Daily Bread: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

What Is This Thing Called Justification?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Many people ask: "What is this thing called justification? It's a big word and it's over my head. Help me!" The Bible is God's word; He wants us to understand; He puts the feeding trough down low so lambs can eat. Surely He will respond to our plea.

(1) The idea is simply making something crooked straight; something bad, good; something wrong, right. So, it ends up making something unjust, just--and there's the root of the word.

(2) One doesn't need the Bible to tell him that something has made the world to be all those things--"crooked," "bad," "wrong," "unjust." Justification = making them all right again.

(3) What has done all this evil is SIN. Justification is therefore the opposite of sin. It reverses the evil that sin has caused, it un-does what sin has done, it untangles the knot that sin has tied in the universe of God and especially, on this planet.

(4) Sin has caused an alienated sense of separation from God. It has left us strangers in the universe, our very home. The alienation actually causes "enmity" against God. Justification has bridged the chasm that has separated us from "home," which is the throne of God. This bridging of the chasm is "at-one-ment," a heart-reconciliation with the One whom we have thought was our enemy. He turns out to have been our Friend all along. The root of the problem has been eradicated: justification has made us friends with God again, like we used to be at Creation.

(5) This enmity against God was "condemnation." Justification became a lifting of the condemnation, or a "verdict of acquittal" (Rom. 5:15-18, Revised English Bible).

(6) Justification is what One has done whom the Bible calls "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). He untied the knot, reversed the evil, brought good in place of the bad, reconciled enemies into being friends with God, made everything crooked straight, and made everything wrong to become right. This was infinitely more wonderful than if He had wiped us out in one fell swoop and started from scratch creating everything new again. Changing alienated hearts, winning enemies to be friends--this was the Miracle of the ages. It required a cross on which the Creator gave up His very life in a total sacrifice known in the Bible as "the second death"--an embracing of hell itself in love for us (Heb. 2:9; Isa. 53:12).

(7) This act which He performed did it for all humanity; legally, He saved His lost world, yes, redeemed His threatened universe. That is justification. But what you didn't ask is what's important: "What is justification by faith?" That's when our sinful, alienated heart appreciates the justification He accomplished for us; and that is a totally changed heart and life. You're now a new you.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 29, 2004.

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Is Everybody in the Laodicean Church Lukewarm?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is everybody in the Laodicean Church (the seventh of Revelation 2, and 3:14-21), lukewarm? The actual text, the words of Jesus, do not make exceptions.

It's like the ten "virgins” of the parable in Matthew 25; they "allslumbered and slept” (vs. 5; the original has it, they nodded and then they all sacked out in deep sleep). But five had prepared in advance by stocking a supply of oil, and at "midnight,” the hour when it is the hardest to awaken out of deep sleep, the cry went forth, "The Bridegroom comes!” The cry caught everybody asleep.

Yes, everybody in Laodicea is lukewarm, just as everybody in Elijah's ancient Israel was either actively worshipping Baal or "answering not a word” in defense of truth when he challenged them on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:21). "All have sinned" [aorist tense, in one punctiliar point of time, Rom. 3:23), but "all” have been given the gift of justification "in Christ” (vs. 24; 5:15-18). In other words, all ten of the "virgins of Matthew 25 had been given equal access "to them that sell [so they could] buy for yourselves” (Matt. 25:9).

Has the "midnight” come when the cry goes forth?

The story in the Song of Solomon (5:2-8) has the woman snug in bed, warm and cozy, thinking only of her own comfort while her one true Lover out in the cold rain is banging on the door to be let in. She rebuffs Him. Then realizing how wrong she was, she belatedly got up to let Him in, at last thinking of Him instead of herself, and by then He was … GONE.

It's time for some serious thinking.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 24, 2006.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Rejoice and "Receive" the "Gift"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Commentaries and scholarly tomes can line our library shelves, but if you want to understand something in the Bible, let the simple text speak.

Take that celebrated Romans 5 passage that the apostle wrote: the New English Bible makes it clear, and the Revised English Bible a trifle clearer yet. Note as we read (a), what is the "condemnation" that Adam brought on all mankind; and then in that light (b), note what is the salvation that Christ (as our "last" or second Adam) gaveevery one of us:

"God's act of grace is out of all proportion to Adam's wrongdoing. For if the wrongdoing of that one man brought death upon so many, its effect is vastly exceeded by the grace of God and the gift that came to so many by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. And again, the gift of God is not to be compared in its effect with that one man's sin; for the judicial action, following on the one offence, resulted in a verdict of condemnation, but the act of grace, following on so many misdeeds, resulted in a verdict of acquittal. If, by the wrongdoing of one man, death established its reign through that one man, much more shall those who in far greater measure receive grace and the gift of righteousness live and reign through the one man, Jesus Christ.

"It follows, then, that as the result of one misdeed was condemnation for all people, so the result of one righteous act is acquittal and life for all" (vss. 15-18, REB).

Note, Adam's "condemnation" on us is a "judicial action, … a verdict of condemnation." Not one human being has as yet suffered that actual, literal"condemnation" with the one exception of Jesus on His cross ("My God, why have You forsaken Me?"). It hangs over us but has never yet been effected (cf. Matt. 5:45).

Note again: what Christ did to reverse that "verdict of condemnation" on the entire human race is a judicial "verdict of acquittal" in the gift of Himself on the same human race. But note: we are given liberty to "receive" the "gift" or we can refuse it; those who "receive" it "reign" as kings "through the one man, Jesus" (there's your simple John 3:16 "believing").

The "condemnation " and the "acquittal" are balanced, both with no input from ourselves. Both happened before we were born. What the second Adam did cancels what the first one did. When we "receive" His "gift," we experience at-one-ment with God and that includes reconciliation with His holy law. And there's your beeline of truth simple and clear, direct through reams of musty commentaries. Look up, rejoice, "receive" the "gift."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 16, 2007.

Monday, May 28, 2012

A Strange Parable in Luke

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is a strange parable in Luke 16:1-13 that has puzzled people for hundreds of years. What do you make of it? Some wise commentators have even suggested that Luke made a mistake in putting it in his gospel--that Jesus could never have said such a thing. And it does appear that Jesus is praising dishonesty! Admittedly, this is a hard nut to crack, but if we succeed, there's a sweet kernel inside.

What's the story? This manager worked for a rich man, and embezzled his money. When he knew he would be fired, he made friends with a lot of his master's debtors by cheating the master all the more, and ingratiating himself with them by slyly reducing their debts to the big boss. Then when he got thrown out on the street, he had some place to go; these people, grateful to him, gladly took him in. So at least he had room and board for the rest of his life.

Now, here's the shocker: the big boss praised the wit and cleverness of the rascal, and Jesus tells us to go and do the same. He says that such clever street-wise people have more sense than God's people! Now, what can this possibly mean?

(1) It's obvious, the Big Boss in the story is the Lord Himself.

(2) It's not so obvious but equally true, the scalawag steward is you and me; yes, WE have embezzled our Lord's goods. Don't try to argue out of it; we are eternally and infinitely in debt to Him. It's too true, we have no righteousness of our own, not even 1 percent. Now, if you can't get beyond this, you'll miss the sweet kernel in the nut.

(3) We're all going to get fired. Jesus says in verse 9, "when YOU fail." (The King James Version rendering is correct, not when IT fails, that is, your money.) And it's not IF, PERHAPS, MAYBE. It's WHEN WE fail, for fail we shall, most assuredly, for in the judgment we won't have an iota of our own righteousness to help us.

(4) So, says Jesus, get busy right now and ingratiate yourself with needy people all around you; use what time or money you have left to make friends for eternity.

(5) Then when you get to the pearly gates and you know you don't deserve entrance, some dear soul will step up and say to the Lord, "This person helped me out when I was in distress; he gave me the gospel, that's why I'm here. Please let him in."

(6) THAT will make you happy!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 23, 1997.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Let Him Join You in Your "Walk"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Behold the compassion of the resurrected Jesus! One might think that in the enthusiasm of His newly resurrected life He is eager to be off on His new assignment in the heavenly sanctuary, but no, His heart is with His disappointed, discouraged ones here. His name is still "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23).

Two men who have believed He was the true Messiah are on the path in their walk to Emmaus that afternoon of the "first day of the week" of the resurrection. Never have they known such crushing heart pain. It goes deeper than any humans can fathom for it is the pain of defeat in the great controversy with Satan; the death of the Christ means the ultimate victory of Satan. These two men feel they must conclude this. They are not mourning the loss of their own personal salvation so much as they mourn the grand defeat of God. The world (yes, the universe) is now to be plunged into hopeless despair! "We were hoping that [Jesus of Nazareth] would redeem Israel" (Luke 24:21)--and to them "Israel" was the only hope of the world.

The heart of the resurrected Jesus is with them as they trudge disconsolately toward Emmaus. He now teaches us that His heart is with all disappointed people all over the world, in all time. He joins these two men incognito and gently encourages them with Bible truth. "Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (vs. 27). He is already doing His work as our High Priest! And so He ministers to you today--if you will let Him join you in your "walk."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 22, 2005.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

That Old Specter Unbelief

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The old tale has been worn out with re-telling: a driver picks up a weary man walking by the roadside; he sits in back of the wagon but still keeps his burden on his back; he is told, "Lay your burden down!" but insists, "It was good enough of you to give me a ride, I don't want you to have to carry my burden too!"

Ridiculous! But "Oh what needless griefs we carry, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer!" Let's say a word for the soul who does carry the burden to God in prayer, but still finds its heaviness weighing on his soul. What has gone wrong? Is God is uncaring? Doesn't He hear prayer? Has He Forsaken us? No, that can't be, if God and heaven and the Bible and a Savior are true.

The problem is that old specter, u-n-b-e-l-i-e-f. "He that cometh to God must believe (a) that He is, and (b) that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). When Jesus tells us, "If anyone will come after Me, let him … take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23), He is not talking about nails in your hands and feet. He is talking about how you must go through that darkness of Calvary when He cried out, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?!" and still choose to b-e-l-i-e-v-e that He has not forsaken you! You will never be happy in heaven unless you have in that sense taken up your cross and followed Him. God cannot excuse anyone from that.

What Jesus says is true: "If any man (or woman) will follow Me ... ," you must do it; you must learn to b-e-l-i-e-v-e. No, you don't have to walk on water or raise the dead, but you must learn to believe that "He is," and that He "rewards" anyone who will take the place of the repentant thief by the side of Jesus and be "crucified with Him," believing that He "receiveth sinners" like you (Luke 15:2), "forgiveth all thine iniquities, ... healeth all thy diseases, ... redeemeth thy life from destruction." Yes, go on, finish the declaration of faith, ... and that He "crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies" (Psalm 103:3, 4). It just won't be fair for the Lord to let you SEE all this now.

On Calvary, He couldn't see a thing but darkness. He had to choose to believe when there wasn't a ray of light. When at last you see Him face to face, then you can see everything you want to see; but for now, you and I must learn to see in the dark "by faith." There's no way to "know" Jesus except side by side with the repentant thief on the cross in the darkness, as he knew Him and believed Him. (Be careful you don't side with the other one.)

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 13, 1999.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Sometimes Standing Still Is Great Progress

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The great King David had fallen from his dizzy height of honor into the dreadful pit of adultery, and then gone further into sin by a deed of murder to cover it up. He felt that he was lost forever. His nights were filled with tears. He says, "Day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer" (Psalm 32:4).

It's vivid writing: he thinks of a killer drought when every drop of moisture is dried up; that's his heart!

People sometimes misunderstand the story of King David. They know that the Lord still loved him and forgave him his sin, and they read into the story the wrong idea of a license to sin. They say, "King David was forgiven his sexual sin; now go ahead and do it, don't worry, the Lord will forgive you, too."

But that's the wrong way to read David's story. Yes, the Lord forgave him; but let us note, David came within a millimeter of losing his soul forever. He cries out in anguish, "My sin is ever before me. ... Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me" (51:3, 11).

David actually tasted the horrid anguish of being in hell forever. There is nothing worse to experience than being forsaken by the Lord. How would one feel being dumped on the moon all alone forever? David tasted that; he'd had enough. Never again did he want to transgress the holy law of God.

No, don't do that evil deed that your lustful heart craves. Satan can never force you to do it; and remember that the temptation to do it is not the sin of doing it. But Jesus says that the deed can be done in the heart if it is your choice to do it when the opportunity comes.

Here's where the little Book of Titus comes into focus: "The grace of God [not craven fear!] ... teaches us to say 'No!' to ungodliness and worldly lusts" (2:11, 12; NIV). The battle with the sin of lust is won in the heart by choosing "in Christ" to be loyal to Him, learning how to say "No!" Satan has to depart; you are the boss. The Lord Jesus has set us all free from sin. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again ..." (Gal. 5:1).

Sometimes standing still is great progress.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 15, 2008.

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Monday, May 21, 2012

A Grand Deposit to Your Personal Account

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Long ago when we were on furlough from mission service in Africa we had saved up $300 to buy a kerosene refrigerator to take back. But I lent the money to a church friend in my home town in Florida so he could recover his pickup truck, which had been foreclosed on for lack of payment. He was an old friend; I was sure would re-pay me.

Meanwhile we went to the Seminary in Washington. Week after week, month after month, I waited to receive a check from him by mail; but nothing came. Time got short; I worried. Was my friend unfaithful?

All this while I had been receiving bank statements from my inactive account in my little home town bank in Florida. I tossed them all unopened in a drawer, for I wasn't using the account.

Finally, I looked at them. There, months before, was a mysterious deposit to my account of $300. All this while I had been doubting my friend, while he had been faithful.

By virtue of His great sacrifice on His cross, your Savior deposited to your personal account the gift of justification, forgiveness of sin, eternal life. He details all the items of this Grand Deposit in Ephesians 1. You knew nothing of it. You did nothing to merit it or to effect it. It was yours all this while, while your human heart was in alienation from Him. You needed to learn what is the true Good News of what He has already done for you.

Then when you learned the Good News of the gospel, and you believed, you EXPERIENCED justification by faith, you rejoiced in sins forgiven, you began to know the new quality of life that is "eternal life." But it was all purchased for you at the cross of Christ, and deposited to your account "by grace." Totally undeserved.

Now give some thought to those myriads of people who have never understood the true Good News. They have to understand HOW "God so loved" that "He GAVE" all for them. Then genuine faith can grip their hearts and work the works of obedience.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 21, 2003.

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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.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Walking "Softly" Like Ahab

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Do you ever fall on your knees and cry out to the Lord, "Thank You for saving me from disaster that I deserved!"?

There are many who would give anything if they could erase from memory and from their life record some act of willful foolishness or indiscretion. Often it's an act of fornication or adultery, an alluring temptation yielded to, at an unguarded moment, or some really stupid faux pas that is a blot on an otherwise unstained reputation. Then almost immediately afterward comes that horrid sense of guilt and shame. It can be lethal.

Did Christ die because our sins were laid upon Him, or because they were borne within Him? Did He feel the guilt as though it were His own? Was His identification with sinful us, a total one?

We read Isaiah 53:6, "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all"; that's evidence for the "upon" idea. But we also read 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to BE sin for us." That's evidence for the "within" idea. It wasn't antiseptic poison from the rusty spikes driven through His wrists and ankles that killed Him; it was raw guilt--ours. The burden overwhelmed Him, as though He were indeed the guilty One. This profound truth illuminates the book of Psalms; Christ is all through it, especially the ones that David wrote. Christ's name is "God with us."

If you carry a burden of joy-crushing guilt, remember Psalm 130: "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared" (vss. 3, 4). You'd think the Psalmist would say, "There is guilt ... that You may be feared." No, it's forgiveness; the overwhelming sense of abounding grace, His bearing your guilt and freeing you from it. All your lifetime thereafter you walk "softly" like Ahab did when he repented of his monstrous crimes (1 Kings 21:27, 28, KJV).

And if the dear Lord has saved you from yourself, you still walk "softly" for you know you have not an iota of righteousness of your own (see Isa. 54:17). You realize the evil you would have done had there been no Savior there to hold you by your hand (cf. Matt. 8:25; 14:30; incidentally, that healthy, self-humbling realization is akin to "corporate repentance").

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 20, 2005.

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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 17, 2012

What Does the Name of "Jesus" Mean?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What does the name of "Jesus" mean?

We are told in Acts 4:12 that there is salvation in no other name; Philippians 2:10 says that at last "every knee" shall bow to that name; Acts 3:6 says that name caused the man born lame to walk. Says the poet, "The name of Jesus is so sweet, I love its music to repeat." But isn't it time that we should learn what the name means? It's more than mere emotion or tradition. There is dynamite locked in the very Hebrew name itself.

First, what does it NOT mean? It does not mean "Jesus would like to save," or "perhaps He will save," and it does not mean "He offers to save." The simple Hebrew meaning within the word is "Jehovah saves." Here's what He is, not what He would like to be: He is a Savior. His proper title was recognized by the believing Samaritans (they got there before the Jews did!): "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). He gives, not merely offers, His flesh "for the life of the world" (6:51).

Furthermore, He is not a co-Savior, sharing the job with any one else, least of all ourselves. You and I can't share the honor! He "saves to the uttermost," that is, not part-way and then leaving us to finish the job (Heb. 7:25).

This makes some people nervous; they're afraid that if we say He saves completely that we're going to get lazy and not do "good works." But they don't realize that when one appreciates what it cost the Savior to save us, when the dimensions of His sacrifice are realized, the human heart is so moved, so "constrained" (2 Cor. 5:14, 15), that the result is total dedication to the One "who died for [us] and rose again." There is no end to the "good works" that His agape love will forever "constrain" us to do.

While Jesus saves, we have something to do, but it's better to say we have something to believe. John 3:16 mentions no part we have to play in effecting our salvation other than to believe, which means "with the heart one believes to righteousness" (Rom 10:10). We let Him save us; we stop resisting Him. You are drowning in the ocean and the lifeguard saves you completely, at the risk of his life. Do you cooperate with him? Yes, otherwise you drown. Do you help save yourself? No. You don't give him a dollar tip and walk off proud of yourself; you thank him for the rest of your life, and you walk humbly ever after.

Not one person eternally saved will talk about his own accomplishment. There is a song the redeemed will sing that we can begin to sing now (Rev. 5:11-13).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 26, 1999.

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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 16, 2012

The Story of the Cross Will Win Souls

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

In Isaiah 6 we read where the young prophet has this vision in the Temple of seeing "the Lord ... high and lifted up." It seems obvious that his vision was not of materialistic "glory"; it was a vision of the character of the Lord, a heart-humbling appreciation of His glorious self-sacrificing love. The cry of "holy, holy, holy" was a revelation of the cross. The young Isaiah was overwhelmed with a humbling sense of his own sinful selfishness in contrast. It became the foundation of his entire lifetime of service. We are reluctant to move too fast from Isaiah 6.

"Woe is me!" he cries. "I am undone." A steamroller has flattened me in the dust. I had thought I could devote my life to the Lord's ministry, he says; now I see that "I am a man of unclean lips." I have wandered into the "temple" of the Lord and I see I don't belong here; my heart is polluted in contrast with the righteousness of Christ. So prayed Isaiah.

There was another man once who had a similar experience. The apostle Peter had spent some three years in the Lord's special theological seminary and had felt quite qualified for apostolic "ministry." Then when he had publicly blurted out three times his abject denial of Christ, he felt so crushed, so self-humiliated, so polluted in soul, that he threw himself on the ground and wished he could die. Lord, I'm finished! I can never be an apostle; I'm totally unworthy to be one of the Twelve; do let me die! So prayed Peter.

Sometimes the dear Lord lets us have cause to say, "All the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning" (Psalm 73:14). Then when we feel done in, another word from the Lord comes to mind, "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Heb. 12:6).

Isaiah could never have written his 53rd chapter about the cross of Christ unless he had experienced that self-abasement early on, in chapter 6. Someone somewhere is hungry to hear what happened on the cross of Christ. You talk about winning souls; well, if you can tell the story of the cross you'll win souls. But you'll never be able to tell it unless you have had your Isaiah 6, and knelt down beside him there, and knelt down beside Peter, too.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 11, 2004.

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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 15, 2012

Every Wind of Doctrine Is Blowing

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

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

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

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

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

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 20, 2005.

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