Daily Bread

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Is it possible that children can acquire the guilt of childish sin? Paul speaks to them directly: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord,...... Honor your father and mother” (Eph. 6:1). Disobedience is, of course, sin. But let’s face the honest truth: some parents are very difficult for any child to “honor.” And every child has the problem we all have--inheritance of a fallen, sinful nature from Adam. Even in childhood, in their young hearts the great controversy is raging between Christ and Satan. There is the divine commandment: “honor your parents.” It must be obeyed. But how?

Thank God, the commandment-Giver became a Child! As such He was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Here’s a shocking thought: was Jesus as a child tempted to dishonor His parents? Didn’t He have the best woman in the world as His mother, the virgin Mary?

Well, she herself confessed her need of a Savior (Luke 1:46, 47). She loved her child Jesus, yes; but a mother can love her child and at the same time be tempted to exasperation in dealing with him/her. We have a glimpse of Mary in the story of her encounter with Jesus in the Temple when He was 12. On the way home from the Passover, she had frankly forgotten about Him for a day of travel. He was staying behind to do His “Father’s business.” Her annoyance with Him is evident in her remarks when she found Him: she couldn’t hide her exasperation (Luke 2:43-50).

Yes, children, Jesus was tempted to give a disrespectful answer; His mother had shown her disbelief and impatience for a moment and He had to rebuke her. But He did so with loving respect and patience! The same Savior will give you grace to obey your parents “in the Lord,” and to “honor” them.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" phone message is available via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.

Monday, August 08, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

There are Christians who are content with the blessings of life that they believe the Lord has granted them. They appreciate their knowledge of God and of His truth. They love their fellowship in their church. They are thankful for their knowledge of the gospel, the hope they have in this dark world, the meaning that their faith has brought into their lives. They also appreciate the economic plentitude that they are privileged to enjoy. And they look forward to the second coming of Jesus and are content to leave the time of His coming to His inscrutable providences; they do not try to define the word “near” with reference to the second advent. They are not concerned whether “near” means in their lifetime or in some future generation. There is always the first resurrection they look forward to. Thanking God, they feel rich and increased with goods. Satisfied.

Then there are other Christians who are deeply concerned about that word “near.” Their hearts are burdened for the pain and sorrow that is so widespread, and ever more so, in our world. They are constantly burdened with the last prayer of the Bible, its very last words, “Even so, come Lord Jesus”! They cannot be truly happy until He does come. They want to “hasten” His coming in any way the Lord can permit them to help. They feel deeply concerned if somehow His people have delayed His coming and thus inadvertently have prolonged the suffering of many people worldwide. They know a deep consciousness that the suffering of unfortunate people is felt by Christ even today, and they sympathize with Him in the burden He must feel. These people sense in a particular way a “constraint” of the love of Christ, moving them to dedicate their entire lives to ministry of some kind through the leading of the Holy Spirit. If Disneyworld depended on them for economic sustenance, it would fold; they want to give of what money they have, to world missions. They want to follow the Lamb (the crucified Christ) wherever He goes. Where are you?

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Sunday, August 07, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The divine Author of the Holy Bible evidently intended that Daniel and Revelation should be read in the context of the other 64 books that make up the written word of God. Thus the symbolism of those two books is not hard for any thoughtful reader to understand (Jesus told the woman of Samaria that “the Father is seeking such to worship Him,” John 4:23). “Beasts” = nations or kingdoms; “sea” = large populations; whirlwind storms (“four winds”) = war; “horns” on beasts = prominent leaders or kings; and time expressed in “days” = literal years, thus a “month” = 30 literal years, etc., etc. Abundant evidence discloses these and other correlations.

It’s obvious that our divine Author is not trying to hide truth from the world, but He wants to reveal it, hence the name “Revelation.” The book is for everyone to understand. That’s why it went through a special process of being “signified”--a literary task committed to a special “angel” whose job was to translate its message into inspired cartoons (see Rev. 1:1).

Reverent-minded Bible students accordingly concluded centuries ago that the time symbolism in the “sixth trumpet” of Revelation was intended to pinpoint the identity of Islam (9:13-15). They recognized that the “hour, and a day, and a month, and a year” led to August 11, 1840 when the Muslim political power of the Ottoman Empire collapsed. In God’s providence this event was widely published, resulting in the conversion of many atheists to biblical Christianity. To see Islam in Bible prophecy was pivotal in the rise and progress of the great second advent movement that shook the world in the 1840s. It laid the foundation for a world movement today that proclaims that the second coming of Jesus is near. The prophecy in God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (cf. Psalm 119:105). Be thankful!

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Saturday, August 06, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

We just happened to turn the TV while CNN was covering the Air France Airbus plane crash in Toronto. As we watched the fireballs and the black smoke, I said to my wife Grace, “We are probably watching hundreds of people die.” And we imagined ourselves passengers. Then a bit later when the AOL computer news said there were “No fatalities!” I thought it must be a mistake--but thank God! there was not one fatality!

We had just been reading for our “family worship” the book of Acts, and Luke’s account of Paul’s shipwreck--probably the most famous transportation-disaster story in history, known worldwide (Acts 27). The number of passengers and crew was similar--276 (Acts 27:37) with 309 on the Airbus. Again, they all (but Paul!) expected to die, and again, there were “no fatalities!” Again, the vessel was a total loss with everything on board (vs. 22). Probably there will be books written about this Air France crash and we will hear stories of passengers who prayed for God’s protection.

What is amazing in the Acts story is how this one man on board who at Corinth “was weak and trembled all over with fear” (1 Cor. 2:3, TEV) and was one of the Roman prisoners whom “the soldiers made a plan to kill...... in order to keep them from...... escaping” (vs. 42), was nerved by the Holy Spirit to become the man in charge of everything, directing the “army officer,” all “the soldiers,” “the sailors,” the captain, and everybody else. Because Paul was an openly acknowledged servant of His, “God in His goodness to [him]...... spared the lives of all those who [were] sailing with [him]” (vs. 24). Perhaps the Lord again had a faithful praying “servant” on board that doomed Airbus. Often the Lord has spared the lives of many who do not recognize Him because of the faithfulness of a few who do.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Friday, August 05, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The Lord has promised to “send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Who is the “you”? The entire human race corporately? The entire church corporately? The answer may be yes. But each of us as individuals can latch on to the promise and ask the Lord to send Elijah to us personally--if we will welcome him. Yes, the Lord is serious; He has promised. How would you like to have a personal visit with the man who confronted King Ahab and all Israel? He will tell the truth if you are prepared to hear it. But remember: there is no truth except in love (agape; Eph. 4:15). Elijah is a man of true love. He is not unkind, harsh.

What will Elijah’s work be? “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Mal. 4:6). It will be “heart work”! Melting human hearts; reconciling alienated hearts; restoring the ministry of love; as hearts forgive one another in love, some tears will come; hearts that have been dead will be quickened (an old fashioned word that means made alive again); communication between estranged hearts will be opened again; forgivenesses will be given one to another; cold relationships will become warm; Elijah’s coming will be Ephesians 4:31, 32 redivivus: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.”

Elijah will come, that’s for sure, because the Lord promised to send him. He will be sent to this generation “if [we] will receive it” (see Matt. 11:14); if not, then he must await a future generation. But for sure the Lord doesn’t want to send Elijah if he will have to take refuge again outside of “Israel” at some Brook Cherith or at some widow woman’s house in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:9).

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Thursday, August 04, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

In Bible imagery, rain is usually a blessing. There is “the latter rain” which comes at just the right time to ripen a thirsty crop for harvest. (Our hearts go out to India where phenomenal torrential rains have caused floods and 700 plus deaths.)

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

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

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

Jesus teaches that “the harvest is the end of the world” (Matt. 13:39). But there are two harvests--character develops in two kinds of people: those ready to meet the Lord at His return; and those whose rebellion against Him has also matured (Rev. 14:16-20). A “sickle” is used in both harvests, one by Jesus coming in glory, the other by some other “angel” whose “sharp sickle” reaps a harvest cast into the “great winepress of the wrath of God.” There must be two kinds of “latter rain.” Time to be alert. No time to sleep!

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Does the book of Revelation tell us what its name means--that is, reveal the meaning of what’s going on in the world today? Yes! Let it speak. Its series of Seven Churches reveals the over-all history of Christ’s true church through the ages down to our time today (chs. 2, 3). Its series of Seven Seals reveals the history of apostasy in the Christian church down through the ages (chs. 4-7). Its series of Seven Trumpets reveals the meaning of world history in relation to God’s plan of salvation (chs. 8-11).

For centuries, humble Protestant scholars have seen in chapter 9 the story of Islam and its significance in the world. “The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth....... And the sun and the air were darkened......” (vss. 1, 2). The sixth trumpet pinpoints the identity (vss. 13-21). Islam was divinely permitted for a special task: to be a scourge to the fallenness of apostate Christianity. The apostasy (“the falling away,” 2 Thess. 2:3-7) in the popular church in the early Christian centuries fed a ferocious zeal for Islam’s propagation. Reverence for idols, for example, ignited in the Muslim breast an anger they saw as “righteous,” and in retrospect one understands it directed at blatant public contradictions of God’s holy law. Muslims had protested a fallen Judaism; now they protested a fallen church. They saw Islam as the world’s savior. Thus they still see it.

The culture of the West is widely viewed as “Christian.” We are in history redivivus. The “fallen star” had its origin in heaven; its monotheism impacts the thinking of the billion-odd Muslims, among whom die-hard zealots view Hollywood and dancing cheerleaders as the ultimate essence of “Christianity.” The book of Revelation clarifies the confusion of our post 9/11 world. “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, for the time is at hand”(1:3). Its message to all is, “Repent”(3:19).

Take a good look at the “seven trumpets.” The “seventh” is even now wounding (11:15-19). The News behind the news is Christ’s High Priestly ministry.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Christianity Today announces that Sunday October 9, 2005 is to be “National Porn Sunday, exploring america’s dirty little secret” (sic). This “one day event” is “to bring hope to those struggling with pornography.” It will attract crowds of all ages.

“Those struggling” include too many Roman Catholic and Protestant clergy, and there are the masses. Pornography is no longer a “dirty little secret.” It’s the open plague of the “Christian” West--one source of the violent energy of raw Muslim hatred (which is monotheistic). Illicit sex, sex outside the boundaries of love (agape), has an alluring appeal to fallen, sinful nature inherited from Adam. Our world is becoming Sodom and Gomorrah.

The apostle Paul confessed that he finally realized that the temptations to illicit sex that he knew in his sinful nature proved what sin is. He “hated” the pornography of his day, yet knew he actually loved it (Rom. 7:7-18). Paul both condemns the hypocrisy of pastors’ secret slavery to it yet feels a brotherly sympathy for them as they “struggle” with it. The world loves to watch Natalie Holloway smile and dance in her much abbreviated costume.

God created us “male and female” with the ability to pro-create, a thrill in partnership with God Himself. Hence we humans can know a depth of iniquity that even Satan and his evil angels cannot “know” so well, because pornography plumbs a unique human horror of mutiny and hatred against God. Satan incited humans to crucify Christ; THEY did it.

The October 9 “event” will be futile unless it is a true presentation of “Christ and Him crucified.” Nothing but the reality of what happened at the cross can heal. The Son of God died the world’s second death--“the breadth and length and depth and height” of His love.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Monday, August 01, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

“Is the book of Revelation difficult to understand?” No! The very name means it’s open, clear, something the heavenly Father wants you to understand.

“But there are so many conflicting interpretations of it!” Its divine Author tells us, “Blessed [happy] is he who reads, and those who hear the words of this prophecy” (1:3). Note: the happy person is not the one who gets bogged down in bewildering, conflicting commentaries about the book; he’s the one who actually reads the book as it is.

“But its symbols perplex me!” They are there on purpose, like a holy cartoon that conveys a message too deep and important for mere words. They will make sense; be patient. Read!

“I must work to make a living; I can’t spend years in universities. And conflicting preachers confuse me. Can common, ordinary readers understand it?” The honor of God is at stake--He has promised that either “reading” or “hearing the words of this prophecy” will be rewarded. John 3:16 says that those who believe will not “perish.” Those who don’t believe spend their lives “perishing.” Not understanding Revelation or having no hunger for it, is a bleak existence, even though you are absorbed in the propaganda of the media. Jesus came to give you life “more abundantly” (John 10:10). Don’t be too proud to enjoy that truly rich life. Read the book itself. Revel in it.

“Is there some key word in Revelation that I need to know, to start with?” The answer is “the Lamb,” the crucified One who is the Savior of the world, especially of those who believe (1 Tim. 4:10). “The Lamb” is there some 25 times. He is your Elder Brother! The book will bring you close to Him. Stay with it. You’ll understand what the cross means.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Sunday, July 31, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Londoners are stout-hearted people; they’ve been through the Nazi blitzes and kept their famous stiff upper lips. But modern Terrorism causes even them to see themselves in the words of Jesus in Luke 21:25, 26: “There will be signs,...... 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.” But in the same sermon on the Mount of Olives Jesus tells us that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations” before “the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). That must include London!

“Gospel” means good news, and Galatians makes clear that “the truth of the gospel” is the New Covenant message of justification by faith (2:5, 14-21). We keep waiting for the Lord to raise up some glowing personalities to proclaim it via TV, a movement that will “lighten the earth with glory” this way (Rev. 18:1-4). But there may be a more humble method the God of heaven will employ.

Jesus alludes to it in John 7. He is attending the great Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. He hasn’t said much until “on the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out [didn’t need a PA system], saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said [Song of Solomon], out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’”(vss. 37, 38). It’s clear: not some glowing, dominant personality; just anyone who “believes” in Him--truly; humble soul, a sinner convicted and repentant, whose heart is moved, who understands what the gospel says, who appreciates what “Christ and Him crucified” means, “constrained” selflessly by the love of Christ (2 Cor. 5:14, 15).

Jesus has some who do believe truly! Please, will you be one more.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Friday, July 29, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Sometimes we humans go through harrowing, traumatic experiences that leave us with the problem of depression and nightmares. Our minds are overburdened trying to understand the guilt we may think we are involved in, and the underlying fear that oppresses us. It’s easy for people who haven’t been through this “hell” to say rather flippantly, “Oh, Jesus will help you!” but the problem continues. Then in desperation, we start taking prescription drugs, and lo, and behold, they do help! But in our better judgment, we long to find relief without drugs, for now we fear side effects.

Superficial, thoughtless “help” only makes the problem worse. Isaiah quotes the Father saying of Christ, “By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many” (53:11). Paul considers that this “knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” is an “excellency” more precious than winning any jackpot. Paul says he wants to “know” Christ and “the fellowship of HIS sufferings.” Could this “knowledge” be better than drugs?

Jesus went through the Ultimate human experience of trauma--in Gethsemane and on His cross. He experienced it as a human Being, but it was unspeakably worse because He was also divine so He suffered the pain on an infinite scale. That made Him become the exactly right Physician for every individual, depressed person, male or female. Psalms 22 and 69 can introduce you to understand His hellish trauma (it was actual hell that He endured!). He is your real brother. As you listen and share with Him what this hell was, you become “a partaker of Christ’s sufferings” (1 Peter 4:13), which means you see how “He was wounded for our transgressions,...... bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace [nightmares?] was upon Him,” and then the blessing comes--“and by His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). Walk softly: this is more than “psychology.” It’s Bible.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

I was just a kid about 11 or 12. My father was a very strict Sunday-keeper and wouldn’t let me ride my bike for fun on Sunday afternoons (nor would he buy a gallon of gasoline on Sunday). I was an obedient Sunday School student. But I didn’t know anything about the Bible personally. So one Sunday afternoon I was sitting on our front porch with the Bible, fingering it curiously, wondering what it was like inside. With some literary perversity ingrained in me that makes me want to read the conclusion of a book first, I turned to Revelation and began reading a little.

It so happened that just then our pastor, Dr. Campbell, drove up in front of our house in his 1926 Buick, on some mission to visit my parents. So I asked him innocently, “Oh, Dr. Campbell, tell me--what is this book, Revelation, all about?” Graciously and sweetly, he put his hand on my head and said, “Robert, that is a sealed book; nobody understands it. You should read something like the Gospel of Mark.”

That would have turned me away from reading Revelation for the rest of my life except that I had gotten as far as the third verse of the first chapter that says: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” On the spot, I, just a kid, knew that my beloved pastor was wrong! That was the beginning of a lifetime hunger to understand Revelation, and its companion book, Daniel. And yes, that hunger has brought happiness!

The Gospel of Mark is important, but Jesus Himself singled out Daniel and Revelation for us to give them special attention (cf. Matt. 24:15). The word “blessed” means “happy.” Don’t neglect the happiness the Holy Spirit has for you in reading and understanding D&R.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The greatest, most important event ever to happen on planet earth was the birth of the "Savior of the world," Jesus, in Bethlehem. Yet it was unheralded in the media of that day except that the angel told a few shepherds, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Luke 2:10). The message was proclaimed by a few apostles.

The book of Revelation tells of "another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel [again, good tidings of great joy] to preach to those who dwell on the earth" (14:6, 7). This movement is to come in the last days, and it has come. But be careful--don't wait for the media to plaster this news all over like the coverage that the death of the recent Pope was given. No angel from heaven screams in your ears; the message comes like it came to the humble shepherds, more like "a still, small voice" (1 Kings 19:12). Unless you and I are careful, this new "angel flying in the midst of heaven" can do his job, fly on, and we never know what's happened. The work of God was done after Pentecost without great fanfare; it's being done today likewise, in humble ways. But it is being done.

Jesus describes it: "'I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.' This He said, signifying by what death He would die" (John 12:32, 33). In other words, Heaven also has its "media," some kind of organization for getting word out. Heaven is determined that the Son of God must not die in vain, in secret; humble instruments are to be moved by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the message of "Christ and Him crucified" worldwide. The great ones of earth are again to be surprised at the humble means that God will employ, no great, arrogant men and women. Only those will be employed in this work who have knelt at the cross of Jesus where self (pride!) is crucified with Him.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Londoners are brave people who have endured much tribulation in their history. Still, they are not happy with continued bombings in their transit system. And those who have to ride the subways in the Washington area are perturbed, also. We who live in peaceful little villages suffer with these people in the big cities--we are all humans who feel for each other in a corporate fellowship of spirit. Whatever horrors others must suffer, we instinctively say and pray, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." In the Bible idea, the entire human race is one man--"Adam."

But God has a message for the world: the entire human race has been redeemed--there is a new "Adam," the Son of God. The Bible says He is "the last Adam," or the second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45). If we all who are the "first Adam" are appalled at all this human suffering and terrorism in the world, be sure--the "second Adam" is even more appalled by it.

The "second Adam" is a human personality as well as a divine One. His name is "Emmanel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23). He sticks closer to you than a brother (Pr. 18:24). He is "touched with the feeling" of all our pains and agonies (Heb. 4:15). "In all [our] affliction He [is] afflicted." There is an "angel of His presence" who "saves us," and "in His love and in His pity He redeems [us]" and "carries [us]" (Isa. 63:9).

Do you long for Him to keep His promise and to "come again, and receive [us] to Himself"? (John 14:1-3). Well, know that He longs to do just that a million times more than you want Him to! He is forced to empathize with every suffering person in the world; may He give us of His store of much more abounding grace, that we may stop hindering what He wants to do!

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Sunday, July 24, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Eleven years ago the tiny nation of Rwanda, landlocked in Central Africa, was forced to go through hell on earth--the genocidal massacre of 800,000 Batutsi, slain in cold blood by their Bahutu neighbors. Some 40,000 Bahutu who were decent-minded enough not to want to join in the massacre were murdered also.

Now what concerns us is how can this surviving population find peace of heart to keep on living together? How can a Tutsi family live next door to Hutu neighbors who they know murdered their family members? "Forgive them?" Yes, of course; the government wisely wants everybody to forgive everybody. But is it humanly possible to do that and to "forget"? Sincere people, just as good as you and I are, are trying to do that. But......

When you know your "neighbor" has been a hypocrite, has murdered "you" in essence, has refused to confess and ask forgiveness, lies, what can you do? How can you stay the surge of resentful emotion that you can't help but feel?

Don't kid yourself--the Son of God felt that same surge welling up in His heart as He hung on His cross; He was cruelly, unjustly murdered. The Bible is clear--the surge was there as a temptation, for He was "in all points tempted LIKE as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15). The massacred Rwandans suffered unspeakable cruelty, yes; but so did Jesus. The utterly impossible thing Rwandans can do—if they can be shown this "powerful" truth that is destined yet to "lighten the earth with glory" (Rev. 18:1, 2).

Strangely enough, in our modern church fellowship we wrestle with the same trial and temptation! We've been wronged, indeed; how else do we forgive and forget and love? Batutsi, move over; let us kneel down beside you.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" web page resides at: http://1888message.org/dailybread/

There is also an archive at: http://www.escribe.com/religion/ddb/

To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: <dailybread@1888message.org>

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Saturday, July 23, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of �Dial Daily Bread�:

Paul, God's faithful servant, suffered a humiliating rebuke in his evangelism crusade in the great city of Athens. He made the mistake of trying to match philosophy with philosophy, trying to meet the Athenian scholars on their own ground. The result: near failure in soul-winning, although a few did respond.

When he came to the immoral city of Corinth, he says he "determined not to know anything among [them] except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). The book of Revelation is also a presentation of the cross of Christ. In code language, "the Lamb as though it had been slain"(5:6) is the same message as Paul's theme in Corinth. Some 28 times we find that word "Lamb" in Revelation--the book is the most cross-centered book in the Bible! It's the same as Paul's message of "Christ and Him
crucified." Without discerning this truth, the fanatics or enthusiasts find Revelation to be their playground.

As we near the end of time, their confusion will become more and more painful to endure. Each will proclaim that he knows the secret of "finishing God's work," "listen to me!" But he "multiplies words....... The labor of fools wearies [everyone], for they do not even know how to go to the city!" (Eccl. 10:12-15). Are you bewildered by the multiplicity of voices crying "Lo here! Or, lo there!" (Luke 17:21)?

Psalm 46 was written for this time of cataclysmic confusion when "the waters [are] troubled" and "mountains [are carried] into the midst of the sea." The counsel is, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." The language is that of Revelation 18:1-4. Be wise and patient; spend time on your knees alone with God so that you are ready to discern that true last-days message of the cross.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" web page resides at: http://1888message.org/dailybread/
There is also an archive at: http://www.escribe.com/religion/ddb/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to:
<mailto:dailybread@1888message.org>
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<mailto:dailybread@1888message.org>
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Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" phone message is available via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.

Friday, July 22, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

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), �the churches were made stronger in the faith and grew in numbers every day� (16:5, NEB). Paul and Silas wanted to go and preach the message �in the province of Asia,� but �the Holy Spirit did not let them preach the message� there (vs. 6).
Interesting! The Holy Spirit CLOSES doors--we have thought He always opens them!

Next, the frustrated apostles �tried to go into the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them� (vs. 7). 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, �GO throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to ALL mankind� (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� (vs. 8). 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!

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of �Dial Daily Bread�:

Just returned from a hurried trip half way across the continent to attend a conference on the "message of Christ's righteousness." Am deeply impressed that amid the turmoil of the modern news, civil society functions as smoothly and safely as it does. Highways are jammed with cars and trucks that almost always obey the rules and travel safely, planes crisscross the skies and meet tight schedules almost perfectly. As Edward Fudge noted recently in his daily devotional message, life for most of
us is very pleasant. And one constantly meets strangers who are courteous and helpful. All that confronts us that is good is related to the gift of the Holy Spirit of God, "sent" to us by Christ and given to the world (John 14:16; 6:33).

But I am also impressed with how few seem to realize the true Source of the happiness and prosperity and security they take for granted. Of ten lepers whom the Lord Jesus healed, only one came back to tell Him "Thank you!" (Luke 17:12ff). Every civil and economic benefit we enjoy is as surely a miraculous handout from Christ as was that healing from leprosy to those "ten." Is mankind in general today as ungrateful as they were? For sure, many are unaware of what they owe and to whom they owe.

According to Scripture, a tiny minority of people in the world who understand the truth are saving their fellows from disaster as surely as that tiny handful in ancient Sodom and Gomorrah who truly reverenced the Lord saved their cities. (When the angels hurried that remnant out of the doomed cities, the fire fell--an illustration of what goes on now behind the scenes.) The world owes those few thanks. But the time must come when that gracious Holy Spirit has to be withdrawn; then what? The
"time of trouble" and "the seven last plagues" (16:1-17). Let's be thoughtful and appreciative--NOW.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of �Dial Daily Bread�:

Your ETERNAL happiness is what the Lord Jesus Christ is concerned about--not just barely squeaking you through the gates so you can live in some New Jerusalem slum. Anybody who gets in He wants to have a gloriously triumphant entrance that Paul likens to a Roman emperor returning after a great victory, loaded with spoils and all his enemies in chains (2 Cor. 2:14). A vast multitude will watch you enter and they will cheer wildly for you. That moment in your experience will thrill your soul, and
a knowing smile from Jesus will tell you how deeply He understands all about your part in the victory.

But you could never be happy then unless you had experienced and endured tribulation and maybe even persecution for His sake (see Acts 14:22; John 16:33). Marines who fight together in harrowing battles become friends for life. Do not think of Jesus as detached in some plush heavenly office enjoying luxury while you are battling alone here below. He does not say, "I did My part 2000 years ago, and won My part of the battle--now it's your turn to fight!" No, you are "yoked" with Him and He is
actually struggling with you--He is still fighting to win the great controversy. And more than you can imagine, He actually NEEDS you yoked with Him!

There is one aspect of the conflict where your contribution will be vital--maybe (can we say?) you have a fraction of the "144.000th" part of the whole great controversy for which you are responsible. It cannot end until every tiny fraction fits in. He specifically denies calling you "slaves" and calls you "friends" instead (John 15:15). The definition of "friend" is someone close to you who needs you, not just on nodding terms. It's hard to imagine it, but Jesus will actually tell you a
sincere, big-hearted "Thank you!" when it's all over and the smoke clears away. He is our Elder Brother...... forever!

Friday, July 15, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of �Dial Daily Bread�:

Each individual believer in Christ is "meek and lowly in heart" as Jesus was (Matt. 11:28-30). But he will be joined to Christ by faith, which means he will say with Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I that live; but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20, NKJV, KJV).

"The faith of the Son of God" is the faith by which He Himself defeated Satan in His human flesh. That flesh which Jesus "took" is the same that we all have inherited--fallen, sinful; but Jesus "condemned sin in the flesh," the "flesh" in which the Father sent Him (Rom. 8:3). In Christ, self was crucified long before He was nailed to His cross at the end. Even as a Boy of 12 He demonstrated that He had said "No!" to self, and "Yes!" to His Father (cf. Luke 2:49). Constantly He said, "I do not
seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me"; "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me"; in Gethsemane He cried, "O My Father, not as I will, but as You will" (this, at the price of sweating blood, John 5:30, 6:38, Matt. 26:39). One who believes in Jesus truly, will open his heart to receive "the faith of Jesus" and will also "condemn sin" in his own fallen, sinful flesh. It can be done by "the faith OF Jesus," and it will be done in
those "144,000" who prepare for the second coming of Jesus (cf. Rev. 14:1-6).

The price? A Gethsemane-like struggle suited exactly to "the measure of faith" which God has "dealt to each one" of us (Rom. 12:3). Satan's attacks will be terrible; but like the 30-hour bombardment of Baltimore's Ft. McHenry in the War of 1812, when the smoke cleared away and "our flag was still there," the seal of God like a flag will still be flying over each one's personal "fort" that has endured Satan's merciless bombardment.