Thursday, August 28, 2014

What Is Genuine Faith?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
The "everlasting gospel" is such Good News that we sinful human beings have a difficult time believing how good it is. In fact, when Jesus tells us that His "yoke is easy, and [His] burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30), He is trying to tell us that our main problem is learning how to believe.
Ancient Israel could not enter their Promised Land because of unbelief (Heb. 3:18, 19; 4:6, 7). And Jesus speaks to all of us when He told the distraught father of the devil-possessed child, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9:23). A few minutes later, He had to tell the disciples why they couldn't cast out the devil in the child: "Because of your unbelief" (Matt. 17:20). He had already told the multitude that had gathered to watch that they were "faithless," and then He added that their unbelief was associated with "perversity," meaning that unbelief is serious business (vs. 17).
This is a dangerous subject, for fanaticism lurks just around the corner. We so easily think that if we had proper "faith," we could work miracles, speak with the tongues of angels, pick up poisonous snakes and let them bite us (Mark 16:17, 18), and "move mountains" (1 Cor. 13:2). But to be content to live in a humble home, and endure pain and poverty, is not necessarily "unbelief." Genuine, healthy faith is willing and happy to share with Christ His humiliation and sufferings.
If you haven't succeeded in reducing Mt. Everest to the level of the Sahara desert, that doesn't mean you necessarily lack "faith." If you do work miracles, cast out devils, "prophesy" in Christ's name, and move mountains and do all kinds of "wonderful works" (see Matt. 7:22), you may still be "faithless" in that you have no genuine faith. Satan is a genius at "deceiving the whole world" with "signs and wonders" (Matt. 24:24; Rev. 13:3).
So, what is that genuine faith? It is "comprehending" the grand dimensions of the love that led Christ to His cross (Eph. 3:17-19), identifying with Him there (Gal 2:20), getting "married" to Him because you want nothing else (2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7, 8), and taking up your cross to "follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth" (Rev. 14:4, 5).
Do you see why unbelief is the sin of sins? It's the only reason anyone will not enter heaven (John 3:18, 19). Why? Because if he did enter in, he'd be miserable there.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 16, 1999.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

This Preacher Was Different

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"


The people immediately knew that this Preacher was different. He locked in to their souls because He let it be known that He knew first-hand what being "despised and rejected" means. At this stage they weren't sure Who He might be, but He grabbed their heart-strings when He said, "Blessed [happy!] are the poor in spirit, ... they that mourn, ... the meek, ... they which are persecuted, ... reviled, ... Rejoice!" (Matt. 5:3-11). He was backwards from every other speaker they had ever listened to!
You are going to meet someone somewhere who scans every face he or she sees, looking for someone who understands, for someone who is that exceedingly rare person who is "pure in heart" for he or she has "seen God." You may not need to say a word when you meet this person; something in your eyes will communicate that you "understand" what long waiting, yearning, and trials of faith mean. If you will accept the conviction of sin borne in on your soul by the Holy Spirit--the conviction that has shattered your "rich-and-increased-with-goods" complacent pride, if you will let tears of contrition fall, you will be given a key to at least some human hearts. Jesus will condescend to share with you some of His secret riches of soul.
You will also share a kinship of soul with that dear man who morning after morning (probably for years!) begged the Lord to remove his "thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan" constantly "buffeting" him (2 Cor. 12:7), only to realize that God was refusing to grant his prayer. If any mortal sinner (like you and me) ever deserved an answer to heart-felt prayer, wouldn't it be Paul? He had endured such a lifetime of loving self-denial for Christ (read his immediate context in 2 Cor. 11:23-29)!
But after renewed fasting-and-prayer sessions, probably even "anointings," God told him, "No, Paul; I'm not going to say Yes. The thorn in the flesh stays; you've got to live with it; how else can I bless your ministry? How else will you ever know how to reveal My grace to others unless you have tasted continual suffering? My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness."
Pretty heavy price Paul paid for what he was able to pass on to us. Was it worth it?
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 28, 2001.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Methods to "Evangelize"--Jesus Told Us What to Do

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Mission boards and committees are deeply burdened in their search for better methods to "evangelize" non-Christian people such as Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and agnostics or atheists. We can also include materialists and pleasure-seekers, who are everywhere.
Let’s briefly review what Jesus said we should do: He said, “As you go, ... heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:7, 8). Our ministry must include feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing housing for the desolate, and of course, educating the children and youth. And if it's in our power, help secure justice for the downtrodden.
And there is something else Jesus said we are to do: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Mark 16:15, 16; Matt. 28:19, 20).
Jesus specified what kind of “gospel” we are to proclaim in order to realize success: “'If I be lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all men unto Me.’ This He said, signifying what death He should die” (John 12:32, 33).
Certainly that very successful missionary-evangelist, the apostle Paul, did not neglect the humanitarian work mentioned above; for sure, he healed the sick and cast out demons. But he understood what happened on Christ’s cross, and how to tell people about it. He “determined not to know any thing ... except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:1, 2). Hearts and intellects and souls were stirred--lastingly.
Proclaiming the cross of Christ involves much more than the use of images or pictures; the gospel grapples with the horror of hell, and makes clear how the sacrifice of Christ was and is the only answer to it. Its truth delivers the captives of hell. The proclamation of the cross is ineffective unless its truth is made clear with all its dimensions of agape--its length, breadth, depth, and height. The Savior of the world died the world’s second death. Nothing will cut through to non-Christian hearts, except that ultimate revelation of how far the love of Christ went in saving us.
But that will be told when ... we come to Revelation 18.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 27, 2004.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Monday, August 25, 2014

"Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
When Jesus speaks of the future, He says, "Let not your heart be troubled" (John 14:1). Yes, there will be "a time of trouble," but four glorious happenings will also coalesce:
(1) "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations" before "the end will [can] come" (Matt. 24:14; and that "gospel," says Jesus, will have to include the story of Mary Magdalene and her washing Jesus' feet with tears, Mark 14:9).
(2) The great "angel" of Revelation 18:1-4 will proclaim the message that will "lighten the earth with glory" (vss. 1-4). The message will at last be demonstrated as "the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16). Servants of God, endowed with power from on high with their faces lighted up, and shining with holy consecration, will go forth to proclaim the message from heaven. A compelling power will move the honest in heart. God will be in the work, and every saint will be fearless of consequences and follow the convictions of his own conscience and unite with those who keep all the commandments of God. Fear of relatives or of economic distress will be powerless. A large number will take their stand in preparation for the coming of Christ.
(3) The re-sent "Elijah the prophet" will arrive "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn ... hearts" (Mal. 4:5, 6). The work of the Lord will be finely tuned, precisely balanced, powerful, so that what God's people have wanted to see for two millennia will come: Mary Magdalene's demonstration of what "faith" is (Luke 7:50) will "turn [hard] hearts" (they're everywhere now!).
(4) At long last, the words of Jesus will meet their fulfillment: "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast down. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all unto Me" (John 12:31, 32). There will be many "Pauls" coming to "Corinth" like him proclaiming nothing but "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:1-5). Lord, hasten the day!
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 11, 2006.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Friday, August 22, 2014

Being At One With Christ

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
The heavenly Father is not looking for ways to punish people; He is not trying to amass an account of debit against anyone! But it's not merely emotionalism that makes Him to be so gracious to us: there is a solid legal or judicial reason for His kindness to us sinners.
His Son, Jesus Christ, has come down from heaven, surrendered His high position at the throne, and has become one of the human race.
He has taken upon Himself the fallen, sinful human nature that Adam has passed on to everyone; therefore, judicially the Father is free to treat every person, no matter how sinful, as though he or she has never sinned.
This is what we can experience in "justification by faith." To be justified is infinitely more than just having your present quality of life extended indefinitely; such "eternal life" would not be a blessing! To be justified is to be cleansed, corrected, made "at one" with Christ. To be at one with Christ in character--this is what it means to "receive the atonement."
But the Lord will not force such sublime "eternal life" on anyone; He will give every one of us what we really want above all else. Therefore, He has given us "today" so that we may learn to be happy in union with Christ.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 25, 2009.
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Thursday, August 21, 2014

The Sin That Infiltrates the Great World Church of Laodicea

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
The righteousness of Christ now can cleanse the one greatest sin of all time. According to John's profound statement in 3:14-19, it's the sin of unbelief, not the mere passive ignorance of never knowing truth, but the active sin of disbelieving truth. "He that believeth not is condemned ..." That "not" discloses the darkest guilt of sin.
But what is unbelief, this sin of disbelieving? It's the sin committed by the most righteous people on earth, those to whom God's Messiah was sent (the Savior of the world). They made the eternal Prince of glory become the slain "Lamb of God" by the people who slew Him. The cross of Christ extends its arms over the universe of God--the truth of eternity encapsulated in time at Calvary for us to "see."
Unbelief is the sin of cherishing hard hearts that cannot be melted, of eyes that cannot shed tears of repentance, of souls that "survey the wondrous cross" with callous disregard. It's the sin of hearts unmoved by the love (agape) that "constrains" any believing heart to total consecration to the One who died our second death for us. It's poisonous sin, the most subtle and deadly of all time.
Unbelief is the sin that infiltrates the great world church of Laodicea, the "seventh" and last of all time, the church that torments the resurrected Son of God to the point of acute nausea (Rev. 3:14-21). Each individual professed believer in Christ is a microcosm of the world church, no one holier than everybody else, all sharing a corporate sin of unbelief, all desperately needing a corporate repentance before God, all awaiting the long-promised Elijah who will proclaim a heart-reconciliation, the final atonement.
Let's not cap off history by crucifying the Lamb of God afresh. Let's overcome where ancient Israel failed.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 20, 2005.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

The Only Way Not to Be Deceived

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Kind Christian people sometimes want to shy away from controversy within the church. But controversy is not always bad. It stirs people up to think and to study and thus to discover very precious truth that God's people need to appreciate. We are coming close to the second coming of Jesus and the end of the world, and we need truth in order to stand. If you want to run away when controversy arises, let me tell you where is the only place you can go to find none: the cemetery!
Jesus said, "Take heed that no one deceive you" (Matt. 24:4). The only way to be sure not to be deceived is to study the word of God for ourselves, for the Scriptures "testify of Me," said Jesus (John 5:39).
One controversy that has stirred good Christian people for 400 years is between Calvinism and Arminianism. The problem is what the Bible means when it says so clearly that "Christ died for the world," is "the Savior of the world," "gave Himself a ransom for all men," "tasted death for every man," is "the propitiation for the sins of the whole world," "all are being justified freely by His grace," "the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life," etc.
Calvinists have always said those texts mean that Christ has accomplished salvation for some people--that is, only those whom God has predestinated to be saved. Arminians say those texts mean that "all men" have a potential for being saved, it's possible for them to be saved, but it is only if; Christ didn't actually accomplish salvation for anyone unless ... And between these two views a great gulf is fixed.
The story of Esau resolves this controversy of 400 years. It was an accomplished fact that hehad the "birthright." It was his by birth, no one could take it from him, not even God, for it was his by the oath of God to the firstborn among Abraham's descendants.
But Esau "despised" what was his and what had been given him, and then he "sold" it. And "Esau" is the name of every person who will finally be lost. Christ gave salvation to him but he wouldn't have it. He refused to receive the atonement that would have reconciled his alienated heart to God and to God's holy law. He has unfitted himself for heaven. Don't be Esau!
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 26, 2004.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Is Unity Impossible?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
This week millions of Christians around the world are studying about unity, which means, how people in a church can truly believe the same thing. It's important, because Jesus said that the only way the world can be brought to believe in Him is when His followers "all may be one, ... that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (John 17:21). Something He calls "Thy truth" is the only thing that will unite them (vs. 17). Paul calls it "the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:5, 14). The success or failure of Christ's mission for the world therefore depends on that "truth" bringing His people who profess to "keep His commandments and the faith of Jesus" into one (Rev. 14:12).
For example: how could a group of mathematicians come into unity unless they all believe that 2 + 2 = 4? Suppose some said it equals 5? Is that "truth of the gospel" so simple and clear that it appeals to honest hearts with a similarly powerful logic?
Consider the problem of Genesis 1: Christ and His apostles accepted that "the truth of the gospel" required sincere, honest hearts to believe that God created the earth in six literal days. People who insist they are equally sincere understand the idea of six literal days to be ancient mythology; science makes such belief naive, they say.
Then consider the problem of Jesus Himself: when He became incarnate, did He "take" the sinless nature of the unfallen Adam, thus breaking the genetic line of His descent from the real Adam? Or did He accept the working of the great law of heredity and enter the stream of humanity by taking our fallen, sinful nature yet living a sinless life? Here again is disunity; the assumption is that unity is impossible.
Or is it really impossible?
The kind of faith that "believes in Jesus" is not anti-intellectual but is enriched with something called "wisdom that is from above." Such faith can see beyond the limits of science, for it "works." It is "alive" (Gal. 5:6; James 2:17, 18; 3:17).
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 10, 2004.
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Monday, August 18, 2014

Jesus Never Said You Must Convert Yourself

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What do you do if you realize that helping other people, telling others about Christ, etc., is just no fun for you? It's boring. You're not even sure you want to go to heaven if that's what it's going to be like. Some people will say, "The problem is you're not converted!" That could discourage you even more. Jesus has never told you that you must convert yourself. That's His work (one is "born of the Spirit," John 3:6). You can stop resisting His on-going work on your heart.

The way Jesus tells it in John 3, someone has to tell you the Good News of the gospel; God employs human agents in His work. Someone has said something to you that is like a ray of sunshine bringing hope into your dark soul. Now welcome that ray of light, and stop resisting it; the dear Lord has already begun to work on your heart: Let Him go on working.

Jesus made it clear that the Good News you must see (you've got to begin seeing it before you can begin believing it!) is Christ uplifted on His cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. That's in John 3:14-16: He must be "lifted up" before you as Moses "lifted up the serpent in the wilderness."

No psychology or pep talks can take the place of understanding the content of the Gospel, which is: (1) that Christ died the second death for your sins (1 Cor. 15:3); (2) He has redeemed you; (3) He has "exhausted" the penalty of the broken law for you; (4) He has "adopted" you into His family by virtue of His sacrifice for you as the second Adam, (5) He has set His table with a placemat for you; and (6) sinful and selfish as you may know yourself to be, He treats you as though you had never sinned. (By the way, that is called "grace.") All this was done before you were born.

In John 3, Jesus does not get the "cart before the horse"; He tells of conversion in true order: When your heart appreciates what He has already done for you, the cold hardness of your heart begins to melt. Maybe even a tear will trickle down your cheek as you think of the horror of that second death from which He has already delivered you. All the decency in your inmost soul begins to assert itself and you are "reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:18-20; Rom. 5:11).

With the cart behind the horse in proper order, the moment you are "reconciled to God," you find yourself reconciled to His holy law, which is His will for you; and what you once found boring and distasteful begins to become for you what it was for Jesus--He said "What's pleasure for Me is to do My Father's will and to finish His work!" (see John 4:34).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 3, 1999.

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Saturday, August 16, 2014

The Sweetest Words Anyone Can Hear

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
The Lord Jesus Christ is generous in His thanks and even generous in His praise to those who have wanted to serve Him, but have felt very unworthy.
To some He says with great enthusiasm, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
But they are surprised; they turn around to see if He is not talking past them to other people behind them; they themselves feel very unworthy of such genuine thanks and praise. He responds, No, it's you I mean.
They remonstrate with Him, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?" There must be some mistake here; we are not worthy!
Then they hear the sweetest words anyone can ever hear from the lips of the world's Savior, "Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these My brethren, you have done it to Me" (Matt. 25:35-40).
The generosity of the Lord Jesus shines brightly through all eternity. He speaks to us a positive word through a double negative: "God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love (yes, the word is agape, not phileo), which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister" (Heb. 6:10).
He remembers every effort you have made to reflect His agape to others, weak and tremulous as it may be. That double negative is His assurance to you that He welcomes you as His co-laborer with Himself in His work for the world.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 24, 2008.
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Friday, August 15, 2014

Have You Leaned to Love the Book of Galatians?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Have you learned to love the Book of Galatians? Or is it dull, boring, confusing, to you? It has been the spark that has ignited glorious reformations in people's lives since the time of Martin Luther. So you should learn to make friends with it, to love it, to let your heart revel in its powerful Good News.
The key is Paul's vision of the cross of Christ and its effect on a proud, selfish, worldly human heart. He cries out, "I am crucified with Christ" (2:20), and says he can't "glory" in anything else in the universe "save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (6:14). So white-hot was his burning devotion to the One who died on that cross that he tells the people in Galatia that he "evidently set forth Christ, crucified among you" (3:1). That fire in his soul lit a fire in their hearts.
As they listened to Paul, their eyes were fixed on his eyes; they forgot where they were or who they were--they saw Christ crucified before their astonished gaze. They forgot about their fear of hell-fire, and they forgot about their hopes of going to heaven and getting a great reward there. Only one idea possessed their souls: the eternal Son of God had gone to hell for them, died their second death, gave Himself for them totally; they saw a "breadth, and depth, and length, and height" of this love of Christ that shattered their captivity to the love of self and the love of the world.
In chapter 3:2, 3, Paul makes clear to them that they didn't do anything or work any "works" to achieve this deliverance from the prison-house of sin--they simply listened by what Paul called "the hearing of faith" (3:2). And thus they stumbled on the exact experience of "our father Abraham," who also "listened," and "believed" by saying "amen" to the fabulous promises of God (3:6-14).
Now, after this glorious experience the Galatians enjoyed in fellowship with Abraham "by faith," they turned back to the petty legalism preached by the "brethren" from the headquarters of the church in Jerusalem!
That explains Paul's righteous indignation! Let this "key" open the book for you!
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 9, 1998.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Your Prison Doors Are Opened

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
There is a chapter in the Bible where Jesus is revealed so clearly that even the children can know they are close to Him and He is close to them. Hebrews 2 was written by one who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to present Christ as truly a human being, while at the same time He was truly God. Hebrews 1 was written to present Him as having a wonderful name "by inheritance"--His name is God (vss. 4, 8). Then chapter 2 was written to show that He is man. The entire chapter explains how the angel said of Him, "They shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23). Note:
(1) "We see Jesus ... made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death ... that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Heb. 2: 9). That means He voluntarily stepped down to become "lower than the angels" so He could save us.
(2) He became one of us so that He might die our death. You and I were born to live; He was born to die. It wasn't to die our "sleep," but the death He "tasted" for "every man" was the real thing--the last death described in Revelation 2:11 and 20:14.
(3) Jesus put Himself in the place of sinners, taking their burden of guilt upon Himself. When He cried on his cross, "My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" He was suffering side by side with the crucified thieves. The repentant thief did not feel forsaken by God for Christ had assured him of forgiveness and salvation; his heart was buoyed up with joy in spite of his physical agony. But Christ suffered worse than the unrepentant thief. He died his death, also.
(4) The nature that Christ "took part of" is that of "the children," not that of the unfallen father of our race (Heb. 2:14). You have a Savior who meets you where you are at this moment: He "took part" of your DNA heredity, your weakness, your guilt, yes, He "took" your final, second death upon Himself. He knows the strength of your temptation.
(5) Why did He do all this? So He can "succor" you as you "are tempted." He set you free from "the curse of the law" which is disobedience to the law (Gal. 3:13). He set you free from the slavery of sin. Now, "stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free" (Gal. 5:1). Your prison doors are opened; go free.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 27, 2003.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Friday, August 08, 2014

A Lesson About Prayer

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Is there some kind of prayer that we can be sure God will be delighted to answer? Jesus has responded to that question in the story He told in Luke 11. It's a lesson about prayer, and it illustrates what one inspired writer describes as "a divine science in prayer." Pray this kind of a prayer, Jesus says in effect, and Heaven will rush to your aid.
It's asking the Lord to give you some bread, not because you are hungry, but because you want to give it to some other person who is hungry. It's "asking to give." You are praying that you can be the transmission agent in communicating to others a blessing that comes from God. To change the metaphor, you are asking that you might become a pipe through which will flow the water of life to some thirsty soul. Here's the story:
"Suppose one of you should go to a friend's house at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread. A friend of mine who is on a trip has just come to my house, and I don't have any food for him!' And suppose your friend should answer from inside, 'Don't bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' ... I say to you: Ask and you will receive. ... Everyone who asks will receive. ... You know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (vss. 1-11, Good News Bible). And the underlying idea is that you are asking for "bread" for that hungry person that the Lord has brought you in touch with.
Instead of praying that some pastor somewhere or some TV evangelist will "feed" this person (we spend an enormous amount of time praying that someone else will do what the Lord wants us to do!), pray that the Lord will give you some "bread" for that person, some thought that comes through your own personal heart that will "feed" his soul. It will be more effective than anything the TV evangelist can say. And a great blessing will rub off on you in the transmission process.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 26, 2004.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Thursday, August 07, 2014

How Can We Learn to Die to Self?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
How can we as followers of Jesus get through this ever-present barrier of the love of self? How can we as individuals learn how to die to self? More serious yet--how can we as a corporate body, as a church, be "crucified with Christ"? Is it possible now? Or must we be like Israel at Kadesh-Barnea when they failed to enter their Promised Land for 40 years of "wandering" (Numbers 14)? Must we be sent back into the "wilderness" to die off so a fresh new generation can arise to scale the barrier of "self" that has weakened our witness for thousands of years? Could this be the "mother" of Christian problems?
Straight off, we know that a newly invented legalism-program is not the answer. Trying harder is not it; more "works" is not it. The only way out is for the love of self to be crucified "with Christ," not just re-tortured through new forms of anxious fear.
The sanctuary in heaven that the Book of Hebrews talks about is God's office headquarters, His Pentagon where the great war between Christ and Satan is planned and executed. There is intense activity right now. Heaven is awake! As followers of Jesus we are soldiers in the army. But the "fight" is the "good fight of faith."
Christ is the High Priest ministering there in a special closing work that has never been fully accomplished in the past--a final and complete reconciling of alienated human hearts to the Savior. This special work reproduces in every believing heart and life the character of Christ. It makes possible the ending of the great controversy between Christ and Satan.
There must be a new fresh element that enters in during these last days. It's a clearer grasp and therefore deeper appreciation of what Christ went through on His cross, when He saved us. Beholding that sight leads to self being crucified with Christ. It's not a works trip; it's a faith trip.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 18, 2003.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Wednesday, August 06, 2014

Everyone Is Invited to Pray the Lord's Prayer

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Everybody in the world is invited to pray the Lord’s Prayer, which addresses God as "our Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 6:9). That’s because the Father gave His Son Jesus to be "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42); He is that already. You don’t have to do anything to make Him become your Savior. What you need to do is welcome Him for what He already is--your Savior.
You are not worthy, you have no merit of your own. You cannot save yourself, but you can thank Him for saving you. That’s happiness! Something happens deep inside your soul when you come to Him in that prayer of thanksgiving.
You feel deeply humbled (but not humiliated; there’s a great difference). You sense that He honors you in His recognition of you as a child of His Father. You are a member of "the family of heaven" (Eph. 3:15), closer to Him who is on the throne than any angel in heaven can be.
You are already "adopted" (1:4, 5). An adopted child is a member of the family, not on probation; he is secure in his new relationship although he may not realize it. He needs to learn the truth of his adoption into the earthly family through the avenue of understanding his adoption (and ours!) into the heavenly "family." Oh how precious is the truth that earthly family happiness depends on first appreciating our adoption into "the whole family in heaven and earth."
The blessed new covenant gospel implants that solid confidence into the hearts of family members and children. Let’s not confuse our situation with any old covenant teaching in our family. Let’s not employ fear as our method of imposing control; some heart-broken, tearful prayer of humility will do father and mother (and adoptive parent) worlds of good. The Lord does love you and your children, natural and adopted; He is working. Let Him work!
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 20, 2008.
Copyright © 2014 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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Tuesday, August 05, 2014

"Abide in Me"--How Do We Do It?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
It sounded easy for Jesus to say it: “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:4). But how do we do it?
He gives an explanation a little later: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you …” (vs. 7). It’s clear: we abide in Him by permitting His words in the Bible to lodge in our minds and hearts.
But that requires another miracle: “Blessed [happy] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ...” (Matt. 5:6). Suppose you have no hunger and thirst for the Bible. When your body needs nourishment, God has built in to you a system that creates hunger for food and thirst for water; you’ll make almost any sacrifice in order to obtain them. Jesus says you’ll be a happy person when you can experience that wonderful hunger and thirst for Bible truth.
If in your honest moments you realize that you have a greater hunger and thirst for entertainment, don’t give up and say you’re hopeless. The Holy Spirit is delighted to heal you and develop in you a spiritual “appestat,” that mysterious function that creates a longing for food and water. He is happy to teach you to hunger and thirst for spiritual nourishment.
I was a freshman in college when I realized I had no hunger to read the Bible; reading it was like a dose of bitter medicine. But I was serious. I decided to do something: I would not go to the cafeteria until the Lord gave me a hunger and thirst for spiritual food. I remember sitting in my room alone when mealtimes came; but no miracle happened.
But I did choose to try to do my part: I knelt and tried to read the Gospel of John. It was boring, like the stock market reports. I had read John for years, but it never lighted up for me. It seemed as though my prayer was for nothing. But gradually a tiny bit of light began to shine in the text; and I thanked the Lord and praised Him when I finally began to treasure the Gospel of John, and the Bible.
Let me encourage every one, young and old: the Lord will not despise your prayer! He promises: “Turn at My reproof [yes, be serious!]; surely I will pour out My Spirit on you; I will make My words known to you” (Prov. 1:23).
Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 6, 2008.
Copyright © 2014 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.