Dial Daily Bread: Can We Follow Christ and Not Be in Warfare?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Can anyone follow Christ truly and not be engaged in warfare? He Himself is heavily engaged in a war known as "the great controversy between Christ and Satan." He says to us, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ... Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ... He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:24, 34, 38). No room here for couch potatoes!

One area of conflict that has raged in minds and hearts for hundreds of years is "justification by faith." Yes, the battle has been going on for most of the 2000 years since Christ. One entire book in the New Testament is devoted to the conflict--the Book of Galatians. There was no way one could be a Christian then and not take a side either for what Paul declared is "the truth of the gospel" or for the false teachers who came from "Jerusalem" to oppose him. And the battle has not subsided even today! Bring up the subject in almost any church or Bible class, and you will see the sparks fly. Must the conflict go on and on forever? Or can those who choose to believe in Christ resolve the conflict and come into genuine and lasting heart unity? Is the Bible clear? Or is the very source of our faith itself muddled and confused?

God invites you to come to Him and get the issue settled once for all, so that your mind and heart are clear and your feet are set on the solid rock. David said, "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps" (Psalm 40:1, 2),

Give God a day of your life and (on your knees) prayerfully read Galatians and Romans all the way through. Not somebody's paraphrase or "commentary" in which he has exercised his supposed "hermeneutic" privilege to twist poor Paul into subtle legalism; read an authentic translation, maybe more than one, for perspective (you have two eyes for perspective!), and make your choice to believehow good the Good News is.

Yes, read the Bible itself, and let the fog be blown out of your mind and heart. Don't be proud and jump to conclusions; test and re-test your convictions. We can trust the Bible! Just read it with simple common sense. Blessings!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 28, 2000.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: "A Remnant" Will Receive the Full Gift of Repentance

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Lord has a special love for the Jewish people, according to Paul's Romans (chapters 9-11). The apostle's idea is not mere personal national or ethnic pride on his part; it's theological. That is, he sees the Jews as God's chosen descendants of Abraham who were called to win the world to reconciliation with God, and thus put an end to the misery that sin has caused to the human race.

But the Jews did what all of us have done--they sinned against God. The divine call to Abraham and his descendants did not abolish the sinful nature that they, along with all of us, inherited from the fallen Adam. That "carnal mind," says Paul, "is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7).

In God's special call to the Jews, He allowed them to demonstrate what that carnal mind can do when it does what it wants to do. The Jews were left on their own to act out to the full that enmity in that they crucified their God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

No pagan people have ever fallen that low. Jeremiah asks, "Has a [any other] nation changed its gods, which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit" (2:11). They have led the world in "enmity against God" and raised a cross on which they crucified Him in the most public manner possible.

Nevertheless, He has forgiven them, for when their leaders incited the Romans to drive the nails through His wrists and ankle bones, the Messiah prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). That means He has forgiven all the Jews in a corporate or legal sense; but they as individuals can never receive the blessing of that forgiveness until they realize what the sin is (not only was, for it continues), and open their hearts to receive the gift of repentance which will always lead to confession and recovery of what they threw away.

Paul says that "a remnant" will come to realize the truth and will receive the full gift of repentance(Rom. 11:5). They will lead out in the last gospel task of lighting the world with the glory of "the everlasting gospel" which will be "the third angel's message in verity." Those who were called to herald it to the world have refused to do so, "just like the Jews" who refused to evangelize their world for thousands of years.

Thank God that repentance is possible. God has faith in human beings that they will eventually respond appropriately. But why must we delay that wondrous time any longer?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 14, 2007.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Luke's Intimate Details 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? If so, thank God she told it all to him! And could it be that Luke wants us Gentiles to feel welcomed into God's family?

(1) He alone tells the story of the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-25);

(2) and of Gabriel's announcement to Mary (vss. 26-37). Very intimate details.

(3) Luke alone tells of Mary's ready faith-response, and of that giant sword of Goliath yet to be thrust through her heart (vss. 38; 2:35). Let your heart be pained in sympathy for her!

(4) 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 (vss. 1:39-45).

(5) 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. Luke discloses a very literate, sensitive, and polished lady of exceptional abilities.

(6) 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 3:28-30; only a selfless people can prepare the way of His second coming; Rev. 14:1-5, 14, 15).

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

The din of the Season almost drowns out the precious story. Linger over it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 21, 2003.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Has Anyone Thought About the Innkeeper in Bethlehem?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Has anyone thought about the poor innkeeper in Bethlehem who said he had "no room" in his inn for Joseph and Mary and the Baby Jesus?

"I couldn't help it! I didn't know who Joseph and Mary were or who the expected Baby was!" he may wail. Ah yes, Innkeeper; but you could have given them yourroom! If you had done so, you would have gone down in history as the most blessed innkeeper ever.

The Innkeeper in fact is "us"; we never know from one day to the next what opportunity may suddenly be ours.

The Lord Jesus teaches us the significance of the most lowly opportunity that may confront us when we least expect something important. He says, "Inasmuch as you did it [anything good or bad] to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me" (Matt. 25:40).

The Lord is not trying to compile a list of all the bad things we have done or said in an effort to make a case against our entering His kingdom; He wants to amass a host of good things so that He can say to us individually and sincerely, in the presence of the universe, "Well done, good and faithful servant! ... Enter into the joy of your Lord!" (vs. 21).

There is nothing that gives the Lord Jesus more pleasure than saying this to humble people who feel like they don't deserve any honor in God's kingdom.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 21, 2008.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Beginning of Eternal Life “in Christ”

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

That grand day when “Jesus stood and cried out” so all the world could hear Him (and heaven too), “If anyone thirsts, ... come to Me and drink” (John 7:37), He knew that some people are not “thirsty.” Even He cannot force them to drink. They go through life bereft of a drop of the “water of life.” They may be billionaires, but don’t envy them.

There’s much being said about how important it is to drink more water for our health. We should drink it even if we don’t feel thirsty, doctors tell us. Maybe we can learn to develop a thirst mechanism that will keep us healthy (?).

Suppose you’re not “thirsty,” but in cold logic you sense that you are spiritually dry; you know that your heart is into worldly pleasure, self-seeking, empty vanity: can you make a life choice that involves doing what Jesus said—“cometo [Him] and drink” even if you don’t feel like it?

You cannot save yourself; and no, you cannot come to Him on your own for He said, “No one cancome to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). The “drawing” is a very real tug on your heart; the Spirit of God is active. He is working even when you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat after a disturbing dream; “come” right then! Get out of bed onto your knees and thank Him from the depths of your soul that it was only a dream.

You read about people who never stop thanking and praising the Lord. It’s our eternal choice. Isaiah reminds us that we don’t “own” an iota of character perfection; “’their righteousness is from Me,’ says the Lord” (54:17).

Yes, begin where you are with a prayer of thanks that you have been saved from a hell on earth; just that, nothing more profound. (It’s the truth!) That will be for you the beginning of eternal life “in Christ.” That choice will be “the right action of your will,” for it will make an entire change in your life, for eternity.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 10, 2007.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Fascinating Christmas Story Hidden in a Most Unlikely Place

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is a fascinating Christmas story tucked away, hidden, in the most unlikely place: a book called The Great Controversy. It presents details that are not in the book on the life of Christ, The Desire of Ages.

A special angel was appointed to visit the earth to find who was prepared to welcome the long-awaited Messiah. He visits the palaces of kings; the offices of philosophers, teachers, rabbis, the synagogue elders, the leaders of the one true church on earth of that day with headquarters at Jerusalem; even the high priest's palace. Will the angel find anyone whose humble, contrite heart is longing for the coming of the long-awaited world's Redeemer? If he finds such a person, he will give him the glad news that He is about to be born! But sadly, he finds no one, and is about to return to heaven with the shameful news when he spots a group of lowly shepherds camping in the fields. They love to think and talk about the prophecies. They are not discussing politics, buying presents for each other, worldly possessions, or pleasures; they express their longing for the coming of the world's Redeemer.

The angel cannot contain his exuberance! He tells them the glad news and directs them to "the wretched hovel prepared for cattle" in Bethlehem where they will find the One who "unto you is born this day ... a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

As that angel encircles the earth today, visiting the homes, schools, churches of the people who claim to be God's one true people, does he find anyone talking about the coming of the long-awaited "latter rain" of the Holy Spirit? Does anyone care that it has been delayed more than a century?

Does anyone wonder why? Does anyone long for its return? Or is there a secret fear that if and when the blessing comes, a lot of worldly "fun" will come to an end? Yes, it's true: the path to Bethlehem will lead on to a cross, which anyone who follows Jesus will also bear.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 14, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Can We Actually Open or Lock the Gates of Heaven?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Jesus said something both wonderful and terrible when he said to His disciples, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23). It was a parallel statement with the one in Matthew, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (16:19).

As authority figures to other people (that is, parents, teachers, preachers and pastors), can we actually open or lock the gates of heaven to people? Jesus says Yes!If in a fit of temper a parent tells a child, "You are lazy! You'll never amount to anything!" that child will have to carry that burden all his life unless somehow he finds the true gospel that gives him relief from that "burden."

If a preacher or pastor tells his congregation similar Bad News, he can close the gates of heaven against children and youth. We may wonder why they drop out of the "family" when they reach their teens, but that was the reason. In a fit of anger, a husband or wife can tell his or her spouse words that wound forever: "There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword" (Prov. 12:18). Sometimes the words are so painful that they are like a barb--it hurts even to draw them out in repentance. You are indeed an authority figure even to your spouse!

But there's another half to that verse: "But the tongue of the wise promotes health." Yes, don't forget the Good News side to what Jesus said: we can say Good News to children and youth, yes to spouses, words that will be the opening of the gates of the New Jerusalem to their souls.

Let us thank God for a new today wherein we can apply some healing balm to the wounds we have made, and we can tell someone some precious Good News. There is nothing to thank God for more earnestly than that we have another day in which to receive His precious gift of repentance with another opportunity to use those "keys" the right way.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 18, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Biblical Picture We Have of Jesus

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The biblical picture we have of Jesus is of Someone always happy, always on top of the world, healing the sick, cleansing lepers, cuddling children in His arms, healing Peter's wife's mother of fever, raising the dead son of the widow on her way to the funeral, calling Lazarus out of his tomb, miraculously feeding five thousands--here's the one Man on earth living in the bright sunshine of His heavenly Father's blessed approval, "in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). We want to live like Him!

But never has there been anyone so plunged into the horror of deepest depression, as this Jesus. From the highest top He must be cast down to the lowest bottom. Writhing in the agony of the darkest curse of God, He cries out in anguish, "Why have You forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46). This is no Hollywood acting; the cumulative pain of the entire world's horror of despair is penetrating His deepest sense of feeling and conviction. Not only is the burden of the world's guilt of sin being laid upon Him, He is being "made … to be sin" (2 Cor. 5:21) in His own deepest soul. At last we see what it's like for a man to be in real hell where the last ray of hope is gone.

The crucified wretches that the pagan Romans torture by the thousands are given a sedative so they can black out; not Jesus. He won't taste it (Matt. 27:34). Every cell of His being must remain conscious to know the utmost horror of hell.

But wait: "You will not leave My soul in Hades," He says (Acts 2:27). Before the resurrection can come the third day, He must believe His way out of hell on His cross; His soul must be resurrected there in spirit, so He can die in glorious triumph, shouting so heaven can hear Him, "It is finished!" Take your Bible and read Psalms 22 and 69.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 17, 2005.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Impossible to "Backslide," Unless ...

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When Jesus was about to leave His disciples alone in this unfriendly world, He encouraged them with a promise: He would send the Holy Spirit as His Stand-in, His Replacement, a "Comforter" (says the King James Version), yes, His very Presence. In John 16:7-11 He describes how it's best "for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you."

The Holy Spirit is Jesus Himself "abiding" with us, living with us as our Companion, unseen but no less real than when Jesus walked personally with the disciples by the Sea of Galilee. He walks with us "unseen" as verily as the resurrected Jesus walked with those two disciples Sunday evening on their way to Emmaus, when their eyes were "holden" and they did not see Him (Luke 24:13ff.). He talked with them along the way. So He does with us.

Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is determined that we shall not "backslide"--ever! Jesus, as the Holy Spirit, takes the initiative day by day, prodding us, reminding us, yes, "convicting" us of sin (John 16:8, The New King James Version). More than that, He personally reminds us of "righteousness" which means He won't let us forget the way we should live; at every crossroad we come to He "convicts" us of the right way to go.

He never abandons us to wander in a fog! And if we listen to that prodding, that reminding, that "conviction of sin and of righteousness," and we don't beat Him off and insult Him, then He graciously "convicts [us] of judgment," meaning, "the prince of this world" [Satan] is "judged" [cast out] of our lives (John 16:11). He "convicts" us of triumph over sin; we see His power in our lives.

In other words, in plain language, it's impossible for us to "backslide" unless we do what Stephen said the scribes and Pharisees did: "you always resist the Holy Spirit" (Acts 7:51). The Holy Spirit says He will take you by the hand as a father leads a little child, or maybe the Hebrew means, take you in His "arms," but He says we squirm away from Him (see Hosea 11:3, 4, Good News Bible). There's no need for backsliding--it's time to see it as sin!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 15, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Greatest Sin of All time

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 who believes in Him is notcondemned ..." 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.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: What Is the Cause "Backsliding"?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What is the cause of "backsliding"? From time immemorial it has been the problem of God's true people. Jeremiah says they have been "slidden back, ... in a perpetual backsliding" (Jer. 8:5). God says through Hosea, "My people are bent on backsliding from Me" (Hosea 11:7).

Their backsliding was apparent as early as the time of the Judges, just after the time of Moses--the story is up and down continually, mostly down, right on through the major and minor prophets of the Old Testament. Finally in 586 B.C. the kingdom of Judah (God's true people) suffered massive destruction. But even in Babylon and ever afterward, the "backsliding" went on until they rejected and murdered the Son of God.

God continually has invited His people to "return" to Him (Jer. 3:12, 14), and He has promised to "heal your backslidings" (3:22). The word does not occur in the New Testament, but the word "lukewarm" is there, just as bad, maybe worse, describing God's true people in these last days (Rev. 3:17).

Why is it that so often after we have had a wonderful series of "revival meetings" and our hearts have been stirred, that after a few weeks we find we have begun backsliding again? The world has crept in; we have gotten too busy to keep our promise to give the Lord quality time in Bible study and prayer and witnessing, and again we lose that plateau experience. Is it possible that there is a fundamental reason why this problem has gone on for thousands of years?

The problem began at Mount Sinai, from the time of Moses. From that truly "mountain-top" experience in meeting the Lord and hearing Him speak His holy law with His own voice with fire and thunder and earthquakes, in only a few weeks the people had backslidden to worshipping idols (Ex. 32:1-6). The problem: they had fastened themselves under the Old Covenant (19:8). We need the New!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 14, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Let's Make the New Covenant Clear to Our Children

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Parents who believe “the everlasting gospel” don’t want to be misled into “the mark of the beast.” They sincerely want to “follow the Lamb wherever He goes,” long to receive the “seal of God,” and are burdened for their near-teen daughter who loves to read. They’ve been reading the Bible. Yes, also books about the Bible, but they’ve been reading the Book itself, and that includes the Old Testament.

The child is curious; she doesn’t want anything held back. But they’re confused: sometimes the true God comes through as kind and merciful, forgiving, and loving; but there are also times where He seems hard, threatening severe punishment on His people who seem bent on rebelling against Him. Much in the books of the Old Testament prophets seems frankly difficult reading for a sensitive child.

But how can one understand the way God so often threatens His people of old? Why that seemingly endless conflict? Why the almost constant unpleasant tension between God and His people? Actually, you don’t see it until you come to Exodus 19. In Genesis there’s a pleasant relationship between God and His people, for example, God making those fantastic promises of “blessings” to Abraham and his descendants, and His tender dealings with Isaac and Jacob. He writes His holy law on their hearts.

Then suddenly, a change: He must write it on tables of stone amid thunder, lightning, trumpet blowing, earthquakes, and a fearful death boundary around Mount Sinai. And almost from then on, rebellious people slipping back into pagan worldliness right into the Book of Malachi, until finally we get to Matthew where they crucify their Lord of glory.

What happened in Exodus 19? The people themselves formed the Old Covenant (vss. 4-8), whereas Abraham had believed the New Covenant. The New one is the one-sided promise of God; the Old is the "faulty" promise of the people. That's why a major portion of the Bible is the "Old Testament" (or covenant), leading us back to where Abraham was to be "justified by faith" under the New Covenant (Gal. 3:24). Let's make the New Covenant clear to our children!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 1, 2001.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Pearl Harbor Day Has Something in Common With the Fall of Babylon

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The history of Pearl Harbor Day (Dec. 7, 1941) has something in common with the history of the fall of Babylon. Cyrus conquered that greatest city and empire of the ancient world when they were reveling. While the city of Babylon was given over to drunken feasting and partying, his soldiers stealthily diverted the water of the Euphrates River into a swamp, allowing his soldiers to enter the city at night. They found the river gates open and easily took the city.

Pearl Harbor Day found our military and naval defenses virtually "asleep." That "day which will live in infamy" has a built-in warning attached to its history: "When they [we] say, 'Peace and safety!' then sudden destruction comes upon them" (1 Thess. 5:3).

This great nation has enemies today. It gained its independence over two centuries ago by a war of attrition in which at Christmas time when the British military were celebrating, George Washington led his rag-tag soldiers in a surprise attack, a minor incident that was symbolic. Hopefully it will never be forgotten.

Now, thanks to the security guaranteed by our Constitution, we enjoy unprecedented "peace and safety" with almost obscene prosperity. These are "the last days [when] perilous times shall come: For [people] will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Tim. 3:1-4). Entertainment, movies, sports, novels, sensuality, wild materialism--these are the obsessions. It's like a tidal wave of ungodliness pouring over a nation. And of course, as the Holy Spirit is steadily resisted, more and more, violence and cruelty become commonplace.

But there is Good News: where sin abounds, grace is seen to abound "much more" (Rom. 5:20). There are people still who keep alert, in tune with Heaven. Especially among youth, the thoughtful, sensible ones "come out of Babylon." They swim upstream against the corrupt-flowing tide of popularity, and permit their hearts to be deeply influenced by the Holy Spirit who reminds them of the Son of God who remained unmoved by the world's temptations. In a world of sin, they cooperate with Heaven. You can be one of them!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 8, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Jesus and John Standing Together in Ministry

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Jesus taught us to visit people who are unjustly persecuted and imprisoned (Matt. 25:34-46). But there is no record that He visited His faithful but persecuted forerunner, John the Baptist, whom King Herod had unjustly imprisoned in a dungeon (Mark 6:17).

At this time Jesus was free to travel about Galilee and preach; in fact, he was enjoying tranquil days with crowds following Him. Poor John, whom Christ had designated as the greatest of the prophets (Matt. 11:11), at this time was languishing in his dungeon, alone, virtually living on the meager reports his disciples were able to bring him of the work Jesus was doing. John longed for Jesus to assert His Messiahship. When it should happen of course would also mean John's release and he would join the Messiah in the grand work to be done.

But the weary days dragged by without a visit from Jesus, not even a letter. Was the Messiah oblivious of the lonely suffering of His servant?

No, but John was still cooperating with Jesus, though he didn't realize just how he shared that honor. Jesus thought of the unnumbered believers in Him who in centuries to come would suffer alone in prisons, tempted likewise to think themselves forsaken and hopeless. Surely He thought also of those who would lie on beds of illness, tempted to think that they had been forgotten by Heaven.

The truth was that while Jesus was enjoying those bright days of ministry in Galilee before "the shadow of a cross arose upon a lonely hill," He did think of John suffering in his dungeon; He appreciated his loyalty. The lonely prophet has been a comfort to all the apparently forsaken sufferers ever since. Behold them--Jesus and John standing together in ministry! Now may we accept gladly our fellowship with Him in ministry!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 2, 2005.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: How Shall We Understand Romans?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

How shall we understand Romans? Paul's Letter stirs up a lot of controversy; the issue of course is righteousness by faith, and it is not a side issue, quibbling about non-essential trivia. It's about the very heart of the gospel, "the third angel's message in verity." Luther said Romans is the clearest Gospel of all. Can you explain it to someone else, verse by verse?

For today's "Dial Daily Bread," we’re simply including a passage from Romans, as it is found in Eugene Peterson's paraphrase (The Message). He may not be perfect in his rendition (no translation is perfect!), but he certainly grasps the heart of what Paul is saying:

(This is Romans 4:10 and onwards): "Now think: was that declaration [that Abraham was justified] made before or after he was marked by the covenant rite of circumcision? That's right, before he was marked. That means he underwent circumcision as evidence and confirmation of what God had done long before to bring him into this acceptable standing with himself, an act of God he had embraced with his whole life.

“And it means further that Abraham is the father of all people who embrace what God does for them while they are still on the 'outs' with God, as yet unidentified as God's, in an 'uncircumcised' condition. It is precisely these people in this condition who are called 'set right by God and with God'! ...

“That famous promise God gave Abraham--that he and his children would possess the earth--was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered [experienced] when he believed. If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust [faith] completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise--and God's promise at that--you can't break it."

Yes! this rendition understands the New Covenant correctly!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 8, 1997.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: How Abraham Got Out From Under the Old Covenant

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What good does it do to promise that you will be good? Does it help for you to promise God that you will never sin again? Does He want you to make any such promise?

If you have ever tried to get an alcoholic to stop drinking, or a smoker to stop smoking, or gamblers to stop gambling, you probably have learned that our promises are like "ropes of sand."

It may surprise you that God has never asked us to make promises to Him. He has asked us to choose, yes; to make a commitment, yes; but never has He asked us to promise to keep His Ten Commandments. Rather, He has asked us to believeHis promises that are in those ten.

James calls the Ten Commandments "the law of liberty" (James 2:12). Correctly understood, the Ten Commandments are ten promises that if we will believe that the Lord has brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, He promises that we shall never tell a lie, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, etc. And if we believe the glorious Good News of His deliverance, we shall "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." And we shall honor our father and our mother; and we shall never take the Lord's name in vain.

Abraham got out from under the Old Covenant when "he believed in the Lord," and his faith "was accounted to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6). The Lord made seven wonderful promises to him in Genesis 12:1-3, but Abraham made no promises in return. He simply "believed in the Lord." That's all God wanted him to do; that was the New Covenant; and all the obedience and the works followed. But Abraham's descendants, coming out of Egypt 430 years later, made a promise to the Lord in Exodus 19:8, "all that the Lord has spoken we will do." That was the Old Covenant. It's that simple!

Are you living under the New Covenant or the Old? If you're in "bondage," the reason has to be the Old Covenant. Come, get under the liberty, the freedom, the joy, of the New Covenant!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 23, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Question Important to Understand

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

"Why did a God of love order all the killings in the Old Testament?" It's important to understand because one's future life may be shadowed by unbelief and confusion. How can you love a God who orders killings, even of little children? We have only a short time to consider a problem that has filled lifetimes of scholarship. God help us:

We don't have two different "Gods" in the Old Testament and the New Testament, but we have two different ways of looking at one true God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The dividing line comes at Mount Sinai, and those two different ways become the Old Covenant versus the New Covenant (Ex. 19:3-8). Two ways of looking at God!

Please note: there were no such "killings" before Mount Sinai--only the God of love revealed in His seven grand promises to Abraham and to his descendants (Gen. 12:2, 3). He promised to givethem "all the land which you see ... and to your descendents forever" (13:15). "The Lord your God," not their sword, will drive out the pagans before them (Deut. 4:36-39; 9:4-6). Like in His promises to Hezekiah to "drive out" the Assyrians, and to Jehoshaphat, "The battle is not yours, but God's. ... You will not need to fight ... stand still and see the salvation of the Lord" (2 Kings 19:20-35; 2 Chron. 20:15-17).

If Israel would believe the New Covenant promises of God, He would be able to send "the hornets" to drive out the Canaanites (Deut. 7:20). Sometimes (few!) the people temporarily believed and actually saw it happen (Joshua 24:12). 

In Israel, "all the families of the earth [were to be] blessed," not killed (Gen. 12:3); only when pagan nations tried to destroy His people did God destroy them--in love to the world, for they were a curse that would corrupt the earth as in the days before the Flood.

Even today, confusion permeates the church over the Old and New Covenants. Is salvation by self-centered faith plus works of obedience? Or is it by heart-melting "faith which works by agape" (Gal. 5:6, King James Version) and itself produces obedience? And still today the Old Covenant followers "persecute" the New, as Paul told the Galatians (4:22-29). This is serious business!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 17, 2002.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Let Christ Be the One for Whom You Live

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Do you wonder sometimes if you are insignificant in God's great economy of salvation?

Probably old Anna used to wonder if she was only that. You read of her in Luke 2:36-38; God has given her three verses in the Bible!

When she comes onstage, she has been married 91 years but was a widow for 84 of them; she is a scholar and teacher. Her whole soul is absorbed "in Christ" for she cherishes the prophecies of His coming. She was like Paul who later said, "for me, to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). She was living in what Luke says was "the temple," retired "with fastings and prayers night and day."

In the ungodly atmosphere that was "the temple" of those days, she held on to her faith "in the Lord's soon coming," as we say; she held on doubtless because she understood the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-26 when the official priests in the temple had long ago abandoned their faith in that prophecy. It was too "old-fashioned" by then.

But she being apparently insignificant in God's plan is ready for something wonderful when she comes into the temple precisely at the instant that old Simeon, another who is apparently insignificant, has taken the infant Lord Christ in his arms to pray for Him and bless Him. What a noble life work old Simeon has discovered in his old age way past retirement! No other man in all the world had been so honored--to hold the Messiah in his arms and pray for Jesus! Not many people have ever prayed for a blessing for Jesus! We pray Him to give usblessings!

There was something special about Simeon; the apostle Paul had not yet come onstage who later spoke about cherishing "the blessed hope" of seeing the Lord return the secondtime (Titus 2:11-14), yet he cherished the same hope about His firstcoming in his old age! This must have been also on his part a very intelligent and well-informed faith (genuine faith is never willingly ignorant or uninformed). How this was "revealed to him by the Holy Spirit" we do not know; but it could not have been mere factual knowledge of the arithmetic of Daniel 9:25, 26; it had to be a "heart" kind of knowledge or old Simeon could never have been so highly honored as to have been given this key part in the glorious gospel story. 

Through all eternity in the kingdom of God old Simeon will enjoy this honor of being a key player in the drama of the first advent of Christ. Keep the faith; let Christ be the One for whom you live, and you will be a key player in the unfolding of the events that just precede His second coming.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 3, 2007.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Passing of Dr. Fred Bischoff

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It is with great sadness that we report that Dr. Fred Bischoff passed away yesterday (November 28) surrounded by family and friends. A memorial service will be held December 14 at Light Bearers ministries, Jasper, Oregon.

Please join us in prayer that the Lord will comfort his family during this time of sorrow.

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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" ("Observations on the Report of the Primacy of the Gospel Committee," Spring 2000).

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

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 13, 2000.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread.

Dial Daily Bread: A Bible Thanksgiving

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Suppose you were hungry, homeless, and sleeping under a bridge or in a cardboard box; could you celebrate Thanksgiving? Many of us tell how we say thanks for nice homes, cars, food, jobs, friends, and fun. Can those who have none of this have Thanksgiving? Don't say yes if only the Red Cross or Salvation Army gives them a turkey dinner. That lasts only one day, then back under the bridge again.

There's a Bible Thanksgiving that gets lost in the normal celebrations: thanksgiving that you don't have to die the second death; thanksgiving that you have actually been given eternal life "in Christ." That refuge under a bridge may be very uncomfortable, but it's your privilege to rejoice that "in Christ" you have already been redeemed from hell itself.

The Son of God also was homeless, had nowhere to lay His head, He says; but He was resurrected to eternal life, and "in Him" you too inherit the same. You are welcome to share your living space with Him!

It's astounding, but it's Bible truth: you have already been "elected" to eternal life "in Christ," not that you deserve the gift for which you celebrate such transcendent Thanksgiving. Paul says, "by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9; when it says "not of works" it means not of your own volition).

Face reality: if Christ had not died for you, you would most certainly have been eternally lost. But He did die for you, and rose again; the "you" in Ephesians 1 and 2 is the "you" of the entire human race. All have been redeemed. Your seat at the heavenly banquet has your place card on it with your name.

Now, don't throw away everything by choosing to disbelieve this gospel truth. Yes, you can be lost, and many will be; but not because they weren't elected, or they were overlooked. John 3:16-19 says the problem is unbelief. Believing the Good News will give you a Thanksgiving Day 365 times a year; and such faith will enable you to find a way out from under that bridge.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 26, 1997.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Can the Church Hasten or Delay the Return of “The Lamb”?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

As we seek to understand whether the church can hasten or delay the promised second coming of Jesus, we need to ponder who is “the Lamb’s wife” who must first “make herself ready” (Rev. 19:7, 8). Those who say the church can do nothing to hasten the return of “the Lamb” tend to be confused about this issue.

They see Revelation 21:6-27 as defining “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” as the literal “city” of the New Jerusalem. This raises a question: if “God is [its] Builder and Maker” (Heb. 11:10), how can the “city which has foundations” be said to “make [itself] ready”? And further, wouldn’t Jesus be guilty of idolatry if He loves a material city of golden streets, walls of jewels, and literal gates? When He cried out to the old city, “O Jerusalem, ... the one who kills the prophets” (Matt. 23:37), was He addressing its literal gates and stones, or the people who inhabited it? When you were married, did you love the bride or your house?

When John in vision saw “the Lamb stand on mount Zion,” was it the literal city or the “144,000 [who had] His Father’s name written on their foreheads”? As John saw them, as a group they apparently had by that time “made [themselves] ready,” for “they sang as it were a new song before the throne, [and] ... [followed] the Lamb wherever He goes. ... without fault before the throne of God” (Rev. 14:1-5).

No woman in the world is worthy to be the Bride of the Son of God! But all through the Bible His church in a corporate sense is said to be the object of His conjugal love. Neither Luther nor C. S. Lewis had much use for the Book of Revelation, but those whose hearts yearn for Christ’s soon return are thrilled with its message; they don’t help to save themselves by a legalistic do-it-yourself method, but they stop resisting “the Lamb” and they let Him “wash” them “in His blood.” And they let Him givethem the giftof special repentance (Rev. 3:19). Is it not in that sense that the Bride, “the Lamb’s wife,” can “make herself ready”?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 5, 2002.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: That Melted-Heart Repentance Will Come

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The last page of the Bible invites us to come if we are thirsty, and "take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17). And Jesus says, "Come to Me" if we're weary and heavy-laden, and He will give us "rest" (Matt. 11:28-30). So, we "come" and we are baptized, and we become members of the church. We are so happy at last to find fellowship in the Lord; heaven on earth.

And we continue to "read the Bible, and pray, and witness" like we're always told to do. And we believe the Bible and say so, but then opposition and controversy arise. We're tempted to wish that we had kept still. So, we are driven to our knees to pray, and we ask the Lord, "Why is this happening? I wanted peace, and now this 'war' has come!"

The Lord has indeed promised, "the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37). As you wait quietly before Him in prayer, He answers your questions faithfully.

If you keep your eyes on Jesus you will see a Man who was cruelly crucified because He told the truth. And He tells us all, "I did not come to bring peace but a sword" (Matt. 10:34). Deny self, and take up your cross daily (Luke 9:23). But wait a moment--you never fight a battle alone! This is what you must believe.

He faithfully promises, "'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" (Heb. 13:5, 6). You choose not to be afraid, in the Lord. Then ... you're not afraid.

Even in the church, the Lord's house, where we expect to find heaven on earth, we find conflict and even persecution. That's where the most severe and painful conflicts come! But the Lord still assures you, He won't forsake you.

He loves the church for it is yet to become the Bride of Christ; and it does indeed have severe problems within it, for Jesus tells the leadership of the church today that of all the "seven churches" of world history, you are the one outstandingly "miserable, poor, blind, and naked" (the little Greek word hois there, the one; Rev. 3:17).

Therefore do not give up on the church, the body of Christ, His Bride-to-be. The final victory in the "great controversy between Christ and Satan" comes at the very end and it requires that the church finally "overcome" and do what He says in Revelation 3:19--repent. It won't at last be fear that motivates her, but a deeper appreciation of what it cost Him to save us. That melted-heart repentance will come, it has to come; hang on!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 5, 2007.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Not a Works Trip--A Faith Trip

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 © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Question About the Two Covenants—Who Makes the Promise?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

How can you learn to understand and believe the New Covenant? Your happiness now and forever depends on it. Yes! Didn't Jesus say, "God so loved ... that He gave, ... that whoever believes in Him should not perish ..."? To believe in Him means to believe that He Himself is Good News--the essence of the New Covenant.

Confusion about the Two Covenants is cleared up as sunshine clears away fog by noting one question: Who makes the promise?

If we make the promise to God, immediately it's Old Covenant.It's Peter promising that he will never deny Christ, and then doing it before the rooster crowed next morning. It's "all the people" promising at Mount Sinai, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do!" (Gen. 19:8) and then bowing down to a golden calf in a few days. The problem is simple: we humans don't keep our promises; in fact, we can't, because we have no righteousness of our own.

Someone may say, "What's wrong with making good promises to God even if you do break them?" Several things: God Himself has never asked you to do so; and further, Paul says that making and breaking promises to God brings you into spiritual "bondage" (Gal. 4:24). It was the beginning of centuries of sad Israelite history that finally led them into the "bondage" of foreign captivity and then at the end, to crucify their Messiah. Those who think that the Old and New Covenants are the same thing are confusing liberty with slavery!

When God makes the promise, there you have the New Covenant.And believing His promise is liberty, not slavery. He always keeps His promise. "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). You may say, "That's such Good News--I can hardly believe He will ever do that for me!" Sarah couldn't believe it either, until she repented of her unbelief (Heb. 11:11). You can repent, too. That's the Good News!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 4, 2002.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Old Covenant versus New Covenant--Which Is Which?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you been confused about the Old and New Covenants? Which is which? Have you thought that because pastors and theologians are in disarray over it, maybe you needn't worry your head over it, just flip on the TV? Is the issue important enough to get concerned and study?

Even the great and wonderful Apostle Peter was confused over it. The Christians were having a conference at Antioch (Acts 15); before the bigwig brethren from church headquarters arrived, Peter was happily demonstrating New Covenant love to the Gentile Christians. He had torn down the spiritual barriers between them, and ate with them. But when the important brethren from Jerusalem arrived, he backtracked, and "built again those things which [he] destroyed" (Gal. 2:11-18).

Paul was stirred by the Holy Spirit to confront him face to face before the whole group. And of all places, it was in the cafeteria. Peter had now picked up his tray and sidled away from the Gentiles' table. Now he was supporting the elders' Galatian position that yes, you have some work to do yourself in this "covenant" business. You can't let the Lord Jesus be your Savior 100 percent; you have your percentage to contribute. God's covenant may be a promise but it's also a "deal," a "bargain" negotiated between you two--God and yourself; you must make a "deal" with Him; you must have "balance" between righteousness by faith and by good works.

Paul let Peter have it: "I do not frustrate the grace of God," he said. "If righteousness comes through the law [even one percent?], then Christ died in vain" (see Gal. 2:21).

Do we have the problem today? Can we represent Christ as safely standing on deck throwing a life preserver out to the drowning sinner? If he grabs the rope, he is taking the initiative in his own salvation, and Paul says that "frustrates the grace of God"! No, the Bible represents Jesus as out there in the water with the sinking sinner, a Life Guard actually saving him 100 percent. And if the drowning sinner doesn't beat Him off, Jesus will get him safely on deck. Salvation is totally of grace, "not of works [even one percent!], lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9).

And don't be afraid of too much "more abounding grace." It's real. There is no true obedience to the law except "by grace through faith" (see Rom. 5:20; Eph.2:8).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 14, 2003.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Healing at the Sheep Pool Illustrates What Jesus Accomplished on His Cross

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

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

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

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

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

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 19, 1999.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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“Dial Daily Bread” will be off the air again beginning tomorrow due to our power company turning off our electricity (so no Internet). They say they have to do this because their equipment may start fires if it’s dry and windy. It’s been raining tonight, so we’ll see if they change their minds.

Dial Daily Bread: Who Are the "We," "Us," and "Our" in Ephesians 1?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

There's a "we," "us," and "our" in Ephesians 1 that has been "blessed ... with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," who are "predestined ... to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, ... to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made [them] accepted in the Beloved" (vss. 3-6).

Who are those people in these first person plural pronouns? Only one possible answer: the entire human race. Christ is "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42; 1 Tim. 4:10).

But how can you know that you personally are "adopted"? You, individually, have a first-class personal validation of this "adoption" in the longing sigh of your lonely heart that cries out, "Abba, Father!" (See Rom. 8:15.) But you also have another personal validation of this "adoption": the same text hints at it--"we suffer with Him" (vs. 17), meaning that "we may also be glorified together."

Hebrews 12 spells out more vividly this other personal assurance of your adoption into the family of God: "The exhortation ... speaks to you as to sons: 'My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.' If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?" (vss. 5-7).

Do you know disappointments, setbacks, disasters, crushing and humiliating heart-rejection? Your first thought is, "God has forsaken me!" But stay a little longer on your knees and you will sense the tie of personal kinship now being forged with Christ. He will never let Himself be "glorified" unless and until He shares the glory "together" with you, as Romans 8 said!

There's every reason for you to be assured that you've been "adopted." Now live like the adopted son or daughter that you are; honor your Father.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 26, 2006.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Which Came First--God's Forgiveness or His Cross?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There's an interesting but important question in connection with the subject of "overcoming sin." Did God forgive sin before the sacrifice of His cross? Or could He forgive sin only as the result of the cross? Which came first: His forgiveness, or His cross?

On the surface it appears to be a trivial chicken-egg question. God forgives, period; be happy. Why even bother with why or how or when He does it. But the principle here is so important that the stability of God's universe is involved in the answer.

The general idea is that God is omnipotent, that is, He can do anything He wants to. You and I sin; we ask Him to forgive us, and He does. Someone has rightly written, "alienation from God is the natural habitat of humanity," therefore we sin again and again. And God always forgives, like a kind grandfather, because He is omnipotent and it's easy for Him to do so.

Finally, after our endless cycle of sinning and repenting, we die; and for the sin itself that is so deeply rooted in us to be overcome (Augustine's theology), there must be an experience after death called Purgatory. There at last the job gets done. Millions of Christians believe this.

But the Bible says differently. "The sting of death is sin," for sin carries death within itself (1 Cor. 15:56; Rom. 6:23). God cannot pardon it without His cross; to do so would fill the universe with death. Adam and Eve would have "instantly" perished in the Garden had not "the Lamb [been] slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).

Which must "come first"? That slain Lamb! Yes, God can do anything He wants to, but He doesn't want to fill His universe with death. Therefore He cannot forgive sin apart from a tremendous "giving-for." Without a deep heart-melting appreciation of that "giving-for," sin remains in the human heart, not "overcome." Forgiveness apart from first the sacrifice of the cross would be a cheapening of sin itself, and thus a cheapening of the sacrifice required to overcome it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 18, 2001.
Copyright © 2015 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Psalm 119--Cosmic Day of Atonement Living, All the Way Through

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When the sanctuary service was the center of Israelite national interest, there were two ways to observe the annual day of atonement: (1) old covenant, and (2) new covenant. Both are explained in Leviticus--the fear response (1) of being destroyed or "cut off" (23:29, 30), and (2) the joy of being "clean from all your sins," "a sabbath of solemn rest," reconciled or made "one" with God (16:29-31).

What is troubling to us is the phrase, "you shall afflict your souls, and do no [worldly] work at all," which included fasting. Where was there any joy in that?

One day in the year without pampering appetite! The key idea in "afflict your souls" is simply self-denial--a truly joyous experience to anyone who has been a slave to an addiction. Freedom from the tyranny of self; mastery over your self-destructive habits. "I will walk at liberty" is the theme (Psalm 119:45), because a grand miracle has taken place in your heart, "for I have sought Your precepts" (vs. 94). "O how I love Your law! it is my meditation all the day" (vs. 97). "How sweet are Your words to my taste! ... Through Your precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way" (vss. 103, 104).

In a nutshell, Psalm 119 is cosmic Day of Atonement living, all the way through. It's the joyous hymn of being reconciled in heart to God, not wearing a hair shirt or starving wholesome desires that are God-implanted. It's the opposite of fanaticism. It's dwelling on earth in the atmosphere of heaven. It's sharing with Christ His "one-ness" with His Father; it's following the Lamb "wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4), and loving every minute of it.

And what changes us who are naturally worldly and self-centered, so we want this joyous reconciliation with God? Believing His New Covenant, something called the gospel.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 10, 2001.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Something Jesus Said That Seems Difficult to Believe

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Jesus said something He obviously wants us to believe, but of all the things He said, this seems the most difficult to believe: "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matt. 11:30). Everyone who has been serious about following Jesus has discovered that "in the world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33). It's also painfully true that "the world has hated them [those who believe in Jesus] because they are not of the world, just as I [Jesus] am not of the world" (17:14).

The problem is that there are "children of light" in the world, and there are "children of disobedience" or "children of wrath" who instinctively feel toward the "children of light" as the world felt toward Jesus. "If they have persecuted Me, they will persecute you," He says.

But you and I cannot be sure who is who! When Stephen was being stoned, he would naturally have thought that Saul of Tarsus (holding the coats of those throwing stones to kill him) was a "child of the devil" like the others (Acts 7:59-8:1). But Steven's Christlike spirit witnessed to Saul, and that man "consenting to his death" became wonderfully converted to Christ. (Imagine how Stephen will feel in the first resurrection when he meets the apostle!)

So Jesus encourages us to cherish hope in our hearts toward those who "spitefully use you," and to pray for them (Matt. 5:44). Even our "tribulation" then becomes the joyful experience of soul winning! As we endure our pain, we are buoyed up by the constant hope that "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. 4:17) just as Stephen's stoning affliction has "worked" for him. We actually learn to know by experience what it means to identify with Jesus when He said, "In the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

"In Him" we too "overcome the world." Joy fills our hearts. The unthinkable becomes real, and wonder of wonders, we selfish, worldly people ourselves (that's what we all are by nature) discover that we can actually pray for those who harm us. Miracle!

And then we're on top forever after, for "we walk in the light as He is in the light, [and] we have fellowship with one another" (1 John 1:7). We are never left alone.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 10, 2002.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Will God Ever Have a Perfect Church?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is it possible that God will ever have on earth a perfect church? Not just one tiny little congregation out in the backwoods, where its members are isolated and insulated from the devil's temptations, where there's no TV, no Internet, no shopping malls, not even a radio. No, that would not be a fair test. The real question is: Can God ever have a perfect worldwide church--in the world but not of the world--in the midst of all the evil that the devil can produce?

The question itself is controversial with many saying a decided No. "Nobody is perfect, so how can God ever have a perfect church?" If we let Paul's words mean what they say, the answer becomes Yes! He says Christ "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special ["pecular," KJV] people, zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14).

Then there is Ephesians 5:25-27: Christ "gave Himself" to have "a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing." And there is in Ephesians 5 the idea that this church is to be the Bride of Christ. In fact, the expression "without spot" is quoted from the Song of Solomon 4:7, again speaking of the Bride of Christ at last ready for the wedding.

Christ will not marry some "super-woman"; but the corporate body of His people are brought to view in Revelation 14:1-5, 12, 15, and 16 as a church in whose "mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God." And they finally surface again in 19:7, 8 where the Bride is seen as at last "making herself ready."

But back again to the objection: "Nobody's perfect." Granted; but the fact that there never has been a church "ready" to be the Bride of Christ doesn't mean that it's impossible or that it will never happen. It won't be a "works program" or ecclesiastical promotion that accomplishes Christ's purpose. It will be a "faith trip," something to do with that phrase: "Christ gave Himself."

Here at last will be a group of people who, in a corporate, united sense, have grown up out of their childish understanding to grasp "the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge," that led Him to "give Himself" for us (see Eph. 3:18, 19). Let's start growing up today!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 23, 1999.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Does God Merely Offer Us His Friendship, or has He Given It?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Let's ask two serious questions: (1) Does God merely offer us His friendship? Or (2) has He given it? No difference between the two ideas? Look again.

If (1) is true, then He is standing aloof from you, withholding His actual friendship until youtake the initiative and dosomething to activate it. Then when you dothe right thing, forever afterwards you congratulate yourself for what you have done. In other words, it's a faith plus works trip.

But if (2) is the truth, and you finally realize that God has been your Friend all along and you have been too stubborn and blind to believe it, then forever afterwards your heart is melted in spiritual humility. Number (1) inevitably leads to the "rich, and increased with goods" condition of the church of Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-21); and Number (2) leads to ultimate repentance and reconciliation with Christ.

As to which is true, does the Bible give an answer? Number (1) is what the Bible calls the "old covenant." And yes, you can quote old covenant ideas in the Bible! But Galatians 4:24 says they lead to "bondage." The old covenant "version" of the gospel produces the Laodicean spiritual condition. But the new covenant is Number (2). The truth is that "God so loved the world" (not offered to), "that He gaveHis only begotten Son" (not offered to do so), "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish" (John 3:16). Jesus said, "The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (not just offer to give, John 6:51).

The Samaritans got the point: Jesus was not merely offering to be "the Saviour of the world." They said He is (John 4:42). Paul got the point, for he said that "the living God ... is the Saviour of all men," not merely offering to be (1 Tim. 4:10). Isaiah saw the reason why this is true: "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). He has already died the second death "for every man" (Heb. 2:9). So, now it's time to humble your heart and believe, appreciate, what He has already done for you. That kind of faith will change your life!

--Robert J. Wieland

Note: Bible texts are from the King James Version.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 13, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."