Author: DwightClough

 

I stand at the door and knock… Revelation 3:20

 

There is an imaginary line that runs through the middle of our hearts. On one side of the line, we find “yes,” and on the other side of the line we find “no.” This heart represents your inner self and mine. Each of us have places in our hearts where we have said “yes” to Jesus. And each of us have places in our hearts where we have not yet said “yes” to Jesus.

There are two main ways to live the Christian life. Both have some validity. We can live on the “yes” side. Or we can take Jesus to the “no” side.

The first way—living on the “yes” side—is comparatively easy. Here we build on what we have already agreed to with Jesus. Here we say, “Sin is bad. I don’t want to sin. I want to worship God. I want to do what’s right. I want to please God. I will avoid temptations.” And so on.

The only problem with this is that we have a whole other side of our heart that is saying things that are very much the opposite. And, since we can’t cut ourselves in half and throw away the bad half, we are stuck living with it. That creates a problem.

That’s why we need the second way to live the Christian life. We need to find the part of our hearts that is saying “no” to Jesus and bring Jesus into that part of our lives. This is not so easy. Most of us would rather face a firing squad than get honest with ourselves. It’s scary, and we don’t like being scared. It’s humbling. But, when we do it, when Jesus comes into those darkened places in our hearts, it is life changing. It is transformational.

That’s why God invests a great deal of time and energy getting each of us to the place where we are willing to “go there” with Him. We must find those “no’s”—those refusals—and ask ourselves why. Why are we saying “no” to Jesus? That’s what God needs to get at. The reason why. Behind each reason is a lie. It’s when we bring those reasons to God that He is able to reason with us, and bring to us the life-giving truth that melts away the disabling lies we believe.

Dwight

PS. What is spiritual maturity? I pondered over this for a long time, and then I asked the Lord. The answer I got was surprisingly simple, yet it changes everything. That’s our Inner Wealth topic on 7/27/2019.

 

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

 

When we have visitors at our home, my wife and I want to have it all cleaned up and nice before our guests arrive. But that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes we don’t get all the cleaning done we want to. Our guests must see our home as it really is.

Deep inside we want to clean up for Jesus. But somehow that never works. We want Jesus in the nice clean living room, but He walks right in and asks to open the closet, or make a trip down into the basement.

It’s the way things are, folks.

Why is Jesus so willing to humble us? Because He knows that the Real Thing is so much better than the fantasy.

In humility and desperate neediness we turn to God. But when Jesus walks into a room, everything changes. Darkness gives way to light. Chaos turns to order. Grief turns to joy. And all is at peace.

Life-changing encounters with Jesus. We don’t outgrow them. We need them even if we’ve been a saint for fifty years. And Jesus is at work to enter our world and turn it upside down.

Dwight

PS. What is spiritual maturity? I pondered over this for a long time, and then I asked the Lord. The answer I got was surprisingly simple, yet it changes everything. That’s our Inner Wealth topic on 7/27/2019.

 

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock… Revelation 3:20

 

When was the last time you had a life-changing encounter with God?

Today? A week ago? A year ago? 30 years? Never?

Let me define my terms. By “life-changing” I don’t mean that you were hyped. TV commercials can get us hyped. Slick motivational speakers can get us hyped. Shallow evangelists who know how to work a crowd can get us hyped. Neither do I mean that you ended up sinlessly perfect. But I do mean that you walked away a different person.

This is not another spiritual chore. It is not: I go to church, I read my Bible, I pray, I share my faith, and, oh, no, now I have to do something else too…

But rather: When was the last time Jesus met with you and you walked away changed?

Dwight

PS. What is spiritual maturity? I pondered over this for a long time, and then I asked the Lord. The answer I got was surprisingly simple, yet it changes everything. That’s our Inner Wealth topic on 7/27/2019.

 

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.

Dwight

PS. What is spiritual maturity? I pondered over this for a long time, and then I asked the Lord. The answer I got was surprisingly simple, yet it changes everything. That’s our Inner Wealth topic on 7/27/2019.

 

“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

 

If you want God to transform your life, find the door where Jesus is knocking.

Nothing of any importance happens until Jesus shows up. We can do religious things but they won’t help anybody—they will just clutter up the space God needs to work in.

What are we trying to do or to be? Are we trying to win someone to the Lord? Invite Jesus in. Are we trying to deal with illness or loss? Invite Jesus in. Not sure what to do? Invite Jesus in.

Now here’s the trick. We need to find the door where Jesus is knocking.

The rich young ruler had trouble with this. He thought Jesus was knocking on the door of his achievements. He thought Jesus wanted to come in and affirm what a wonderful guy he was for doing so many things right. Or perhaps Jesus would give him one more goal he could discipline himself to achieve.

But Jesus was knocking at a different door. He was knocking on the door of his security. “You’ve put your faith in all you’ve achieved and all you possess,” Jesus told him, “but these things will not save you. You need to let them go so you can put your faith in the only One who can save you.”

In the same way, don’t be surprised if Jesus finds a door that turns your world upside down. He is in the business of transforming us. But, behind that door that we may be afraid to open, we find life beyond all that we could ask or imagine.

Dwight

PS. “I’m not gullible, so I’m not deceived, right?” That’s what I thought for many years. Then I discovered how totally wrong I was. Smart, streetwise, good people are routinely deceived—I’m including myself, and I’m including you. On 7/20/2019, I’ll explain to our Inner Wealth subscribers why deception is so dangerous and how all of us have been deceived. I’ll explain how it’s possible to believe a lie even when you know it’s not true. And I’ll show steps you can take to get free from deception.

 

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.

Dwight

PS. “I’m not gullible, so I’m not deceived, right?” That’s what I thought for many years. Then I discovered how totally wrong I was. Smart, streetwise, good people are routinely deceived—I’m including myself, and I’m including you. On 7/20/2019, I’ll explain to our Inner Wealth subscribers why deception is so dangerous and how all of us have been deceived. I’ll explain how it’s possible to believe a lie even when you know it’s not true. And I’ll show steps you can take to get free from deception.

 

He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. Revelation 3:5

 

My name is Dwight Alan Clough. Like most of you, I had no say in what my name would be—it was given to me at birth. A few years ago, I decided to do some research and discover the meanings of the names of each of our family members.

My full name, if you put it all together, means “a handsome light in the valley.”

It’s funny how things work out. I never would have imagined as a young man that God would call me to be a winsome light to people going through valleys of sin, sorrow and discouragement. I wanted to write novels. I wanted to be a college professor. I wanted to be an artist. I wanted to be a successful entrepreneur. I wanted to make movies. And I didn’t want to go through valleys of pain and discouragement. I don’t especially like pain.

But I didn’t learn anything worth sharing on the mountaintops of my own talent, skills and intelligence. It was in the valleys of failure, sorrow, tragedy and loss that I found the Man of Sorrows walking beside me. It was in the darkness of my own humiliation and distress that the Light from above came into my life.

I didn’t choose my name or my calling. They were chosen for me. But, as life unfolds, I see the wisdom in those choices. And there is wisdom guiding your life also, though it may now seem senseless and unfair; give God time, He will make it right.

Dwight

PS. “I’m not gullible, so I’m not deceived, right?” That’s what I thought for many years. Then I discovered how totally wrong I was. Smart, streetwise, good people are routinely deceived—I’m including myself, and I’m including you. On 7/20/2019, I’ll explain to our Inner Wealth subscribers why deception is so dangerous and how all of us have been deceived. I’ll explain how it’s possible to believe a lie even when you know it’s not true. And I’ll show steps you can take to get free from deception.

 

“I know your deeds…” Revelation 2:2

 

Jesus knows our deeds. They are measured and they have value.

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.

Dwight

PS. “I’m not gullible, so I’m not deceived, right?” That’s what I thought for many years. Then I discovered how totally wrong I was. Smart, streetwise, good people are routinely deceived—I’m including myself, and I’m including you. On 7/20/2019, I’ll explain to our Inner Wealth subscribers why deception is so dangerous and how all of us have been deceived. I’ll explain how it’s possible to believe a lie even when you know it’s not true. And I’ll show steps you can take to get free from deception.

 

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PPS. For those of you who are interested, my latest book, Rethinking Our War On Poverty is now available here.

 

 

“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.

Dwight

PS. Sooner or later, it’s going to happen. A Christian leader you respect, trust, even depend on will disappoint you. How do you handle it when a Christian leader falls? That’s our topic 7/13/2019 in Inner Wealth.

 

“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.

Dwight

PS. Sooner or later, it’s going to happen. A Christian leader you respect, trust, even depend on will disappoint you. How do you handle it when a Christian leader falls? That’s our topic 7/13/2019 in Inner Wealth.