Daily Bread: June 2005

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of �Dial Daily Bread�:

They are everywhere I go with one rather common complaint: �I want to be a true Christian, I�m a member of the church, I keep the Lord�s Day, I go to church, I pay my tithe, I give offerings, but I know that if my end should come today, I would not be ready. I do not love the Bible, I do not love to pray, what I do love is the world and self; truly, the story of the cross does not move my heart which is cold. What can I do?�

Surely there are many counselors wiser than myself. But may the Lord help me to encourage you:

1. Your last word is misplaced--it�s not something to �do� that�s the problem: you need something to �believe�--�whosoever believeth......� (John 3:16); �With the heart one believes to righteousness� (Rom. 10:10; but that�s what you say is your problem--your heart is cold).

2. The previous verse promises: �if you...... believe in your heart that God has raised [Jesus] from the dead, you will be saved.� You know that cannot mean a cold affirmation. There is something about �heart work� that�s lacking. Endless �works� but a cold heart leave you in fear.

3. The Lord Jesus is real; He is a Person; but you can insult Him. He says, �Come......� You MUST; and this will take some time, the quality kind. Maybe away from the cafeteria. And what you dread more than almost anything--silence. Radio, CD, TV, DVD--off. All �background �music��...... off. In this interview you will be giving Him your full attention.

4. Your heart is empty, your soul starved; your mind is cluttered. You don�t need magic, or emotionalism. Even prayer or having someone pray for you may not be good enough; your soul needs something more than prayer. You need some spiritual food--�bread from heaven� (John 6:32). You need truth in your heart. Don�t get hung up on reading books or magazines ABOUT the Bible. READ THE BIBLE. The other �inspired� books can wait. No �inspired� author ever would dare tell you to read his/her books
instead of God�s Book, the Bible.

5. Read a faithful one. Its authors were inspired. If the KJV is difficult, read the NKJV; it�s accurate. The four gospels and Job in the TEV are wonderful (but not Galatians or Romans!).

6. Invite the Lord Jesus to give you His Holy Spirit. He will. �Wait on the Lord;...... wait, I say, on the Lord� (Psalm 27:14). He has already taken steps toward you; now you take a step toward Him.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" phone message is available via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Is the Bible as a book (composed of pages bound as a �biblos�) destined to become out-dated and supplanted by computerized versions? Does our heavenly Father still regard the Bible (as a book) His message to the human race? We hear it said often that reading books is going out of date. �People just don�t read anymore! They watch movies and videos.�

The last words of John�s Gospel speak of �books that should be written� about Jesus as the divine Son of God (21:25, KJV). He commended the practice of �searching the Scriptures,� meaning the books or scrolls they possessed (5:39). He rebuked those who did not study and believe �the Scriptures,� saying, �You...... err� (Matt. 22:29). On the day He was resurrected He gave a Bible study to two of His disciples, �beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures
the things concerning Himself� (Luke 24:25-27). He upheld actual Bible study.

We have no reason to doubt that He has the same burden of heart for us today--that we read, study, learn, what His Holy Spirit has inspired prophets and apostles to write �for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come� (1 Cor. 10:11, NKJV).

The vast proportion of inhabitants of the earth are not computer or Internet literate. And of those who are, they still love real books. What you take to bed to read before you go to sleep is a book. What you take to church or Sabbath School is a literal Book (with some few exceptions among Internet buffs). The ease of finding things in the Bible through flipping pages cannot be bettered, and for sure the practice of marking salient passages for future reference is efficient. Your Bible becomes
your own intimately personal �word of God.� Fits you better than your shoes do. (Write in your margins dates and places where the Holy Spirit was very close to you!)

A prayer the Father loves to hear and answer is the request that the Holy Spirit �make known� His words to you (Prov. 1:23). Plead that He give you �a hunger and thirst for righteousness�(Matt. 5:6)--that�s the way of �happiness� (which is what it means to be �blessed�). And you�ll be surprised how often the Lord will open doors for you to share treasures of truth you have discovered in your personal reading of the Bible. One thing, please: be modest about them; don�t drive sincere people away
by being proud.

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

I have known the story of Jesus almost all of my long life, but it is more fresh and startling than ever. Grace and I still have what used to be called �family worship� morning and evening; we are currently reading John in the TEV. Never has the hatred of God�s own people for the Son of God struck me as being so bitter and unreasoning; it�s straight out of hell! Never in the history of this earth has any one been so cruelly �despised and rejected of men�(Isa. 53:3) The story of Jesus is the
saga of eternity. To the extent that the universe is filled with intelligent beings, they marvel that people created in the image of God and redeemed by His love can be so devilish in their animosity toward the Son of God.

Now the world stands in a new relationship to God�s throne, never before known in its past: we have come to the hour of the cosmic Day of Atonement. It�s the hour Scripture has long said is the time when repentance for the rejection and crucifixion of the Son of God shall become complete and a people at last be fully heart-reconciled to the righteousness of God. One of the vivid metaphors that describes this �atonement� (or at-one-ment) is the �Bride� making herself ready for �the marriage of
the Lamb� (Rev. 19:1-8). Out of the human race that is corporately guilty of this rejection of Christ comes (or will come) a �remnant� as intimately reconciled to Christ as a bride can be to her husband.

At the same time as this �atonement� is in process, the rejecters in the human race will crucify Him �afresh� in a final frenzy of hatred of God. The grand Day of Atonement is the hour for some to be fully reconciled to God, and also the hour of �judgment� for those who choose finally to dis-believe the Son of God. It will be the time for Revelation 13-19 to be played out, with all that the prophets have said long ago. We have arrived.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

It was 41 years to the day since three civil rights workers were murdered mysteriously in Mississippi. All these long years, justice has been apparently asleep. Then yesterday, a now 80-year-old man was found guilty of masterminding the murders. Many people will quote Numbers 32:23, �Be sure your sin will find you out.� But that�s small comfort to the three who died; they can only await final judgment.

Has the Holy Spirit had something to do with this history? The sight of an old man having to pay for what he did in his 30�s may be overruled by God for the blessing of young people the world around. And it�s been a salutary lesson that the three young people are vindicated who gave their lives for what they believed was a cause of righteousness. And it has also been a blessing that the indignation that stirred the national government over this crime encourages us that God does have servants in
high places.

If you are one of many the world around who have had to suffer injustice unrequited, accept the comfort and encouragement that the Bible gives you. It chronicles the experience of unnumbered hosts who have had to suffer since the murder of Abel, the first martyr (Gen. 4:1-8). One outstanding lesson seems apparent in all the Bible stories: take your case to the Lord in earnest prayer, and then let Him handle it. He says, �Vengeance is mine,...... I will repay� (Rom. 12:19). That takes enormous
self-control, to let the Lord handle it; and you can�t do it unless you receive �the faith of Jesus� (Rev. 14:12). Nobody ever suffered greater injustice! Learn from Him. You don�t have to wait until eternity for redresss; the Holy Spirit comforts you now.

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

</x-tad-bigger>It was 41 years to the day since three civil rights
workers were murdered mysteriously in Mississippi. All these long
years, justice has been apparently asleep. Then yesterday, a now
80-year-old man was found guilty of masterminding the murders. Many
people will quote Numbers 32:23, “Be sure your sin will find you out.”
But that’s small comfort to the three who died; they can only await
final judgment.

Has the Holy Spirit had something to do with this history? The sight
of an old man having to pay for what he did in his 30’s may be
overruled by God for the blessing of young people the world around.
And it’s been a salutary lesson that the three young people are
vindicated who gave their lives for what they believed was a cause of
righteousness. And it has also been a blessing that the indignation
that stirred the national government over this crime encourages us
that God does have servants in high places.

If you are one of many the world around who have had to suffer
injustice unrequited, accept the comfort and encouragement that the
Bible gives you. It chronicles the experience of unnumbered hosts who
have had to suffer since the murder of Abel, the first martyr (Gen.
4:1-8). One outstanding lesson seems apparent in all the Bible
stories: take your case to the Lord in earnest prayer, and then let
Him handle it. He says, “Vengeance is mine, . . . I will repay” (Rom.
12:19). That takes enormous self-control, to let the Lord handle it;
and you can’t do it unless you receive “the faith of Jesus” (Rev.
14:12). Nobody ever suffered greater injustice! Learn from Him. You
don’t have to wait until eternity for redresss; the Holy Spirit
comforts you now.

<x-tad-bigger>

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" phone message is
available via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion
of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or
other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread"
will not be sent.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

At the heathen or pagan court of the kings of ancient Persia, if you
appeared sad, you could be put in prison. You were required to keep a
frozen smile on your face continually, and obviously jokes and comedy
were the way of life.

The Bible tells how Nehemiah, serving in the presence of the king, was
afraid because he was too honest to try to wipe that frozen smile off
his face, because he was broken-hearted for the honor of God involved
in the ruin of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1-3). God loves honesty, even if it
means that a broken heart must express itself. We read in Psalm 34:18,
“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth
such as be of a contrite spirit.”

Sounds very strange for 2005, doesn’t it? We suppose He is very “nigh”
unto the smiling, happy people--if you’re not singing for joy there
must be something wrong with your so-called “relationship with Jesus.”
Many assume that it’s virtually a sin to be broken-hearted. But by the
use of a poetic double negative we are assured in Psalm 51:17 of the
Lord’s special favor to the broken-hearted: “The sacrifices of God are
a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise.”

Was Jesus ever broken-hearted? Not in the sense that He yielded to
sinful unbelief, no; but we read that He took upon His happy heart our
broken-heartedness. For example, w read that He was “despised and
rejected of men” and it hurt Him, for He was “a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). You can’t talk about having “a
relationship with Jesus” without relating to that aspect of His
character. The closer you come to Him the more you will appreciate
that truth. And because He was very sorrowful on His cross, we read
that the human race despised Him for it: “We did esteem Him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted” (vs. 4). “We” wanted an always smiling
Messiah, not a broken-hearted One. How about His great heart of love
today? Does He sympathize with all the sorrowing, pain-ridden people
on earth? Yes! He longs to put an end to sin and the sorrow it brings.
And the closer we come to Him, the more we will share His concern.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Do you ever fall on your knees and cry out to the Lord, “Thank You for
saving me from disaster that I deserved!”?

There are many who would give anything if they could erase from memory
and from their life record some act of willful foolishness or
indiscretion. Often it’s an act of fornication or adultery, an
alluring temptation yielded to, at an unguarded moment, or some really
stupid faux pas that is a blot on an otherwise unstained reputation.
Then almost immediately afterward comes that horrid sense of guilt and
shame. It can be lethal.

A group of us were discussing whether Christ died because our sins
were laid upon Him, or because they were borne within Him. Did He feel
the guilt as though it were His own? Was His identification with
sinful us, a total one?

We read Isaiah 53:6, “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us
all”; that’s evidence for the “upon” idea. But we also read 2
Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him [Christ] to BE sin for us, who knew
no sin.” That’s evidence for the “within” idea. It wasn’t antiseptic
poison from the rusty spikes driven through His wrists and ankles that
killed Him; it was raw guilt--ours. The burden overwhelmed Him, as
though He were indeed the guilty One. This profound truth illuminates
the book of Psalms; Christ is all through it, especially the ones that
David wrote. Christ’s name is “God with us.”

If you carry a burden of joy-crushing guilt, remember Psalm 130: “If
You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there
is forgiveness with You, that you may be feared” (vs. 3). You’d think
the Psalmist would say, “There is guilt . . . that You may be feared.”
No, it’s forgiveness; the overwhelming sense of abounding grace, His
bearing your guilt and freeing you from it. All your lifetime
thereafter you “walk softly” like Ahab did when he repented of his
monstrous crimes (1 Kings 21:27, 28).

And if the dear Lord has saved you from yourself, you still “walk
softly” for you know you have not an iota of righteousness of your own
(see Isa. 54:17). You realize the evil you would have done had there
been no Savior there to hold you by your hand (cf. Matt. 8:25; 14:30;
incidentally, that healthy, self-humbling realization is akin to
“corporate repentance”).

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Monday, June 20, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>Are you one of these modern people who
feels harassed and burdened with all the things you have to do? You
may be young enough to carry on without collapsing, and you may feel
that you simply must have a pill now and then or you can’t get through
the day. And yes, you do try to squeeze in some Bible reading or
something from “the Lord’s messenger,” but then, the more you read the
more guilty you feel for not getting everything done that is “duty.”

Well, here’s a little tidbit from the Lord Jesus Himself that’s
different: “To you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, . . . who have
not known the depths of Satan, . . . I will put upon you no other
burden” (Rev. 2:24). This shows that the Lord Jesus knows what it’s
like to be human and heavily laden. I don’t understand too well the
particular context in “Thyatira” that called forth this compassionate
little remark, but you have the full right to think of Jesus as being
sympathetic to you. You may have thought of the Holy Spirit as
constantly convicting you of sin (John 16:8--that’s true! But it’s
also “comfort,” 14:16!), prodding you always to work harder, to do
more, to pray more, to study your Bible more, to pray more, to pay
more tithe, give more offerings, go on more missionary journeys, get
up earlier, diet more, and you feel exhausted spiritually as well as
physically. Is it the Lord’s will for you?

Stop and think a moment: the Lord Jesus promises He will put a limit
on the “burdens” HE will lay upon you. He even insists that HIS
“burden is light.” And the closer you let Him get to you, His yoke
becomes more “easy” (Matt. 11:28-30). Your lifelong entanglement with
a works program may incline you to think this is heresy; but it’s a
side of Jesus you need to realize. He’s your “Lord,” yes; but He’s
also your Friend.

</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Sunday, June 19, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

When Jesus was resurrected, Satan was mortally wounded. Genesis 3:15
was fulfilled: the serpent (Satan) had indeed “bruised” Christ’s
“heel” through the crucifixion; but Christ “bruised” his “head.” When
you smash a serpent’s head, you’ve killed it. So, since the
resurrection, Satan has been crushed.

But immediately the question arises in thoughtful minds, “Then why
nearly2000 years of continued sin, cruelty, misery, created by this
same ‘serpent’ who is supposed to be crushed? Why have Hitlers, Idi
Amins, Stalins, flourished, and why do crime and violence plague the
world as it was in the days before the Flood of Noah? Why is Paul’s
prophecy so terribly fulfilled, that ‘evil men and seducers shall wax
worse and worse’?” (2 Tim. 3:13). “Does all this look like the work of
a defeated foe?”

Other questions arise: “Why doesn’t Jesus come the second time as He
promised to do, and put an end to all this work of Satan? Is God
indifferent? Is He just procrastinating until He Himself finally gets
enough of it all and decides to blow the trumpet and ring the curtain
down arbitrarily?” We can search the world for an answer, and must
come back to what the Bible says: “A man scatters seed in his field. .
. . When the grain is ripe, the man starts cutting it with his sickle,
because harvest time has come” (Mark 4:26-29). God’s people must grow
up out of their childishness and appreciate--”believe”--what Christ
accomplished in His death, burial, and resurrection, that Satan has
been defeated. Hebrews 2:14 says that he has been “paralyzed” as wild
life experts shoot a dart into a rhino or a fierce lion and paralyze
it so they can examine its teeth. Satan cannot force you to continue
to sin unless we willingly choose to let him do so, to permit him to
deceive us.

The victory of Christ over Satan in His resurrection was wonderful;
now, says Revelation 12:11, God’s people must also “overcome him by
the blood of the Lamb.” Satan still claims that it is impossible for
any human beings to keep God’s law of love; it’s our privilege to
share in Christ’s glorious victory. That’s something worth living for!

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Friday, June 17, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>The difference between a believer and an
unbeliever is his/her prayer. Unbelievers don’t need to pray; they can
make it on their own. They own the world, everything goes right for
them, “Verily I say unto you, they have their reward,” says Jesus. But
those who “believe” in Jesus have a hard time trying to make it on
their own; they fit right into the category of David who continually
(almost) pours out his heart in prayer in the Psalms. He has all kinds
of “enemies” that he is constantly begging the Lord to defeat for him
(wait a moment: don’t fall for this lie that David is paranoid: from
every prayer session except one [Psalm 88] he emerges joyously
triumphant on top of the world in his confidence in God who has heard
and answered his prayer; that’s not paranoia). That’s why I said that
“believers” have a hard time making it on their own; they know they
can’t, so they rejoice in their faith to believe that they can make it
with the blessing of their Savior. (And they do!)

The Bible is really full of prayer. The lady in Matt. 15:22-28 who is
begging Jesus to heal her daughter “vexed with a devil” is praying; He
tested and stretched her faith before He did it. The man with the son
who was devil possessed in Mark 9:17-24 is praying, “Lord, if Thou
canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Again, Jesus
tested and stretched his faith, almost agonizingly, before He granted
his prayer.

Prayer is meaningless unless you learn to believe (a) that there is a
God who is what He says He is (“merciful and gracious, . . . plenteous
in mercy,” Psalm 103:8), and (b) that He hears and rewards those who
take the trouble to “come” to Him (Heb. 11:6). The “coming” is a
serious, intelligent, well thought out interview with the Sovereign of
the universe who tells you that He is your heavenly Father and you are
His child; He meets you on your own ground, as sober as you are. No
games, please. It’s not my business to guarantee anything on His
behalf; but from some minute personal experience I can testify that He
“receiveth sinners,” even “eats with” them (Luke 15:2; yes, have lunch
with Him!), “forgiveth all our iniquities” (Psalm 103:3), tells us
what is wrong with us and encourages us to believe we’ll get
straightened out (John 16:8-11), gloriously enhances our sense of
self-respect (Gal. 2:20), gives us the intimations of coming
immortality through faith in Christ (Rom. 8:16-19), and lifts the
burden that has been weighing you down for years (Matt. 11:29-30).

</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>

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Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Tony Blair shows a kind of missionary zeal for helping Africa. Good.
But decades of history raise the question: do massive injections of
money help? The answer seems to be no UNLESS the problems of
corruption can be corrected. For example, a belief that sex with a
virgin will cure AIDS, and similar fantasies in economics. We who
revel in our fantastic wealth and fun are not more righteous before
God; we have our plagues of pornography and fun-violence.

In my youth I was sent as a pastor-missionary to Uganda. It was the
pre-Idi Amin era. Even then Uganda enjoyed world fame for promiscuity.
I felt a serious responsibility before God for the pastoral care of
our church. Hammering away at legalism didn’t help; fear proved to be
an ineffective motivation. As I prayed, I was led to study with the
Baganda about what happened on the cross; what does it mean to be
living in the cosmic Day of Atonement (yes, they could understand!);
when the Bible says “God is
</x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>agape</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger>”
(1 John 4:8), what does
</x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>agape</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger> mean?
How is it different than our human love? What kind of a death did
Jesus die--the first, or the second? How did He “empty Himself” for
us? How does His
</x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>agape</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger>-love
“constrain” a believer to say “No!” to the clamors of self and
sensuality? Can we cooperate with Jesus in these last days of world
history? Can we come close to Him?

I was impressed to read to them Isaiah 22:12-14 as “present truth,”
for levity was common response to the preaching of the cross, even
among some pastors. Of course, I never dreamed of the coming of Idi
Amin, nor did they. It turned out to be something like the Fall of
Jerusalem (70 A.D.) in miniature. But Christ did not forsake them in
the reign of horror that ensued. The Lord was near to them. “His
compassions fail not” (Lam. and Jer. 3:22).

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Thursday, June 16, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Let me introduce you to a friend with whom you can have fellowship:
David, King David, the man who wrote many of the psalms, the man who
was a very bad sinner but was deep-hearted repentant. God gave him the
most unusual “gift” anyone has ever had--very intimate fellowship with
Christ in His sufferings (cf. Phil. 3:10 for the phrase). In other
words, David was permitted to taste firsthand by prolepsis the
experiences which the Son of God must go through in order to become
effective as our Savior. Contact was made.

David, of course, was 100 per cent human, and totally a sinner. He was
as down low a sinner as anybody, yet God permitted him to feel what
Christ felt and to write it up so we can taste it, too. The fellowship
went both ways: David felt as Christ felt, and Christ felt as the
lowdown sinner feels. Which simply means that Christ felt as you
feel--guilty, polluted, condemned. The only sinless human Being can
feel compassion and sympathy for someone who has made a mess of
his/her life and feels guilty. The sincere Roman Catholic may long to
find a sympathetic priest to kneel before and pour out his/her heart
in bitter, shameful confession; but the Lord Jesus, the Son of God,
the world’s Savior, the One who was “made to be sin for us who knew no
sin”(2 Cor. 5:21), the One who alone has come from the bosom of the
Father, He is your only true Father-confessor. As you kneel alone
before Him and let the bitter tears fall, and wait before Him in quiet
loneliness, your heart open, with David’s psalms also open before you,
the two-way fellowship happens.

Where can you find this fellowship with Christ in David’s psalms?
Scattered all through, but especially 22, 69, 40, 27, 119, 142, etc.,
etc. And don’t forget #23--you need it, too.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Monday, June 13, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Do you share the same temptations I have, the same allurements of the
world, the same problems with the love of self? Some people think they
have outgrown temptations to sin and they are ready to walk through
the pearly gates; not me. I am still the “chief of sinners” (1 Tim.
1:15), “less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8), and “without
[Christ I] can do nothing” (John 15:5). “In my flesh dwelleth no good
thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which
is good I find not” (Rom. 7:18).

I read how Paul was on some kind of cloud nine when he said, “The love
of Christ constraineth us,” so that “we should not henceforth live
unto [self], but unto Him [who] died for us and rose again” (2 Cor.
5:14, 15). Selfless living! Victory over the plague of sin! The end of
defeats! What a wonderful plateau of living if I could just get there!

But that “love of Christ” doesn’t seem to make enough difference with
me; I feel like Martin Luther when he confessed to his “father
confessor,” “I hate Jesus!” An awful thing to say--but it was the
beginning of Luther’s true conversion for at last he had said
something that was true. “The carnal mind is enmity against God” (Rom.
8:7), and that’s my “mind.” When a little ray of light begins to get
through, I realize that I am no better than those people who crucified
Christ long ago. Whatever problem I have, multitudes have the same;
they look at the cross, count Rosaries, sing hymns, try to pray--still
they feel lukewarm. Why doesn’t the story of the cross move them to
selfless living for Christ?

They don’t realize, or “comprehend” (Eph. 3:18) that when He died on
His cross, He died our second death! He “poured out His soul unto
death” (the real thing! Isa. 53:12), He “emptied Himself” (Phil. 2:6,
7), “gave Himself for our sins” (Gal. 1:4), no lending Himself! Yet
the vast world believe in natural immortality which denies all this.
It’s impossible to appreciate what Christ did (if one believes) and
then not live a selfless life for Him.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

How can you distinguish between faith and presumption? between
“obeying the voice of the LORD” and fanaticism? Everything depends on
the answer, because if you don’t have “faith,” you will “perish” (John
3:16).

Noah had it, building a boat on dry land “at the word of the LORD.”
Abraham had it, leaving his Beverly Hills home in Ur of the Chaldees
to live in a tent the rest of his life; David had it, a mere stripling
armed with a slingshot and five pebbles facing “in the name of the
LORD” the well-armored Goliath; Elijah had it, drenching with water
the altar on Mt. Carmel, facing certain death at the hands of Ahab if
the Lord let him down with no fire to consume his sacrifice. Was
Elijah a man of great physical and personality stature, a knock-out
boxer in the LORD’s ring? Or was he a shy, retiring, trembling human
like you and I are?

I’d like to see a video actually shot on location on Mt. Carmel, but
the best we have is what the Bible says about him, and that is that he
was like you and me: “Elijah was the same kind of person as we are”
(James 5:17). Tempted to be afraid to stand alone? Yes! The faith of
Elijah is a million miles away from presumption; he trembled a long
time before the LORD, knelt to pray about the situation, day after
day, year after year until finally the Lord strengthened his
conviction to distinguish between Baal and Jehovah (precious few in
Israel had that discernment!), and then courage enough to go to Ahab
and give him the Lord’s ultimatum--take your choice, O king: Baal
worship and famine, or repentance and God’s blessing.

All during those 3-1/2 years he had to “pray earnestly” (James 5:17)
continually every day or he could never have taken the stand he did on
Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18). There were “7000” who had “not bowed the knee
to Baal,” yet not one had the courage to stand up when Elijah made his
challenge, Who is on the Lord’s side?! “The people answered him not a
word” (vs. 21). Blessed be the “7000,” yet all apparently still had
some cowardice deep in their souls! Revelation tells us “144,000”
Elijahs will each “bloom” alone where he/she is “planted,” in the last
days. O Lord, give us discernment to distinguish between fanaticism
and faith, and then courage to stand for the right though the heavens
fall!

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Sunday, June 12, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Does your heart crave the joy that filled the hearts of the early
apostles? Yes! We are not satisfied with a dull, unenthusiastic,
leaden kind of spiritual experience, common as it may be. What did the
apostles have that we don’t seem to have?

They saw the significance of the cross of Christ! Yes, they also
believed the resurrection of Christ; but the resurrection meant
nothing without appreciating what He had accomplished by His cross.
Billions of Christians around the world all glibly profess that
“Christ died for our sins.” But how and why did He die?

To study for the answer is not an exercise in futility or riding a
hobbyhorse. Paul says, “God forbid that I should glory save in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14); and he told the
Corinthians that he knew nothing save Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor.
2:1-3). The light which will yet lighten the earth with its glory will
be a revelation of the significance of that love revealed at the
cross. Something about the cross will yet stir Islam, Buddhism,
Hinduism, yes those billions of lukewarm Christians.

Did Christ die (1) only as an alien millionaire stepping in briefly to
pay our legal debt? The word used to describe this view is
“vicarious.” It’s like someone spending another’s time in jail or
paying their fine so they could go free instead. Or (2) did Christ
actually become one of us, the second Adam, and die as us? How closely
did He identify with us? Number (1) is an exchanged transaction; (2)
is a shared experience. Number (1) leaves the human heart cold, or at
best, lukewarm; (2) lights the soul with unending joy. According to
their testimony in the New Testament, the apostles clearly were fired
with (2). If you want that kind of joy, know nothing but Christ and
Him crucified; then His resurrection will mean new life for you in Him.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Friday, June 10, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The media report that Saddam Hussein is “down in the dumps,” wishing
he could die rather than face his coming judgment in Iraq for “500
crimes narrowed down to 12 for which he will be prosecuted.” Indeed,
no lifetime of punishment could be long enough to compensate for his
alleged crimes against humanity.

And now USA TODAY has its lead article about one Adam Morales, 33, who
blew his last parole from solitary in Gatesville, Texas, and now faces
a new sentence of 35 years more. He’ll be 68 when he gets out again.
He is one of 30,625 inmates in US prisons in solitary. However bad
these people are, they are still human beings; we cannot say that
Jesus Christ feels no human/divine compassion for them. He sees and
feels when a little bird falls on the forest floor (Matt. 10:20).
Morales’ age of 33 is interesting--that’s when a human being’s
sensitivities are the most developed and keen, and when pain, whether
physical or spiritual, is the most deeply felt. That’s the age when
the Son of God, “‘Immanuel,’ which is translated ‘God with us,’” “who
knew no sin” was “made to be sin for us” and suffered the “curse of
God” and cried in awful agony, “My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
(Matt. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:21; Deut. 21:23). He is the only Man who has
ever suffered so painfully as that!

“Solitary” is terrible to endure, but if the inmates could know and
understand how good the gospel Good News is, their decades of
loneliness would be assuaged by the fellowship of Christ in His
sufferings. Even Morales’ 35 more years would be a short time to
endure compared with the eternal life that is ours “in Christ.” Though
the Good News is often corrupted by “Babylon,” God has promised that a
fourth “angel” (Rev. 18) will yet “lighten the earth with glory” as
the full, complete, pure “everlasting gospel” in its Good News clarity
is proclaimed--even to the solitarys, to the victims of rape and
murder, to those who suffer in Darfur, Cambodia, and in every hell on
earth. Lord, send that message soon!

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Thursday, June 09, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Our community is traumatized by this public tragedy which is wholly
unnecessary: our highly respected off-duty cop with his white Ford
Explorer kills a 13 year old boy just off his school bus and instead
of stopping immediately, the cop panics and flees as a common
hit-and-run criminal. The kid was crossing the street to retrieve his
scooter. His family are devastated; the cop’s family are devastated;
our town is horrified--how could an off-duty cop do this reprehensible
thing?

The answer: he was DUI [driving under the influence].

That devilish deception of “moderate-drinking-is-okay” has ruined this
cop and his family, killed the young victim, and crushed his family.
Moderate drinking is dangerous for anybody; just provide the right
details and a similar tragedy is always possible. A little alcohol
befogs anybody’s mind. Almost every day’s paper tells of some similar
tragedy.

There is a particular church with worldwide membership that makes
“moderate” drinking a test of fellowship, also the recreational use of
mind-altering drugs. It holds that self-control here is implicit in
the biblical doctrines of salvation because our Savior was “Teetotal.”
Especially in these last days when human self-control is the weakest
in all history and we live in the final cosmic Day of Atonement, total
abstinence is positive Christian duty. If our errant cop had been a
member of this church, his “moderate” drinking would have been a
flagrant violation of his baptismal vows.

Christ was offered a soul-deadening drug as He hung on His cross, but
“He would not drink” (Matt. 27:34). No one says we shouldn’t take an
aspirin for a headache, but the idea is that genuine “temperance” is a
way of life of total abstinence from mind-affecting drink or drugs.
Our cop would be happier today if he had known and been convinced of
that blessed truth. And so would the boy’s family.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The tragic front-page news in our town is of an off-duty cop, DUI, who
with his Ford Explorer hit-and-run killed a 13 year old boy getting
off a school bus. The cop and his family of course are devastated, for
his life is ruined.

Reporters cite Wesley’s line, “There but for the grace of God, go I.”

Imagine what it felt like for this cop with the patrol cars, sirens
screaming, gathering around him. “Oh, God!” he wails, “Why did You let
it happen to me!” If you are a moderate-drinking person (as he is),
that fine line between “legal” alcohol and “twice the legal limit” in
your blood can be crossed without your realizing it. If like me you’re
a non-drinker, there are a thousand other lurking temptations that
make you want to beg the dear Lord to hold you by your hand to keep
you from falling (cf. Isa. 41:10, 13).

Another man who made an infinitely regretful mistake was Judas
Iscariot. When he realized what he had done, he too was devastated, to
the point of suicide. It’s a healthful step for us to stop and
consider what is our potential, apart from that “grace of God.” Not
one of us is by nature any better than any other. If by the grace of
God we are saved at last, we shall realize it is 100% by that “much
more abounding grace” (Rom. 5:20), and not even 1% our own merit.

We can kneel down beside this errant cop, yes, beside Judas; yes,
beside those for whom Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). All the world is corporately
guilty, and all the world can thank God for saving our souls. The joy
resultant from this realization of genuine faith will flood your soul
now and forever.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Like everybody else in the world, you and I have to eat food every day
in order to survive physically. It takes time to do this, and also
some effort to dig the food from the ground or pick it from vines or
trees. No one has successfully made a pill or capsule to take, in
place of eating food itself.

Likewise, our souls need spiritual food if we are to survive
spiritually. Jesus said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness; for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6). A good
appetite is a marvelous “blessing,” to be able to feel hungry and
thirsty--ah, what delight, to sit down then to a good square meal!

But a sick person feels no such appetite. I remember once when I had
severe hepatitis, ordinarily delicious mashed potatoes and gravy
tasted like sawdust with engine oil poured on them. I had to be healed
before I could enjoy food again. If you are not hungry for spiritual
food from the Bible itself, if you prefer reading light religious
novels, you are feasting on cotton candy instead of whole-wheat bread.
And spiritual weakness or even paralysis will be the sure result.

If you do feel hungry, rejoice; come and eat. If you are sensitive
enough and honest enough to realize that you don’t have an appetite,
that you are actually starving spiritually, then here’s what you must
do: get on your knees, humble your heart before the God of heaven, and
beg Him to give you an appetite. Be sincere and straightforward enough
to let Him do it--turn off your TV and radio and CD’s, and stay on
your knees and “listen” for His “voice.” Get serious. If Jesus were to
invite you to dinner and set an empty plate before you with a knife
and fork, say “Thank You!” immediately. Likewise, even though your
Bible seems as dull and unpromising as an empty plate at dinner time,
tell the Lord “Thank You,” and believe that He is faithful to keep His
promise and give you some delicious “bread of life.” He Himself, not
I, has promised He will not give you a stone! (Matt. 7:7-11).

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

One of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to converted people is
discernment, which in simple language means the ability to recognize
the truth in difficult situations. A detective can recognize an
incriminating clue in a murder case. That’s discernment, something
most of us don’t have.

The apostle John gives us a clue to recognize the difference between a
false prophet and a true one, between a false Christ and the true
Christ: He says, “test the spirits, whether they are of God; because
many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). In
other words, don’t let yourself get fooled! You don’t want to end up
taking the mark of the beast! John’s clue? “Every spirit that does not
confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this
is the spirit of the Antichrist” (vs. 3).

That word “flesh” is </x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>sarx
</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger>in the original, the same
fallen, sinful flesh that all human beings have: Jesus came in that
likeness of sinful flesh, and “condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3).
And what is the blessed fruit of that accomplishment”? Verse 4 says,
“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” That’s
an interesting word--“righteousness.” It’s
</x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>dikaioma</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger>
in the original. The usual word for righteousness is
</x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>dikaiosune</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger>,
which in the New Testament always means the righteousness of God, of
Christ, imputed to the believer. But
</x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>dikaioma
</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger>is different--it’s the actual
righteousness of the believer, imparted, not merely imputed. The lady
wears a leopard skin coat, it’s imputed, it’s not hers; the leopard
wears the same coat, it’s imparted, a part of him.

The reason why the long-awaited marriage (wedding) of the Lamb has not
yet taken place is that His Bride hasn’t gotten ready; He is ready,
she is not. But Revelation 19:8 tells how at last the church will not
only have imputed righteousness, but will have
</x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>dikaioma</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger>:
“To her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright,
for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

No, they won’t save themselves and they won’t have any merit; but
their </x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>dikaioma
</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger>will at last honor their Savior,
will give Him “glory” (vs. 7). Do you want to get “ready”?

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Monday, June 06, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

There’s something that Jesus said that stumps Bible-believing
Christians who for 150 years have been telling the world that “Jesus
is coming soon.” He promised that the people who first recognized the
“signs” that meant His coming was near were a “generation [that] shall
not pass away” until He should come the second time (Mark 13:30). Why
the delay? Unless some reasonable explanation can be given, don’t
blame young people for walking away.

The context is clear. Jesus has been telling about the “signs” to come
in the heavens that tell the world His coming is near (“dark day,
1780), “falling of the stars” (1833; vss. 24-26), and then He is to
come. Jesus wants to come the second time! We must not overlook the
fact that in becoming “Emanuel, God with us” He has become one of us
for all eternity. He is a Bridegroom eager (as any loving bridegroom
is) for His Wedding! He wants to gather to Himself His own--which is
why He wants to come the second time. This important aspect of the
second coming eludes many sincere people who think only of their own
salvation, and not of His happiness.

The heavenly Bridegroom’s Bride-to-be has selfishly delayed to “make
herself ready” for “the marriage of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:7, 8). There
has not been that eager response to His wooing that He longs for. It’s
outside her door, not inside, where He stands “knocking, knocking”
(Rev. 3:20; Song of Solomon 5:2, 3, from where Christ quoted that
expression, in the Greek Old Testament, LXX).

Scripture postulates a change to take place in the very heart of that
Bride-to-be. All Heaven awaits it; so does Jesus.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Saturday, June 04, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The idea of “in Christ” appears many times in Paul’s letters.
Sometimes he applies the phrase unmistakably to the personal
conversion experience of those who believe. Other times he
unmistakably applies it to the entire human race which has been
redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ. Both the righteous and the wicked
will come up in resurrection because they are all “in Christ” (1 Cor.
15:22). That does not mean that the wicked have had a conversion
experience, far from it; but when Adam sinned and lost the headship of
the human race, Christ stepped in to become the second Adam. Paul says
he reversed the evil to the race that Adam had done; Christ came to
save the world, and He redeemed it. He did more than offer life to
“all men,” for He GAVE the gift to all men. It’s like Esau and his
birthright; it was not offered to him, it was given to him. The only
reason he failed to reap the blessings of the inheritance was because
he despised and sold it (Gen. 25:33, 34).

There was once a lady who believed in Christ whose husband did not. He
had firmly, irrevocably fixed his heart against giving himself to the
Lord who had died for him. A wise counselor told the wife to be as
good to him as she could because her kindnesses to him were the only
“heaven” he would ever have. He chose to “perish.”

Jesus still loves the world, even the perishing. The Father gave Him
and He gave Himself so that whoever believes should not perish but
have everlasting life. But if someone chooses not to believe in Him,
He still loves that poor perishing soul and wants him/her to enjoy
this life as much as he/she can. It’s pathetic, but that’s how great
His love for the lost still is.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Shall we tell the children that it’s “fun” to follow Jesus? Are
children too young to be able to understand His cross? Must we leave
the atonement until they reach well, at least, their teen years? And
when we have teens in our Bible classes, are they still too young to
understand what it cost the Son of God to save the world? And what
He’s doing today as our great High Priest?

These questions come to a head as we plan Vacation Bible School (VBS).
For a few precious days we have some children who may have varying
degrees of interest in what “Bible” means; “vacation” means
something--it’s fun time. Professionally done CD’s can supply the
“Bible” part of VBS. Will they save the “teacher” the time-consuming,
energy-draining task of earnest prayer for the Holy Spirit? (Telling
“Jesus” to children requires even more such prayer than the pastor
preaching the Sabbath sermon.) But will the children be lastingly
impressed by the professionally done CD’s?

You love the children; thank the Lord. But He loves them too--and that
could shake us up. Let’s give a good read to Jeremiah 23: the Lord is
fed up with “prophets” that “speak a vision of their own heart, and
not out of the mouth of the Lord” (vs. 16), “I have not sent these
prophets, yet they ran” (vs. 21). “They cause My people to err . . .
by their lightness” (vs. 32). Meaning?

To follow Jesus is a thousand times more fun than to follow Satan, IF
“fun” is rightly understood; but let’s not fail to show Christ’s cross
to the kids. You’d be surprised how well they grasp a lesson indited
by the Holy Spirit. This may be the only chance they’ll ever have to
come in contact with Him.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Friday, June 03, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

On the surface it appears to be bad news when the Bible text says: “We
must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).
It sounds like it’s a contradiction of what Jesus said in Matthew
11:28-30: “Come to Me, . . . and I will give you rest. . . . My yoke
is easy and My burden is light.” Why take up a cross of self-denial in
order to follow Jesus if you have to endure “many tribulations”?

This apparently difficult statement of Paul does not contradict that
of Jesus. If you decline to share with Him His cross of self-denial,
you can also have “many tribulations,” even more. Jesus didn’t come
from heaven to this earth to excuse us fallen children of Adam from
all troubles; He came to share our troubles and give us the comfort of
His presence with us. But those troubles which are the lot of all
humanity will be infinitely more difficult to endure if we deprive
ourselves of “the fellowship” of Christ in “His sufferings” (Phil.
3:10). Good people and bad people alike suffer accidents, have heart
attacks, strokes, break their hips, yes, die. But the person who
responds to Christ’s invitation and “takes up [his] cross daily and
follows Him” enjoys a most precious uplift. He has a conscious
fellowship with the one and only Jesus, the Son of God, who endured
the horror of our second death on His cross (which we will never have
to endure!).

This text of apparently bad news is like a nut that has a sweet kernel
inside that awaits our patience in cracking its hard shell.

</x-tad-bigger>

<x-tad-bigger>Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread"
again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Thursday, June 02, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

We have come again to the time for “Vacation Bible School” (VBS) when
we try to interest TV-saturated children in the truths of the Holy
Bible. They are immersed in cartoons and wild drama.

The Bible tells us that “the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it
is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7).
That’s our amusement-addicted children as much as it is adults. The
mind that is “at enmity against God” will crucify the Son of
God--that’s its natural course (see 1 John 3:15; in other words, you
can’t “hate” God without wanting to crucify His Son). The spiritual
and moral teachings of the Bible are unwelcome to such children, as
they usually are to their parents, too. It’s serious, because
Revelation says that in the last days the world will re-create the
crucifixion of Christ via enforcing “the mark of the beast” to
persecute and kill God’s people (13:11-17). The children in our VBS
will someday figure in that final drama, on one side or the other.
Those parents and teachers who obey Christ’s injunction, “What I say
to you I say to all, Watch!” (Mark 13:37), are concerned: how can we
hold the children’s attention to get something truthful to impress
their hearts appropriately?

It’s Jesus and the demon-possessed boy of Mark 9:14ff all over again.
The nine disciples were bewildered, for they couldn’t make headway
with him. When they asked Jesus why their failure, He said: “This kind
can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (vs. 29). If it’s your
job to teach the children, look up: earnest, heart-broken,
fasting-prayer still gets attention from Jesus: He will melt your
heart, give the teacher His Holy Spirit.

</x-tad-bigger>

<x-tad-bigger>Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread"
again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

<x-tad-bigger>Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Sometimes we say that we are saved by our faith in Christ, and we want
to emphasize this so we don’t lapse into the idea that we are saved by
our works. But again we want to be careful that we grasp the truth
accurately. Truth saves (John 8:32) and error produces the lethal
lukewarmness that permeates the church of the Laodiceans (Rev.
3:14-21).

God’s people in the last days are distinguished in Revelation as those
who demonstrate two great identification marks: they (1) “keep the
commandments of God and (2) the faith of Jesus” (14:12). The former is
not possible to “do” except by the latter. But it never was their
faith; it was something they have received from Jesus.

Thus we are not saved by OUR faith in Jesus, but by HIS faith. He
alone is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). That is,
in all the 6000 years of human history Christ is the one Man who has
totally believed the saving truth. His faith alone works by love (Gal.
5:6).

He is the one and only human being who has fully experienced what it
is to be “forsaken” of God (Matt. 27:46). No one else has been capable
of sensing to the full what that means; it was He alone who has been
“made . . . to be sin for us who knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Therefore, no one else has ever “tasted” lostness as fully as He did
as He hung on that cross in the darkness. It was HIS faith that saved
Him from eternal despair! God saw fit to record the story in Psalm 22
(and also 69).

The faith that we are to exercise is therefore second-hand; we got it
from Him! Rightly defined, it is a heart-appreciation of what it cost
Christ to save us; it is to “comprehend with all saints what is the
width and length and depth and height--to know the love
[</x-tad-bigger><italic><x-tad-bigger>agape</x-tad-bigger></italic><x-tad-bigger>]
of Christ which passes knowledge” (Eph. 3:18, 19). Our salvation is in
“comprehending.”

</x-tad-bigger>

<x-tad-bigger>Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread"
again tomorrow.

</x-tad-bigger>------------------------------------------------------------------------

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------------------------------------------------------------------------