Daily Bread: December 2007

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Jesus Christ was emphatically clear about the future: this sinful, painful world is not to continue on and on ad infinitum for ages to come. “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3, KJV).

Note: He receives His people unto Himself, not vice versa. He has taken the initiative all the way through: a conjugal love has motivated Him.

Love is always the desire to be one with the beloved. Jesus is no different!

The story of the second coming of Christ is a love story; there is a Bridegroom involved and a Bride. The drama is played out on planet earth in view of the vast universe of God, as though this planet were the stage. The second coming of Christ is the denouement of history, the one grand event toward which through the ages humanity has moved steadily.

The prophet Daniel describes the Last Generation as “the time of the end” ( 11:35; 12:4). Jesus told His disciples, speaking of specific events, “Then shall the end come” (Matt. 24:14). There will be a Last Generation! Six thousand plus years of history cannot be for nothing!

The apostles had a clear understanding: “This we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep [not everybody is going to pass through death!]. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:15-17).

The joy that Jesus will know will be unbounded, for He has personally, individually loved each one of His saints. The Last Generation will be the reunion. The long delayed wedding of two who have dearly loved each other is an occasion of great joy here on earth; think of a cosmic wedding! Four grand Hallelujah choruses with heaven’s symphony orchestras accompanying the massed choirs. “The angel said to me, ‘Write this: Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’ ... All those who hold to the truth that Jesus revealed” (Rev. 19:7-10, “the spirit of prophecy,” KJV).

You are invited; now “make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10).

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.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Who is stronger—Christ or the angel who fell from heaven—Satan?

Which is stronger, light or darkness?

Which is stronger, love (agape), or hatred? Which is stronger, that “much more abounding grace of the Lord Jesus” (Rom. 5:20, 21), or the power of our evil appetites and habits and obsessions and addictions?

Which is stronger: the power of death (that held Jesus Christ captive in Joseph’s tomb), or the resurrection power of the Father that raised Him up after three days?

We can’t say it often enough: that much more abounding grace is stronger than all the power of sin the devil can invent. In fact, there is in that grace “much more” power! “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

Let’s not try to serve God with anything less than that full power of that much more abounding grace that is revealed in Christ. That grace of Christ is the enemy of sin; it condemns it, defeats it, conquers it, annihilates it, so that we might be free indeed.

Then the grace of God will be manifested in us in “newness of life” (6:4). That grace “reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Then we discover something precious: it is easy to be saved and it is hard to be lost, when we begin to appreciate that much more abounding grace! We must not conclude that the upward path is the “hard path” and the downward path is the “easy one;” it’s the opposite. All the way that leads to hell there are impediments and obstacles to hinder us in that way; God is constantly trying to tell us this. It’s like we are driving on the freeway, you’re at the wheel (because you are the boss), but the Holy Spirit is sitting beside you in the front seat. He is saying, Don’t stay on this freeway to hell; take this exit to the kingdom of God! That’s what Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would do when He gave Him the name “Parakletos,” the One called to sit down beside you and never leave you (John 16:7, 8; “para” = beside you; kletos = called).

Don’t misunderstand: you DO have something to do: it’s to make the constant choice to let the Spirit guide you. But please remember, you are not your Savior yourself: you let the Lord save you. It is you who turns the wheel on to the blessed Exit coming up that leads to eternal life. But He guided you to do it; and you praise the Lord for ever and ever.

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

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Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The song of the angel at Bethlehem is the best, grandest news the world has ever heard: We already have a Savior. We don’t have to make Him become our Savior. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given,” says Isaiah (9:6). He is a member of our family, forever one with us.

The question we shall each one be asked in the final day of judgment is, What did you do with Him? He was already yours: He Himself was the Father’s gift to you. With the gift came the salvation that the Father has given you in Him. The gift includes eternal life; it was not merely offered to you; over and over the inspired word says that it was a gift freely given to “all men” (Luke 2:10, for example).

In other words, each one of us either receives Him as the holy gift He is, or we reject Him. In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will at last fully understand the meaning of his own history; he will be enabled to look back at his life, step by step, and see clearly where he has resisted and despised this ultra special “gift.”

It will be infinitely better if we can see and understand that right now!

That is exactly what the Holy Spirit is called to do for us, each one—“convict of sin” (John 16:8). Without Him, we go on in darkness, throwing away the eternal life that the Savior gives us; and of all the prayers that sinners can offer, that prayer for the Holy Spirit tops the list of requests that the Father is delighted to give.

Yes, it takes courage to pray that prayer! It seems your life will come to an end as He begins to probe into your soul and makes bare the moral deformity that is there that you had not seen. But it’s the beginning of eternal life!

Take King David as an example: never was he as close to the Lord as when he prayed, “Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. ... The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:11-17).

Those were words from a heart that was indeed crushed by the conviction of deep, bloody sin; He realized he had come within a millimeter of eternal loss. The Holy Spirit in infinite mercy had revealed the truth to him. But it was the beginning of eternal life for him.

You can’t keep your promises, because you have no genuine righteousness within you. Instead of promising God that you will do better, beg for His mercy and thank Him for it. Cast your soul on Him; tell Him that you’re lost unless He reaches down and saves you. You are Peter trying to walk on the water but you took your eyes off the Savior and are sinking in the waves (Matt. 14:30, 31). Cry out, Lord, save me, or I perish! He will!

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

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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

A Reminder

To join us in a spiritual weekend to study

The 1888 Message

And the Last Generation

Weimar Institute, Weimar, California

(Off Interstate 80, exit 130, halfway between Sacramento and Reno)

DECEMBER 28–30, 2007

(Friday evening, 7:00 p.m.–Sunday noon)

Speakers & Bible Study Leaders

Pastor Paul Penno, Elder Robert J. Wieland

A few rooms are still available at the
beautiful Weimar Inn

For reservations call: (530) 637-4111 (ext. 7933)

(mention this weekend for group rate)

Lodging is also available in the nearby town of Auburn

http://www.auburnchamber.net/lodging/index.html

Meals will be served at the Weimar Cafeteria

Sabbath: Breakfast, Lunch, Supper

Sunday: Breakfast

IMPORTANT: FOR PLANNING PURPOSES

PLEASE let us know if you are not staying at the Inn
and would like to take meals at the cafeteria

E-mail: dailybread@1888message.org

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren

to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)

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

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To un-subscribe click on this link: Unsubscribe me from this mailing list

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Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

At the moment it’s Christmas Eve and many millions are anticipating opening their gifts in the morning; but they are materialistic gifts, quite largely.

The Bible speaks of “spiritual gifts,” and they are the ones that are valuable beyond estimate. To covet such gifts is not being sinful, although it is sinful to “covet” material “gifts” selfishly (the last of the ten commandments says “Thou shalt not covet ...”).

There was a truth written once by E. J. Waggoner that is so obvious that I marvel that I never thought of it. I would like to preach many sermons about it: “The new birth completely supersedes the old. ‘If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. ...’ He who takes God for the portion of his inheritance [there’s your coveting the best gifts!] has a power working in him for righteousness is much stronger than the power of inherited tendencies to evil, as our heavenly Father is greater than our earthly parents.”

Simple, but simply, profoundly true!

Rejoice in your new heavenly Father! He is infinitely more powerful in lifting you above sin than your earthly father was in passing on to you the condemnation he had received from the fallen Adam. In other words, the righteousness you now receive from your new heavenly Father (you have now chosen to believe in Him!), is stronger than your addiction to evil—of any kind.

When the angel sang his chorus over the hills of Bethlehem when Christ was born, that was his message: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10, KJV).

(1) It’s good news. (2) It brings “great joy.” Not a trace of sadness in it! (3) It’s for “all people,” a blessing universal. (4) It announces a gift that Christ gives to “all people.” (5) Paul explains it in Romans 5: he says five times that it is “a free gift” for the same “all who “sinned,” reversing that “condemnation” that the fallen Adam brought on the entire human race (vss. 15-18). Deliverance from all addictions!

The true story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is great good news! It will finally be told with “great power” to “lighten the earth with glory,” and it will prepare all who believe with all their hearts; it will prepare them for meeting Jesus when He returns (Rev. 14:1-5). That time is now.

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

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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Nearly 120 years ago the Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to the leadership of my church. It became known as “the message of Christ’s righteousness.”

Note: it was not the “message of Christ’s holiness.” There is a vast different between “righteousness” and “holiness.”

The Lord Jesus Christ was “holy” at His birth (cf. Luke 1:35); but He was “righteous” at His death (cf. Rom. 5:18). The glorious “plan of salvation” stretches between the “holiness” of Jesus at His birth and the “righteousness” of Jesus at His death on His cross.

For example, we read of the “holy angels,” but we never read of the “righteous” good angels who did not fall with Lucifer; they are always “the holy angels.”

The difference is spelled out clearly in Romans 8:3, 4, describing what happened in between Christ’s holy birth and His righteousness at His death on the cross: “God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

From His holiness at His birth, the Lord Jesus “took” upon His sinless nature (which He had brought from heaven) our fallen, sinful nature and “condemned sin” in that fallen, sinful nature; that’s how “holiness” was transformed into “righteousness.”

No angel ever performed that feat, because no angel ever took “sinful flesh” to contend with, as we must do and as Christ “took” upon Himself. The vaults of heaven rang with the praise of Jesus Christ who accomplished that mighty deed; He proved that One can take our fallen, sinful nature or flesh, live in it, and yet “overcome” sin, defeat it, condemn it, in that same fallen, sinful nature (cf. Rev. 3:21). Satan, the great Enemy of God’s universe, has been defeated forever!

Jesus Christ is an Evangelist: He wins souls. He is winning “144,000” who will “overcome” as He overcame (cf. Rev. 3:21). These people “follow the Lamb [the crucified Christ] wherever He goes” (14:1-5). You and I are invited; let’s do something that wasn’t done 120 years ago—let’s wholeheartedly receive the most precious message.

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

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Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

This morning happened to be the beginning of the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, loved by our pagan forbears in Europe, especially in Ireland and England. Now the dark winter days begin ever so little to lengthen; yes, there will be a spring! Time to celebrate!

By December 25 the lengthening of the day could be detected even without clocks or watches; hence it known as “the wild winter solstice.” Pagans in the Roman Empire frolicked without restraint. The celebration was taken over by the popular Church along with other pagan customs, the sincere idea being to make it easier for pagans to be “converted.” The result through the centuries: thoughtful observers have said the Church is “baptized paganism.”

But there’s some good news involved here that may encourage us in our “Global Warming” fears.

The precision and never failing repetition of the winter solstice remind us of the promise that the LORD God made after the Flood of Noah. All these thousands of years He has been faithful; His love for the human race has been revealed “in Christ.” He will not permit again any global disaster to repeat what happened in the Flood: “The LORD said in His heart I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake, ... neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done” (Gen. 8:21).

No matter how severe to mankind are the results of Global Warming, there will be no more universal disaster. The Flood was permitted because “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence ... for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Gen. 6:12, 13). It was so bad that the Lord said “every imagination of the thoughts of [man ‘s] heart was only evil continually” (vs. 5).

As terrible as evil is today, Scripture does not repeat that analysis; Noah “became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” and warned the world of the coming Flood (Heb. 11:7), but the Lord tells us in Revelation that there is now a world-wide potential for understanding and receiving the “Loud Cry” of purest gospel truth proclaimed by His repentant last-days “remnant” church (cf. Rev. 12:17; 14:12; 18:1-4). The Lord will not gloss over or despise this universal hunger in sincere hearts. “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing”(Psalm 145:14-16, KJV). Blessings are coming!

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

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Monday, December 24, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Some thoughtful persons have written suggesting that we define more clearly what “unbelief” is.

Unbelief is the most awful sin there is; we say this because it is the root of all the sin and cruelties that sin has produced on the earth. It is the reverse, the opposite of what belief is; and belief is the heart-melted appreciation of the love (agape) of Christ.

Believing is not deciding that 2 + 2 = 4 theologically, something a cold and hard heart can do. Believing is something that the heart does—“with the heart man believeth unto righteousness” (Rom. 10:10).

There were two kinds of people who watched Jesus die on His cross: those whose hearts were like ice (and they were the church leaders who cried out “Crucify Him!”).

One of the leaders permitted his hard heart to be melted; and he took the Savior’s dead body down and buried it in his own new tomb (Matt. 27:57-60). The centurion who had given the order to his soldiers to “crucify this fanatic who claimed to be the Son of God,” could not watch Him die without repenting and believing (“Truly, this was the Son of God” vs. 54). These men’s humanity was touched; if you could have seen them, you would have seen tears in their eyes. Their hearts were melted.

I once knew a man who in his childhood enjoyed pulling wings off of flies; when he was a grown man I tried to interest him in the gospel story, but I could not.

I have had men tell me after I had preached about the cross that they wished they could feel something, that they wished they could shed a tear, but they can’t. If that’s where you are, don’t give up in despair: cry out to the Lord to give you the new birth, to be born again with that new heart; He will hear your prayer. What you want is not emotionalism (that is shallow). You want to be a member of the family of God with your heart reconciled to the Father (cf. 2 Cor. 5:19, 20).

Don’t worry; believe the dear Lord answers your prayers, and in His own time He will make the miracle of our changed, reconciled heart in helping others.

One of the greatest preachers of the early 19th century was first a “deist,” a cold-hearted 2 + 2 = 4 upright citizen. One Sunday the pastor was away and he had asked William Miller to read the sermon for him, in his absence.

Miller did so, but he broke down in tears as he was reading about Jesus; thank God!

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

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Friday, December 21, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

My wife and I have a dear friend in a distant city who is battling for her life with an enemy we all fear: cancer. She has a keen mind with rare abilities and also a warm heart that appreciates the love of Christ that constrains us to live for the One who died for us. There are thousands around the world who would lift up a prayer in her behalf, but the Great Physician does not depend on the length of the names on the petitions that are brought to Him in prayer. He loves this individual as much and more than all of us combined. Cancer is His enemy, too; He longs with all His heart to put an end to suffering on this earth. He has promised, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3, KJV). It’s the language of a long absent Bridegroom assuring His beloved of heart that He will come, and “the marriage of the Lamb” will be at last consummated.

We have another dear friend, someone from India, who has been telling us in our church fellowship of the cruel heart sufferings that women in India have to endure. And this goes on and on in Hinduism there. Pile on top of that all the agonies that people endure in Africa; and yes there are cries of agony that arise to God’s throne from the Western world, the so-called “First World.”

You and I can lay aside our burdens, go to bed at night, and sleep for a few hours; the Lord Jesus cannot enjoy that luxury (Psalm 121:3). He carries all this pain upon His heart (cf. Isa. 63:9). He longs to keep the promise He made to Caiaphas the high priest of the then-true church of that day, “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64). But He has to wait until His people today long for His coming as much as He does—long for Him to come more than they long for the pleasures of this sinful world. The Lord Jesus is modest as well as Almighty: He will not enter anyone’s house unless invited (which is why daily “family worship” is so important! Husband and wife are invited to kneel together before Him in prayer).

Our dear friend’s battle reminds us all how mortal we are; if we have only a breath left to us, let us dedicate it to the One who died our second death. It rejoices the heart of the Savior of the world (John 4:42) to see people at least begin to appreciate the length, breadth, depth, and height of the love (agape) His sacrifice has demonstrated (cf. Eph. 3:14-18).

(Someone will ask, How could Christ be resurrected if He died the world’s “second death”? The answer is in Matt. 27:46 and Gal. 3:13).

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

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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

We know that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (cf. John 3:16). But do you really and truly believe that Good News?

Or do you deep in your heart actually resist the goodness of the News and tend to believe the Bad News of a distorted “works gospel”? Do you unconsciously miss the joy of salvation “in Christ”?

Well, here’s a test that you can take on yourself. It’s in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, chapter 5, vss. 16, 17: “I say then, Walk in the [Holy] Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth [that means, strives] against the [Holy] Spirit, and the Spirit [strives] against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would,” KJV).

Here’s the question:

What are those “things that you cannot do”?

Good things? Or bad things? Think.

I have asked many congregations, and the usual answer is, “Good things.” People think of Romans 7:15: “What I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”

But they forget: here in Galatians Paul is saying, Go for a walk with the Holy Spirit and let Him hold you by the hand (cf. Isa. 41:10-13; yes, He has promised to hold your hand!), and this is the reason why you “cannot do the [evil] things that ye would.”

Those “things that ye cannot do” are not the good things! They are the bad things that your sinful nature is always trying to prompt you to do; once upon a time they were the easiest things you could do; but now that you walk with the Holy Spirit and He is holding you by your hand, you cannot do the evil things you once loved to “do.”

This “test” reveals that the true Gospel is great Good News. “The love [agape] of Christ constraineth us” (2 Cor. 5:14). The Lord does not force you, but His love (agape) motivates you; you discover that now your heart is changed so that what you once loved (that leads to death) you now hate, and what you once couldn’t stand, you now love!

If you will believe John 3:16!

Again we do what the distraught father did when he cried out, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24). And we can never perish while we pray that prayer.

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

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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The story of the Virgin Mary is of intense interest to all who are longing for Jesus to come again, as He promised (John 14:1-3).

She had something in common with that special group, the “144,000” mentioned in Revelation 14:1-5. They “follow the Lamb [the crucified Christ] wherever He goes.” They do not resist or seek to evade the call. She said “yes” to the angel sent from the Father to announce to her the decision to choose her to be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:28-37). She did ask one question which was very appropriate and did not express any unbelief: “I do not know a man?” (vs. 34).

Otherwise, she offered no resistance or unbelief. Here was a call from heaven that totally would change the course of her life from now on; her sincere question answered, she readily agreed, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (vs. 38).

We search long to find a definition of what it means to “believe.” Well, here it is. The old lady Elizabeth used Mary’s ready submission as a definition of faith. She said of Mary, “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord” (vs. 45; the word “blessed” means to be happy).

The “144,000” (obviously a symbolic number), have in the last days replicated Mary’s happy consecration of herself to the Lord; they have done what the angel of great power says to do, “Come out of [Babylon], My people” (Rev. 18:1-4). These people are convicted of truth from God’s word, truth that their family may not believe, nor their church, nor society in general. They are willing to step out for the sake of Christ and be considered “different”(cf. 1 Peter 2:9 for the word “peculiar”).

The “144,000” maybe for a long lifetime have endured opposition and even persecution from their family, their parents, or even their children. But just as the Virgin Mary was “blessed” (made happy), so this special group enjoy the gift of happiness in their submission of self to “the Lamb.”

When the Holy Spirit speaks to you through the Word, don’t hesitate to respond with an enthusiastic “Yes.” Here I am, the child of God!

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

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The Bible reveals considerable about the Virgin Mary:

(1) She confesses her need of a Savior, and only people who are in what the Bible says “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23) can dare to say that. Therefore they have to include the Virgin Mary. She was a member of the human race, a descendant not only of Abraham but of our fallen father, Adam. The idea that she was an extra-terrestrial import with a sinless heredity is profound error. She was human!

(2) The Bible is totally silent about any special privilege given to her at her birth; the “Immaculate Conception” theory proposed by the Pope in 1854 is extra-biblical; his “christ” has to remain for all to see, an invention.

(3) Mary’s husband-to-be had at least six motherless children after his first wife either died or disappeared. We have the names of four: “James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas [not Iscariot]” (Matt. 13:55). Then there are “sisters,” at least two. So ...

(4) Joseph was therefore looking for some woman to be the stepmother to those at least six children of his. If any woman wants a stormy life, that’s where she’ll find it—be stepmother to such a brood. God doesn’t call a teen girl to such a task.

(5) It seems obvious that if Joseph were in his right mind he would not want to be betrothed to a teenager, no matter how Hollywood-like beautiful she was. The artists who have painted their ideas of the Virgin Mary needed some biblical research first. Joseph desperately needs a mature woman.

(6) Mary is more than that—she is a woman who in her way is like her divine Son: “despised and rejected of men” (Isa. 53:3). No village swain had sought her hand; there must have been a reason why they passed her by.

(7) Mary tells us the reason in Luke 1:46-54: She had a TAIPAINOSIS (Gr.); a self-humiliating handicap, rendered “low estate” in the KJV. In Acts 8:33 the word means (of Christ) “in His humiliation.” Mary was mature enough to know the bitterness of humiliating rejection. In becoming the Mother of “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” she knew something of the painful experience.

In Jesus we have a Savior who is rooted and grounded in our human experience. The Father sent Him “in the likeness of sinful flesh” with the job description: condemn sin in that “sinful flesh,” outlaw it, conquer it, trample on it, and deliver from it every human soul who will choose to exercise His faith (Rom. 8:3, 4). You are included.

He will have a final generation who like us all have been born in sin, and have that same “sinful flesh,” but who “overcome even as I overcame” (says Jesus, in Rev. 3:21). They are symbolized as “144,000” who “follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Rev. 14:1-5). It’s a symbolic number—plenty of room for you. Say “Yes” to the call of the Holy Spirit, as Mary “believed” what the angel said to her. It’s the same faith!

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

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Monday, December 17, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Christmas betrays its pagan origin as a holiday in that it inspires materialism never so seen throughout the year. It’s always what can we buy in order to satisfy our corporate self-centered cravings.

If you had been living in 4 B.C. and you knew (like the wise men from the East) that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, would you bring gifts to Him? Giving gifts for ourselves is foreign to the story of Bethlehem.

But it is universal, and it would not be wise to challenge it for the sake of the children whose disappointment would be almost impossible to relieve; but we can tell them the true story and ask the Lord to help us teach them so they don’t grow up egocentric materialists. The Lord will help us save our children.

There is a delightful story in John 4 that we can teach:

Jesus has gone on a long safari with His disciples having taken a short cut to Galilee that goes through Samaria (where Jews feel unwelcome). They have come to a town called Sychar. John tells us that Jesus was hot and tired, and of course, thirsty. (In His incarnation, He was forbidden to create for Himself a drinking fountain.)

He sits down at Jacob’s famous well, hoping someone will give him a drink. Here He is, the Creator of heaven and earth, helplessly dependent on some human’s generosity!

The disciples have gone to the market to buy some kind of safari food to relieve their hunger, and that of Jesus.

A lady comes at this noontime to draw water (doesn’t want to mingle with the other women; she has had an unfortunate marital problem and wants to come when there is no one else there because of the heat). She bumps into Jesus who humbly asks her for a drink instead of waiting for some Jew to give him a drink; He is not ashamed to request a favor from a Samaritan (despised by the Jews).

The disciples then come back with their groceries, and paint us a delightful little picture: in the KJV, they “pray a prayer” to Jesus that is in reverse gear from all the prayers we are so wont to pray: instead of asking Him to feed them, they pray “Master [You] eat!”(vs. 31).

It’s time we learned to think of the need that Jesus has for Himself. Principally, He longs for His Bride-to-be to repent and give Him her heart—in a corporate consecration and repentance.

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

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Friday, December 14, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

For one who has loved sincerely and truly, who has been true to his/her marriage vows, to be betrayed and rejected by the one you have loved—this is a very painful experience.

Such have not asked for divorce; they have pleaded with God to spare them that humiliation and pain. And He has heard their prayers.

But He cannot force a human heart, even if many people join in prayer.

The one who is rejected will not be forsaken by the Lord, even if he/she has made mistakes; his/her prayers for forgiveness are recorded at His throne.

Christ has an especially tender regard for such because He has known the exquisite pain of such rejection by one whom He deeply loves in a conjugal sense, yes, His Bride-to-be, His church.

All through the Bible, Christ’s relationship to His people is likened to that of a Bridegroom waiting for the consummation of the wedding. Ezekiel writes of how the Lord fell in love with this attractive, delightful girl and proposed to her (16:8, 10-14). Hosea’s painful ordeal with a woman whom he loved but who was unfaithful is a classic in love literature; his sufferings are a picture of Christ’s sufferings because of His people’s infidelity. Even to this day, the “marriage of the Lamb” has been long delayed (cf. Rev. 19:7, 8). Jesus has become one of us; He has become incarnate in humanity, never to cease being human as well as divine. But therein is all the passion of His love betrayed.

The one among us who has loved and lost must not throw away his life in despair. As surely as the Father resurrected Jesus from the grave, so surely will He resurrect your life, you who have been betrayed. “Fear not,” He says especially to the rejected one, giving special assurance of forgiveness and understanding cf. Isa. 54:4, 5).

There is a special promise of forgiveness extended to people who have been healed of wounds, whether physical or emotional: “The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:15).

Cherish that word: “the Lord shall raise him [her] up.” You have all the rest of your life before you in which to be “raised up.” Even in the excruciating pain of divorce there is something to thank the Lord for, some little spark of gratitude to shine on still, and to grow.

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

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Satan was once the bright and shining light, the Lucifer, of all the heavenly angels. But he became proud and wanted to take the place of God; that meant he really wanted to kill God so he could be “God” instead. He reached the height of his ambition when he inspired the leaders of the then-true “church” to reject and murder their true Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.

Well, not yet the ultimate height of his true ambition. Paul says that he wants to squirm his way into that true church, the one of which Jesus said “I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). Paul explains what’s happening: it’s a massive deception that has worked to deceive millions of sincere people: Satan “opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:3, 4).

Wherever this Enemy spots a church that professes to “keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 12:17) he wants to squirm his way in, to corrupt and deceive. He wants to go to the top.

One example is the popular idea of “the moral influence theory.” It distorts the purest truth in proclaiming Christ and Him crucified.

Let’s begin with the pure truth: “The love [agape] of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead,” that is, all would be dead if He hadn’t died for “all,” or, if One died for “all,” then that means that “all died” when He died. Either way, the sacrifice of Christ on His cross affects every human on this fallen planet (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14, 15, KJV).

Those who permit their sinful hearts to be moved or motivated by His love “henceforth” are transformed from within: it’s now impossible for them to go on living “unto themselves,” but now they are motivated to live for the One who died for them. (These are people preparing to meet the Lord Jesus when He returns.) They believe in keeping all the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus but in New Covenant realism, not from fear of punishment or hope of reward, but motivated by His love (agape).

Even this powerful truth the fallen Lucifer would like to distort—“the moral influence theory.” Yes, he wants to go to the top and poison the pure gospel at its Source.

But we need not be deceived: the Lord continually sends “a most precious message” that will yet “lighten the earth with glory” (cf. Rev. 18:1-4). Join us as we pray for His blessing in our year-end get-together at Weimar College Chapel, December 28-30. We will study into the message. If you can’t come (and it’s a long ways), pray for us.

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

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Yes, the Bible does say that this world will become very wicked in the last days just before the second coming of Jesus. He Himself asks, “When the Son of man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”(Luke 18:8), implying that it will be very rare.

Paul says, “In the last days perilous times will come.” Then he lists many evil things that people will do, even those who profess to worship God. “For men will be ... unthankful, unholy. ... From such people turn away!” (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

But if you are willing to turn from the Old Covenant and to welcome the New, you will see that God has not yet withdrawn completely the Holy Spirit from the world. He is still “the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world” (John 1:9).

The Bible is clear as sunlight on two realities of human life: “(1) All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [and (2) all are] being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:23, 24).

You may be ever so discouraged by the evil that is in the world; we hear tragic stories of the downright meanness and hatred of people who give their hearts and minds to Satan; but the Bible is equally clear that “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (5:20).

That means that whatever evil Satan has invented, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Source of even greater love and compassion manifested in grace.

That’s because He drained the exceedingly bitter cup as He hung on His cross in the darkness and cried out to His Father, “My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46). The Lord Jesus actually went to hell in order to save the human race. There was no evil that He did not taste, for our sake: “we see Jesus, ... that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9). The only “death” that He could “taste for everyone” is “the second death” (see Rev. 2:11; 20:14).

These eternal facts of truth underlie life on this planet which Jesus came to save; He saved us although it cost Him the last drop in total consecration of His all.

The entire world is gathered at His cross: many will curse Him as the leaders of the true church of that day, the Jews, did; but there will be those who like the pagan Roman centurion will permit their worldly hearts to melt in repentance (don’t forget, it was he who gave the order to his soldiers to “crucify Him” and it was he who confessed, “truly this Man was the Son of God,” Mark 15:39).

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

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Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" web page resides at: http://1888message.org/dailybread/

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