Dial Daily Bread: How Close Has the Son of God Come to Us?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

How close has the Son of God come to us in our humanity? Bible readers generally for centuries have recognized in Psalm 119 a prophetic revelation of the heart cries of Jesus in His incarnation. David wrote it, as he did Psalms 22 and 69; but he was "searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in [him] was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ" (1 Peter 1:11). We find there a revelation of Christ's human struggle with temptations and "infirmities" "like as we are [tempted and tried], yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15, King James Version).

Read those Psalms, believing as you go, and you will be immensely comforted and encouraged. You will find repeatedly He says things that your heart has been trying to say from its deepest depths, but you have been too uncertain or too shy to say. Jesus dares to pray the prayer you wish you had the boldness to pray!

For example: He tells our Father in heaven, "I am small and despised" (Psalm 119:141). Yes! But don't forget the rest in that same breath: "Yet I do not forget Your precepts." So, don't "forget." There's the tension that Jesus felt in His own soul, like you know--one moment sensing your helplessness, the next remembering you've been adopted into the Father's family.

Jesus accepted discipline from His Father: "I know ... that in faithfulness You have afflicted Me" (vs. 75). Even He wasn't ready for His ministry until He was 30!

Instead of harboring resentment against those who "treated [Him] wrongfully," He turned His attention to Bible truth: "I will meditate on Your precepts" (vs. 78). So must you.

He was human enough to know what it is to long for revenge on those who treated Him unfairly: "When will You execute judgment on those who persecute Me?" (vs. 84). Have you ever noticed the innate desire that children know for fairness?

More than ten times in Psalm 119 Jesus prays (in old English), "quicken Me," which means, "make Me alive again." Before His Great Resurrection on "the third day," He had practiced being "resurrected" many times. It was no slang expression for Him, "I almost died!" He knows what a heart-stopping trauma is like. "They almost made an end of Me on earth," He complains; that's when He prayed to be made alive again (vss. 87, 88).

Yes, He has come intimately close to us.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 23, 2003.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Special Final Message of Heart-Union With Christ

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Discussions about "Elijah the prophet" stir up questions. Who really is "Elijah"? As Jesus says in Matthew chapters 11 and 17, "the coming of Elijah the prophet" is a message. God's promise "I will send you Elijah the prophet" was fulfilled in the message of John the Baptist, which the Jews despised. Now what concerns us is that it's "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord," before the end of the world (Mal. 4:5, 6).

What is "the Elijah message" for today? If you had lived in Jerusalem 2000 years ago wouldn't you have asked, "How can I recognize 'Elijah' when 'he' comes?" And now? There are some things we can know for sure:

(1) When the Lord "sends" a message, it is always "sent" in mercy to His people. He never sends one to hurt us. In fact, whatever message He sends, it's always in great mercy. This is because "God is love."

(2) When the Lord sends the "Elijah message," we can be sure it will be a precious message. In fact, knowing Him as we do, it will be, must be, a most precious one.

(3) Malachi gives us a clue when he says that Elijah's message will be one of reconciliation--fathers' hearts to children and (miracle of miracles!) children's hearts to parents (Mal. 4:6). "Elijah's" message "turns" hearts, changes hearts, heals alienation in hearts, melts hard hearts. That's possible when people kneel together at the cross.

(4) The same verse says that his message prepares fathers and children (that's all of God's people!) for the time when God's Holy Spirit will be withdrawn from the earth--the seven last plagues poured out (Rev. 16). Any message God sends that prepares His people for that time will certainly be "most precious"!

(5) Just as ancient Israel had an annual "day of atonement" in type, so we are today living in the great antitypical Day of Atonement--the cosmic "day" of ultimate, final heart reconciliations. Therefore "Elijah's message" will direct our attention to Christ as our High Priest "sending" a special final message of heart-union with Him.

"Watch," look, listen!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 3, 2002.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Jesus Begs You to Let Him Give You His New Covenant Promises

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's a serious question to ask and very important: are we saved by faith or are we saved by discipline? You ask, "What do you mean?" Let's try again: do you eat because the doctor tells you that you must; or do you eat because you're hungry? If you're never hungry, you've got a problem, and you'd better discipline yourself and force some nourishment down or you'll starve. A healthy person has an appetite that drives him or her to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Do we discipline ourselves to read the Bible and pray just because of the stern voice of duty? If so, if we sense no "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matt. 5:6), that means we are in God's hospital in His Intensive Care Unit where we are sustained by intravenous feeding. Yes, if the only reason why you pray or read the Bible is discipline fueled by fear,do it. The Old Covenant kept ancient Israel alive for a time (but oh what a dismal up and down life they had under it).

Let Jesus help you: He says, "Blessed [happy] are those who hunger and thirstfor righteousness, for they shall be filled." He went on to warn against doing good things just because of a selfish motivation: "Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matt. 6:1). Could we read the Bible and pray for a selfish reason? Millions do or at least have done so, for Old Covenant reasons; and they hope to get to heaven. God bless them. (The Old Covenant was better than heathenism; still, it led to crucifying Christ.)

But Jesus begs you to letHim, permitHim, allowHim, grantHim, stop resistingHim, letHim giveyou His New Covenant promises, and then you believethem. He has spent thousands of years trying to teach His people, and still today we can be right back where Israel was when they fastened themselves under the Old Covenant (Exodus 19).

To answer our question, let's let the Bible speak: "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of [discipline], lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9; this liberty with the text is correct--that's what self-centered "works" means). You don't have to beg the Lord to give you the gift--He's already done so and keeps trying. Do the only common sense thing possible: repent for resisting so long. The ball's in your court.

P.S.: He is still your Great Physician on duty 24/7 in His Intensive Care Unit, for you alone.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 3, 2004.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Marvelous Passage in Philippians

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

There is a marvelous passage in Philippians 2:5-8 to ponder. The birth of a Baby in Bethlehem made no impact on the world at that time, but the message in this passage did make an impact. Paul was the first one who clearly saw the significance of that birth in the stable! He talks about the "mind" that was in Christ Jesus beforeHe came to this earth as a Baby. And then Paul begs us to "let" that "mind" be in us--to think and to feel as Christ did when He was in the highest place possible--"the form of God."

Take a look at the seven steps that the "mind" of Christ motivated Him to take: (1) to lay aside His equality with God with all its glory; (2) emptied Himself, gave up His reputation (what we usually fight for!); (3) "took" slavery upon Himself [King James Version]; (4) stepped down low so as to be made in the reality of humanity; (5) and then He humbled Himself still further (is there anyone reading this was who was born in a stable with the chickens, cows, goats, and donkeys?); (6) then He "became obedient" to the second death (the only person in all history who has done so!); and finally, (7) endured the death of the cross.

And that was not mere physical pain and social shame. It was the death that involved enduring the "curse of God" (Gal. 3:10). In other words it was the very same hell that Jesus described when He spoke of being cast into "outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 25:30).

Yes, says Paul, ponder this! Let your mind dwell on those seven steps. The Holy Spirit is right now is pleading with you—look! Think about this. He's trying His best to pour into your soul this glorious truth, like you pour a delicious drink into a glass--don't cover the glass with your hand so it can't be poured in! "Let this mind be in you ..." The Holy Spirit will give it to you if you permit Him! That's Good News!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 20, 1997.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Sabbath School Today, Lesson 13, Quarter 4-18

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ
Lesson 13: Final Restoration of Unity

 

Think of it!--the resplendent KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS coming in the clouds of heaven, surprising His enemies in the very act! He will come to rescue those who are loyal to Him. Then the moment of truth will have come for all earth's inhabitants.

The Book of Revelation pictures that final scene: "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords and King of kings" (Rev. 17:14).

"I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and makes war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no one knew, but He Himself. He was clothed with a [robe] dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. ... Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron" (Rev. 19:11-15).

For centuries, millions have endured--and continue to endure --wars, plagues, crime, grinding poverty, and unending fear. No one can say that God has brought this awful load of suffering on the world--man has done this!

Should not God be "democratic" and allow this planet to go on living in rebellion against His government and His universe? There is a ready answer. He has already done so--He still waits since the fall of man in Eden, hoping for repentance and reconciliation. He cannot and has never abandoned any "remnant" of His people who appreciate His character of love and respond accordingly. They are the ones who rightfully "inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5).

But now in this present day, God looks down upon the earth and sees as plainly as we do that man has nearly ruined this habitat. It is evident that selfishness and sin make human life almost intolerable in many nations on earth.

The Lord tries again and again to save us. He is pleading in the most sublime, compassionate language, saying to every human soul, "'As I live,' saith the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways! For why will ye die?'" (Eze. 33:11). Love could not be more eloquent, or more persistent.

How will the lost feel when at last they actually see the face of Him whom they have persistently resisted and rejected? For those who have urged and supported the mark of the beast, just to look in His eyes will itself be torment "with fire and brimstone" (Rev. 14:9-11). The original language expresses the idea of their beholding in a flash the awful reality of their having rejected the One who suffered hell in order to save them. They can't stand it. The horror of their final realization of guilt tortures every cell of their souls.

The Lord never intended that the sight of His loving face should do that to anyone. While it is true that "our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29), it is only to sin that the revelation of His love is so destructive. If a human being persistently clings to any sin as a vine clings to a tree, the physical sight of Him who is love incarnate must also be instant destruction.

But Jesus promises that "the pure in heart ... shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). They "shall dwell with the devouring fire, ... with everlasting burnings" (Isa. 33:14). As Christ walked in Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace with the three Hebrew youth who believed Him, so He will save those physically who have already permitted Him as Saviour to save them spiritually from sin.

The enemy will capitulate. Even Satan himself at the end of history will openly, publically confess before the inhabitants of earth, and the intensely interested universe, his hopeless rebellion, and welcome the destruction that will mean that the great controversy is finally over: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 'Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever!'" (Rev. 5:13).

The second coming of Christ is not the end of happiness or of our delight in the flora and fauna of earth, but the beginning of a renewal of life without pain and death, both for man and for the planet: "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create. ... The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, ... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," saith the LORD (Isa. 65:17-25).

In the final judgment every human being will see that God could not have been more fair, more patient, more compassionate than He has been: "God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. ... And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light" (John 3:16-19).

Rightly understood, the world has never heard any better good news than the glorious second coming of Christ: "The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (Titus 2:11-14, New International Version).

What a bargain for "all men"! This godly grace has already come to you. The hardest thing we have to do is to say "No" to sinful temptation, but this grace actually teaches us to say it.

Believe the powerful good news, and immediately the second coming becomes your "blessed hope." "It … will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay" (Hab. 2:3, NIV). At any time when He comes, the waiting will seem to have been short!

Worldwide, "the grace of God" is working night and day "to purify for Himself a people that are His very own." The nightly TV anchors may not tell us about this, but it is the most important news in the world, and it is good.

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/ixPN3qnPZZk

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

Dial Daily Bread: Only Luke Tells the Beautiful Story of the Birth of Jesus

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever noticed how many intimate details of the birth of Jesus that Luke tells? Neither Mark nor John say anything about His birth; yet Luke, a Gentile, gives us a clearer picture than even Matthew. Do you suppose in later years he sought out the Virgin Mary and interviewed her as a reporter would? Thank God she told it all to him! Could it be that Luke wants us Gentiles to feel welcomed into God's family?

Luke alone tells the story of the birth of John the Baptist (1:5-25). And of Gabriel's announcement to Mary—very intimate details (vss. 26-37). He alone tells of Mary's ready faith-response, and of that giant sword of Goliath yet to be thrust through her heart (vs. 38; 2:35). Let your heart be pained in sympathy for her!

Luke alone tells of Mary's almost breathless journey up the hills to Elizabeth's home, so she could confide her gigantic secret with her closest friend (1:39-45).

We thank Luke for sharing her exquisite poem of thanksgiving (vss. 46-55), that seems so like the heartbroken Hannah's psalm of gratitude (1 Sam. 2:1-10). Mary shared some special "humiliation" with Hannah that made them kindred spirits (cf. Luke 1:48; Greek, tapeinosis--compare that word in Acts 8:33). Luke discloses a very literate, sensitive, and polished lady of exceptional abilities.

Only Luke provides us a fitting entrée to the thrilling story behind the birth of the world's Savior. A totally selfless man must prepare His way (Luke 1:57-80, John 3:29, 30); only a selfless people can prepare the way of His second coming (Rev. 14:1-5, 14, 15).

Only Luke tells the beautiful story of the shepherds ready to welcome Him (2:1-18). It humbles our pride just to think about it.

Don't let the din of the Season drown out the precious story. Linger over it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 22, 2002.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Can We Dwell Too Much on the Sacrifice of Christ?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

At this holiday season, many people around the world are listening to Handel's "Messiah." One of the grandest anthems is "Behold the Lamb of God." Then there is a beautiful section that dwells on the sufferings and the sacrifice of Christ. And the oratorio ends with "Worthy is the Lamb That Was Slain" and the magnificent "Amen" chorus.

Can we dwell too much on the sacrifice of Christ? His high priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary is also important and must not be neglected. But Paul helps us understand the balance: "Every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it is of necessity that this Man [Christ] have somewhat also to offer" (Heb. 8:3, KJV).

The content of that "somewhat" is vitally important, for if one does not appreciate what kind of sacrifice Christ made as "the Lamb of God" he cannot appreciate His High Priestly ministry; and further, Christ cannot serve as High Priest if He does not have an adequate "sacrifice" "to offer." Hence, the cross is essential to His successful High Priestly ministry. It cannot be dwelt upon too much!

Paul said he could "glory" in nothing else (Gal. 6:14). When he came to Corinth, he told the people, "I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). There is a "width and length and depth and height" of the love revealed at the cross that it is our privilege to "comprehend" (Eph. 3:18). What's encouraging is to realize that the vision, the comprehension, of the cross cleanses our human hearts of pride, selfishness, lust, and love of the world. It makes right deep in our hearts what was wrong!

Isaac Watts, a wise man, said, "When I survey the wondrous cross / On which the Prince of glory died, / My richest gain I count but loss, / And pour contempt on all my pride." As the Israelites who were bitten by the poisonous snakes looked to the serpent on the tree, so we look to the cross and we are healed. But this is not magic or superstition; it is life in a look (John 3:14-16).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 11, 1998.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Lord Will Help Us Save Our Children

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Christmas betrays its pagan origin as a holiday in that it inspires materialism never seen throughout the year. It's always what can we buy in order to satisfy our corporate self-centered cravings.

If you had been living in 4 B.C. and you knew (like the wise men from the East) that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, would you bring gifts to Him?Giving gifts for ourselves is foreign to the story of Bethlehem.

But it is universal, and it would not be wise to challenge it for the sake of the children whose disappointment would be almost impossible to relieve; but we can tell them the true story and ask the Lord to help us teach them so they don't grow up egocentric materialists. The Lord will help us save our children.

There is a delightful story in John 4 that we can teach: Jesus has gone on a long journey with His disciples, having taken a short cut to Galilee that goes through Samaria (where Jews feel unwelcome). They have come to a town called Sychar. John tells us that Jesus was hot and tired, and of course, thirsty. (In His incarnation, He was forbidden to create for Himself a drinking fountain.) He sits down at Jacob's famous well, hoping someone will give him a drink. Here He is, the Creator of heaven and earth, helplessly dependent on some human's generosity!

The disciples have gone to the market to buy some food to relieve their hunger, and that of Jesus. A lady comes at this noontime to draw water (but she doesn't want to mingle with the other women; she has had an unfortunate marital problem and wants to come when there is no one else there because of the heat). She bumps into Jesus who humbly asks her for a drink instead of waiting for some Jew to give him a drink; He is not ashamed to request a favor from a Samaritan (despised by the Jews).

The disciples then come back with their groceries, and paint us a delightful little picture: in the King James Version, they "pray a prayer" to Jesus that is in reverse gear from all the prayers we are so wont to pray: instead of asking Him to feed them, they pray "Master [You] eat!" (vs. 31).

It's time we learned to think of the need that Jesus has for Himself. Principally, He longs for His Bride-to-be to repent and give Him her heart--in corporate consecration and repentance.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 14, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Thank God for the "Religion of the Baby Jesus"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

A local newspaper carried the story of a little Jewish boy age 6 who was fascinated by a Christmas tree. Not the ordinary ornaments and lights, but the little figurine of the Baby Jesus lying in a manger. He liked it so much that he took it off the tree, stole it if you please. When his mother had him bring it back, she kindly explained to him, "Son, some religions--like ours--are different; they don't have the Baby Jesus." His response: "Then why don't we get the religion that has the Baby Jesus?"

I can only hope that his childish heart will always hunger for the religion that has Him.

"The religion that has the Baby Jesus" believes, understands, appreciates, is thankful, that the Son of God came to earth and began His life here as a Baby, subject to all the trials and heartaches that every human baby grows up to experience, "yet without sin."

Was He tempted from within, as we are tempted from within? Or was He tempted only from without, as the adult sinless Adam was tempted in the Garden of Eden? Thank God, He won ourbattle, not merely Adam's battle. He tells us, Yes, He was tempted from within: "I can of Myself do nothing. ... I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5:30). "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (6:38). "Christ did not please Himself" (Rom. 15:3).

You say that there was no inner conflict, that it was easy for Him to "not seek [His] own will, but" the Father's will for Him? Think of Gethsemane where the lid came off and we can see inside His tortured soul: "O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:39).

Only an outward struggle, not internal? What about the agonized bloody sweat that came with that prayer of self-surrender? He tells us He "took" a self as we have a self to contend with (Heb. 2:11, 14, King James Version); but whereas we have allyielded to self and thus have been selfish, He perfectly denied self all His life--from His manger all the way to His cross. Thank God for "the religion of the Baby Jesus."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 28, 1998.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Light That Will Blaze Across the World

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The second coming of Jesus is wonderful good news, but there is other good news that must come first--a light that will blaze across the world. It will penetrate into the homes and the markets of both the poor and the rich. Since God is declared to be "love," He cannot leave anyone out of seeing this light of the angel's message who "comes down from heaven, having great power; and the earth [must be] lightened with his glory" (Rev. 18:1,King James Version).

In the Bible, light is always something that comes from heaven. It causes the gospel to shine. This "light" will be a message in which "light" is shining. Therefore it will be truth, for "Your word is a ... light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). That final revelation of light will therefore be the truth of God's word more clearly spread out before the world than ever seen before.

The one spot in world history where the Light of heaven shone most brightly was the cross of Christ, for it was there that a heavenly love (known as agape) was most clearly demonstrated in its "width and length and depth and height," a love "that passes knowledge" (Eph. 3:18, 19).

But how can this ever happen in our modern materialistic, pleasure-loving, godless world? That "light," which will at last shine brightly, will not be a message of terrorism (the terror will come after the light has been rejected, finally); the message will be a "lifting up" of the crucified Savior of the world.

God will not scare people into His kingdom like cattle being gathered for the roundup; the world's moment of truth will finally dawn for all mankind. The love revealed at the cross will corral every honest-hearted soul who will sense the "constraint" that is implicit in that love. A totally new motivation will prevail--not fear for one's personal security, but a new concern newly realized--that which a bride can know for the man whom at last she loves (Rev. 19:7, 8).

Forget thinking about the Gospel as a static set of cold doctrines; it is an ever-growing, heart-moving experience of identity with the Son of God.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 18, 2004.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: How Much Does God Love You, Personally?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

How much does God love you, personally? Your happiness (here and forever) depends on how you believe it. None of us was born already believing; we have all had to learn how to believe; and for that we need the Good News in the Bible. Winning the lottery is not the way to learn that God loves you; everything of human happiness you’ve been given can take wings and fly away.

You may say that “God so loving the world that He gave His only begotten Son” sounds too far away—2000 years ago. But the Bible reveals His on-going love for you. For example:

(1) Your Savior takes you by the arm to lead you “in the paths of righteousness” (Psalm 23:3). He actually takes you by your hand and says, Come, let’s go to happiness! He loves you like a father loves a little son who is just learning to walk. Read it in Hosea 11:3, 4: “I taught Ephraim [My people] to walk, taking them by their arms; … I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love.” No, He doesn’t force you; but He does everything possible short of it. If you don’t refuse, He will be to you the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23.

(2) Isaiah says that He actually takes you by the hand to lead you to heaven: “I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you’” (41:13).

(3) If you make a mistake and take a wrong path in your blindness or foolishness, He does not forsake you. He will do for you what He did for Saul of Tarsus who was hell-bent on taking the wrong path. The Lord put obstacles in his path to make the wrong way seem like kicking against the goads (see Acts 26:14). Yes, the Lord made it “hard” for Saul to be lost! Isn’t that personal love?

(4) And the Savior continually reminds you that He has made His “yoke ... easy, and [His] burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

You believe it, or you dis-believe it; but if you are having trouble believing it, He “helps [your] unbelief” if you will let Him (Mark 9:24). In fact, ask Him to; you can never perish if you pray that prayer.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 20, 2003.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Best Good News You Will Ever Hear From the Lips of Jesus

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The best Good News you will ever hear comes from the lips of Jesus when He says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). In the Greek Old Testament used in the days of Christ (LXX), that word "rest" is used continually to describe what one gets in keeping the Sabbath. Why is this true? Because His presence is in the Sabbath. At a time when Moses was afraid to face each new day with its problems, the Lord promised him, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (Ex. 33:14).

When we keep the Sabbath holy, when we cherish that precious gift He gave us from the Garden of Eden, as each Sabbath steals upon us with the setting of the sun Friday evening, we enter anew into the presence of Jesus. On that day He meets with us in a special way. Yes, He is with us every day, but He is with us in the program of work. He says, "Six days you shall labor and do all your work" (Ex. 20:9). So, in the market place, the factory, the school, the office, wherever we go about our labor on "the six working days" (Ezek. 46:1), the Lord is with us in a working capacity. He Himself was a carpenter.

So we work with Him side by side these six working days. But on the Sabbath, Jesus lays down His tools, closes His carpenter shop, and goes to the house of God with other people who also "come" in response to His invitation, and we rest "with Him." He teaches us; He comforts us; He encourages us; each new Sabbath day we "learn from Him," for He says, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me" (Matt. 11:29). We learn more and more about who He is, what it cost Him to save us, why He had to die on a cross. And our souls are knit with His soul, we become one with Him, His joy fills our hearts. And then comes verse 30: "My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

The joy of keeping holy the Sabbath day of rest is not merely physical rest (good as that is!), but the rest of soul; a day of heaven on earth. That wonderful word "rest" means rest from self, rest from anxiety. It's what the Bible speaks of as "justification by faith." You won't want to miss this precious gift!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 31, 1998.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Only Way the Holy Spirit Can Reach the Heart of the One You Are Praying For

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When you think of Elijah the prophet, you think of a towering personality bossing King Ahab around like he was a child. The prophet stood alone before a huge crowd on Mount Carmel, and his prayer brought heaven's endorsement in fire flashing from heaven.

But wait a moment. Think also of Elijah's humiliation, his years of apparently unanswered prayers up in the mountains of Tish as he pleaded for Israel's repentance, all apparently in vain. The Lord had given him an understanding of truth, but it brought him pain as he was forced to watch his beloved Israel sink ever deeper in the horrible morass of Baal-worship. It seems that a precious knowledge of God's truth always brings pain to God's servant who must watch his people turn from it.

No one knows how many years Elijah spent in such apparently fruitless prayer, denying himself also in fasting. Finally the Lord invited Elijah to share the "Revelation 3:21" experience: "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne ..." Come Elijah, you have the good of My Israel on your heart. What do yousay we do for them, to save them from utter ruin?

As we study the story, it seems that the 3-1/2 years of drought was Elijah's idea (James 5:17, 18). This drastic step was the only way the nation could be awakened to reality. (Yes, Elijah agreed with what James says when he told King Ahab there would no rain until he himself, unworthy as he may have been, gave the order for heaven to send it, "except at myword"; 1 Kings 17:1.)

As the weary 42 months dragged by and all vegetation gradually dried up, the lone but sorrowful prophet was forced to watch the people suffer and some children die; he survived only by a little water trickling through the Brook Cherith, and food the ravens brought him. And when even that brook dried up, the Lord sent him to the widow of Zarephath in pagan Sidon (giving Jesus a magnificent story to tell the people of Nazareth, Luke 4:25, 26).

You too may have sincere prayers lifted heavenward daily for the good of someone else. Elijah never stopped praying, but he also let the Lord show him what to doto bring about an answer to his prayers.

Yes, pray; but such prayer may not be enough. Ask the Lord to deepen your knowledge of His gospel, especially that "everlasting" one of Revelation 14:6, 7, which is the only way the Holy Spirit can reach the heart of your beloved one you are praying for. Come, sit with the Lord on His throne. It takes more than fasting and prayer--it takes study and understanding to be at-one with Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 7, 2008.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Moses’ Tragic Mistake—And an Update on Fred Bischoff

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

First, the update: We have received word that Fred is doing very well. A friend talked to him on the phone, and she said he spoke to her like “his old self.” Fred told her that the surgery went well, and an MRI showed that the surgeons removed all the cancer. Fred is now on the road to recovery, and is working with his doctors on a plan of treatment.

Thank you for all your prayers. We believe that this is a blessed example of God’s agape in answering prayer. We will now be able to send your messages to Fred. Thank you again.

___________________________

Moses’ Tragic Mistake

Have you ever lost your temper in a momentary trial of your patience? Well, poor Moses did. And it wasn't when he was a young man. The tragic mistake came in his old age. Now Moses may not have felt "old" like people do today, for we read that at the time of his death at the age of 120 "his eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor abated" (Deut. 34:7).

But it was at the end, not the beginning, of Israel's 40 years of wandering for their unbelief that Moses' patience gave way. Maybe his physical and mental stamina was a bit weakened by then. The "straw that broke the camel's back" in his case was the cynical cry of the rebellious people, blaming him for lack of water. "Hear now, you rebels!" he cried out. "Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” (Num. 20:10). Then in his fit of temper, he struck the rock twice with his rod instead of once, thus destroying the accuracy of the ceremony which symbolized the death of Christ.

What Moses had done was to teach that Christ must die twice for the sins of the world, and he took to himself (Moses did) the glory for producing water out of a dry rock. God loved Moses; the man was very special. But his public sin of losing his temper made it impossible for Moses to lead Israel at last into their Promised Land. "Because you did not believe me, ... you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them" (vs. 12).

It's not only old people, but young people too have this same test of impatience. It seems severe for the Lord to sentence Moses to die for such an apparently "innocent" sin of momentary impatience. But Moses must be a teacher for succeeding generations as well; no matter how high we have been in the favor of God, a sin of impatience is serious. But the root of their sin was not merely being angry (even God sometimes is angry, and several times Moses experienced "righteous indignation"). The problem, said the Lord, was Moses' unbelief. "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, ..." the Lord said to both Moses and Aaron.

It is impossible for you and me to lose our temper so long as we believe the word of the Lord! Whatever the trial that tempts you to impatience, a choice to believe the promises of God will every time deliver you from sin.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 17, 2000.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Devil Made Me Do It?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Bible prophecy is clear: we have come to Daniel's "time of the end" (11:35; 12:4), to the "last days" Paul describes (2 Tim. 3:1), to when "the end will come" that Jesus speaks of (Matt. 24:14).

Yes, "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was" (Dan. 12:1). But it will also be a time of lighting "the earth with ... glory" such as has never been because God will prepare a people all over the world to stand at Christ's second coming. It will be the time when God's people shall be delivered from fear. The righteousness of Christ will clothe them, and so clothed, they cannot be afraid any more than Christ was afraid when He was among us and faced the raging tempest (Matt. 8:26), or the wild men of the Gadarenes (vs. 28).

Deliverance from fear "in Christ" will be a glorious blessing; but even now we can learn to receive such deliverance from fear.

This is accomplished through understanding how close Christ is to us, says Hebrews 2:9-15: "We see Jesus, ... that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. ... Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy [paralyze, Greek] ... the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

Note: eventually, Christ will destroy Satan; but for now, He paralyzes [Greek, makes ineffective] the one who has "the power of death." We are "the children" who "have partaken of flesh and blood" now; and we do have a mortal enemy; but Christ has "shot" our enemy with a tranquilizer that paralyzes him, so we do not need to be afraid of him.

The common excuse that we give for falling into sin is a false one, "the devil made me do it." The devil cannot force us to do one wrong thing! Temptation to sin may be fierce but the much more abounding grace of Christ is far stronger. The key truth involved here in learning to overcome fear is that in His incarnation Christ " likewise shared in the same ... flesh and blood" that we have received from our fallen "head," Adam. Thus we realize that we are united with Christ; His faith becomes ours; His fearlessness also becomes ours. There is no need to fear a paralyzed enemy!

Over and over the Lord tells us, "Don't be afraid!" In fact (and I speak softly and reverently) it's a sin to be afraid; it implies that there is unbelief buried or woven into our so-called "faith." And unbelief is the sin of the ages, the last sin to be overcome on planet earth.

But we can overcome it! And we must overcome it, and for all those who "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (cf. Rev. 14:1-6--God will have such a people!) there is that blessed gift of freedom from fear.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 27, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daiy Bread: The Prophetic Drama Is Starkly Simple

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

During the greater part of two centuries there has been a group of Christians who see in the Bible a vast cosmic "controversy" between Christ and Satan--Christ in Daniel is spotlighted as "the Son of man," and in Revelation as "the Lamb." World history is symbolized by seven angels sounding "seven trumpets." Under the sixth, Islam is pictured as a torment and torture to apostate Western Christianity, but not as gaining a final ascendancy over it.

Under the seventh trumpet God's love is highlighted in a final message of mercy and warning for "every nation, tribe, tongue, and people" just before the second coming of "the Son of man." Revelation 14 introduces the final scene as a conflict between the pure, true "everlasting gospel" and a massive counterfeit known as "Babylon." The prophetic drama is starkly simple; even a child can grasp its overall significance. The special enlightenment of the Holy Spirit is what God solemnly promises to anyone who will seek to understand (see Dan. 12:4, 10; Rev. 1:1-3).

The mysterious machinations of Islamic terrorism are seen in Revelation as simple compared with the subtle religious deceptions foisted on the world by "Babylon." It will all end with a final confrontation between "the mark of the beast" and "the seal of God."

But there is great Good News: (a) a "remnant" "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4); (b) their "names [are] ... written in the Book of Life of the Lamb" (13:8); and (c) "those who are with Him [the Lamb, on His side] are called, chosen, and faithful" (17:14).

What does it take to be in that blessed group? You "survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died"; your heart is moved by His agape (He died your second death). As His love motivates you, self is crucified with Him. You can't help but live to His glory.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 6, 2001.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Greatest Election Ever--God Is Voting for You

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

All along the road that leads to death there are pains and penalties, sorrows and disappointments, and warnings not to go on, but God's agapehas made it hard for the heedless and headstrong to destroy themselves. More than this, by the Holy Spirit the Savior is sitting beside each of us as we travel down that Freeway in the wrong direction, constantly nudging us to get into the right lane and take that blessed exit ramp to life eternal. His job is to be a parakletos, "one called to the side of" us and to constantly "convict" us of "sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8, New International Version). He will never tire of His job or leave us to our perverse ways unless we beat Him off.

An old song says something true:

And once again the scene was changed, 
new earth there seemed to be; 
I saw the Holy City beside the tideless sea.

The light of God was on its streets, 
its gates were opened wide, 
And all who would might enter, 
and no one was denied.
--The Holy City, by Fredrick Weatherly, 1892

In other words, God is voting for you.He has elected us all to be saved. Our job is to say, Yes, to believe, to let our hearts be softened by the sweet influence of the Holy Spirit, to show appreciation for the love by which we were redeemed.

Remember, the Lord is a Divine Gentleman. He will not force Himself on anyone who doesn't like Him and doesn't want Him around. He cannot use coercion. If He forced all to be saved, many would be miserable in an environment where the prevailing spirit is heartfelt gratitude to the Lamb for His sacrifice. If by accident one rebel found himself in the City, he would head for the nearest exit.

When you see what happened at the cross, the kind of love that pushed Christ to do what He did, all this talk about it being hard to obey, hard to give all to Him, hard to surrender, hard to persevere, becomes silly. It's only our pathetic blindness in the face of the greatest Light that ever shown in all eternity that makes us imagine for a moment that we are sacrificing anything when we give all for Christ. For one who accepts God's Good News, obedience that once may have seemed impossible becomes now a joyous principle.

Something will be accomplished that has never been done since time began: a people from all over the world will be prepared to be ready for Christ's glorious appearing. There will be no faces downcast with shame in that vast throng. To have let the Lord do something for them,and in them,will be looked upon as their greatest joy.

--Robert J. Wieland

From:The Good News Is Better Than You Think, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Does the World Know What Christ Accomplished?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The towering and "wondrous cross" of Christ is the great truth around which all truths mankind can know are clustered. It validates the prophecies of Daniel, which in turn validates the prophecies of Revelation. All that makes any sense in world history finds its focal point in that cross. Its truth is proclaimed in every seed which is cast into the earth and grows: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. ... This He said, signifying by what death He would die" (John 12:24-33).

By His sacrifice in which "He poured out His soul unto death" (Isa. 53:12) Jesus has won the hearts of honest people everywhere. He has ascended His throne not by military conquest but by the power of love (agape). He did the unthinkable: He died the second death, which "every man" has earned for himself (Heb. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Gal. 3:13).

But does the world know what He accomplished? Two millennia after He demonstrated His love in His life and death, does mankind know and understand? Since "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son," shouldn't people everywhere know the reality of that truth?

Take for example the Muslim world of a billion souls: the faith of Jesus has been distorted and misrepresented to them. The history of the Crusades still rankles in their hearts, and the Crusades were a distortion of that genuine love of Christ. The Hindu world sees the cross of Christ as just another icon to be reverenced and knelt before. And more than a billion professing Christians have yet to "survey that wondrous cross and pour contempt on all their pride," discerning its "width and length and depth and height," an agapethat re-motivates selfish, world-loving human hearts as nothing else can. They all must have a chance!

The human souls distressed by our innate selfishness, longing for deliverance, for freedom to escape the tyranny of self-love and the allurements that plague this world, cannot despair when they "behold the Lamb of God" enduring the "curse of God" so that we might live. "Pour contempt on [our] pride," yes; but let's not pour contempt on that cross and its divine Sufferer. That would be a sin with the dimensions of eternity--unpardonable.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 28, 2005.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Rock-Solid Understanding of the Prophecies of Daniel and Revelation (Part 2)

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Some of the best good news the Bible has for us is found where we read that the Lord wants us to understand that last book of the Bible, and yet many think it's impossible. Here's the promise of God: "Happy is the one who reads this book, and happy are those who listen to the words of this prophetic message and obey [that is, cherish] what is written in this book!" (Rev. 1:3, Good News Bible).

The book of Revelation has never been sealed as was Daniel; and even Daniel was un-sealed as we entered "the time of the end" as defined in 11:35, 12:4, and 7:25. Interest in both Daniel and Revelation was widely aroused in the first half of the 1800s.

But who can we trust as capable and reliable teachers of those key prophecies? Today there is a multitude of voices saying they have the right knowledge, but they disagree with one another. That tells us to look again at what Peter says, "No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:19-21). In other words, don't follow any "solo" interpreter; "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established" (2 Cor. 13:1; Deut. 19:15). Truth will attract more than one supporter! A reliable student of Bible prophecy must be a person in whom self is crucified with Christ, someone who is courageous to stand for Him against the crowd, yet who recognizes that God leads others, too.

At the first church council in Acts 15, the elders spoke of those faithful servants of God "who have risked their lives in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ" (vs. 26, GNB).

Such were those pioneers of the early 1800s who not only championed the fresh message of Daniel and Revelation, but also the dangerous public defense of the slaves in the South. Many listened to these godly men, among whom were J. N. Loughborough, Joseph Bates, J. N. Andrews, and Uriah Smith with his monumental Daniel and the Revelation, a 700+ page book that has become a treasure to many worldwide, and has stood the test of time. It may be written in Victorian English but it is solid truth. This is not to say it's perfection--no book is, aside from the Bible; we need common sense and God gives it.

The dear Lord is leading His peoplein these last days, not just a stray soul here and there. Everything in Daniel and the Revelation points to a corporate body of believers preparing for the second coming of Jesus, a world "church" in unity and harmony in Christ.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 4, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

 

Note to Readers:If you would like a PDF file of Elder Wieland's "50 Ellen G. White Endorsements of Uriah Smith's Daniel and the Revelation and Counsels Regarding Adventist Futurism," reply to this e-mail with "Send Endorsements." We would be pleased to send it to you.

Update on Fred Bischoff

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

This information was received yesterday from the 1888 Message Study Committee:

“Fred Bischoff was transferred from the ICU and spent the Sabbath in a Neuro step-down unit. He was transferred to the Oncology floor yesterday [Sunday].

“He was scheduled for a follow-up visit with the team at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute today [Monday].

“His courage is strong.”

Many of you know that Fred was instrumental in publishing information on the Seventh-day Adventist “pioneers.” You may find much of his work at: https://www.aplib.org

Please continue to keep him in prayer.

Dial Daily Bread: A Rock-Solid Understanding of the Prophecies of Daniel and Revelation (Part 1)

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The books of Daniel and the Revelation are an integral part of the Holy Bible: Jesus expressly charged us with the duty of "reading" and "understanding" Daniel (Matt. 24:15), and Revelation is obviously the fulfillment of His promise to the disciples that "the [Holy] Spirit of truth ... will tell you things to come" (John 16:13; Rev. 1:1-3).

We need a rock-solid understanding of those prophecies as valid as the original inspiration that gave them to us. Daniel was "sealed" until it was opened when "the time of the end" came at the end of the 1260 years of the Dark Ages (Dan. 7:25; 11:35; 12:4; Rev. 12:6, 14, etc.). That unsealing was a dramatic miracle of awakening that occurred simultaneously in many lands among many Christian churches in the early decades of the 19th century.

Foremost among the early pioneers of prophetic study was a little group who were united in a common hatred of slavery in the United States of America. They risked their lives in publishing their abhorrence of that devilish traffic in the souls of men and women and children; these students of the prophecies were in "at-one-ment" with Jesus Himself, for He too has always hated the slavery cruelty of man to man. They actively opposed the terrible injustice of the Fugitive Slave Law and helped runaway slaves to freedom at the risk of their own lives (would you do that today?).

Several of these noble men were led by the Holy Spirit to pursue a study of all the prophecies of those two inspired books. They may not have had every tiny detail perfectly understood, but they were united in the same basic convictions; people far and wide became convinced that the Spirit of God was leading; it wasn't emotional miracles based on shallow understanding--these were solid, reasonable dissertations on Daniel and Revelation that appealed to and convinced highly intelligent, honorable, reasonable men and women.

The little group developed until they became a leading movement of 19th century Christian reformation that also led the world in health reform, building the finest health institution of the day in Battle Creek, Michigan, to which came kings across the Atlantic.

The point of this little soliloquy: the understanding those pioneers gained from Bible prophecy was taught by God; none was of the "private interpretation" that the apostle decries in 2 Peter 1:19-21. These pioneers were led by a loving fellowship in Christ to lay aside their private views and recognize together the leading of the Lord. The Holy Spirit led the community, and His leading has stood the test of these centuries of time.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 3, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Will Christ Really Find Faith on the Earth?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Seven Seals of Revelation (chapters 5-8) are an overview of world history so clear that even a young person can understand. They take us from the apostles through the bloody massacres of Christians under the pagan Roman Empire, the breakdown of the Empire, the great "falling away" from the truth that nearly killed true Christianity inside the church, and the horrible persecutions of Daniel's 1260 years of the Dark Ages. Then they carry us into the final "time of the end" when a people is to be prepared for the second coming of Christ. The great Seventh Seal is the triumph of the Son of God in His great controversy with Satan. Breathtaking!

When the great Sixth Seal was broken, magnificent events were to follow, telling the world that Daniel's "time of the end" was near. The first: "behold, there was a great earthquake." Other celestial "signs" were to follow: "The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind" (6:12, 13).

All through the horrors of the Dark Ages faithful Christians loved the truth of the Bible. They recognized the terrible Lisbon earthquake of November 1, 1755, as the first of those "signs." Not only did it shake Europe physically, it did so in every other way. John Wesley saw it as a divine judgment on the immorality of Europe.

The same devout Bible readers saw the mysterious Dark Day of May 19, 1780, as the next "sign." And when the greatest celestial display of falling stars ever recorded came on November 13, 1833, thousands were convinced: God was at work preparing a people for the coming of Christ.

Now, more than 185 years have gone by since the time of which Jesus said, "This generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled" (Matt. 24:34). Faith in the nearness of Christ's return seems what He talked about when He asked, "When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).

The answer is Yes! The same spirit that recognized those "signs in the heavens" lives today in the hearts of those who understand there is a reason for the mysterious "delay." They will "keep the faith."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 17, 2003.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Update on Fred Bischoff

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

So many of you have written that you and others you’ve reached out to have been praying for Fred Bischoff. We thank you and know that Fred would be very appreciative. (Later we will let him know.)

His surgery was yesterday (Thursday) in Southern California, and his outlook is good. As his recovery progresses follow-up treatment will be determined.

Please continue to lift up Fred in prayer. We will try to keep you informed of his progress.

Dial Daily Bread: Abide in Christ Seven Days a Week

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

For our happiness, our Creator and Savior has told us that "six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God" (Ex. 20:9, 10). Granted, we believe that. We gladly give Him that "seventh day."

But is there another bit of what may be seen as "holy time"? The remaining "six days" of the week are not an escape from God; seven days a week we are to "abide" in Christ and we are to invite, to welcome Him to "abide" in us (John 15:4). After the toil of each of "the six working days" the dear Lord "gives His beloved sleep" (Psalm 127:2). Thus we awaken each new morning refreshed to "abide" another day in Christ, while we go about our lives. Jesus gave us an example for our encouragement about how to live those "six working days" of the week:

"In the morning, having risen a long time before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (Mark 1:35). This is not an example of deprivation of needed sleep which the Lord "gives His beloved," no; it's just a healthy way to live; it was His habit to go to bed early so He could do this(unless someone like Nicodemus would come and keep Him up late, see John 3:2).

In God's plan, each new day begins at sundown (Gen. 1:5). It was Roman paganism that changed this so it begins at midnight. On this cosmic Day of Atonement, those who follow our great High Priest in His cleansing His sanctuary, choose to "abide" in Him; we jealously guard that morning timewhen He awakens us (see Isa. 50:4, 5).Guard that evening hour too.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 19, 2005.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Can You Overcome a Handicap That Has Been Yours Since Childhood?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Suppose when you were little, your parent(s) did not know how to teach you, train and nurture you in love. So, now you have problems inherited ever since childhood. (Sometimes you even hate yourself for the way you feel or act!) Can you overcome the handicap that has been yours since childhood?

Your Father in heaven knows all about it. He does not blame you for what you had nothing to do with before you were accountable. He loves and respects you as an individual for whom Christ gave the sacrifice of His life.

Still, God cannot excuse defects of character that ruin your own and others’ happiness even though you acquired them through DNA or in less-than-perfect childhood upbringing. He has given us a Savior whose special job is to save us fromour inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil. He is the Great Physician who heals wounded hearts. We don’t need to carry around the defects that our parent(s) saddled upon us.

This promise is in Psalm 27:10: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.” Not that they willfully abandoned you on someone’s doorstep. Your parent(s) “left” you in the sense that they didn’t know how to help you. There was a point beyond which emotionally they couldn’t give you what you needed, and it was no fault of theirs. (Perhaps they inherited weaknesses from their own childhood! The problem goes back to Adam, really.)

Therefore, you will find healing in letting the Savior write the fifth commandment in your heart which says, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Ex. 20:12). “In Christ” you can “honor” them as the parents that they wouldhave been if only they had known Christ better as their Savior.

That fifth commandment is a promise more than a stern command when you see it as the New Covenant. Even if you feel like a youthful friend of mine who said he could never “honor” his alcoholic father, the principle of corporate guilt and corporate forgiveness enables you to “honor” them “in Christ”.

At the very point where your parents failed, that’s precisely where “the Lord will take care of [you].”

—Robert J. Wieland

From the “Dial Daily Bread” Archive: January 19, 2002.
Copyright © 2018 by “Dial Daily Bread.”

Dial Daily Bread: "Your Truth"--The Only Way to Unity

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

How people in a church can truly believe the same thing (unity) is 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 You sent Me" (John 17:21). Something He calls "Your 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 the commandments of God 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?

Take 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 there's 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?

The kind of faith that "believes in Jesus" is not anti-intellectual, but it 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.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Can We Make the Good News of the Gospel Too Good?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Throughout the world there are deep stirrings in people's souls about what Paul's term "the truth of the gospel" means (Gal. 2:5, 14). Is it maybe, perhaps good news? Or is it glorious Good News? Does God's real gospel have fine print hidden in it that ultimately means your salvation depends upon your own strength? What has Christ actually accomplished for the human race? Has He made us an offer that if we exert ourselves sufficiently we might make it?

Does He tell us that if we hold on tight to His hand like a child crossing a busy street holding on to Daddy's hand we'll be safe, or does God tell us that He loves us so much that He is holding on tight to our hand? (See Isa. 41:10, 13.) The answers mean that our walk with the Lord will be happy and triumphant, or it will be discouraging and defeatist? Can we make the Good News of the gospel too good? Is salvation really by faith, or by faith plus works?

A friend sent me a precious thought that impresses me as being genuine, solid Good News:

"Through Christ's birth, life, death, and resurrection, the [human] race was encircled by God's arm and redeemed. The gulf between God and man was fully bridged, the penalty/consequence of sin was demonstrated and exhausted, humanity was restored to God's image and to His right hand, and sin and death were overcome. God could look at His Son sitting beside Him and say, 'Humanity has been restored to righteousness and life.' This corporate statement is the justification to life [of Rom 5:18]. ... The price to keep an unrepentant sinner alive for this life is identical to the price paid for the repentant sinner to spend eternity with God, the life of God Himself poured out in Jesus Christ. ... Faith is reckoned by God to be righteousness. Because of what Christ has done as the Head of the human race, God can plant the seed of this reality in each heart. ... It is not the end of the process, but it is the beginning. And it is real, not fiction."

To my friend Fred Bischoff I say a hearty "Amen!"

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 13, 2000.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

A note to readers: Please pray for our brotherFred Bischoff who was just diagnosed with a brain tumor. He will be having surgery tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 27). Your prayers will be very much appreciated.

Dial Daily Bread: Thanks Be to God for His "Unspeakable Gift"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Too many of our celebrated holidays are of pagan origin and bear those marks even today; but one is free of it--Thanksgiving. But even this one last touch of national gratitude to God is marred now by the designation "Turkey Day," so the Day is marked by indulgence of appetite.

A popular Bible text for Thanksgiving Day sermons is, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15). The one gift above all gifts He has given us is this: "God so loved the world that He gave ..." It was all that He had in the gift (not the loan, not the mere offer) of His Son (John 3:16). The Son of God is now the Son of man; He is eternally a member of our human race, but that wasn't far enough for the Father to "give." He went further in pouring out the "gift."

The Father gave Him to take seven steps in stepping down lower, itemized in Philippians 2:5-8: (1) He gave up His "equality" with God; (2) "emptied Himself" (New American Standard Bible) like you turn a bottle upside down to drain it; (3) gave up His "reputation"; (4) was "made in the likeness of men," lower than the angels; (5) "humbled Himself," became a slave washing people's feet (John 13); (6) "became obedient unto death," the only one in 6000 years to do so (this "death" that Christ was "obedient" to is the real thing--the "second death," the "curse of the law" (Gal. 3:13; Rev. 20:14); (7) He died "the death of the cross," the curse being "forsaken" by God forever; the most horrible death one could know.

"Thanks" for that, says Paul!

The death which Christ died was far more than the physical, social agony of His cross. "The second death" is the death in which there is no hope of a resurrection (the death that Christ saved us from!). He carried with Him all His life that hope of a resurrection, until the time when "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us" (2 Cor. 5:21), when He cried out in most bitter agony, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46). That point was where the "giving" was the greatest; it was a gift for eternity, an infinite gift.

Contemplating that gift of His love has a subduing effect upon the human soul; no one canbe the same after his heart grasps that! If the idea can be translated and the consciousness of its "width and length and depth and height" (Eph. 3:18) can be understood, there is salvation in the very thanksgiving, as there is salvation in faith. Such thanksgiving is close to what faith is! The human heart is moved forever.

Those heavenly beings who are still humans (the "twenty-four elders," see Rev. 4:4; 5:9) never cease to give their thanks. Neither will you, once you comprehend what that "unspeakable gift" entails.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 19, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

New Edition of “The Good News Is Better Than You Think” Now Available

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

We want to let you know about a new edition of Elder Robert J. Wieland’s classic book, The Good News Is Better Than You Think. It has been re-published with a new cover reflecting what Elder Wieland often talked about as “gospel sunlight,” and is appropriate to give to anyone. It also includes pages for personal notes, and a new appendix on “Acres of Diamonds,” an interesting essay referenced in the book.

For ordering information, go to: 
http://www.cfibookdivision.com/good-news/good-news-sales.html

Dial Daily Bread: Letting Pure Gospel Sunlight Get Through

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

For hundreds of years reverent-minded Bible scholars have recognized that Revelation 9 presents the story of Islam. It is the "smoke [that] arose out of the bottomless pit" (vss. 2, 3). It has darkened the bright sunshine of the pure gospel of Christ. But professed Christianity has also not let much more of the pure gospel sunlight get through. The Crusades were not a proud chapter in our history.

The coming of the Messiah to Israel and to the world was to be the best good news; the truth of the gospel of Christ was to lighten the earth with glory. The coming of Christianity was to go forth "conquering and to conquer," symbolized by the rider on the white horse of chapter 6, verse 2. The pure gospel of Christ was so clear, so powerful, that it would sweep through the world and demonstrate its character as what Paul says, "the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes" (Rom. 1:16). The Messiah was to save the world, and devout Jews for many years had looked forward to this glorious climax of all human history.

But then the prophet Daniel was given a vision in which he saw an evil power arise that would pervert that pure gospel of Christ, and to his amazement and horror it would become a greater curse to the world than paganism had been. The story is in chapter 8. The great cosmic controversy between Christ and Satan was won by Christ on His cross, assuring us of its final triumph; Satan knows that he is already a conquered foe. But he is fighting with mad desperation in his hatred of Christ, trying to keep people in deception, and thus keep them from being reconciled to God.

The enemy's masterpiece has been to introduce into Christianity the key doctrines of paganism, which Muslims have from their beginning seized upon as their cause célèbre to justify them in rejecting the gospel truths of the cross of Christ and of His atonement.

Still, it's not too late to seek, like a Good Shepherd seeking His lost sheep, for honest souls among Muslims who will respond to the pure gospel (what Paul says is "the truth of the gospel," Gal. 2:5, 14). Foremost among anti-evangelism obstacles are the mistruths of double predestination, idolatry and image veneration, justification by works, and all confusion regarding what Christ accomplished for the world. The cross of Christ is the focal point of Satan's subtle enmity.

God's promise is that in these last days the pure "truth of the gospel" will emerge from the darkness of misapprehension of God--and accomplish what the apostles did after Pentecost.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 7, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."