Dial Daily Bread: Bible Stories Change the Heart

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Reading stories of human heroism is a popular pastime. And the world is full of such. But contemplating human heroes doesn't change one's heart or transform a sinner into a saint. Witness: idolizing sports heroes is vanity.

But here's a miracle known and experienced worldwide in any culture or language: reading Bible stories does change the heart; in the process it makes a bad person become a good one. It's proof of biblical inspiration.

Modern cell phones are a phenomenon: with the right one and the right service, you're in touch with almost anyone anywhere in the globe. With the Bible in your hands and in your heart, you're in touch constantly with the noblest and best people of the human race of all time. No, it's not through Spiritualist séances; you don't communicate with dead people--the Bible condemns that as contact with evil angels who fell from heaven with Lucifer, the devil. What happens instead is that through your reading the Bible with a heart that believes in Christ you experience actual identity--fellowship with those Bible characters of all ages--through the work of the Holy Spirit. You identify with them in their experiences of learning to know God. Not through the cinema screen, but through the Holy Spirit you enter into knowing Him. It's beyond the realm of normal fellowship with humans, but through the Bible "he that walketh with wise men shall be wise" (Prov. 13:20).

By a heavenly osmosis more real than any earthly science, you receive the life of Christ through the Bible. Cherish that hunger and thirst for righteousness; the Lord promises that you shall be filled (Matt. 5:6).

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: Insight Into the Private Life of Jesus

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Do you remember when the leaders of the Pharisees sent "officers" to arrest Jesus? They listened to Him and then returned that evening without Him. They asked the officers, "Why have ye not brought Him?" The men had to reply, having been awed by His words, "Never man spake like this man" (John 7:32, 45, 46).

How could Jesus have spoken such words, especially since He had not been "properly educated in their schools? But Isaiah tells us the secret: In becoming one of us, Jesus took upon Himself our human nature. All He knew He had to learn from His Father just as we have to learn. Isaiah lets us in on a little secret.

Speaking in behalf of Jesus, he records this brilliant insight into the private life of Jesus: "The Lord God [His Father] hath given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear to hear as the learned. ... And I was not rebellious, neither turned away back" (50:4, 5).

Jesus says that He had no wisdom of His own: "My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me" (John 7:16). "I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him" (8:26), "I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things" (vs. 28).

And when did the Father "teach" Him? In those early morning sessions in prayer and study.

And so will the same heavenly Father teach you what to say to someone today whom you will meet who is "weary," someone who needs a morsel of the bread of life, who needs to drink of the water of life.

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: The Gospel--Not a Cold Set of Doctrines

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The second coming of Jesus is wonderful good news, but there is good news that must come first: a light will blaze across the world. It will penetrate into the homes and the markets of both the poor and the rich. Since God is declared to be "love," He cannot leave anyone out of seeing this light of the angel's message who "comes down from heaven, having great power; and the earth [must be] lightened with his glory" (Rev. 18:1).

In the Bible, light is always something that comes from heaven. It causes the gospel to shine. This "light" will be a message in which "light" is shining. Therefore it will be truth, for "Thy word is a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). That final revelation of light will therefore be the truth of God's word more clearly spread out before the world than ever seen before.

The one spot in world history where the Light of heaven shone most brightly was the cross of Christ, for it was there that a heavenly love (known as agape) was most clearly demonstrated in its "breadth, and length, and depth, and height," a love "that passeth knowledge" (Eph. 3:18, 19).

But how can this ever happen in our modern materialistic, pleasure-loving, godless world? That "light," which will at last shine brightly, will not be a message of terrorism (the terror will come after the light has been rejected finally); the message will be a "lifting up" of the crucified Savior of the world. God will not scare people into His kingdom like you gather cattle for the roundup; the world's moment of truth will finally dawn for all mankind. The love revealed at the cross will corral every honest-hearted soul who will sense the "constraint" that is implicit in that love. A totally new motivation will prevail--not fear for one's personal security, but a new concern newly realized--that which a bride can know for the man whom at last she loves (Rev. 19:7, 8).

Forget thinking about the Gospel as a static set of cold doctrines; it is an ever-growing, heart-moving experience of identity with the Son of God.

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: A Prayer Pleasing to the Lord

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

A great awakening occurred in the early part of the 19th century in both America and Europe. It concerned the Bible books of Daniel and Revelation. Simultaneously in many lands, there came a spontaneous conviction expressed in print that these two books were no longer "sealed." They COULD be understood!

Joseph Wolff, a Jewish boy with an inquiring mind, heard his elders lamenting that "Israel" had been punished for her sins. He asked, "What sins?" "Our fathers killed the prophets!"

Then a Christian neighbor of the Wolffs told the lad, "Son, the reason the Jews are oppressed is that your forefathers rejected and murdered their true Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth! If you will simply read Isaiah 53, you will see the truth!"

The boy went home, read it, and saw it. Then he simply asked his father what it meant, and the father sternly rebuked him--he "must never again ask that question!" That exchange led him to become a Christian, and he grew up to become a missionary to many parts of the Middle East. What he discovered in the Bible was that we are living in "the time of the end," and Jesus wants to come soon. Daniel and Revelation made sense!

Foremost in all of these widely separated yet phenomenal awakenings was the question, "What is the truth? What does the Bible really teach?"

The work of these pioneers as well as of Luther and Calvin and the Wesleys, must go on to full development in preparing a people for the return of Jesus. And again today, the important question is: what does the Bible really say? Confusion again reigns in Christendom as it did long ago. If your church is like the average, very likely there is confusion and dissent there, too. But no prayer is more pleasing to the Lord to hear than your cry for understanding of the truth, based on your willingness to study and learn. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," said Jesus (John 8:32).

It's a sin in a time of crisis not to be hungry and thirsty for righteousness, which is truth (cf. Matt. 5:6). We must each inquire and study for himself, even if we discover that truth is unpopular!

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: The Cleansing Process--A Discipline That Takes Time

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Where's the person who hasn't at some time or other exploded with what he/she thought was "righteous" indignation? And then came to realize that some "self" was woven in! Rather humbling, isn't it? In fact, you can get grey with what you think are sanctified years and still make a fool of yourself.

A prime example is the Twelve, on whose heads had been laid in ordination none other than the Hands that had made the world. On the eve of Christ's crucifixion they were condemning Mary Magdalene who had been moved by the Holy Spirit Himself to do what she did (Matt. 26:6-10). Thus they made fools of themselves. They exploded with indignation which they thought was of the Lord, when in fact it was of Judas Iscariot's inspiration (John 12:4).

They didn't know what would later be written by an unknown contemporary in his Letter to the Ephesians: "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (4:31, 32). But having been educated in the personal presence of Christ for some three years, should they not have known? Common sense should have taught them. But when you get angry, you are often bereft of it. The disciples, even if righteously angry at Mary's supposed extravagance, should have been "kind" and "tender-hearted" in rebuking her. They weren't. Thus they set themselves up for the most stinging rebuke Jesus ever gave them.

In the previous verse, Paul says that our emotional outbursts "grieve ... the Holy Spirit of God, whereby [we] are sealed unto the day of redemption." In other words, there is a grave possibility that we may negatively "seal" our eternal destiny by one of these sudden unsanctified outbursts.

Time to fall on our knees and beg Mary's Defender for a new heart that can be cleansed--down into its buried unconscious roots.

Just remember that the cleansing process may take longer than a day; it's a discipline that takes time, but is no less certain if you are sincere in asking for it.

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: Why doesn't God Intervene to Heal More Sick People?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you wondered why God apparently doesn't intervene to heal more sick people, miraculously? Medical science does heal many--but does that mean that the Great Physician has virtually abdicated His healing role to the medical profession?

Could there be a different circumstance today than there was 2000 years ago when Christ and His apostles did heal the sick, cleansed the lepers, gave sight to the blind, even raised the dead?

We know that (a) the message of the cross was more vividly proclaimed then (1 Cor. 2:1-3; Gal. 6:14, etc.), resulting in (b) deeper, more thorough conversions, (c) making it safer for the Lord to work these miracles because (d) the healed persons would "henceforth" be "constrained to live unto Him who died for them, and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:15). Today a wise writer reminds us that "often some form of vice is the cause of feebleness of mind or body. Should these persons gain the blessing of health, many of them would continue to pursue the same course of heedless transgression of God's natural and spiritual laws" (Ministry of Healing, p. 227). In other words, why bother pumping up a tire that has holes in it?

Nevertheless, we know Christ "is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8), which means He is still compassionate. He doesn't like to see people suffer, for He suffers with them (Isa. 63:9).

Therefore we can only conclude that the most important ministry of healing is proclaiming the only message that can reconcile alienated hearts to God--the genuine gospel of His grace, unmixed with any element of legalism or Babylonian confusion. We are told that in the final work, "miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed" (The Great Controversy, p. 612). That must mean that in that same final work, the pure true gospel will again be recovered and proclaimed. If the Lord can give us the grace to be humble in heart today, we can begin at least to recover that blessing, and that will be Good News.

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: Jesus Christ--The World's No. 1 Problem

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Jesus Christ is the world's Number One Problem. Behind the tangled skein of world politics, the intricacies of its fragile economy, the confusions of its conflicting religions, its all pervasive hedonism, lies its intensive hatred of the Son of God. His crucifixion two millennia ago was not an isolated parochial squabble; it was the world revealed in its "enmity against God" (cf. Rom. 8:7).

Christ is the world's First Problem because He is constantly calling the world to judgment. His cross is our cross, and the world hates the idea. He who had not where to lay His head, who died penniless with no money in the pockets of His seamless robe, calls the wealthy to judgment. The pleasure-loving masses resent Him for saying "I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent Me" (John 5:30). That might not be so bad but then He has to add also, "If any one will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?" (Luke 9:23-25). You can't drive your new Rolls Royce through the streets where the poor live without remembering that. And it hurts for the Holy Spirit constantly to remind you of Him.

The world was not converted when He died and rose again; but He has given His followers the message that will convert any individual who will listen with a humble, honest heart. The latent enmity in every "carnal mind" will flare up continually until the final confrontation between "the seal of God" and "the mark of the beast." For now, it's the greatest joy one can know to be a humble channel through which flows that "water of life" message.

If you believe in Jesus, you are caught up in the great controversy between Him and Satan. There's no furlough from the front lines of the conflict. But remember, it's a sin to be afraid. Be loyal to your Savior and you will sense the tension even today. Remember, you are not alone. Believe Him when He says, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matt. 28:20).

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: The Most Worried Segment of Humanity

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever thought how precious to a teenager is the Bible truth of the New Covenant? In accepting baptism, he begins to realize that he is a child of Abraham--provided of course that he has been correctly instructed about the New Covenant promises God made to "our father Abraham."

Teenagers generally are the most worried segment of humanity. They are just becoming aware that life stretches out before them; what to do, what to be, perplexes them. They often agonize about which way to go. It's impossible to overestimate the encouragement that a conscious awareness of God's New Covenant promises can give to them. First, of course, the youth must clearly see himself as the "heir" to all the promises God has made to Abraham and his "seed" (Gen. 12:2, 3; Rom. 4:13-16). Which are:

(1) "I will make you a great nation." In other words: I will make you to be a very important person. (Says the teen, "Wow!")

(2) "I will bless you," which means, I will make you to be a happy person all your life. (Girls, if you're thinking of marriage, grab that one, and hold on to it. Keep yourself until you know for sure that God, not selfish desire, has led you. Believing the New Covenant will save you from untold agony.)

(3) "And make your name great." In other words, you will not merely BE somebody great but you'll always be KNOWN as such (in the way you really want to be).

(4) "And you shall BE a blessing." Every healthy teen wants to become someone useful to society; not to live only for self. Here's the Good News about it; believe it and you've got purpose from now on.

(5) "I will bless those who bless you." You'll be surrounded by people who love and trust you, and they will realize that their happiness is bound up with yours.

(6) "I will curse him who curses you." The New Covenant-educated teen will fear no enemies. (That's a direct parallel to Psalm 23, "You prepare a [banquet] table before me in the presence of my enemies.") You walk through life as a prince or princess, head held high (and yet always gifted with appropriate common-sense humility; Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, can never give you that sense of poise).

(7) "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Not that you will be as famous as Abraham, "the father of the faithful," but when you come to the end of life you will know that wherever your steps have taken you, you have left behind a trail of happiness for people you've touched. In other words, "your cup runs over."

Warning: the Old Covenant can do none of this for you.

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: The Beginning of a Deep Conversion

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Do you ever have a gut feeling sweep over your soul that you are "the chief of sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15), that you are "carnal, sold under sin" (Rom. 7:14), that "in [your] flesh dwells no good thing" (vs. 18)?

Don't despair! The great Holy Spirit of God may at last be working deep in your heart. God Himself is noticing you like He notices when a little humming bird falls on the forest floor--that's something! God in heaven is teaching you as if you were a student in His classroom. He honors you!

You become really sure that you are indeed "a child of God" when you sense that He Himself is chastising you: "'My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives'" (Heb. 12:5, 6).

We have generally thought that refers to our getting sick, or getting in an accident, or some such bad luck. But in fact, it's the work of the Holy Spirit convicting us of sin itself (John 16:8). Paul experienced a healthy "Christian experience" which illustrates what it means to live in tune with God on this great Day of Atonement, this cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary (cf. Dan. 8:14). To sense that indeed you are genuinely, truly, not merely rhetorically, "less than the least of all saints" (Eph. 3:8) is not an unhealthy experience. It may be the beginning of your at-last deep conversion. You are at last actually experiencing what Zechariah 12:10-13:1 is talking about. Not until Moses was at last deeply humbled before God was it possible for his face to shine with the light of heaven, light that astonished the people (Ex. 34:35).

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: Bewildered by Philosophies or Theologies

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are you ever bewildered by the force of philosophies or theologies that are thrown at you? You are busy at daily practical tasks that you know are your duties; these teachings that are clamoring for your attention seem to be over your head. You are drowning in the unending flow of words.

If some genius is trying to overpower you, don't let him/her entice you away from the simplicity of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Everything that God Himself wants you to understand is simple and clear, so much so that a child can get it. That's what Jesus meant when He said of children, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14).

The Lord told His prophet, "Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance" (Hab. 2:2, TEV). You can't get a lot of words on clay tablets. The correct understanding of justification by faith, of the atonement, of Daniel and the Revelation, must be caught "at a glance."

So, stay close to your Bible. Think of the vast amount of information in Daniel and the Revelation, and in Solomon's Proverbs--all brilliantly simple.

And when that last great angel comes down with the message that will "lighten the earth with glory," it will be a message to go to "every nation, kindred, tongue and people" with the powerful impact that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount had on the world two millennia ago, because it will all be simple (Rev. 14:6, 7; 18:1-4).

The Lord does not overburden you (Rev. 2:24). But DO study!

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: Saturate Your Soul with the Story of the Cross

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

As we face the tumultuous events of the last days of earth's history, our Savior feels for us. He says, "Let not your heart be troubled" (John 14:1). "I will fear no evil, for You are with me," says Psalm 23:4. What the Bible says is don't give your permission for your heart to "be troubled." Choose to trust Him by setting your will on His side; Satan cannot terrify you without somewhere you give him your permission! Make your choice to believe.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" decides David in 27:1. We want practical, common sense counsel on how to control our emotions in time of trouble. "Come unto Me," says the Savior (Matt. 11:28). Saturate your soul with the story of His cross. TV comedy tells you to laugh your fears away, but it's a lie; we're living in the great Day of Atonement when peace of heart comes through serious-minded fasting and prayer. But genuine faith always lifts up the heart with a joy that actually triumphs over your emotions. Your soul sings, "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13). Let your soul feast on the psalms that tell of Jesus' struggles with the temptation to be afraid and to doubt (22, 40, 69--many). He overcame!

Immense Good News is yet to flood the world with light even though evil is everywhere, for "another angel" comes with "great authority, and the earth [is to be] illuminated with his glory" (Rev. 18:1). His message will be "Christ and Him crucified" for Jesus said that when He "is lifted up" (that is, on His cross), He "will draw all men unto [Himself]" (John 12:32). Not all will let themselves be "drawn" but all will sense the drawing. You do, don't you?

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: Does God Judge Nations for Their Apostasy?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does the God of the Bible, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, "the God of the spirits of all flesh" (Num. 27:16), judge nations for their apostasy? The Bible answer is yes.

Consider Israel, God's own special people. He did not personally chastise them physically, but He was forced to abandon them to the tender mercies of their enemies. For their deep apostasy, the northern kingdom was left to the Assyrians who put an end to it.

The southern kingdom learned no lessons from them, and God was forced to let them fall into the hands of the Babylonians. Due to the apostate perfidy of King Zedekiah and his court, the judgment was very severe. Jeremiah had to suffer through it like the rest.

King Nebuchadnezzar, for all his harsh rulings, had an honest heart (he eventually wrote a chapter in the Bible, Daniel 4); but his grandson Belzhazzar apostatized from what uprightness there had been, and Daniel 5 records the "decadence," Mardi Gras feast, that brought God's judgment when the kingdom came to its end by the Medo-Persians. They had some regard at first for justice. Then they had their two centuries of probation, and their apostasy brought the end of their empire to Alexander the Great. On and on it goes.

Does God keep an account of the nations today? The more light a nation has had, the more severe will their judgment finally be. The fall of ancient Babylon remains in the New Testament a metaphor to describe God's coming judgment on the nations today (Rev. 14:8; ch. 18). But let us remember that always in God's dealing with individuals and nations, "in wrath [He remembers] mercy" (Hab. 3:2). He is still the "God [who] is love," the world's heavenly Father (1 John 4:8; Matt. 6:9). Don't doubt the truth: He is love all the way through!

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: Respect the Record of History

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

In mid-August our earth's rotation around the sun brings us near the tail of a comet with tiny grains of sand-like material that glow white hot as they strike our atmosphere. We call these shooting stars as they flash across our midnight sky. This August meeting is with the Perseid meteors. There is another similar encounter that occurs in late November.

In Matthew 24:29 Jesus spoke of "signs" in the heavens that would indicate that we are entering "the time of the end" that Daniel spoke of (11:35; 12:4). It's in the Savior's great sermon on the end of the world: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days" the signs were to appear. He has been describing the persecutions of the Dark Ages, which Daniel and Revelation both pinpoint as 1260 years between 538 and 1798 A.D., when so many true followers of Jesus were martyred.

But the actual martyrdoms in Europe ended soon after the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. Mark reports the timing more precisely as "in those days, after that tribulation" (13:24, 25), "the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Thoughtful people who revered the Bible recognized this "sign" in the mysterious May 19, 1780, darkening of the sun. Then Jesus added: "the stars will fall from heaven." On the night of November 13, 1833, the most spectacular burst of shooting stars ever seen was in populous New England. Again, people who revered the Bible were reassured that we have entered into Daniel's great "time of the end."

Some keep expecting that God must repeat these "signs in the heavens" in order for His people to be well warned. But when Thomas refused to believe the historical reports of his fellow-disciples of the resurrection, Jesus rebuked him (John 20:29). God expects us to respect the record of history!

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: The Lord Knows How to Get the World's Attention

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Lord, our Father in heaven, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has a way of speaking to the world. He knows how to get the world's attention. And He will when the time comes.

We read how in this special "time of the end" He sends three angels ("messengers-sent" is the meaning of the word) with three special messages for "every nation, tribe, tongue, and people" (Rev. 14:6-12). Their task is to prepare His people everywhere to be ready to meet the once-crucified Savior of the world when He returns as King of kings and Lord of lords. The message of the "third angel" is augmented by that of a fourth of 18:1-4, whose message "lightens" the whole earth "with ... glory." The Father still "so loves the world" (John 3:16)! It's a message of His "much more abounding grace"(Rom. 5:20).

The story of the Two Covenants is interwoven with what happens in the Middle East. Abraham himself was entangled in the confusion between the two. He is claimed as "father" by Jews, Muslims, and Christians, but the Two Covenants are viewed differently by them all. Abraham's own story of unbelief (before his subsequent experience of faith) has spawned the bloody conflicts of his descendants. God intends that the world itself shall have a lesson on the Two Covenants, and before the end He will see to it that His four "angels" whom He sends (Rev. 14, 18) shall proclaim His message faithfully. There will be great humbling of hearts before God on the part of all who remain faithful to the end.

The message that will "lighten" the earth with "glory" will be the revelation of the good news of the New Covenant. It will be a message of "Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:1-3), and He will be "lifted up" for all the world to see Him clearly (John 12:32). The world's greatest days, ever, are just ahead. Don't leave your refuge "in Him"(Psalm 91:1-16).

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
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Dial Daily Bread: Assurance of the Holy Spirit's Guidance

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The conscientious, alert follower of Jesus is in constant tension. Every wind of doctrine is blowing with force. Publications by Internet and by printing are flooding our mailboxes, both literal and electronic ones. Voices are clamoring to be heard with new interpretations of key Bible teaching. Some are seriously aberrant but are clothed in appealing language that is intended to deceive "if it were possible, ... even the very elect" (Matt. 24:24).

The tension is heightened by remembering that it is wrong and stupid to let oneself be deceived by clever falsehoods (we should by now have "eyesalve," Rev. 3:18), but at the same time it is a revived rejection of Christ if we "despise ... prophesyings" that are of heavenly origin (cf. 1 Thess. 5:20). The Lord has a way of raising up "messengers" (often humble ones!) to whom He has revealed new truth that His people need to hear. They are new "Elijahs" facing the hide-bound old King Ahabs, or new "John the Baptists" facing the old "Sanhedrims" that still condemn truth.

In John 6 Jesus stood alone before the Jews, confronting them with a real problem: He split the congregation! The leaders and people were perplexed; how could they interpret the data about Jesus? Was He the Messiah? Were the evidences He gave them valid proofs? We say "yes!" but the problems weren't always easy for the people. Not one of the leaders of the people accepted Him for what He said He was. That confused the common people.

Jesus sympathized with their perplexity, and He sympathizes with yours. He said, "If anyone wants to do [the Father's] will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority" (John 7:17). That promise doesn't excuse us from studying; evidence must be carefully weighed. But it is an assurance of the unerring guidance of the Holy Spirit. Now is the time when we need it as never before!

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: Our Problem--Learning to Believe

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When Jesus said in Matthew 7:14 that the gate that leads to heaven is "narrow" and only a "few ... find it," did He say that the way to heaven is difficult? Many think so; and one modern translation (New King James Version) says, "difficult is the way." But this reflects a bias of the translators, which is not in the Greek text which the Lord said. The Greek word translated "narrow" in the King James Version is thlibo which means literally "hemmed in as in a mountain gorge." "Narrow," yes; but "difficult"? No. In all its uses in the New Testament, thlibo means "pressed" by circumstances not of our own choosing, but always in close context indicating there is a way through--just keep going. The "difficulty" is always in our own imagination, like how to get through a mountain. Just keep going, says Jesus in effect, there is a path, a pass. You CAN overcome, He assures us (Rev. 3:20, 21). Just keep going!

To take the view that Jesus' way is "difficult" requires a severe contradiction, for He says in Matthew 11:28-30 that "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Rather than mistranslate Matthew 7:14, shall we cut that text out of our Bibles? JESUS DID NOT CONTRADICT HIMSELF!

"But why does it seem so 'difficult,' so 'hard,' to follow Him?" someone may ask.

The answer is very simple: the same problem ancient Israel had--"because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:19; 4:6). And why the unbelief? The answer is, Often we have not understood the Gospel, how good the Good News really is. Our thinking from childhood has been shackled by subtle legalism that hides the Savior from our clear view. According to 1 Timothy 6:12, the only difficult battle we have is "the good fight of faith."

Learning to believe: that is our problem. We have been born and bred in unbelief; but Jesus says clearly, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23). You may not understand it right now, but don't reject it, for rejecting the Gospel can be fatal. Respond like the distraught father did in verse 24: "Lord I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." Then you can "never perish."

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: The Book of Hebrews--A Precious Treasure

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

One of the most precious treasures possessed by the believer in Christ is the Book of Hebrews, yet often neglected. It's like a casket of jewels. Seven of the most prominent are:

(1) Chapter one details how Christ is eternally pre-existent, one with the Father, equal, the Source of all life, as is said, "original, unborrowed, underived."

(2) Chapter two details His real humanity, "made like unto His brethren," "in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin" 2:17, 18; 4:15).

(3) Chapter three introduces Him, in consequence of His identification with us in chapter 2, as our great High Priest, our attention to Him being invited ("consider Him").

(4) Chapters four to six detail the tragic results of hard-hearted unbelief (the terrible danger all of us face in this time of unprecedented worldly prosperity).

(5) Chapters seven and eight develop further the core idea of "Christian perfection of character" which like a silver thread runs throughout the Book of Hebrews. Ministering the Good News of such "perfection" is the work of the High Priest, who is "able to save to the uttermost (perfectly) those who come unto God by Him." Warnings are seen all through the book to us to cooperate with Him, but we cannot save or perfect ourselves. (Cleansing the Hebrew sanctuary was always the work of the high priest, never the work of the people; but they were to let him do it, to cooperate with him to gather around the sanctuary on the day of atonement.)

(6) Chapters nine and ten make clear that there are two phases of our great High Priest's heavenly ministry: (a) the antitypical ministry in the first apartment of the sanctuary (ta hagia in the Greek) where He began to minister at His ascension, and (b) His closing ministry in the second apartment, the Most Holy (hagia hagion, Greek) on the antitypical Day of Atonement. It seems obvious even to a child that Christ's ministry in the first apartment is to prepare His people to die--a wonderful work indeed; but His ministry in the second apartment is intended to prepare a people to meet the final tests of the mark of the beast, the seal of God, the final time of trouble, and translation at the second coming of Christ--all of which the Bible has much to say.

(7) Finally, Hebrews leaves us with the assurance that all the power of the Father who brought Jesus from the dead is directed now to the unprecedented work of preparing a people, to "make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight" (13:21). Good News!

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: The Only Place to Find Good News

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When you read the story of how Peter denied ever knowing Jesus when that teenage girl taunted and ridiculed him, how do you feel? Every time I read the story, I tremble. I cry out with the Eleven, "Lord, is it I?" I cry out with John Wesley, "There but for the grace of God, go I."

Peter was sincere; he didn't want to do that. He was horrified when he realized that he had done it. In fact, both Matthew and Luke say he went out and "wept bitterly." In other words, heart-brokenly. He threw himself on the ground and wished that he could die; he felt totally unworthy ever to help in the cause of God. (When Judas realized what he had done, he also wished that he might die and he did--at his own hand. The Bible says that Judas "repented himself," but it was a sorrow for the awful consequences of his deed, not that heart-broken abhorrence for his sin. Peter came within a hair's breadth of sharing the fate of Judas; but his heart-sorrow turned into true repentance.)

Why did Peter fail so miserably? What was his real problem? Many preachers have discussed the problem, and many more have and will ponder it. We need to understand or we too will fail in our time of severe test.

The story of Peter's tragic fall is linked with the story we read in Exodus 19:8 where Israel made the same kind of promise that Peter made when he promised that "though all [men] shall be offended, yet will not I" (Mark 14:29). Ancient Israel made the Old Covenent when they made their vain promise, "All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do." Now their Old Covenant has finally come full circle in the apostle Peter's vain promise.

It's time that we learned our lesson after these thousands of years: our salvation does not depend on our making promises to God; it depends on our believing His promises to us. That's the New Covenant. And that's the only place where you will find any Good News!

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Dial Daily Bread: Encouragement for Those Who Suffer in "Sibling Rivalry"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is comfort and encouragement in an unlikely Bible story for those who suffer in "sibling rivalry." In fact, this individual's story is usually neglected: I speak of Jeremiah. He gets very bad press so that people actually turn away from his story, because he has been dubbed "the weeping prophet."

Depressing! Why read a story so sad that the author wishes he had rivers of water in his head so he could cry endlessly! (9:1; Lam. 2:11). Jeremiah is not a comedy drama; he belongs in the tragedy category. Leave his musty book in the attic.

But the man is so important that people thought that Jesus was Jeremiah (Matt. 16:14). God permitted an avalanche of persecution to fall on him; not just ten years or so of it such as Joseph and David endured, after which both were exalted to glorious honor. No, poor Jeremiah gets no reprieve from endless physical and spiritual torture:

(a) Dumped into a deep mud hole and left there to die had not an African gentleman at the court taken pity on him and saved his life (Jer. 38:6-13).

(b) Locked up in the stocks where common criminals are displayed publicly (20:2, 3). Yet he was God's chosen prophet from his pre-natal experience in his mother's womb (1:5). It seemed as though the God who called him had now abandoned him!

(c) The king himself had contemptuously cut up and burned the book that the Holy Spirit had inspired Jeremiah to write (36:21-23). How can an author be humiliated any more shamefully?

(d) But the most cruel blow the prophet is called to suffer is the "treachery" inflicted by his own personal family who should have been loyal. His brothers knew him, that he was sincere and genuine; but they organized a bitter campaign against him, complete with flattery to his face and a knife in his back (12:6).

But no, it's not tragedy; Jeremiah is now revered as the greatest of the prophets, and he shares his life story with Jesus. If you are called to suffer, rejoice with Him.
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Dial Daily Bread: Easier for Poor People to be Saved than Rich People?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is it easier for poor people to be saved, than for rich people? The answer of course must be No; but the Bible is very clear that poor people are blessed more than the rich! Jesus loved both rich and poor, but He had nicer things to say to the poor. For example, He says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). Do you know very many rich people who are "poor in spirit"? Again, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (vs. 5). Or, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (vs. 10).

The word "blessed" means "happy." Not happy in the sense of fun and games, but happy with that deep inward sense of peace, living in the sunshine of God's favor. I've known many poor people in Africa who lacked what you think are the basics of comfort, who were happy because they had found the Bible and a faith in Christ, who loved to study and to learn the plan of salvation and who rejoiced in spiritual life. They endured what we would call grinding poverty, and smiled, and they loved, and they would share their little with you in gracious hospitality. How could they be happy with so little of this world's goods? The answer is, those Beatitudes of Jesus; they had to be fulfilled!

The Father of our Lord Jesus is pledged to "bless" the poor who appreciate His love. The Bible is full of encouragement for poor people: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and delivered him out of all his troubles" (Psalm 34:6). "Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth. ... The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing [there is no promise that you'll never get sick, but there is the promise that the Lord will be your attending Physician and your special duty Nurse, for] Thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness" (Psalm 41:1-3).

Are you poor? Be thankful for the special blessings the Lord has promised you, and rejoice. It may well be that the Lord is favoring you especially so that you will be that much more happy in the kingdom of heaven. The ticket for entrance is that list of "blesseds" that Jesus enunciated in Matthew 5. You can be sure that if you can be truly happy in heaven, you will be admitted, for "whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17). Are you rich? Please read 2 Corinthians 8:9. There's hope for you, too!

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland
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Dial Daily Bread: God's Honor at Stake

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If you had been living 2000 years ago, what kind of a life would you have chosen? The world was much like it is today--full of selfish people bent on pleasure and sensual delight and amusement. There were the Roman overlords living in luxury in their fancy villas on the Mediterranean, flocking to sports events in the amphitheaters, eating luxury food, employing poor people to work for them. These upper crust people got the most out of life--or did they?

And now here comes that Man from Galilee who had not where to lay His head (Matt. 8:20), and He says to you, "Take up your cross and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). Will you do so gladly? Will you turn your back on the pleasures and wealth of the Roman world, and follow Jesus through a life of self-denial and loving labor for others, spreading the news of justification by faith? Will you join His eleven surviving apostles and others?

Of the two ways of life anciently, which would be the more enjoyable to you? Well, that's exactly where you are today. You have exactly the same choice. Nothing has changed: (1) the same selfish mind-set has captured the world today, and (2) the same pure Gospel of righteousness by faith offers the same alternative to selfish living.

The Bible clearly teaches that we are today living in the antitypical Day of Atonement, the grand climax to the drama of the ages, the great controversy between Christ and Satan. It's the war of all wars. It's not a matter merely of personal survival or personal happiness: it's the honor of God Himself that is at stake. Unless He has a people on earth who "give glory to Him" in this final battle, He will be embarrassed. Every one on earth will be drawn into this conflict on one side or the other; I suggest that taking up that cross to follow Jesus is by far the more exciting, more joyous alternative.

Do you agree?

Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland
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Dial Daily Bread: The Lord Thinketh Upon Me

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

With all the billions of human beings on planet earth that the Lord has to care for, can you be sure that He cares about little unworthy you?

Your answer, "yes" or "no," steers you to heaven or to the opposite. And your answer does NOT depend on miracles; in fact, if the only (or the main) reason you answer "yes" is certain miracles in your life, you are in for trouble. First, the devil can work miracles and fool you completely; and second, you can forget the miracles on which you base your faith.

You absolutely MUST believe: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning and going outside is a blessing: you get to see the stars. Look! They are infinite in number--concrete examples of God's infinitude; yet the Lord cares for each one. You've never seen a heavenly collision, have you? "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things ... He calleth them all by names ... He is strong in power, not one faileth" (Isa. 40:26).

"But they are great stars! I am ... well, nobody!"

Remember that the Creator of them all, the Son of God Himself, made Himself to become a "Nobody" for your sake. He "emptied Himself" (Phil. 2:5-8). He died as a Nobody on a cross, forsaken by God His Father (so it seemed to Him, as it sometimes seems to you, Matt. 27:46). You MUST believe what the Bible says! Read it again--what happened to Him on the cross--it's Psalm 22. By faith alone He triumphed over that terrible sense of despair (read vss. 21-31). Identify with Him; sink yourself in Him, for He is life. Let self be "crucified with Him" and you will sense the resurrection with Him. Yes, say it: "But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me" (Psalm 40:17). Choose to believe it!
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Dial Daily Bread: Guilty for a Crime Committed Before You Were Born?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

One of the strangest mysteries in the Bible is where we find Jesus blaming people of His day for a crime that someone else committed 800 years earlier. If someone were to blame me for starting World War I, for example, I would get huffed up because I wasn't even born when it started. How could Jesus, the Righteous One, be so apparently unfair?

The problem is in Matthew 23:35. Jesus is preaching His last sermon in the glorious Temple. Some may say that He was deliberately inviting His own death by laying out before the leaders their sins just as they were. (Why not be more political and soften up His words?) Then Jesus tells these august pastors of the flock that "YOU slew Zacharias ... between the temple and the altar." The story goes that the blood of this martyr stained the stones in the pavement forever! (See 2 Chron. 24:20, 21.)

Can't you imagine those scribes and Pharisees responding in indignation, "Why do You blame US for a crime committed 800 years before we were born? How unfair can You be?"

But like He always did, Jesus told the truth. The same awful sin that King Joash and the leaders of his day committed when they stoned Zechariah right there in the holy Temple, these religious leaders were already nursing in their hearts--for within a few hours they would crucify the Son of God. So, in a corporate sense, they were guilty also of the murder of Zacharias! The record of your sin is not like your electric light bill--you pay only for what you use; as sinners by nature we are truly guilty of all the sin ever committed--just give us enough time and opportunity. It wasn't only the Romans and the Pharisees who crucified Christ; "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" Yes, in a corporate sense.

Christ prayed for a corporate forgiveness to be given to them all, "for they know not what they do." Thank Him, and receive it.
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Dial Daily Bread: To All Who Suffer Pain in Church "Fellowship"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Jesus did NOT say, "Come to church, or come to a Christian college, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and it will give you rest." I am sure He would be happy if that would give you "rest unto your souls," but often you meet stress and heartache there just as you do out in the cold world. Sometimes we can find ourselves, as Jesus said, "sheep among wolves" in a religious setting.

What Jesus DID say was, "Come unto ME, ... take My yoke upon you, and learn of ME, and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matt. 11:28-30; 10:16). No matter what the pressure may be that you find in church or in college, there is a path from where you are at this moment direct to the throne of grace where Jesus is "nigh at hand" to give you peace of heart in the midst of storms. He is an expert in enduring heartache in "church." The pagan world "outside" gave Him no persecution except (at the end) when the "church" of that day instigated it. When He said, "They that hate Me without a cause are more in number than the hairs on Mine head," "they" were church people. "I am become a stranger unto My brethren, ... I became a proverb unto them. ... They that sit in the gate speak against Me" (Psalm 69:4-12). They were Abraham's descendants, not pagans!

To all who suffer pain in church "fellowship" Jesus urges, "Come unto Me." But let's be sure: He does NOT say "come out of church fellowship"! No! In the midst of His suffering, Jesus was invited to leave "Israel" and go to Greece and find "rest of soul," but He refused. He would stay in fellowship with God's professed people, no matter how painful it might be, and bear His cross there (John 12:20-28).

In these last days there is lukewarmness in the church, there can even be "apostasy IN the church." Leaving the church is not the solution. The basic idea of the Bible truth of the Day of Atonement is the "cleansing of the sanctuary," not destroying it. "Come unto Me," says Jesus; and the closer you come to Him the more your heart and your life will be bound up in fellowship with Him and you will realize that the honor or the vindication of His name is bound up with the repentance of His church. He must win the heart of His church or "the marriage of the Lamb" can never come (Rev. 19:7, 8). Stay in the church; bear your cross "with Him." Cooperate with Him; let Him use you as one of His agents to help somebody else who is "weary and heavy laden." Help the church get "ready" for the wedding.
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Dial Daily Bread: The "Elijah" Message--Don't Overlook It

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

God's promise regarding Baal worship is tremendous Good News because it means He "will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5). Israel was in a terrible condition spiritually when the Lord sent him to King Ahab with his terrible news of drought and famine. But there was no other way to arouse the apostate people of God. Elijah was sent to them in love.

We want to be very careful that we know how to recognize "Elijah" when the Lord sends him again. Every one of us without exception should walk in fear and trembling lest we make the same mistake the Jews did in the days of John the Baptist. Their "Elijah" came and went and they had no idea what had happened! God always loves His people but He seems to take delight in taking them by surprise: ancient apostate Israel hated the messenger of the Lord when He sent him--Ahab and Jezebel wanted to kill him, and when the leaders of the Jewish church saw the new "Elijah" in John the Baptist they didn't recognize him. They said, "He hath a devil" (Matt. 11:18).

Wouldn't it be terrible if, in these last days we treated our new "Elijah" that way and didn't know what we were doing? Their "Elijah" was a humble man notably not dressed in "soft raiment" as "in kings' houses" (vs. 8). Someone very humble, "despised and rejected of men" as was Jesus, may "come already, and [we] knew him not, but [do] to him whatever [we] wish" (17:12). Let's study the story of John the Baptist.

God is faithful. Many people today "sigh and cry for all the abominations" they see in the "land" (cf. Ezek. 9:4), but let them not yield to sinful despair and "smite" their "fellowservants" in their frustration (cf. Matt. 24:48, 49). The "Elijah" message is here somewhere. Don't misunderstand and overlook it!
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Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The last two verses of the Old Testament give us the wonderful Good News that the Lord will send us "Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5, 6). Elijah's specialty mission had been to confront the apostasy of Baal worship. This fact that Elijah is to return during the last days raises a reasonable question: could it be that the reason for the Lord sending him back is that the ancient worship of Baal is again current among us?

The merest suggestion that we have a problem with Baal worship creates abhorrence: "Impossible! We may be worldly and backsliding, but we're not that bad!" Then why does the Lord say that we need Elijah to come back? On quiet reflection we begin to realize that something is wrong with our spiritual devotion. Could it be "Baal worship," and what is it? It was prevalent in Elijah's day, but Jeremiah wrote a book (Elijah didn't!) describing what it was. Some points of identity emerge:

(1) It was an unconscious apostasy in ancient Israel which crept upon the nation surreptitiously (see Jer. 2:23, 25; 16:10, 11; 11:13, 18, where the people deny its existence).

(2) It was combined with the worship of the true Lord and God in His Temple in Jerusalem, so it was difficult for anyone to tell where one began and the other ended. It was all woven together (7:9, 10, 30).

(3) The religious leaders at the headquarters of the nation aided and abetted this process of amalgamation (23:11, 13, 15, 26, 27).

(4) Elijah and Jeremiah themselves would not have been able to discern the subtle presence of the apostasy had they not been enlightened by the gift of prophecy (1 Kings 17:1, Elijah cited "the Lord God of Israel" as his authority; Jer. 11:18).

Modern Baal worship is serious: it is the worship of self disguised as the worship of Christ. Therefore religious leaders are terribly prone to it, for they are often flattered by the people. God, save us!

[More tomorrow.]
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Dial Daily Bread: Isaiah 45:22--Too Simple to be True?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It seems too easy and simple to be true, but there it is in Isaiah 45:22. The Lord says, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." Could we have misunderstood? Verse 21 confirms it: "There is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Saviour." If He were only just, we would all perish; but He is also a Saviour! And there is our hope.

Could the translation be wrong, it seems so simple? The Hebrew word PANAH means to "turn the face" and is translated as "look" 43 times in the Old Testament and the idea of "turn the face" 53 times. It involves a choice to face reality, not merely a passing, involuntary glimpse. Is it possible that there is salvation in turning your face towards God? That's what Isaiah says!

In Numbers 21 we find the story of the snakes that bit the murmuring Israelites. The Lord told Moses to make a snake out of brass and lift it up on a pole so that those who looked at it earnestly would be healed. And Jesus tells us in John 3:14, 15 that Christ crucified on His cross is the fulfillment of that type. And in the familiar 16th verse He explains further, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish [from the bite of the serpent of sin], but should have everlasting life." In other words, to "believe" and to "look" are the same--a choice to face reality.

In Ephesians 3:14-21 Paul explains that the looking and the believing are the same as "comprehending with all saints" the grand dimensions of the love (agape) of Christ. This is true, because John says that God is agape (1 John 4:8). So our text, "Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth" means, comprehend the amazing character of God, who could destroy us because of His justice, but who is our Saviour because of His agape. Yes, comprehending that character of unearthly love will heal you of the poisonous bite of sin. It will change you, from the inside out. "Look!"

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Dial Daily Bread: The Ten Commandments--New Covenant or Old?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It comes as a shock to many people to realize that the famous Ten Commandments are primarily ten promises, not ten rigorous, burdensome prohibitions. The secret is realizing what the Prologue means: "I am the Lord your God, who has brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Ex. 20:1, 2). God is telling us, I have already redeemed you; I have already delivered you out of slavery; I have already brought light to you, new hope, new joy; now, believe that I am your prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God, your Friend, your Savior; and then, says God, I guarantee you will never come under the bondage of breaking this perfect "law of liberty" (see James 2:12). You will sing with David, "I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts" (Psalm 119:45).

The Ten Commandments can be read with the dark glasses of the old covenant, complete with the fire, and thunder, and lightning, and earthquake of Mt. Sinai. That's how ancient Israel read them, and look at their pathetic history of backsliding, defeat, and finally the destruction of their beautiful temple and of their city Jerusalem. It was all old covenant ever since Exodus 19, like a dark day of heavy clouds with only an occasional peek of sunshine.

The "ten" can also be read with the eyes of the new covenant, and suddenly they come into focus as God's ten grand promises of victory over all temptations. For example, take the seventh: "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14). The old covenant glasses make it sound like a kill-joy prohibition that multitudes think is virtually impossible to obey. "Doesn't God want us to have any fun?" Some serious-minded people grit their teeth and clench their fists and determine to obey under fear of hell fire if they transgress. They are living under the old covenant; and seriously, the problems they face in their own hearts are so severe that they cannot imagine how they can be obedient, and still be happy.

But there is a Savior, and He belongs to all of us. If we are willing to understand what He has already done for us (not merely what He may offer to do for us IF we will take the initiative first and do everything just right), and if we understand how He has taken the initiative to save us, what it cost Him to do so, how "He bare us on eagles' wings, and brought us to Himself" (19:4), and if we sense the love that led Christ to His cross, then He says, the promises of the new covenant will open your blind eyes, warm your cold heart, give you repentance, and transform you into the person that your spouse can fall in love with. It may sound impossible to you, but "the gospel ... is the power of God unto salvation," here, not just as pie in the sky (Rom. 1:16).

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Dial Daily Bread: Does God Have Problems Difficult to Solve?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does God Himself have problems that He finds difficult to solve? How could Someone both omniscient and omnipotent have any kind of difficulty? Isn't everything in this universe easy for Him? He has infinite resources, an innumerable "staff" of willing, capable servants, the holy angels.

If I understand Islamic theology, I think the answer would be No, God has no really difficult problems. And if I understand strict Calvinist theology (which may be more strict than Calvin himself was), again the answer would be No; His sovereign will just gets done, that's all. And in either case, it's up to you and me to submit to Him, if we want to be happy. That's all.

But when we kneel down at the feet of Jesus and listen, and "abide" in Him, and identify with Him (which is what it means to be "in Christ" experientially), we begin to sense that He has burdens that are heavy for Him. Although He invites us to "come" and find "rest of soul" because His "yoke is easy, and [His] burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30), we find that He has not yet found that "rest" Himself. He still can't keep Sabbath. His burden is heavy.

Whether or not we identify with Him, He identifies with the human race in starkly genuine sympathy--"believers" and so-called "unbelievers" alike. "In all their affliction He [is] afflicted" (Isa. 63:9). Incomprehensible? Well, it's time we should begin to realize reality. He carries an enormous load of pain as He feels the agony of all on earth who are in pain of any kind. The "all power" He has is to feel for others.

In our finite judgment, probably the most severe problem He has is what to do about the "sibling rivalry" that has wounded His "body," the church. It began with the conflict between Cain and Abel, and ran through all the millennia of the history of God's true people on earth right up to the "sibling rivalry" that exploded within the "Israel" of Christ's day when the majority rejected and crucified Him. God knows that the only solution is AGAPE (John 13:34, 35). But how does the Holy Spirit "shed that AGAPE abroad in our hearts" (Rom. 5:5) if we are unwilling to surrender to it? Can we get out of the kindergarten and begin to share His burden?

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Dial Daily Bread: A Special "Handicapped" Section in the Kingdom?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does God have "handicapped" "parking spaces" for a certain class of people who think they cannot overcome sin? Does He have a double standard for His everlasting kingdom? Can some "saints" plead that their evil temper is so deeply rooted in their genes that they cannot overcome? Or their sexual lust? Or their love of money? Or their habitual lying? On and on.

A false gospel which Paul calls "another gospel ... than that which we have preached unto you" (Gal. 1:6-8) says "YES!" You can cling to your besetting sins--you'll have a special "handicapped" section in His kingdom. To change the metaphor, the idea is you'll be given a white robe of righteousness that only legally "covers" your filthy robes underneath that you keep on wearing.

In contrast, the true gospel says you give up every stitch of those filthy robes so that the white robe of Christ's righteousness is not only LEGALLY "imputed" to you but is also EXPERIENTIALLY "imparted" to you; it no longer hides cherished character deformity underneath. We find the idea surfacing all through Scripture: "to him that overcometh ... even as I also overcame" (Rev. 3:21); "these ... have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (7:14); "they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb" (12:11); Christ as High Priest "is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him" (Heb. 7:25); "the God of peace ... make you perfect in every good work to do His will" (13:20, 21); "be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).

An impossible standard? If all we have is that counterfeit "other gospel" Paul warns against, the "gospel" of "Babylon [that] is fallen"--yes; but thank God for the Good News of the true "gospel [which] is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Rom. 1:16).

The problem is our spiritual pride that insists on remaining "handicapped" when healing is not only offered us but is given us "in Christ." Let's humble our proud hearts and learn to "hunger and thirst after righteousness" [by faith--the only kind there is!] (Matt. 5:6).

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Dial Daily Bread: Confused by "Righteousness by Faith"?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are you confused by conflicting ideas of "righteousness by faith"? Many are! It's quite likely that preachers, theologians, writers, have muddied the waters for you. Try reading the naked Bible. Yes, reading it, not merely listening on the radio or on tapes to some preacher read it whose voice betrays his own confusion or hard-heartedness (one who reads the Bible in public [or on a tape] must humble his/her soul before God before daring to do so). Here's a brief suggestion: try reading the Gospel of John. (We who try to learn New Testament Greek usually begin there, for John's Greek is the most simple of any New Testament writers.) But before you open the Book do offer a sincere prayer that the same Holy Spirit who inspired the apostle will condescend to inspire your mind and heart to grasp what he writes--then you and John will be kneeling together at the throne of grace!

If you have been afraid to read the naked Bible for fear you will be misled (yes, there have been fanatics!), make a choice to believe what the Saviour of the world has promised: "Ask and it shall be given unto you. ...What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? ... Your Father which is in heaven [will] give good things to them that ask Him," not fanatical or poisonous ideas (Matt. 7:7-11; Luke explains those "good things" to be the Holy Spirit, Luke 11:13). It's a healthy thing to be afraid of fanaticism! Plead with the Father to save you from pride, for fanaticism is spiritual pride. A good, healthy prayer to pray daily is in Romans 12:3, "not to think of oneself more highly than [one] ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

Now, with confidence that the Father is not teasing you but that He respects your humble prayer, start reading John. Remember, no commentaries for now, maybe later. (If you can kneel while you read John, good.) By the time you get to John 3:16, much of the confusion will be cleared out of your mind, like sunshine after a storm. You will see that it is God's job to tell you Good News, and it is now your job to believe it (that's the same as exercising that "measure of faith" God has already given you; and lo and behold, what happens? Righteousness by that faith; yes, willing and happy obedience to all the commandments of God--reconciliation of your alienated heart to Him and to His holy law. Another word for that? Salvation.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Dial Daily Bread: A Sin God Cannot Forgive

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is a sin that God cannot forgive--not because He doesn't want to, but because it's impossible to. And the only reason why is because the sinner doesn't want it to be forgiven. He has made the decision to cling to his sin forever. That is why it is called "unpardonable." The Savior cannot force him to let go of it.

Is such a person happy after he has committed it? The common idea may be that no, he is very miserable. But it is more likely that he is remarkably carefree and lighthearted, always laughing, telling jokes, chuckling. He could be eternally smiling, even a sparkling personality. The Holy Spirit is no longer convicting him of sin! Jesus said that His first work with any of us is this: "When He is come, He will convict the world of sin" (John 16:8). The holy nerve of conscience has been severed, and the sinner goes on through life with no voice getting through to reprove him of wrong doing.

If the result of committing the unpardonable sin were a feeling of destitution, of woe, the sinner might desire reconciliation with God--which is what the Lord wants for him. The True Witness says to "the angel of the church of the Laodiceans," "I would thou wert cold or hot." If the "angel" were "hot," he would be cooperating with the Lord Jesus; if he were "cold," he would be shivering with extreme discomfort and would seek the heat.

The Laodicean "angel" cannot go on forever in a lukewarm state; something somewhere, sometime, will have to crack. For the "angel" to remain insensitive, lukewarm, is perilously close to a sin against the Holy Spirit.

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