Daily Bread

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

A Resurrection "With Him"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Ever get bored listening to long dry sermons? Let me tell you about the shortest sermon in the Bible--it's only one sentence, preached by someone who has a right to the pulpit at least once in her lifetime--the Virgin Mary. She preaches to the frustrated servants who don't know what to do about an emergency: "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it!" (John 2:5). Then, a period. She's talking about her Son, Jesus.

You can't get bored with such a short sermon but you can get frustrated by it. It seems He's always telling me to do something that I feel I just can't do. Those poor servants: He told them, "Fill the water pots with water"--easy enough; then, "take them to the master of the feast"; easy enough. But they must tell the boss, "Sir, here's your wine you asked for," when they know jolly well it's only water. Now that's hard! Doing or saying what your heart says isn't so--is anything harder?

Let's find the Good News here: (1) It's your heavenly Father that is telling you to DO this or that. (2) A true Father never drives or "provokes" you to frustration (remember Paul's counsel to fathers, "provoke not your children ..."?). (3) He is telling you what to do; now take the time to ask Him how to do it; He'll respond. (4) Note that Mary did NOT say, "whatsoever your friends tell you to do, do it," or "what your teachers, counselors, or your parents even, tell you." They may be right and they may be wrong, but no one understands you like your Heavenly Father (Psalm 27:10 will help you there).

(5) Jesus was a youth, knows your problem exactly, was tempted precisely like you are "in all things," understands your selfish fear, still likes you (loves you). Believe it. (6) Listen to Him pray at the age of 12, "Not My will but Thine be done." Tells His doubting, frustrated parents: "Don't you know I must be about My Father's business?" In other words, "Whatsoever He saith unto Me, I must do it!" Anticipated His own mother's sermon!

(7) You feel helpless? At least you can LOOK! Watch Him, listen to Him in Gethsemane; on His cross. Identify with Him there. Your dead, lifeless heart will experience a resurrection "with Him," also.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 17, 1998.

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" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.

Monday, October 08, 2012

The Clearest Definition of Faith

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Let's look more deeply into what it means to "believe," according to John 3:16. There are people who are afraid they don't know how to believe sufficiently well to receive the blessing promised in that verse.

(1) Be careful. Don't boast, "Yes, I believe with all my heart!" You don't actually know your own heart. Peter thought he knew his heart when he told Jesus he would not deny Him. He was sure that he believed.

(2) There is a prayer that is so important to know, that it could mean eternal salvation to us. It is the prayer of the distraught, worried, fearful father in Mark 9:24: "Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief!" A wise writer has said, "You can never perish if you pray that prayer."

(3) God is delighted to see in us even the tiniest evidence that a living, genuine faith has begun to spout in us. Jesus tells us that if we have "faith as a grain of mustard seed," our prayers will be answered (Matt. 17:20). But you MUST act on that tiny beginning of faith; risk something on it. If you have that tiny little speck of genuine faith, you will certainly trust your Lord. Trust is a part of faith; but trust is impossible unless there is some goodness in the person who has promised you something. Faith is therefore recognizing that goodness in God, and confessing it openly.

(4) Which brings us to the clearest definition of faith: faith is a heart-appreciation of God's character of agape. Thus John 3:16 says, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish," that is, whosoever's heart appreciates that "loving" and that "giving," who at least begins to "comprehend" it (see Eph. 3:14-21). There you have the beginning of true faith.

(5) Such faith has dynamite built into it, because it begins to "work" right away (Gal. 5:6). It produces obedience to all the commandments of God. It is not motivated by raw fear (agapecasts out fear; 1 John 4:18). The "works" are motivated by that heart-melting appreciation for what it cost the Son of God to save us. (You know, He went to hell in order to find us. That's what moves your heart forever!)

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 2, 2001.

Friday, October 05, 2012

An End to the Pain of the Great Controversy

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Some 70 times the Bible speaks of God as the "Almighty" One. Now in His resurrected state, Christ as the Son of God sits at the right hand of the Father; is He also "Almighty" now? If so, He does not need any help from His people.

Among the people who think of themselves as the Lord's, questions arise: can they "hasten" the second coming of the Lord Jesus in any meaningful way? Or is the second coming a date fixed by the Father, beyond any influence of His people—either their faith or their unbelief?

Jesus says that even He does not know that date (Mark 13:32). But one wise writer declared that His disappointment in its delay is "beyond description," and that is understandable if Christ's level of omniscience does not include knowing the actual time of His second coming which He says "no one knows ... but the Father."

What we do know is that Christ is also a "Bridegroom" eager for His marriage to take place and it has obviously been delayed (cf. Rev. 19:7, 8). Can His people do anything about that? (The church is the "Bride-to-be," and the New Jerusalem city is the "Bride" in the sense that the "city" is its inhabitants and not merely its material walls and streets; Rev. 21:10).

Jesus invites "the angel of the church of the Laodiceans" (the last of the seven of Revelation 2 and 3) to take a very responsible position "in [His] throne"(3:21). That is not an empty honor just to have one's picture taken; He invites that seventh church to share with Him responsibility for bringing to an end the pain of the great controversy between Christ and Satan.

Suppose Jesus needs you to help Him in ending "the [really] great controversy." The truth is, He does; "God is love" [agape], and for that reason Christ cannot come the second time until He has a people ready, otherwise they would be destroyed by the brightness of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8). Your getting ready in this great Day of Atonement will help Him; we honor Him, or we disgrace Him. Each one of us is important in His plan. There is a healthy self-respect we can know, by faith. To believe in Him is serious business today.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 10, 2006.

Thursday, October 04, 2012

The 144,000

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are you longing for some solid truth, firm as a rock, that you can trust, that's also good news? Here it is in Titus 2:11-14:

It's truth taught by the "grace of God that brings salvation to all men" (vs. 11). It's not a fear motivation. The "grace" is that "much more abounding" kind that's greater than all our sin (Rom. 5:20). And it's given, not merely offered, to "all men." It overwhelms you when you think about it. "Every man" does one of two things: he either receives it or he rejects it.

That grace (not fear!) teaches us to "say No!" to every temptation to sin that Satan can fling at us (Titus 2:11, NIV). That's where our problems are--"worldly lusts." We don't naturally know how to do it, but that "grace" teaches us to "live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" right where we are. The worst sinner learns under that tutelage. It's being in school with Christ as the Teacher. (That's a great privilege!)

We cherish "the blessed hope" of seeing Him come again--we believe His literal second coming is that soon! Yes, we do! (vs. 13).

That otherwise impossibility is accomplished by comprehending how He "gave Himself for us" (vs. 14). It's looking, beholding, grasping, absorbing, the four grand dimensions of a love (agape) that passes knowledge (Eph. 3:16-19). When you gaze at His cross, the lethal bites of the "serpent" are healed (John 3:14, 15). Yes!

Why did He "give Himself for us"? To save us "in sin"? No, to save us from all of it (vs. 14 again). You see yourself as the believing thief crucified with Him--yes! Self dies with Him. You share His cross, by living faith.

What He's doing is to "purify to Himself" 144,000 people in a time when the Enemy says it's impossible to happen (vs. 14 again; see also Rev. 7:1-4; 14:1-5). Whether that's a literal or symbolic number is not the point. What you must believe is that the Savior loves you so much that He invites you to be among them, to "overcome even as [He] overcame" (Rev. 3:21). He wouldn't invite you if it were not possible.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 3, 2012.

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Yoked With Him to Win the Great Controversy

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!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 15, 2005.

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

A Glimpse of Christ As Our Great High Priest

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever tried to hug someone to express your love and found that person like a stone or a telephone pole, no responsive hug given back? Maybe as a parent you are concerned about emotional frigidity in your child. This person is like a statue, no response to you.

Welcome to God's "club"! This is His problem with the human race--massive alienation. We are born separated from Him; "the carnal mind is enmity against God," which is "death" (Rom 8:7, 6). We can go from our cradle to our grave in coldness and aloneness. God Himself tries in a myriad of ways to "hug" us, but we don't know how to hug Him back. It's a problem!

We are described in Hebrews 2:14, 15 as "children ... who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Ever since sin invaded planet earth with the fall of Adam and Eve, God has wrestled with this most serious problem He has ever faced. He is handicapped in that He cannot force anyone. He has to obey the rules, to stand back; a human heart can only be "won." All He can do is "hug" us and keep hoping that somehow His love can get through, and those barriers will come down. It's like waiting for a whole new creation, and that is precisely what it is: "Henceforth ... if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things [coldness] are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17, 18).

Here we catch a glimpse of Christ as our great High Priest in the Most Holy Apartment of the heavenly sanctuary--working night and day to woo us, to win us. When you hug someone you try to look in his/her eyes, to "hug" with your eyes, to say, "I love you" that way, hoping you can arouse something warm in response, hoping to provoke some little response of a choice, "Yes, I choose to respond; I don't know how, but I choose to be reconciled to you." When that happens, how happy you are! Welcome to the Most Holy Apartment of Christ's heavenly sanctuary!

You can sympathize with Him as He wrestles with His problem worldwide. But don't give up on Him. He has resources to accomplish His objective. But the struggle is intense. If He fails to win the heart of His Bride-to-be, to melt that icy coldness in Laodicea, He will be forever pained and humiliated.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 26, 2000.

Monday, October 01, 2012

Cooperation With the "Lord of the Harvest"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It was the most awful crime ever committed on planet earth, or in the universe of God. Human beings who had sold themselves to Satan did it--they captured, condemned, tortured, and murdered the divine Son of God, the world's Messiah and Savior. It was hatred gone wild.

And while they were doing it, He was praying for them, "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." Simply telling people around the world what happened electrified humanity and separated mankind into two peoples--those who believed with a heart appreciation for His love, and those who steeled their hearts against that love and became the most bitter persecutors of their fellow humans.

The process has been going on ever since, and will culminate in the fulfillment of Revelation 14:14-20 where we read of two "harvests" that will ripen side by side: the good grain gathered when "He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped." Then "another angel came out from the altar, ... and cried with a loud cry, Gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe," the grapes of the "winepress of the wrath of God."

It's a solemn thought that we are poised between verses 13 and 14 of this chapter of prophecy; now is the hour when those who "die in the Lord" are "blessed ... from henceforth" and the coming of the moment of the literal second coming of "the Son of man" in verse 14.

But oh, the work that is yet to be done! No way will "He who [will] sit" on the cloud "thrust in [His] sickle" until the "harvest ... is ripe." If He were to act prematurely, the harvest would be ruined; He has to wait poised, His "sickle" ready, but unused. The grain has come to the time when the plants are tall but immature, the growth hindered by drought when the "latter rain" should be falling.

Meanwhile nothing seems to stop the other "harvest" from ripening; the wickedness in the world develops, while the growth of the good grain is stultified.

The clearest evidence of the soon coming of Christ is not the number of professed adherents worldwide but the awakening of serious, honest-hearted people in the church who realize that to indulge further in corporate lukewarmness is in reality a re-crucifixion of that same Son of God. Ripening for the harvest is a choice God's people make for or against cooperation with "the Lord of the harvest."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 11, 2006.

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 site resides at: http://1888message.org/dailybread/
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Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.

Friday, September 28, 2012

The Final Ministry of the Lamb of God

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What practical down-to-earth difference does it make in one's daily living what he believes about Christ? Is He ministering as High Priest in the Most Holy Apartment of the heavenly sanctuary (the second), or is He still absorbed in His first apartment work? Where is He?

A Christian writer with keen perception says it means everything. It's either getting ensnared in Satan's clever last-days counterfeit, or getting involved with Christ's genuine work of preparing a people to receive the seal of God versus the mark of the beast. The latter will become an extremely subtle imitation. The issue will end up either (a) bowing down to the false "christ" in the final test, or (b) bowing before the true Christ. You don't want an angel taking a snapshot of you kneeling to the devil--knowingly or unknowingly!

In other words, those who finally decide to receive the alluring "mark of the beast" are even now day by day preparing. Apparently insignificant "self" choices today build up a massive case ending in a judgment of intense ultimate self-condemnation.

Likewise, those who finally choose to receive what Revelation calls "the seal of God," "let this mind be in [them], which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). They choose this way of thinking now, day by day. They "let the word of Christ dwell in [them] richly in all wisdom" (Col. 3:16). They choose moment after moment to let the Holy Spirit hold them by the hand as they "walk in the Spirit" (see Gal. 5:16; Isa. 41:10, 13).

It's simply choosing to surrender one's natural selfish alienation from God in order to "be ye reconciled" to Him. It all comes through the final ministry of the Lamb of God, your true High Priest (forget those earthly "priests" who have no connection with Him).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 25, 2002.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Welcome to Joy!

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When the New Testament speaks of "the flesh," it's the sinful nature we all have--the source of our temptations. It's not the world outside of us that tempts us--it's the world inside of us. If you live a hermit in the desert, the "flesh" within still tempts.

Paul explains the only way it can be handled: "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Gal. 5:24). Millions want to know how they can do that.

It's not some "work" to DO. And to pray, "God, please crucify my flesh!," is not the way, like clicking a computer button. The way is simple, but the believing (faith) does take time.

Paul prays for us in Ephesians 3:14-21, not that we might DO some wonderful work, but that we might SEE something wonderful: that you "may be able to comprehend ... what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love (agape) of Christ," which of course is displayed only at His cross. If an angel had videoed the crucifixion, it might fill the theaters, but that would not help; we "see" it, "comprehend" it, with the eyes of faith. It takes "a thoughtful hour."

On your knees, alone with your heavenly Father, with the Bible open before you. "See" the cross therein. Psalm 22 was put there for this purpose; also Psalm 69. Yes, David wrote them both, but it's Jesus Himself talking from His cross! Read them in several translations, if you can. Read them slowly, no hurried impatience. God inspired both so that you might identify with your Savior, and begin to sense those grand dimensions of a love that no preacher can adequately portray. It will be better than any movie or video (they usually distort the truth, anyway).

"Comprehend" what happened there, "see" it, and Galatians 6:14 will come alive for you: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I [am crucified] unto the world."

How does it work? "I am crucified with Christ ..." (Gal. 2:20; "self"). "The world" will have no more impact on you now than it had on the repentant thief who also was crucified with Him. And you will share what he had--he was the happiest man who has ever lived, for he heard those words, "You will be with Me in Paradise." "In Christ," you rule the flesh; you are its boss. Like Him, you "condemn sin in the flesh" (Rom. 8:3, 4). Take charge; choose. Welcome to joy!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 29, 2003.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Bridging the Gap Through Space

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are we stretching the truth too far to say that God personally loves each of us individually even more than our earthly father has loved us when we were little? Your heart-answer "yes" or "no" will determine your happiness here and hereafter.

When we read the four Gospels we see that the great burden on Jesus' heart was to teach us that His Father in heaven is our Father, too. It's in Matthew alone no less than 41 times! And His interest in us is so complete that when He cares when even a little bird falls to the ground, Jesus adds, "You are worth much more than many sparrows!" (10:31, GNB).

In other words, your heavenly Father is intensely interested in your personal happiness, and His personal attention is as focused as if you were the only human walking the earth!

Satan tells you, "No, you're not even a digit in His computer! One dot in seven billion?" And right here rages a "great controversy" within your own heart: will you believe what Jesus says, or what the devil wants you to believe?

"But I'm not that important," you object. Now you can realize what Paul means when he says, "Fight the good fight of faith!" (1 Tim. 6:12). You don't really believe John 3:16 unless you believe the Father loves you personally so much that He gave His only Son for YOU as if there were not another lost soul. (He is different than we are--He is infinite.)

One of our problems is the emotional block that we have from our infancy; seldom (if ever!) is there a father who adequately interprets to his little child what that love of the heavenly Father is like.

Now it's our job to learn how to "believe" John 3:16: to bridge this gap through space by choosing to believe that the Father of our Lord Jesus is "OUR FATHER WHCH ART IN HEAVEN," intimately close and caring. Welcome to happiness eternal--a gift given by grace received through faith (Eph. 2:8, 9)!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 26, 2003.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

That Lesson of the Cross

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Young people can hardly imagine that they will ever get old, or that they will die. They feel immortal. And they are by nature sinners like everybody else, and feel like their life belongs to them. So they are naturally selfish, like all of us are. But they may be deliriously happy in their selfishness as long as things go their way. Thoughts of self-sacrifice, of giving their lives in God's service, are unwelcome.

But there must come a time when that delirious exuberance is spent, and then the misery of feeble old age takes over. And if you haven't learned in your youth how to surrender your own will to God in the same way that Jesus surrendered His own will to His Father, then you find it a very difficult lesson to learn, and you are bitterly unhappy. Solomon says quite wisely, "Remember your Creator while you are still young, before those dismal days and years come when you will say, 'I don't enjoy life.' That is when the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars will grow dim for you. ... Then your arms ... will tremble, and your legs, now strong, will grow weak. ... Your eyes too dim to see clearly. ... You will barely be able to hear ... music as it plays, but even the song of a bird will wake you from sleep. ... You will hardly be able to drag yourself along, and all desire will be gone" (Eccl. 12:1-4, GNB).

If you are young, "rejoice ... in thy youth, ... but know that ... God will bring thee into judgment" (Eccl. 11:9, KJV). Be sober; learn the lesson of the cross; make a conscious choice to let self be crucified with Jesus and pray His prayer, "Not as I will, but as Thou wilt" (Matt. 26:39).

And if you are old and you realize you have never truly prayed that prayer, thank God for every moment of consciousness yet granted to you and plead with Him earnestly to teach you that lesson of the cross.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 21, 1997.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Heaven's Final Call

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Bible is revered by both Muslims and Christians, the latter accepting it as the inspired Word of God. Its clear teaching is that for more than the past century and a half we have been living in the cosmic Day of Atonement, the grand original of which the ancient Israelite day of atonement was a type or symbol. Theirs was the most solemn day of their year, the only one when the Lord commanded His people to fast. The day of atonement was an object lesson of the final Day of Judgment; ordinary pursuits were to be laid aside; it was to be kept as a holy sabbath, a day of heart-searching, of repentance, a day on which at last the people as a corporate body or nation were to become fully "at-one" with God.

In this way it was an object lesson of what it means for us today to become "at-one" with God in a heart-preparation for the second coming of Christ, not merely for death but for meeting Jesus in person: translation (Heb. 11:5). The "fast" that was required of Israel on that typical day of atonement symbolized the simple, self-denying Christian life appropriate for us today. Every meal we eat becomes "a sacrament." "Baruch the son of Neriah" lived when his world was falling apart, as ours is today. God asked him, "Seekest thou great things for thyself?" The world around you is collapsing, "evil" is "coming upon all flesh." Be thankful I give you the simple gift of life as a "prey"--forget seeking "great things" more than Jesus had (Jer. 45).

In Isaiah 22:12-14 the Lord is disappointed when His people disregard His call to humble repentance: "the Lord God of hosts call[ed] to weeping, and to mourning," but the response of His people was partying, feasting, fun-seeking, as though He had never spoken. Then He said: "Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die." The Day of Atonement brings Heaven's final call; to disregard it becomes the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 12:31, 32.

Why is this so serious? Because Jesus, the world's Good Shepherd, feels the agony of the millions who suffer today. To refuse to live in sympathy with Him in His concern for them is to refuse to be "at-one" with Him. The Day of Atonement is what has been lacking in the kind of "Christianity" that Muslims have known about. There is light yet to "lighten the earth with glory" (Rev. 18:1-4). It will illuminate Day of Atonement truths now neglected. Many will respond.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 26, 2004.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

A Blaze of Gospel Glory

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is God concerned about European politics, culture, life? Yes, if Daniel and Revelation are understood with common sense. There are three main basic understandings: (1) Preterist, which means the prophecies were all fulfilled millennia ago, forget them; (2) Futurist, they'll all be fulfilled beyond history, forget them for now; and (3) Historicist, they have been, are being, and will be fulfilled within history--common sense. Wake up, pay attention! DDB is all for #3.

According to #3, both Daniel and Revelation depict European history since the time of the apostle John as an intellectual stage on which the great controversy between Christ and Satan is being played out, two principles at deadly war: the law of self-renouncing love (agape) versus the "law" of me-first devotion to self. Satan supports the latter.

Within history, the former was making great headway in Europe through the zealous devotion of the early Christian church; it appeared on the way to "conquer" the world for Christ's principle of love (agape). No more wars, no exploitation of the poor; liberty and justice for all; Christ has redeemed the world; pure Christianity will fulfill God's promise to Abraham, "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3), "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:9).

The Enemy of Christ was alarmed; both Daniel and Revelation penetrated, discerned, his evil strategy: get within the Christian Church, corrupt it from within, destroy liberty of conscience, join church and state; create oppression, give rulers a perverted idea of the "divine right of kings"; attempt an "ethnic cleansing" of that little remnant of people who faithfully follow Jesus and believe the Bible.

Thus came the 1260 years of the Dark Ages when millions were slaughtered for their faith under the tyranny of "the beast" of Revelation 13 and "the little horn" of Daniel 7 (identical; the infamous Spanish Inquisition was an example of the persecution foretold). But Daniel says there would finally come a "time of the end" when that horrible persecution should cease, a nation would arise with twin principles of religious and civil liberty ("two horns like a lamb," Rev. 13:11), and again the glorious pure gospel of Good News must be proclaimed to all the world (Rev. 14), ending with a blaze of gospel glory (Rev. 18). If #3 above is correct, we are right now on the verge of Revelation 18. Good News? Yes!
--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 23, 1999.
Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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 site resides at: http://1888message.org/dailybread/

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

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

Friday, September 21, 2012

Time to Be Alert! No Time to Sleep!

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. 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!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 3, 2005.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Only Way to Be Happy in This World

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

"Dial Daily Bread" would like to remind you of the seminar that began today (Sept. 19) and will continue through Sabbath in Hailey, Idaho. (We refer you to the notice sent out Sept. 12 that lists dates, times, and topics.) Each meeting is being video-taped and will be posted on YouTube; search for Stephen McCandless.

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Of all the billions of people who have lived on planet earth in the past 6000 plus years, only One has died what the Bible says is "the second death" (you will find it mentioned in Revelation 2:11 and 20:14).

That One is Jesus.

If He had not died our world's "second death," He would not have the right to accept the plaudits of the Samaritans who said He is " the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). By dying our "second death," Jesus has earned the right to save us in His eternal kingdom, for "the wages of sin is death," and that's the real thing--the second (Rom. 6:23).

The idea that Jesus just went to sleep for a weekend is infinitely far from the truth. It has to be true that anyone who suffers the awful physical pain of crucifixion would want to be able to sleep for a weekend--it is so terrible. But that is not what Jesus did!

When He was on His cross, He screamed in agony, "My God why have You forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46). That rejection by His Father was worse than all the agony of physical crucifixion; He was dying the world's second death, enduring the condemnation of the Father for the sin of the world (He was "made to be sin for us, who knew no sin," 2 Cor. 5:21).

He bought all our sins with His blood; we have no right to keep them any longer! He bought all our souls with His blood--we don't belong to ourselves any longer.

It's just simple honesty that we give ourselves and all we have to Him; and that is the only way to be happy in this world in the midst of all the trials that we have.

That is the message of 2 Corinthians 5:20, 21--"be reconciled to God." Don't any longer be on the outs with Him. Be "one" with Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 11, 2008.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

God's One Huge Problem in His Universe

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does God have problems He has to solve? Are any of them difficult for Him, as problems are for us? He has one huge one--the rebellion of sin in His universe. You may say, "He is infinite, omnipotent; He can just zap His enemies and His problems are solved!"

But wait a moment: He can't do that unless He rules as a divine Autocrat, and in the process becomes "Satan" redivivus. For example, His people Israel were being cruelly enslaved in Egypt. How can He deliver them? Zap the Egyptians? No; He must go through a long, wearying process of sending ten plagues on Pharaoh; He must carry world opinion with Him. Most of all, God must make it clear to His own people Israel that He alone is their Savior, their Deliverer, or their hearts can never be truly reconciled to Him.

If they retain any sense of self-salvation, sin will still rule in their hearts. Even 1 percent of salvation by their own works will nullify the power of His Gospel as surely as 1 percent of arsenic mixed into a good dinner will spoil it.

But that lethal "1 percent" (or more!) got mixed in at Mount Sinai when the people themselves wanted to invent the Old Covenant: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do" (Ex. 19:8). We helped You deliver us from Egyptian slavery! Even if we didn't, we WILL do our part in this "bargain," this "deal," this transaction of Your Covenant. We'll sign on the dotted line! You can count on us, Lord!

All through Israel's long history this Old Covenant mentality predominated. After each revival and reformation it finally drove them to reject and crucify their Savior.

Now, does God have a problem with His church? The prophecies of Daniel, of Revelation, of Jesus in Matthew 24, of Paul in Acts 20 and 2 Thessalonians 2, all tell us "Yes!" The great Enemy who misled ancient Israel is still active. "Take heed that no man deceive you," says Jesus (Matt. 24:4). "After my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock"; "There [shall] come a falling away, ... and that man of sin be revealed, ... who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God," says Paul (Acts 20:29; 2 Thess. 2:3, 4).

And again, the issue is self-righteousness. Theologians feel they must worm in that principle of salvation by works, in some way. They just can't have a Savior doing ALL the saving! Can you?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 5, 2003.