Daily Bread: January 2014

Thursday, January 30, 2014

You Are Never Crucified Alone

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When does temptation become sin? Can you hope (in this life) to get to the place where you can be relieved of the burden of being tempted?

You have a grand piano; you enjoy its glorious tone. When it's time to go to bed you think, "Oh, that poor piano! All night long while I rest it must continue to endure those tons of pressure put upon its frame by all those strings stretched taut--I'll loosen them all." The result? The music is gone!

If you have thought of Jesus Christ as a person exempt from enduring the pressure of our temptations, you have missed the point of the New Testament. Its very first page describes Him as "Emmanual, ... God with us" (Matt. 1:23). God with you in your most alluring, nearly overmastering temptations. He was a Man with a capacity forenormous human temptation, because we read that He "was in all points tempted like as we are" (Heb. 4:15). There is no human on the face of this planet who is "tempted in all points" as the human race is tempted; each of us is tempted only in our own little microcosm of temptability.

But this Human was also Divine, the second "Adam," the Head of the human race embracing within Himself all the temptability that all human beings collectively endure. No human being who prostrates himself before the throne of God in anguished prayer for deliverance from sin can battle against a temptation for which Christ has not already battled. And the Good News is loud and clear: He endured them all "yet without sin." The tension of temptation was there in His soul every moment of His life until that final hour on His cross when He felt to the full the awfulness of man's sin and its diabolical pressure that wrenches the spiritual nerves and sinews of humanity.

You say the tension you must endure is unbearable? Don't despise the music that only your soul can produce! Sing or play a duet with Christ--He never asks you to do a solo. (If you're a musician you know the joy of doing duets!). You are never crucified alone--always it's "with Christ" (Gal. 2:20).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 15, 1998.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Jesus' Way of Healing People

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When Jesus healed the paralytic who had been sick for 38 years at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem, He asked him no questions or to make no promises. In fact, we do not read that Jesus even preached to the sufferer first. But after He had healed the man, He found him again, in the temple. Then He said something very surprising: "'Now that you are well again, leave your sinful ways, or you may suffer something worse'" (John 5:14, New English Bible).

Why didn't Jesus tell this man to "leave his sinful ways" before He healed him? That's what I would have done, if I had the power to heal. I would give the sufferer a good lecture and get him to sign on the dotted line that henceforth he would "leave his sinful ways" before I went to the trouble and expense of healing him. Why waste your resources on someone who doesn't make good use of the blessings you give him?

But, that was not Jesus' way of healing people. He gives the blessing first, and then asks for a response of reformation and repentance. He heals the ten lepers when only one will come back and say thanks. And thus He treats the entire human race, sends His rain on the just and on the unjust, asks for no commitment first, just freely pours out His blessings. In true new covenant manner He gives His great gift of salvation, and then asks for a response of gratitude. We mustn't read John 3:16 backwards; the truth is that He took the initiative to "so love the world that He gave" His Son and all His blessings first, then asks us to believe.

The healing at the Sheep Pool in John 5 illustrates what Jesus accomplished by His sacrifice on His cross. While we still followed our "sinful ways," He died for us, redeemed us, justified us in a legal sense, died our second death; put His arms around us, and gave us, not merely offered us, a "forever friendship." Nothing short of a total response of eternal gratitude can rightfully be labeled as "faith."

--Robert J. Wieland

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

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

You Can't Escape That New Covenant Love

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Talk about the old and new covenants may be perplexing to someone who honestly wonders what it's all about, what's the difference?

Nicodemus comes to Jesus "by night" (old covenant people love the dark) with some old covenant flattery ("we know You are a teacher come from God") and gets a stark new covenant response: "The son of man must be lifted up so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:1-15).

The fear-laden jailer in Philippi asks an old covenant question, "What must I do to be saved?" and gets a new covenant answer: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved" (Acts 16:30, 31). (No obeying the law? "Believe" and there will be no end to your law-obedience.)

The 23rd psalm is probably the most new-covenant chapter in the entire Bible. Nothing about "the law"? Not a word about "doing" anything except following where the Good Shepherd "leads"? The Shepherd psalm is the "Come unto Me and I will give you rest" idea (cf. Matt. 11:28-30).

The Lord who is your Shepherd is the special name for the "our Father which art in heaven" who loves to hear us cry, "Abba, Father!" when we are in distress (Matt. 6:9; Rom. 8:15, 16). The very fact that your perplexed heart cries out those words is proof that He has "adopted" you into the family of God (a 23rd psalm idea). Read Romans 8 carefully, to see who you are.

The new covenant truth: you are not a "wolf" to be shot down; you are a "lamb" (a prodigal son) who has gone astray. That same Lord is the "father" who welcomes the prodigal home and puts the best robe on him (Luke 15:22). Flee where you wish but you can't escape that new covenant love that pursues you (Psalm 139:9-12).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 15, 2007.

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Monday, January 27, 2014

The Great Physician of Our Wounded Psyche

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Several years ago we borrowed a cat from our neighbors that was noted for its success in dealing with groundhogs. It was well named "Tiger," because its disposition was fierce. It seemed to be in a state of perpetual anger with the world. It snarled if you picked it up. The neighbors who owned it cared for it, fed it nicely; but they had to conclude that it must live outdoors (which it seemed to enjoy).

Apparently Tiger had some experiences in "kittenhood" that made it forever after sour on humans. I knew of no redemption for it. It would forever be on the outside, looking in on the happy "party" that it had chosen to refuse to participate in.

But there is Good News for you and me who have suffered experiences in our childhood that have wounded us. There is redemption for us! We don't have to be cast out into that "outer darkness" where we are doomed to watch alone the lights of the heavenly party that we miss going on inside (see Matt. 8:12).

God knows that we humans have deep inner problems that stem from heredity and childhood, even pre-natal experiences. He says of us, "Your heart and mind are sick. From head to foot there is not a healthy spot on your body ..." (Isa. 1:5, 6, Good News Bible). Drugs may temporarily relieve symptoms of our heart-alienation and/or clinical depression--these inner malfunctions more real than Tiger's learned alienation from the little world she lived in. But drugs cannot be a substitute for the healing of the wounded psyche that only the Great Physician can provide. He "healeth all thy diseases." He "renews" our "youth" (Psalm 103:3-5). As a Good Shepherd He "seeks" the wounded, lost soul. His business is happiness that flows from reconciliation.

How has He learned to be the Great Physician of our wounded psyche? Here is the answer: On His cross He endured the total darkness of alienation from His Father ("My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?") and He conquered it by faith! Infinite, glorious achievement! Now this "faith of Jesus" He gives to you and me. In it is virtue to heal us from our "head" to our "toes"--every cell of our inner being. Thank Him for that!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 2, 1998.

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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, January 23, 2014

It's Not Too Late to Follow Him

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Only a few days before Christ's crucifixion, some Greeks came to the temple in Jerusalem and said, "We would see Jesus." This encouraged Him (He needed encouragement!). His own people were rejecting the gospel, but here was evidence that people from all lands around the world would eventually accept.

Jesus stepped outside the Jewish portion of the temple court to visit with these Greeks. And then He expressed the principle of His kingdom: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:24, 25).

In effect, Jesus was declining the temptation to leave Israel to rot and to go with these Greeks to Athens and there do a mighty, glorious work. No, He says, I must stay here and fall into the ground like a grain of wheat and die; only then can I save the world. And when He spoke of the wheat "dying," He meant the real thing, not just a temporary sleep. He must ascend the throne of His kingdom via the cross. Self-sacrifice is the law of His kingdom. "If anyone serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also" (vs. 26).

Where is Jesus today? Not making a fortune in the stock market or electronic research, but ministering to the poor and needy and those hungry and thirsty for the gospel. Many young people today are rushing into electronics or some other lucrative careers; only a few think seriously of missionary service. Often, youth who are fortunate enough to get some higher education seldom wish to serve their fellowmen, but seek the highest paying careers possible. To all, the Lord Jesus reminds us: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone." You end your lucrative career with nothing but dust and ashes, bankrupt for eternity.

Where's the Good News? Today is not too late to take up our cross and follow Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 11, 2000.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Becoming a "Life"-Saver

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If there is someone for whom you are especially praying, someone you want to lead to the Savior, the apostle John has given some particular counsel in 1 John 5:15, 17: "If we know that He [the Lord] hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not to death." (We pause here: this must mean prayer for anyone who has not committed the unpardonable sin--but of course you may not know; you would have been sure that Saul of Tarsus was too far gone to be saved.)

Then John continues: "There is sin to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not to death" (literal rendering). In other words, there is hope for those who have not committed the unpardonable sin. They can still be reached with the gospel. Makes sense. Now, how can you pray for such an individual effectually?

The answer seems to be: God gives you spiritual "life" for that person! You become a "life"-saver; you are to give that person spiritual mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. (Don't ask me exactly how; the Lord will show you! This is personal--you are abiding in Him!)

If you will pardon the crude illustration, it's like a mother bird feeding its young. She has pre-digested the morsel she puts in its mouth. God gives YOU the "life" for this person you are praying for. In other words, it won't suffice for you to send him a missionary magazine, or the missionary book of the year and pray, "Lord, help him to understand"; and then flip on your TV and trust that some angel will give him "life." No, the Lord gives YOU "life" for that person. You must pre-digest every truth you want him to come to understand! It must be YOU who communicates the saving truth. An offering in the plate on Sabbath is wonderful but it won't suffice here. You must get deeply involved personally.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 11, 2005.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Reaching the Top of Mt. Everest

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

After making a fantastic promise that the Holy Spirit is stronger than our sinful flesh with its lusts, Paul tells us in Galatians 5:18, "Moreover, if you are led by the Holy Spirit, you are not under the law." He has told us in verse 1 to "stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and don't be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." He has told us in chapter 3:10-13 that disobedience to the holy law of God is bondage, but obedience is freedom. So, if we are led by the Holy Spirit, we "walk at liberty," we are free from the accusations of a broken law of God, we are not in prison, the glorious liberty of the children of God is ours. Wouldn't you rather be free today, free to go where you wish and do what you wish, instead of being locked up in the penitentiary?

But what does it mean to be "led by the Holy Spirit"? The Good News is that He is a Leader! He knows the way through the maze and pitfalls of your life, He will never lead you on a false path. If you are climbing Mt. Everest, you need a leader! Day by day, the Holy Spirit will direct your path. David says, "Where is the man who reverences the Lord? He will teach him in the way that he shall choose" (Psalm 25:12). "All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as cherish His covenant [His promise] and His testimonies" (vs. 10).

The Holy Spirit is sent to lead you individually in those paths of mercy and truth just as if you were the only person on earth. The Heavenly Father, who notices when even a little bird flies against a window and falls to the ground (Matt. 10:29), notices you a million times more. Your life, your happiness, is precious to Him; He will lead you.

Now your job is to follow. His word, the Bible, points out the path when it's dark and you can't see clearly: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). So, following the Bible and the constant convictions of the Holy Sprit, "the Spirit of truth" (John 16:13), you reach the top of Mt. Everest.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 19, 1998.

Monday, January 20, 2014

A Gift Given Solely by Grace

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Good News doesn't tell you what to do in order to be happy; it tells you what to believe your Savior has already done that makes you happy. And what has He done? He has saved you from hell itself. And what is hell? Oh yes, it's terrible fire in the last day; but there's also a hell on earth.

Revelation 16:15 gives a glimpse of it: "Blessed [happy] is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Do you want some hell right here and now? Let the natural you that you are, with all your natural-born lust and selfishness, be exposed publicly so that your reputation for honesty, decency, and fidelity is "shattered," so that even your family, friends, supporters, and fellow workers feel betrayed. And no, you can't mercifully go to sleep or go off to some desert island alone--you have to stand naked before the world and endure the excruciating shame.

The Good News? Your Savior has saved you from having to endure that. Why do I say this?

(1) "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3:10). The real test of our character is how could we handle alluring temptation if we were fully exposed to it without a Savior. The little shrub in the calm valley shouldn't snicker when the giant oak on the mountain top goes down in the crushing fury of an awful storm; he should say thankfully, "There but for the grace of God go I."

(2) The "garments" that cover your natural nakedness of soul are not your righteousness, but Christ's righteousness imputed and imparted to you as a gift given solely by grace and received solely by faith (Rev. 19:8).

(3) Isaiah 54:17 tells us that we have no righteousness of our own: "their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord."

(4) If you receive the gift of Christ's righteousness by faith, that means that your natural sinful heart is melted by a realization of the love that has saved you, the love that led the Son of God to endure the hell that would have been yours. Not only was He "made to be a curse" for you when He died on His cross; He was exposed there naked, so that today you might be "clothed." Reason enough to sing Hallelujah! And be humble from now on.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 21, 1998.

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Friday, January 17, 2014

A Solemn Agreement

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Peter would be shocked when he had time to consider what he had done. He had actually dared to rebuke his Master, and had even laid hands on Him as on a fellow fisherman that he thought was out of his mind.

An awed and deeply impressed group listened as Jesus for the first time clearly unfolded the law of the kingdom of heaven. Here is the real point of what it means to follow Him:

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If any man desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whosoever loses his life for My sake will find it'"(Matt. 16:24, 25).

It was as if He said, in effect: You are astonished that I, the Son of God, must go to My cross and die. Not only so, but you yourselves, if you will follow Me, must each one surrender to die upon his cross with Me. We are in this together, and the law of the cross is binding upon us all!

That "Whoever" Is All-Inclusive: Neither God is excepted, nor man. In the distant ages of eternity before sin began, Father and Son clasped hands in a solemn agreement that if man should sin, the Father was to give His Son, and the Son was to give Himself, that the universe might be saved from the ruin of self-seeking.

Further, in the end God would share His throne with all who would choose to share Christ's cross. For Him there must be a risking of everything in a dramatic expression of love, revealing depths and heights as yet undreamed of by sinless beings. God has His cross!

Whoever you are, if you follow Jesus, you have your cross. You need not be a priest, a monk, a clergyman, a missionary, or even a church officer or religious leader, in order to be included in the "whoever" who otherwise must lose his "life." The seed that would save its life will lose it; the seed that will die in the ground alone will bear much "fruit." Here, says Jesus, is the genius of principle on which My kingdom is founded.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: In Search of the Cross, chapter 5, 1999.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

A Suggested Prayer From Our Savior

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When you are too tired to think, perplexed, you're in darkness, tempted to discouragement, you don't know what to say even if you try to pray, your Savior has a suggestion for you (this is a free rendition of Matthew 6:9-11):

"Pray a prayer like this:

"My Father in heaven, may Your name, Your reputation, be honored in and through me! Give me by Your grace the ability to think of what YOU need more than what I need! Save me from bringing disgrace upon You!

"May the hindrances to the coming of Your kingdom be overcome; in other words, let nothing further delay the second coming of Jesus! Teach me how I (unworthy as I am) can 'hasten,' not delay, that day (2 Peter 3:12).

"May the righteous purposes of God find fulfillment on this sin-cursed world, may His love become triumphant here, even as those purposes find fulfillment in heaven. Teach me how I can help, not hinder.

"Give me today a morsel of the bread of life that I can assimilate, some concept of 'the truth of the gospel' clearer today than I knew yesterday (Gal. 2:5, 14). Don't let my soul starve any longer.

"Take away my sin of 'enmity against [You]' (Rom. 8:7), save me from holding any grudge against You or any other human being.

"Deliver me from the entanglements of Satan. Amen."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 12, 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.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Prayer--Secret Fellowship With Your Heavenly Father

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Muslim and the Bible ideas of prayer to God are poles apart. Nothing in the Bible prescribes a rigid regime of bowing five times a day toward any place on earth. The prophet Daniel opened his windows toward Jerusalem and "kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God," but it was under special circumstances (6:10); and David says, "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud" (Psalm 55:17). But the Bible imposes on us no such detailed physical exercise. Rather, it teaches us, "Thank God without ceasing," and "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 2:13; 5:17). Jesus says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch ... abide[s] in the vine" (John 15:4).

Abiding thus in Christ means a heart-union with Him that keeps one always in an attitude of prayer. This is the direct result of understanding that the character of God is "love," or agape. "Abide in Christ" and immediately your heart responds to God as your true Father. When the Father threw His arms around His Son at His baptism in the River Jordan and said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17), He threw His arms around the human race at the same time and "adopted" us "in Christ."

Paul said, "The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ... hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, ... having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, .. to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:3-6). Understand this, believe it, and lo, something happens in your soul: you "have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:15). Therefore, "because ye are sons [and daughters], God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal. 4:6). "Abba" is the heart cry of a child; if you find that cry in your heart, rejoice. The Spirit says you have been "adopted."

This is worlds beyond groveling before a demanding Deity. Jesus says that prayer is a secret fellowship with His Father. He even says that praying "in the corners of the streets" is hypocrisy (Matt. 6:5). "When you pray, go into your closet and shut your door" is the idea (vs. 6), and for sure, lift your heart to God as to "our Father in heaven."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 5, 2002.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Friday, January 10, 2014

Why Have an Investigative Judgment?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If a ship sinks into the depths of the sea, is it gone forever? Many like to quote Micah 7:19 that says that when we confess our sins, the Lord promises to cast them into the depths of the sea. They ask, "Then why have an investigative judgment?"

But we have a problem here. Back in Micah's day, if a ship sank into the ocean, it was goodbye forever. But now, no longer. It's great business diving into wrecks on the ocean floor. Even the Titanic has been disturbed in its resting place in the North Atlantic where it has lain since that April night in 1912.

No, casting our sins into the depths of the ocean might not be the end of them. That's not good enough, now. The depths of the ocean are not an eternal resting place, even now. And when God recreates the earth anew, He will also clean up the oceans. Heaven won't be what we want if the eternal ocean floor is forever littered with wrecks that remind us of this earth's sinful, cruel past, any more than if ugly wrecked cars and burned out buildings will still cover the surface of the earth made new.

Some day the hidden secrets of every "shipwreck" will be revealed. So, sins that are hidden, even from our knowledge, must be revealed. And for those who are ready for Jesus to return, that means that it must all come out in the open beforehand in a judgment before He returns.

But that's not Bad News; it's Good News ... because the deeper the knowledge of your sins, the deeper your heart appreciation of His grace. And no one can be happy when Jesus returns unless we have learned that lesson!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 27, 1997.

Thursday, January 09, 2014

The Song of Solomon and the Laodicean Message

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Jesus gives special attention to His last-days' message to the shepherds of His flock in Laodicea, but He says something strange in Revelation 3:20. It grips our attention--"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock." He is quoting the Old Testament, but not the Hebrew text. He decides to use its Greek translation instead. And therein lies a profound revelation.

Jesus has quoted His Old Testament Bible from the Song of Solomon, chapter 5, verse 2. The ancient Greek translation (known as the Septuagint, LXX) has three little words that are not in the Hebrew version--"at the door" (epi ten thuran, if you want the Greek). And why this miniscule but tectonic choice on the part of this divine Author? Why does He quote the Greek version? Jesus reveals Himself here as the disappointed Lover who has just come from His safari to His Beloved. It's night; it's cold; it's raining; He is hungry; He is lonely; He wants her. But she doesn't want Him, apparently. He is hurt.

Standing outside in the cold, He says He goes on knocking, knocking "at the door." The object of His love has just gone to bed, is in that twilight zone between waking and sleeping. Then she hears Him. (You can't understand this unless you've lived in a mud hut with a cow-dung floor!). She is annoyed; why does He bother her at this hour? She doesn't want to get her feet soiled on that floor--she's comfy in bed. Finally, however, she stops thinking of her own selfish laziness, and thinks of Him outside. Belatedly she gets up to go to the door to let Him in. And, lo, He is gone. He got tired of waiting, waiting. (Yes, there is evidence that Jesus and the angels do get tired waiting.)

Hundreds of years ago a few thoughtful scholars in Europe discerned that the Laodicean message is tied to the Song of Solomon. Has it somehow eluded us? This is a love story! It brings us to Revelation chapter 19:7-9 where the long-disappointed Bridegroom is perplexed about what to do with His dilatory Bride-to-be. He can't force her to marry Him. The next move is hers.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 14, 2002.

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

The Simplest Lesson on How to Pray

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The simplest and most basic lesson on how to pray is in the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:6, but it may be that we haven't learned it very well as yet. Jesus teaches us to pray to our Father "which is in secret." The idea is that we are to believe that the Father loves us just as much as does the Son. The command, "Be ye reconciled to God," means to be reconciled to the Father through the Son. The initial response of any heart that believes the Good News of the gospel is to "cry, Abba, Father" (Rom. 8:15), which is reconciliation. When you believe in Jesus, immediately your heart turns to the Father just as a little child who can say only one word so far, "Ba-ba," which is that Hebrew word "Baba."

But sometimes we have earthly fathers who have so distorted the image of father that we sense an emotional barrier between us and the Father who is God. So we pray differently: "Dear Jesus, ... " For some reason we teach the little children to pray, "Dear Jesus," in our Sabbath Schools and church schools. The idea is unconsciously encouraged even when we don't intend to teach it--the Father is Someone distant, mysterious, unfathomable, too austere for us to relate to Him comfortably.

That is exactly the problem that Jesus wants to heal. He said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). So here we have the old problem of unbelief staring us in the face; will we believe that the Father is our truest best Friend? Will we choose to respond to Him as a child responds to a loving father? If since childhood we have been alienated from the emotional idea of "father" being our best friend forever, will we now choose to "come out of Babylon," for that is part of the problem--confusion of heart. Will we consent to be "reconciled" to Him?

We must learn to pray in a meaningful way. Often we suppose it's our little mini-lecture we give Him in our prayer, with our list of requisitions. Then when we're done with that, we say "amen" and jump up and run off. Or if it's our "good night" prayer, we say "amen" and climb into bed and go to sleep. We have "said our prayers," fulfilled our obligation.

But wait a moment: prayer is also listening to Him. Just kneeling, quiet, attentive, waiting. Don't miss the blessing.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 17, 2004.

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

A Longing for God's Smile

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is a simple, common word that we use all the time that amazingly is not found in the common English translations of the Bible: "smile" (the King James Version concordance goes from "smell" to "smite"). Smiles brighten our lives, but does God ever smile at us? If your only beloved one gives you a smile with eyes shining, your heart is lifted. But if only God would give you such a smile, how your inmost heart would sing for joy! Actually, all our yearnings for human love are in reality a longing for God's smile, to see His eyes shining upon us.

The idea of God smiling upon us (or frowning!) is in the Psalms of David: "There are many who say, 'Who will show us any good?' Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. You have put gladness in my heart" (4:6, 7). God's people "perish at the rebuke of Your countenance" (that is, His frown, 80:16). "How long will You hide Your face from me, ... having sorrow in my heart daily?" (13:1, 2). When David built himself a new house, he dedicated it to the Lord. He wrote: "His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life. ... You hid Your face, and I was troubled" (30:5, 7). "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous [obviously shining and smiling], ... The face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (34:15, 16). If you can't see His smiling face, you are depressed: even for the "innumerable teeming things [of creation] ... [if] You hide Your face, they are troubled" (104:25, 29).

Can you earn a smile from God by good works and obedience? "Many" think so, for in the judgment day they "will say," "Have we not ... done many wonders [wonderful works]?" (Matt. 7:22). What they thought was a "smile" for their good works only fed their complacent ego.

We are on safer ground when we appreciate that when the Father "smiled" on Jesus at His baptism ("This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased") He was smiling on us also (Eph. 1:6).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 9, 2000.

Monday, January 06, 2014

What the Lord Asks You to Do

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If the Lord Jesus were to ask you to do something, would you be willing to do it? Especially if it were to bring you joy forever after?

Here's what He asks you to do: "When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, Lord, I will seek'" (Psalm 27:8).

That's a simple, direct command: Seek the face of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That "face" is pure joy to see! But ever since the fall of our father Adam, we have had by nature a mind that is "enmity" against the Lord, for we read: "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7).

In order for us to "seek the face" of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must turn away from the "face" of the fallen rebel angel, Lucifer, who has become the "ruler of this world" (John 12:31).

Give to the Lord Jesus your full attention; "wait" before Him as Psalm 27 says; "wait," patiently. There is no word in the ancient Hebrew for "patiently," it just repeats the word, "wait, wait."

Do it, dear friend, today; receive the blessing that the Lord has for you!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 19, 2009.