Saturday, August 31, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Is God Really Pleased With You Personally?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

How can you know if God is pleased with you? You know He loves you because the Bible says He loves the world, that is, He loves everybody. But is He happy, really pleased with you personally?

We can't evade what Jesus says--in the final judgment He will be forced to tell "many" people who expect Him to congratulate them, "I never knew you!" (Matt. 7:22, 23). He loved those people, yes; but they were never one with Him.

The same picture emerges in the Book of Revelation when He feels forced to tell "the angel of the church of the Laodiceans," "You make Me so sick at My stomach I feel like throwing up!" (3:16; that's what the literal Greek says). The people so addressed have been naive, thinking that all is well with them, feeling "rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing" (vs. 17). They were so self-deceived they thought Jesus was pleased with them.

If there is anything we want to avoid, it's ending up in that condition. So, what can we do?

(1) Pray David's Psalm 51, realizing that we have no innate goodness of our own. It's only the grace of Christ that has saved us from whatever sins somebody else may be guilty of (that's the reality of corporate guilt). The ones the Lord is pleased with are those of Isaiah 66:2, "On this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word."

(2) The Lord doesn't go around behind your back, hiding reality from you. Have a frank visit with Him and ask Him straight out, "Lord, are You pleased with me?" You know He loves you for He loves everybody; but what you want to know is, "Lord do you knowme? Am I "this one" on whom you "look"?

He will receive you and will answer your prayer. In fact, that's the precise business that Jesus is in right now!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 25, 2002.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: A Valuable Promise--"Happy Are Those Who Are Concerned for the Poor"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Do you like to help poor people? Jesus said in Mark 14:7 that as long as time lasts, there will be poor people all around us. In the final judgment day, we will be very much embarrassed if we have not helped them. In fact, Jesus' parable in Matthew 25 hinges our eternal destiny on how we have treated the poor. He says that He will tell each person, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me" (vs. 40). In other words, Jesus identified Himself with poor, needy people.

Psalm 41:1-3 has a very valuable promise: "Happy are those who are concerned for the poor; the Lord will help them when they are in trouble. The Lord will protect them and preserve their lives; He will make them happy in the land; He will not abandon them to the power of their enemies. The Lord will help them when they are sick and will restore them to health" (Good News Bible).

Note the word "concerned" does not mean flipping a coin to a poor person now and then, and responding grudgingly to an appeal for help. It means a constant state of the heart, a constant feeling of concern for the needs of others, a habitual desire to help. The Lord notices when that kind of concern fills our hearts and He responds by helping us when we are in need. And note verse 2: He will make us happy, and will not abandon us to those who would harm us. And verse 3: This is especially precious--the Lord will help us when we are sick and restore us to health. All because we have a habitual concern for poor people!

Well, there are many poor people in the world today and one wonders what to do to help them. One doesn't like to pour water down the drain; some people are poor because they waste what they have. In the long run, what poor people need most of all is a true knowledge of the pure gospel of Christ. Only at the cross of Christ can they learn the secret of true self-respect. Let's remember that nothing that we possess is really our own--we are just managers of the Lord's wealth!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: 1994 Phone Message.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: The "Elijah" Message and a Clever Counterfeit

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

How can one tell the difference between a genuine "Elijah" message that God sends, and a clever counterfeit? When God fulfills His promise to send "Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5), there will be very certain evidences:

(1) The message will be as unpopular as Elijah's was in his day. The news of what Elijah said to King Ahab about "no rain" flew throughout the kingdom like word goes on the Internet today. Many far and near will condemn it while at the same time the message will "go" far and near.

(2) The message will be uncomfortable to those who love sin and worldliness, because it will be inspired by a Visitor, the Holy Spirit, whose first work is to "convict ... of sin" (John 16:8).

(3) Elijah's message will proclaim full religious freedom. To those in Israel who wanted to worship Baal, Elijah gave the ultimate in opportunity. Risking his life on Mount Carmel, he invited the 450 prophets of Baal to do their thing before everybody. Gave them full access to the media of the day. It was a full, unhindered demonstration of Baal worship. It follows that in these last days, the true Christ will give full liberty to "Baal" to do his thing--publicity, swollen budgets. Let the people have a big dose, so they can get sick of it on their own. There might even be something to that proportion of 450 to 1. When the final showdown comes, as it was on Mount Carmel, we read that when the storm at last begins to blow, multitudes of what we have thought were true disciples will be like "dry leaves," like in Jesus' day when "many of His disciples went back, and walked with Him no more" (John 6:66).

(4) "Elijah" will have a positive message, as he had on Mount Carmel. He didn't spend his precious time railing against Baal worship, but re-built the broken down altar of the true God, and called on the people to see what happens when His worship is restored.

(5) The fruit of Elijah's message? A national repentance: "When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, 'The Lord, He is God!'" (1 Kings 18:39). As in John the Baptist's fulfillment of the Elijah message, so the message that comes "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" will "make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17).

It appears that "the third angel's message in verity" (Rev. 14:1-12) and the "Elijah message" are the same: repentance permeating the "body of Christ."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 19, 2001.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Is Fear a Valid Reason for Us to Give Our Heart to Jesus?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is fear a valid reason for us to give our heart to Jesus? Well, fear is an important element in the makeup of any human being. You look both ways before you cross a busy street. You remember you must pay the rent. You plan for a "rainy day." And Jesus plainly said, "Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28). Noah was "moved with godly fear" when he contemplated the coming Flood, so he "prepared an ark for the saving of his household" (Heb. 11:7). Wise! He didn't want to drown.

But let's ask a second question: Is fear aneffective motivationfor giving our heart to Jesus? The other side of that same coin is a motivation of hope for reward. And no, fear, and hope of reward fail as effective motivations for being Christians because the result is the "lukewarmness" that Jesus says makes Him sick at His stomach (see Rev. 3:16, 17). A church crowded with lukewarm members is no satisfaction to Jesus.

Let's ask a third question: How does fear relate to love as motivation for following Jesus? John says "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). That kind is a special love known as agape, which is different from any kind of "love" that we humans inherit through our DNA. It's the kind of love that drove Jesus to die for us on a cross, to die a different kind of death than any human has ever died--the equivalent of "the second death" (see Rev. 2:11; 20:14). Peter says Christ went to "hell" in order to save us (Acts 2:27).

If we "let" that love into our hearts, it will "cast out" our fear. Paul says that God is trying His best to persuade us to "let" that "mind" of Christ "be in you" (Phil. 2:5). That kind of love (agape) is stronger than the healthy fear that comes with us naturally. You may come forward in an altar call motivated by a healthy fear of being lost and a self-centered desire to be saved--a good beginning. But if you stay where you are, you will not grow spiritually.

Christ as our High Priest is preparing a people to be ready for His second coming--and that is not a "works trip," but learning to "comprehend" the dimensions of that agape-love (see Eph. 3:14-21). It stretches our little souls and "enlarges" our "hearts" (Psalm 119:32).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 23, 2002.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Monday, August 26, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Was Jesus Tempted to Regard Himself as a Total Failure?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever thought that Jesus was tempted to regard Himself as a total failure? As His name was "Immanuel, ... 'God with us'" (Matt. 1:23), He took upon His divine nature our complete human nature which involved the full extent of our temptability. That means that "in all points [He was] tempted like as we are [tempted]," but thank God, "yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15, King James Version).

Satan wrung His soul with that awful feeling on His cross that He had been mistaken about Himself. It was a nameless horror that prompted His shriek, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46). He had to listen to the people taunting Him, "If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross"! (vss. 40, 42). That was a cruel suggestion for He could not help but realize that His career had ended with the most ignominious failure any human could experience--death as a criminal! His faith was stretched.

In fact, more than once in His life and ministry, Isaiah 49:4 had been fulfilled in His experience: "Then I said, 'I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and in vain.'" And this fierce temptation comes just as the Father assures Him through the Holy Spirit, "You are My servant, ... in whom I will be glorified." He gives Himself to His Father: "Surely My just reward is with the Lord, and My work with My God" (vss. 3, 4).

Even on the cross before He took His last breath, Jesus' hope was restored by faith: The Lord "formed Me from the womb, ... I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, ... [to be His] salvation to the ends of the earth" (vss. 5, 6). Though tempted to despair, Jesus ended His life in glorious triumph by faith.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 19, 2005.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: The Baptism of Repentance

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Shortly before Jesus met the woman at the well at Sychar (John 4), John the Baptist had baptized Him. But that meant a prerequisite of repentance, for the only people that John could baptize were those who had repented. But Jesus never had sinned! Then how could He let Himself be baptized? To be baptized without repenting would be hypocrisy, for John's mission was only "the baptism of repentance" (Acts 19:4). John knew this. That's why he refused Him the rite.

Here's the wonder: the sinless Son of God lets Himself be lowered into the water the same as any common sinner, making a public confession of repentance. (It's childish to think the reason was He merely wanted to show us the physical method--John could do that; or make a "bank deposit" of "merit" to be transferred to some disadvantaged people like the thief on the cross.)

Jesus actually did experience repentance. He had to, or John could not have baptized Him; but it was not for His own sins, but for ours. Therefore it had to be corporate repentance. Totally sinless, He was "made ... to be sin for us, who knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21). He identified with the human race so closely that He felt that our sins were His own. Don't you want understanding and compassion? Yes. Jesus learned how to feel that burden for others, including the five-times divorcee at the well.

The earth must someday soon be lightened with the glory of "the third angel's message in verity," when a multitude of all nations and tongues will join Him in winning every one in the world who is willing to believe the gospel.

Rather than a few celebrities on a wide screen or through electronics, that fourth angel's ministry must be performed by humble people working on a personal heart-to-heart level. Their "training"? Seldom that of "literary institutions," but knowing the Good News that is better than we have ever thought it is.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 30, 1997.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Why Did Jesus Come Down to This Earth?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why did Jesus, the Son of God, come down to this earth? Not simply so He might take us to heaven when we die. He has another blessed purpose. The angel Gabriel told the virgin Mary before He was born, "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). This is how the Apostle Paul described it: 

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:2-4).

That was a greater achievement even than making the Milky Way! It's "easy" for the Creator to make a world or a sun; He simply speaks the word--and it's done. But conquering sin in fallen, sinful human flesh? "Condemning" it there? Delivering us who have fallen, sinful flesh from the dominion that sin has over us? That's something God could not do by simply sayingan empty word, "I conquer sin!" No, that would never do.

He cannot tell a lie, or claim to have accomplished something that's not real. So, He does it! He becomes a real Baby in Bethlehem's manger, a true human being, grows up as a child and a youth, meeting all our temptations to sin, and saying "No!" to every one of them, even until He was hanged on a cross. 

And there on His cross, the devil throws his worst temptations at Jesus, trying to get Him to sin in one tiny, almost insignificant way so that Jesus might fail of His mission "to save His people from their sins." But Jesus conquered every subtle temptation!

No, no idol or image can ever represent that glorious achievement! No angel in heaven would ever think of bowing down to an image of any kind. He couldn't do it! And neither can you or I if we have an adequate understanding of the righteousness of Christ our Savior.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: A New Look at God's Law, 2000.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: In His Sermon on the Mount, No One Knew What Jesus Meant

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us to "love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Matt. 5:44).

But no one knew what He meant. It went right over people's heads. No one really understood the true dimensions of "love" until the cross (cf. Eph. 3:18, 19). The word Jesus used for "love" was not the ordinary, day-to-day one that people used in the Greek or Latin world--it was agape. The idea was foggy; it couldn't be defined until the cross.

The world marvels at the miracle of His resurrection after three days in the tomb; but the even greater miracle was the love He demonstrated. It was unearthly--it had never been seen since time began. Every crucifixion done by the Romans had been a demonstration of cursing, and raw hatred. Here was one where the Victim prayed for His murderers! It became talked about throughout the Empire. No advertising could have been purchased at any price that was more effective for proclaiming the gospel.

This love known as agapeis in a different category than what we call love. Unlike the "natural" love we are born with that loves its own, or loves nice people, agape loves ugly people, mean people, unworthy people, yes, enemies. Unheard of!

On the lips of the apostles, it became the word that "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6). Its origin was unearthly. It had to be "poured into" emptied human hearts from an Outside source (Rom. 5:5). It couldn't be conveyed by lectures, and it can't be propagated by PowerPoint. It has to be communicated by a white hot flame burning in a human heart that has been deeply moved by the Holy Spirit.

You look, you stare, you wonder; you "behold the Lamb of God" on His cross. It takes time. You'll be doing it right on into eternity.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 5, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: The Last Great Trials of Faith

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why is it that sometimes God doesn't answer His "phone" when sincere people call Him in prayer? Why did God let poor Job go through that horrible experience when He Himself had to admit that Job was "a perfect and an upright man" (1:8, King James Version)? Why did He let David for 10 long years be hunted in the wilderness like a wild animal when he was "the anointed of the Lord"? Why, when Jeremiah gave himself for service, did God let him suffer a lifetime of anguish (no restitution ever, like Job had!)? Is God fair?

Well, let's try to answer these questions. Job was honored to fight alone in the arena like a gladiator, given the job of defending God in His great controversy with Satan. Stupendous: a human being entrusted with that enormous responsibility--defending God! If Job had done what his dear wife said, "Curse God and die!" (2:9), he would have proved that Satan is right, and forced God into profound embarrassment before the world and the universe. A terrible battle, but God had no choice: let him go it alone, apparently forsaken. (And the "church" of that day, his three friends, made his trouble worse.) Job was a forerunner of Christ, a tremendous honor.

There had to be a "David" so that when the Son of God became the Son of man He could also be "the son of David." David had to go through his experiences of feeling forsaken by God so that Christ could later read his psalms and be strengthened. David "the anointed one" was also a forerunner of Christ. The price? Pain and suffering; but it was worth it.

Jeremiah is honored as one of the greatest of the prophets; he will have the honor throughout eternity.

God must have "144,000" to honor Him likewise in the last great trials of faith (Rev. 7:1-4; 14:1-5). If He has only 143,999, His word will fail in the great controversy with Satan. Perhaps you are that last one who is so important. Hang on.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 29, 2000.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Monday, August 19, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: The Only "News" the Lord Has for Anyone Is Good News

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Old King Saul had rebelled against the Lord continually for much of his reign as Israel's monarch. Then when the Lord raised up young David to be his successor, Saul became possessed by an insane jealousy which motivated him to try to kill the youth. (Thus, in the books of heaven Saul was now listed as a "murderer," because the books of heaven record the sins which we would have committed if we had had the opportunity.)

Time and again the dear Lord appealed to Saul to repent of this murderous hatred; and sometimes Saul made a feeble effort to respond. He even apologized to David and thanked him for sparing his life in the cave of En Gedi where David and his men were hiding when the king innocently came in to “attend to his needs” (the story is in 1 Samuel 24:1-22). But King Saul held on to his jealous hatred.

Then finally the old king comes to En Dor where he faces the last challenge of his life. A vast military host of the Philistines is gathered against the feeble armies of Israel; national disaster looms. Saul prays an empty prayer, without repentance. (The story is in 1 Samuel 28:1-6, but there was no change of heart in Saul's "inquiry" of the Lord.)

Then King Saul did something unforgivable: he prayed to Satan for wisdom and salvation--a desperately wicked thing to do. This now put himself and his kingdom into the hands of Satan.

But even so the Lord had no bad news to tell King Saul: it was not too late for the king to repent and to cast himself and his kingdom on the mercy of the Lord; it was not too late for jealousy-ridden Saul to humble his heart and save both himself and his kingdom. If Saul had been willing to humble his heart in repentance and prayer to the Lord, the Lord would have received him and forgiven him; but his prayer was empty of repentance--still the Lord had no bad news for the man.

But Satan, through the witch of En Dor, poured a "ton" of bad news on the poor king's head, and the result was that he died in utter despair at his own hand (31:1-6). The Lord never drives a despairing soul to suicide!

The only "news" the Lord has for anyone--at any time--is goodnews.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 28, 2008.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Agape--the Dominant Element of the Final Message

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The story of Joseph in the Bible is no fairy tale; Egyptian history and archeology attest how true to historic life the details are. It fits well in the Hyksos era, for the Pharaohs were not native Egyptians. They could well have employed a Hebrew in a high government post. Egyptian records show how there came a change in national economy when all the land except in temples was acquired by the crown. We can trust our Bible story!

Is Joseph a type of the church that will proclaim a message that "lightens the earth with glory" in our last days? This special church is given "the spirit of prophecy" as Joseph was gifted (see Rev. 12:17; 19:10). It must pass the test of moral purity, as Joseph passed the test with Potiphar's wife tempting him. "Fornication" or "adultery" is not to be evenmentionedamong that people who "overcome even as Christ overcame" (Rev. 3:21).

The church that proclaims a message that lightens the earth with glory will suffer persecution, as Joseph suffered it from his brothers and even his father. The last-days' message will save people; lives will be changed; characters will become "at one" with God. Joseph saved many people's lives; the "remnant church" will proclaim a message that will lead many souls to eternal life.

But every one who will partake of the blessing will know first-hand "the chastening of the Lord" (Heb. 12:5-12). That will make more distinct how much the Lord loves him or her! That agapewill be the dominant element of the final message.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 26, 2007.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: The Sabbath--A Day Free From Fear

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Most human beings know what fear is; if you don't, it's not "normal." The world is reeling with it today. What Luke says (21:25, 26) is so true right now: "On the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, ... men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth."

You can't escape this anxiety unless you live on the planet Mars. But you can escape the fear by observing the Sabbath, a day free from fear. It's a day of heaven come down to earth. God's presence is in the Sabbath day. He Himself set it apart, sanctified it, and blessed it. In the Sabbath you draw nearer, Sabbath after Sabbath, to Him. Because His presence is in the Sabbath, your heart becomes filled with peace and the fear is expelled.

You may say, "That's only for one day; as soon as the sun goes down at the end of the Sabbath, here comes all the fear again as we hear the daily news!"

No, that's not true; the peace of the Sabbath calms you and remains with you by faith as you go through the new week, until the next Sabbath. The commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day ..." You start remembering the next Sabbath as soon as the sun goes down Sabbath evening. And because of the joy of Sabbath-keeping you can sing, "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God" (Psalm 46:2-4).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 16, 1997.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Believed the Word of the Lord

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It is interesting to think about Mary, the mother of Jesus our Savior. She was as human as anyone else on this planet. The Bible makes clear: there was nothing special about her that sets her off as different from the rest of humanity, except one thing--she believed the word of the Lord. We find that when, newly pregnant, she came to the hill country where Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist lived. Elizabeth greeted her by saying, "Blessed is she who believed" (Luke 1:45).

You'd think that the mother of the Messiah would be the happiest woman ever. But she knew our sorrows, our loneliness, our pain. And she said, "My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" (vs. 47). She knew her need for a Savior from, not in, sin.

But no other woman in all of history ever had a giant sword thrust through her "own soul," as the one that the old prophet Simeon predicted would happen to her (2:34, 35). Elizabeth had said she should be preeminently "blessed among women" (that is, especially happy; 1:42), but Simeon said she must also be preeminently wounded among women by the "pierce" of that "sword." (This teaches us that God has a special regard for the sorrows women have to endure.) Seeing her son crucified was a cruel experience. You can't imagine a worse one.

But there was pain greater than her maternal pain. She knew that her Son was born to be the Savior of the world; now, what could His death (on a cross, of all places!) mean? Was this the end of the plan of salvation for the world itself? She may not have understood "the great controversy between Christ and Satan" as clearly as we do today, but it would have been natural for her to have agonized throughout that painful "three days and three nights" while her Son lay in Joseph's tomb. It seemed that the very foundations of heaven itself had crumbled, and that Satan must emerge finally victorious.

God has an agenda for His people. We are to "grow up" out of our childish concern for self so we can share the concern that Jesus has for His triumph in the "great controversy." Will this not be the loving concern of a Bride for her "Husband," the Lamb? "Abiding in Him" involves a deeper intimacy.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 7, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Christ's Last Work as High Priest

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Jesus Christ has been resurrected from the dead, and has ascended to heaven where He now functions as a great High Priest. Does He have work to do? If so, does He always have success? And is it possible that there are people on earth who can hinder His work? We read in the book of Daniel about one of the mightiest of the angels of heaven who was hindered in what he was doing: "the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael [another name for Christ], one of the chief princes, came to help me" (10:13). Christ's work as High Priest is a ministry on the hearts of people. Yes, they can resist Him! He does not force anyone. The king of Persia in Daniel's time is an example; he was working against God, but through the Holy Spirit Christ persuaded him to stop resisting and let God's people go free and return to their homeland.

It could well be that Christ as the world's great High Priest has been pleading with your heart to stop resisting Him, and to let Him lead you to get ready for His second coming. The Lord told Saul of Tarsus that "it is hard for you to kick against the goads" (Acts 26:14). Continual resistance of the Holy Spirit is terribly hard!

Fighting against God wears a person down! We read in Galatians 5:17 that the Holy Spirit "[strives] against the flesh," another name for our sinful nature. Thank God He does! If He leaves us alone, we are lost. Our sinful nature "strives" against the Spirit--true; but it's good news that the Spirit is stronger than the flesh. How do we know that? "Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Rom. 5:20).

What is Jesus Christ doing today? A work which the Bible calls "the cleansing of the sanctuary" (Dan. 8:14), the last work He will do as High Priest before He comes again as "King of kings and Lord of lords." Now is the great cosmic Day of Atonement. That work is His last great effort of grace to woo us away from worldliness and win our hearts to be ready for His coming. He has a big job to do! He's at it 24/7. Don't hinder Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 22, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Monday, August 12, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: "Faith Which Works"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

You are praying for the Lord to help you understand righteousness by faith. Very good; He will be happy to hear your prayer; that's for sure.

But while you are praying, there is a pile of dirty dishes in the kitchen awaiting attention; very likely He will impress you to go do them first, and while you're doing them you may remember other "work" that needs attention.

These words of Jesus may seem out of place: "If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine ..." (John 7:17). But the one little sermon we have from Mary the mother of Jesus is very appropriate: "Whatever He says to you, do it" (John 2:5). The dear Holy Spirit is always busy convicting us of sin.

A thousand times over we must insist that "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); but we must remember that the "faith" through which we are saved by grace is a special kind--it's always "faith which works" (Gal. 5:6, King James Version).

In other words, the "works" is a verb expressing the actionof the faith, not a noun. That's the key.

Yes, when you row your boat you row with two oars, otherwise you stay in circles. In that sense, we may say that salvation is by faith and by works; but let's be careful not to repeat the sin of the ancient Jews in rejecting the most precious message of the pure gospel as the Lord in His great mercy sends it to us. Yes, the old covenant is wonderful in that it has held the world together for 6,000 plus years. You can drive home in comparative safety because of the fear that other drivers have of the law.

The old covenant has sparked many revivals and reformations in "Israel" past and modern; but "the days are coming" when the Lord will "make a new covenant" with His people, it's rank sin to resist and cling to the old (Jer. 31:31-34).

We have resisted in the 19th, throughout the 20th, and now well into our 21st century; isn't that long enough?

--Robert J. Wieland

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

Thursday, August 08, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: What's the Difference Between "Corporate Confession" and "Corporate Repentance"?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

"Corporate repentance" is a million miles away from a mere committee action, or a four-color advertisement promoting it as the latest "groupthink" strategy. That would never help, for there are many who because of ingrained "loyalty" will jump on any new program that is promoted by "groupthink," for they want to be "in" and thought well of. A "corporate confession" would accomplish nothing. As we near the end of time, the Lord cannot be satisfied with such a superficial work.

The word "corporate" has nothing to do with the organization of the hierarchy. Repentance is a gift of the Holy Spirit, not a constituency vote. The work of repentance is always individual and personal, but the word "corporate" is simply the proper term to describe how each "member of the body" relates to the Head and to one another (1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4).

Corporate repentance is personally repenting of the sins of others as though they were our own, feeling the pain and guilt of other members of the body, which we realize would be ours but for the grace of Christ.

This is how the "message of Christ's righteousness" becomes relevant. His righteousness must be imputed 100 percent, for we do not have even 1 percent of our own. We share the corporate guilt of the whole world--but for the grace of Christ. No one of us is innately better than another. As Luther said, we are all made of the same dough. Every lion in Africa is by nature a man-eater, but few get "the opportunity" to eat human beings. We can say that lions share a corporate nature.

The Lord Jesus calls upon "the angel of the church of the Laodiceans" to "be zealous and repent" (Rev. 3:14, 19). While such repentance is always personal, it is also "of the body," and therefore "corporate."

The repentance of ancientNineveh at the preaching of Jonah is an example of national repentance, led by "the king and his nobles" (Jonah 3:5-9). A repentance of the church today as a body would be denominational. The Lord will give the gift, and His honor requires that He have a people who respond, both leaders and laity (cf. Zech. 12:10- 13:1).

--Robert J. Wieland

From:"Lightened With His Glory,"1991.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Wednesday, August 07, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Jesus’ Solemn Command: “Read, Understand!” the Prophecies of Daniel

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Did the apostle Paul preach the prophecies of Daniel? Did Jesus do so in His ministry? We know that the angel told Daniel to "shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end" (Dan. 12:4). Why then did Jesus tell His disciples to "read" the prophecies of Daniel and "understand" them (Matt. 24:15) if the book was "sealed"?

And why did Paul remind the believers in Thessalonica of Daniel's prophecies about the great apostasy ("falling away") and the coming of "the man of sin, ... the son of perdition" (2 Thess. 2:3), the "little horn" power of Daniel 7, 8?

Although the full understanding of Daniel's prophecies could not be known until these last days in which we now live, it is clear that the apostolic church understood that Christ's second coming could not take place until Daniel's prophecies of the great "falling away" came first. Jesus knew, and Paul knew, that the church needed that information!

Although Jesus picked out of the Bible the prophecies of that one book of Daniel and emphasized them for Christians to "read" and "understand," most priests, pastors, and teachers never preach or teach about them. The promise that the Lord has made in Daniel 12 is that in the time of the end, "many" will heed the Lord's command and will ponder those prophecies, and will "increase" the "knowledge" of them before the world (vs. 4).

And now to every one living in this tumultuous world comes Jesus' solemn command: "Read, understand!" the prophecies of Daniel. That means, "Study! Read!" Let a hunger and thirst for righteousness crowd out any obsession with this evil world's amusements (cf. Matt. 5:6).

--Robert J. Wieland

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

Tuesday, August 06, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: What It Means to be "Betrayed"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever wondered how the Eleven disciples felt when one of their number, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus? They also felt betrayed.

They had never suspected that one of their number, the most talented of them all, the one who everybody felt would surely become the prime minister of the new "kingdom" Jesus was setting up, went over to the side of the scribes and Pharisees. And think how elated the scribes and Pharisees were that they had captured Judas Iscariot!

We have long known that into the seasons of all who remain faithful and true to the end there will come times of trial and keen disappointment, like Elijah running away from Queen Jezebel who threatened to kill him. The final issue that comes into the open just before the very last days will be that of the seal of God versus the mark of the beast.

Congregations that have always ostensibly been loyal to "the seal of God" (cf. Rev. 7:1-4) will be tried severely when the popular mark of the beast is enforced; some, in fact we understand many, formerly loyal congregants, will become turncoats and will engage in persecuting their former brethren. Those loyal to the "seal of God" will sense what it means to be "betrayed"!

Jesus was betrayed, and those closest to Him will share His experience.

In mercy to His disciples, the Lord Jesus had permitted them to go through a preview experience in John 6 when He had preached about the bread of life. "Many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more," and Jesus sorrowfully turned to the Twelve and asked, "Do you also want to go away?" They responded, "Lord, to whom shall we go? ... We have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (vss. 66-69); but even then Jesus knew who Judas Iscariot was! (vss. 70, 71).

It's in similar mercy to our souls that Jesus permits us to go through the sad experiences of "betrayals," in preparation for the final issue when it comes (and it may be very near). It will be like a great dam bursting when the water gushes down sweeping everything (almost!) in its path; but none need be swept along if we have prepared. Our roots now can be sunk deep down into the truth and by the grace of Christ we can stand.

But we must study, we must know the truth for ourselves. Hours spent in entertainment must become hours spent in pursuing the truth so we know it for ourselves first hand, not because some guru has told it to us. "Happy" are those who are hungry and thirsty to learn, to know, to understand (Matt. 5:6, Good News Bible).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 7, 2007.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Monday, August 05, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Did You Know That The Holy Spirit Closes Doors?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If you're hungry to learn how the Holy Spirit works among us humble, lowly minded people, look at the story in Acts of how the gospel first went to Europe. After the disputes among the early believers were settled by the Jerusalem council (Acts 15), "day by day, the congregations grew stronger in faith and increased in numbers" (16:5, The New English Bible). Paul and Silas wanted to go and preach the message "in the province of Asia," but "they were prevented by the Holy Spirit from delivering the message" there (vs. 6). Interesting! The Holy Spirit closes doors--we have thought He always opens them!

Next, the frustrated apostles "tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them" (vs. 8). We don't know just how He closed these doors, but we do know what frustration is! Perhaps the Lord permitted travel restrictions to stop them, or persecution, or health problems. Whatever, they saw doors closing all around them. Strange, when Jesus had said, "Goforth to every part of the world, and proclaim the Good News to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15).

Maybe you have run into these God-inspired roadblocks, maybe written something you think should be published but you find doors closed, or you want to preach or teach in a church and the pastor and elders don't want you. Paul and Silas didn't give up, they traveled right on through Mysia and went to Troas (Acts 16:9). Troas was getting closer to where the Lord really wanted them to go. They were almost there!

Then came the big break! The Lord gave Paul a vision--I have a whole new continent for you to pioneer, the continent of those to come, the Waldenses, of Wycliffe, Luther, the Wesleys (vss. 9, 10). Paul probably didn't realize it at the time, but this was where Daniel's prophecies were to find fulfillment. The problem of some closed doors always guides you to the right open door!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 20, 2005.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Saturday, August 03, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: The World Has to Decide--Who Is the True Christ?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Christianity is competing with the great non-Christian religions of humanity--Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, paganism. Which system of belief can capture the good will and devotion of the human race?

Christianity has the disadvantage of a serious scandal: it is fractured into innumerable sects, philosophies, and denominations. Hence the constant effort to reunite them all into "one church." The Roman Church professes to be the best equipped to accomplish this objective; during the Middle Ages it "was given" the supreme power of the state to enforce conformity to its version of "one body, ... one faith, one baptism" (see Eph. 4:4, 5), even to the point of imprisonment and sentence to martyred death of those who conscientiously dissented.

There are basically two versions of Christianity that center in two views of Christ, the Founder of Christianity. The two contrasting views clash as far back as the time of ancient Iraq's Babylon. There was the then-popular idea of divinity "whose dwelling is not with flesh" (Dan. 2:11). This concept of "God" was confronted with the opposing view supported in principle by the prophet Daniel that "the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them" (see Rev. 21:3). Daniel believed the biblical concept of divinity, who enters the stream of humanity in the form of an incarnated Savior whose "name [is] Immanuel, which is translated, 'God with us'" (Matt. 1:23).

So the world has to decide: who is the true Christ? The One who has taken upon His sinless nature our sinful nature, who became truly human, one with us, "in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15), living a righteous life in sinful flesh, saving humanity from sin instead of in it, condemning sin in our sinful flesh (see Rom. 8:3, 4), dying humanity's "second death" and justifying the fallen human race in Himself?

Or is the true christ "the christ" of the great Immaculate Conception dogma that cancels his descent from the fallen Adam, that provides him an "exemption" from the DNA inheritance of "all men," that excuses him from our temptations in the flesh, that separates him from us?

On this clear-cut distinction hinges the great final issue that will confront humanity.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 22, 2004.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Thursday, August 01, 2019

Dial Daily Bread: Is Jesus Christ Embarrassed by the Apparent Success of Evolution?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is Jesus Christ embarrassed by the apparent success of evolution? Vast numbers who in former generations were reverent, who stood in awe of the God of the Bible, whose hearts were moved by the story of Jesus, who reverenced the message of the Bible, today despise it because they have embraced the message of the scientists who say that their evidence proves that a six-day creation of the world has been rendered impossible.

Jesus Christ spoke of Genesis as a true book which He accepted as valid. Multitudes in "Christendom" used to gather in great church buildings to worship and listen to reverent sermons. Now--has "science" embarrassed Jesus? Was He naive? Did He deprive Himself of the confidence of thinking people? If you and I are thoughtful people, what shall we believe?

Although there is a vast amount of literature upholding evolution, remember that there is also considerable literature which maintains that the teaching of a divine creation in six days (as Genesis says) is more reasonable scientifically than is evolution. But arguments back and forth do little good.

The scene of conflict has shifted: the new battleground is love--not the superficial, egocentric love-emotion that humanity knows naturally; the issue is agape.It's the towering truth of "Christ and Him crucified" as the coming focal point of world attention. The God of creation and redemption has implanted in human hearts a longing for truth and right (cf. Gen. 3:15); He knows well how to capture the attention of the humanity He has created (and redeemed). Psalm 67, for example, declares the world witness that God intended ancient Israel to bear: "God ... cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known, ... Your salvation among all nations. ... All the ends of the earth shall fear [reverence] Him" (vss. 1, 2, 7).

The truth of agapeis a great field of "science" in itself; the world awaits the revelation of the career of the "little horn" of Daniel, how this world power has counterfeited the cross of the Son of God, tried to nullify agape, made the world into a vast, fallen "Babylon." But truth is coming out boldly.

Those whose hearts are moved, "constrained," by the agape of Christ will never be embarrassed.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 7, 2006.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."