Daily Bread: May 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Your Built-in Navigation System

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When you even begin to appreciate that the Ten Commandments have become ten promises, life becomes a constant springtime, a mountain-peak experience. Yes, it means you will never fall into sin.

It means that the Good Shepherd has found you, the lost sheep, and is bearing you (present tense) on His shoulder back home (Luke 15:3-6).

It means that the Lord Jesus will hold you by your "right hand," telling you over and over "Don't be afraid!" (Isa. 41:13).

It means that on the unknown pathway of life "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left" (Isa. 30:21). That "word" won't necessarily be an audible Voice; it's a "word" that the ears of your soul will hear distinctly. Talk about a new navigation system for your Lexus! Believe that truth in the Preamble to the Ten and you have that system built-in to your soul from now on.

If you're a teen, that's a huge burden lifted from your heart; you wonder what you're going to do in life, or who you're going to marry: your Navigation System will guide your every step.

If you're an old person, you can look back and sing Hallelujah that the dear Lord has already held you by the hand and saved you from innumerable pitfalls, the most horrible of which is the "dominion" of sin (Rom. 6:14; have you ever thanked the Lord that He saved you from prison?).

A galaxy of New Covenant promises is in Ezekiel 36: "You shall be clean ... from all your idols," you are given "a new heart," there's "a new spirit" installed within you, the old "heart of stone" that has plagued you all your life, removed, the Holy Spirit is placed "within you," and your greatest joy becomes "walking in [the Lord's] statutes" (vss. 25-27).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 27, 2006.

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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 30, 2011

Our Tutor in a New Covenant School

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's true: if we read the Ten Commandments with New Covenant eyes, they become ten promises of right living by faith. But how does this transformation take place?

It's not motivated by fear (the standard though popular Old Covenant motivation). Rather, "the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men"; "grace abounded much more" than all the sin Satan could throw at us (Titus 2:11; Rom. 5:20). It teaches us "that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age" ("in this present world," KJV; Titus 2:12). Grace becomes our tutor in a New Covenant school, actually trains us in total obedience to God's holy law. And the tutelage is a joy all the way.

But how does grace "teach" us? Titus 2 explains: "Our Savior Jesus Christ ... gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed ..." (vss. 13, 14):

(a) Long ago, before the foundation of the world, Christ as the Son of God "gave Himself" in a solemn covenant with the Father that if sin should ever arise on earth His love would constrain Him to give Himself, that is, to die for us.

(b) Laying aside all the advantages and prerogatives of divinity as He became incarnate in the womb of the virgin Mary, Christ grew to manhood as one of us (though still the Son of God "in the likeness of sinful flesh," Rom. 8:3), and now again He prayed to His Father, "Not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:39). That "not as I will" included His human (as well as divine) will to live; the "death" on His cross was the real thing. No thought of resurrection crossed His mind as He cried out, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?" He "poured out his soul unto death," the second and final, everlasting one. "The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a Conqueror." [1] His emptying Himself was total (cf Isa. 53:12; Phil. 2:5, 6).

(c) Grace is undeserved favor; when it's of Christ, like love, it constrains to total devotion to Him (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). The old fear is forgotten.

[1] The Desire of Ages, p. 753.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 26, 2006.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Can a Fear Motivation Produce Repentance?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are God's hands ever tied so that He cannot do what He wants to do? How could that be if He is omnipotent?

The Bible as a whole makes it quite clear that He cannot force the human will, any more than a man by brute force can make a woman love him. The Old Testament reveals how God tried every way possible to get His people Israel of old to receive the blessings He longed to give them. Jesus said to them: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"(Matt. 23:37).

God tried every method except forcing their will: "The Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because He had compassion on His people, ... but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, ... till there was no remedy" (2 Chron. 36:15, 16).

He tried sending calamities, letting them be oppressed by the Philistines, sending famines (no rain for three and a half years in the time of Elijah), the conquest of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians, and finally letting the Babylonians destroy their magnificent Temple and Jerusalem itself, and take them captive to a heathen land (vss. 17-20).

If fear is a valid motivation to produce repentance, how could fear be made more effective? Imagine walking in chains for 500 miles to Babylon, driven like cattle! Princesses and princes alike! No luxury buses.

You may say, "It worked! After those disasters and 70 years of captivity in a pagan land, they never again worshipped idols! God finally found the right method." Yes, that's a mark in favor of using the fear motivation.

But did it truly reconcile Israel to God? After they came back and rebuilt the city and the Second Temple, what did they do? Matthew 26, 27 tells us: they crucified their Messiah. The old covenant had finally run its full course.

Now, can we learn, and find room for the new covenant?

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 9, 2001.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Our Magnificent Defense Attorney (Part 2)

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Millions of people who have studied the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation believe that "the hour of his [God's] judgment" began at the end of the 2,300 years of Daniel's prophecy (Daniel 8:11-14). Now is the time that Jesus spoke of when He said, "Take heed unto yourselves, ... lest at any time ... (Luke 21:34, emphasis supplied). This is the world's time of "emergency." Today is the day that will come "as a snare ... on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." We are living in the fateful night of the world's Belshazzar's Feast.

And to be sure, we have a most clever prosecuting attorney who is bent on securing our condemnation--Satan himself. In fact, the very name Satan means "accuser," or prosecuting attorney. The Lord revealed this to Zechariah who saw Joshua the high priest standing in this same judgment (symbolizing God's people) with "Satan standing at his right hand to resist him" (Zech. 3:1).

But we have a defense Attorney--the Lord Jesus Christ--appointed for us if we will take advantage of His services: "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). In this court case, which concerns each of us personally, Christ cannot deny before the court that we have indeed sinned and forfeited our right to eternal life. All of Satan's accusations are perfectly true--he has an accurate record of all our sin. What our defending Attorney can do is present His own blood as a sacrificial death in our behalf; in other words, He has already paid the penalty of the law--death--on our behalf.

There is literally nothing we can do to defend ourselves. We have to let Him do it. And He can defend only those who exercise faith in Him. They must be "in Him" by faith, involved with Him, alert, on the watch continually. There can be no breaks in the communication with Him, no breaks in this fellowship with Christ. At any time your name or mine may come up in this judgment. While our defending Attorney is fighting His great battle in our behalf in this war with Satan, we have our own battle to fight--to overcome temptation.

Jesus promises complete victory to those who trust Him: "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels" (Rev. 3:5). This is the same as the outcome of the court case described by Zechariah in his vision:

"And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment" (Zech. 3:1-4).

Marvelous outcome! What a magnificent defense. And you and I are the objects of all this concern. Think of the Sovereign of the universe taking your name upon His lips in defense, and honoring you with the final declaration of acquittal. We are not only on trial in this great judgment--we have an active part to play in it.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Our Magnificent Defense Attorney (Part 1)

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Suppose you had a serious life-or-death court case coming up today. And suppose that you were up against an extremely clever prosecuting attorney who possessed facts that he was certain to use to secure your conviction and condemnation. Suppose that the only possible way to save your life was to keep your mind clear so that you could take advantage of every means of defense. Would you cloud your mind with alcohol or drugs at this critical time?

This is what Christ meant when He said, "take heed ... lest at any time" "your minds be dulled by dissipation and drunkenness" (Luke 21:34, KJV, NEB). He was referring to the time of judgment that comes just before He returns a second time. In the preceding chapter of Luke He spoke of the judgment which must precede the resurrection: "They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world [eternal life], and the resurrection from the dead …" (Luke 20:35, emphasis supplied). Anybody can see that such a judgment must take placebefore the resurrection, in order to determine who shall be rewarded by what Jesus described as "the resurrection of life," and who should be left to "the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:29). When Christ comes the second time, this work of judgment will be finished already, for He says, "Behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be" (Rev. 22:12).

The Bible shows that this judgment will take place while we are still living on the earth. In Luke 20:35 Jesus spoke of the dead being judged as worthy or unworthy to have a part in "the resurrection of life" (John 5:29), while in Luke 21:36 He goes a step further and speaks of those who are living being judged worthy "to stand before the Son of man" when He comes. This pre-Advent judgment takes place at a pre-arranged time: "He hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained" (Acts 17:31).

That "appointed" day was yet future in Paul's day, but it is present in our day. The first angel of Revelation 14 declares that "the hour of his judgment is come" (verse 7). It is during the last days of earth's history, that "the nations" are "angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto they servants ... and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth" (Rev. 11:15-18).

Consider a string of if's:

(a) If God is a personal Being who can be described as a loving heavenly Father;

(b) If Jesus of Nazareth is the divine Son of God, the world's Savior;

(d) If the Bible is the inspired word of God, given for the instruction and the uplift of mankind;

(e) If God has a plan of salvation that is effective;

(f) If there is hope for the world, a light at the end of our cosmic tunnel; then sin must somehow be eradicated from the vast universe of God. The idea of an eternal conscious hell as the domicile of lost people (yes, lost angels, too), must mean the plague of sin with its agony, hatred, and suffering must continue forever in God's vast universe.

If the above has any significant content of truth, then the biblical doctrine of the Sanctuary (Leviticus, Old Testament; Hebrews, New Testament) must be the answer to the universal problem of sin. The idea that "God is love" (agape) is totally inconsistent with the idea that sin must be ineradicable from human hearts. The Hebrew Day of Atonement was the one day in the year that prefigured in type the final cleansing of God's great economy and "the bringing in of everlasting righteousness." Jesus Christ ministering as the world's great High Priest is capable of developing a people as a corporate body who have "overcome [sin] even as [He] overcame" (Rev, 3:20). Christianity has something to offer a distraught world.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Next Item on God's Agenda

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The greatest drought in the history of ancient Israel prevailed in the reign of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. No rain, not even a drop of dew, fell on the parched land for three years and a half; people were dying everywhere in consequence of the national disaster.

Even the king took his trusted "Cabinet member" Obadiah and with him and searched the land for some spots where the royal livestock could forage for a little water and grass in order to survive--national security depended on it (1 Kings 18:5). It was equivalent to our national security crisis if our supplies of gasoline and diesel were to become non-existent.

Likewise, a crisis faces the Lord's church in the last days if there is no "rain" of the Holy Spirit falling upon it worldwide in copious showers of grace. As many Israelites died in Ahab's days of drought, so many in modern Israel suffer; lacking Heaven's true showers of "rain" they fall prey to the clever counterfeits that the Enemy in the great controversy with Christ foists upon them. Youth and teens especially perish spiritually if they are deprived of fresh "bread of life." Every wind of doctrine is blowing. Jesus' words are, "If anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand" (Matt. 24:23-25). Common sense is precious.

Most perilous of these deceptions will be the clever invention of a false and counterfeit holy spirit. The truth makes sense: if Satan can invent a false Christ, he can also invent a false holy spirit. In the "time of the end" "knowledge shall be increased" (Dan. 12:4). If we can conceive of a progression of deceptions, each generation witnessing a new development like "alpha" panentheism unfolding, imagine the almost overwhelming impact of what its "omega" will be!

In Ahab's day, a true prophet of God named Elijah arose and commanded the king to call a national crisis-convocation at Carmel. The universal deception was unmasked publicly. Every Israelite with an honest heart was undeceived. At last the true Holy Spirit had a voice.

The next item on God's agenda for today is His sending "Elijah" "before the great and dreadful day of the LORD." He will lead the honest in the world church into the one true miracle of His much more abounding grace: "turning hearts" in the great Day of Atonement (Mal. 4:5, 6; Dan. 8:14). At last, Christ crucified and risen will be "lifted up" as He said He must be (John 12:32, 33).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 12, 2007.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Super-Enemy and the Final Judgment

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

During these thousands of years of human history, a Super-Enemy has tried to distort the picture of God's character. His purpose: to create and encourage in us a heart-"enmity against God" (see Rom. 8:7). And, of course, a heart-enmity against God will surely produce a heart-enmity against our fellow men. Result: what we see in the Middle East today.

Let's not dismiss that as something far away impossible for us: it's what "we" the world see in our mirror--the image of "a world dark with misapprehension of God." It's what our lovely human society would be if we had no Savior, if His dear Holy Spirit were withdrawn from the world. Let's enjoy our lovely Springtime, but let's remember we wouldn't have even one blossom if Someone had not worn a crown of thorns in our behalf, whose blood ran down the wood from the tree on which He was hanged, to sanctify the earth itself on which we live (John 6:33).

One distortion that Satan has tried to capitalize on is the doctrine of the final judgment. Jesus clarifies a widespread misconception: His Father refuses to condemn even one human being in the final judgment. "The Father judgeth [krinei, Gr., condemns] no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, … and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man" (John 5:22, 27). In other words, the Father has washed His holy hands of judging sinners. Where we think we see Him pictured in the Bible as our final Condemner, in reality He is pictured there as presiding at the final judgment. But the final sentencing, the condemnation of the lost, that He has left to the One who is our Peer. It's like in our civil society: we select a jury of twelve citizens who are our peers to try a capital case. Our final Judge is to be our Elder Brother who has known and experienced all of our temptations to sin, "yet without sin" (2 Cor. 5:21).

And then comes the amazing next step in understanding: Jesus Himself says "if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge [condemn] him not." The only people He will judge "in the last day" are those who believe in Him, and He willvindicate them (John 12:47, 48). May we grasp the message, "Be ye reconciled to God."

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 16, 2002.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Does God Have a Time Schedule?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

“The Last Generation” idea has caught the interest of thoughtful Bible-lovers worldwide, which for many has become a new book.

All the grand salvation themes come together to constitute a crescendo of Bible truth like:

(1) A choir singing a “new song” that has never struck such a high note: “They sang as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the [twenty four] elders. And no one could learn that song except the 144,000, who were redeemed from the earth” (Rev. 14:3).

(2) Imagine the excitement that would thrill the musical world if someone were to discover the manuscript of Beethoven’s Tenth Symphony (the world has never heard more than those famous “nine”). But nothing like that has ever happened. The “Last Generation” Bible idea is of far greater impact for it will thrill seekers of truth from “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Deep convictions in hearts come together in unison.

(3) Another biblical image of the last generation movement is a forest fire in people’s hearts. No church hierarchy can put it out. Although the “elders” of 120 years ago did quench the flame then, now the Holy Spirit is unmistakably in charge, and honest-hearted people will make their way through every obstacle to grab it. The quiet, even painful ministry of gospel-lovers worldwide has at last borne fruit.

(4) Nobody has to study psychological tricks to induce people against their will. “The LORD has kindled a fire in Zion” (Lam. 4:11). The Holy Spirit will motivate them to forsake all that has held them back; the last generation idea punctuates soul-winning ministry; there is no time-setting, but there is seen the final significance of the Daniel and Revelation teaching since the commencement of “the time of the end” in 1798 (Dan. 11:35; 12:4). There is awareness that God does have a time schedule.

(5) The light that shines so brightly is the accumulated rays from millennia of growth in grace, “the path of the just” that “like the shining sun ... shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Prov. 4:18). It’s the brightest light in 6000+ years; it cannot pass unrecognized. Christ will be honored.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 7, 2007.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A Work Going on Behind the Scenes

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

After I was baptized I wanted to understand "the sanctuary." How does one make sense of the offerings and ceremonies in Leviticus? What do the rituals mean, "candlesticks," altars, "bread" baked fresh every Sabbath morning, those two apartments--one "Holy" and the other "Most Holy," the incense, the solemn Day of Atonement once a year? Why study all this when it came to an end when Christ was crucified? Is it an exercise in futility?

Then I "discovered" the Book of Revelation--God wants us to understand it TODAY. The Savior of the world is "revealed" in history. It emerges out of the fog as leading straight to a grand climax--His second coming. The final judgment must be intensely interesting, when all wrongs will be made right, there is a grand victory of righteousness over sin, "the Lamb" triumphing in His "great controversy" with Satan. This must be intensely interesting.

And there in the middle of the Book of Revelation suddenly appears the real "sanctuary" in heaven where Jesus Christ ministers as our High Priest, fighting His battle with Satan. The climax comes in chapter 11:15-19 where the great "door" into the Most Holy Apartment is flung open and we can peer into "the ark of the covenant"--something the world could never see before,--"the finishing of the mystery of God" (10:7). Here is a climactic change in heaven's administration.

All of Christ's resources are today expended in preparing a people for translation at His coming, a change from His previous High Priestly ministry (which was preparing people for death). The cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven requires first the cleansing of the hearts of God's people on earth--a work going on behind the scenes just now.

Now the sanctuary truth comes alive!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 25, 2001.

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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.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Lessons From History

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's coming at us from all sides--the realization that we need repentance:

(1) In the Book of Amos, there is a sad message calling for ancient Israel to repent, and how they refused until the corporate nation was totally destroyed by the Assyrians. Insistent convictions remind us that Amos is "present truth." Those "ten tribes" were lost to history; it's healthy for "us" to ponder and tremble before God!

(2) Side by side with the disaster of the Northern Kingdom is the story of the Southern Kingdom. What Amos was to Israel, Jeremiah was to Judah. "All the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD ... in Jerusalem ... till there was no remedy" (2 Chron. 36:14-16). Poor Jeremiah was forced to witness the burning of the Temple and the destruction of the city, and the people taken to Babylon. A disaster totally the opposite of the blessings God had promised to Israel in the New Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3). It was the fruit of their Old Covenant mindset and heart attitude. They ended up crucifying their Lord of glory.

(3) The same process of apostasy that "polluted" ancient Israel has worked within the Christian Church through the ages--the infiltration of pagan ideas. Has it gone so far that there is "no remedy"? Revelation declares that now "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city" (14:8). And, like ancient Israel, Babylon will end up enforcing "the mark of the beast"--crucifying Christ "afresh."

(4) And lastly, the church of Laodicea is "lukewarm," unconscious of a vast poverty of Spirit in this hour of crisis (Rev. 3:14-21). Should we not learn lessons from history?

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 20, 2001-1.
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.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Faith AND Works or Faith WHICH Works?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Conservative Christians for hundreds of years have discussed (even argued) the relationship between faith and works. Their favorite word used to describe it is "balance." The popular idea is that one must hold faith and works in "balance." If you talk about faith for ten minutes then you must also talk about works for ten minutes. However, a check of the concordance reveals that nowhere in the Bible is the word "balance" used to describe this relationship.

In inspired writings, there is practically nothing to suggest the use of that word as being appropriate. Scripture and inspired writings are clear "beyond question" that salvation is totally by grace through faith, and Paul even goes out of his way to add, "Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9). The "balance" idea strongly suggests that salvation is by faith and by works, a 50/50 deal. Which if true, would certainly give the saved ones something to boast about: "yes, Jesus saved me, but look, I did my part too!"

One popular little book is entitled "Faith and Works," the title having been added by editors long after the author's death. Yet inside the covers, the original author repeatedly speaks of the correct formula as being "faith WHICH works." Yes, the Bible is true; there is only one Saviour, Jesus; none of us is a co-savior. It's not a 50/50 salvation trip; it's 100% salvation by Christ, received by faith. But the faith is not the "dead faith" that the apostle James decries (James 2:20). A "dead faith" can do nothing except self-righteousness (which doesn't have a very nice fragrance!). A living faith WORKS; it has to work; it will work; it always works. The "works" is a verb and not a noun.

What is faith itself? How does the Bible define it? It is not a synonym for works! The devil hates the idea of salvation by faith alone, by faith which works; if in any way he can inject into our thinking the idea that faith is itself works, then he has us deceived. John 3:16 has it: "God loved," "God gave," and we "believe" (the same in Greek as have faith). Faith is a human heart response to God's loving and giving. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness" (Rom. 10:10). "Take heed, ... lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief" (Heb. 3:12).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 28, 1999.
Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

The Source of True Happiness

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

You can spot them nearly every time: a special group of people who seem happy all the time, eyes sparkling, smiles at the ready, laughter comes easily. They were deeply loved in babyhood by father or mother (or both!). They are "endowed," even probably enjoying a prenatal warmth when mother-to-be was happy and secure. It's fairly easy for them to say, "Yes, I believe God loves me!" They go through life having a continual picnic; they don't walk, they dance their way through.

Solomon speaks of them in contrast with those not so endowed: "All the days of the afflicted are evil [wretched, NEB]: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast" (Prov. 15:15). The "afflicted" are those who lacked that warm, cuddly love in babyhood or childhood. They may have been orphans, or raised by an alcoholic or drug-addicted parent, or in a home poisoned by infidelity and divorce. It's no fault of their own that they are not richly endowed, and are "afflicted." Is it fair that the "ticket to heaven" seems to be a "faith" that comes naturally for lucky people? Or, forget heaven for a moment, that all their days" here have to be "wretched"? Don't jump to a conclusion too soon:

(1) While it is true that "faith" is the "ticket to heaven," faith is not easier for some than for others because "God hath dealt to every person the measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3). There is no such thing as "natural" faith. It must always be learned, received, imported, and exercised in fellowship with Christ.

(2) Let us assume that the Virgin Mary gave Him natural cuddly emotional warmth in His babyhood, still He was reared in an unbelieving family with all the liabilities anyone can have known in a hard childhood (compare Matt. 13:53-58; John 7:2-8; Psalm 69:7-11). He says He was "afflicted ... from My youth up" (Psalm 88:15). All the "natural" emotional warmth He may have had from childhood vanished as He hung on the cross; there He had to live entirely by faith based strictly on God's word.

(3) Your preparation to enjoy not only heaven but life here and now may possibly be even easier than for those richly endowed emotionally since childhood. Faith is not emotion; true happiness comes only from fellowship with Christ; and where is He to be found? "Preaching Good News to the poor; healing the broken-hearted; proclaiming deliverance to the captives; recovering sight for the blind; setting at liberty them that are bruised; proclaiming the justification-by-faith 'acceptance' of the Lord (see Luke 4:18, 19). Join Him, and let Him make you happy.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 27, 1999.
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.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

The Ultimate "Look"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Decades ago a magazine was launched that was entitled merely "LOOK." It consisted almost entirely of pictures. We humans love to "look" at almost anything of interest, always seeking some new knowledge or excitement hitherto unknown.

The ultimate "look" eventually before us all is the sight of the face of God. Every one WILL most assuredly see Him--not just "the pure in heart," but also those who are impure at heart.

The tragedy is that those who are impure in heart will be forced to look against their will. They are described as crying to the mountains and rocks, "Hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne" (Rev. 6:16). That Face is the one sight they most dread to see. John says, "I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away" (Rev. 20:11), a Face that is brighter than the sun. Why? Because that Face registers all the love, the agape, that led the Son of God to go to the deepest depths of hell in order to save the sinner; and the sinner has resisted and rejected that love, time and time again, and crucified the Son of God afresh by choosing to remain in alienation and rebellion. And now, at last he must come face to face with the One who has so loved him and blessed him, all this unacknowledged and unappreciated. Now he would give anything just to live his mortal life over again. Jesus expressly says that He will not condemn the lost sinner in that day; but the condemnation will come simply by looking in the face of the One who was his Saviour.

Could anything be more important for today than preparing for that moment when we look at that Face? "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," says Jesus, obviously meaning that they will "look and live," and not be afraid, for "perfect agape casteth out fear" (1 John 4:18). It does so, beginning even today. On your knees! You can talk with Him--long before you have to see Him.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 18, 1998.
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.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

A Change in the "Christian Experience"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

As we come nearer to the end, a change comes in the "Christian experience" of God's people. Their deepest heart concern ceases to be that of saving their own souls, to a concern for the glory of Christ in the closing hours of the "great controversy between Christ and Satan." (When I was a boy, some silver-haired elders in the church told me that the greatest question is that of my own soul's salvation.)

These people of God in the last days turn away from their previous concern for their own salvation to a concern for Another--that He emerge victorious from the "battle" He is in.

This change in "Christian experience" can be described in the terms the Lord Jesus uses in John 15: "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you" (vs. 15).

As we come closer to the end, the concern of these "friends" is for that "battle" that Christ is in, and not for self.

This change in "Christian experience" orientation can also be described as graduating out of the Old Covenant "Christian experience" into the New. It's coming out of the shadows into the bright sunlight of "present truth" (a term in 2 Peter 1:12).

The "present truth" is New Covenant living, not Old.

This change is also passing from Revelation 18 into Revelation 19 where we find those four grand Hallelujah Choruses, each greater than Handel's (vss. 1-17). It can at last be said that "the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor unto Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready" (19:6, 7). At last!

Although the Lord is "omnipotent," He cannot force the nuptials. It cannot be said that He "reigneth" until her nuptial devotion to Him as to a divine Husband is real. Thus there is a "woman" whose marital devotion He can only wait, and wait, to see. The good news that rejoices one's heart is that this change in spiritual growth is actually taking place. Don't be left behind!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 17, 2008.
Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

A Beautiful Lesson in the Story of Cain

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

One of the most beautiful lessons to tell us how kind God is can be found in the story of the world's first murderer--Cain (it's in Genesis 4). He was the elder of two brothers with different ideas about God. Abel believed that God so loves us that He gave His only Son to become one of us to pay "the wages of sin" in Himself, which is death. In other words, Abel understood the sacrifice of Christ, who was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).
Cain was the world's first pagan. His idea of God was different: God is angry with us and needs to be mollified or propitiated by some gift. So he brought to the altar a bouquet of beautiful flowers and fruits and vegetables he had grown in his garden. Surely, he thought, God will say "Thanks, Cain, for your gift!" and accept it.

Abel brought a lamb that he sacrificed--a confession of his faith that no "gift" can enrich God, but Abel's offering said that in his heart he appreciated the Unspeakable Gift God was giving for our salvation. Verse 4 says that God "had respect unto Abel and to his offering." Fire came from heaven. God was happy for evidence that Abel was someone with a melted heart, someone who said "Thank You, God!" for the cross of Christ.

When Cain saw that his splendid bouquet, and fruits and vegetables, were wilting on the altar unaccepted, he got into the world's first "road-rage" and murdered his brother. (If he could have gotten his hands on God, he would have murdered Him too--thus he was the world's first crucifier of Christ.)

But here's the beautiful lesson: verses 6-12 tell how although the Lord could not accept his offering, yet He reasoned with Cain, talked with him, told him what was wrong, did all he could to help him understand. And this was a cold-blooded murderer the Lord talked with!

No matter how much you have sinned, and your prayers have not been answered, the dear Lord is ready to talk with you also, to convict you of your sin, to reason with you, to meet with you, to teach you. Get on your knees.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 25, 2001.
Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.

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.