't fit. It wouldn't look right. Your robe is for you alone.

Joseph's brothers believed the lie that they were not loved. They simply could not see into the future ages to understand the honor that was theirs. They tried to suck their brother into their small world, where favor was measured in grudging spoonfuls rather than in buckets overflowing. Joseph owed them a debt, they reasoned. He received too much love and most of it needed to be taken away from him.

The Bible says that we love because God first loved us. Soaking up the Father's love is a wonderful thing because it releases the love of God inside us for others. When we know the truth that God loves us, we are free to love one another.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

March 31 -- When our reputations are broken -- Genesis 39:16-18

[Potiphar's wife] kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story: "That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house." -- Genesis 39:16-18

I'm glad this story is in the Bible, because we need it. Who among us hasn't been falsely accused! My wife was once accused of stealing fifty dollars from the cash register where she worked. She didn't take the money, but even now, over thirty years later, I'm not sure the owner believes her.

I know of two people who have been accused of sexual harassment and/or assault. In both cases, I have strong reason to believe that the charges are false. Nevertheless, the accusations are tearing their lives apart. They have lost money, ministry, trust, friends, and more. Even if they are exonerated, the damage cannot be undone.

There are powerful lessons here: The prudent see danger and take refuge. That woman (or man) who seems so inviting can be a death trap. The fly thinks the spider is harmless until he is caught in her web. Some people will happily destroy the life of another for fun or for financial gain.

Most importantly, the success of Potiphar's wife was short lived. God weaved her treachery into His plan and brought His servant out as the ruler of the land. Our reputations are precious, yet fragile. But if they are broken, God will see to it that we are honored once again.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 01 -- It's Who you know that counts -- Genesis 39:20-21

But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. -- Genesis 39:20-21

What makes heaven what it is? According to John 17:3, eternal life is knowing (experiencing) God. God's presence makes heaven heavenly.

Some time after my grandmother died, our family went through her little home to get it ready for sale. I was astounded at what I experienced on that hot summer day. Her cottage which seemed so full of warmth and life and love when she was alive, now seemed empty. The things that seemed to be treasures when she was with us, now seemed like worthless junk. Her house was an empty shell, filled with papers and trinkets that we now needed to box up or throw away.

If God could somehow be removed from heaven, it too would seem hollow by comparison. So heaven really isn't streets of gold, or white robes, or beautiful music. It is the presence of God.

We need this so badly in our lives, because we are sometimes stationed in drab, hollow, empty places. Joseph was in prison. Perhaps you are in a place that seems bleak and desolate. But God is here. And here is where we will experience Him. So heaven really isn't a location at all, but rather a deep drink from the Water of Life.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 02 -- God's perspective -- Genesis 40:8

"Do not interpretations belong to God?" -- Genesis 40:8

Dreams aren't the only things that need to be interpreted. Throughout life -- from the very beginning to our last breath on earth -- we are confronted with a bewildering array of events that need interpretation.

Apart from God we will not interpret these events correctly. We will fail to take into account God's presence, His restraining hand, His care, His empathy, His ingenuity, His ability to literally take all things and turn them around for good for His children. We need God to see things from God's perspective. We must remember that God is the only objective Person in the universe.

This is good news for those of us who can't make sense of our circumstances. God, open up our eyes, our ears, our hearts to know the warm smile of Your approval, the gentle hand of Your correction, the tears of Your compassion, the laughter of Your sure and joyous triumph in our lives.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 03 -- Quickly -- Genesis 41:14

So Pharaoh sent for Joseph and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. -- Genesis 41:14

I want to focus on the word "quickly." At the right time, God's deliverance will come. And when it comes, it will not dilly dally.

At exactly the right moment, Joseph was brought quickly from the dungeon. At exactly the right moment, the walls of Jericho fell. At the right moment, fire fell from heaven and consumed Elijah's sacrifice. At the right moment, the trumpet will sound, the graves will be opened, and we will step into eternity.

In our book, Amazing Faith, Tom Shaw and I tell the story of Ruth Senter who compared her trials to carrot cake. The ingredients for the most part are unpleasant. The heat seems unbearable. But the result is fragrant and delicious. God does not go on baking this cake forever. That would harm and damage. Instead, at the right moment, he brings us out, and He will not hesitate, not even for a second.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 04 -- Forgetting the past -- Genesis 41:51

Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." -- Genesis 41:51

There are two ways to forget the past. One is to deny it, to pretend it never happened, to pack it away and never "go there." That would be fine, if it worked. The problem is -- it doesn't. We may try to forget the past this way, but the past doesn't forget us. It comes back to haunt us.

The second way to forget the past is go there with God, face all the "demons" of the past with Jesus so that He can put it rest forever. Once the power of the past is broken, then it no longer can control any part of your life.

God made Joseph forget. How? He met him in all his troubles. In the place of his suffering, God revealed to Joseph who He really is. Once Joseph received from God, the past troubles could torment him no longer.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 05 -- Fruitful in suffering -- Genesis 41:52

The second son [Joseph] named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." -- Genesis 41:52

All of us want to bear fruit in our Christian lives. We want to deeply touch other people so that their lives are enriched and their eternal destiny is changed for the better.

I always tried to convince God that I was smart, gifted and talented. That He could really use someone like me. That the world needed me.

Of course, you can guess how far that went with God, and with anybody else. It wasn't until I suffered that I began to bear fruit. When I suffered, I discovered that all my gifts, talents and intelligence didn't help me. So I needed to put them aside and find out what did.

When I suffered, I began to hear the cries of others who felt the same pain I did. If I hadn't suffered, my ears would not have opened to their cries. When Jesus comforted me in my times of trouble, I began to see that I don't offer people the cup -- I offer them the water that is inside the cup. Likewise, I don't offer people my smarts or talents -- I'm just the cup. What I offer is the Jesus inside me. I don't have any answers; but He is the Answer.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 06 -- Punishment -- Genesis 42:21

They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished ... " -- Genesis 42:21

Joseph's ten brothers didn't understand what was going on. They thought this would be a simple trip: Go to Egypt; buy grain. But suddenly they were caught in the middle of something that didn't make sense. They were accused of a capital offense. They were thrown in jail. Now one of them was to be held long term as a hostage.

They reasoned that they were being punished. How can you account for it any other way?

But were they being punished?

No. They were being rescued.

It isn't hard to see that they were being rescued from seven years of famine. That was why God sent Joseph to Egypt -- to rescue his father's family from starvation.

But there was more. They were being rescued from the envy that caused them to sell their brother, and from the hard heartedness that closed their ears to his cries.

The brothers thought they would get rid of favoritism when they sold Joseph into slavery. But they did not. Benjamin quickly took Joseph's place as the favorite in the family. Was that fair? No. Was that right? No. But God was putting the question to them, how were they going to handle it?

Now that they were in Egypt, God was setting up a test for the brothers through Joseph. God would soon arrange for it to be within their power for them to leave Benjamin behind in Egypt. They could get rid of another "favorite," and blame it on someone else. What would they do?

We all know the story. The test revealed that God had done some important work in the hearts of these brothers. They weren't the same men who sold their brother into slavery.

Look around you. All around, you will find people struggling with every kind of test. It's very easy to assume that they are being punished. But let me suggest a different possibility. Could it be that these tests are meant to reveal the work of God?

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 07 -- A test for Jacob -- Genesis 42:38

But Jacob said, "My son [Benjamin] will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow." -- Genesis 42:38

Jacob lost his favorite wife. He lost his favorite son. Now it looked like he might lose Benjamin as well.

Abraham offered Isaac on the altar to God. As you know, Abraham received his son back unharmed. But he had no way of knowing how that sacrifice would play out when he and his son hiked to the top of Mount Moriah.

As circumstances he could not control descended upon him, Jacob was being asked to give away the last precious connection he had with his beloved Rachel, his remaining son from that marriage.

He refused to do it. He delayed. He stalled. But, in the end, he had no choice. He stood at the entrance to his tent and watched Benjamin slowly walk away until he was nothing but a speck on the horizon under the midmorning sun. No doubt years of sorrow welled up in his heart, and anxious thoughts flooded his mind.

But this is the miracle of the Christian life. Only when we give away what we cannot keep, does God give us the blessing that we thought we would never have.

Jacob had no way of knowing that he would get back not only Benjamin, but his long lost Joseph. And now, he would have what he never had before, twelve sons who respected and honored one another.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 08 -- It will make sense-- Genesis 46:1-4

So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!"

"Here I am," he replied.

"I am God, the God of your father," He said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes." -- Genesis 46:1-4

Every time I return to this passage, I am struck with the silence of God. For at least twenty-two years, God knew that Joseph was alive and well in Egypt. He could have revealed that to Jacob at any time, but, instead, silence.

God said nothing to one of His most trusted servants, to the patriarch that became the father of His chosen people, Israel. God could have rescued Jacob from his grief and from his anxiety at any time. But He waited 22 years until this night in Beersheba.

God's word to Jacob brought Jacob's life's story to a close. He would be reunited with his lost son. He would die in peace with his family restored. God's word also began to show Jacob how his life fit into God's bigger plans for His chosen nation.

Some of us are in the period of silence. Our lives don't make much sense, and God isn't offering any explanation. I want to encourage you. A Beersheba word is coming. God does not create lives that make no sense. Your life will be complete and it will make sense.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 09 -- The family name -- Genesis 48:16

May they be called by my name, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ... -- Genesis 48:16

Jacob blesses the sons of Joseph and gives them the highest gift, his own name and the name of his fathers.

I was a school bus driver when my wife was pregnant with our first son. We knew it was a boy, but we were having trouble deciding on a name. But one day as I was driving around in my school bus, with nobody on board, it came to me that our son should be named after his great-greatgrandfather Hans Burt who came to the United States from Norway in the middle 1800s. As an immigrant child in a single-parent family in the 1800s, our ancestor overcame much to become a man of God.

Our second son received my name.

By giving these boys their names, I am doing two things. I am looking into their future and calling into their lives everything that is good and wholesome and true about their family. And I am looking to God for the grace to pass on a name of honor. I am also taking a risk. I hope and believe that my boys will grow into honorable men, but I can't guarantee that they will. What will they do with the family name? Ultimately, I don't know.

One of the last things Jesus did before He departed was to give us His name. Carrying His name we are Jesus to this world. God risks the name of His Son on us so that He can call everything good about Jesus into our lives.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 10 -- A bigger plan -- Genesis 50:4

"... speak to Pharaoh for me ..." -- Genesis 50:4

Twenty-six years have passed since Joseph was "put in charge of the entire land of Egypt." The famine was now a memory, and it appears that Joseph's influence was beginning to recede. Joseph was 56, about halfway through his 110 years. By the end of the chapter -- and the end of his life, he isn't sending messages to Pharaoh at all. Instead, he is promising his brothers that God would come to their aid and bring them up out of Egypt.

I've lived long enough now to see that new stars rise. Old leaders are sometimes put out to pasture to make room for the young. Sometimes the stars of yesterday are forgotten in the fireworks of today.

All of this would be terribly unfair, if God didn't have much bigger plans for all of us. Joseph's rule in Egypt came about to preserve a nation and a family. That was the plan of God.

But what is the lesson of the last half of Joseph's life? Here's the lesson. God doesn't need bright lights and cameras to make your life significant. You may die in utter obscurity. You may say goodbye to the living by telling them to hope for better days. But God hasn't used up your usefulness. God's plan for you is too big to fit inside 70 years or 110 years or 1,000 years. It's too big for a little kingdom like Egypt to contain.

Soon after Joseph was made ruler of the land, a runner ran before his chariot to say, "Make way! The ruler is coming. Step aside." But now there weren't enough chariots in Egypt to carry, nor enough voices along the Nile to announce the plan of God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 11 -- Treasure -- Mark 10:21, John 10:10, Exodus 20:3

"Go, sell everything you have ... " -- Mark 10:21

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy ... " -- John 10:10

"You shall have no other gods before Me." -- Exodus 20:3

Our treasures will destroy us until we give them to God. In fact, as I look around, I see the enemy unleashed in the lives of people to take what they love and to ruin their lives with it.

In The Lord of the Rings, "the precious" consumed Smeagol until he became Gollum, a ruined caricature of his former self. Likewise, the enemy has access only to the part of our lives that is not hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). People love bad things and people love good things, but all things get in the way when they aren't given to God.

The blessing was unleashed after Isaac was placed on the altar.

How do we discover the love of God? By releasing our other loves. Kim became my wife when she chose to forsake all others.

God cannot give us greater and more secure treasure, until we trust Him with the treasure we now possess.

So this is our invitation. God wants to give us what the enemy cannot touch and what can never be taken away.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 12 -- God will make it right -- Psalm 103:6

The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. -- Psalm 103:6

We must understand that what is true in the short run can be, and often is, false in the long run.

For example, many people are eager to teach their children that life isn't fair. This is a short term truth. Many times life isn't fair. Horrible things are done to people for no good reason. This is not fair. It is not good. It is not right.

But I would like to suggest to you that life is fair because God will make it fair. There is no injustice that He will not make right.

How does He do this? I don't know.

When will He do this? I don't know.

All I know is no one will be able to look God in the eye and say that the life He gave was unfair, because God will make it right.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 13 -- Friend of sinners -- Mark 2:16

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw [Jesus] eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: "Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?" -- Mark 2:16

Let's start with this question: Why didn't the teachers of the law eat with sinners? Why did they object?

I think they were afraid. Afraid of being contaminated, no doubt. But also, perhaps, afraid of being exposed. Once you remove the religious facade, was there any substance to their lives? Was there any real power to their message, apart from the ecclesiastical power that they found in the title "teacher"? And why were they afraid of being contaminated? Was it because they were afraid they might discover that these sinners had something better, more enticing, more delicious than what the teachers possessed?

It's a strange paradox. The more Jesus accomplishes in us, the more comfortable we are with sinners. On one hand their behavior doesn't shock us any more. On the other, it doesn't tempt us either. We become comfortable with ourselves, secure in who we are in Christ. We find that we can listen to them without scrambling to shore up our own defenses.

I think it's all part of God's plan. Salt is useless while still in the shaker.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 14 -- They can't bite -- James 1:2

... the testing of your faith develops perseverance. -- James 1:2

I like to walk out in nature. That's my way of connecting with God. For walkers, here in Wisconsin we have three seasons: one month of yellow jackets followed by seven months of cold followed by four months of mosquitoes. Sometimes in the summer months, the marsh where I like to walk is filled with angry, biting, hungry, swarming insects. Years ago I would take a quick walk, swatting madly at the bugs feeding on my flesh, and race back to the car, miserable and defeated. Sometimes I went the chemical route, but I'm not sure DEET is much better than the mosquitoes.

Then one day I met a fellow who was wearing a mosquito net outfit. While I was trying to kill deer flies and mosquitoes before they bit me, he was calmly enjoying his walk. So I made a decision. I didn't care whether it looked cool or not, I decided to buy a bug net.

After I bought the net, I went for a walk. It didn't take long for the mosquitoes to find me. At first there were two or three, but it wasn't long before there must have been fifty or more. And, yes, I did get a couple bites -- one or two on my hand, and one or two when a mosquito found her way (only the females bite) under my bug net. But, for the most part, I walked along slightly distracted but fully protected.

It strikes me that God's grace is like the bug net. And my troubles are like mosquitoes. Before God brought truth to the inner parts (Psalm 51:6), every little annoyance and irritation "drew blood" so to speak. But as God's grace covers more and more of my life, even when troubles swarm around me, they can't bite any more. Yes, they are there. But God doesn't allow them to land.

So what is perseverance? Perseverance is the miraculous, God-given grace to walk through troubles, look around and realize that they no longer bite.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 15 -- Is God unfair? -- Exodus 20:5

.. punishing the children for the sin of the fathers ... -- Exodus 20:5

For a God who says He loves justice, this seemed awfully unfair to me.

So I asked Him about it. Remember, when God doesn't make sense, pursue Him. Don't run away from Him, run after Him. Tug on His sleeve, and don't let go, just like my kids do with me.

Anyway, I asked God. And He pointed out to me that the verse doesn't say that God punishes children because their fathers sin. Instead, God punishes the next generation because, although they decry the faults of their elders, they don't learn from their mistakes. They don't go to God, renounce the sins of the previous generation, and obtain from their Heavenly Father a new family identity. This is why the teen who rebels against his parents grows up to look just like His parents.

The good news is this: We followers of Jesus Christ have a new Father and He doesn't sin. When we bring Him into the dark places of our lives, the sins of our earthly fathers lose their grip on us. We are set free from their downward pull.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 17 -- God's wisdom -- 2 Timothy 2:24

And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. -- 2 Timothy 2:24

I am overwhelmed by the wisdom of God. One day someone wrote me with a criticism that initially came across to me as sarcastic and rude. The email stung, and my first desire was to lash back with some clever reply of my own.

But the Lord impressed me with the need to bring my hurt and anger to Him, to let Him minister to me in the place where this criticism "got to me." So I just lingered there before the Lord until I felt the freedom to reply with measured words. On one hand, I don't think the Lord wanted me to be a doormat, but, on the other, I believe He wanted me to write words of encouragement and wisdom.

So I wrote a reply, and got a reply in return. It turns out that the sender was a ministry leader many years my senior. (I didn't know this before.) I am so glad that I didn't respond harshly. This was a brother, precious to the Lord, deserving of honor, regardless of whether I agreed with him on this specific issue.

The church can family or it can be a battleground. God, in His wisdom, keeps us family.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 18 -- What God wants to give -- Psalm 103:5

[The LORD] satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. -- Psalm 103:5

This is one of my favorite passages in all scripture. All of us have dreams, hopes, desires. Some of them are lofty and noble. Some of them may be secret and shameful. But we all have desires, and it seems to each of us that if we only got what we desired (a certain marriage partner, a certain job, a dream home, a certain sum of money, whatever), then we would be truly happy.

But this passage teaches us that those things are illusions. God is the one who satisfies our deepest desire. Do we wish to be in ministry? God, not ministry, will fully satisfy that desire. Do we wish to engage in an illicit affair? God, not the affair, will fully satisfy that desire.

No matter what you want, bring the desire to God. He will give you something far, far better. He will give you Himself.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 19 -- Freedom -- 2 Corinthians 3:17

... where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. -- 2 Corinthians 3:17

Freedom is the heritage of the sons and daughters of God.

When God leaves, freedom leaves. The ungodly cannot be free, because freedom becomes for them a license to do evil, and then layer upon layer of laws must be passed to keep a nation of evildoers from destroying itself.

But God is free and freedom is His gift to us who believe.

We think of God as giving restraint. But in reality, God removes the need for restraint. God's work in us purifies our desires, so that our desires may be set free. When I no longer covet my neighbor's wife, his car, his house, his job, and instead desire only things that are wholesome and honorable, I am free. God will satisfy those desires with good things.

I am deeply grateful for the freedoms we have in my country. And I know that there is much cruelty, bondage and oppression in this world. But when God shows up, His people are free. That is His gift, and no one can take it away.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 20 -- What Jesus knows -- Revelation 2:2

"I know your deeds..." -- Revelation 2:2

Here is where we start. Jesus knows our deeds.

This is a great comfort. Because Jesus knows our deeds, we don't need to hide. The One who knows our deeds knows how helpless we are to do anything good apart from Him. So we always rush to Him, whether our deeds are good or bad. On one level, it makes little difference. Have we sinned? We cling to Jesus. Have we done well? We cling to Jesus. That becomes our instinct, our reflex, our automatic response to everything. "Jesus, here I am, helpless without You. Give me, please, what I need for this moment."

There is no secret formula for the Christian life. There is only living our lives in the plain sight of our Savior, and rushing to Him because we know He sees us.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 21 -- The measure of a life -- Revelation 2:2

"I know your deeds..." -- Revelation 2:2

Jesus knows our deeds. They are measured and they have value. In the book of Revelation, we learn that the prayers of the saints are stored in jars in heaven. At the right moment, they will be poured out over the earth.

If you look at the great heroes of the Bible, they all had seasons in their lives where they lived in obscurity and were occupied with the tedious, the mundane, the monotonous. Joseph supervised prisoners, Moses and David watched sheep, Paul lived in the desert. Even Jesus worked a trade far from the public eye.

Why these seasons? Is it possible that the measure of a life is more than wealth and fame? The measure of a life is found in the smile of God.

Jesus knows your deeds.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 22 -- The door to eternity -- Revelation 1:17

"Do not be afraid... " -- Revelation 1:17

I don't know about you, but I can think of plenty of reasons to be afraid when I read the book of Revelation. If ever there was a book that takes you out of your comfort zone, this is it. On one hand, when God shows up in all His glory, we forget all our theology and join John face down on the earth, pale and trembling. On the other hand, we live in a world gone mad, a world populated with those who hate God, and, since they can't take a swing at God personally, they do the next best thing (in their minds) and take it out on us. In between all of this, we have plagues falling left and right.

I will probably get some emails informing me that the rapture will leave me high and dry, and maybe it will. I don't know. I'm not as smart about those things as I used to be. But even if I'm whisked away, I fear for those left behind. I pray for them or us.

Yet Jesus says, "Do not be afraid." As we stand here on the threshold of eternity, those are His words to us.

The Bible says that God is shaking everything that can be shaken, so what cannot be shaken will remain (Hebrews 12:27). It seems that everything in us that can be shaken will be shaken also, and only what cannot be shaken will remain.

I was terrified of going to Junior High School. There's a long story behind that, but I'll shorten it up: The moment came; I boarded the bus; and I survived. I'm not sure what the door to eternity will look like for you and for me. But I know this: Jesus put His hand on John. And His hand will be on you and me. He will bring us through.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 23 -- The gift of seeing -- Luke 1:51

He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. -- Luke 1:51

An unbeliever would scoff at Mary's song. The boot of the Roman empire was on the neck of the Jewish nation. Mighty deeds were measured in columns of marching Roman soldiers. The great miracles of deliverance for Israel were history -- ancient history it seemed. The people of Israel lived and died under the watchful eye of the Roman state.

But God gives a great gift to His children. He enables us to see what others cannot see. The unbeliever may look at our lives and see financial calamity, terminal illness, pain of every kind, addiction, hypocrisy and failure. But we look up and see the Shepherd bringing us to quiet waters. We see the Father opening His arms to us. We see our Defender demolishing the schemes of the enemy. We see our Savior holding our hands in His own, looking us in the eye and telling us that we belong to Him.

We look up and see the truth.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 24 -- What God shows us -- Revelation 1:1

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. -- Revelation 1:1

It's a big world out there. And things get bigger, much bigger, when God steps in to bring history to a screeching halt. Like a great wave, humanity's hatred of God rushes in, but, like any other wave, it breaks on the shore of eternity and it is no more.

The day of evil is coming to an end.

How do we wrap our minds around the enormity of God's plan? How do we find room in our hearts to contain the majesty, the wrath, the holiness of God? I'm not sure that we can.

Yet God chooses to share His plans with us.

I remember sitting in my brother-in-law's hot tub on a cold December night looking up into a clear starry sky trying to comprehend the magnitude of what I saw.

The book of Revelation is a gift to God's servants. It is a gift to know that God has seen everything, and now He responds. It is a gift to know that that the full power of evil has no more ability to stop God's plans than a blade of grass has the power to stop my Suburban. It is a gift to know that our prayers matter, that our suffering counts, that our deeds are measured. And it is a gift to know that we are -- all of us -- children before the One who towers over the earth like the stars on a clear December night.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 25 -- No words to describe -- Revelation 4:2

... there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it ... -- Revelation 4:2

Why does the apostle John not fill in the blanks? Why does he not name the Person on heaven's throne?

In 1 John 3:2, we discover that we shall become like Jesus when we see Him as He is. Encountering the Living God is so life changing, that we don't even have words to describe it.

It needs to be that way. We have, all of us, been deeply touched by the pain and corruption of the fall. But now God is pulling us out of this world and doing a deeper work in us than the work of sin and destruction.

Right now we encounter God selectively, a little bit at a time. Here in our world, God gives us the right to say "yes" to Him in increments. We invite Him into the secret places of our hearts one door at a time.

But on that great day, all the doors fly open. All the secrets are laid bare. This is more than any of us can contain as we are. The result is transformation for eternity.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 26 -- Overwhelmed -- Revelation 4:8

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." -- Revelation 4:8

This is the center of the book of Revelation. An unchanging God, fully in charge of the church, the pagans, the spirits, the devils, the angels, the dead and the living -- takes His place as King of the universe, under the constant inspection of these super intelligent and powerful creatures.

And they are in awe.

"Why all the eyes?" I ask our Father. "Is it so they can see You, or so You can look them in the eye, and see inside their spirits?"

And then I realize they see it all. They see six thousand years of rebellion -- or more. Billions of evil men and women, legions of demons, inflicting horror on those God loves. They see the church with all its beauty and all its flaws. And they see God.

Though they've seen the depths of evil, they are overwhelmed, not with what's wrong with us or with unbelievers or with demons, but rather with what's right with God. Triumphant, holy, unchanging, sovereign God.

It's a ray of light in our dark world. If we could see enough, we too would be overwhelmed.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 27 -- No more judgment -- Revelation 5:5

Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals." -- Revelation 5:5

What happens when you open the scroll? Judgment comes. History ends. Eternity begins.

Why can't anybody open the scroll? Because too much is at stake. Every precious person that God loves has no defense against judgment until he or she is hidden in Christ.

What is the message? God is protecting His children from judgment. We may have troubles, but the judgment of God does not fall on us. There is a very important difference. In judgment, God is letting the wicked man know what He thinks of sin. In our troubles, God removes impurities so He can reveal what is beautiful inside us and inside God.

Do you have troubles? If you are a believer, your troubles are not a report card on your performance. Your troubles are an opportunity for God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 28 -- Our one power -- Revelation 3:20

If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in ... -- Revelation 3:20

We human beings really have only one power: to say "yes" or "no" to God. If we are righteous, why are we righteous? Not because we did righteous things, but because we said "yes" to God. If we are unrighteous, look around inside. Somewhere we closed the door in God's face. Somewhere we said "no."

We like to use Revelation 3:20 as a salvation verse. Open the door of your heart and let Jesus in. But it is also a Christian life verse. Once Jesus comes in the front door, He starts knocking at the other doors inside our hearts. There are many closets in our hearts that Jesus wants to clean out. Either we say "yes" or we say "no."

It's very important to understand that we don't clean out the closet first and then open the door. Many sad and discouraged people are trying to do this. We can't do this. We don't have the power to do this. All we have the power to do is to say "yes" or "no" to God.

This is bad news for the self righteous, but it is wonderful news for the desperate among us who realize that we have no hope unless God comes in and cleans us up. And that is exactly what He will do, one "yes" at a time.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 29 -- Trouble and the will of God -- Judges 20:18

The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. -- Judges 20:18

Today I want to take on the myth that if you do God's will, everything will go smoothly. Sorry, folks, it just doesn't always happen that way.

Judges 19-21 tells the sad story of a violent crime and a quest for justice. Evil men were shielded by the tribe of Benjamin, and the rest of the Israelites went to war with them.

Is this a good time to seek the Lord? You bet. Why do you inquire of God before a battle? Because you want to make sure you're doing the right thing. Because you don't want to get killed or wounded. Because you want to win.

Those seeking justice inquired of God. God said go for it. They went for it and lost. So they inquired of God again. Again God said, "Go up against them." (Pretty clear answer if you ask me.) Again they lost.

Now 40,000 men are dead. And the men still alive and gloating over their victory are the very men who committed the crime.

I bring this up because some of you may have inquired of the Lord, got His direction, ran with it, and now everything is going wrong. Those around you are saying, "See, there's something wrong with you. You didn't get it right." And inside there are voices that say, "I must be a fool. I must have thought I heard from God, but I didn't."

Not necessarily. David followed God and went from the frying pan into the fire. Moses did what God told him to do and things only got worse for the people of God.

We all want the will of God to make us healthy, wealthy and wise. But sometimes it doesn't, at least not at first. Sometimes the will of God takes us on difficult paths that we would not choose for ourselves.

It's easy to jump to conclusions when we see people in trouble and assume that they've missed God. But that isn't always the case. Sometimes they are in the exact center of God's will.

God does straighten it all out in the end. The Israelites triumphed on the third try. David became king. Moses brought his people out of Egypt. Jesus rose from the dead. And so will you.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

April 30 -- The secret of contentment -- Philippians 4:12-13

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. -- Philippians 4:12-13

The deeper you get into situations you don't like, the more you discover that Jesus is already there. Where did I find joy? When I was grieving the death of someone I loved. Where did I find peace? At the center of my anxieties. Where do I find contentment? As things I want are taken away from me.

Richard Wurmbrand who wrote Tortured for Christ speaks of his solitary prison cell walls turning into a million glittering diamonds. He speaks of leaping for joy in prison. How did he get to that point? He found Jesus in the place where he didn't want to go.

I have no advice for those of you who are going through trouble. What good is my advice? But I know that Jesus really is our Savior. That means He shows up when we need Him. I don't know how He turns grief into joy, suffering into triumph, poverty into wealth.

I just know that our life is defined not by our circumstances, but by our Savior.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 01 -- Treasure -- Revelation 5:8

[The elders] were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. -- Revelation 5:8

How are our prayers treated? With special honor in heaven. I often feel like my prayers are little more than babble, yet here they are in heaven, treated as treasure.

If you study the prayers of the saints in Revelation, you discover two things: (1) they are always sweet to God, and (2) they usually are bad news for the evildoers left on earth.

God remembers the slander and persecution His children endure. He has heard their cry, and He treats that cry as a fragile, precious gem.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 02 -- Life -- Revelation 11:11

But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. -- Revelation 11:11

The #1 evil man on earth kills God's two witnesses and refuses them burial. The whole world celebrates, but nobody counted on the power of God. God makes it abundantly clear that life and death belong to God, not to the beast.

God could have let them lie and resurrected them along with everyone else later on. But He doesn't. He sends a clear message: Even though the world has gone mad, God is still in control.

Sometimes nothing in our world makes sense, and it seems that evil has really triumphed. But God still knows how to bring life where it is needed, hope where it is lacking, and power to those who have no strength.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 03 -- Worth -- Luke 17:10, John 15:15

"So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' " -- Luke 17:10

"I no longer call you servants..." -- John 15:15

Unworthy does not mean worthless. Jesus did not die for junk. He died to redeem the diamonds that were covered in the mud of sin. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.

What was that joy? It wasn't the Father -- He already had communion with the Father. It wasn't the angels, He had communion with the elect angels. I don't think it was even mainly triumph over wickedness, though He did accomplish that through His death. The joy was us, His children -- enjoying us for all eternity.

Are we unworthy? Yes. Do we deserve redemption? No.

But Jesus found us in our unworthiness and saw beyond what we can see. He looked into the far reaches of eternity and said, "I will give My Life for you." He looked ahead and saw joy, value and worth.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 04 -- No more sorrow -- Revelation 7:17

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. -- Revelation 7:17

How does God take away our sorrows?

Here's a partial list.

He meets the needs someone else should have met but didn't.

He walks with us through life's painful events and enables us to see them from His perspective.

He allows us to trade in short term pain for eternal pleasure. Romans 8:18, Psalm 16:11

He satisfies our desires with good things.

Everything intended for evil in our lives gets placed in His hands. There even the most disgusting injustice becomes an opportunity for God to bring good to us. Romans 8:28

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 05 -- Secret dreams -- 2 Kings 4:28

"Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?" -- 2 Kings 4:28

In the years before her son was born, this woman's hope to be a mother had quietly slipped away. She had resigned herself to something less than God's plan for her. She was cautious, not daring to dream any more.

When she was asked what she wanted from God, she dared not even voice her secret desire. No. She would live her life childless and then slip away into eternity.

But the Lord pulled this desire from the deep recesses of her soul. He found her secret dream and He fulfilled it.

But now her son was dead.

How cruel this seemed. How tragic. That God would give her what she dared not ask for, and then suddenly take it away.

This passage and this devotional are not mainly about children; they are mainly about those secret dreams that are quietly dying inside. God puts the question to us: Will we dance with Him? Will we take the plunge? Will we open up our hearts so wide that maybe we will lose part of ourselves to God?

God has a wonderful sense of adventure. There will be moments when all seems dark. Jesus led the disciples out into the stormy sea because only in the storm could He reveal Himself to them.

We all know the story. The woman's son was raised to life. So also, your most fragile and precious dreams are eternally safe with God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 06 -- A better meal -- Revelation 3:20

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me. -- Revelation 3:20

Jesus stands at the door and knocks. Why does He knock at the doors of our hearts? The Bible says that He wants to come in and dine with us. Let me suggest something. Jesus is bringing the meal with Him.

One day I drove by a homeless man who was climbing into a dumpster to find a meal. He was hungry and he was scavenging for the best food he could find.

The more we invite Jesus in, the more we feed on what He brings to the table, the more dumpster food looks, smells and tastes like dumpster food.

It makes little sense to criticize a homeless man for eating from the garbage. After all, that's all he has. Instead, we may offer him something better.

We must understand that sin is the best food that most people can find. Most don't know that Jesus offers something better. Even many Christians secretly want to sin because they are still feeding on leftover scraps from yesterday's Jesus or somebody else's Jesus, instead of hosting Him at the table right now, today.

All of this is wonderful news because we don't need to wait. This moment was created for you and Jesus.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 07 -- Overcoming -- Revelation 12:7-8, 12:11

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. -- Revelation 12:7-8

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. -- Revelation 12:11

Some people think that God and Satan are locked in some kind of cosmic duel, each vying for supremacy in the universe.

Wrong!

If God fought with Satan even for an instant, Satan would be utterly destroyed in every possible sense of the word.

While Satan has always been fully responsible for each one of his evil choices, God has always used Satan to accomplish His own good purposes.

God sends his servants -- angels and humans -- out to overcome the devil. In Revelation 12, the devil loses his place in heaven and he loses his grip on the children of God. Angels toss him out, and our brothers and sisters in Christ finish the job.

Who are these overcomers? Let me suggest that they are ordinary people, just like you and me, living life in the grip an extraordinary God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 08 -- Harvest -- Revelation 14:16

So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. -- Revelation 14:16

In the middle of the Great Depression, my grandfather, with borrowed money, bought a farm. It was a useless tract of land on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. In town they called him a fool. $500 was an outrageous price to pay for 385 acres that would never produce a crop.

"Barker, you're going to lose that farm," they told him.

His eyes always twinkled when he told me that story.

When I came to live on the farm 28 years later, it was a paradise.

I don't know what the angels thought when God undertook to redeem the fallen human race, but now God's day has come. The fields are ripe. Harvest has come.

And I believe, somewhere, there is a twinkle in God's eyes.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 09 -- We are not God's laundry -- Revelation 20:4

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. -- Revelation 20:4

For many years, I figured God's only interest in me was convicting me of all my sins and generally making me feel miserable because I was such a rotten guy. I would never have expressed it that way, but deep down, that's how I usually felt.

But read the Bible! We are not God's laundry. God has bigger plans for us than just washing us, so He can set us on the shelf and look at us. God is looking for ways to pull us into big roles. He is looking for people through whom He can unleash big dreams. When God fills our lives, He doesn't get smaller. Our lives get bigger.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 10 -- Do not be afraid -- Revelation 2:10

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. -- Revelation 2:10

I admit to you that I have a problem with suffering. It is much on my mind that my brothers and sisters suffer pain beyond description and beyond belief. I hate pain, and I hurt for them. It bugs me that so little is said about the suffering of God's children. Perhaps others are thinking about it just as I am, but, like me, don't exactly have the words to talk about the struggle they feel inside.

I can't quite get my mind and my heart around the evil that exists that brings so much pain. When I try, it seems inside that this evil eclipses the light of God's goodness.

Suffering is one of those areas where we can't go it alone. Apart from Christ, suffering will destroy us.

But here in this passage, the Lord speaks. He speaks with authority I do not have. He speaks as One who has suffered. He speaks as the One who walks with each child of God who suffers. He speaks as the One who has seen the other side, who shares His home with those whose suffering has ended. He speaks as One who sees what we cannot see.

The One who has triumphed over suffering is extending peace to His people. How does that work? In prison, in beatings, in the cancer ward, I don't know. I haven't been there. In other places of pain and sorrow and humiliation, I do know, because I have been there. Every time it's the same. When you reach the place you don't want to go, Jesus is there. Did the pain go away? Not always, but somehow it just doesn't feel the same. One greater than pain is here.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 11 -- Truth -- Revelation 20:7-8

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations ... -- Revelation 20:7-8

Adolph Hitler said, "If you tell a lie to a hundred people a hundred times, a hundred and one people will believe it." I guess he should know.

Why does Satan deceive? It's simple, really. He deceives, because if we knew the truth, deep inside, who would want what he has to offer?

Who wants to be a slave, when you can be free? So Satan will try to fool you into believing that you will have more power if you are a slave. Many will believe him, and offer their hands and feet to the chains.

We live in a world darkened with layer upon layer of lies. But, the longer I live, the better truth tastes to me.

Deep inside we need to know the truth about ourselves and the truth about our God. Once we do, nothing will sway us. Today I am thankful that Jesus came to be the Truth in our lives.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 12 -- In His name -- Matthew 1:21

She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. -- Matthew 1:21

Our condition and our solution are both wrapped up in the name of Jesus. Jesus didn't come down to earth hoping to find righteous people. He didn't have any illusions of finding suitable folks to fellowship with. He knew what He would find.

Yet, He came. He came in the full power and anointing of God, knowing that His life and death and life again carried the eternal solution to everything that has ever been wrong with us.

We want to clean up, but we can't. That is the secret. Jesus came to make us holy -- not to teach us how, but to do it Himself -- give us the touch that transforms us.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 13 -- Preparing the way -- Matthew 3:6

Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. -- Matthew 3:6

What can we do with sin? Absolutely nothing except this one thing: We can agree with God that we hate it.

Beyond that it's all God.

John prepared the way for Christ. That's all he could do. John had no answer for sin. All he could do was gather people together who were sick of what sin was doing to their lives. They -- and we -- all stand and wait for the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 14 -- Getting real -- Matthew 5:29-30

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. -- Matthew 5:29-30

First of all, do hands and eyes really cause people to sin? No. Your hand and your eye is a servant to your mind and your heart. Jesus doesn't want all his children to be blind amputees. He wants us to wake up and get real about what is in our hearts.

Getting real doesn't mean "Straighten up." We can't straighten up. We don't have the ability to do so.

Getting real doesn't mean "Try harder." We've been trying harder all our lives. It doesn't work.

Getting real means we all need to admit that there are places in our hearts where Jesus needs to do surgery. Getting real means waking up and realizing that you can't perform open heart surgery on yourself, you need Jesus to do it for you.

Things that cause us to sin are buried inside each of us. There is no such thing as a person who doesn't have issues in his or her life that need a touch from Jesus.

We can be offended or we can be comforted. Our deepest, darkest secrets are safe with Jesus. We can open our soul to Him.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 15 -- What Jesus gives -- Matthew 9:2

"Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." -- Matthew 9:2

Isn't the need healing? Hasn't this man spent his whole life paralyzed? Haven't his friends just lowered him through a hole in the roof? (Mark 2, Luke 5) Why is Jesus talking about sins?

Three lessons:

(1) Jesus is economical. He not only heals, but uses the occasion to show His authority to forgive sins.

(2) Jesus is the solution to all our problems. Stop and think of the three things that are bugging you the most right now. Jesus is the solution to all of them.

(3) Jesus always gives us more than what we ask for. The paralytic asked for healing. Jesus gave him eternal health.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 16 -- Weeding out -- Matthew 13:41

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. -- Matthew 13:41

What causes sin? Why are we tempted to sin every day here, and what will happen so that we will lose all desire to sin and we won't even consider sinning for all eternity.

I mean it really is us who are going to heaven, isn't it? You know, you and me. If you know your own faults like I know mine, doesn't this seem amazing to you?

Sin is rooted in deception. Satan arrives on the scene in Genesis 3, twisting the truth. In Revelation, he is described as the one who deceives the nations. And Jesus refers to him as the father of lies.

Clearly the angels are going to lay their hands on those who reject Christ and cling to wickedness. But there is more here, I believe. Jesus and His angels are going to turn on the light of truth and drive deception out of our lives forever.

Sin won't seem attractive because, in truth, it isn't attractive.

This will happen in a blazing moment in history. But it is also happening, quietly, in the hearts of Christ's followers all over the world, as each of us experiences Him who is truth in the darkened places of deception in our souls.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 17 -- Like those who dreamed -- Psalm 126:1

When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. -- Psalm 126:1

All of us walk through valleys. Sometimes the valley seems so deep and so dark that we will remain there forever. But we won't.

All of our secret dreams go with us into the valley, and there -- sequestered from all hope -- they burrow deep inside our souls until even we forget they are there.

But one giddy, hilarious morning, Jesus unlocks those dreams, and brings them up out of their dungeons. We breathe the fresh air of hope and splash in the river of life.

Though we descend into the valley -- and we must, for we cannot know our Savior without sharing some of His sorrows -- we will come out of the valley again -- changed, renewed, finding to our surprise the fulfillment of all our hidden dreams.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 18 -- Jesus, the realist -- Matthew 18:7

Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! -- Matthew 18:7

When we are tempted, there are all kinds of dynamics at work. Usually some kind of deception is present. Usually some kind of pain is screaming for a solution or some desire is begging to be indulged. Temptations can be, and often are orchestrated by the enemy. And other people sometimes have a more or less conscious role in creating temptations for us.

Jesus is the ultimate realist. He knows how real temptations are for us. He knows how strong they are. He knows where they come from and how they enter our lives.

But Jesus pulls us back and offers an eternal perspective. Yes, there are those who bring powerful temptations into our lives simply because they want to see us fall. Yes, that creates trouble for us. But God will not forget. That trouble will be repaid.

Meanwhile, when we bring all our temptations to Jesus, His truth clears up the cloud of deception, His love soothes away our pain, His care satisfies our desires with good things. And He can outmaneuver the enemy any day of the week.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 19 -- Responding to sin -- Matthew 18:15

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. -- Matthew 18:15

When we sin, what is uppermost in the mind of Jesus? Restoration. And notice how He wants it done. Quietly. Privately. Winsomely (if there is such a word).

Jesus never ignores or condones sin, but He always uses it as an opportunity to build people and to build relationships. What the enemy means for evil, the Lord will turn around for good.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 20 -- Forgiveness -- Matthew 18:21

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" -- Matthew 18:21

Peter is speaking from the viewpoint that most of us share: forgiving someone benefits the offender, but taxes the offended.

The truth is quite different. Forgiving an offense empowers the offended. It is to a man's glory to overlook an offense. (Proverbs) Forgiving frees us from the kind of bitterness that saps away our energy and turns our whole world a muddy gray.

Yes, forgiving benefits the offender, but only because it forces the offender to deal directly with God. No longer are you and I standing between God and the offender. Now God can deal with that person and use all of His ingenuity to turn that life around.

One more thing. Forgiveness is not stupidity. Forgiveness is not opening the door to further abuse or mistreatment. Forgiveness does not remove boundaries. Forgiveness is not an upside down way of condoning sin. Instead, forgiveness is a gift from God to us.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 21 -- What Jesus offers -- Matthew 26:28

This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. -- Matthew 26:28

I'm struck here by the intimacy of what Jesus is sharing with us. He passes the cup to us and says, "This is My very life. I'm offering it to you."

We just arrived at the table. But God set this table in eternity past, knowing that we could bring nothing to it. He set each place knowing the cost. Yet without the cost, without the debt being paid, no forgiveness is possible -- by God or by men.

How reckless! How God spends Himself for us -- with no assurance that we will love Him back.

People tell me that I am a risk taker. But I don't understand this kind of risk. God gave what was most precious, most personal, most vulnerable -- He gave it freely, and here we stand, overwhelmed.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 22 -- Running to God -- Luke 5:8

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" -- Luke 5:8

Simon Peter reflects what I suspect is in all of us -- the kind of shame that says, "Lord, go away, and please don't come back until I figure out some way to clean myself up."

Running to God, rather than hiding from God, is counter-intuitive and has been ever since Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit.

Yet this counter-intuitive choice is what God longs for and what the church and all humanity desperately need. Running to God with all our inadequacies, sins and imperfections frees us from trying to do what we cannot do, and it frees God to do what only He can do.

Only God can clean us up. Only God can give us a pure heart and a willing spirit. Only God can untangle the mess we find ourselves in.

Do you want to know the difference between success and failure in the Christian life? It boils down to one thing: which direction we run.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 23 -- The silence of Jesus -- Matthew 15:23

Jesus did not answer a word. -- Matthew 15:23

This is where some of us are. We cry out to Jesus, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And what is Jesus' answer? Nothing. Nada. Not a word.

Soon after, the ever-helpful disciples come along and suggest that the woman in this story be tossed into the scrap heap so the great ship of their comfort can sail forward on a clear sea.

Again, some of us have been there. Laugh with me.

What is going on? Why doesn't Jesus answer? And when He does, why does He appear to push her aside?

Read the rest of the story. It's clear that Jesus was setting her up for more than just a miracle. He had bigger plans for her. He was drawing out her expression of faith so that it could be recorded and never forgotten. Twenty centuries later, it comes into our hands and whispers an encouraging word into our ears:

"Go ahead. Ask the Lord for the impossible. Dare to believe. Dare to dream. Dare to receive."

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 24 -- Supernatural lives -- Luke 6:32

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. -- Luke 6:32

Jesus brought a life changing gospel to this earth. He fully expected the gospel to make such a profound change in our lives that no one could point to human effort to account for the difference.

If you set good goals, work hard, and remain disciplined you will achieve what the pagans achieve. You will live an admirable life.

But Jesus isn't about creating admirable lives. He is about creating supernatural lives.

What gives the gospel its power? The gospel is powerful because it plugs Jesus into our lives. Wherever Jesus is connected to life where we live it, the supernatural takes place.

This verse talks about cranky people. Do you have people in your life who are impossible to love? Stop trying to love them. You can't. Instead bring your anger to Jesus and let Him do what He longs to do in you: the supernatural.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 25 -- There is a way back -- Luke 7:37-38

When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. -- Luke 7:37-38

I don't think this woman was stupid. I think she knew very well that she would be scorned by the Pharisee. She didn't expect welcome, but something compelled her to break through the crowd, and risk being thrown out, in order to fall at Jesus' feet, weeping.

She lived a sinful life. In her flight from pain and her search for happiness, she made choices that offended God, hurt herself and created pain for others. There was no easy road back. The religious leaders had her typecast; she was pariah.

But now Someone arrived with a different message. There is a way back. No, there is something better than a way back. There is a redeemer who can start new and build a whole new life. A life free from shame, from fear, from sin, from alienation.

Was it too good to be true? She had to find out. And there at the feet of Jesus she found her answer. There at the feet of Jesus, she, and you, and I are transformed.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 26 -- Faith -- Luke 7:50

Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." -- Luke 7:50

Why did Jesus say this? Why didn't He say, "My love has saved you," or "My grace has saved you," or "My atoning sacrificial death on the cross will save you"?

Clearly, without these things, she wouldn't be saved. She would be forever an enemy of God. But Jesus calls attention not to these things, but rather to her faith.

Several thoughts come into my mind. This may have been the first sincere compliment she had ever received. In the place of flattery that just wanted something out of her, here was Someone who found something good.

Or perhaps Jesus was calling attention to her reckless abandon that pursued God at the risk of rejection and embarrassment. She forgot herself and stopped caring if she looked like a fool in front of everyone else. What a refreshing contrast to the religionists who lived in the comfort of their own cliquish snobbery!

Or maybe Jesus wanted to once again let the human race know how much God values this delicate thing we call faith. I don't know about you, but someday I will be happy to stand in line and honor those who held on to their faith even when the enemy did everything in his power to rip it from their very being. It will be my great privilege to honor them.

I'm not sure if I've found the reason or not. But I do know this. God sees your faith; it is not forgotten -- it mixes with God's love and becomes life changing.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 27 -- Discovery -- Psalm 34:2

... let the afflicted hear and rejoice. -- Psalm 34:2

There are three kinds of trials. Those that bring us directly into the everlasting presence of God (martyrdom, death). Those where we experience God's intervention immediately. And those where we have to wait.

Sometimes all we know in a trial is pain; we can't find God anywhere. Only later do we come back to those painful places and discover that God was there all along.

From God's point of view, He would never allow pain in our lives if it didn't accomplish some good that we will both agree is far greater than the pain we experienced (Romans 8:18).

What is that good?

I remember one day in September almost 27 years ago that I went to a church meeting with a group of friends. We were all college students, and as we got back to campus our large group scattered until there were only two of us, Kim Rohrer and Dwight Clough. I meant to say good night and go back to my dorm room, but something kept me there, under the arch in Chicago's Moody Bible Institute.

This girl, this young woman, Kim, started telling me the story of her life -- her year in the Philadelphia ghetto, her trip to Israel, her experiences as a lifeguard. All of a sudden I realized that I was spellbound.

I don't remember how the conversation ended or how I got back to my dorm room. I just remember lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling with a smile on my face that wouldn't go away.

I had discovered the love of my life.

Now I already knew Kim. I met her a year earlier. I even went grocery shopping with her once. But somehow that evening I discovered someone I never knew was there.

So why can the afflicted rejoice? Because we are about to discover Someone we never knew was there.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 28 -- The Father's surprise -- Matthew 24:36

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. -- Matthew 24:36

This is one of the most incredible passages in all of scripture. In some way that I cannot explain, the Father knows something that no one else in the universe knows. Not even the Son.

As I was contemplating this passage today, a thought came to me, and I want to share it with you. The Father is preparing a gift for His Son and for His Son's bride. The Father, who knows your mind and mine, who knows the mind of the Son, has planned something for all of us.

I can't prove, of course, that this is why the Son doesn't know. But it makes sense to me.

My dad loved Christmas. He always stuffed our stockings and spent money he didn't have to buy us things he thought would make us happy. I sense a similar kind of excitement on the part of the Father, as He gets ready to welcome His children into their eternal home.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 29 -- An offering of thanks -- Psalm 50:22-23

Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces with none to rescue. He who sacrifices thank offerings honors Me and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God. -- Psalm 50:22-23

I love the 50th Psalm. It is so reassuring to know that God is fully in command of the universe. It is so reassuring to know that He loves justice and He hates evil.

Some day we each stand before God. The good and the bad. The fake and the authentic. The great and the small. That is the focal point of our whole existence. Everything we do today, tomorrow, and throughout our lives prepares us for that moment.

And here the Lord tells us how to prepare. With thanksgiving. So, if you don't mind, I'll just go ahead and start and you can add in your own offerings of thanks.

God in heaven, thank You. From the bottom of my heart I thank You for life -- my life. It is such a wild ride. I am enjoying it. Thank You for outsmarting the enemy in my life, for running circles around him. Thank You for not abandoning me when I played with sin, but instead rescuing me. Thank You for saving me from my own stupidity. Thank You for giving me eternal gifts that no one can take away. Thank You for calming the frightened little boy in me and for teaching me how to be a man. Thank You that all my bullies answer to You. Thank You for Your math which somehow has given us enough to survive month after month when there was no logical explanation for it. It is such a roller coaster ride to hang out with You. I wouldn't trade it. I love it, God, I love it.

Thank You for all those precious eyes that look into mine ... family, friends, brothers and sisters, and, someday, Yours.

Thank You.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 30 -- The rescue operation -- Galatians 1:4

[The Lord Jesus Christ] gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of God and Father ... -- Galatians 1:4

This is an interesting twist. Did you catch it? The verse doesn't say that Jesus came to rescue us from a future in hell. Rather it says that He came to rescue us from the present evil age.

We've had over 6,000 years to construct our paradise here on earth. How are we doing?

People who aren't in trouble don't need to be rescued. But the Father sees where we are, and says, "You don't belong here."

We belong to a different age, a different world, a different standard. The rescue operation initiated by the Father, carried out by the Son, began deep in our hearts and isn't over until we're outta here.

My old college roommate was rescued from a sinking ship in treacherous waters near the tip of South America. What's it like to be rescued? It's crazy from his account. It's the middle of the night. The ship is tipping over. The lifeboats are hanging in midair, suspended a couple dozen feet over swift and icy waters, broken by rocks you could hear but couldn't see. Possessions you leave behind. There's no time to play around. In his case, he had a wife and a little baby to get off that boat, out of those waters into safety.

And so it should come as no surprise that our lives here are going to be a little crazy at times. We are being rescued. We are being brought to safety, home where we belong.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

May 31 -- Look inside -- Galatians 3:2-3

This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? -- Galatians 3:2-3 NASB

Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Galatians 3:2-3 The Message

The average Joe walking down the street has no clue that there is a huge difference between the gospel and religion. Here in these verses are the main components.

Religion: the law plus the flesh. Doomed to failure. Constant striving. Never achieving. Crazy!

The gospel: the Spirit plus faith. We hear the good news and we open the door. God comes and lives inside us. He lives through us.

Guess what? Does God need a set of rules in order for Him to figure out what to do? Stop and think about it. Rules are righteous if and only if they reflect God's heart. If God's heart is alive in you, don't you have something better than rules?

Remember Golding's book, The Lord of the Flies? Remember at the beginning the stranded boys said they would have rules, lots of them, and if anybody stepped out of line, watch out! They started with rules and ended in flames.

Is God tired? After forgiving our sins and assuring us a place in heaven, did He run out of energy? Is it all up to us now? Did the Spirit of God fall asleep after He entered our hearts?

The word "gospel" means "good message" or "good news." Let me suggest to you that there is lots and lots of good news. Yes, God forgives us through the atoning sacrifice of Christ and that is good news. But there is more, much more. God is alive and well in you. When you handed your life over to Christ, He handed His life over to you. What sin, what trial, what problem can possibly overcome the eternal life of Christ in us? If you are looking for success, look inside. He's already there.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 01 -- The successful self-righteous -- Luke 18:11

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector." -- Luke 18:11

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the successful self-righteous, and it occurs to me that the enemy probably wants some people to be good. There are some people who are disciplined enough to pray regularly, avoid all kinds of sin, and live an exemplary life.

Why would the enemy want self-made good Christians in our churches? Very simple. So they can offer the wrong prescription to everybody else.

In the passage we looked at yesterday, the apostle Paul asks us, "After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"

Some will answer, "Yes, and I'm doing very nicely, thank you."

Meanwhile, the rest of us are forced to say, "I try and try and everything I try doesn't work."

But here is the beautiful thing: When we finally realize that everything we try doesn't work, God has us right where He wants us. We have no where else to turn but to Him. None of us can boast about ourselves, but rather we can boast that our God knows what to do with those of us who have no power to do good on our own.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 02 -- Fear -- Mark 11:18

The chief priests and the teachers of the law ... began looking for a way to kill [Jesus], for they feared Him. -- Mark 11:18

The chief priests and teachers of the law were educated, sophisticated, religious, successful and influential people in the mainstream of their mixed up world. They were not psychotic or schizophrenic. But they were crazy nonetheless. They were out of touch with Reality.

If you've ever wondered why people do some of the wacky things they do or why men believe the outlandish things they believe, let me suggest that something like fear is probably to blame.

Fear is a funny thing. It takes root deep inside and it begins to warp our minds. It keeps us from getting a true read on God and His intentions.

Fear is a tool of deception in the hands of the enemy. This is why God is on a mission to deliver us from all our fears. Perfect love casts out fear.

Fear does not come with an uninstall option. Time doesn't remove fear. Logic doesn't remove fear. But when God (Perfect Love) comes in to occupy those places haunted by fear, this stubborn enemy within cannot survive.

Fear may have taken up residence in many rooms in our hearts. But God is tossing him out, one open door at a time.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 03 -- Freedom -- Galatians 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. -- Galatians 5:1

Prisons come in many forms. Many people do the responsible thing because they know they must. They are trapped. Caught between their own evil desires and their sense of duty.

Jesus came to make desire and duty one. He came to make us whole. He came so that we too could delight in doing the will of God, so that we could consider it our highest joy.

God doesn't want us to pretend to enjoy Him. He wants to get His hands on the reasons we don't. Jesus came into our hearts as a Liberator, not as an oppressor. Everywhere He goes He spreads the delicious experience of freedom.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 04 -- Spirit of freedom -- Galatians 5:13, 16

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather serve one another in love. ... live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. -- Galatians 5:13, 16

There are certain places you don't want to be. You don't want to be standing in the middle of highway in the path of a semi truck heading toward you at 70 mph. You don't want to be outside in your swimming suit when it's twenty below zero. The don't want to climb into the polar bear's cage at the zoo.

You get the point, I'm sure.

Freedom has boundaries, just like we have boundaries. The moat between you and the polar bear is a very nice boundary. If the polar bear is hungry, he won't have you for lunch because of the moat. In the same way, as soon as we disconnect from the Spirit, we are no longer free.

Let's put it another way. Why is the Spirit here? He's here to keep you free. He's here to keep you on the right side of the moat. God cares so much about our freedom that He send His Spirit to keep us in the wide open places of freedom.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 05 -- The vacuum principle - part one -- Galatians 6:1

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. -- Galatians 6:1

If you take away sin, what is left?

Think about it. I think this is a very important question that most people haven't considered, yet it is the reason so many people have so many problems.

I think most Christians would say that if you take away sin you are left with righteousness or obedience or goodness. But I disagree. If you take away sin, you are left with a vacuum. You are left with an emptiness that longs to be filled and will be filled quickly with something. It might be filled again with the same sin. People who wrestle with addictions understand this. They try to stop, and they can't. Or this vacuum might be filled with self righteousness. Often it is, and this is why people get such a bad taste in their mouths for what they believe to be Christianity.

Jesus made it clear that if you drive out an evil spirit, that it will come back, and finding the house unoccupied, rounds up seven worse spirits and re-enters the house. It's the vacuum principle.

You can bet those evil spirits wouldn't be at all interested in returning if they knocked on the front door and Jesus answered.

(More tomorrow.)

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 06 -- The vacuum principle - part two -- Galatians 6:1

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. -- Galatians 6:1

I like chocolate. It has become a joke among those who know me well. I contend that chocolate is a great weight loss food because if you're hungry for chocolate and you eat something else, you'll eat and eat and eat and never get full.

If I'm hungry for chocolate, I'll sometimes dip pretty low. I'll even eat generic kids snack chocolate that tastes more like plastic than the real thing. But give me a choice, and I'll walk away from kids chocolate, milk chocolate, coffee-flavored chocolate, white chocolate -- I'll leave it far behind for what I truly like: dark, semisweet chocolate - like what you'd find in a Mounds bar or in a Hershey's Special Dark.

You can't simply get rid of sin. But you can trade it in for something better. The reason we can restore our brothers and sisters gently is this: We have the same vacuum inside -- the same cravings that only Jesus can deeply satisfy.

If we want to restore people, let's find out what need they are trying to meet with their sin. At the core, we have the same needs. Now let's find a way for Jesus to meet that need.

Many Christians just want to get people converted and scratch their heads when that doesn't settle everything. But Jesus wants to find His way deep into our hearts so that He fills all the vacuums left when we give our sins to Him.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 07 -- New creation -- Galatians 6:16

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. -- Galatians 6:16

The work of God is deep inside our hearts.

A new creation is what we are. Who does the creating? God does. What is the result? The result is you are uniquely you and I am uniquely me; and God, you and I can all celebrate that. While, yes, sin is sin, God does an amazing thing in this verse. He liberates us from cookie-cutter righteousness. Righteous you and righteous I look totally different, just like each of my four kids looks totally different. There's a family look, yeah, but that's where the similarity ends.

God is reckless compared to man. People try to get everybody to line up and wear the same "this-is-how-you-should-live" uniform. But God creates us each wildly different than the other, and celebrates it all.

This, by the way, is one reason we can all learn from each other. Each of us reflects something from the Master that isn't caught quite the same way by anybody else.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 08 -- Truth and lies -- 2 Samuel 15:3

Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." -- 2 Samuel 15:3

The most dangerous lie you can tell is one that you believe yourself.

This is one of the most instructive passages in the Bible if you want to know how the devil manages to be so successful. Years earlier, the enemy laid a trap for an entire nation by getting the crown prince to rape his half sister. Without going into all the dynamics, that violation took years to set up, but it happened. King David was caught in a hard place. Not only was he dealing with his own family, but if he punished the crown prince, he would condemn himself for his earlier actions with Bathsheba. So he appeared to take the "let's-do-nothing-and-hope-this-problem-goes-away" approach.

But it didn't go away. Absalom hated the crown prince for what he did to Absalom's sister. So, since King David wasn't punishing the crime, Absalom decided to take it upon himself to do so. He murdered the crown prince, Amnon.

After a five year cooling off period, David decided to normalize relations with his son, Absalom. But Absalom was a time bomb. Unrepentant for his murder and convinced that his father had lost his ability to administer justice, Absalom schemes to seize the throne.

All he has to do is convince the nation what Absalom already believes: With David there is no justice. Four years of campaigning, and Absalom is ready to overthrow the king.

Jesus tells us that the truth sets us free. The genius of God is this: He knows exactly what truth is needed where. If Absalom had taken his pain to God instead of using it to justify sin, he would have found the truth, and he may have become king of the land. As it turned out, he ended up hanging in an oak tree with three javelins plunged into his heart.

If you want to know how God outmaneuvers the enemy, here it is, in part: He knows where to deliver the truth.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 09 -- A time for everything -- Ecclesiastes 3:1,2

There is a time for everything ... a time to be born and a time to die ... -- Ecclesiastes 3:1,2

My dad passed away in 1999. My mom was recovering from surgery. She felt up to taking a little drive, so my dad drove her around in the country. It was a hot summer day, and when they got home, she went inside while he finished up a little project in the yard.

When he walked in, he didn't look right and he didn't feel right. "Could I have a glass of water?" he asked. As my mom went to get it, she asked, "Do you feel okay?"

"No," he said, "I'm having trouble breathing." Then he collapsed on the floor.

We figure he was dead before the ambulance arrived.

I think about my dad's passing every so often. So sudden and so unexpected. I wonder what my own death will be like. Will I live to be an old man, or will I die suddenly, in mid-sentence with the loose ends of my life all around me? I don't know, of course.

I once had a dream -- I think I shared this before -- about heaven opening. From that dream, I came to realize that Jesus comes back for each one of us. One moment we are immersed in the things of this life, and the next we look up and see Him standing there.

I think we'll discover that He's always there, exactly on time.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 10 -- Knowing -- 1 Kings 17:24

“Now I know ...” -- 1 Kings 17:24

What is the difference between the person who knows and the person who doesn't? They say the same words. They confess the same creeds. They attend the same church. They may eat at the same table.

But one knows and another does not.

In this case, the woman who spoke these words watched her son gradually lose his life. When he finally stopped breathing, she blurted out what she thought she knew. "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"

There in her loss she spoke what she thought was the truth: God was her adversary, her sin was on display, and anything precious to her was fair game.

Sooner or later, this happens to all of us. Our real beliefs are revealed. Circumstances squeeze us until we cannot hide behind our creeds any more; we are forced to lay our cards on the table.

Then God showed up. I don't know and cannot predict how God will show up for you. In this woman's case, He raised her son from the dead -- unheard of, unprecedented, miraculous.

Then she knew. God is on a mission to plant His truth deep inside you and me. That is part of what is behind the bewildering circumstances you may be walking through. Once you know, then the serpent's lies cannot shake you ever again.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 11 -- The anatomy of awe -- Ecclesiastes 5:7

Therefore stand in awe of God. -- Ecclesiastes 5:7

I sit at my desk wondering how to convey this. Do I tell you about a June morning in 1977 when I stood shivering at the top of a cliff and looked down at people picking apples a mile below me in ninety-degree heat while off in the distance a blizzard was raging in the high Cascades? Do I try to describe what it was like to lie back in my brother-in-law's hot tub on a cold December night and look straight up with nothing between me and stars so far away there is no way the human mind can comprehend the distance?

One day I stopped on a nature trail, transfixed by what I cannot describe. A couple walked by -- I believe these were people who like to categorize and name plants and animals. They asked me what I was looking at.

"The glory of God," I said.

Okay, it was a lunatic response. I admit it. But I can't reduce everything to something I can name or explain. I can't reduce everything, but some things reduce me.

Remember the Challenger disaster? Remember after the space shuttle exploded a voice continued to report the progress of the craft as though nothing had happened? Remember how incongruent that voice seemed in the weight of that terrible moment?

As I look at my life, I have to smile. It's been a wild ride, but I wouldn't trade it.

A wild ride. That's what's it's like to hang out with God. Everything He does is so beyond us. With Him, we walk right up to the face of death. There He takes off death's mask, and we discover life beyond measure.

No, there aren't any words to convey this. But maybe that's the way it's supposed to be.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 12 -- Overrighteous? -- Ecclesiastes 7:16

Do not be overrighteous; neither be overwise -- why destroy yourself? -- Ecclesiastes 7:16

We get some crazy ideas. I used to think if unchurched was bad, and churched was good, then more churched must be better, right? I figured if you knew how to sweat when you prayed, stomp when you preached, and "amen" when you sat in the pew, then that made you a mighty fine guy. I knew how to put on my church face, shake hands and act like I was in a continuous state of revival.

Are you getting sick yet?

When I was in college I worked one summer as window trim painter in a prefab building manufacturing plant. The guy who drove me to work was a fellow churchman. One day he said to me, "Dwight, when I saw you in church, I guess you were in your element, and, to tell you the truth, I was a little afraid of you. But now that I see you here at work I realize that you're just like everybody else."

It was an offhand remark, but, to be honest, it rocked my little world. I felt like I had been found out. I didn't want to be like everybody else. I wanted to be better. I wanted to be the best there was. But, deep down inside, the truth gnawed at me. I really was just like everybody else. If anything, I was worse.

What kind of kids does God want?

Real ones. Heaven is not populated with religious fakes. In fact, we must lose all our religious fakery before we get through the door. Inflated religious egos can't squeeze through the narrow gate to eternal life.

I've learned the truth. I really am just like everybody else. All of us are in need of God's grace. And only when we get real with God, with ourselves and with each other, does that grace pour out into our lives.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 13 -- Pearls -- Ecclesiastes 7:28

... while I was still searching but not finding -- I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. -- Ecclesiastes 7:28

There are a few verses in the Bible that are just plain provocative and this is one of them. I cringe and wonder, "How did this get in here?"

But there it is.

And if ever there was a verse that didn't square with my experience, this is one of them. I know many godly women who love the Lord with all their hearts, and, honestly, not as many men.

So let's see if we can figure this out.

If Solomon was the author of Ecclesiastes then we know that he had so many wives that I doubt he even remembered their names. No wonder he had a jaded view of women. (Yet, how did he manage to write Song of Solomon? I'm stumped on that one.)

Now, I have a confession to make. When I started writing this devotional, I had no idea how to answer the questions that this verse raises. I walked into this one blind as a bat.

But I think perhaps the Lord just gave me the answer. It's found in Matthew 7:6: "Do not throw your pearls to pigs."

Let me explain.

What could be more precious to the Lord than one of His daughters who dearly loves Him? Here in Ecclesiastes we have a madman -- mad in the sense that he temporarily abandons God and tries to find wisdom apart from Him. Why would God give what is precious to a man like that? Remember the "anatomy of awe" devotional a couple days ago? A woman who loves God cannot be reduced to a premise in a philosophy book. She will elude this man and his search until he stops searching and starts finding God.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 14 -- The One who understands -- Ecclesiastes 8:17, 9:17

No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. -- Ecclesiastes 8:17

The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. -- Ecclesiastes 9:17

I don't care how good a Christian you are, you will eventually come face to face with things in life that you cannot understand. Tamara White who runs an inner city ministry for teen "throw aways" told me stories of little children who trusted Jesus as their Savior and were molested the same night. How do you explain that? I cannot. Pat answers like: "We live in a fallen world," or "This is not the Lord's doing, this is the work of the enemy," just don't cut it for me. My little heart cannot contain the shrapnel of a world gone mad.

So what makes any of us wise? Is it that we understand these things? No, I don't think any of us do.

So where does wisdom come from? I think of Jesus. He stood next to the tomb of Lazarus and wept -- He wept even though He knew full well He was about to raise him from the dead. I think of Jesus rejoicing because what was important was hidden by the Father from the wise and learned, and revealed instead to little children. And I think of Jesus, trembling in the garden, saying, "... nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done."

By the will of God, we, along with Jesus, weep, rejoice and surrender. This is the stuff of our lives. So wisdom comes, not because we can explain our world, but rather because we have been with Him who understands.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 15 -- Jesus is here, right now -- John 1:11

[Jesus] came unto His own ... -- John 1:11

God is not satisfied until He enters our world. Jesus didn't make phone calls from heaven to inquire about the condition of the human race. God is not a voice from the past that we can only know through His writings.

I'm speaking to the 20 year old me and to anyone else who might rise up early to pour over the scriptures, to sing hymns, to pray through a long, long list, but never feel like he connected with God.

We don't connect with God by sending radio signals out into space and hoping they will be intercepted and not ignored by the Almighty. We don't connect by dressing up in our Sunday best.

Jesus has entered your world. He is here, right now.

When Jesus entered this world, He came on a mission; He came to die on the cross and to rise again for the salvation of mankind. It was the last thing anyone expected.

When Jesus entered your world, He came on a mission. He is here, right now, for a reason. And that reason may well be the last thing you expect. But one thing is clear: In your place of greatest pain -- when Jesus is finished -- you will find your greatest joy.

Jesus is here to turn things upside down.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 16 -- Bread -- Ecclesiastes 11:1

Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. -- Ecclesiastes 11:1

Why would we cast our bread upon the waters? Pretty simple: You can't keep it. It molds; it spoils; it dries out. Who wants stale bread? Better to give away what we have when we still have strength to give.

It's a reckless thing, really. Giving. Giving away. Giving up. Letting go.

Upon the waters, we cast our bread. The bread is soon gone. It disappears and we cannot bring it back.

That is the beauty of all of this. When we give our lives away, we cannot go and retrieve what we have surrendered. Everything we give away is now in Other Hands.

The verse says, "many days." You may have given, and given, and given. I suspect you probably now have forgotten most of what you've given away. But there is Someone who remembers.

How can bread cast upon waters come back to us? We all know the answer. It cannot. It's impossible. It would take a miracle.

But then again, that's what you and I signed up for.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 17 -- We matter to Him -- Ecclesiastes 12:7

... the spirit returns to God who gave it. -- Ecclesiastes 12:7

Here we have the single most important fact of our existence.

When I scan back through my own life, I see snapshots -- walking down Chicago Avenue at night and seeing a million lights reflected in the rain, sitting on the bathroom floor next to my wife in agony during her first miscarriage, driving past the palm trees at Fort Fisher and seeing the result of my dad's trimming efforts -- one leaf sticking straight up. I see myself holding my newborn babies, and watch them close the coffin on my dad.

Does it matter that my dad nearly murdered the palm trees? Does it matter that our little girl is in heaven? Does it matter that I married the most beautiful woman in the world?

If it matters to God, it matters. That is why He calls us back to Himself. Because we matter to Him. All of this stuff of our lives matters to Him. What you are doing right now matters to Him.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 18 -- Prayers and problems -- John 11:3

"Lord, the one You love is sick." -- John 11:3

It's a simple prayer. Many times the more desperate we are, the more needy we are, the more simple our prayers become. "Help!" I remember times when I was so sick that all I could pray was, "O God! O God! O God!" over and over again because my brain couldn't contain anything more. There was no theology, just raw need and a Father in heaven.

This is also a prayer of expectation. Mary and Martha knew where they stood with the Lord. Jesus could do what He wanted, and they knew He wanted the best for their brother, Lazarus. They knew that Jesus cared deeply about him. The implication is clear. They expected Jesus to clear His schedule, and bring Lazarus back from the brink of death.

God chose this prayer to something extra, something far beyond what anyone imagined would happen. He chose this prayer as an opportunity to show us that no problem is ever too big for God to solve.

How did He do that? He let the problem get worse. I mention this because this is where many of us are right now. We have a problem. We've asked God to take it away. And He has responded by letting it get worse.

What is God doing? I don't know. I just know that when everything we hoped for dies, God is planning a resurrection. He is able, and He will bring it about for you.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 19 -- The delay -- John 11:6

Yet when [Jesus] heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days. -- John 11:6

Do the math. When Jesus got to Bethany, Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. Even if Jesus had left as soon as He got the message that Lazarus was ill, He still would have been two days late to prevent the death of His friend.

The delay of Jesus established a couple of important things: First, Jesus knew exactly what was going on. The death of Lazarus did not take Him by surprise. Second, Jesus was completely in charge. This wasn't a matter of Jesus running frantically from one need to another, never quite able to keep up. No, He had a mission, and He would fulfill it.

We can talk about these delays all day long. But until we experience one, it's hard to understand what's on the other side. But let me ask this: How do you imagine Mary, Martha and Lazarus were different after Lazarus was raised from the dead? Sometimes, life's most transformational experiences will not happen without a delay.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 20 -- Fear and danger -- Proverbs 27:12

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. -- Proverbs 27:12

There are different kinds of fear, and fear is used in different ways by God and by the enemy.

Fear from the enemy paralyzes. Fear from God motivates.

Fear from the enemy is based on lies. Fear from God is based on truth.

Fear from the enemy pushes us into sin. Fear from God pushes us away from sin.

All my life I have heard Christians trying to explain what "the fear of the Lord" is. Some say it is "reverent awe." Others say it is "dread." Others say it is "abject terror."

I would like to suggest that what it is depends on where you are. Let me use an illustration I've used before. When I'm inside my brother-in-law's semi truck going 70 mph down the highway, I'm very comfortable. But I am afraid to stand out in the road in front of it. I know that I don't have the ability to stop 40,000 pounds of metal moving at 70 mph. I would get squashed.

So, inside the semi, I am completely at peace. Outside the semi, I have a healthy respect for it. In the path of the semi, I would be scared like crazy unless and until I got out of the way. Same fear, different location.

So the fear of the Lord must not be mistaken for a desire on God's part to terrorize His children. Instead, it is an invitation to come inside at be at peace.

Be encouraged!

Dwight

***

June 21 -- Little choices -- 2 Timothy 2:24-26

And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. -- 2 Timothy 2:24-26

There is a great partnership here, between the Lord and His people. Our job is to break the way of righteousness down into little steps, small choices. God's work is to grant repentance. And what is repentance? It is a change of mind, and change of belief.

For example, if I believe that I am shameful, then I will make choices in accordance with that belief. I will make choices that distance me from God. For example, I might figure that my life is a mess anyway, so why not abuse drugs or commit immorality?

Enter the well-meaning Christian. "Repent!" he cries. And what he means is: "Make different choices and cry a lot while you are making the change."