Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
There is something important going on behind the scenes that the devil is determined you should not know about: the final work of Christ as Great High Priest on this cosmic Day of Atonement. That's the News behind all news. God has devoted the entire books of Hebrews and Revelation to its importance.
For those who appreciate Christ's role as High Priest in the final cleansing of the sanctuary, He is ministering a special preparation of character for them to be ready for the final events on earth. Says Hebrews:
"He is able to save them to the uttermost [perfectly] that come unto God by Him; "let us go on to full growth;" "unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation;" "we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, ... let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of Grace;" "God [has] provided some better thing for us, that they [past heroes] without us should not be made perfect;" "the God of peace ... make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight" (7:25; 6:1; 9:28; 4:14, 16; 11:40; 13:20, 21). Note, all this is what He does, not what we do!
Says Revelation: "the harvest of the earth is ripe." "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him 144,000, ... without fault before the throne of God;" "another angel came out of the temple, crying, ... Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe" (14:15, 1, 5, 15).
This work of the great High Priest is going on steadily behind the scenes. You won't see it in the newspapers, TIME, NBC, ABC, or CNN. It's a work as unpretentious as the birth in Bethlehem (if TIME had been published then, their "Man of the Year" would not have been that Baby). Today, the Holy Spirit will take you by the hand and say, "Come, let's get ready; don't hinder the great High Priest in His closing work of atonement, let Him 'constrain' you by His agape to live not for self but unto His glory" (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). "Receive not the grace of God in vain" (6:1).
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
Daily Bread - Readings about life and the Word of God.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: One Thing Christ Will Not Do
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Probably the most beloved of Christmas hymns is Phillips Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem." A precious gem of inspired poetry, it is within itself an evangelistic sermon, groping to reach our human hearts. Hymns have always been an important part of true worship all through our "Christian era" and even as far back as the time of ancient Israel. (Our Bible Book of Psalms was the Hebrew hymnbook.) Brooks was a powerful preacher in the "cultural oases" of Philadelphia and Boston, so greatly loved that his early death in 1893 was mourned more widely only by the death of Abraham Lincoln. The beautiful melody composed especially for this poem was an inspirational idea that came one Christmas Eve during sleep to Lewis Redner, Brooks' organist. The hymn is a perfect "marriage" of words and music. It must be sung reverently. If prayer must always be thoughtfully expressed, so hymns likewise should be thoughtfully sung, otherwise we bring upon ourselves Christ's rebuke for "vain repetition," a pseudo-worship He will not accept.
Brilliant as he was, Phillips Brooks did not in his day fully understand the gospel of righteousness by faith. There is embedded in his hymn a flaw that can have a painful effect upon our spiritual journey. His last stanza becomes a prayer, "O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray." Good, so far; but then Brooks prays, "Cast out our sin, and enter in ..." And there we pause: Christ is indeed an Almighty Savior, but there is one thing He will not do-- He will not cast out our sin. That is our job! He will come in to abide with us, yes, thank God; but as our Guest, it's not His job to throw out the garbage. "The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself," says one wise writer (The Desire of Ages, p. 466). Over and over Scripture tells us that the power of choice is ours to exercise. WE "cast out" the sin and then HE "enters in."
Let us sing the hymn correctly: "Forgive our sin and enter in, Be born in us today." And then finally to bring Philips Brooks' lyric into full Bible harmony let us sing, "We hear the holy angels The great glad tidings tell." The word "Christmas" is not in the Bible, neither the idea of observing any day for Christ's birth (He wisely never revealed to us the day). All through the year we are to "hear the holy angels The great glad tidings tell; Oh, come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Immanuel!"
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
Probably the most beloved of Christmas hymns is Phillips Brooks' "O Little Town of Bethlehem." A precious gem of inspired poetry, it is within itself an evangelistic sermon, groping to reach our human hearts. Hymns have always been an important part of true worship all through our "Christian era" and even as far back as the time of ancient Israel. (Our Bible Book of Psalms was the Hebrew hymnbook.) Brooks was a powerful preacher in the "cultural oases" of Philadelphia and Boston, so greatly loved that his early death in 1893 was mourned more widely only by the death of Abraham Lincoln. The beautiful melody composed especially for this poem was an inspirational idea that came one Christmas Eve during sleep to Lewis Redner, Brooks' organist. The hymn is a perfect "marriage" of words and music. It must be sung reverently. If prayer must always be thoughtfully expressed, so hymns likewise should be thoughtfully sung, otherwise we bring upon ourselves Christ's rebuke for "vain repetition," a pseudo-worship He will not accept.
Brilliant as he was, Phillips Brooks did not in his day fully understand the gospel of righteousness by faith. There is embedded in his hymn a flaw that can have a painful effect upon our spiritual journey. His last stanza becomes a prayer, "O Holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray." Good, so far; but then Brooks prays, "Cast out our sin, and enter in ..." And there we pause: Christ is indeed an Almighty Savior, but there is one thing He will not do-- He will not cast out our sin. That is our job! He will come in to abide with us, yes, thank God; but as our Guest, it's not His job to throw out the garbage. "The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself," says one wise writer (The Desire of Ages, p. 466). Over and over Scripture tells us that the power of choice is ours to exercise. WE "cast out" the sin and then HE "enters in."
Let us sing the hymn correctly: "Forgive our sin and enter in, Be born in us today." And then finally to bring Philips Brooks' lyric into full Bible harmony let us sing, "We hear the holy angels The great glad tidings tell." The word "Christmas" is not in the Bible, neither the idea of observing any day for Christ's birth (He wisely never revealed to us the day). All through the year we are to "hear the holy angels The great glad tidings tell; Oh, come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Immanuel!"
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: The "Hallelujah" Chorus--Get Ready to Hear It Again
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Amidst the tinsel and glitter, the wild materialistic frenzy of "Christmas," there is a little refuge of sober, quiet peace: the annual performances almost everywhere of Handel's Messiah. When we used to perform it in Nairobi, Kenya, Hindus and Muslims would join Christians at the great cathedral to revel in its sheer musical grandeur. "O pause beside the weary way, / And hear the angels sing" is its appeal to us all.
Its lyrics strictly Bible and nothing else, Messiah conveys gospel through the grandest musical language ever "spoken." Millions this Season will again hear "Behold the Lamb of God!" and "Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs, and Carried Our Sorrows," and the contralto aria, "He was Despised and Rejected of Men, a Man of Sorrows and Acquainted With Grief." Each aria, recitative, or chorus is an inspired gem. Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, all have their grand works of literature, but has any of them given the world such a gift? Does atheism? Or paganism?
When I have watched non-Christians in Kenya come to hear Messiah year after year, I have wondered if I am seeing a partial fulfillment of what David said in Psalm 19, "How clearly the sky reveals God's glory! ... It shows what He has done! ... No speech or words are used, no sound is heard; yet their voice goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth" (vss. 1-4, GNB). "Speech," "words," "sound" are all employed in Messiah; to deaf ears it may "say" no more than what Tchaikovsky or Mozart "say," but some human hearts are touched by the portrayal there of the gospel finale of the great controversy between Christ and Satan when the choir and orchestra perform the "Hallelujah" Chorus, and the final numbers, "Worthy is the Lamb" and the "Amen"--one little word constituting the lyrics for what must be the most thrilling choral anthem ever composed. Higher and higher rises that one-word message--your heart must be stone if you are not moved. Listen! Get ready to hear it again at the end of the real Millennium.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
Amidst the tinsel and glitter, the wild materialistic frenzy of "Christmas," there is a little refuge of sober, quiet peace: the annual performances almost everywhere of Handel's Messiah. When we used to perform it in Nairobi, Kenya, Hindus and Muslims would join Christians at the great cathedral to revel in its sheer musical grandeur. "O pause beside the weary way, / And hear the angels sing" is its appeal to us all.
Its lyrics strictly Bible and nothing else, Messiah conveys gospel through the grandest musical language ever "spoken." Millions this Season will again hear "Behold the Lamb of God!" and "Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs, and Carried Our Sorrows," and the contralto aria, "He was Despised and Rejected of Men, a Man of Sorrows and Acquainted With Grief." Each aria, recitative, or chorus is an inspired gem. Islam, Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, all have their grand works of literature, but has any of them given the world such a gift? Does atheism? Or paganism?
When I have watched non-Christians in Kenya come to hear Messiah year after year, I have wondered if I am seeing a partial fulfillment of what David said in Psalm 19, "How clearly the sky reveals God's glory! ... It shows what He has done! ... No speech or words are used, no sound is heard; yet their voice goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth" (vss. 1-4, GNB). "Speech," "words," "sound" are all employed in Messiah; to deaf ears it may "say" no more than what Tchaikovsky or Mozart "say," but some human hearts are touched by the portrayal there of the gospel finale of the great controversy between Christ and Satan when the choir and orchestra perform the "Hallelujah" Chorus, and the final numbers, "Worthy is the Lamb" and the "Amen"--one little word constituting the lyrics for what must be the most thrilling choral anthem ever composed. Higher and higher rises that one-word message--your heart must be stone if you are not moved. Listen! Get ready to hear it again at the end of the real Millennium.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
Dial Daily Bread: The New Covenant and Peace in the Middle East
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
The New Covenant has often been misunderstood for centuries. For example, #1, the on-going Israeli/Palestinian conflict is an outgrowth of this confusion. When God promised Abraham and his descendants the great blessings of the New Covenant, it was "through Isaac" that the blessings should flow. But the New Testament makes plain that Abraham's descendants through "Isaac" are not the fleshly ones, but those who have the faith of Abraham: "They are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed [sperm, DNA] of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed" (Rom. 9:6-8). This means that neither the Israelis as literal descendants of Abraham nor the Arabs as assumed descendants of Ishmael, are entitled to the land.
Again, #2, both sides in the conflict could recognize that "the land" that Abraham's descendants should inherit is not a tiny territory in the Middle East, but vastly more land: speaking of Abraham, "the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed [DNA, literal], through the law, but through the righteousness of faith" (Rom. 4:13).
#3, as individuals we all become Abraham's "seed" through faith in Christ: "There is neither Jew, nor Greek, ... for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:28, 29). Our only claim to life is by the grace of Christ.
If the Israeli and Palestinian leaders could sit down together and study an open Bible with believing hearts, they could work out peace and justice without bloodshed and violence. Neither side has a valid biblical claim to the land; both can thank God for life "in Christ." The truth of the New Covenant would open the doors to peace and security.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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The New Covenant has often been misunderstood for centuries. For example, #1, the on-going Israeli/Palestinian conflict is an outgrowth of this confusion. When God promised Abraham and his descendants the great blessings of the New Covenant, it was "through Isaac" that the blessings should flow. But the New Testament makes plain that Abraham's descendants through "Isaac" are not the fleshly ones, but those who have the faith of Abraham: "They are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed [sperm, DNA] of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed" (Rom. 9:6-8). This means that neither the Israelis as literal descendants of Abraham nor the Arabs as assumed descendants of Ishmael, are entitled to the land.
Again, #2, both sides in the conflict could recognize that "the land" that Abraham's descendants should inherit is not a tiny territory in the Middle East, but vastly more land: speaking of Abraham, "the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed [DNA, literal], through the law, but through the righteousness of faith" (Rom. 4:13).
#3, as individuals we all become Abraham's "seed" through faith in Christ: "There is neither Jew, nor Greek, ... for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:28, 29). Our only claim to life is by the grace of Christ.
If the Israeli and Palestinian leaders could sit down together and study an open Bible with believing hearts, they could work out peace and justice without bloodshed and violence. Neither side has a valid biblical claim to the land; both can thank God for life "in Christ." The truth of the New Covenant would open the doors to peace and security.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Friday, December 25, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: Encouragement From Jacob
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
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Suppose you have lived most of your life under the Old Covenant and now only in later years you have discovered the New. You can glean some encouragement from Jacob.
His family gave him the terrible name of “Supplanter” at his birth, the name he had to go by. He lived up to it when he tricked his brother Esau into selling him the birthright for a meal of his tasty stew; then he had to flee for his life. At Bethel the Lord gave him a wonderful New Covenant promise (Gen. 28:13-15). Jacob spent decades doubting that the Lord could bless him that much. His future father-in-law, Laban, in turn tricked him in his heart-felt love for Rachel (you can love someone truly while still under the Old Covenant!), giving him Leah instead on the wedding night after his seven years of hard labor; now seven years more to have Rachel, the one he truly loved. Endless heartaches.
Finally, in later life, Jacob finds himself wrestling with an Angel in the dark, struggling, he thought, for his life. When dawn began to break, the Angel (Christ) said “Let Me go!” but Jacob, quick to seize what he saw as his initiative, said, “I will not let You go, except You bless me” (meaning, deliver me from this Old Covenant soul-bondage). The Angel was caught; He couldn’t wriggle free from Jacob’s grasp. Whereupon He changed Jacob’s name: “Your name [is] Israel [Prince with God], for you have struggled with God ... and have prevailed”! (32:26-28).
There’s no way to get that name of Israel except by fighting that same battle of faith--believing God’s promise “in Christ” in spite of doubts you think are from God! One thoughtful writer suggests that while they were wrestling, the Angel asked him how could He bless him? Wasn’t he too unworthy? We say it reverently, we have to “overcome” what even appears to be God’s will against us! To secure the name “Israel,” we must triumph over Him! Remember, the elite Israel Club is limited only by unbelief.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.------------------------------
Dial Daily Bread: What Are the "Exceedingly Great and Precious Promises"?
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
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It's all very good to believe what Peter says about "receiving" and believing the "exceedingly great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4), but what are the "promises" themselves? They must be understood and "received" into the heart; then they go to work and deliver the most sinful, polluted, selfish worldly heart so that we become actual "partakers of the divine nature."
Well, let's start with John 3:16: BELIEVE, appreciate, comprehend, the love that the Father gave in giving Christ to us forever. "Whosoever believes in Him" will not commit spiritual and material suicide (that word "perish" is in the middle voice of the Greek verb! I am indebted to a dear friend for this insight that somehow escaped me for all these many years). New Covenant!
Then look at the seven grand promises God made to Abraham under the New Covenant (Gen. 12:2, 3). You are his child by faith (Gal. 3:9). Therefore they are all promises God makes to you. BELIEVE them. (Someone will tell you that you must work hard in order for them to come true; let subtle Old Covenant thinking become New Covenant: the love [agape] of Christ will "constrain" you to work hard with no thought of reaping your reward.)
Then take a look at the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13). Jesus invites anyone in the world, even the most terrible sinner, to pray that prayer. The New Covenant goes to work because the one who will "cry out, Abba, Father!" receives "the Spirit of adoption" (Rom. 8:15). You can't pray "our Father" without your heart being melted!
Then take a look at the 23rd Psalm. Anybody in the world, even the most hardened sinner, can pray sincerely, "The Lord is my Shepherd," and his stony heart will be broken in contrition. The New Covenant Psalm "works." The word itself has power (Rom. 1:16).
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.------------------------------
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: The Message of the Latter Rain and the Loud Cry
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
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The difference between the New Covenant and the Old is simply the difference between salvation by faith and salvation by works. When God makes a promise, there is life in the promise itself. This is astounding news to many: believing a promise of God changes your heart?! The Bible answer is YES! There "have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:4).
There are the glorious fruits of salvation in that one statement. (1) "Through" the promises themselves we become converted. (2) Through the promises we "escape corruption"--isn't that our practical problem of daily living? Yes, by believing these "great and precious promises" we prepare for translation at the second coming of Christ.
It's not by works. But that doesn't mean that the good works are not there--they are there as the result of believing those "promises"! The Bible speaks of "receiving the promises" (Heb. 11:13, 17). That is the same as believing them. Such "receiving" God's promises delivers men and women and youth from addiction to alcohol, cigarettes, pornography, the allure of fornication and adultery, drugs (yes!), for we read, "Having these promises [receiving them], beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1).
Thus the New Covenant is the message of the latter rain and the Loud Cry that lightens the earth with glory.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.------------------------------
Dial Daily Bread: Confused About the Old and New Covenants?
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
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To be confused between the Old and New Covenants is not necessary. The New is God's one-sided promise to write His holy law on human hearts. The Old, the vain promise of the people at Mt. Sinai to obey perfectly.
The New is, "Believe and live." The Old, "Obey and live."
The New says that salvation is totally by God's grace through faith. The Old says salvation is by faith yes, but it's also by our good works.
The New is a heart-appreciation of the love (agape) which constrains to perfect heart obedience (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). The Old is egocentric "trust" motivated by hope of reward or by fear of punishment.
The New Covenant is everlasting; the Old is dispensational.
The New produces "under grace" motivation; the Old, "under law."
The New is represented by the miracle birth of Isaac; the Old by the lustful birth of Ishmael.
The New is seen in free-Sarah's pregnancy "by promise"; the Old, in slave-Hagar's pregnancy.
The New is justification entirely of grace; the Old is justification by obedience.
The New is righteousness by a faith "which works"; the Old is righteousness by "sanctified" works; we help save ourselves.
The New wants Christ to return for His honor and vindication; the Old, for our own reward, "so we can go home to glory."
[More on the Covenants tomorrow.]
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.------------------------------
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today"
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
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We've had a dark, gloomy, rainy day here in northern California; the very best of people have times when the soul is in gloom and tempted to fear. Even our Lord Jesus knew what it's like to pray and to get no answer and to wonder why (see Psalm 22:1, 2). Hebrews 4:15 says that He "was in all points tempted like as we are." But let's note carefully: to be tempted to think that God is hard and won't listen and answer your prayer is not of itself sin; but to give in to the temptation and do what Job's wife tried to get him to do ("curse God, and die!")--that's sin (Job 2:9).
And yes, we must remember the warning that there are some prayers that God does not want to hear, for example, "He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination " (Prov. 28:9). That is true and it has frightened many people who have been overcome by temptation. But the transitive verb is what explains this apparently difficult text for sinners to understand: to "turn away [your] ear from hearing the law" is an act of deliberate rebellion, of despising the law of the Lord, of consciously, deliberately rejecting Him. The law of the Lord is "the perfect law of liberty" (James 1:25); therefore to deliberately turn away one's ear from it is to signal that he wants servitude, not "liberty," and wants to be banished from God, and God will give him what he wants!
But that's not you if you sincerely want deliverance from sin. The Lord Jesus assures you, "The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37). All Heaven is telling you to "come": "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.' And let him who hears say 'Come.' And let him who thirsts come. And whoever wills, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17). We pass on the invitation!
Even very long ago, the prophet said, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Joel 2:32). That's the gospel invitation, speaking of these dangerous last days when people's hearts are "failing them for fear." Even if you feel under a burden of guilt, you are to come just as you are. Don't wait to try to fix yourself up first. Confess your unworthiness, your guilt, your fear. "Low at His feet lay your burden of carefulness," says the hymn; "High on His heart He will bear it for thee. Mornings of joy give for evenings of tearfulness, Trust for your trembling, and hope for our fear."
A dark, rainy day is just the time to re-read what make up the Lord's New Covenant promises to Abraham, your "father" in the faith (Gen. 12:2, 3). Those promises are yours if you will let the Lord Jesus give you some faith from His supply, for He gives "each one a measure (metron, Greek) of faith" (Rom. 12:3). Then you will sing the glad song, "There is sunshine in my soul today, more glorious and bright than glows in any earthly sky."
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.------------------------------
Dial Daily Bread: What Are God's New Covenant Promises?
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
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Some days the sun shines bright, others it's cloudy and gloomy. Was it so with Jesus?
Yes! Matthew says of Him at Gethsemane, "He began to be sorrowful and very heavy" (Matt. 26:37, 38). Even earlier when the Greeks came to Him, He said, "Now is My soul troubled" (John 12:27).
Has God provided for such a time in our personal experience? Yes! He has given us His new covenant to replace our old covenant; it's His own one-sided, unilateral promises which He made to Abraham His "friend" and to his descendants. If, like Abraham, you respond to God's call, "come out of [Babylon], My people," you are a descendant of Abraham "in Christ," and all those promises are made to you (2 Chron. 20:7; Rev. 14:8; 18:1-4; Rom. 4:1, 16, 17, etc.). What are those new covenant promises?
1. He will make of you a "great" person "in Christ." Yes!
2. He will "bless" you "in Christ." Yes!
3. He will actually make your "name great," which means, "He will give you the desires of your heart" "in Christ" (cf. Psalm 37:4). True!
4. He will deliver you from being a cipher, so you will "be a blessing" wherever you go, "in Christ." Wonderful, but true!
5. He will "bless those who bless you," "in Christ." Amazing.
6. He will not bless those who don't bless you. Again, very true!
7. You will help bring salvation to the world (all taken from Gen. 12:2, 3). Now, "believe" the Lord your God as your "father Abraham" did!
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.------------------------------
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: How "Near" Is "Near"
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
There are Christians who are content with the blessings of life that they believe the Lord has granted them. They appreciate their knowledge of God and of His truth. They love their fellowship in their church. They are thankful for their knowledge of the gospel, the hope they have in this dark world, the meaning that their faith has brought into their lives. They also appreciate the economic plentitude that they are privileged to enjoy. And they look forward to the second coming of Jesus and are content to leave the time of His coming to His inscrutable providences; they do not try to define the word “near” with reference to the second advent. They are not concerned whether “near” means in their lifetime or in some future generation. There is always the first resurrection they look forward to. Thanking God, they feel rich and increased with goods. Satisfied.
Then there are other Christians who are deeply concerned about that word “near.” Their hearts are burdened for the pain and sorrow that is so widespread, and ever more so, in our world. They are constantly burdened with the last prayer of the Bible, its very last words, “Even so, come Lord Jesus”! They cannot be truly happy until He does come. They want to “hasten” His coming in any way the Lord can permit them to help. They feel deeply concerned if somehow His people have delayed His coming and thus inadvertently have prolonged the suffering of many people worldwide. They know a deep consciousness that the suffering of unfortunate people is felt by Christ even today, and they sympathize with Him in the burden He must feel.
These people sense in a particular way a “constraint” of the love of Christ, moving them to dedicate their entire lives to ministry of some kind through the leading of the Holy Spirit. If Disneyland depended on them for economic sustenance, it would fold; they want to give of what money they have to world missions. They want to follow the Lamb (the crucified Christ) wherever He goes. Where are you?
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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There are Christians who are content with the blessings of life that they believe the Lord has granted them. They appreciate their knowledge of God and of His truth. They love their fellowship in their church. They are thankful for their knowledge of the gospel, the hope they have in this dark world, the meaning that their faith has brought into their lives. They also appreciate the economic plentitude that they are privileged to enjoy. And they look forward to the second coming of Jesus and are content to leave the time of His coming to His inscrutable providences; they do not try to define the word “near” with reference to the second advent. They are not concerned whether “near” means in their lifetime or in some future generation. There is always the first resurrection they look forward to. Thanking God, they feel rich and increased with goods. Satisfied.
Then there are other Christians who are deeply concerned about that word “near.” Their hearts are burdened for the pain and sorrow that is so widespread, and ever more so, in our world. They are constantly burdened with the last prayer of the Bible, its very last words, “Even so, come Lord Jesus”! They cannot be truly happy until He does come. They want to “hasten” His coming in any way the Lord can permit them to help. They feel deeply concerned if somehow His people have delayed His coming and thus inadvertently have prolonged the suffering of many people worldwide. They know a deep consciousness that the suffering of unfortunate people is felt by Christ even today, and they sympathize with Him in the burden He must feel.
These people sense in a particular way a “constraint” of the love of Christ, moving them to dedicate their entire lives to ministry of some kind through the leading of the Holy Spirit. If Disneyland depended on them for economic sustenance, it would fold; they want to give of what money they have to world missions. They want to follow the Lamb (the crucified Christ) wherever He goes. Where are you?
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Dial Daily Bread: "144,000" Elijahs
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
How can you distinguish between faith and presumption? Between "obeying the voice of the LORD" and fanaticism? Everything depends on the answer, because if you don't have "faith," you will "perish" (John 3:16).
Noah had it, building a boat on dry land "at the word of the LORD." Abraham had it, leaving his Beverly Hills home in Ur of the Chaldees to live in a tent the rest of his life. David had it, a mere stripling armed with a slingshot and five pebbles facing "in the name of the LORD" the well-armored Goliath. Elijah had it, drenching with water the altar on Mt. Carmel, facing certain death at the hands of Ahab if the Lord let him down with no fire to consume his sacrifice. Was Elijah a man like Arnold Schwarzenegger, a man of great physical stature and personality, or was he a shy, retiring, trembling human like you and I are? I'd like to see a video actually shot on location on Mt. Carmel, but the best we have is what the Bible says about him, and that is that he was like you and me: "Elijah was the same kind of person as we are" (James 5:17). Tempted to be afraid to stand alone? Yes!
The faith of Elijah is a million miles away from presumption; he trembled a long time before the LORD, knelt to pray about the situation, day after day, year after year until finally the Lord strengthened his conviction to distinguish between Baal and Jehovah (precious few in Israel had that discernment!), and then courage enough to go to Ahab and give him the Lord's ultimatum--take your choice, O king: Baal worship and famine, or repentance and God's blessing. And all during those 3-1/2 years he had to "pray earnestly" (James 5:17) continually every day or he could never have taken the stand he did on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18). There were "7000" who had "not bowed the knee to Baal," yet not one had the courage to stand up when Elijah made his challenge, Who is on the Lord's side?! "The people answered him not a word" (vs. 21). Blessed be the "7000," yet all apparently still had some cowardice deep in their souls!
Revelation tells us "144,000" Elijahs will each "bloom" alone where he/she is "planted," in the last days. O Lord, give us discernment to distinguish between fanaticism and faith, and then courage to stand for the right though the heavens fall!
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
How can you distinguish between faith and presumption? Between "obeying the voice of the LORD" and fanaticism? Everything depends on the answer, because if you don't have "faith," you will "perish" (John 3:16).
Noah had it, building a boat on dry land "at the word of the LORD." Abraham had it, leaving his Beverly Hills home in Ur of the Chaldees to live in a tent the rest of his life. David had it, a mere stripling armed with a slingshot and five pebbles facing "in the name of the LORD" the well-armored Goliath. Elijah had it, drenching with water the altar on Mt. Carmel, facing certain death at the hands of Ahab if the Lord let him down with no fire to consume his sacrifice. Was Elijah a man like Arnold Schwarzenegger, a man of great physical stature and personality, or was he a shy, retiring, trembling human like you and I are? I'd like to see a video actually shot on location on Mt. Carmel, but the best we have is what the Bible says about him, and that is that he was like you and me: "Elijah was the same kind of person as we are" (James 5:17). Tempted to be afraid to stand alone? Yes!
The faith of Elijah is a million miles away from presumption; he trembled a long time before the LORD, knelt to pray about the situation, day after day, year after year until finally the Lord strengthened his conviction to distinguish between Baal and Jehovah (precious few in Israel had that discernment!), and then courage enough to go to Ahab and give him the Lord's ultimatum--take your choice, O king: Baal worship and famine, or repentance and God's blessing. And all during those 3-1/2 years he had to "pray earnestly" (James 5:17) continually every day or he could never have taken the stand he did on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18). There were "7000" who had "not bowed the knee to Baal," yet not one had the courage to stand up when Elijah made his challenge, Who is on the Lord's side?! "The people answered him not a word" (vs. 21). Blessed be the "7000," yet all apparently still had some cowardice deep in their souls!
Revelation tells us "144,000" Elijahs will each "bloom" alone where he/she is "planted," in the last days. O Lord, give us discernment to distinguish between fanaticism and faith, and then courage to stand for the right though the heavens fall!
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: "Oh, Lord, Not THAT Gift!"
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
God is ready to give us a precious gift that we will later be very happy to have received, but which we shy away from because the gift comes wrapped up unattractively, like in plain paper or even in gunny sacks. We even cry out, "Oh, Lord, not THAT gift!" And it's our privilege to refuse the "gift," but if we do we suffer eternal loss, even if we are saved at last in God's kingdom.
That gift is the Lord's "chastening" brought to view in Hebrews 12:5-11: "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." Doesn't sound like fun, does it? "If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." That would be really Bad News, wouldn't it? God agrees that His chastisement is not Disneyland pleasure, for "no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous."
The time when tears are all wiped away will be in the New Earth after the "great controversy" is finished; but now as long as Jesus knows tears, the closer you get to Him the more you will sympathize with Him. And there is a holy joy in such sunshine through rain. Fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and highest honor that Heaven can bestow on you. The Lord's "chastening" always brings a later blessing: "Afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." No, you don't earn heaven by enduring "chastening." There is no virtue in being a glutton for punishment. But the "joy" spoken of here that comes "afterward" is especially comforting because the "afterward" is not merely by-and-by pie-in-the-sky in eternity, but right now in this life.
The Lord's "chastening" which He gives you this very morning in love, for instance, prepares you to comfort someone else later in the same day "by the comfort wherewith [you yourself] are comforted of God" (2 Cor. 1:4). So, none of the Lord's chastening is ever in vain; the "afterward" may be only a few hours! What joy! To realize at day's end that you have been a pipe through which the water of life has flowed to some disheartened soul! The "price" you paid for that privilege? A little "fellowship with Christ in His sufferings." So, "despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him."
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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God is ready to give us a precious gift that we will later be very happy to have received, but which we shy away from because the gift comes wrapped up unattractively, like in plain paper or even in gunny sacks. We even cry out, "Oh, Lord, not THAT gift!" And it's our privilege to refuse the "gift," but if we do we suffer eternal loss, even if we are saved at last in God's kingdom.
That gift is the Lord's "chastening" brought to view in Hebrews 12:5-11: "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." Doesn't sound like fun, does it? "If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." That would be really Bad News, wouldn't it? God agrees that His chastisement is not Disneyland pleasure, for "no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous."
The time when tears are all wiped away will be in the New Earth after the "great controversy" is finished; but now as long as Jesus knows tears, the closer you get to Him the more you will sympathize with Him. And there is a holy joy in such sunshine through rain. Fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and highest honor that Heaven can bestow on you. The Lord's "chastening" always brings a later blessing: "Afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." No, you don't earn heaven by enduring "chastening." There is no virtue in being a glutton for punishment. But the "joy" spoken of here that comes "afterward" is especially comforting because the "afterward" is not merely by-and-by pie-in-the-sky in eternity, but right now in this life.
The Lord's "chastening" which He gives you this very morning in love, for instance, prepares you to comfort someone else later in the same day "by the comfort wherewith [you yourself] are comforted of God" (2 Cor. 1:4). So, none of the Lord's chastening is ever in vain; the "afterward" may be only a few hours! What joy! To realize at day's end that you have been a pipe through which the water of life has flowed to some disheartened soul! The "price" you paid for that privilege? A little "fellowship with Christ in His sufferings." So, "despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him."
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: A People Will Be Ready!
Jesus promised in John 14:1-3, "I will come again." And He clearly explained in Matthew 24 that His coming will be personal and literal, and He will resurrect the "dead in Christ." 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 tells us that those who will be resurrected are "the dead in Christ" who have chosen to abide in Him. So, the question makes real sense: "What kind of special preparation will those people make who go through the final time of trouble, overcome the mark of the beast, stand on the sea of glass "without fault" (Rev. 14:1-5), and actually welcome Christ at His second coming?"
The Bible is full of Good News, but here is where it is finally focused on its greatest brilliance: (1) First comes what appears on the surface to be intense bad news--the Holy Spirit will shine that Light into the darkened chambers of the human heart until every secret, previously unknown sin is mercilessly exposed. God's people will be painfully aware of its deep existence that they had never before fully realized. Every last vestige of spiritual pride will be laid in the dust. The superficial saying, "I'm OK you're OK," will be shattered by the realization that no one of us is one whit better or more righteous OF OURSELVES, than anybody else in the world. The sin of somebody else will be seen to be OUR sin, but for the grace of Christ. At last, those who believe in Christ will realize what God said through Isaiah long ago, "Their righteousness is of Me" (54:17), not of themselves.
And what will be the crowning sin in which they at last realize they share guilt? The crucifixion of Christ. Zechariah 12:10 says, "they shall look upon Me whom THEY have pierced." Each will see himself/herself at the cross! (2) Then comes the Good News: "There shall be a fountain opened" for cleansing that will flow in unprecedented glory (13:1). Grace will abound "much more," corresponding to the "much more" conviction of sin that God's people will experience. The final negative will be matched by the final Positive. A PEOPLE WILL BE READY!
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
The Bible is full of Good News, but here is where it is finally focused on its greatest brilliance: (1) First comes what appears on the surface to be intense bad news--the Holy Spirit will shine that Light into the darkened chambers of the human heart until every secret, previously unknown sin is mercilessly exposed. God's people will be painfully aware of its deep existence that they had never before fully realized. Every last vestige of spiritual pride will be laid in the dust. The superficial saying, "I'm OK you're OK," will be shattered by the realization that no one of us is one whit better or more righteous OF OURSELVES, than anybody else in the world. The sin of somebody else will be seen to be OUR sin, but for the grace of Christ. At last, those who believe in Christ will realize what God said through Isaiah long ago, "Their righteousness is of Me" (54:17), not of themselves.
And what will be the crowning sin in which they at last realize they share guilt? The crucifixion of Christ. Zechariah 12:10 says, "they shall look upon Me whom THEY have pierced." Each will see himself/herself at the cross! (2) Then comes the Good News: "There shall be a fountain opened" for cleansing that will flow in unprecedented glory (13:1). Grace will abound "much more," corresponding to the "much more" conviction of sin that God's people will experience. The final negative will be matched by the final Positive. A PEOPLE WILL BE READY!
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
Dial Daily Bread: "Preparing a Place for You"
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
"What is Jesus doing now?" The world doesn't care. Many Christians don't seem to. But nothing in heaven or earth is more important! And whatever He is doing requires the (a) understanding and (b) cooperation of those who believe in Him.
The common idea is that He is a Construction Contractor building palaces or "mansions" for those who arrive in heaven (a childish reading of John 14:2). But "preparing a place for you" is a far bigger idea than a celestial construction activity. Hebrews 9 and 10 describe His High Priestly ministry as cleansing the hearts of His people, "putting away sin," "purging the conscience," preparing a people to "receive the promise of eternal inheritance," "purifying" hearts and minds and lips, to "make the comers thereunto perfect," to render obsolete any "conscience" or "remembrance of sins," to "take away sins," to "perfect forever them that are sanctified," to write His "laws into their hearts ... [which are] sprinkled from an evil conscience," to "provoke [motivate] unto love and good works," to "believe to the saving of the soul." Big job! First, He naturally wants His people to understand why what He is doing is so incomparably important, and second, He would appreciate our cooperation because He can accomplish nothing without it. Not that you in any sense become your co-savior as the Pope wants to elevate Mary to become (cooperation doesn't save you!), but cooperation means you stop interposing a rebellious will to counteract what He is seeking constantly to do for you!
In other words, through His Vicar (the Holy Spirit) Christ as High Priest is constantly pressing upon His people the conviction of sin buried deeper than they had imagined it to be; and when the conviction is welcomed and the sin is gladly surrendered and put away, the heart is more closely reconciled to Him. This process is called "atonement," or becoming at-one-with God. In Romans 5:11 it is "receiving the atonement" or "reconciliation." Thus the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary is a "final atonement."
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
"What is Jesus doing now?" The world doesn't care. Many Christians don't seem to. But nothing in heaven or earth is more important! And whatever He is doing requires the (a) understanding and (b) cooperation of those who believe in Him.
The common idea is that He is a Construction Contractor building palaces or "mansions" for those who arrive in heaven (a childish reading of John 14:2). But "preparing a place for you" is a far bigger idea than a celestial construction activity. Hebrews 9 and 10 describe His High Priestly ministry as cleansing the hearts of His people, "putting away sin," "purging the conscience," preparing a people to "receive the promise of eternal inheritance," "purifying" hearts and minds and lips, to "make the comers thereunto perfect," to render obsolete any "conscience" or "remembrance of sins," to "take away sins," to "perfect forever them that are sanctified," to write His "laws into their hearts ... [which are] sprinkled from an evil conscience," to "provoke [motivate] unto love and good works," to "believe to the saving of the soul." Big job! First, He naturally wants His people to understand why what He is doing is so incomparably important, and second, He would appreciate our cooperation because He can accomplish nothing without it. Not that you in any sense become your co-savior as the Pope wants to elevate Mary to become (cooperation doesn't save you!), but cooperation means you stop interposing a rebellious will to counteract what He is seeking constantly to do for you!
In other words, through His Vicar (the Holy Spirit) Christ as High Priest is constantly pressing upon His people the conviction of sin buried deeper than they had imagined it to be; and when the conviction is welcomed and the sin is gladly surrendered and put away, the heart is more closely reconciled to Him. This process is called "atonement," or becoming at-one-with God. In Romans 5:11 it is "receiving the atonement" or "reconciliation." Thus the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary is a "final atonement."
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: The Real Day of Atonement is Now
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
A terrific battle is being fought behind the scenes for the very soul of Christ's church. What does it mean to be a true Christian today? How can we honor Him in this period of world history? The answer is in the Bible teaching of the cosmic Day of Atonement, the "cleansing of the sanctuary" typified by the ancient Hebrew Yom Kippur. That was the only day in the year when God's people were required to fast. Why? Was God angry with them? No! It was the day for a final reconciliation with Him (the word "atonement?" means at one with), the day when the last vestige of buried, unrealized alienation from God was to be healed.
That alienation is the result of sin: "The carnal mind is enmity against God" (Rom 8:7). We don't realize the depth of that "enmity" ("thou knowest not that thou are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked," Rev. 3:17). The ancient Levitical day of atonement was only a play-school kindergarten lesson: "on that day shall the [high] priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord" (Lev. 16:30).
The real Day of Atonement is now, accomplishing a work of atonement never before fully achieved for the body of God's people. As most of an iceberg is hidden beneath the sea, so most of our sin is hidden from our consciousness, buried, so that we invariably are self-deceived about our real character before God, not ready for the final issues in "the great controversy between Christ and Satan." Hence God has provided a special opportunity of preparation known as the Day of Atonement, the real thing, not the kindergarten edition of long ago. It's the time Jesus spoke of: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day [of final judgment] come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore ... [prepare] to stand before the Son of man" (Luke 21:34-36).
That final atonement, final reconciliation with Christ, is a time for closer sympathy with Him; impossible unless there is also a closer sympathy with humanity that Christ took upon Himself. (There is an ecological dimension). One thoughtful writer has said, "Live simply so that others may simply live." "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus ..." (Phil. 2:5).
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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A terrific battle is being fought behind the scenes for the very soul of Christ's church. What does it mean to be a true Christian today? How can we honor Him in this period of world history? The answer is in the Bible teaching of the cosmic Day of Atonement, the "cleansing of the sanctuary" typified by the ancient Hebrew Yom Kippur. That was the only day in the year when God's people were required to fast. Why? Was God angry with them? No! It was the day for a final reconciliation with Him (the word "atonement?" means at one with), the day when the last vestige of buried, unrealized alienation from God was to be healed.
That alienation is the result of sin: "The carnal mind is enmity against God" (Rom 8:7). We don't realize the depth of that "enmity" ("thou knowest not that thou are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked," Rev. 3:17). The ancient Levitical day of atonement was only a play-school kindergarten lesson: "on that day shall the [high] priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord" (Lev. 16:30).
The real Day of Atonement is now, accomplishing a work of atonement never before fully achieved for the body of God's people. As most of an iceberg is hidden beneath the sea, so most of our sin is hidden from our consciousness, buried, so that we invariably are self-deceived about our real character before God, not ready for the final issues in "the great controversy between Christ and Satan." Hence God has provided a special opportunity of preparation known as the Day of Atonement, the real thing, not the kindergarten edition of long ago. It's the time Jesus spoke of: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day [of final judgment] come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore ... [prepare] to stand before the Son of man" (Luke 21:34-36).
That final atonement, final reconciliation with Christ, is a time for closer sympathy with Him; impossible unless there is also a closer sympathy with humanity that Christ took upon Himself. (There is an ecological dimension). One thoughtful writer has said, "Live simply so that others may simply live." "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus ..." (Phil. 2:5).
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Dial Daily Bread: Is the Bible Outdated as a Book?
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Is the Bible as a book (composed of pages bound as a "biblos") destined to become out-dated and supplanted by computerized versions? Does our heavenly Father still regard the Bible (as a book) His message to the human race? We hear it said often that reading books is going out of date. "People just don't read anymore! They watch movies and videos."
The last words of John's Gospel speak of "books that should be written" about Jesus as the divine Son of God (21:25, KJV). He commended the practice of "searching the Scriptures," meaning the books or scrolls they possessed (5:39). He rebuked those who did not study and believe "the Scriptures," saying, "You ... err" (Matt. 22:29). On the day He was resurrected He gave a Bible study to two of His disciples, "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:25-27). He upheld actual Bible study.
We have no reason to doubt that He has the same burden of heart for us today--that we read, study, learn, what His Holy Spirit has inspired prophets and apostles to write "for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor. 10:11, NKJV).
The vast proportion of inhabitants of the earth still are not computer or Internet literate. And of those who are, they still love real books. What you take to bed to read before you go to sleep is a book. What you take to church or Sabbath School is a literal Book (with exceptions among Internet buffs). The ease of finding things in the Bible through flipping pages cannot be bettered, and for sure the practice of marking salient passages for future reference is efficient. Your Bible becomes your own intimately personal "word of God." Fits you better than your shoes do. (Write in your margins dates and places where the Holy Spirit was very close to you!)
A prayer the Father loves to hear and answer is the request that the Holy Spirit "make known" His words to you (Prov. 1:23). Plead that He give you "a hunger and thirst for righteousness"(Matt. 5:6)--that's the way of "happiness" (which is what it means to be "blessed"). And you'll be surprised how often the Lord will open doors for you to share treasures of truth you have discovered in your personal reading of the Bible. One thing, please: be modest about them; don't drive sincere people away by being proud.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
Is the Bible as a book (composed of pages bound as a "biblos") destined to become out-dated and supplanted by computerized versions? Does our heavenly Father still regard the Bible (as a book) His message to the human race? We hear it said often that reading books is going out of date. "People just don't read anymore! They watch movies and videos."
The last words of John's Gospel speak of "books that should be written" about Jesus as the divine Son of God (21:25, KJV). He commended the practice of "searching the Scriptures," meaning the books or scrolls they possessed (5:39). He rebuked those who did not study and believe "the Scriptures," saying, "You ... err" (Matt. 22:29). On the day He was resurrected He gave a Bible study to two of His disciples, "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:25-27). He upheld actual Bible study.
We have no reason to doubt that He has the same burden of heart for us today--that we read, study, learn, what His Holy Spirit has inspired prophets and apostles to write "for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Cor. 10:11, NKJV).
The vast proportion of inhabitants of the earth still are not computer or Internet literate. And of those who are, they still love real books. What you take to bed to read before you go to sleep is a book. What you take to church or Sabbath School is a literal Book (with exceptions among Internet buffs). The ease of finding things in the Bible through flipping pages cannot be bettered, and for sure the practice of marking salient passages for future reference is efficient. Your Bible becomes your own intimately personal "word of God." Fits you better than your shoes do. (Write in your margins dates and places where the Holy Spirit was very close to you!)
A prayer the Father loves to hear and answer is the request that the Holy Spirit "make known" His words to you (Prov. 1:23). Plead that He give you "a hunger and thirst for righteousness"(Matt. 5:6)--that's the way of "happiness" (which is what it means to be "blessed"). And you'll be surprised how often the Lord will open doors for you to share treasures of truth you have discovered in your personal reading of the Bible. One thing, please: be modest about them; don't drive sincere people away by being proud.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: How Does God Proclaim His Love?
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
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Have you ever heard of a husband who "loves" his wife and children but never tells them so, never demonstrates it? Let's say he defends himself: he provides food, clothing, rent; shouldn't they get the point? Why should he say, "I love you"? Or act like he does?
God says in the Bible that He "so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). And Paul seems to say that thoughtful people should get the message simply because through nature "God hath shewed it unto them, ... so that they are without excuse" (Rom. 1:19, 20). Is that enough? If God expects a loving husband to demonstrate his love and say so, shouldn't He also tell the world about His love? Is it enough for Him to allow "nature" (whatever that is!) to tell it and then in the Judgment Day say, "You 'are without excuse' if you didn't understand! Too bad for you!"? Have the people gotten the message of His love in devastating hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes? And billions in their hunger and poverty?
You will probably agree that God wants to tell the world about His love in a clearer way than through "nature," that is, He wants to tell them through the proclamation of the gospel.
But that raises the question, Why doesn't He send literal angels to tell it? Why entrust the message of His love to His church, which is all too often sleepy, worldly, "lukewarm"? Fact: "the world is dark with misapprehension of God." It needs to understand what His love means, what happened on the cross, what it cost the Son of God to "save the world." Doing "good works" is wonderful--that's the duty of all Christians. But the Red Cross is also doing those good works! (Thank God! there's plenty of room for more.) Shouldn't there be a church, a "body" of Christ that is "lighting the earth with glory" (Revelation 18) in proclaiming the cross so clearly that every candid soul can sense the motivation that the love of Christ "constrains" in us? Or should we fold our hands and expect "nature" or the "angels" to do it?
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.------------------------------
Dial Daily Bread: "Behold" the Lamb of God
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
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Imagine this host of people coming out of Egypt, walking through wilderness to a fabulous Promised Land, their trek under the direct leadership of God Himself, a loving, kind Savior. He has just delivered them from slavery as real as any from which President Lincoln emancipated slaves in our Civil War. Can you imagine the slaves who were emancipated by Lincoln complaining bitterly against him? No, but the people of Israel complained against their Great Emancipator and Deliverer! Not because He hated them but because He loved them, their Savior permitted poisonous snakes to attack them, to teach them the Gospel. All they had to do to be healed was to look to a Savior symbolized by the poisonous snake itself lifted up high on a pole. The story is in Numbers 21:5-9. And Jesus told Nicodemus that that snake represented Himself (John 3:14). Christ "was made to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). It's the same as what John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). There is healing, there is salvation, in looking. How does it work?
Well, (1) the sin of the Israelites was the same as our sin--"the carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). It's alienation from God, bitterness against Him (you say you don't have it by nature? think again!). If you're human, you need healing! And the sin is deep: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Or, "Deep is a man's mind, deeper than all else, on evil bent; who can fathom it?" (Jer. 17:9, KJV, Moffatt). This alienation from God goes down to one's toes, embedded in every cell of one's being, it's nature itself that you were born with.
(2) The Lamb of God whom you and I are to "behold," look at earnestly, was "made to be" just THAT for us! If it wasn't in the Bible, "Christian" people would stone me for saying that Jesus is represented as a snake lifted up on a pole! Why didn't God tell Moses to make a lamb of brass and put it up on a pole so the people bitten by snakes could look at it? Ponder that, for there is saving truth there--somewhere.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.------------------------------
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: Deliverance From Lukewarmness
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Lukewarmness is halfway between being cold in devotion to Christ and being hot. It is a spiritual disease in the last days' church that is the most difficult problem God has ever had to deal with. It makes Christ nauseated, because He knows what it cost Him to save us. As the last-days' church is positioned on the very verge of the final crisis in the controversy with Satan, for us to be blah in our response to Him is like someone being an adult with only the mind of a child. It's like a bride coming to the wedding when her heart is divided about her love for the prospective bridegroom, "blah" about it, says "yes" half-heartedly. If the heavenly Bridegroom were to go on with "the marriage of the Lamb" with only that half-hearted "I do" from His people, that would be keen embarrassment for Him for eternity! So, what can He do?
Whip them into shape? That won't work, any more than for a bridegroom to force his bride to say "I do." Increase His offers of great reward? That would be like marrying a man for his money. Well, Jesus won't stoop to encouraging that. Fear of hell or hope of reward in heaven--these two motivations have failed.
There is only one possible solution: win the heart-felt love of His people that will forever deliver them from lukewarmness. Appreciating His agape-love at His cross, realizing what it cost Him to save us--this alone can heal this terrible disease of lukewarmness. Satan will try to prevent such a revelation of agape as long as possible; but Zecharaiah 12:10-13:1 tells us that the revelation will come. The latter rain of the Holy Spirit, so long anticipated and prayed for, will be a repentance deeper than any other in history. Heaven will "pour upon the house of David ["the angel of the church of the Laodiceans"], and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem [the people], the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced" at the cross, and they shall experience the repentance that heals lukewarmness forever. Good News!
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Lukewarmness is halfway between being cold in devotion to Christ and being hot. It is a spiritual disease in the last days' church that is the most difficult problem God has ever had to deal with. It makes Christ nauseated, because He knows what it cost Him to save us. As the last-days' church is positioned on the very verge of the final crisis in the controversy with Satan, for us to be blah in our response to Him is like someone being an adult with only the mind of a child. It's like a bride coming to the wedding when her heart is divided about her love for the prospective bridegroom, "blah" about it, says "yes" half-heartedly. If the heavenly Bridegroom were to go on with "the marriage of the Lamb" with only that half-hearted "I do" from His people, that would be keen embarrassment for Him for eternity! So, what can He do?
Whip them into shape? That won't work, any more than for a bridegroom to force his bride to say "I do." Increase His offers of great reward? That would be like marrying a man for his money. Well, Jesus won't stoop to encouraging that. Fear of hell or hope of reward in heaven--these two motivations have failed.
There is only one possible solution: win the heart-felt love of His people that will forever deliver them from lukewarmness. Appreciating His agape-love at His cross, realizing what it cost Him to save us--this alone can heal this terrible disease of lukewarmness. Satan will try to prevent such a revelation of agape as long as possible; but Zecharaiah 12:10-13:1 tells us that the revelation will come. The latter rain of the Holy Spirit, so long anticipated and prayed for, will be a repentance deeper than any other in history. Heaven will "pour upon the house of David ["the angel of the church of the Laodiceans"], and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem [the people], the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced" at the cross, and they shall experience the repentance that heals lukewarmness forever. Good News!
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Dial Daily Bread: "Thanks Be to God for His Unspeakable Gift"
Thanksgiving is traditionally the day for eating turkey and maybe other unhealthful foods, sometimes even to excess, and then saying we are thankful for it all. But the person who has begun to glimpse the reality of the Gospel as good news better than we have thought, will find something else crowding out mere thanksgiving for material blessings: a deep sense of gratitude for Christ dying our second death for us.
It's something we mortals think very little about. The Gospel as Good News evokes from honest human hearts a profound sense of gratitude. But such a sense is impossible unless we appreciate the value of what we have received, or what it cost the Savior to procure it for us. Sometimes explorers have noted that very primitive people have no sense of gratitude. They simply take what is given them with no show of saying thanks. They just do not realize obligation until they become educated. Our preoccupation with material blessings at this season of the year is the direct result of our not understanding what it cost the Savior to redeem us:
(1) We say it with reverence--He died our second death (Rev. 2:11; Isa. 53:12). And His human nature suffered as did His divine nature. His sweating drops of blood in Gethsemane bears witness to the soul-agony He went through. And the hatred and ingratitude of those He came to save did not make His burden any lighter.
(2) He gave Himself forever to the human race. How would you like to give your entire life to living in a leper colony in the African jungle--never to come home again? That is infinitely inadequate to portray the eternal sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
(3) With His blood He bought the life and happiness of every human being, even of those who do not believe and who hate Him. He has made it possible for the wicked to enjoy life (if enjoy they can!). His grace is given, not merely offered, to every person. So, more clearly than we can realize, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15).
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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It's something we mortals think very little about. The Gospel as Good News evokes from honest human hearts a profound sense of gratitude. But such a sense is impossible unless we appreciate the value of what we have received, or what it cost the Savior to procure it for us. Sometimes explorers have noted that very primitive people have no sense of gratitude. They simply take what is given them with no show of saying thanks. They just do not realize obligation until they become educated. Our preoccupation with material blessings at this season of the year is the direct result of our not understanding what it cost the Savior to redeem us:
(1) We say it with reverence--He died our second death (Rev. 2:11; Isa. 53:12). And His human nature suffered as did His divine nature. His sweating drops of blood in Gethsemane bears witness to the soul-agony He went through. And the hatred and ingratitude of those He came to save did not make His burden any lighter.
(2) He gave Himself forever to the human race. How would you like to give your entire life to living in a leper colony in the African jungle--never to come home again? That is infinitely inadequate to portray the eternal sacrifice that Jesus made for us.
(3) With His blood He bought the life and happiness of every human being, even of those who do not believe and who hate Him. He has made it possible for the wicked to enjoy life (if enjoy they can!). His grace is given, not merely offered, to every person. So, more clearly than we can realize, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15).
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Thursday, December 03, 2009
Dial Daily Bread: Thanksgiving Day 365 Times a Year
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Suppose you were hungry, homeless, sleeping under a bridge or in a cardboard box; could you celebrate Thanksgiving? Most of us tell how we say thanks for nice homes, cars, food, good jobs, friends, fun. Can those who have none of this have Thanksgiving? Don't say yes if only the Red Cross, ADRA, or Salvation Army gives them a turkey dinner. That lasts only one day, then back under the bridge again.
There's a Bible Thanksgiving that gets lost in the normal celebrations: thanksgiving that you don't have to die the second death; thanksgiving that you have actually been given eternal life "in Christ." That refuge under a bridge may be very uncomfortable, but it's your privilege to rejoice that "in Christ" you have already been redeemed from hell itself. The Son of God also was homeless, had nowhere to lay His head, He says; but He was resurrected to eternal life, and "in Him" you too inherit the same. Welcome to sharing your living space with Him!
It's astounding, but its Bible truth: you have already been "elected" to eternal life "in Christ." Not that you deserve the gift for which you celebrate such transcendent Thanksgiving; Paul says, "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any one should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9; when it says "not of works" it means not of your own volition). Face reality: if Christ had not died for you, you would most certainly have been eternally lost. But He did die for you, and rose again; the "you" in Ephesians 1 and 2 is the "you" of the entire human race. All have been redeemed. Your seat at the heavenly banquet has your place card on it with your name.
Now, don't blow everything by choosing to disbelieve this gospel truth. Yes, you can be lost, and many will be; but not because they weren't elected or got overlooked. John 3:16-19 says the problem was only unbelief. Believing the Good News will give you a Thanksgiving Day 365 times a year; and I believe such faith will enable you to find a way out from under that bridge.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Suppose you were hungry, homeless, sleeping under a bridge or in a cardboard box; could you celebrate Thanksgiving? Most of us tell how we say thanks for nice homes, cars, food, good jobs, friends, fun. Can those who have none of this have Thanksgiving? Don't say yes if only the Red Cross, ADRA, or Salvation Army gives them a turkey dinner. That lasts only one day, then back under the bridge again.
There's a Bible Thanksgiving that gets lost in the normal celebrations: thanksgiving that you don't have to die the second death; thanksgiving that you have actually been given eternal life "in Christ." That refuge under a bridge may be very uncomfortable, but it's your privilege to rejoice that "in Christ" you have already been redeemed from hell itself. The Son of God also was homeless, had nowhere to lay His head, He says; but He was resurrected to eternal life, and "in Him" you too inherit the same. Welcome to sharing your living space with Him!
It's astounding, but its Bible truth: you have already been "elected" to eternal life "in Christ." Not that you deserve the gift for which you celebrate such transcendent Thanksgiving; Paul says, "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any one should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9; when it says "not of works" it means not of your own volition). Face reality: if Christ had not died for you, you would most certainly have been eternally lost. But He did die for you, and rose again; the "you" in Ephesians 1 and 2 is the "you" of the entire human race. All have been redeemed. Your seat at the heavenly banquet has your place card on it with your name.
Now, don't blow everything by choosing to disbelieve this gospel truth. Yes, you can be lost, and many will be; but not because they weren't elected or got overlooked. John 3:16-19 says the problem was only unbelief. Believing the Good News will give you a Thanksgiving Day 365 times a year; and I believe such faith will enable you to find a way out from under that bridge.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Dial Daily Bread: A Lot of Growing Up on God's Agenda for Us Now
Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Some thoughtful person asks, "What difference does it make whether Christ died our 'first death' (what the Bible says is 'sleep') or the 'second death' (of the 'Lake of Fire')? He has given us a ticket to heaven; isn't that enough for us to understand? We have the Life Insurance Policy; what more is needed? Why stretch our minds and hearts any further? For thousands of years this idea has never come up. Why is it so important now?"
(1) We have come to a time in world history when "sin [has] abounded" more and more; grace therefore must abound "much more" or we shall end up with the "mark of the beast."
(2) That "grace" is not a hokus-pokus legal maneuver beyond our range of knowledge. Much more abounding grace speaks to the heart and meets the increasing demands of modern temptation to abounding sin. 2 Corinthians 8:9 tells us that we can perceive "grace" only by understanding the sacrifice of Christ, how far He went in becoming "poor" that we "through His poverty might be rich." He went the full length of the second death! If past generations did not fully understand it, that does not excuse us for failure.
(3) There is a "breadth, and length, and depth, and height" in the love that motivated Christ to His cross that "children" can grasp only as they "grow up into Christ in all things, ... from whom the whole body [of the church is] fitly joined together" (Eph 3:17, 18; 4:15, 16). If we choose to remain infantile when it's time to "grow up," we ourselves cancel that "ticket to heaven" that He gave us. Now it's grow up or die on the vine. We are living in the "time of the end."
(4) Yes, it's true that Charles Wesley in the 1700s prayed "Oh for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise" while he still believed in the papal doctrine of natural immortality. But now it's impossible to "sing" understandably about that cross if we believe in that false doctrine. There's lots of growing up that's on God's agenda for us now.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Some thoughtful person asks, "What difference does it make whether Christ died our 'first death' (what the Bible says is 'sleep') or the 'second death' (of the 'Lake of Fire')? He has given us a ticket to heaven; isn't that enough for us to understand? We have the Life Insurance Policy; what more is needed? Why stretch our minds and hearts any further? For thousands of years this idea has never come up. Why is it so important now?"
(1) We have come to a time in world history when "sin [has] abounded" more and more; grace therefore must abound "much more" or we shall end up with the "mark of the beast."
(2) That "grace" is not a hokus-pokus legal maneuver beyond our range of knowledge. Much more abounding grace speaks to the heart and meets the increasing demands of modern temptation to abounding sin. 2 Corinthians 8:9 tells us that we can perceive "grace" only by understanding the sacrifice of Christ, how far He went in becoming "poor" that we "through His poverty might be rich." He went the full length of the second death! If past generations did not fully understand it, that does not excuse us for failure.
(3) There is a "breadth, and length, and depth, and height" in the love that motivated Christ to His cross that "children" can grasp only as they "grow up into Christ in all things, ... from whom the whole body [of the church is] fitly joined together" (Eph 3:17, 18; 4:15, 16). If we choose to remain infantile when it's time to "grow up," we ourselves cancel that "ticket to heaven" that He gave us. Now it's grow up or die on the vine. We are living in the "time of the end."
(4) Yes, it's true that Charles Wesley in the 1700s prayed "Oh for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise" while he still believed in the papal doctrine of natural immortality. But now it's impossible to "sing" understandably about that cross if we believe in that false doctrine. There's lots of growing up that's on God's agenda for us now.
Copyright © 2009 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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