Daily Bread: June 2012

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Three-fold Message of Revelation Fourteen

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Book of Revelation tells what will be the last message that the God of heaven sends to this dark world. It's a three-fold message in Revelation 14 and then amplified further in chapter 18 when the message swells to a loud cry and the entire earth is to be lightened with its glory. Much as we all dislike controversy and tension, this three-fold message will arouse the most intense opposition of any in history, resulting in a polarization of humanity into two opposing groups: those who truly keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and those who will constitute a "Babylon" in rebellion against God by accepting and enforcing what is called "the mark of the beast."

This crisis will be brought about deliberately by the work of the Holy Spirit, and no one will be able to stop it from happening. And the three-fold message will not be a triumphalist call to legalism but a revelation of what Christ accomplished for humanity by His sacrifice. This is evident by the fact that some 25 times He is portrayed in Revelation as "the Lamb," and the final "harvest" will be a people "who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth" (14:4). He is revealed in Revelation as "a Lamb as it had been slain ... from the foundation of the world" (5:6; 13:8).

The call to "worship Him" results in a vast throng who sing from the depths of their hearts, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, ... Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him who sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever" (5:12, 13). No one will ever sing such a song unless his/her heart has been humbled into the dust by a realization of what it cost that Lamb of God to save us, who "has redeemed us to God by [His] blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (5:9; cf. 14:6, 7).

Clearly, the message that is to lighten the earth with glory will be about Christ and Him crucified, about "His blood." "When I survey the wondrous cross, ... I pour contempt on all my pride." That's the essence of the third angel's message.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 27, 2000.

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Grab Every Ray of Light That Comes Your Way

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If you are thoroughly human, no doubt you have at times wondered if God has elected you to be saved. You know you need a Saviour; and you know that lots of people are going to be lost. There are sincere Christians who actually believe that God elects some to be saved and others to be lost. A text that appears to support that idea is Acts 13:48. Paul has been preaching the gospel in Antioch. Then Luke says: "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (KJV). The NIV says the same: "All who were appointed for eternal life believed.” Sounds like discouraging Bad News for those who are not so "appointed” or "ordained.” Some dear people actually give up in discouragement; they tell themselves, "It's too hard; youth say, temptation is too strong; I am sure God has not ordained me to be saved; He hasn't 'appointed' me.” Calvinists actually use this text to support their doctrine of double predestination.

But the Greek verb doesn't say what the KJV and NIV say. It is tetagmenoi, which is a reflexive form of the verb for "appoint” which means that the translation should read, "As many as appointed themselves for eternal life believed.” In other words, they heard Paul preach the Good News; they said to themselves, "Hey, I want that! That's for me! I'm going to latch on to this preaching of Paul!” Once they made that decision, then immediately their hearts began to be melted, they learned to appreciate the cross of Christ that Paul was preaching, "they believed.”

This has to be the correct understanding according to the context. In verse 46 Paul addressed the Jews who chose not to believe: "Seeing you put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” What they did was the opposite of what the believers did. Same idea, only in reverse. Those who believed were not acting out a preprogrammed agenda determined for them before the foundation of the world (Calvinist "predestination"); they took the truth to themselves, grabbed it, "judged themselves” to be favored of God with the Gospel.

So, grab every ray of light that comes your way; don't wait a moment; "I made haste, and delayed not,” says David (Psalm 119:60). If you're smart, you'll always grab a bargain the moment you see it. The idea is not that God preaches the gospel indifferently, or only once in a while; the problem is that your own heart can become dull and dilatory and unresponsive.

Believe the Good News now; everything that God has promised is for YOU.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 17, 1999.

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Friday, June 22, 2012

The Most Precious Gift of Repentance

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If you have made a mistake (which, God forbid!) … King David made one, in fact two--adultery and the sin of murder to cover it up; he feared that he had committed the unpardonable sin and heaven was closed to him forever, because he cried out in near despair, "Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11).

But if you have indeed made a mistake, your heavenly Father does not cast you off as worthless or hopeless. He is deeply wounded and sorry, but He redeems and re-builds broken, ruined souls.

How does He do it? He gives the most precious gift of repentance.

No one can repent on his own; you have to open your guilty heart to receive it from Him: "Him [Jesus of Nazareth] hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31).

The realization of God's forgiveness: it's the most exhilarating experience we humans can know. It's the nearest to the overwhelming joy that Jesus must have known when after His resurrection He declared in triumph, "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore!" And then that earth-and-heaven-shaking, "AMEN!" (Rev. 1:18).

You just want to shout for all the universe to hear you, "Behold! I am forgiven!" You've been carrying a burden that weighed a ton; now at last you are free. Such forgiveness is God's gift. It's not the empty, supercilious "pardon" that means nothing; it's a freeing from the burden of sin, the gift of a new hatred of sin, and the gift of a new love for righteousness.

You are born again. No more arrogance; you are like King Ahab, the murder-guilty king, when he was finally converted, we read that forever after he "walked softly" (1 Kings 21:27); he took a humble place from then on, and so will you. There will be no arrogant people strutting around in God's New Jerusalem.

No one can honor the Lord Jesus Christ and at the same time be proud of himself or herself.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 24, 2008.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Teacher Will Teach ...

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The sine qua non of the faith of Jesus is His incarnation. He stepped down from heaven, relinquishing all the prerogatives of divinity (but not His divinity!), became a man, a descendant of the fallen Adam, came with a sinless nature but "took" upon His sinless nature our sinful nature, was "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). He "condemned sin" "in the likeness of [our] sinful flesh" (Rom. 8:3). No "exemption" was granted Him from bearing the full weight of the conflict we have with sin; He never sinned in thought, word, or deed, yet was "made ... to be sin for us, who knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21), took upon Himself the guilt of all the sins of all the human race. So closely was He with us that He felt that He was the world's sin; from a broken heart He cried in anguish, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

The horror He endured was the death that God told Adam in the Garden he would suffer if he sinned, the second death, the one that ends all hope and life forever. Jesus "tasted death for every man" (Heb. 2:9) which means He died the second death of "every person" in the world. We can realize: the Son of God was incarnate but still the Son of God, and thus His death on His cross was an infinite sacrifice for us each, individually.

He is infinite; thus He knew you intimately when you were in your mother's womb, counted all the hairs on your head; knows all the secrets of your soul, why your personality is as it is. If you were abused as a child, He knows, and still He is your Savior, your Great Physician, the Healer of your wounded soul. Your job is to let Him heal you. "As though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:19, NKJV).

So, don't abide in alienation from sunshine and joy, or embrace the hell the devil wants to cast you into, or mistakenly blame God for the ill that has befallen you. Don't join Satan's accusations against the Lover of your soul.

The great controversy between Christ and Satan is fought in our hearts. Meanwhile, that unbounded grace is teaching us to say "No!" to these allurements of Satan, and to "live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us" (Titus 2:11-14, NKJV; cf. NIV).

The Teacher will teach if we will let Him!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 12, 2006.

Friday, June 15, 2012

The True Latter Rain and the Counterfeit

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Here are some questions that perplex many Christian people around the world: what is "the latter rain" of the Holy Spirit? Is that blessing falling today, like showers of rain on thirsty crops? What is the purpose of this blessing that the Bible says God will "pour out" on His people worldwide (Zech. 10:1)? Is it possible that Satan can counterfeit the blessing and send his substitute for the real thing? If so, how can we distinguish between God's true latter rain and the counterfeit?

There are some simple, clear facts that will at least begin to clear up our perplexity:

(1) The story of the "former rain" (see Joel 2:23) will help explain what is the "latter rain." It was at Pentecost that God's true people (those who believed in Christ) received the outpouring of God's true Holy Spirit. Now, after two millennia, we expect the gift of the Holy Spirit to be given again as the complement of the "former" blessing.

(2) The "former rain" was the light of truth that was given as a gift--it was the perception of the truth that God's professed people had rejected, murdered, and crucified the Lord of glory. That blessing was not a loud noise so much as it was bright light: Peter proclaimed that those people present there had crucified the Messiah, the Son of God. "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart" (Acts 2:36, 37).

(3) The latter rain will therefore be a gift of the Holy Spirit that will bring the true and ultimate conviction of sin that only He can bring to human hearts: the guilt of the crucifixion of Christ is OUR sin. But that is a truth that we don't comprehend clearly, as yet. According to Zechariah 12:10-13:1, when God's people do grasp that reality, there will come the greatest repentance of the ages. It will become the "final" experience of reconciliation with Christ, something known as "the final atonement."

(4) This will make possible a movement, a second "Pentecost," a message to be proclaimed worldwide that will "lighten the earth with glory," and prepare a people for Christ's return.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 22, 2002.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

The Final Movement of Evangelism

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

A rare historical note attributes the hymn "I Have A Friend So Precious, So Very Dear to Me" to one sung by the Waldenses in their Provencal language in the Dark Ages. The last stanza says, "He bids me tell His wondrous love, And why He came to die." Jesus tells us that if we can "lift [Him] up from the earth" on His cross, He "will draw all [people] to Himself" (John 12:32, 33).

What Jesus meant was that common people can win souls if they can simply tell "why He came to die." But of course they can't do that unless they themselves understand "why He came to die." Which means that we should let the Holy Spirit do what He wants--that is, teach us what happened on the cross. Which of course we won't agree to if we feel "rich and increased with goods, in need of nothing" (Rev. 3:17; He says He understands our root problem!).

This raises the question: is the final movement of evangelism prophesied in Revelation 18 to be what experts say on electronic communication via satellite TV? That's the easy way, we just sit and listen and push the right buttons. Or is it to be humble flesh-and-blood human beings like you and me opening their hearts to tell the message personally?

Of course, electronics and TV will have their part. Well, give science its rightful due, yes; but ordinary people like us must wake up and learn to understand what happened at Calvary so we personally can tell it. If we don't, He'll have to raise up children who will.

We can't really "tell His wondrous love" unless we understand "why He came to die." May the dear Lord grant us to see something: why Paul could only "glory in the cross," why he could tell others only of "Christ and Him crucified" (Gal. 6:14; 1 Cor. 2:1-3).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 26, 2004.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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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, June 13, 2012

What Is the Gospel?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

In a great evangelistic campaign broadcast by satellite the speaker continually assured the worldwide audience that "Jesus wants to be your Best Friend.” Night after night this assurance was offered; but the implication was that He is not--not until you do something to make Him become your Best Friend, that is, you must first believe and obey.

There are sincere people who are alienated from God. They believe that He exists, but they have suffered so much pain in their lives, often from childhood beyond anything they did, good or bad, that they find it difficult to believe that He is already actually their Best Friend. They wish He were; but this idea has a resemblance to the carrot-on-a-stick allurement. Jesus will become your Best Friend IF, IF, you take the initiative in a change of your heart.

Is that the "evangel” that the Lord Jesus wants them to be told? Some say yes, or that wouldn't have been told night after night.

He has commanded us to "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel …” (Mark 16:15). But what is the gospel?

Scholars and theologians contend endlessly; the best answer is the simple words of Jesus: "God so loved the world that He gave ...” (John 3:16). That love came first; it was not dependent on any change of heart on the part of the sinner.

So much did He love that He gave His only Son; the deed already done. The giving on His part was for eternity; for each individual of the human race He "tasted death” (Heb. 2:9, Greek). In other words, He died everyone's "hell,” everyone's second death (Acts 2:27). Yours.

Do you want a better Best Friend than that?

Thank Him from the depths of your soul for what He already is; and let the revelation of His love lead you to consecrate yourself totally to Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

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

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Does God Still Trust Us Humans?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does God trust us human beings? Really trust us?? My brethren wrestled with me for many years on this point: they maintained that in the end God will snatch from His people the task of lighting the earth with the glory of the gospel, and will have angels do the job.

To whom did Jesus give the command, "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel ..."? (Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15). To angels? Or to "us"?

Through the centuries, where do we find evidence that He has changed that plan? Oh yes, true, angels have helped in the work and blessed, but in reading history, they have done so when they found some human being who initially could be used. Still, the "burden" has rested upon God's people, His church.

Have God's people through the ages fulfilled this command of Jesus? Some say "Yes" in pride; others say "No." According to Revelation 3:14-21, it seems that Jesus regards "us" as being quite dilatory.

But does He still "trust" us humans? As we read that passage addressed "to the angel [the leadership] of the church of the Laodiceans," it would appear that yes, He still is forced to trust us. The Father trusted His only begotten Son to the care of humans when He was born in Bethlehem (the world crucified Him but there were some who cared for Him, thank God!). The honor and vindication of Christ in the great controversy between Himself and Satan require that God's people "repent" and fulfill His gospel commission.

Is it possible that "Laodicea" (or "the angel" thereof) shall repent? Is God's confidence in His people in vain? A wise writer has said that He has staked the honor of His throne on His confidence, that yes, in the end, His people will be honest, and will repent and believe! And so the question remains, Can God trust YOU?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 14, 1998.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Monday, June 11, 2012

A New Chapter in Righteousness by Faith

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The closer we come to what the Bible speaks of as "the end of the world" (Matt. 24:3), the more intimate will the people of God become with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Their acquaintance will become like that of a couple who meet, get slightly acquainted, then fall in love, become engaged, and finally marry; no woman on earth will become the "bride of Christ," but there is a body of people known as "the church" who will "make herself ready" for that epochal "wedding" (cf. Rev. 19:7, 8; Eph. 5:23-27).

A "paradigm shift" in understanding is a mild term to describe the upheaval that will occur in the spiritual experience of God's people as they near when Christ closes His High Priestly ministry in the Most Holy Apartment. The grand antitypical Day of Atonement will be a reconciliation with Him that can only be described as a bride yielding herself joyously at last to her long-loved but never yet "known" bridegroom.

The tremendous spiritual upheaval will be a new motivation supplanting our old egocentric one. We have always responded to the desire to be saved--a very wholesome one, indeed; a thousand times better than acquiring worldly wealth. But it's still the desire for a reward; we have sung the ditty, "I Shall Wear a Crown in My Father's House," we have contemplated exchanging "the cross for a crown," we have widely taught that "securing our own salvation is the highest duty of life." Again, wonderfully true; but still puerile.

In the closing up of the Day of Atonement, a new motivation begins to take over: a concern for Christ that He receive His reward, thatHe be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords; our concern for Him eclipses that old one of egocentricity.

This won't be righteousness by works; it will be a new chapter in righteousness by faith. At last, "perfect agape [will] cast out fear" (1 John 4:18). A new heart-appreciation of what it cost the Son of God to die for us will be grasped.

But this will not be the prized possession of the saints; it will be their communication to the world of "Christ and Him crucified" as the world has never before heard it in such clarity since Pentecost.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 26, 2007.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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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, June 08, 2012

The Greatest "Evangelism" of All Time

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The greatest "evangelism" of all time was what happened at Pentecost. It was not emotionalism, and what brought the deep conviction of truth on people's hearts was not the miracle of the apostles' speaking foreign languages--a "sign and wonder" indeed, but not the real thing that did it: the apostles proclaimed what had happened when the Son of God died on His cross.

They didn't "mince words," or say it daintily; "YOU murdered the Prince of life, the Son of God!" They laid the guilt of the ages upon the souls of those Jews and Gentiles. There was no political making friends and influencing people, no attempt to make the message palatable, to "win" the top leaders by psychology. It was the most direct super-confrontation that has ever been between lowly people and religious society leadership (read it in Acts 2:23, 36; 4:10; 5:30, etc.).

Ordinary people like the apostles could never have galvanized themselves to tell it like they did had it not been for the ten days of repentance they spent beforehand. They had knelt very low in self-humiliation; what fools they had been! The Holy Spirit had eleven men in whom self had been "crucified with Christ." This made it possible for the Son of God to be exalted in them.

Why was it the prototype of all genuine "evangelism"? What Jesus had said a short time earlier happened: "On the last and most important day of the festival [Feast of Tabernacles] Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, 'Whoever is thirsty should come to Me and drink. As the scripture says [Song of Solomon 4:15] "Whoever believes in Me, streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart."'" Jesus said this about the [Holy] Spirit" (John 7:37-39, TEV). That was the "former rain."

The "latter rain" (which is still future) will be a re-play.

--Robert J. Wieland

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

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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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, June 07, 2012

One of the Most "Good News" Chapters in the Bible

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Psalm 139 is one of the most "Good News" chapters in the Bible! It tells you that the infinite Lord and Creator took a direct, personal interest in your formation when you were an embryo in your mother's womb. The Septuagint (that is, the Greek translation of the Old Testament that Christ and the apostles used) renders the message of Psalm 139, "all men shall be written in Thy Book." That Book contains your page! The Infinite Father took a personal interest in your formation as though you were earth's only inhabitant.

Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit, in His infinitude, notices when a little sparrow falls in the forest: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father [noticing it]" and caring (Matt. 10:29). "Fear not, therefore." He assures us, "ye are of more value than many sparrows" (vs. 31).

The Father respects you highly; there are things that in particularyou can do that no one else can do as well. The Father actually needs you!

Satan doesn't want us to understand this; he wants us to think of ourselves as mere digits in God's creation; but in fact we are divinely called to be co-workers with the Lord Himself. There is someone on earth who cannot be reached with a living witness of the Gospel except through you; the Lord needs you; He Himself alone cannot function in this case without you.

Oh yes, the Lord can turn the mountains upside down and drain the ocean without needing you to help Him; but those are "easy" things for Him to do! What He can't do is to reach an alienated human heart without your help.

When you tell what the Lord Jesus has done for you personally (if you can tell it in a humble way!), this reaches the alienated heart. This makes the Bible come alive; you can touch that secret, buried spot in someone's heart--and possibly you won't realize at the moment what you have done. But angels will rejoice at the accomplishment.

Hold your head high. Unworthy as you are, you are important in God's plan of salvation for the world. Kneel, and wait before Him; "wait on the Lord, … and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord," says David (Psalm 27:14).

You kneel and you say not a word, maybe in the dark; you have "shut thy door" (Matt. 6:6), and you are shut in with the Lord of heaven and earth, your Creator and Savior. His Son has programmed this intimate appointment just for the two--the Father and you.

You may object--"but there's selfishness and sin in my heart!" Okay, but let Him cleanse it out. He will!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 27, 2008.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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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, June 06, 2012

The Simplest Problem in the Bible to Grasp

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

People are often scared to think about the "two covenants" (the Old and the New), for fear that it's a theological puzzle beyond their understanding.

In truth, it's the simplest problem in the Bible to grasp: the New Covenant is the promises of God to Abraham and to his descendants by faith (that means you if you believe John 3:16)--that He will bless you abundantly now and forever. That's the New Covenant (you can read the seven promises in Genesis 12:2, 3). In contrast, the Old Covenant is the promise of the people at Mt. Sinai to "do" everything that that they think God requires (Ex. 19:8).

Under the Old Covenant we see the Ten Commandments as ten stern demands. But under the New, we see them as ten glorious promises that the Lord will save us from the sin mentioned there. For example, the seventh: under the Old Covenant it's a stern demand that we never covet our neighbor's spouse, never look on someone lustfully, etc.

But under the New Covenant, it's a promise that the Lord will hold us by the hand forever and save us from falling into that hole (the wrong woman, or man) that Proverbs 22:14 says is a "deep pit." The wonderful promise applies to us in our teenage years, also. (That's when it's especially precious.)

But is there no condition regarding what we must do?

Yes: we must believe the Preamble to the Ten Commandments. We must believe that by virtue of His sacrifice of Himself on His cross, the Lord Jesus has delivered us "out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." By becoming our new Head of the human race, our new Adam, Christ has adopted the human race in Himself (Eph. 1:3-7); He has become the "Savior of the world" (John 4:42--that is, in a legal or judicial sense), but "especially" so of "those who believe" (1 Tim. 4:10). That's the practical. His love (agape) constrains us to live joyfully unto Him; self-sacrifice for Him is a joy.

That's the truth of the Preamble to the Ten Commandments. You must believe it. Choose to. You believe; let Him "help [your] unbelief" (He will! Mark 9:24).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 29, 2008.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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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, June 05, 2012

A Diabolical Opposition to the "Everlasting Gospel"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The last book of the Bible is clear: the only news God has for anyone at any time is Good. The final message in Revelation 14 is "the everlasting gospel," which never means Bad News. But God cannot force people to believe His Good News; He "proclaims liberty throughout all the land," all the earth (Lev. 25:10). He wants everyone to be free, and everyone is free to believe His Good News, or to believe the author of Bad News, Satan. This freedom is bestowed upon the human race "in Christ," as His gift. But each human being must learn, be taught, his freedom. That teaching of freedom is the "gospel."

But Revelation also makes clear that there is a diabolical opposition to that "everlasting gospel," which is represented as the intoxicating "wine of Babylon" (14:8; 18:2). Thus we see a great conflict going on behind the scenes; it's impossible for Christ to be "revealed" in this last Book of the Bible unless at the same time the deceptions of Christ's enemy, Satan, are also unveiled. And the astonishing "revelation" discloses that his chief means of opposing Christ is through an organization, a message, a philosophy, that is professedly Christian. He has become a grand impostor, "so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" when it's all a masterful lie (see 2 Thess. 2:3, 4).

Daniel's prophecy is of a "little horn" power that emerged in world history out of the ruins of the ancient pagan Roman Empire, that "speaks great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws" (7:25). One brief example of this frightful "Christian" deception: the pagan idea of the natural immortality of the soul was imported into the Christian Church; it forces people to believe that those who are lost at last must continue to live forever in conscious torment and agony in an endlessly literal burning hell, that the great conflict between Christ and Satan will never be resolved; throughout all eternity Satan will still rule his kingdom ("hell") while side by side God rules His kingdom (heaven). This falsehood has been a curse to humanity, made many people become infidels, created vast cruelties. Its "author"? Babylon.

The point? Make sure the "gospel" you believe is purely biblical, unmixed with any of that Babylonian "wine." The "temple of God" where the impostor "sits" and dishes out falsehood could be closer than you think.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 19, 1999.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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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, June 04, 2012

Justification--by Faith or by Grace?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Let me make two statements and you decide which of the two is closer to the truth: (1) justification is by faith, or (2) justification is by grace.

If you are perplexed, note what Ephesians 2:8, 9 says: "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast." That's true; it's impossible that our faith could even exist were it not for grace being first. Our faith is a response to God's grace. So, we are saved by grace, but the instrument, through which we receive and appreciate that grace, is our faith. And when the text says we are saved by grace, the "we" must mean the human race, because God's grace is not doled out selectively according to whether people do something good to deserve it, or not.

His grace is given to all as freely as air circulates around the globe. Christ has become the second Adam, reversing the "condemnation" that the first Adam brought upon the entire human race. Thus He gives, not merely offers, His grace to everyone alike. Many despise His grace, and choose to rebel, but whenever someone believes, he is simply responding to the initiative that Christ has taken in his salvation.

Now, back to our question: are we justified by grace, just as we are saved by grace?

Justification and forgiveness are the same; and we read often in the Bible that God's forgiveness has preceded our need for it. For example, when wicked people crucified the Son of God, He did not wait for them to repent first; He prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

Before Peter denied Him Christ forgave him. In becoming the new Head of our human race, Christ took us into Himself; He took our sin into Himself, and died to pay its penalty; and the death He died was what the Bible calls the real thing, the second death. And this is the only reason why God can treat the human race as though they had never sinned. If He were to treat us as we deserve we would die immediately. We are all subjects of grace!

One wise writer has said that by His sacrifice, Christ has pronounced a "reprieve" upon us; and that is what Paul says: just as Adam brought upon us all a "judicial ... verdict of condemnation," so Christ has pronounced on us a "judicial ... verdict of acquittal" (Rom. 5:15-18, NEB). All, by grace! And our faith becomes the instrument whereby we receive and appreciate this grace, so that then we are "justified by faith."

Hold your head high! You are a child of grace. Now, live so as to prove it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 22, 2003.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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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.

Sunday, June 03, 2012

How Jesus Won Souls

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

You want the Holy Spirit to help you win some soul to conversion in Christ. Note how Jesus won souls: He always gave them Good News.

Take for instance, the crucified thief on the cross (Luke 23:34-43): Jesus' last chance to win somebody before He had to die! What did He tell the thief? "You will be with Me in Paradise!" simply because the ex-hate-filled man asked to be "remembered." Jesus gave the poor wretch Good News.

Consider again the woman taken in adultery in John 8:1-11 (don't cut the story out of your Bible!). Did He tell her, "Lady, if you will keep straight from now on, God will forgive your sins and then He will accept you"? He gave her Good News: "I do not condemn you! Go and sin no more." I take your condemnation upon Myself; I am paying the price for your sin; I lift from you this burden of guilt, because as the Lamb of God I bear your guilt Myself. His command to "sin no more" was more a promise than a stricture. With this message, she was able to "go and sin no more." She never fell again! Jesus saved her right then and there.

Consider Cleopas and his friend on the path to Emmaus (the story begins in Luke 24:13). They were so overwhelmed with discouragement that they would have given up their faith in Jesus as "the Savior of the world" if they had not gotten help just then. He gave them a Bible study incognito that was full of Good News. He saved them. Go thou and do likewise with some soul who needs Good News.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 26, 2005.

Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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"