Daily Bread

Sunday, May 12, 2013

A Very Special Blessing Assigned to Women

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Bible tells the history correctly: when Adam "fell" into sin, he had someone who helped him fall--it was his wife, Eve. But the Bible does not lay a burden of guilt upon her alone. No way!

Our beloved brother Paul was not anti-feminist; he was simply a faithful servant of the Lord. He reviews the history of the fall of Adam. He reminds us, "Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. ..." (1 Tim. 2:13-15).

On the surface, it sounds like a debit for "woman"; but wait a moment; don't misunderstand: "The fall of man" was the work of BOTH Adam and his wife Eve; they share the debit.

BUT the dear Lord has assigned to woman a very special blessing, which we celebrate today by our Mother's Day.* It's to woman whom the Lord has granted the special privilege of being the first teacher we all have ever known; she is the one who wins our heart in infancy; it's a special privilege that the dear Lord has granted to her, worldwide.

She is the "teacher of the human race," teaching us in simplicity and tenderness; winning our estranged human hearts in infancy at our very beginning..

The dear heavenly Father has granted to her this inestimable privilege of being the first one really to teach us and to guide our infant steps; it may have been "the woman" in Eden who enticed Adam into sin; but that debit in history is vastly overcome and reversed by the privilege that "woman" has been given her of the Lord:--to be the teacher of the human race in infancy!

Thank Jesus for His tender fidelity in giving to "woman" this glorious privilege. We honor "her" on Mother's Day; and not only that, we thank the dear Lord for giving "her" to us!

--Robert J. Wieland

* We realize that Mother's Day is celebrated this weekend in many countries of the world, but not all. However, the sentiment of this "Dial Daily Bread" is enduring.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 9, 2009.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Friday, May 10, 2013

What Does It Mean to Be a Follower of Christ?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What does it mean in these last days to become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?

(1) You believe God is, and that He rewards your devotion and hears your prayers; that He is your heavenly Father, that He loves you so much He gave His dearest treasure to become your Savior--His only Son; and that He stays with you forever through the on-going gift of the Holy Spirit.

(2) You have begun an eternity-filled and growing heart-appreciation of the love that led Jesus Christ to die your second death on His cross; that love has begun to "constrain" you to live "henceforth" unto Him and not for "self.
(3) Your baptism is a sign to the world that you turn away from its ways and sinful pleasures; a declaration to the world that you are now "crucified with Christ" and you are risen with Him to a new life.

(4) You believe that the One who died for you was resurrected and now lives forever as your personal High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, your Attorney on your side, defending you from the attacks of Satan.

(5) You have begun to love the Bible as God's personal word to you; and you ask Him to deepen that love and confidence from now on forever.

(6) You have begun to love God's law, His ten commandments as ten promises of victory over temptation Satan may bring against you; you love obedience to the fourth, keeping holy His blessed seventh-day Sabbath as a precious gift from Him.

(7) The "blessed hope" you cherish is the imminent personal, literal, visible second coming of Jesus and you want to help others also to get ready.

(8) You thank the Lord for the "gifts" He has given to His "body" on earth, the church--one of which is the living gift of prophecy, evidence of His on-going love.

(9) Since His church is His "body" on earth, you want to remain forever one of its loyal members, supporting it with tithes and offerings returned to the Lord.

(10) You believe that your physical body is the "temple" the Holy Spirit dwells in; you choose to keep it in health and purity, for it was purchased by the sacrifice of Christ.

(11) You seek fellowship in that "church" that Revelation singles out as "the remnant" which "keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

(12) You are happy forever "in Christ" living under His new covenant of grace.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 10, 2007.

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Cherishing "The Blessed Hope"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's nice to remember that if and when we die, we can come up in the first resurrection. But is that the "blessed hope" Paul talks about in this passage?--

"The grace of God that brings salvation to all men [margin] has appeared, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:11-14).

Hardly! The "blessed hope" is that of being "alive and remain" on the earth (1 Thess. 4:15, 17) to welcome the Son of God at His second coming. Some say it doesn't matter; we can come up in a special resurrection prior to His coming and thus "remain," but this implies there is no real significance to "the signs of the times" we have witnessed for the past century and a half.

Multitudes of believers have died in the past 2000 years; but Daniel's "time of the end" defines when these who cherish "the blessed hope" will be living, and that time is now. It's Paul's "last days" he speaks of (2 Tim. 3:1). And it's the same time Jesus speaks of: "There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, ... men's hearts failing them for fear, and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth. .. Know that the kingdom of God is near" (Luke 21:25-31). Matthew adds, "even at the doors" (24:33).

"The Son of man is coming in an hour when you do not expect Him" (vs. 44). The suddenness of His coming will surprise everyone.

Cherishing "the blessed hope" of seeing Him come in your lifetime is not a quirky little idiosyncrasy for unbalanced elders; it's Christian duty for us all because it's "present truth" faith (2 Peter 1:12).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 31, 2007.

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Thank Him for Not Letting Go of You

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If you're river rafting in violently turbulent water, everything depends on your hanging on. You need a constant "relationship" with the boat.

We're in a turbulent great controversy with Satan. Does our salvation depend on our maintaining a "relationship" with Jesus? Many are the sincere people who get discouraged. They have to make a living; work presses hard on them. They are tired at day's end; morning comes too soon--back to the turbulence of daily life in a godless world. After some days or weeks (or months!) they realize, "I have neglected to maintain that 'relationship!'" Not enough time spent in prayer and Bible study! The precious "relationship" seems broken.

If you are one of those ("alive" rather than among the living dead) don't give up in despair. You need some Good News. The Savior takes the initiative to maintain that relationship or fellowship with you! It was never His idea to get you started or involved in a works program; His role is that of Good Shepherd seeking us, rather than vice versa. Bible study and prayer are necessary. But if you can appreciate the love of that Good Shepherd; if you can "comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and and depth, and height; and to know the love [agape] of Christ which passeth knowledge" (Eph. 3: 18, 19), you see Him as the One who seeks to maintain that fellowship with you, as the Father did with Jesus (see Isa. 50:4; don't be "rebellious," vs. 5). "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).

If you are too busy to eat breakfast, do you despair and say, "I'm no good! I'll never eat again!"? I think hunger will drive you to eat the first chance you get. So does the Savior's love drive you to respond to His continual seeking. His love, not craven fear, will motivate you to thank Him for not letting go of you (Isa. 41:10, 13). Count yourself among these: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 10, 2001.

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

The Joy of Receiving God's Forgiveness

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Nothing in the vast universe is so joyous to receive than God's forgiveness. King David let himself be lured into horrible sin--adultery and murder. For a year or more he was able to repress the painful guilt, stomp on it, and keep it covered up. And he bluffed and smiled his way through his royal appointments of state; but when the guilt finally caught up with him when he was alone, his devastation of soul was horrendous. Not even a new Lexus or yacht could have made him happy.

When God's forgiveness came, he wrote: "Happy are those whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned. Happy is the man ... who is free from all deceit. ... I was worn out from crying all day long. Day and night You punished me, Lord; my strength was completely drained, as moisture is dried up by the summer heat" (Psalm 32:1-4, GNB).

Forgiveness is great, but there is another dimension involved: the blotting out of sins. It is simultaneous with God's giving (and the church's receiving) the latter rain, which prepares them for the final issues of earth's history: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19). When He forgives us He takes the sin away and dumps it in the depths of the ocean where no one can retrieve it--not even Himself. It's His objective act for us. But WE can dig it up again like Judas Iscariot did (he had been baptized and ordained and even had worked miracles). We can "crucify Christ afresh" (Heb. 6:6).

The "blotting out of sins" is plural, subjective; it concerns the sanctuary itself. It's the meaning of Daniel 8:14, "Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." The forgiveness of our sins sets us free; the blotting out of sins sets God free. The accumulated burden of the sins of God's people is guilt He has taken upon Himself in the great controversy with Satan. It's for us a deep work of heart-cleansing that is done on the Day of Atonement. When sin is totally eradicated from the hearts of His people, the gospel is demonstrated to be at last effective, "the power of God unto salvation." Christ's sacrifice is fully rewarded. God is relieved of the burden He has carried all this long while.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 10, 2003.

Monday, May 06, 2013

When the Latter Rain Comes ...

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When the Holy Spirit outpouring of the Latter Rain comes, will it sweep like a tidal wave throughout the church? Let history speak and tell us something.

An example is the birth of Jesus. The coming of Jesus of Nazareth did not create a "tidal wave" for the scribes and Pharisees in Jerusalem. The great Messiah, the "Desire of all nations," anticipated throughout the world, came in that humble birth of a Baby in a cowshed.

A handful of "wise men from the East" responded to the call of the Holy Spirit; in Jerusalem here was Anna, a very old woman, who came to see Him (Luke 2:36), and there was old Simeon who was ecstatic with joy at His birth (vss. 25ff.); but beyond them, no one gets a mention in the Bible.

Apparently the lesson is clear: when the Latter Rain comes, no one will get a morsel of bread except the hungry ones who are famished for it, and no one will get a drink of water except the desperately thirsty ones. The Latter Rain may be falling in copious showers of grace all around us and we slip through the grand experience untouched, only to embrace a counterfeit cleverly done up by the "father of lies." And then we would collide with the "mark of the beast" test--unprepared.

Some fearing and trembling is appropriate now.

"The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity" is wide awake and is responding to prayers that are arising here and there throughout the world. He "dwells in the high and holy place" but "also [only] with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (Isa. 57:15). He pays special attention to the prayers of him who "trembles at My word" (66:2).

All around the world He is doing that today. Things are happening, beneath the surface.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 6, 2007.

Friday, May 03, 2013

Elijah and the Ravens

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The mighty Lord God, Ruler of the Milky Way, on the highest throne of the universe, honored our humble blackbirds whom we pay little attention to. He gave them a "commandment" which meant that these humble creatures were His esteemed servants in a time of need. Not even the lordly and beautiful peacock has been so honored!

The "commandment" that the Lord God gave our humble blackbirds was, "Feed My loyal servant, Elijah the prophet"!

Everybody (almost) from the great King Ahab and his queen Jezebel in their lordly palace on down, hated the Lord's true prophet and wanted to get rid of him. The Lord loved him, and wanted to care for him appropriately. The Lord told Elijah to "hide thyself by the Brook Cherith, that is before Jordan" (1 Kings 17:1-4). "I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there." ("Ravens" are our humble crows, ordinary blackbirds.)

There's a lesson here for us! When the Lord does something, He does it right: He didn't want to feed His honored prophet with stale crackers and the like (neither does He want to feed you that way!). He wanted His loyal prophet to have the best diet of anyone in the land of Israel! And the blackbirds were to bring it to him!

But blackbirds can't cook! How could they "feed" the Lord's highly honored prophet? All they know is to pilfer things that others have cooked; but now the great Lord God has invited them to be His servants to "feed" the man whom He loves on earth! He commanded them to "feed" Elijah.

Remember, this is a time of great famine in the land of Israel; if the blackbirds are "commanded" by the Lord to "feed" Elijah, they must pilfer the food from somewhere. And the Lord wants him to get a good diet. It being famine, there was no rainfall; the great King Ahab's windows were likely open to get every bit of breeze possible. In sweep the blackbirds, pilfering the "bread" and "meat" off the king's dining table where his royal chefs have prepared it for his majesty; and off the "ravens" fly to the Brook Cherith!

Yes, the Lord honored His servant Elijah! And He will take care of you also--not with moldy crackers and "junk" food, but with the best of the land!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 23, 2009.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Hands of Love

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Suppose you lose someone in death, someone near and dear to you that you know up to the last breath gave no evidence of believing in the Savior; what does the Bible teach you to believe?

The apostle John has left the door open to let in a ray of hope. First, he says what he has to say, "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). That appears to be a tone of finality. The word "life" has to mean eternal life; this present temporal life has been the gift of the much more abounding grace of Christ who saved the world in a legal sense and has made it possible for the Father to send His rain and sunshine on both the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45).

But that's not eternal salvation, necessarily. We know that Christ came to give Himself for us all, that every loaf of bread is stamped with His cross that unbelievers eat their daily food as the gift of His grace, although they don't know they are eternally and infinitely in debt to Him for all they have ever had. They have eaten from His hand all their life (Psalm 145:15, 16) but have never understood, that is, "known" it, or "believed" it (John distinguishes between the two verbs, 1 John 4:16).

But right here is where we must step carefully--we cannot be sure which was the case with our loved one. Only the Lord can "read" the deep recesses of that human heart. The door of encouragement that John leaves open is in 1 John 5:14-16: "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." His will is this: "God our Savior ... desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:3, 4). "And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him"--that is, by faith to believe what we shall see in the resurrection morning; the Lord will wipe all tears from our eyes (Rev. 21:4). "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and he will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death."

As your loved one's Judge, the Lord knows the reason why he has been as he has been (you don't know!); the Savior has loved that person more than you have; your prayers may have enabled Him to do something He could not have done if you had not prayed. Cherish what hope the Holy Spirit gives you; your loved one is in His hands. And they are hands of love.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 1, 2006.

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

What Joy to Forget Self and Serve the Lord

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

We love to hear the story of David and Goliath, over and over, how he slew that giant with his well-aimed pebble (and the giant’s own sword, of course). What was it that motivated young David to do this great deed? (The New English Bible says that young David had “bright eyes,” clear vision, 1 Sam. 16:12.)

It’s clear: David’s motive was not a desire to marry the king’s daughter Michal, nor any reward King Saul could give him. He was thinking only of the honor of the Lord: “Who is this pagan Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” He told Goliath, “I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, .. whom thou hast defied ... that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Sam. 17:26; 45, 46).

Why do we serve the Lord, keep holy His true Sabbath, pay our tithe to the church, do missionary work, obey Titus 2:12 (NIV) by saying “No!” to ungodliness and worldly lusts? Is it that we are scared to give in to these lusts? Is it fear? Or has the Lord delivered us from this Old Covenant motivation of self-seeking? Are we now thinking of the honor of Jesus Himself? (It’s so painful to Him, to be ashamed of us!)

The New Covenant motivation takes us to the cross of Jesus where we see for ourselves “the breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of the love of Christ (agape), “which passeth knowledge” (Eph. 3:18, 19).

What joy, to forget self and serve the Lord motivated by His love!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the “Dial Daily Bread” Archive: March 30, 2008.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

A Friend in the Judgment

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever been summoned with a subpoena to court? With not one but a battery of prosecuting attorneys inquiring into intimate details of your life?

The word "subpoena" doesn't appear in the Bible but the idea is in 2 Corinthians 5:10: "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." The next verse speaks of "the terror of the Lord." Rather frightening!

Dial Daily Bread is devoted to telling Good News, but this sounds like Bad News. Jesus says, "There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known" (Matt. 10:26). But that verse itself is Good News, for He adds, "Fear them not therefore," that is, don't be afraid of your prosecutors (or your persecutors!). Why? Because in that appearance before "the judgment seat of Christ" He will be your Friend, not your Enemy if today you will simply LET Him.

The Father Himself refuses to condemn you (see John 5:22). Jesus also refused to condemn anyone in that day (see John 12:47, 48). Therefore the only "condemnation" will come from what is written of "the things done in the body," a record that is indisputable, recorded not only in the "books" of heaven, but in your own soul as well. Jesus won't have to say a word; the "book" will be open. Paul says, "Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after" (1 Tim. 5:24).

The Good News is: even though there are shameful things you don't want opened up, you can "send them on beforehand to judgment." You can get on your knees and confess them to your Savior, you can even let bitter tears fall; the Holy Spirit can teach your sinful heart to hate those sins; your heart can be truly converted; you can be a new person; you can believe the promise, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Good News? Yes!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 13, 1998.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Jesus--The Greatest Story Ever Told

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The story of Jesus is the greatest story ever told. It is moving: that is, the story itself will propel you toward salvation of your soul if you will simply let it be told, let it speak, and listen to it.

When Jesus was to be born, there was no room for Mary in the inn; and that tells us that there is no room for Jesus ever in this dark world of sin. We are all by nature the "innkeeper." Our hearts are by nature like the heart of the innkeeper in the story; we must repent even at the very beginning of our contact with Jesus.

Romans 8:7 says our natural human hearts everywhere are "enmity against God"; no one on earth by nature has room for Jesus--He is the Unwelcome One everywhere.

Not one of us fallen humans has ever sought after Jesus; "there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, .. no, not one" (Rom. 3:10-12). But we are lost apart from Him for only He is the Source of life ("In Him was life; and the life was the [only] light of men," John 1:4). Therefore Jesus as the Son of God has taken the initiative to seek after us. That is because He alone is love [agape]; for agape is the love that does not wait for us to seek it (we would never seek Him!) but He humbles Himself to be the Seeker of our souls.

Jesus represents Himself as standing at the door of our hearts, knocking; our job is to listen to His knocking: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock," He says (Rev. 3:20). If you check the margin of the old King James Version Bibles, you will see that it directs you to the Song of Solomon 5:2, for that is where the "knocking" is quoted from; the story of Jesus is a love story of disappointed, rejected love. Its import cannot be grasped apart from the pain that the One who "knocks" must feel when being thrust outside. Such love as His is a quiet love--the Suitor cannot force His way in; but in the end, the Suitor with His unrequited love will win in the drama; long despised and rejected, He will at last become Judge because "God is agape" (1 John 4:8), and the Judge of the vast Universe must do what is right.

His love speaks now with a quiet voice; but in Revelation 20:11-14 that love will speak like thunder and lightning to the rejecters of His much more abounding grace: "I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; ... and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books."

Those who have spent their lives rejecting the Lord's much more abounding grace will want to jump into the lake of fire; since "God is love" He will give each man what he really wants.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 18, 2008.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Proclaiming the Sabbath "More Fully"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is a view of the Sabbath which lifts it far above the legalistic idea in which it has been viewed for so long. This view is that the Sabbath is closely related to the idea of justification by faith. It's the experience of realizing that you can't save yourself by any good work you can do, not even one percent; it's the realization of heart that your salvation is totally a gift of the Saviour of the world (John 4:42), "not of works, lest any one should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9).

Sabbath-keeping is almost infinitely beyond the idea of "Keep-the-Sabbath-or-God-will-zap you." There is not a trace of legalism in the Sabbath truth. It's John 3:16 repeated every day, reminding you that God so loved you that He already gave His only begotten Son, already redeemed you, already died your second death (Heb. 2:9), has already given you the gift of a verdict of acquittal "in Christ" (Rom. 5:15-18), reversing the condemnation that came upon you in Adam. The "rest" which the holy Sabbath brings you is rest from all your anxiety and fear.

True, the Sabbath comes only on the true seventh day (Ex. 20:8-11), but the Holy Spirit brings to you the remembrance of it every day throughout the week, for the word says, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." In an objective sense, the Sabbath is already holy, even if you don't keep it holy; but in a subjective sense, your keeping the Sabbath holy expresses your faith in the objective truth that it is holy. Thus, your heart appreciation of the objective truth that God so loved you that He gave His only Son for you becomes for you the thrilling subjective experience of justification by faith.

At the commencement of the time of trouble, we read that God's people will proclaim the Sabbath "more fully." The time is near when God's people around the world, delivered from the last vestige of legalism, will "delight themselves in the Lord" by that kind of Sabbath-keeping.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 17, 1999.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

God's Substitute for an Anti-depressant Drug

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Can you think a moment and envision God in the way that Psalm 145 does? (The Book of Psalms is where our intimate closeness to the King of the Universe is emphasized; you and I may be the most lowly inhabitants of this globe, yet we remember that "the Lord thinketh on me," Psalm 40:17).

You are delighted when a friend tells you he or she has been thinking about you--with good will.

Well, it is solid truth that the Lord, infinite though He is, busy as He is keeping the Milky Way running smoothly, takes time to devote His thought processes to you and me individually, with good will (cf. Luke 2:14). "In Christ" the infinite Father is as close to you and me, unworthy as we are, as if we were the only inhabitants of this "desert island" of earth.

Yes, we must as the most rudimentary lesson of heaven's kindergarten, believe two magnificent things: "he that comes to God must believe (1) that He is, and (2) that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6). He has reconciled us who are in heart at "enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7), but at the same time we must let go this enmity we have: now "be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20).

Here is how Psalm 145 pictures God (it's like He puts pictures in His Bible like we put pictures in our books): here is the mighty God kneeling down like you kneel down with some food in your hand to entice a fawn or chipmunk to come and eat out of your hand. "The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season." The LORD opens "[His] hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing" (vss. 15, 16). This includes the squirrels and the birds, and the bears--all.

But that's not everything in this "picture." Read more: "The LORD upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down" (vs. 14). "All," yes; if we will let Him do it.

Don't be ashamed to kneel before Him so the entire universe sees you; let everybody on earth and in heaven see that you are "bowed down." When He does that, He puts "a new song" in your soul, even "praise to our God: many will see it, and ... trust in the Lord" (Psalm 40:3).

That's His substitute for an anti-depressant drug, or the psychiatrist's couch.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 27, 2007.

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.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

The Next Event on the World's Agenda

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

John the Baptist had the great honor of introducing the Messiah to the Jewish nation: "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" he cried (John 1:29). The name "Lamb of God" means that Jesus must die for the world, in place of humanity dying. That death has to be the second death, the eternal one.

That's what Jesus meant when He said, "I, if I be 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). He is the Son of God, the Creator, the Redeemer; all of humanity will gather at His cross, "drawn" irresistibly to the amazing sight of the world's Creator enduring the curse of God in Himself, dying as One "despised and rejected of men," suffering the unspeakable horrors of hell itself.

It's a spectacle that even the angels of heaven and the inhabitants of the vast universe are also "drawn" to watch with wonder, for Christ is not only "the Savior of the world," He is also the Savior of the throne, the government, of God. The fate of the universe trembled in the balance as Jesus was dying on that cross. Let Him utter one angry, impatient word, and all is lost. Why was the event so vastly important?

Everything in the universe that makes life possible, the cohesion of atoms, the basic principle of life itself, was in jeopardy. God had an Enemy who had been the highest angel, the highest created being, who had rebelled against His government and its fundamental principle of agape. Sin was a challenge to the very foundation of God's existence and thus to the existence of His realm. Now the Son of God was to meet that Enemy on the battlefield and wrestle hand to hand. He was to "die to sin" (Rom. 6:10), to be exposed naked to the gaze of the world and of the universe (the Romans always crucified their victims naked). Now the mysterious foundation pillars of God's government must be exposed. Jesus doesn't want to die the second death any more than you do; going to eternal hell was no more fun for Him than for anyone. "God with us" is now both human and divine, finite and infinite both. As one of His seven steps of condescension (Phil. 2:5-8), He must "empty Himself."

He must not die alone, unseen, uncomprehended. If He must "taste death [the second] for every man" (Heb. 2:9), "every man" must see Him do it--the grandest, most terrible sight possible for any intelligent being to "behold." And there we have the next event on the world's agenda--"Christ and Him crucified" proclaimed, which is the message of Revelation 18 that must and will "lighten the earth with glory."

And that is Good News.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 6, 2004.