The Giant "IF"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

I get them all the time--letters informing me that it's a mistake to say that the Lord loves people so much that He makes it "hard" for them to be lost; and that it's wrong to tell them that Jesus says His yoke makes it "easy" for people to be saved.

They invariably distort reality and leave out the giant IF that's always there: it's hard to be lost and it's easy to be saved IF you understand and believe how good the Good News is. What it boils down to is this: God actually loves sinners and He wants them to be saved (John 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:3, 4). He doesn't sit back and wish vainly; He gets busy and does something for each individual sinner besides merely giving a Book of instructions; He sends His Holy Spirit to work on them individually and personally 24/7 in a never-ending conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11). The last of those three is a conviction that Satan has been "judged," that is, condemned and "cast out" as a hindrance to your being eternally saved. Christ is in the business of being the Savior of all who will permit Him and not reject Him. Understanding Him is what's important.

The gospel is not a theological conundrum that only those in the ivory towers of a university can put together; neither is it merely the nursery song, "Jesus loves me/This I know ..." that leaves you seeking as a panacea for your boredom the empty pleasures of this world. The true story of Jesus and His justification by faith is so intensely interesting that if you've even begun to understand it, your heart is captured forever.

It sounds wild but it's true: when you "taste and see" what the Lord's "everlasting gospel" (Rev. 14:6, 7) is all about, the TV that you once reveled in for entertainment becomes a bore. "O how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day" (Psalm 119:97; the word "law" is not a fanatical legalism; it's that perfect statement of eternal truth that "converts" your human soul; Psalm 19:7). Far from being a cold list of rules, "the law of the Lord" becomes your 24/7 obsession of joy "henceforth" (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14-21).

The ancient pagans had a saying, "'What will you have?' quoth the gods; pay for it, and take it!" You and I stand on the threshold of life; what will you have? Eternal life? You don't "pay" for it, it's too expensive, you can't; but you can believe and take it from Him who did pay an expensive price for it--His own eternal life.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 15, 2007.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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The Joy of Ministering Comfort

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you wondered why God permitted you to suffer a keen and painful disappointment? Perhaps an illness, a bereavement, perhaps a love betrayed and lost?

The biggest, most painfully shrieking "WHY?" ever screamed was on the cross by the Son of God Himself: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Everything came apart; His life and His mission totally disintegrated; He drank to the full the bitter cup of purest disappointing agony that you have had just a brief taste of; and He drank it to the full so that He could comfort and encourage you now in your experience of pain.

And He permitted you to have this taste of it so that you might share with Him the joy of ministering comfort to someone else who is going through it.

For example, here is the divine anatomy of comfort: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the all-merciful Father, the God whose consolation never fails us! He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we in turn may be able to comfort others in any trouble of theirs and to share with them the consolation we ourselves receive from God" (2 Cor. 1:3, 4, NEB).

Talk about joy! To become a pipe through which flows the healing water of life to people who suffer--that's a little taste of the joy that the Lord Himself knows! No way can we fully appreciate what the Son of God went through for us, but this little is a heavenly gift of joy--to become "consolers" who minister the consolation He ministers!

Think of that outstanding example of suffering: Job. He and his wife suffered enormously, but what he was doing was to defend the plan of salvation before the rebel forces of the universe; he was loyal to the character of God; he proved Satan was dead wrong and that God is totally right--a magnificent achievement that will make him happy forever, and maybe better still, has "comforted" billions in our here and now before final judgment.

Find somebody (you won't have to look far) who needs a living word of salvation to come from some human lips; and take your place in God's great economy of comfort ministered.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 4, 2008Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Does God Answer His "Phone" When We Pray?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Even if it seems that God sometimes does not answer His "phone" when we pray, He does hear the "phone," and He does listen, and He does answer. Every cry of anguish uttered by Job was heard by God--at that time; and every prayer of David was heard and answered, and Jeremiah's, too. The problem was simply that at times they could not see the evidence that their prayers were heard and answered. And to understand this takes us directly to Christ's cross where it seemed to Him that His Father had turned His back on Him.

Job, David, Jeremiah, and maybe you too, have "tasted" a tiny bit of the perplexity that Jesus Himself had to endure. What brought Jesus through that final test of His faith is written in Psalm 22: He reminded Himself of truth that He knew about the character of His Father (vss. 3-5, 24). He remembered His own history from His birth in the barn in Bethlehem, what His Mother Mary had told Him about how He almost died as an infant (vss. 9, 10). On His cross He heard no voice from Heaven; no angel whispered a word of comfort to Him, or bathed His brow from the blood-sweat of the thorns; no ray of hope was given Him from any source, earthly or heavenly. He even forgot the name "Father" and cried, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Peter says He suffered the agony of hell (Acts 2:25-27). There in that torment He chose to believe the character of God, that "He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from him; but when he cried unto Him, He heard" (Psalm 22:24).

This precisely is our task: to believe Good News about our Father's character--even in the dark. Even at the very moment we pray, we can believe. And even though we may not hear a literal Voice or an angel whisper to us, and it's still dark, we can choose to thank God and praise Him for answers and blessings "which yet [we] have not seen" (Heb. 11:7). And then? We share the victory Christ won on His cross!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 30, 2000.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Can God Alter Our Birth Certificate?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

This may not make much sense to you unless you will take the time to read all of the first six verses of Psalm 87. In most translations, it comes across either as pious gobbledygook, or at best as a misty, cloudy poem. It talks about heathen nations such as Egypt, Babylonia, Philistia, Tyre, the Sudan, and heathen people born in them. Then it contrasts the lucky people who get to be "born" in Zion.

As the psalm reads in most translations, it comes across as rather supporting the double predestination theory of strict Calvinism. If you're one of "the elect," you have it made; "Zion" is your natural home for you were born with that silver spoon in your mouth. Otherwise, too bad for you, unless you become a naturalized "citizen" (GNB) of Zion, in which case your passport will eternally read that you were "born" in some filthy heathen land but have been graciously immigrated into "Zion" as a naturalized alien.

But when I discovered an old out-of-print translation by James Moffatt, suddenly Psalm 87 came in focus as a "most precious" Good News message. What Moffatt saw is this: Yes, God is delighted with Zion as His "dear city," and notes that "this follower of Mine and that was born" in those disreputable pagan places. But "every follower of Mine belongs to [Zion] by birth." So when "the Eternal writes of every nation in His census" (in His final judgment), He actually changes the "birth certificate" of every believer to say, "This follower of Mine was born in Zion!" No second-class naturalized "citizens"! Only genuine "native" ones!

You may object: "But I WAS  born in Egypt or Philistia! I am a sinner by nature! To change my birth certificate isn't right!" Ah, yes, but that is what the Lord proposes to do.  Says that precious little book, Steps to Christ:  "Sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ's character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned" (p. 62). Yes, your sins have all been cast into the depths of the ocean, and are honestly "remembered no more." God has a fool-proof method of altering birth certificates. Clutch yours, hang on to it, by faith. Don't wait to see the alteration with your natural eyes; believe it in advance. And bless Him who is so generous.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 31, 1999.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Can We Make the Good News Too Good?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Lord Jesus commanded us to "go into all the world and proclaim the Good News to every creature" (Mark 16:16). But can we make it too good? God Himself is a Specialist in devising what is Good News; in fact, it is He who invented it. And it is He who made it Good, like it is.
But can we take a cue from Him and then on our own devise a version of it that is more good (that is, better good news) than He has invented for us? If so, are we in danger of giving people a false hope so that they will someday end up at the Pearly Gates and find they can't get in?

(a) John 3:16 says that the pre-requisite for eternal life is to "believe," that is to have or to exercise faith. God has given us no right to tack anything else on.

(b) Therefore we must learn what is faith.

(c) It's "heart-work" as one writer often says (cf. Rom. 10:10). Thus it's the end of arrogance, pride, love of self.

(d) The miracle can happen only as we l-o-o-k at Christ on His cross like the Israelites looked at the serpent of brass on Moses' pole. It's to contemplate Him, sense what it cost Him to save this hell-bent world and how He actually went to hell for us rather than see us be lost; it's not a "work" that you do, no list of pre-requisites. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whoever believes in Him should not perish " (John 3:14, 15). There it is simple and clear: (1) He is "lifted up," (2) you see Him, (3) you "believe."

(e) "Henceforth" you are "constrained" by the love revealed there (agape) to live not for your own selfish pleasure, not for your lust, but for Him. People use a long word for that--sanctification; but it's simply living for Him as a bride lives for her bridegroom--a new center of reference for one's life.

(f) Jesus says that to resist the "constraint" of that love is "hard," the most difficult life we can live (cf. Acts 26:14; 2 Cor. 5:14-21).

(g) He also says that to let that constraint move you to such a life is the easiest life you can live "henceforth" (cf. Matt. 11:28-30).

No need for us to invent a version of "good news" more good than that one! The ticket for entrance into the Pearly Gates is the capacity to enjoy the life that is there forever.

"Come"!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 13, 2007.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Eating--A Sacred Exercise

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Did you know that eating food is a sacred exercise? We read that before Jesus fed the 5000, "He had given thanks," and again before He fed the 4000 (John 6:11; Mark 8:6-9). When you pray, you are in the presence of God, otherwise the prayer is sacrilegious. So when we offer thanks for food, we are eating in the presence of God. That is not to diminish our enjoyment of the food, but to enhance it, realizing that it is the gift of God, "who satisfiest thy mouth with good things" (Psalm 103:5). Plenty reason to be thankful! Yes, and for the appetite, too, to enjoy it.

Jesus taught this truth in His lesson in John 6: "My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven, and gives life unto the world. ... I am the bread of life. ... Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man; and drink His blood, you have no life in you" (vss. 32-53). What lies back of this is something profound, yet simple. It is the truth that no vegetation, let alone food, would grow on planet earth unless this planet had been redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus. When He died, His blood ran from His wounds into the parched earth beneath, thus sanctifying the soil. Careless, thoughtless "thanks" given at meals leave us perilously near doing what Paul said,--eating and drinking to our own damnation (1 Cor. 11:29). According to this verse, the problem is a failure to "discern the Lord's body."

According to one wise writer, this does not mean merely eating the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper. "The bread we eat is the purchase of His broken body. The water we drink is bought by His spilled blood. Never one, saint or sinner, eats his daily food, but he is nourished by the body and the blood of Christ. ... [This] makes sacred the provisions for our daily life. The family board becomes as the table of the Lord, and every meal a sacrament" (The Desire of Ages, p. 660).
The ancient Israelites didn't "discern the Lord's body" in the manna which the Lord gave them freely: "All ate the same spiritual food, ... Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased." "They could not enter in because of unbelief" (1 Cor. 10:3-5; Heb. 3:19). This impacts on four factors in our daily eating: (a) the kind of food we eat; (b) the quantity; and (c) whether we eat "with faith," or (d) with "unbelief." The latter can be the hidden source of many ills! Don't eat what you know God is not pleased for you to take into your body. "Eat what is good," says the Lord (Isa. 55:2). Actually, you'll enjoy it more!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 11, 1999.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Who Does the "Seeking"--Us or Him?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Bible often tells us to seek the Lord. For example, Psalm 27:8: "When you said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.'" Hosea 10:12: "It is time to seek the Lord." Isaiah 55:6: "Seek the Lord while He may be found." And many others.

But the Bible also tells us that the Lord is seeking us: "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). He says He is the Good Shepherd, who seeks His lost sheep. Jesus told how the Good Shepherd left the 99 sheep and sought the one lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7). He is like the woman who searched and found her one lost coin (vss. 8-10). Even the parable of the prodigal son tells the same truth: the son did not create love in his father's heart--he walked home only because he knew there was love in that father's heart for him.

Our salvation does not depend on our skill, our strength, our savvy, in finding an elusive God who is hiding from us; it depends on our believing, realizing, comprehending, appreciating, what it cost Jesus to seek and find us. If you work hard trying to find Him, you will naturally be proud of your accomplishment, especially when you consider how few people succeed. But if you realize that "from first to last," it has been Christ's seeking love trying to find you, then your proud heart is melted. And that is the beginning of a genuine Christian experience.

The Hebrew word often translated as "seek" means "inquire of," "pay attention to." Thus Isaiah 55:6 really says, "Pay attention to the Lord while He is available, call upon Him while He is near." But if our minds are clouded by indulgence in appetite, we simply cannot "pay attention" to Him. This is why Daniel fasted as he sought to pay attention to God: He spent "three whole weeks" in most earnest prayer: "I ate no pleasant bread," he says. Hunger strike? No; he went easy on desserts because he wanted his mind to be clear to comprehend the instruction of the Lord. In this solemn Day of Atonement, it surely is time to "pay attention to the Lord." That He is still "available" is tremendous Good News.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 3, 1999.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.
 
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Transformed From the Inside Out

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

To have faith is not merely to trust the Lord like you trust the bank or the insurance company. You can do that and still remain as selfish as you were before, because such trust is a self-centered concern. The John 3:16 idea of faith solves the problem and lifts our naturally self-centered hearts out of a dark cave into the sunlight: faith is a heart-melting appreciation of what it cost the Son of God to save us.
We know this from several texts that tell us what faith is. Those two things that God did in John 3:16 are: (a) He so loved the world that He (b) gave His only begotten Son. Those two trigger (c): we believe. The (a) and the (b) come before the (c)! If your heart says "Thanks!" for (a) and (b), then you've already begun (c). But just begun, for one's selfish heart only begins to come alive; you grow; the hardness is melted day by day. And that kind of faith "works through love" (agape). Your motives and your conduct are transformed from the inside out. Don't get discouraged if progress seems slow. The Holy Spirit is working!
In other words, faith couldn't even exist unless first of all there was the revelation of that love at the cross (agape). All of this is just another way of saying that salvation is by grace, "not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:9).
If faith "works through love" (Gal. 5:6), then there is no end to the good works that it will continually motivate us to do. Here is the victory over every kind of evil the devil tempts us to do. No addict is beyond the Savior's reach. Stop carrying a load of guilt. Faith is itself a change of heart. It reconciles an alienated, selfish heart to God; and since no one can be reconciled to His holy law, such faith immediately makes the believer become obedient to all ten of the joyous commandments of God. The love of Christ supplies an infinitely powerful motivation.
From then on, it's not a matter of "what do I have to do in order to be saved?" but "how can I say Thank You enough for saving my soul from hell itself?" It's an entirely new situation, for "behold, all things have become new," for "all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:17, 18).
[From The Nearness of Your Savior, by the author of "Dial Daily Bread."]
Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.
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Base Your Meditation on Biblical Truth

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There are different kinds of "meditation": there is the popular Eastern kind, "yoga," induced by a trance or bodily contortions. This is a direct link to Hinduism, which professes to be a very "spiritual" religion. There is "Transcendental Meditation" which claims to be religiously "neutral." These forms of meditation are a search for a "higher form of consciousness," actually a search for "divinity within oneself." The idea is that God is everywhere--you just need to search him out. He is inside you, unrecognized; you make contact with him through these forms of "meditation."
Beware; the root idea is pantheism, and it leads one into Spiritualism, away from Christ.

The Bible teaches the true, healthy experience of meditation: Isaac, a faithful, God-reverencing young man "went out to meditate in the field at the eventide" (Gen. 24:63). Precious experience! And we know what he was meditating about--yearning to meet his one and only, Rebecca. David would lie awake at night, he says, "to remember [the Lord] upon my bed, and meditate on [Him] in the night watches" (Psalm 63:6). He begs the Lord to give him the gift of the Holy Spirit so that "the meditation of my heart [may be] acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my Redeemer" (19:14).

Does this take time? Of course! Does it require mental application? Disciplining the thoughts? Self-control, so you don't go to sleep all the time? Yes! You discipline your thoughts, "casting down imaginations, ... and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). You base your meditation on biblical truth; you exercise control of your mind, and thus you welcome the Holy Spirit into your time of spiritual fellowship with God--who is your personal Heavenly Father and Savior FROM sin. Cherish such meditation!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 2, 2004.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Is Jesus Hiding?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

My friend had given me a little book that he hoped would find a treasured spot in my library. It had the price sticker still on it—97 cents. It was entitled “Seeking the Savior.”

The author was faithful to his title: the book went on to tell the many things I must do in order to find Jesus. The basic idea of the book is that the Savior of the world is hiding somewhere, and one must diligently search Him out.

My friend meant well; he wanted to help me. Thanks to him. And thanks to the author of the book who sincerely wanted to help his reader. I appreciated all the good intentions.

But the idea of Jesus hiding and waiting for us to find Him through diligent search is an Old Covenant idea, and Old Covenant thinking “genders to bondage” (Gal. 4:24).

The faith of Jesus is not another shop set up alongside Buddhism, Islam, Shintoism, etc. where you come to buy salvation. Jesus has given Himself to us; the Father “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” that whoever believes in Him should not go on perishing within himself (the original has this idea). But may have (now, present tense) eternal life.

The Bible idea is just what hungry, lonely hearts yearn to understand:

The Father is infinite, which means that He gives His full attention to every person on earth. He faithfully, meticulously watched over you when you were an embryo in your mother’s womb. “You have formed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother’s womb. ... My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth [that is, the secret realities beyond our knowledge]. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me [that includes today!], when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:13-16, NKJV).

Kneel before Him, and let each word penetrate; you’ve come to where you need to “enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matt. 6:6, KJV). Just wait, wait; let Him say to you what He yearns for you to receive in your heart. The Lord Jesus is your Savior, He has given Himself to you. It’s not your job to go and dig Him out somehow, somewhere.

It’s your job to let the Holy Spirit melt your hard, worldly heart with the truth of His nearness.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 15, 2008.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Saved by HIS Faith

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

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

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

Thus we are not saved by OUR faith in Jesus, but by HIS faith. He alone is "the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb. 12:2). That is, in all the 6000 years of human history Christ is the one Man who has totally believed the saving truth. His faith alone works by love (Gal. 5:6).
He is the one and only human being who has fully experienced what it is to be "forsaken" of God (Matt. 27:46). No one else has been capable of sensing to the full what that means; it was He alone who has been "made ... to be sin for us who knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore, no one else has ever "tasted" lostness as fully as He did as He hung on that cross in the darkness. It was HIS faith that saved Him from eternal despair! God saw fit to record the story in Psalm 22 (and also 69).

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

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 31, 2005.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Let's Proclaim the New Covenant to Our Children

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

So often we hear parents who tell sadly that one or more of their children are no longer in the church. They were raised in the church, went to Sabbath school, even church school, Christian academies, etc., but now have drifted out into the world. These parents invariably say they are trusting to that promise in Isaiah 49:25, "I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children." Precious promise; but is there something we can do to cooperate with the Lord in this wonderful work of reclaiming lost children?

The father of the prodigal son was a wonderful man, but still his son rebelled. So we are not assured of 100% success, necessarily. Even Jesus lost one of His twelve disciples, and actually almost lost Peter, and the others forsook Him and fled. But there is a reason why we lose so many people, and the problem can be corrected.

The problem is the same one that ancient Israel had continually: the effects of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was the promise of the people to do everything just right when they promised in Exodus 19:8, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." For generations, we have always assured our children, "Yes, the Lord will bless you; He will do this or that for you, provided you do your part!" Thus the basic idea that gets across to them is that the Lord is like a policeman or a CHP officer; He won't bother you if you keep out of trouble. It's up to you to initiate a relationship with the Lord, and to maintain it; and if you don't, then He backs off and leaves you to yourself. The emphasis is on what YOU do to save yourself, not on what HE has done and is doing to save you. What is the inevitable result? Dependence on self, and that leads to alienation from Christ. And then--wandering away.

Let's hope it's not too late to proclaim the New Covenant to the children who have lost their way, but in the meantime let's give the New Covenant to the children of today! They must know that Christ is their Saviour 100%; nothing but that Good News will reconcile their alienated hearts to Him.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 16, 1997.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Does Jesus Limit His Healing Grace?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

I wish I had a million days, not just 365 every year, to proclaim the gospel as Good News on Dial Daily Bread! There's no end to the crumbs of the bread of life that can nourish our famishing souls each new day. Take for example this verse from Psalm 103: "Bless the Lord O my soul, … who forgives all your iniquity, ... and heals all your diseases" (vss. 1, 3). The Good News says that "you" is YOU, even if you are unworthy, even if you are a sinner. The Bad News says No, that promise is only if you are a church member or at least a good person who has repented and done everything just right, and your conscience is clear. Only then can you expect the Lord to hear and answer your prayers and heal you. Which is true?

We can find the answer in the story in Mark 2 when Jesus healed the paralytic who was carried to Him by four men who broke up the tiles on the roof and let him down. Jesus knew very well that this man had brought sickness upon himself by sinful living. But He didn't ask the poor man any questions or to make any promises. He didn't even ask him if he had repented; He said straight out, "Son, your sins are forgiven!"

Does Jesus limit His healing grace only to good people? Don't bad people get healed, too? If a bad person cuts his finger, doesn't the blood clot also? Read all those wonderful promises in Psalm 103 about your mouth satisfied with good food and your youth renewed like the eagle's, and your life redeemed from destruction, etc. Doesn't the dear Lord do this for all His children--even the wandering, prodigal sons who haven't yet gone home?? And if that's so, then doesn't it follow that He also "forgiveth all thy sins"? If not, how could anybody live, even for a moment?

If the Lamb of God hadn't paid the price for our sins on His cross, how could we take even another breath? Well, the Good News is good; believe it, and sing the Hallelujah Chorus today!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 26, 1997.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Worrying About Your Eternal Future?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Personal assurance of salvation: It's serious, because you can waste a lot of psychic energy worrying about your eternal future. All kinds of personality disorders can develop because of this deep anxiety, making not only yourself miserable, but others closest to you. The apostle John says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). Is that like knowing you have a certain amount of money in the bank? You feel better if you know it's there in your name. Obviously, God does not want us to fret and worry.

On the other hand, He also wants us to exercise common sense. The Bible does not teach the heresy of Universalism. Clearly, some people, "the number ... as the sand of the sea" (Rev. 20:8) will not enter into eternal life. Christ will be forced to tell "many," Sorry, "I never knew you" (Matt. 7:23).

So, how do we walk this fine hairline? Several Bible principles may help us:
(1) The only Person in the Bible who has ever been guaranteed eternal life is Christ Himself. God says of Him, "Behold My servant, ... Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth" (Isa. 42:1). "I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded" (1 Peter 2:6).

(2) All the rest of us are "chosen ... in Him" (Eph. 1:4), because His new role is that of "last Adam," or second Adam. He is the new Head of the human race; and just as the human race is naturally "in Adam" by birth, so now by faith we can individually ratify His election of us "in Him."
(3) He wills that "all men" should be saved (1 Tim. 2:3, 4); you waste your time if you worry about whether He wants you to be saved.

(4) His love is so strong, His persistence is so great as "Good Shepherd," that He will continue to assure you of His search for you as His lost sheep.

(5) He claims you as His purchased possession, purchased with His blood.

(6) He says that He has you in His hand. "My sheep hear My voice ... and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any one pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:27, 28). "Assurance"? You bet!

(7) But let the common sense kick in right here: if you cling stubbornly to unbelief, if you deliberately choose to rebel, you yourself can jump out of His hand. So He says, "Abide in Me," stay where I have put you by means of My great sacrifice for you (John 15:4).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 22, 2000.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Our "Specialty" Physician

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Our local phonebooks list many specialty physicians. Each takes long extra training in the one branch of medicine for which he/she is uniquely qualified.

If Jesus had a place in our phonebook He would be listed as specializing in brokenheartedness. That is the one branch of heart-illness in which He is supremely qualified by experience. He is the only person in our 6000+ years who has experienced to the full the anguish of being totally "forsaken" by the Father (cf. Matt. 27:46; true! no one else has ever yet died the second death!). That death-pang of anguish on the cross was His extra training in His Physician-specialty!
"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart" (Psalm 34:18). The problem is, they don't realize it; to them, He seems billions of miles away.

But there is only one spot where they can realize that nearness--on His cross with Him. Come, there.

"A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise," and "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit" (51:17). The brokenness is in contrition, sorrow for sin, not fear for the punishment, but pain for having caused suffering to the Son of God. That repentance is precious gift from God!

Christ's expertise in being a Physician to the brokenhearted is told in Psalm 147:3: "He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." It's not merely superficial comfort that He offers, to get you by with a band-aid for another dark and dreary day; He heals that brokenness. From the deep inside, He makes you smile again.

Jesus announced His Physician-specialty in the Sabbath worship service in His home town of Nazareth: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath appointed Me to preach the gospel [Good News] to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives [slaves], and recovering of sight to the blind [an Optician supreme], to set at liberty them that are bruised" (Luke 4:18).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 30, 2007.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Stress and Fear--Where the Healing Takes Place

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Millions right now experience the anguish of severe tension. Events thousands of miles away are worrisome; crime and corruption at home worry them. Home troubles are so painful often that life is a burden. Sometimes they can hardly face a new day.

They need a Divine Physician of the soul, and they already have one, if only they knew it. His name? Jesus. And He is not merely far off waiting for them to find Him; we read how "Jesus Himself drew near" to His sorrowful, stressed-out disciples (Luke 24:15). He didn't wait for them to draw near to Him! Often we are like Mary in the Garden weeping in utter discouragement, yet Jesus Himself was standing over her, but her eyes were so blinded with tears she could not recognize Him--thought He was the landscape worker (John 20:11-16).

Isaiah emphasizes how near the Lord is to us when we don't realize it: "He is near who justifies me" (50:8, remember that when you are falsely accused!), and His "righteousness is near" (51:5, that means victory over addiction). The Bible does not bill Jesus as a possible Savior IF, IF you put on a virtuoso performance doing everything just right; you read that He is "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42); "the Savior of all men" (1 Tim 4:10). He has laid His loving hand on you already to quiet and calm you. Let His healing virtue flow into your troubled soul as His healing virtue flowed into the woman who touched the hem of His garment in Luke 8:43-48.

So He says in Psalm 37:7: "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself." Maybe you don't know how to "rest"? Often that's the problem; you are so high strung that even when you go to bed and try to sleep, your nerves are sandpapered. Step one in "resting" is to BELIEVE the Good News the Lord is saying to you! Step two is to make the choice to resign your soul into His hands; identify with Him in Gethsemane and on the cross. Take down the barriers you have erected to shut out the Holy Spirit, and let Him refresh your mind with what happened when Jesus on the cross almost came unglued (read Psalm 22:14-20). Stress and fear combined will kill us unless we "rest" in Him as He hangs on His cross! There is where the healing takes place, every time.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 29, 1999.
Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Bible Remedies for Stress

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The word "stress" appears nowhere in the Bible. Does that mean that God never foresaw the No. 1 problem that modern human beings have to contend with? No, for the idea of stress permeates the Bible and it is full of remedies for it.

Remedy #1 is the invitation of the Son of God who says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Being "heavy laden" is the precise idea of stress as we know it! But how do we "come" to Him? The very problem itself of our weariness and unending pressures so distracts us that we are so jittery that we cannot "come" to Him--so we feel. And the pressure becomes so bad that we crack.

Now the Bible suggests a way of relief:

(a) We have to eat or we would die of starvation. But we don't usually have to eat as much as we do; skip a meal and devote that time to "coming to Him." Yes, that does make sense: we are invited to "fast and pray" when we face difficult problems. Does it take you 30 minutes to eat? Devote 30 minutes on your knees and talk to the Divine Psychiatrist, the Savior whose full-time job is doing what He promised--giving you "rest."

(b) You have to take some time to sleep; turn off your computer and TV and go to bed early; then get up in the morning early and devote another 30 minutes to "coming to Him." Psalm 27:8 has a precious insight into what happens behind the scenes: "When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to you, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek.'" This dialogue between the Lord and you is going on; it's for real. He is knocking on your door.

Remedy # 2 is the holy Sabbath day. For 6000 years the Lord has known that six days of stress is all that any human can endure at any time; the seventh day is permeated with His presence; in the beginning He made that day "holy." You don't make the Sabbath holy, He did; your job is only to "keep it holy." And the rest from stress that is in the holy Sabbath day is diffused throughout the busy week, because for the "six working days" (Ezek. 46:1) we "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8). That very remembrance itself brings a renewed promise of "rest" that soothes our frayed nerves throughout the week.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 24, 1999.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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The "Desire of Thine Heart

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The little book of Hosea in the Old Testament creates within us a hunger to understand more. How could the Lord, our heavenly Father who is Himself love (agape), who wants us all to be happy--how could He do what He did to poor Hosea, His faithful prophet? He commanded him to "love" a woman (not just pretend to) who seemed incapable of a fidelity-love (or heart-submission, Eph. 5:22) in return! (Hosea 3:1, 2).

Hosea's unhappy love affair became an illustration of Christ's unhappy love affair with Israel. Dare we say that His love affair with His remnant church is also an "unhappy" one (for Him!), as was Hosea's with the woman he truly loved? Why is this book in the Bible? Does it have special meaning for these last days, this great Day of Atonement in which we live today?

On Christ's part, to have to go on forgiving ad infinitum, generation after generation, century after century, loving His people with a conjugal love never requited--must this be for another century? Or forever? Must they be forever motivated by an egocentric desire for their personal reward? Can they never sense a concern for His heart-love, a purpose of their heart that He receive His reward transcending their yearning for their reward? Can His Bride-to-be at last "make herself ready for the marriage of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:7, 8)?

The book of Hosea says "yes!" It tells us to take heart; as Gomer at last grew up, we can grow up too! Hosea's "many days" of waiting ended before he died (cf. 3:3; chapter 14).
The story in the book ends in the major key to transcend its familiar minor key of conjugal frustration and pain. The wearied prophet, with Gomer his at last repentant wife, walks off stage hand in hand with her in an enduring "till-death-do-us-part" love. Heart-repentance on her part became finally possible. He could at last look into her eyes and see the long-awaited heart-understanding. We are comforted to know that Hosea finally joins Job, Moses, Joseph, yes David, at their end receiving "the desire of [their] heart" (Psalm 37:4).

We all have a "desire of thine heart" awaiting fulfillment; let it be a worthy one that we can cherish, unashamed, for eternity. Thank you, Gomer, for finally growing up; now must be time for us to grow up! But still, the Lord can't force us; we must move, ourselves.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 28, 2006.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Are You Missing a Bonanza?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What do you do when you pray and pray and you don’t get an answer? Or the answer is a plain No? Did I hear you say that all your prayers get a Yes answer? If so you are a most unusual person. Many people, especially children, are perplexed when they hear stories of some people always getting an immediate Yes answer; they don’t seem to get such answers. Well, neither do I.

Even the apostle Paul had to suffer the disappointment of not getting a Yes answer to his prayers. He tells us about it in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. He had a painful physical problem, and three times he earnestly prayed, Lord, take this away; am I not serving You? And he probably said, like we do so often, “Don’t I deserve  something?” The Lord said No to his request: “My grace is sufficient for you,” and with it you can endure this pain.

The children need to understand that if the Lord says No, it does not mean He doesn’t love us; He does. His “No!” can be a greater proof of His love than if He lets us win the lottery.
We can be sure that He will always give us enough from His store of much more abounding grace that will enable us to bear the trial and endure its pain. That grace is often much better than to have the trial taken away from us.

Why?

Because His wonderful grace is strongest when you and I are at our weakest: “My strength is made perfect in weakness,” He said to Paul (2 Cor. 12:9).

Paul immediately took the hint and capitalized on it: “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”  My trials turn out to be a great bargain, Paul said!

Take a new look at yours; you may be missing a bonanza.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 29, 2008.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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The Greatest Sign of the Nearness of the End

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Something momentous about the truth of justification by faith developed in the latter years of the 19th century. Fresh insights into this glorious truth came through two young ordained ministers who thought through something that apparently no one else had clearly grasped. They simply combined Paul’s idea of justification by faith with the truth that we are now living in the great final cosmic Day of Atonement. The world’s High Priest, Jesus Christ, had begun His last work of fully reconciling alienated human hearts to God.

It was an antitypical work in the Most Holy Apartment of the heavenly sanctuary that fulfilled the type in the ancient high priest’s work when he entered the second apartment of the earthly tabernacle (see Hebrews 9). Now Christ’s objective was not merely preparing people to die and come up in the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6); now His work prepares a people to meet their Lord in person at His second coming (see 1 Thess. 4:16, 17), and be translated. Now every buried root of enmity against God (Rom. 8:7) is to be cleansed. Only when the heart is cleansed can we be in total oneness with the Lord. Only then can it be said in all truth that “here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12). Christ’s righteousness is not merely legally imputed; now it is fully imparted.

This most precious message had within it the promise of fulfilling the prophecy of the message that must “lighten the earth with glory.” The reason was that it brought to parched human hearts what was in fact long-awaited “showers from heaven of the latter rain.” There was power in that message of justification by faith that delivered from the love of self. Those who believed treated their richest gain as loss and poured contempt on all their pride. This was refreshing to see in ministers. It was the greatest sign of the nearness of the end. But .. !

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 13, 2005.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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The 9-1-1 Hotline to Heaven

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

9-1-1 is a vital part of our emergency response system. A lady had just slipped into the back seat of her car to change a diaper on her baby when a carjacker jumped in the driver's seat and took off. Fortunately she had a cell phone, so she called 9-1-1 while the carjacker was driving her car through town. While she screamed at him to let her and the baby out, this gave the 9-1-1 dispatcher information he needed to direct the cops to their location, and they saved her. The dispatcher listened to the lady.

Well, Heaven has a very efficient 9-1-1 hotline, and listens when a child of God cries out for help. But does God always respond? I don't know how to explain why some good people suffer bad things, or why innocent children suffer from tragedies. If God permits a child of His to suffer injustice, even death, we remember there are some things worse than death.

But back to that 9-1-1 hotline to Heaven: let me ask a question. Wouldn't it make you feel happier when you pray in a sudden emergency if you have been in the habit of praying? If you have been sincerely listening to God all along? Following Christ, seeking to be on Heaven's side in the great controversy between Christ and Satan? I would not want to say that God does not hear a sudden prayer for help from someone who has been turning his back on Him all along, but to be honest, Proverbs 28:9 says, "He that turneth away his ears from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." And chapter 1:28-31 says that God has feelings of justice and righteousness. If we slap Him in the face continually, He is no grandfatherly Wimp: "Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer. .. They despised all my reproof." Even then, God is not playing tit-for-tat; He simply backs off and leaves them to "their own way, ... their own devices."

It's not a matter of cowering before God in fear. And it's not earning merit. Faith in God is really common decency, and the true motive for praying is not a sudden "Lord, get me out of this mess!" but a heart appreciation for His character, consistent, day by day. Faith is really identification with Him, at-one with Him, abiding in Him. "Have faith in God!"

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 3, 1999.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.
 
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Does God Ever Become Tired?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does God ever become tired? Weary? You may say No, because Isaiah 40:28 says He "fainteth not, neither is weary." But look again: that is speaking of His holding up the worlds, suns, galaxies, and of His comforting and strengthening us who "have no might." Directly in context, the Lord says, "Thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied Me with thine iniquities" (43:24). And Malachi agrees: "Ye have wearied the Lord with your words" (2:17).

Do you suppose He is "weary" of human beings re-crucifying Christ century after century, millennium after millennium? Could He be tired of having to endure all the suffering of innocent people down through the ages? He says: "In all their affliction He was afflicted" (Isa. 63:9). You and I can turn off the TV news and the horrendous pictures, and go to sleep; but God can't go to sleep. He "slumbers not" (Psalm 121:3). He has to stay awake all night and share the sufferings of people whom He has created and redeemed.

The dear Lord gave us His seventh-day Sabbath so we can "rest," and it's a precious joy for us to turn off the TV when the Sabbath comes in at sunset Friday, and spend a quiet day of heaven on earth, "a day of rest and gladness." But the world doesn't keep the Sabbath; the suffering goes on. Can God keep the Sabbath with us? Hardly. Think of how He had to endure those 1260 years of persecution of His people (Dan. 7:25; Rev. 12:6, 14), and the almost incredible suffering of millions during the 20th century of "marvelous human progress"! Does God long for a "Sabbath" of rest for His soul?

The Bible says that such a "Sabbath" is to come for Him: the millennium of Revelation 20. In the meantime, it gives us pause to consider that the Lord may be weary with our continued spiritual infidelity, our worldliness while we profess to worship Him, like a wife who "treacherously departeth from her husband" (Jer. 3:20). In Jeremiah's day the Lord's patience gave out, and He had to abandon His people to the mercies of Babylon because "there was no remedy" (2 Chron. 36:16). Yes, God is infinite; but His patience is not! As individuals we need to remember that, and also as a corporate "body," His church.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 23, 1999.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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Turning "Little Feet" Toward the Kingdom of God

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Children are very important people who need Good News, not Bad. Jesus is very severe with people who abuse children spiritually--that is, pastors, or parents, or teachers who tell them Bad News instead of the pure, true “gospel” that He commanded us to tell everybody (Matt. 18:6).
When it’s our turn to tell the children’s story in the church service, we must beg Him to help us do it right, to tell them something that will turn their little feet toward the kingdom of God, and not vice versa.

Sometimes I would make it into a game that a child could play with me. Here's what would happen: If one volunteers, I tell him/her that all I want him to do is to go for a walk with me down the aisle of the church, and he/she hold on to my hand. That’s all!

So, the trusting child, smiling a bit sheepishly, stands with me there in front of everybody, and tremulously holds my hand. Whereupon I take off in high gear down the aisle with the child left there behind, not having taken a step, because of course there was no hanging on.

Then, after “chiding” the child for not holding on to my hand as I told him/her to do, I say, “Now let’s try it again; and this time instead of you holding on to my hand as we go for a walk, let me hold you by the hand. Then we take off and I hold on tight.

Then I make my point: being saved in God’s kingdom does not depend on you holding on to God’s hand, because you and I and all of us are too weak to hang on. But it depends on us believing that He is holding tight to our hand.

He says so: “I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not; I will help you’” (Isa. 41:13).

The idea is not that we must take the initiative in our salvation and start the process going; we must believe that His love for us takes the initiative; it’s an important point that must not be twisted or distorted. It’s “God [who] so loved the world that He gave …” It’s not we who persuaded Him to love us! You and He are crossing this busy street of worldly traffic and you are the little child. “Father” is not going to let you run across on your own. He is going to hold you tight by His hand. (True, if you are perverse, you can wriggle yourself out of His hand; a child can do that, and get hit by the traffic.)

You don’t want to do that, do you? Respond to His constant gripping of your hand.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 27, 2007.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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"In the Days of Our Youth"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Decisions that youth make in their mid-teens are often decisive for life (yes, and for eternity!). Jesus was visiting Jerusalem at the age of 12 to watch the Passover. He had questions to ask; no one could answer. Finally, it dawned on Him--animal blood could never wash away one human sin; someone innocent must become "the Lamb of God." He decided then to be "about My Father's business," which meant He must become the world's "Lamb of God" (Luke 2:49). It means--the age of 12 is very important for anyone.

"In the days of [our] youth" we too can "remember [our] Creator" which means we shall never forget Him even when terrific temptations later assail us (Eccl. 12:1). God Himself, our Creator, created the age of 12 and gave the gift to every one of us. It's when we can think clearly and make rapid decisions for right or wrong because we can feel deeply. God Himself respects the choices we make at the age of 12, yes, and holds us accountable.

It was about that age when David wrote Psalm 23 and composed music for it (Mozart and Mendelssohn were writing fantastic music at that age). Teenage devotion trained David for that sudden decision to confront Goliath. Perhaps even younger, Jeremiah chose to say "Yes" to God's call to an important prophetic mission.

It was in his teenage years that Esau thought family worship and church were boring and chose to pursue the more exciting sports of his day. It wasn't long until he ended up "despising" his family "birthright," and preparing himself to sell it off for a pittance. He probably didn't consider all that it meant.

Right now, today, let's "remember our Creator."

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 17, 2002.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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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.