Daily Bread: May 2010

Monday, May 31, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Let's Not Be Cowards

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It was the annual twilight Memorial Day twilight concert on the Mall in Washington, D. C., with the National Symphony Orchestra, where there was sober reflection on the sacrifices and horror of war. Documentaries on World Wars I and II [and the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan] renewed the prayer from many an aching heart, "O Lord, please, never again!" We who lived through most of the 20th century have lived in the bloodiest, most cruel century of human history, and yet "we" live in the wealthiest, most godless, pleasure-oriented time since the days of Noah before the flood.

For sure, it was never, and it is never, God's will that the world suffer another horrible world war. Christ "came not to judge the world, but to save it" (see John 12:47). It was never His will that the Holocaust take place. The horrors depicted in the Book of Revelation are not presented as something HE wants to inflict on humanity, but as warnings of what Satan purposes to bring on the world. And God would prepare us and teach us how to escape the hell Satan wants. Revelation would encourage us that we are not his helpless captives; through all the "hail and fire" of the seven trumpets of chapters 8-11 there is the constant ministry of the "angel" with His "golden censor" filled with the "much incense" of Christ's righteousness, that "He should offer it with prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which [is] before the throne" (8:3, 4).

The tornado winds of human passion are represented as being restrained by "four angels" whose mission is to "hold" them that they should not devastate "the earth" until the "angel ascending from the east" can "seal the servants of our God in their foreheads" (7:1-4). But while we pray ever so piously for God to "hold" those tornadoes of human evil, shouldn't we cooperate with Him by proclaiming the Good News of the sealing message? Wherever there is trouble, there is where the reconciling message must be proclaimed. There is nothing Satan hates worse than the pure Gospel; let's not be cowards and let him have his way again!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 29, 1998.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
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Sunday, May 30, 2010

A Smart Philosopher's Challenge

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

A smart philosopher says that if God is perfectly loving, He must want to abolish all evil and if He is all powerful, He must be able to do it. "But evil exists, therefore God cannot be both omnipotent and loving," says this thinker. Is there an answer to his problem? Fools rush in where angels fear to tread; therefore we must walk softly.

Can the Bible help? It teaches that God took all the evil that exists in the world and bore it in Himself. "The LORD hath laid on [Christ] the iniquity of us all" and "He hath made [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin" (Isa. 53:6; 2 Cor. 5:21). God wishes to abolish all evil, the Bible says (1 Tim. 2:4), but since "God is agape" (1 John 4:8), He could abolish evil only by dying to it, being crucified to sin. The answer to the philosopher's challenge is to explore the breadth and length and depth and height of that agape, wherein is "the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:17-19).

Every philosopher and atheist will someday bow and confess the infinite logic that is wrapped up within the cross of Jesus, even those who have spent their lives ridiculing it; but there are some--perhaps many--who will humble their souls before the cross right now in this life and confess the truth of God. But this blessed result will require deep thinking and deeper feeling on the part of those who now profess to keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. God loves the brilliant people, the philosophers and scientists in the world, just as much as He loves us common people. No one can "by searching find out God"; all the universities in the world cannot teach these bright people how to find Him.

The neglected truth that agape teaches is that God finds man; no lost sheep, however intellectual, can find his way back to the shepherd--the Good Shepherd must go and find him. God has commanded His church on earth to be His agent in proclaiming that news about this God who is the seeking-and-finding Good Shepherd. A people in whose hearts and souls self is crucified, who are in perfect unity and harmony, who "glory" in that cross, will proclaim the message, for it must "lighten the earth with glory" before Jesus can return; then every honest hearted philosopher will hear a voice that says "come out of Babylon" (Rev. 18). We will be surprised who or how many will respond (cf. Rev. 15:2, 3).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 22, 2001.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
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Friday, May 28, 2010

Is This What It Means to Follow Christ?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Do you like to fight battles? Or do you like to run away from them? I've met many wonderful Christian people, members of the church, who want peace so much that they refuse to get down in the arena where battles for the Lord must be fought. To tell the truth, they'd rather watch TV than study for themselves to know the truth about the issues in the great controversy between Christ and Satan. But Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:12, "Fight the good fight of faith," and Jude says (vss. 3, 4) that we "should contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," for there are "certain men crept in unawares" who seek to corrupt that faith. And Jesus tells us quite clearly, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household" (Matt. 10:34-36).

Wow! Is this what it means to follow Christ?

"But," says someone, "surely this doesn't apply to conflicts WITHIN the church!?? The world is full of controversy; I go to church so I can find a place of rest and peace!" Well, I must tell the truth. Revelation 12:17 says that the dragon, the devil, in these last days, is "wroth" with the true church, and has gone to make war with the remnant church, where his most fearful strategy is to make war within the church against the pure, true gospel of Jesus. If Satan can corrupt THAT, he hopes yet to win the war against Christ. So Peter's advice is exactly what we need today: "Be sober, be vigilant." "Resist" him "steadfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:8, 9). But please be sure that you have your wits about you; that word "sober" means to think carefully lest you end up "resisting" the true work of the Holy Spirit! If you do THAT, you've crossed that line beyond which repentance is impossible. The stakes in the great controversy are high; the only place where you can avoid the battle is the grave. And please don't choose to go there! Get on your knees; study; learn; stay awake; "watch"; and stand "for the right though the heavens fall," says one wise writer.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 10, 1997.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
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Thursday, May 27, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Something the Angels Cannot Do

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Gentiles were faster than Christ's own disciples in recognizing who He really is. At the village of Sychar, after listening to Him, the Samaritans openly confessed, "We ... know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). The idea was not that He merely wants to be "the Savior of the world," or that he would be their Savior if people accepted and believed Him; no; He is already "the Savior of the world."

Paul had the idea: "We trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe" (1 Tim. 4:10).

Thus there are two ways that Christ is "the Savior of all men": (a) To everyone He has in a legal sense given the gift of salvation, and the proof of that is the fact that everyone lives. Otherwise, everyone would be held in a hopeless, endless death. He intends that this life shall be just the beginning of that wonderful eternal life, for "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son," and "our Savior … desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1Tim. 2:3, 4). But He has given "all men" the power of choice, He cannot force anyone to be saved against his will, and sad to say, many repeat the sin of Esau who "despised" and "sold" his birthright, which he already had (Heb. 12:16, 17; Gen. 25:34). (b) For those who believe, whose heart responds to His love, He is in a special sense their Savior unto eternal life.

God is infinite; therefore His love for the whole world is given also to each one of the "all men" for whom Christ died their "second death": "We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, ... that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone" in an obviously personal sense (Heb. 2:9).

You are actually loved by Him! You are invited to address Him in prayer as "Father." That's even something the angels cannot do!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 3, 2006.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: "Behold" Christ's Path of Duty

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever been perplexed, distraught, confused--you didn’t know which way to go? You wish that the Lord would just simply tell you in so many words what to do, where to go.

Young people often feel this way when they graduate from high school or even college. Sometimes pastors have more than one invitation to come and be a church worker here or there, and they don’t know which “call” to accept.

And there is the problem of whom to marry? You wish the dear Lord would bring Rebekeh to you as He brought her to Isaac long ago (Genesis 24). (Or bring Isaac to you!)

If the Lord were to run a question and answer service in the newspapers, we would all become mere automatons, never learning to think for ourselves, and so we would miss one of the divine attributes the Lord wants to impart to us.

We are not machines to be run by a battery; we are sons and daughters of the living God, learning to become like Him in character. For this purpose we need freedom of will, and that requires clear thinking.

There are clear-cut principles we can rely on: (a) Just praying by itself is not good enough; we must learn how to understand the answers to prayer that the Lord gives us. (b) He always answers; He will give you a distinct conviction of what you ought to do. (c) But how can you know if the conviction is true? (d) Of the choices before you, which one is most pleasing to self, and most inclined to be running away from duty the Lord lays on you? You can be quite sure He would lead you in a path of service. (e) Friends who know you AND know the Lord can give you wise counsel.

Jonah was pondering a choice of careers: go to Tarshish, or go to Nineveh? He turned from the path of duty under God. Here’s a very fine prayer to pray for guidance: “Shew me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:4, 5). But if you want an answer, it helps to become committed. And if you want to learn how to be committed, it helps to “behold” Christ’s path of duty that led Him to His cross.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 28, 2004.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Encouraging Passages in a Seemingly Discouraging Book

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

One of the most encouraging passages in the entire Bible is tucked away in a little Bible "closet" where most people miss it completely. The reason is that the "door," the title of the book, seems very discouraging to even look at, like it says, "Don't read me! I'm nothing but bad news!" It's Jeremiah's second volume, "Lamentations of Jeremiah." It makes one wonder why God let it get into the Bible. Who enjoys sad lamentations? It reads more painfully than trying to listen to Tschaikowsky's depressing Pathetique Symphony.

But wait! Right there in the middle of this biblical desert we come across this almost incredibly beautiful melody of truth (forgive me for mixing my metaphors): chapter 3, verses 22-36. "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness" (right there are the seed thoughts of two of the grandest hymns in the English language). We read further that most blessed is the person who has known disappointment and sorrow in his/her youth: "It is good that [a person] should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for [a person] that [he/she] bear the yoke in ... youth." Even being "lonely" turns out to have been a blessing (vss. 26-28). And almost incredibly, biting the dust when you're young becomes a good experience (vs. 29).

Right there in the most humiliating depth of experience the minor key changes to major, and the clouds part as sunshine breaks through: "The Lord will not cast off forever: but though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men, ... to turn aside the right of a [person] before the face of the most High, to subvert [one] in his cause, the Lord approveth not" (vss. 31-36).

Painful? Yes, but O the blessed fruit that such "chastening of the Lord" brings! It saves us from the pitiful arrogance and pride that "un-educated" people get in to. If you have been blessed with that disciplinary "education," be VERY happy!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 27, 1999.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: "Knowledge" Better than Drugs

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Sometimes we humans go through harrowing, traumatic experiences that leave us with the problem of depression and nightmares. Our minds are overburdened trying to understand the guilt we may think we are involved in, and the underlying fear that oppresses us. It's easy for people who haven't been through this "hell" to say rather flippantly, "Oh, Jesus will help you!" but the problem continues. Then in desperation, we start taking prescription drugs, and lo, and behold, they do help! But in our better judgment, we long to find relief without drugs, for now we fear side effects.

Superficial, thoughtless "help" only makes the problem worse. Isaiah quotes the Father saying of Christ, "By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many" (53:11). Paul considers that this "knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord" is an "excellency" more precious than winning any jackpot. Paul says he wants to "know" Christ and "the fellowship of HIS sufferings." Could this "knowledge" be better than drugs?

Jesus went through the Ultimate human experience of trauma--in Gethsemane and on His cross. He experienced it as a human Being, but it was unspeakably worse because He was also divine so He suffered the pain on an infinite scale. That made Him become the exactly right Physician for every individual, depressed person, male or female. Psalms 22 and 69 can introduce you to understand His hellish trauma (it was actual hell that He endured!). He is your real brother. As you listen and share with Him what this hell was, you become "a partaker of Christ's sufferings" (1 Peter 4:13), which means you see how "He was wounded for our transgressions, ... bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace [nightmares?] was upon Him," and then the blessing comes--"and by His stripes we are healed" (Isa. 53:5). Walk softly: this is more than "psychology." It's Bible.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 29, 2005.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: "Day of Atonement" Song of Reconciliation

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Psalm 103 is our beloved "Day of Atonement" song of reconciliation with the Lord. It begins and ends with "Bless the Lord, ... O my soul." And the word "bless" obviously means "to make happy." So the psalm tells us how to make the Lord Himself to be happy. Does He need any help?

That's a nice life-work for any of us!

The way to make Him happy is to be happy ourselves "in Christ" in these last days of the Savior's ministry as our great High Priest. The psalm's high point is: (1) He "forgives all your iniquities," and parallel to that, (2) He "heals all your diseases" (vs. 3). We must walk softly here, for there are diseased people whose sins have all been forgiven, and sometimes they even die; but wait a moment: are we really sure that all of our unknown sins have been forgiven in the true sense of the word, that is, taken away--not just pardoned?

That "blotting out of sins" is distinct from the pardoning of sins. This is the special work of Daniel's "cleansing of the sanctuary" (8:14). This work cannot be accomplished in heaven until first of all the sins have been forgiven, blotted out, in and from the hearts of those who "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4, 5). They are that special group known as the 144,000. (Don't be scared that there won't be "room" for you; the "room" depends on the breadth and length and depth and height of your faith, which is a heart appreciation of the love [agape] of Christ, Eph. 3:17-19.)

Part of the happiness the Lord wants us to know is that our "mouth [be] satisfied with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's" (Psalm 103:5). Is such dietary pleasure health-inducing? It says so. It's e-educating our taste to be "reconciled" (there's "atonement" again!) to enjoy the foods that God has created to be "received with thanksgiving" (1 Tim. 4:4). Day of atonement living includes that re-educating our diet. To list all those delicious foods is impossible. How can you doubt there is a loving Creator who created them all in six days when you consider alone the annual progression of fruits through the year, from the earliest strawberries in spring, through summer peaches, then pears, to those delicious persimmons in late autumn! Just a tiny example of the Lord's goodness. Yes, "bless the Lord, O my soul"! He heals diseases, and enjoying foods He has created is one way.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 3, 2006.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: "Protest" in a Christlike Way

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Seminar Reminder: Reno, Nevada, Seventh-day Adventist Church; May 21, 22 (Friday evening, all day Sabbath): Good News for Adventists in the 21st Century—Is Righteousness by Faith Relevant Today?

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

It seems wildly inappropriate to think that there was ever a "war in heaven," but that's just what Revelation 12:7-10 describes. A war to the finish between "Michael" with His angels against "the dragon [Satan] and his angels." A careful reading suggests that it was Christ and the loyal angels who started the war, although this is backwards to most thinking today.

And this fits in with what the Bible says about Christ. Christ never lies down and lets the devil walk over Him. You remember at His temptation in the wilderness, He told the devil to "get out!" and the devil did (Matt. 4:10). Again when Satan used Peter to try to turn Him away from His cross, He said, "Get thee behind Me, Satan!" (16:23).

When Lucifer (who became "the devil and Satan") fomented rebellion in heaven, he was spreading his poison all through the ranks of the holy angels. If Christ and they had not protested, sin would have filled the universe. They could not sit back and relax and condone a fictitious "peace and harmony" as we are often tempted to do when evil is about to triumph; they arose in vigorous protest. They started a war! They saw through the subtle lies that Lucifer was telling, and their souls were on fire in their love for truth. Their concern was for the security of heaven and the universe. They HAD to "speak up."

We might say that "Michael and His angels" were pro-test-ants, righteously so. And so will everyone be who takes up his cross to follow Jesus (Luke 9:23). Love for souls, for your nation, for your church, for society, for the universe itself, yes, concern for Christ, motivates you to protest against injustice, against lies. The first work of the Holy Spirit is to "convict of sin," that is, to protest against sin because sin kills (John 16:8; Prov. 8:36). If your problem is drinking, the Holy Spirit will convict you of that sin before you take a drink--you can't take another drink without resisting Him. Before anyone chooses to transgress God's holy law, He continually says, "No!" He "convicts of sin" in love.

But be careful: it's not your job to do the work of the Holy Spirit. You can lift your voice against evil and not be obnoxious at the same time. You can "protest" in a Christlike way.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 24, 2002.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Jesus' Solution to John 6:28

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

After 2000+ years, how much progress have "we" made as God's people? Think of them then: expecting their Messiah to come "almost any time" just as we are expecting the same Messiah to return "almost any time now." At least, "soon." They knew 2000 years ago, just as we know now, that there must come "a great reformatory movement among God's people" in order to be ready for the Messiah. There was an atmosphere of expectancy among God's people then, as there is now. And uppermost in their minds was a question that, frankly speaking, is in ours today: "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" (John 6:28; don't say that those who asked that question were not the people of God; they were--at that time!).

Today there are seminars and sermons presented in the churches that are variations of that question. "What program, what duty, what plan, shall we DO that we might have that 'great reformatory movement' of revival in preparation for the return of our Messiah?" There is diligent study in the Bible and inspired writings that yield a multitude of quotations about duties to "do"--about health reform, diet, good works, tithes, offerings, witnessing, devotionals--almost ad infinitum. And some sincere people are brilliant and have re-phrased the question, so it reads: "What shall we NOT DO, to work the works of God?" "What worldly habit must we give up, in order to have that 'great reformation'"? And each "guru" has a new program that this time will "work," if only we will "do" it, or give up doing this or that which is "worldly." There MUST be something we can "do" (or not do) to cure the worldwide disease of lukewarmness that everybody agrees afflicts the church. We long for some program, some new idea, some committee plan from some fertile minds.

Could it be that Jesus had the solution, 2000 years ago? "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom [God] hath sent" (vs. 29). The solution is not DOING something but SEEING something. If we have a tomorrow, let's "look," do some "beholding" of something to "see."

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 1, 2001.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: The Clearest Demonstration of Faith

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why should Jesus say that the story of one bad sinner must be told everywhere the gospel is proclaimed? What is so special about Mary Magdalene's tearful offering at Bethany (Mark 14:1-9)?

(1) As a photographic print resembles its negative, so her strange act resembled His great sacrifice. Jesus HAD to defend her before His unfeeling disciples, for in doing so He was defending Himself, His cross.

(2) She had paid an enormous price for that alabaster flask of precious ointment (300 silver coins, the wage of a working man for a year). So Jesus paid an enormous price to redeem us.

(3) What Mary did was wildly extravagant--"wasting" an entire flask of "very precious" ointment when only a teaspoonful was needed; so what Jesus did was equally (more so!) extravagant--shedding His blood sufficient to save an entire world when only a handful of people will respond.

(4) Mary's motive was totally non-selfish; she had no thought of being praised by Jesus. All she wanted to do was say, "Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul!" So Jesus' motive was purely and simply love for lost people, no acquisitive purpose mixed in to becloud that pure flame of devotion for us. Mary was unconsciously reflecting the motives of Jesus. Her perceptions, her discernment, were far more sensitive than that of any of the Twelve disciples.

(5) The Bible singles her out as a "sinner," meaning, an outstanding one (Luke 7:37); she was "forgiven much," not little. She knew it, realized it; therefore her now converted sinful heart could be stretched outsize to "love much" (vs. 47). Hence her amazing deed, the most beautiful ever performed by any repentant sinner in history.

(6) Jesus therefore saw in her an example, a "prototype," a demonstration, of what His agape-love could and would eventually produce.

(7) Her act of love in no way contributed to her salvation; it was only an expression of gratitude for her salvation already accomplished. Thus Jesus defined it as the clearest demonstration of what the word FAITH means: "Go in peace," He said; "thy faith hath saved thee" (vs. 50). Thus Jesus nailed down for all time to come a clear definition of faith: it is a heart-appreciation of what He has done for us in saving us from hell itself. When faith is so understood, it can do nothing else than "work" (Gal. 5:6).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 10, 2000.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Overworked? There's "Rest" for Your "Soul"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are you one of those many people who are overworked? Too much to do? Working two jobs just to make ends meet, exhausted at night, tired each morning? Too busy even to gulp down a little "daily bread" that the Heavenly Father promises to feed you (see the Lord's Prayer)? Feel almost driven to distraction? Your Heavenly Father has help for you:

(1) The Sabbath is your day of rest (Ex. 20:8-11). "But you don't understand," you say, "today is not the Sabbath--it's Monday, or whatever! There's no 'rest' today!" Ah yes, but look again at that great fourth commandment, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ..." "Remember" during your exhausting week that your Father has delicious "rest" for you, and the simple remembering will ease your burden today. That's part of what Jesus means when He says, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light," so "Come" even if it's Monday or whatever. Maybe every muscle aches and you're "bone-tired." To believe you have "rest" in Him is an immense relief to your "soul" right now, He says (Matt. 11:28-30).

(2) "Yes, but you don't understand! I feel like I'm just a slave! Endless labor night and day! I never have time for myself!" Now the Lord opens another window in heaven to pour you out a blessing: Paul told the slaves of his day that they were especially beloved of Heaven (they still are!). "He who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men" (1 Cor. 7:22-24, NIV). In other words, consider yourself the Lord's "slave" bought at His cross; not of the corporation you work for. He (not they) is a merciful Master. "Slaves, ... serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone, ... slave or free" (Eph. 6:5-8, NIV). You don't belong to yourself? "Remember": the Lord of glory became a "slave," giving up belonging to Himself, for you (Phil. 2:5-8). Be "free" in Him!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 29, 2002.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Two Lifestyles--What's the Difference?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

You take your temperature when you think you have a fever; can you take a self-test to see if you are living under the Old Covenant, or under the New? At Mt. Sinai, ancient Israel voluntarily enslaved themselves under Old Covenant darkness that shadowed their history thereafter until finally they destroyed their nation and crucified their Messiah, the world's Redeemer.

What's the difference between the two lifestyles today?

(1) New Covenant living is believing the promises of God, rejoicing in the salvation already achieved for you, saying Thank You to God for saving you from the second death by the sacrifice of Christ's blood. It's realizing consciously that the bread you ate today is stamped with the cross of Christ, that every breath you draw is a gift of His much more abounding grace, that you're infinitely and eternally in debt to Him. It's reading Ephesians 1 and believing that you have been adopted into the family of God, thanks to something the Savior already did and not what you have ever done. It's joyously, willingly, happily, surrendering yourself to follow Him in service today, counting not your life dear unto yourself, gladly consecrating yourself to listen obediently to everything the Holy Spirit says to you--all because your little selfish heart is stretched outsize to "comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the agape-love of Christ, which passeth knowledge," the love that drove Him as far as hell to save you from hell. Yes, it's total obedience motivated by His abounding grace.

(2) Old Covenant living is constantly trying to do everything right, motivated by fear of the judgment, concerned because Christ has not already done all of this for you but is waiting for you first to do something that would make it possible for Him to do all this for you.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 24, 2010.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Answer Your "Phone"--Your Heavenly Father Is Calling

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

As you keep up with the media news, is your heart tempted to be afraid?

The more human you are, the more you sense that fear! You can see yourself trying to live in the midst of terrorism, plus all the uncertainties of your normal life aside from the terror elsewhere in the world!

Your heavenly "phone" is ringing--answer it; your heavenly Father is calling you. David heard his "phone" ringing: "When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, LORD, I will seek'" (Psalm 27:8). Some twenty times Moses is spoken of as "the servant of the Lord," which means that when the LORD woke Moses in the morning and said, "Seek My face," I have something to tell you, Moses would get out of bed and go and kneel before the Lord, and "listen," no matter how early it was.

It was the same with Jesus when He was a boy, a youth, and in His young manhood. It was fun to sleep late in the mornings, but He answered His "phone" when the Father called Him: "The LORD God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. ... And I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away" (Isa. 50:4, 5).

Your heavenly Father is just as concerned for you as He was for His Son Jesus. Remember the simple but often forgotten biblical truth--that the day BEGINS at sundown. Don't fritter away the evening in watching nonsense so you are physically exhausted when the heavenly Father calls you on your heavenly "phone" "morning by morning." Why impoverish yourself by missing all those private tête-à-têtes with the same Father in heaven who taught His Son Jesus every new morning? Yes, He wants to encourage you, to deliver you from your personal fear; but more than that, "morning by morning" He wants to teach you what to say during this new day to someone else "who is weary."

The same LORD woke the child Samuel in the morning and spoke to him. Ah yes, staying snug and warm in bed is cozy fun; and maybe He is not calling you to be a prophet; but for sure He is calling you to help someone else "who is weary." So answer your "phone." And this is what you say: "Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears" (1 Sam. 3:10).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: Aril 29, 2002.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Dial Daily Bread: Can We Be Truly Happy?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Suppose you have a heavy "burden" to carry--a birth defect, injuries from an accident (you are lame, a paraplegic), a painful divorce thrust upon you, a bereavement, a resented loneliness, or celibacy forced by circumstances: can you be truly happy? Let me add, happy "in Christ"? (Like Moses before the burning bush, I should take my "shoes off" for this is "holy ground"! Lord, save me from offering empty platitudes that can only discourage someone!)

Well, first of all, this is indeed holy ground! Something is happening here behind the scenes that is intensely dear to the heart of the Son of God: an important chapter in the great controversy between Christ and Satan is being written that will help to bring a triumphant close to the cosmic conflict. Heaven's TV cameras are focused on you. While it is abundantly true that you cannot in even an iota save yourself, yet your victory in your personal faith-conflict becomes a needed appendix in the story of the cross of Christ. You are tremendously important! The entire universe is watching to see if the grace of Christ is sufficient to save you from bitterness or vain resentment.

Good people argue incessantly about who are the 144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14 (we won't), but they often forget that there are "144,000" categories of "burdens" that people can bear to the glory of Christ. Each is a soldier holding a certain critically important line in the battle of faith. Christ's victory is wonderful; He "endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2), but that glorious victory must now be appended by the faith-victories of many others who "fill up in [their] flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" (Col. 1:24).

"Paul, what do you mean?! Is there something 'lacking' in the ministry of Christ that we can supply as an appendix in a book?" Peter answers: yes, we are privileged to "partake of Christ's sufferings." And then he adds that such a privilege bestows a special happiness. "Rejoice, ... that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:13). Don't despise "the fellowship of [Christ's] sufferings" (Phil. 3:10).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 24, 2000.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: The ABCs of Love

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

You can only learn to love when you believe yourself to be beloved. That is, when your sense of insecurity has been replaced by the assurance that you are firmly enfolded in the arms of Somebody Important. Only then can you dare to let yourself be vulnerable and exposed by loving someone else.

That's why the Bible is so clear on this controversial issue of salvation--that it's "by grace, through faith," specifically "not of works" (Eph. 2:8, 9). In other words, shocking as it may seem, salvation depends on your BELIEVING that God loves you, because only if you believe that, can it be possible for you to learn how to love. And learning how to love is the one pre-requisite for entering heaven: "He that loveth not knoweth not God. ... He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God" (1 John 4:8, 16). All of our talk about "keeping the commandments" breaks down to nothing if we haven't learned how to love, for "to love, then, is to obey the whole Law" (Rom. 13:10, GNB). If we think that through, we end up realizing that we shall be asked one great question at last: "Have you learned how to love?" All of our great "works" will count for zero.

To glibly quote John 3:16, "God so loved the world" is not enough until your soul can grasp that God has so loved YOU, yes, and so LOVES you now, that He GAVE and HAS GIVEN Something Wonderful for you to BELIEVE, that is, to appreciate the gift that was and is still given for you.

To tell the truth, your soul (and my soul, too) is too small to grasp what's involved. My little cup can't drain the ocean dry. But I can let my little cup be full, little as it is. I can kneel and confess my nakedness of soul, how little I know how to love, how unloving I am by nature, and I can ask God in humility, "Please, Father in heaven, open these blind eyes to SEE Your love for me. Please be merciful to me in my unlovingness, and teach me like a beginner the ABCs of love."

Then comes the answer: Look! Look! "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29). He has been "lifted up" as on a "flagpole" (Num. 21:8, Peterson), so simply look, let your little soul be stretched outsize to "comprehend" what it cost Him to die on His cross. Ask to be permitted to begin to appreciate the grand dimensions of that love, to SEE what He accomplished. Maybe I should add--it's a dangerous prayer to pray because it WILL be answered. It'll mean a new you.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 7, 2002.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: The Good News Promise--"I Will Come Again"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is Jesus Christ doing anything special now? Or is He doing the same as He has always done since He ascended to heaven nearly two millennia ago?

His work throughout the ages has been preparing people to die--a wonderful work indeed. By His Holy Spirit preparing untold millions to come up in the first resurrection so they can inherit a place in His eternal kingdom. Thus they have prayed in their last hour, "Abide with me, ... the darkness deepens, Lord, with me abide." For those who die, nothing can be more important than to be "counted worthy to attain ... the resurrection from the dead," says Jesus (Luke 20:35).

But must sin continue to plague human life on this planet forever? Must the agony of the Middle East continue generation after generation, on and on? (Jesus Himself feels all this misery, remember! Isa. 63:9.)

The Good News is that He promises, "I will come again" (John 14:3). For His sake, as well as ours! But He can't come the second time until He prepares a people--not to die as have billions--but to be translated without seeing death (see 1 Thess. 4:15-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; Rev. 14:14-16, etc., etc.). What's the difference, if any? This: the final tests!

Who are those people? It's not our job to judge (maybe your next door neighbor). But silently, steadily, the Lord Jesus as our great High Priest in His closing work in the heavenly sanctuary is doing just that--preparing a people to endure the final tests of the mark of the beast, by faith to stand unmoved when the Holy Spirit is withdrawn from the earth, to be loyal--whatever. They "overcome even as [He] overcame" (Rev. 3:21). Listen!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 23, 2002.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Monday, May 10, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Moses and the "Conference" on the Mount

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Who was Moses? How would he fit in with our 21st century world? Could he relate?

These questions are not irrelevant because he is alive, somewhere. “The dead in Christ” are all asleep, awaiting the first resurrection at the second coming of Christ (Rev. 20:6; 1 Thess. 4:14-17; John 5:28, 29). But Moses was granted a special resurrection (Jude 9)! He would doubtless have been granted translation without experiencing death as Enoch (Heb. 11:5), but Moses brought shame and disgrace on the Lord by losing his temper at Kadesh (Num. 20:7-13). In anger he struck the rock twice to bring water to the people rather than speak the word as the Lord had commanded him. In so doing he had given the people the impression that he--not the Lord--was providing their water.

But after he was especially resurrected, one would think that Moses would be lonely in heaven, for human companionship, except for Enoch and Elijah who were translated, for all the others who have believed in the Lord are “asleep.” But surely God would give Moses something meaningful to do to relieve his celestial boredom. And we have a brief glimpse in Matthew 17 of his assigned work; God sent him to minister encouragement to the Savior of the world in the conference on the Mount of Transfiguration (vss. 1-3).

Moses had an experience that enabled him to come close to Christ. His heart had been “enlarged” (cf. Psalm 119:32, KJV) in his appreciation of the sacrifice of Christ. He was qualified to minister to Christ. He and Elijah shared this deeper insight so that the two of them were sent on this unique errand. In his love for God’s people (“the church in the wilderness,” Acts 7:38) Moses asked for his own name to be blotted out of the book of life if thereby he could save Israel (Ex. 32:32, 33). That is a rare love--it’s agape! It motivated Christ.

The love that Moses knew did not precede the love that moved Christ; Moses learned it from Him, for Christ was first. But what’s important is that he did learn it! He opened his heart; he did not resist it. Moses had a point of intimacy with Christ. He was qualified to attend the conference on the Mount and speak words of encouragement to Jesus. Thank God that he did!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 18, 2006.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Dial Daily Bread: Why Elijah Instead of Enoch or Moses?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Bible is clear: there are three people from Old Testament times who are in heaven today: (1) Enoch, who "was translated that he should not see death" (Heb. 11:5) for he had "walked with God" (Gen. 5:24). (2) Moses, who was almost translated but who had to die on Mt. Nebo but was specially resurrected by "Michael, the archangel [Christ]" (Jude 9). (3) Elijah, who was also translated without seeing death (2 Kings 2:11). All the others in Old Testament times who died are "asleep" in their graves awaiting the first or second resurrections. Some were resurrected when Christ was resurrected (Matt. 27:52, 53).

Moses and Elijah were sent on that special mission to converse with Jesus before His crucifixion (Matt. 17:1-5).

But why is Elijah, and not Moses or Enoch, sent to "us" before "the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5, 6)? Ancient Israel was the corporate "body" of Christ in Elijah's day and they had fallen into a grievous apostasy without knowing it; the True Witness" says modern Laodicea (also the corporate "body of Christ") has also unknowingly fallen into a serious state of "you know not" your true condition before God and before the universe--a condition of pitiable "nakedness" of soul (Rev. 3:14-21).

Elijah had had a unique experience of contending with the Baal worship of Ahab's day; it seems obvious that the Lord has sent "the prophet Elijah" to lead out in our struggle today with modern Baal worship. This struggle is unmasked in the message of the three angels of Revelation 14:6-12 that prepare a people to meet the final test of the mark of the beast and the close of probation.

Whether Elijah will direct this struggle personally, we cannot say; the message of John the Baptist accomplished that same work just before the coming of Christ the first time. Now, just before His second coming, the same bold exposure of Baal worship must be proclaimed--"come out of [Babylon], My people," God says. "Elijah" will be loyal to the church, but loyalty also requires fidelity to truth, humbling as it may be. Let's be sure we know the Holy Spirit personally, how to recognize His presence, and how to tell when He is absent.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 2, 2006.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Friday, May 07, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: A Paradigm Shift in Heart Dynamics

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why does a man love a woman? The LORD God created him to do so: she is "an help meet for him" (Gen. 2:18, KJV), a person perfectly complementary to him, but female as he is male. The fact that he loves her has opened the secret of her heart-response in return; now she understands him and appreciates him for what he is. Heaven forbid that it is merely sexual lust on either side, for that is not "agape" and it always "fails" (cf. 1 Cor. 13:8).

And the woman whom the man loves is intellectually challenging to him in her way. He desperately needs her; and he appreciates her. Her judgment is what he needs throughout life. Their love is very deep and lasting.

Any church that Jesus loves as the Bridegroom-to-be is a corporate body of people who "believe in Jesus" in a non-superficial way. That means that their "faith" is not egocentric; they have outgrown their infantile search for a reward for themselves. They have come to the place where they have little time or inclination to dream of their "mansion" in the New Jerusalem. What prompts their thinking now? Is it what Jesus can do for them, or what they can do for Him? Some would say it's a paradigm shift in heart dynamics; they have "come to ... the knowledge of the Son of God, … to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ... no longer children, ... but ... grow[n] up in all things into Him" (Eph. 4:13-15).

This means that as a church body they have outgrown the pagan-papal doctrine of natural immortality, and they are now capable of appreciating the sacrifice of Christ on His cross. The death He died is not our "sleep," nor merely a foray into enduring our human physical pain (which of course He did endure!), but He endured "the curse of God," the darkness of an eternal death, the pangs of hell in His great love for us (cf. Gal. 3:13).

Appreciating that stretches our little human hearts outsize (cf. Psalm 119:32).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 22, 2006.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Dial Daily Bread: The One Place We Must "Walk Softly"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's the one place where above all else we must "walk softly": the holy Son of God who has become the new Head of the human race, intimately close to us in His humanity yet "in the beginning … God" and forever will be God, He is in love.

In trying to understand, the only analogy we can turn to is our own human experience: a pure youth on the threshold of manhood has discovered a girl who answers to his heart longings. They are human longings but holy, even angels can't know or understand; this youth has been created "in the image of God," which even angels cannot claim to be.

His love for this girl (who is on the threshold of womanhood) is a faint intimation of the plight that Jesus the Son of God finds Himself in: He is in love with a "woman" and He is captive to that love. As true love always does, it possesses Him and drives Him. The old saying is that all the world loves two who are in love; all of God's universe watches the unfolding of this love affair that the Son of God is caught up in.

The church is a human organism, a "body." How can Christ love a church as a man loves a pure young woman, a virgin, who gives herself to him in answer to his love for her?

A hint is in Revelation 3: the sixth church of history, Philadelphia, has responded to Christ's "wooing" in that she has been a "church" that has welcomed every ray of light brought to her by the Holy Spirit regardless of ostracism or persecution to suffer. Christ promises her that He will "make" her persecutors "to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you" in that rarest of heavenly intimacy (vs. 9).

Can the time ever come when that same "woman" resists and condemns "light" that Jesus brings her? More tomorrow.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Seminar Invitation--Reno May 21, 22

You Are Cordially Invited
to a Weekend Seminar

GOOD NEWS FOR ADVENTISTS
IN THE 21st CENTURY
Is Righteousness by Faith Relevant Today?

MAY 21-22, 2010
(Friday evening - Saturday night)

RENO SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
7125 West 4th Street, Reno, Nevada

Speakers and Bible Study Leaders

• STE VE McCANDLESS, Pastor
Reno Seventh-day Adventist Church

• PAUL E. PENNO, Pastor
Hayward Seventh-day Adventist Church

• DANIEL PETERS
Certified Addiction Treatment Counselor

• ARLENE HILL
Reno Church Elder and Sabbath School Leader

Meals at the Church
• Friday night: Light supper for visitors
• Sabbath noon: Fellowship dinner • Sabbath evening: Light supper

For meal planning purposes, please let us know how many people to expect:
E-mail: ckawamoto@1888message.org

Lodging
The Internet will be the best source for lodging information.

PROGRAM

Friday, May 21

6:30 p.m. Welcome & Program of Music
Christ Our Covenant Righteousness: Our Covenant Heritage -- Paul E. Penno

Sabbath, May 22

9:30 a.m. Sabbath School -- Arlene Hill

11:00 a.m. Worship Service
Calvary Justifies All in View of the Great Controversy -- Paul E. Penno

Break & Fellowship Dinner

1:30 p.m. One Little Word That Turns the World Upside Down -- Daniel Peters

2:30 p.m. Why the Humanity of Christ Is a Life or Death Issue -- Paul E. Penno

3:45 p.m. What Makes Adventists Unique? -- Paul E. Penno

5:30 p.m. Light Supper

6:30 p.m. Vespers -- Steve McCandless

7:30 p.m. Questions & Answers

Book Sale After Evening Meetings

"One interest will prevail, one subject will swallow up every other,--Christ our righteousness"
--Ellen G. White, The 1888 Materials, p. 765

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Christ's Love for the Lost

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The idea of "in Christ" appears many times in Paul's letters. Sometimes he applies the phrase unmistakably to the personal conversion experience of those who believe. Other times he unmistakably applies it to the entire human race which has been redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ. Both the righteous and the wicked will come up in resurrection because they are all "in Christ" (1 Cor. 15:22).

That does not mean that the wicked have had a conversion experience, far from it; but when Adam sinned and lost the headship of the human race, Christ stepped in to become the second Adam. Paul says he reversed the evil to the race that Adam had done; Christ came to save the world, and He redeemed it. He did more than offer life to "all men," for He GAVE the gift to all men. It's like Esau and his birthright; it was not offered to him, it was given to him. The only reason he failed to reap the blessings of the inheritance was because he despised and sold it (Gen. 25:33, 34).

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

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

Dial Daily Bread: Like a Nut With a Sweet Kernel Inside

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

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

This apparently difficult statement of Paul does not contradict that of Jesus. If you decline to share with Him His cross of self-denial, you can also have "many tribulations," even more. Jesus didn't come from heaven to this earth to excuse us fallen children of Adam from all troubles; He came to share our troubles and give us the comfort of His presence with us.

But those troubles which are the lot of all humanity will be infinitely more difficult to endure if we deprive ourselves of "the fellowship" of Christ in "His sufferings" (Phil. 3:10). Good people and bad people alike suffer accidents, have heart attacks, strokes, break their hips, yes, die. But the person who responds to Christ's invitation and "takes up [his] cross daily and follows Him" enjoys a most precious uplift. He has a conscious fellowship with the one and only Jesus, the Son of God, who endured the horror of our second death on His cross (which we will never have to endure!).

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

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

Monday, May 03, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Better to Stay in School!

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Going to school is something most people want to get out of as soon as possible. Kids love summer vacation; school discipline is onerous; "commencement" is great--class work is finished. But does God have a "class" where school discipline continues?

In Psalm 25 David seven times prays that he may be a student in the Lord's "class": "teach me Your paths," he asks over and over. We probably don't know if he was old or young when he wrote this Psalm, but the inspired picture we get in the Bible is Good News--there is never a graduation out of the Lord's school. You are always a student, a learner, and He never expels you from His "university," but of course you are always free to "quit school" if you wish.

There is always a temptation to "quit" because as our Teacher the Lord exercises discipline, which our carnal hearts don't like. "Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens" (Heb. 12:5, 6). It's not that He is a severe Schoolmaster, but His tuition appears that way to us, for "no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (vs. 11). In fact, if the discipline or chastening has ceased and you think you have clear sailing, one of two things has happened: either you are indeed ready for translation (way ahead of almost everybody else), or you are in real trouble, for "if you are without chastening, ... then you are illegitimate and not sons" (vs. 8).

The writer of Psalm 73 felt at times that the Lord's discipline was too severe. "I have been ... chastened every morning" (vs. 14), waking up each new day to renewed "grief" and "vexation" (vs. 21). It seemed that the Holy Spirit would never get through "convicting" him of sin (which is His "first grade" tuition, John 16:8). Would he as a student in the "school of Christ" never get out of that "first grade"? Other "students" seemed to be spared that "discipline." Life for them was all fun and games. "It was too painful for me--until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end" (Psalm 73:16, 17).

Something special is happening right now in the "sanctuary"--the Day of Atonement. Yes! Better stay in school!

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: The Healing in Being Crucified With Christ

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why was Judas Iscariot lost and Peter saved? Judas was a gentleman; we don't read that he ever lost his temper and cursed and swore like Peter did. We don't read that Jesus ever rebuked him except that one last time when Mary washed Jesus' feet with her tears (Mark 14:4-6). It appears that the disciples all pretty well had Judas sized up to be Prime Minister of the new Kingdom soon to be started. He obviously had executive ability. (When he left the Last Supper they thought he was off to do some legitimate business, John 13:27-29.)

Is there such a big difference between betraying Jesus and denying Him with cursing and swearing that God can forgive one and not the other?

Both are devastating in self-condemnation when you realize what you have done. Some will suggest that Judas's love of money was the unforgivable part of his sin, but that would doom a lot of us because loving money is our common community sin. Both Judas and Peter were in anguish after they realized what they had done (Matt. 26:75; 27:3-5). Both "repented" (Matthew says Judas "repented himself" and with profound regret brought back his money--what more could he have done?) Could not Jesus have forgiven him?

But wait a moment: The "repentance" Judas experienced was sorrow for the consequences of his sin, and the repentance of Peter was sorrow for the sin itself (in the Greek, it's two different words for "repent"). Judas hated himself so badly that he committed suicide--don't ever do that when you realize the enormity of your sin! The right thing to do when you are convicted of your sin is not to end your physical life, but choose to die to self. Let self be "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20). It's painful, but it's healing.

Peter came within a millimeter of losing his soul forever. But he did what Jesus said to do: fall on the rock and be broken (Matt. 21:44). Judas hated the idea of self being crucified with Christ; Peter chose to love the idea. The issue is not how big is our sin; but do we choose to fall on that Rock and be "broken." When "Peter out and wept bitterly," that's what he did. He saw himself as he really was, and did not reject the conviction. God save us all!