Daily Bread: March 2014

Monday, March 31, 2014

"Sheep in the Midst of Wolves"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is it ever possible to follow Jesus Christ faithfully and not meet with opposition and even persecution? The Wise Man said that "when a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Prov. 16:7); that sounds like if you suffer opposition and persecution your ways don't "please the Lord." But Paul said that "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Tim. 3:12). And Jesus said that He sends us all out as "sheep in the midst of wolves, ... and you will be hated by all for My name's sake" (Matt. 10:16, 22).

That can be a lonesome life, especially if you are enduring by yourself. Therefore Jesus hastens to assure you that in your lonely pain you have His companionship: "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ... Not one [sparrow] falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. ... He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me" (Matt. 10:24-40). Yes! As you kneel in prayer asking for strength to endure, you will have the assurance that the Lord Jesus is enduring with you. The Holy Spirit will prod you to "endure all things" and to be "faithful unto death" (1 Cor. 13:7; Rev. 2:10).

Just beg the Lord to save you from inviting censure on yourself by cranky ways, by what gives reasonable people the idea that you are extreme or fanatical. A true follower of Jesus Christ will always "love [his] enemies, bless them who curse [him], do good to those who hate [him], and pray for those who spitefully use ... and persecute [him]" (Matt. 5:44). Never think that you are alone; not only is Christ with you through the Holy Spirit. In every struggle where truth contends with error, there are people watching who are honest in heart. Good will come.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 3, 2005.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Access to the "High and Lofty One"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

"The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy ... dwell[s] in the high and holy place," says Isaiah (57:15). How could you or I ever make contact with Him when He is so apparently inaccessible?

Then--wonder of wonders! He tells us where we can find access to Him: "I dwell ... with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." Would you like to meet this High and Holy One? Okay, get acquainted with someone whose spirit is contrite and humble--maybe in your office or workplace, or there might be some such student at your school.

The Lord has His home there with such a person. Don't let yourself be fooled; it might turn out to be the janitor. Ignore or despise him or her and you end up treating Christ like His people did long ago.

And perhaps you are the person who is of a humble spirit and you find yourself being battered in subtle ways in our modern cultural barnyard. The Bible assures us that if there is anywhere someone who does indeed follow in the footsteps of Jesus, that person is bound to suffer some kind of abuse from his or her fellowmen (ponder 2 Tim. 3:12).

What really hurts is when that cultural barnyard turns out to be your church (that can happen!). When it does, we are driven back to Isaiah 57: "I dwell ... with him also ... of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." The idea of the word is to "make alive," almost to resurrect. The word "spirit" has a small s--means the source of your own personality, the real you. You have something that keeps you happy and sweet even when you are abused.

Isaiah makes the point more clear in chapter 66: "Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. ... But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word" (vss. 1, 2). It's the "trembling at [His] word" that makes God feel at home to "dwell" with you, not "trembling" in the sense of terror, but to be thrilled with delight in reading His word. Use your new day to get better acquainted with Him!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 23, 2003.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

"See" What Happened at the Cross

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When the New Testament speaks of "the flesh," it's the sinful nature we all have--the source of our temptations. It's not the world outside of us that tempts us--it's the world inside of us. If you live like a hermit in the desert, the "flesh" within still tempts.

Paul explains the only way it can be handled: "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal. 5:24). Millions want to know how they can do that. It's not some "work" to DO. And to pray, "God, please crucify my flesh!" is not the way, like pushing a computer button. The way is simple, but the believing (faith) does take time.

Paul prays for us in Ephesians 3:14-21, not that we might DO some wonderful work, but that we might SEE something wonderful: "that ye .. may be able to comprehend ... what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love (agape) of Christ," which of course is displayed only at His cross. If an angel had videoed the crucifixion, it might fill the theaters, but that would not help; we "see" it, "comprehend" it, with the eyes of faith. It takes "a thoughtful hour." On your knees, alone with your heavenly Father. With the Bible open before you.

"See" the cross therein. Psalm 22 was put there for this purpose; also Psalm 69. Yes, David wrote them both, but it's Jesus Himself talking from His cross! Read them in several translations, if you can. Read them slowly, no hurried impatience. God inspired both so that you might identify with your Savior, and begin to sense those grand dimensions of a love that no preacher can adequately portray.

"Comprehend" what happened there, "see" it, and Galatians 6:14 will come alive for you: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I [am crucified] unto the world."

How does it work? "I am crucified with Christ ..." (2:20; "self"). "The world" will have no more impact on you now than it had on the repentant thief who also was crucified with Him. And you will share what he had--he was the happiest man who has ever lived, for he heard those words, "You will be with Me in Paradise."

"In Christ," you rule the flesh; you are its boss. Like Him, you "condemn sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3, 4). Take charge; choose. Welcome to joy!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 29, 2003.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Whatever the Father Was to Jesus, He Is the Same to Us

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Has there been some mystery in your life that has always perplexed you? Like the untimely loss and death of a loved one; or the crushing disappointment of a love lost, or betrayed, that you had hoped would lead to a happy marriage?

When Jesus told us how to pray (to "our Father which art in heaven"), He told us of the only way we can find peace and reconciliation with God after such bitter disappointment.

Our heavenly Father is infinite; at first thought, this truth may tempt us to wonder if the comfort He can give us is real and effective; how can it be if the Father is an infinite being? Don't forget that He was also the "our Father which art in heaven" to Jesus during His 33-1/2 years of sojourn with us in this human life. Whatever the Father was to Jesus, He is the same to us. His being infinite does not in the least lessen the personal attention He gives to us each one.

Take for example, the way that the Father in heaven manifested Himself to Jesus (as a teenager?) when He awakened Him from sleep early in the mornings. The story is in Isaiah 50:4, 5: "The Lord God hath given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear to hear as the learned."

As a Teenager or as a Youth (Jesus was a Youth all His life among us here!), He may have loved to sleep in each morning; teens are proverbially difficult to awaken in the morning! But the Heavenly Father (the same as your Heavenly Father!) persisted in waking Jesus up to start each new day.

Jesus had to go to school! He had to learn how to "speak a word in season" to the weary crowds, or to the solitary inquirer like Nicodemus who "came to Jesus by night" long after office doors should be closed! (John 3:2, 3). Those early morning awakenings and "schoolings" taught Jesus the wisdom He needed so desperately, which is why He said, "I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: ... because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me" (5:30).

That same "our Father which art in heaven" will awaken us and teach us, day by day!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 12, 2008.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Should People Be Warned? Or Won?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What's wrong with the world?

The Lord Jesus Christ has His answer: "Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (Matt. 24:12). Is love the problem? Or the lack of it? Could we translate that to mean that people are disobeying the holy law of God? Yes, of course that's true. And do they need to be warned?

But is it wiser to say that people are disregarding the holy law of God because they do not truly know what that "loveof God" means? Could it be that instead of needing to be warned, people need to be won?

If we had a meter that could determine the extent of our true obedience (like a thermometer determines how warm we are), it would register the awareness there is in our soul of the love of Christ; and that would directly correlate with the extent of our obedience to the law of God.

The reason? "He who loves another has fulfilled the law. ... If there is any other commandment, [it] is all summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:8-10; that is not teaching we should love self; Luther got that right long ago: now you love others as you have always previously, naturally, loved yourself).

Our "love-thermometer" is not to measure our love for Christ; it is to measure our appreciation of His love for us.We are not saved by our love for Jesus. We are saved by His love for us.

We will gain an incalculable blessing if we will get on our knees and spend "a thoughtful hour in contemplation of the life of Christ, especially its closing scenes." Let His love, not yours, wash through your soul. Don't begrudge the time!

--Robert J. Wieland

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

Friday, March 21, 2014

Two Harvests

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

In Bible imagery, rain is usually a blessing. There is "the latter rain" which comes at just the right time to ripen a thirsty crop for harvest. But think of a farmer worried about his crop in Israel long ago. Early rain was a blessing that made the seed sprout. The barley matured to a certain place in plant growth that seemed to promise a rich harvest this year; but now the growth is stunted. Drought came at just the wrong time. An enormous crop that never matures for harvest is an agricultural disaster. The farmer doesn't have modern irrigation; he is dependent on rain from heaven.

You can imagine the distress in the family, the earnest prayers going up day by day for the Lord to send the long-awaited "latter rain." It must come from Him!

In the Bible, this describes the condition of the Lord's church in the last days. The enormity in the size of acreage that the farmer has planted in barley is not good news unless the crop gets that most precious latter rain at the right time. Diligent labor is effort wasted if it doesn't result in a harvest of mature grain ripe for the sickle.

Jesus teaches that "the harvest is the end of the world" (Matt. 13:39). But there are two harvests--character develops in two kinds of people: those ready to meet the Lord at His return; and those whose rebellion against Him has also matured (Rev. 14:16-20).

A "sickle" is used in both harvests, one by Jesus coming in glory, the other by some other "angel" whose "sharp sickle" reaps a harvest cast into the "great winepress of the wrath of God." There must be two kinds of "latter rain."

Time to be alert! No time to sleep!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 3, 2005.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/dailybread/
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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, March 20, 2014

If Anyone's Life Work Is a Total Loss, Can He Still Be Saved?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

A wise author has written: "Should we come to the close of life with our work undone, it would be an eternal loss" (The Ministry of Healing, p. 452).

Sober thought!

"AN eternal loss": it doesn't necessarily say a TOTAL eternal loss.

The apostle Paul can help us here. It is true that each of us has a life work that we are called to do, and if we come to our end of life with that work neglected, it will be a tragedy: it will be like planting a crop and reaping no harvest. "He who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. ... If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, [or] wood hay, straw, each one's work will become manifest: for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:8-15).

Do we have a right to say that if anyone's life work is a total loss, he can still be saved? Yes, says Paul; but he will be like someone in a forest fire--he will escape with only the clothes on his back; everything else just ashes.

What the Lord wants your life work to be only He can tell you; what we know for sure is that He wants you to be happy when you meet Him face to face. When we come up to the One who sits on the Great White Throne before "whose face the earth and the heaven [flee] away" (Rev. 20:11; yes we must "all appear before the judgment seat of Christ," 2 Cor. 5:10), we will see the cross of Christ looming high "above the throne." Yes, the cross is higher than the throne! It's something that even the Father bows to! In that moment, we will see our life as it should have been.

If you are still short of your death-bed, kneel and plead with Him to help you surrender to the "constraint" of that love (agape) of Christ. Don't try to "earn" a reward, but truly "believe" in Him so the fountain of living water may flow out of your empty heart to bless others (cf. John 7:37, 38).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 17, 2007.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Fear? Those Who Believe in Jesus Won't Know It

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus made a promise that we hang on to: "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:1-3). World population desperately clings to that as their only hope.

The second coming of Christ is not bad news even to those who say they don't believe in Him, for many, when they finally hear the gospel presented clearly, will believe. They've been waiting for it all their lives. And for those who finally steel their hearts and souls against it, they'll be glad that their hell is now at an end. Christ is always only "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people," as the angels originally said (Luke 2:10).

The coming last days' events have terrorized many who say they long for Christ to come again, but they cannot bear the bad news that has given so many youth their nightmares and frightened them out of the church. The "mark of the beast," for example, enforced by a death penalty as Revelation 13:15 predicts: it's not God's intention that our lives be shadowed by that heavy cloud of apprehension. Those who have come to understand "the everlasting gospel" of 14:6, 7, "the third angel's message in verity," walk into that crisis with "the joy of the Lord" on their faces. It will be the greatest soul-winning thrill they have ever known because at last the glorious days Isaiah predicted in chapters 49 and 60 will be happening all around them. (God will never let Isaiah come to nothing!)

Fear? Those who believe in Jesus won't know it, no matter how precarious their situations may seem to be. They have at last learned what the love is that is agape, which "casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). It does it! At long last they have looked at the uplifted cross on which the Son of God died the world's second death; they have "comprehended with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge." Super-astounding as the truth may be, they are "filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:17-19). How could the desperate rantings of a frustrated devil with his empty "mark of the beast" threats disturb their peace now?

They are not enduring these trials "alone"! "Lo, I am with you always" is ringing in their souls' ears. "Yea, though [they] walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [they] will fear no evil, for [the Lord] is with [them]" (Psalm 23:4).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 24, 2007.

Monday, March 17, 2014

The Latter Rain and Unknown Sin

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Everybody on earth is called to learn about the work of the Holy Spirit, especially in these last days. He is doing a mighty work; the vast universe of intelligent beings is concerned about what He is doing here on planet earth; how much more, we!

The "early rain" of the Holy Spirit enables people to overcome all known sin (John 16:8). But the "latter rain" prepares believers to overcome all sin, even that sin now unknown to them. Don't say that's impossible: David prays our daily prayer, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23, 24).

Many great saints died before our Day of Atonement in which we now live, not knowing they were in transgression of God's holy law; for example, Wesley who never kept the Bible Sabbath and Luther, died drinking his beer. Their level of faith was sufficient for their time; but now we face the final Time of Trouble and the call to be ready to be translated (1 Thess. 4:15-17). Frightening? No! Not if we understand the "everlasting gospel" (Rev. 14:6, 7)

The greatest sins ever committed were unknown sin. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do," prayed Jesus at His cross.

The "latter rain" prepares a people to sit with Christ on His throne, and exercise executive authority with Him in bringing to a close the great controversy with Satan (Rev. 3:21). The "early rain" merely extenuates it. Christ wants and deserves closure. The Lord cannot translate sin buried deep in a human heart, unknown. His presence is death to sin.

The "latter rain" is not emotional excitement, but solid truth not previously perceived. That truth will enable believers to overcome, even as [Christ] overcame. If ever the gospel has been the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes (Rom. 1:16), it is now when it's to be understood in the light of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 22, 2007.

Friday, March 14, 2014

"Evangelism" in God's Design

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's something that Jesus didn't just "say" quietly to the Twelve. He "stood and cried in a loud voice" that everyone attending that "last and greatest day of the Feast" could hear, a message that was bursting forth from His soul. And it was a quotation from the Song of Solomon that said what He wanted to say, which He dignified by calling "THE Scripture."

If you're thirsty, He said, "come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:37, 38; S. S. 4:15; NIV, KJV). This is not a mere profession of "accepting Christ" like you enroll in an insurance policy; this is a thirsty soul famishing of inward dryness eagerly drinking every drop of spiritual moisture in a clearer grasp of gospel truth than he has ever before understood.

The dry "gospel" has become life itself. Thus "believing" is defined: it's not head knowledge, but the yearning in Jesus' soul now transplanted into your soul. You now actually love the Bible with the enthusiasm of your former worldly addictions--sports, dress, money, pleasure, appetite. You have become a bubbling spring of fresh water of life. Everyone who rubs up against you in life is refreshed somehow by something you have said about "the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:5, 14). Your heart has become a treasure store of gospel truth. You have become one of those "144,000" whose passion is to "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4).

This becomes a clearer definition of what it means to "believe." It's self-humbling; you want to pray that although "I believe," yet "help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). You're hesitant now to boast of your so-called "faith." Like Moses, you're not even aware that your face is shining (cf. Ex. 34:29).

This is "evangelism" in God's design. It's ordinary people not necessarily "trained in literary institutions" who bubble over humbly with pure gospel truth that has satisfied their own soul thirst.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 17, 2006.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

The Danger of Deception Is Very Real

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

We know it's true that there is counterfeit money. Does that cause you to be so afraid that you refuse to accept any money? Very likely you are cautious, but not fanatical. Otherwise, you couldn't do business.

Are you afraid of the word "gospel," or "good news," because there are counterfeit gospels? It is true that Jesus warned us against "false christs" in Matthew 24:24, and Paul warned us against false gospels in Galatians 1:6-12. The danger of deception is very real. But that doesn't mean that there is no true Christ or true gospel! We are told in Hebrews 3:12, "Take heed, ... lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief."

The answer to the dilemma of distinguishing between false gospels and the true is to "take heed," to study, to be alert, to think, to ponder, to learn, to listen, to pray, to seek for truth as for hidden treasure. Peter encourages us, "Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober" (1 Peter 1:13). The New English Bible renders it, "Be mentally stripped for action," ready to study and think and understand. If you allow your mind to go to sleep, you will be on enchanted ground, and Satan can deceive you.

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matt. 5:6). Since there is only one kind of righteousness, that is, righteousness by faith, what Jesus actually said was, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to understand righteousness by faith more clearly." Those who do not sense this hunger and thirst are those who feel "rich and increased with goods, in need of nothing:" (Rev. 3:17). That's a very popular way to feel if you live in Laodicea; and even pastors, and church leaders are in frightful danger of feeling that way. "Didn't I graduate from the Seminary? Haven't I preached sermons, baptized many people? I'm not dying of hunger!"

That was precisely the way the scribes and Pharisees were 2000 years ago; they felt no hunger and thirst, and the teaching of this lowly Rabbi from Galilee did not appeal to them. Today is a time of crisis unprecedented in 6000 years of human history. Be alert, be thoughtful, study, pray, and don't repeat the sin of the ancient Jews. It's too late to do that again!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 16, 1998-1.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Ephesians 1:3-7--About Takes Your Breath Away!

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

We are smothered with advertising for sales--grocery, department, hardware stores, whatever. But we can't have any of the precious goods the merchant offers unless we take the initiative to go to his store and pay the price. We must take the first step; otherwise, all he offers is in vain for us.

Many youth have acquired a similar idea of God's salvation. What Christ accomplished by His sacrifice on His cross makes an "offer" which does us no good unless we take the initiative to come and get it. Many just don't want to get "involved." They back off. Don't take the offer.

I sense no gratitude to the merchant who "offers" me his merchandise; and if I pay his price and take it, I feel I owe him nothing more. We're on equal terms now. Is this Christ's salvation bargain? He has done nothing for me if I decline His "offer." And if I accept His "offer," I have done my part in the salvation transaction. The best kind of devotion possible for me to feel is lukewarmness.

For hundreds of years this has been the idea most Catholics and Protestants have had. But the books of Romans and Galatians give a different idea: Christ's sacrifice has already impacted every human being, whether or not he or she believes. It is not a mere offer; He has given the gift to "all," yes, say some thoughtful believers, He has placed the GIFT in your hands. Ephesians says He has already "blessed" us all, "chosen us in Him," "predestinated us unto the adoption of children," "made us accepted in the Beloved," in Him we already "have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace [UNmerited favor]" (1:3-7). It about takes your breath away--but there it is, it's true. Read it.

According to the Bible, we are all "Esau" who didn't need to do anything to "get" the birthright. It was GIVEN, not just "offered" to him--from his birth. According to the Bible, every baby born into the world comes with the GIFT of the "birthright" to heaven. Our "last" or "second Adam," Christ, has already redeemed him. But too many do like Esau--"despise," "sell" what He gave them. We don't need to do that: "whosoever will" can cherish, treasure, appreciate the Gift--what the Bible means by the word "believe." Tell Him, "Thank You!"

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 3, 2002.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

God Insists! You MUST Be Saved

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When you think of God, how do you think He relates to you? Church members view Him as making salvation available to "all men," but in what way? Is He like a shopkeeper who has his goods available to "all men," his doors always open, like a gas station open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? All the customer has to do is go there and obtain what he wants; do you think of God in that way? He never turns any "customer" away who "comes"? Sounds like Good News, doesn't it? Yes, it is!

The Jews thought of themselves as His agents, His "shopkeeper." They had the "goods" of salvation; if the Gentiles wanted it, they could "come" and get it. But Jesus had an even better idea: He would not only "open shop" but He would go in search of customers! He would become a divine Salesman (Good Shepherd?), and through the Holy Spirit would "knock" on every man's "door." And if someone would open the door to Him, He would do more than "sell" His goods of salvation, He would "give" what He had "without money and without price" (Isa. 55:1). It's as though He would take "every man" (that means every person) by the hand and say, "Come, let's go to heaven! You're welcome! When My Father accepted Me, He accepted you; He has a place for you in heaven!" Short of actual coercion (for He will never force anyone against their will), He says, "Come, you simply MUST be saved!"

That's what Peter meant when he said, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). In other words, the religion of Jesus (rightly understood) is the only one in heaven or earth that goes beyond the Shopkeeper version and says, "God insists! You MUST be saved!"

The first version is good, orthodox, lukewarm righteousness by faith--your salvation depends on you taking the initiative. The second? Sounds like your salvation depends on God taking the initiative, and your heart is melted by His love, by appreciating what it cost Him to save you.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 28, 1998.

Monday, March 10, 2014

The Only "Light That Shines in a Dark Place"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Google has searched out enormous amounts of information; everybody's computer has become a university at your fingertips.

It's a moot question among Bible students what Daniel means in 12:4: "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (the King James Version is a simple, direct translation).

It's obvious that the "increase of knowledge" comes in "the time of the end" when the book is unsealed; so the question is, is it knowledge of what the book of Daniel means, or is it secular Google-indexed knowledge in general?

It's obvious that it was the Lord's intention that people who witnessed the ushering in of "the time of the end" should also witness the "all things" of Matthew 24:33 that mean seriously that the second coming of Jesus "is near, even at the doors."

We also believe that the Lord is faithful: "God is love" (1 John 4:8), which means He does not deceive or abuse His people who reverence His word. He won't tease and torment them with constant exhortations, "it's near, even at the door," when He Himself has no intention that it should be. It would be cruel for Him to keep His own private dictionary that defines "near" in an opposite way that all human language means.

In other words, the language of Daniel 12:4 (and 11:33-35) and Matthew 24 is straightforward and honest: "near" does not mean century after century after century, that there should be no "end of the world" that the disciples asked Jesus about. His second "coming" and "the end of the world" are synonymous (Matt. 24:3), and He devotes whole chapters in the Gospels to telling about it.

Daniel in his "unsealed" "open" state is not hard to understand; God never intended it to be a crossword puzzle trap of futility. Jesus plainly said that anyone who "reads" it can "understand" it (Matt. 24:15). The constant explosion of "knowledge" includes much supposedly "new light" in understanding Daniel and Revelation; but beware. Much of it may be clever ideas that appear plausible but in the end deny basic truth. Hang on to the "more sure word of prophecy," the only "light that shines in a dark place" (2 Peter 1:19).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 17, 2007.

Friday, March 07, 2014

A Gift Undeserved

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Must the one who truly believes in Jesus live under the tension of feeling unworthy, "the chief of sinners," sensing a constant conviction of being in debt? Is this the proper way for a Christian to feel? If Jesus were living here, would He feel like He had a daily debt to pay, an obligation to live for others and not for Himself? What can we know for sure?

(1) He invites us to "come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ... My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30).

(2) "The Savior of the world" has redeemed you, saved you, pulled you out of the mire, died the second death that would have been yours; adopted you into the Father's family. Ephesians 1:3-12 details in precision all the riches of His grace that He has already given you in the gift of Himself. Even the bread you have eaten today is the purchase of His cross, for you. Infinite wealth has been lavished upon you; and you are to know, to realize, to revel in your new status as a prince or princess "in heavenly places in Christ."

(3) But genuine faith (as opposed to the popular counterfeit) has a built-in defense against a terrible spiritual arrogance that is so bad that it actually stinks and drives people away from Christ. Most pathetic of all delusions is the vain self-confidence that can assume you are specially honored by Heaven when in fact Jesus may be deeply ashamed of you, and abhors your unlikeness to His character.

(4) The built-in defense against this tragedy? The heart-awareness of what it cost the Son of God to save you. In the midst of your rejoicing in your salvation you forever sense that it is all a gift undeserved. It becomes a joy to remember that you are eternally, infinitely in debt.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 30, 2002.