Dial Daily Bread: Superficially, the Most Terrorizing Message Ever Proclaimed

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When God promised to send us "Elijah the prophet" just before the second coming of Christ ("the great and dreadful day of the Lord"), his message is not to be a thunder-and-lightning denunciation of mankind, reminiscent of his slaying the 450 prophets of Baal at the Kishon River (1 Kings 18:40).

Rather, "Elijah's" message will perform the most effective reconciliation of alienated peoples the world has ever known: "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Mal. 4:6). That is the last message of much more abounding grace this world will hear--that of the fourth great "angel" in Revelation 18 that lightens the earth with glory (vss. 1-4).

Only one Bible message can close the great gospel commission with such glorious success--the lifting up of Christ on His cross as He predicted: "'When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me.' (In saying this He indicated the kind of death He was going to suffer)" (John 12:32, 33; Good News Bible).

The message of the three great angels of Revelation 14 appears superficially to be the most terrorizing ever proclaimed, the scariest fear possible for human hearts (whoever receives the "mark of the beast" "shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God ... poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation ... tormented with fire and brimstone ... in the presence of the Lamb ... forever and ever ... no rest day or night" (vss. 9-11). Could any message be more blood-curdling?

But wait a moment: it's introduced as "the everlasting gospel" of Good News (vss. 6, 7). Look more closely! It's the last effective call: "Be reconciled to God"! (2 Cor. 5:19, 20). How? By His love at last fully revealed at His cross (vss. 14, 15)!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 24, 2005.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Judas Iscariot--An Illustration of the "Shaking"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

All during the time that Judas Iscariot was one of the Twelve, he was constantly spreading among them subtle opposition to Jesus. He had a great personality; the Eleven thought he was just the one qualified to become Prime Minister of the new kingdom Jesus would establish.

An example of his resistance of the Holy Spirit was his condemnation of Mary Magdalene for her offering when she washed the feet of Jesus with her tears. Judas despised her for that, and the Eleven knew no better than to follow his lead and despise her also (Matt. 26:6-13; John 12:1-7; an illustration of how the final "shaking" can take place in the remnant church of the last days--many following some great apostate personality).

Judas sincerely thought that in betraying Jesus he could force Him to follow his lead in setting up His kingdom. He was so wise! But when he realized that he had betrayed the Messiah to His death, he was "remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver, ... saying, 'I have sinned by betraying innocent blood'" (Matt. 27:4). Then he committed suicide.

In the day of final judgment when the resurrected lost (Rev. 20:5) gather before the Great White Throne and the book of record is opened for all to see what they have done with the life that God gave them, they too will be "remorseful." Jesus never said one word of reproach to Judas; he condemned himself. So at last the lost will condemn themselves, "will welcome destruction," and will choose to jump into the Lake of Fire (20:11-15).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 22, 2005.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Job--A Prototype of Christ

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is a phenomenon that it seems every sincere believer in Christ must experience. You must learn what to do when it seems that God is against you. Many in the Bible had to wrestle with that problem. One of the most prominent is Job (he has a whole book). Everything went against him: he lost his children, his possessions, his health, his friends, and even his dear wife turned against him and told him to "curse God and die."

His case was so serious that he became a prototype of Christ, who also had to go through the experience of feeling forsaken by God. As He hung on His cross, everything was against Him: His friends had all forsaken Him, one had betrayed Him, another had denied Him, and His own people were crucifying Him, and it appeared as though the Father in heaven had turned a deaf ear against Him.

And there have been others, all through history: Abel served God faithfully, yet had to endure murder for it by his own brother; Noah had to endure 120 years of unrelenting sunshine without a cloud in the sky because he believed what God had said--a rain flood was coming. Finally, in that last week as he and his family were inside the ark, his faith was severely tried as the people outside were laughing and ridiculing him--"where's the rain, you fool?"

Abraham waits 25 long years for the fulfillment of God's promise to give him a son through whom "all families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:1), and then when the boy grows up a bit, he is told to offer him as a sacrifice. David, anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king of Israel, for 10 years is driven into the wilderness by an insane king Saul, David apparently forsaken by God; on one occasion his own loyal followers threatened to stone him. Jeremiah has to endure 40 plus years of continual rejection, only at the end to see his beloved Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed; more than once he was tempted to give up in despair.

Paul has a "thorn in the flesh" that troubles him; three times he begs the Lord to deliver him from it, and He says, No, Paul, don't pray about it any more; "My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:8, 9). And let's not forget Stephen: he realized the blessing of the Holy Spirit as he preached his last sermon only to have to kneel down and feel those stones pelting him. And there are the Waldenses and other faithful Christians in the Dark Ages who served God and had to die as martyrs.

What do you do when it seems God has forsaken you? You still believe Him, like Job, in the darkness: "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (13:15). A wise writer wrote, "Fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor" a human can be blessed with. Don't turn away from it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 29, 2000.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Pray for "Kings and All Who Are in Authority"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why did the apostle Paul urge us to pray with “supplications” for “kings and all who are in authority” (1 Tim. 2:1, 2)? The “all” must mean of whatever political party our sympathies are enlisted; and yes, of whatever nation, too. It must also include the embattled police who are trying desperately to “hold” the tornado-winds of wild human passion that are blowing throughout the earth.

“All in authority” means that we should pray for leaders of other countries as well as for the president of the United States. These men and women are human beings of flesh, blood, and nerves like us all. They are finite men and women subject to deception.

As those who reverence the Bible and its Author, we have a holy duty we must not sinfully neglect--to put ourselves in their place as we pray. To bear the responsibilities of state could drive any “rulers” to distress, especially if they are immature: “Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child” (Eccl. 10:16). The Savior has told us that in these last days leaders’ “hearts [will be] failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth,” because “powers” that have always been a solid foundation beneath us “will be shaken” (Luke 21:26).

God has promised to send us “Elijah the prophet” (Mal. 4:4, 5) who will proclaim powerful New Covenant gospel truth to the world (cf. Rev. 18:1-4)--a final message of grace and mercy.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 8, 2005.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Redeemed From Being an Orphan

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever woke up at night from a bad dream in which you felt lonely, not knowing who you were or where? Then in a few moments as your mental faculties were re-activated, you began to remember good things about yourself. It was like turning your computer on, and in a few moments the software in the "lifeless" machine restores itself to what it was when you went to sleep that night. It regains its identity.

The Holy Spirit permits us to have these fleeting moments of being "orphans," a taste of what it means to "perish." Then He reminds us of John 3:16: the heavenly Father loves you so much that He gave His only Son for you. He did it; it's been done, "that whoever [that's you] believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He has redeemed you from being an orphan; by election you are a member of His family, a child of God. As you recover from your bad dream, all this glorious Reality is conveyed to you by the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8 was being demonstrated before your eyes: "You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ ... " (vss. 15-17).

The Holy Spirit convicts you that you can call the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ your Father! You can pray the 23rd Psalm--He is your Shepherd. Do you remember when you were a child how secure you felt if your father was with you? He never threatened to disown you with curses if you should make a mistake! You never got the idea he was planning for you to fail. You never had a sense that he had you on probation. No, you were his beloved child.

That's how Abraham "believed in the Lord" when his faith was counted for righteousness. God had no plans for him to fail! That's why He never threatened him with curses, never asked him to promise anything. It was Father-Son business, "heart religion," not "under law."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 15, 2003.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Old and New Covenant Revival and Reformation--What's the Difference?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

What's the difference between a revival and reformation in a church that is Old Covenant in nature and one that is New Covenant? Suppose the world church today experiences a grand revival and reformation that is Old Covenant, would that hasten the coming of Jesus, or further delay Him?

What are the differences?

Old Covenant reformation is decidedly temporary. Take the case of King Josiah: The moment he was dead, his sons began leading the people back to rebellion against the Lord and the people willingly, mindlessly followed like sheep going astray. No root, no foundation. From then on it was disaster all the way to total national ruin. They had learned no long-lasting gospel truth under King Josiah. That wasn't the poor man's fault: he had simply inherited the Old Covenant yoke, which the nation of Israel had fastened upon themselves at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:8; Heb. 9:1).

The apostle Paul was probably the first Israelite to discern clearly the significance of their Old Covenant history when he said, "The law was our schoolmaster [slave driver?] to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (as Abraham was, under the New Covenant; see Gal. 3:16-25).

Numerous Old Covenant revivals and reformations have come and gone in the world church for the past 150 plus years; King Josiah all over again. They have often been inspired by and imported from the popular ecumenical movements, the Keswick Movement in the 19th century, and now, revivalism.

Old Covenant revival and reformation is motivated by a desire to receive God's blessings; New Covenant revival and reformation is motivated by heart-thankfulness and appreciation for God's blessings already realized and received.

Old Covenant revival is therefore egocentric in nature; and whatever is egocentric in motivation has to be legalistic in its origin. In contrast, New Covenant revival and reformation is based on an experience of identity with Christ that transcends fear of being lost, or hope of reward (1 John 4:16-18).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 12, 1999.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: When God Spoke to the World in an Earthquake

Dear Friend of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Europe has suffered many tragic disasters, both natural and man-made--mostly the latter. Through the centuries it has suffered bloody, cruel, religious, even "Christian," persecutions. The papacy severely oppressed Bible-loving Christians (and there were Protestant persecutions, too). Europe also has suffered endless wars, including two World Wars and the unspeakable horror of the Holocaust. Man's inhumanity toward man has been terrible. The most enlightened continent suffered the greatest man-made cruelty.

But there was one outstanding natural disaster that came upon Europe--the Lisbon (Portugal) Earthquake of November 1, 1755. It was the Roman Catholic All Saints' Day, which followed Halloween. Extending 700 miles in radius (some reports said 1800--even to Norway), it shook Europe severely, even England. Followed by a tsunami of about 20 feet, some 30,000 perished, and Lisbon's 12,000 homes were destroyed.

Bible believing Christians recognized it as the "great earthquake" that ushered in the "sixth seal" of Revelation 6:12. Multitudes were sobered; the wealthy and the royal saw there was something more to live for than decadent parties and festivals. John Wesley was moved to devote his life to saving England from the horrors that became the French Revolution. The deeper thinking that became the great Advent Movement began to spread. Daniel's "time of the end" was about to begin (in 1798).

Did God speak to the world in the Lisbon Earthquake? Yes! He is calling the world to Day of Atonement living. He deserves our attention. Let's listen for His Voice.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 7, 2005.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Are You Longing for Some Solid Truth You Can Trust?

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 age" right where we are (vs. 12). 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! (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).

Why did He "give Himself for us"? To save us "in sin"? No, to save us from it (Titus 2:14). You see yourself as the believing thief crucified with Him. Self dies with Him. You share His cross, by living faith.

What He's doing is to "purify for 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 ... as I also 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.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Two Bible Books That Fit Together Like a Glove

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

We know that Jesus calls us to study the book of Daniel (Matt. 24:15), and He gives a special blessing to those who read the book of Revelation (1:1-3); but why does He call His last-days' church to study the Song of Solomon? Or does He?

Yes, He does; it's in His last words to the seventh church, "the Lukewarm Church," Laodicea (there is no eighth): "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone [a certain one, tis, original] hears My voice ..." It's a Voice that has something arresting to say--quoted from this strange book.

For centuries, reverent scholars have seen that this is a quote from the Song of Solomon (5:2-8). It's the sad story of a man deeply in love who gets his heart broken. In the beginning, the Lord God said it's "not good that man should be alone," and that's true especially after he falls in love (Gen. 2:18). Jesus is a "man." Why does He put Himself in the middle of that painful story?

Shocking as it may seem, the Man who gets stranded is the Lord Jesus. The story is not about the cross--that happened long ago; it's about the end of time, just before the second coming. Jesus is ready to be "married," and the one "woman" whom He loves truly has rebuffed Him. "Women" figuratively (plural) don't appeal to Him; there's a "one and only" (Rev. 12:17).

There is something vastly heart-arresting in this story. It comes together in these two books--Song of Solomon and Revelation; they fit like a glove. The church is to be the Bride of Christ, and lukewarmness has led her to rebuff the only One who loves "her" truly.

His disappointment is beyond description. Can we understand it?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 14, 2006.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Why Is the Song of Solomon in the Bible?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It has been a fascinating mystery for those who love the Bible: why is the Song of Solomon there? Is it just a personal love poem worthy to be forgotten? Or could it be buried truth yet to enlighten the world?

Solid New Testament scholarship has discovered that none less than the Lord Jesus Christ has set our course in understanding. Contrary to the assumptions of theologians who have said that this book is never quoted in the New Testament, it is quoted by Jesus Himself; but the problem has been that He quoted the Septuagint (LXX) version, the Greek translation that He and the apostles often used.

It's especially in two prominent places:

"Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If anyone thirsts let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'" (John 7:37, 38).

"The Scripture"? Where?

The only place one can find it is in Song of Solomon 4:9-15, "You have ravished my heart, ... a garden enclosed, ... a spring shut up, a fountain sealed, ... a well of living waters." This is the New Covenant joy that fulfills God's promise to Abraham (and us) that wherever we go, "You shall be a blessing" (Gen. 12:2). A promise to redeem any life from boredom!

Again, in the words of Jesus to the leadership of the last-days' remnant church He quotes Song of Solomon: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone [tis, a certain one, Greek] hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in ..." (Rev. 3:19, 20). It's the Greek of Song of Solomon 5:2 (the Hebrew doesn't have "at the door"): the unfeeling girl has gone to bed, is in that twilight zone between sleep and waking, "I sleep, but my heart is awake; It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks ..." And here the LXX adds, epi ten thuran, "at the door." Jesus saw Himself there!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 13, 2006.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Healing in Looking--How Does It Work?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Imagine a host of people coming out of Egypt, walking through the wilderness to a fabulous Promised Land, their trek under the direct leadership of God Himself, a loving, kind Savior. He has just delivered them from slavery as real as any from which President Abraham Lincoln emancipated slaves in our Civil War.

Can you imagine the slaves who were emancipated by Lincoln complaining bitterly against him? No, but the people of Israel complained against their Great Emancipator and Deliverer! Not because He hated them but because He loved them, their Savior permitted poisonous snakes to attack them, to teach them the gospel. All they had to do to be healed was to look to a Savior symbolized by a bronze poisonous snake lifted up high on a pole. The story is in Numbers 21:5-9.

Jesus told Nicodemus that the snake represented Himself (John 3:14). Christ "who knew no sin [was made] to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). It's the same as what John the Baptist said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). There is healing, there is salvation, in looking. How does it work?

The sin of the Israelites was the same as our sin--"the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). It's alienation from God, bitterness against Him. (You say you don't have it by nature? Think again!) If you're human, you need healing! And the sin is deep: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Or, "Deep is a man's mind, deeper than all else, on evil bent; who can fathom it?" (Jer. 17:9, NKJV, Moffatt). This alienation from God goes down to one's toes, embedded in every cell of one's being, it's nature itself that you were born with.

The Lamb of God whom you and I are to "behold," look at earnestly, was "made to be" just that for us! If it wasn't in the Bible, some "Christians" would stone people who say that Jesus is represented as a snake lifted up on a pole! Why didn't God tell Moses to make a lamb of brass and put it up on a pole so the people bitten by snakes could look at it? Ponder that, for there is saving truth there--somewhere.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 29, 1998.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Greatest Election the Universe Has Ever Known

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

All along the road that leads to death there are pains and penalties, sorrows and disappointments, and warnings not to go on, but God's agape has made it hard for the heedless and headstrong to destroy themselves. More than this, by the Holy Spirit the Savior is sitting beside each of us as we travel down that Freeway in the wrong direction, constantly nudging us to get into the right lane and take that blessed exit ramp to life eternal. His job is to be a parakletos, "one called to the side of" us and to constantly "convict" us of "sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8, NIV). He will never tire of His job or leave us to our perverse ways unless we beat Him off.

An old song says something true:

And once again the scene was changed,
new earth there seemed to be; ...
I saw the Holy City beside the tideless sea.

The light of God was on its streets,
its gates were opened wide,
And all who would might enter,
and no one was denied.

In other words, God is voting for you. He has elected us all to be saved. Our job is to say, Yes, to believe, to let our hearts be softened by the sweet influence of the Holy Spirit, to show appreciation for the love by which we were redeemed.

Remember, the Lord is a Divine Gentleman. He will not force Himself on anyone who doesn't like Him and doesn't want Him around. He cannot use coercion. If He forced all to be saved, many would be miserable in an environment where the prevailing spirit is heartfelt gratitude to the Lamb for His sacrifice. If by accident one rebel found himself in the City, he would head for the nearest exit.

When you see what happened at the cross, the kind of love that pushed Christ to do what He did, all this talk about it being hard to obey, hard to give all to Him, hard to surrender, hard to persevere, becomes silly. It's only our pathetic blindness in the face of the greatest Light that ever shown in all eternity that makes us imagine for a moment that we are sacrificing anything when we give all for Christ. For one who accepts God's Good News, obedience that once may have seemed impossible becomes now a joyous principle.

Something will be accomplished that has never been done since time began: a people from all over the world will be prepared to be ready for Christ's glorious appearing. There will be no faces downcast with shame in that vast throng. To have let the Lord do something for them, and in them, will be looked upon as their greatest joy.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: The Good News Is Better Than You Think, 2002.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Best-Known Bible Verse That's Widely Misread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The best known verse in the Bible is widely misread. It's John 3:16, which says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Let's see what it actually says, not what we may think it says.

(1) God loved a bad, sinful world. That means His love is different from our love. We love nice people; God loves bad people, selfish, mean people. That doesn't mean He loves their meanness, their selfishness; no, He loves them. And when they learn of His love, many of those bad people with become changed.

(2) He gave His Son--not lent Him. There's an eternity of truth in that world "gave." He gave Him even to hell. The price that Jesus paid for our salvation was infinite. He did not measure His gift and say, thus far and no further. There was no stopping place in His giving of His Son. And the gift is eternal--Christ is forever our elder brother, a member of our human race. He has joined divinity to humanity.

(3) That whoever believes in Him … There is one thing only that God asks us to do--believe. Some people get upset about that, but there it is in John 3:16. God didn't say, "that whoever does a lot of things," no, He said, "whoever believes in Him." It is clear therefore that to believe means to appreciate God's love for a bad world, and to appreciate His giving of His Son, not merely lending Him. Isaac Watts said, "When I survey …" When one believes in that true sense, his heart is changed and he is reconciled to God. His enmity is gone. And when one is reconciled to God, he is also reconciled to God's holy law. And so obedience is the natural result of true faith.

(4) The one who believes should not perish. Millions of people have not seen that little word "not," and they believe that the lost will be tortured in conscious agony for all eternity. But that is a false doctrine, not taught in the Bible. Jesus plainly said that those who do not believe will perish at last. Sin and sinners will be no more, and the entire universe will be clean forever.

(5) But have everlasting life. You were not born to perish--you were born to inherit everlasting life. That everlasting life has already begun for you in Christ. The Lord has already given you that gift in the gift of His Son. He is given to you, not merely offered to you.

It's time for us to say, Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul! Believing that simple Good News will turn your entire life around in the right direction.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: 1994 Phone Message.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Best-Known Bible Verse That's Widely Misread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The best known verse in the Bible is widely misread. It's John 3:16, which says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Let's see what it actually says, not what we may think it says.

(1) God loved a bad, sinful world. That means His love is different from our love. We love nice people; God loves bad people, selfish, mean people. That doesn't mean He loves their meanness, their selfishness; no, He loves them. And when they learn of His love, many of those bad people with become changed.

(2) He gave His Son--not lent Him. There's an eternity of truth in that world "gave." He gave Him even to hell. The price that Jesus paid for our salvation was infinite. He did not measure His gift and say, thus far and no further. There was no stopping place in His giving of His Son. And the gift is eternal--Christ is forever our elder brother, a member of our human race. He has joined divinity to humanity.

(3) That whoever believes in Him … There is one thing only that God asks us to do--believe. Some people get upset about that, but there it is in John 3:16. God didn't say, "that whoever does a lot of things," no, He said, "whoever believes in Him." It is clear therefore that to believe means to appreciate God's love for a bad world, and to appreciate His giving of His Son, not merely lending Him. Isaac Watts said, "When I survey …" When one believes in that true sense, his heart is changed and he is reconciled to God. His enmity is gone. And when one is reconciled to God, he is also reconciled to God's holy law. And so obedience is the natural result of true faith.

(4) The one who believes should not perish. Millions of people have not seen that little word "not," and they believe that the lost will be tortured in conscious agony for all eternity. But that is a false doctrine, not taught in the Bible. Jesus plainly said that those who do not believe will perish at last. Sin and sinners will be no more, and the entire universe will be clean forever.

(5) But have everlasting life. You were not born to perish--you were born to inherit everlasting life. That everlasting life has already begun for you in Christ. The Lord has already given you that gift in the gift of His Son. He is given to you, not merely offered to you.

It's time for us to say, Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul! Believing that simple Good News will turn your entire life around in the right direction.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: 1994 Phone Message.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Encouragement for Those Who Suffer in "Sibling Rivalry"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is comfort and encouragement in an unlikely Bible story for those who suffer in "sibling rivalry." In fact, this individual's story is usually neglected. It's Jeremiah. People actually turn away from his story, because he has been dubbed "the weeping prophet."

Depressing! Why read a story so sad that the author wishes he had rivers of water in his head so he could cry endlessly! (Jer. 9:1; Lam. 2:11). Jeremiah belongs in the "tragedy" category of drama. Leave his musty book in the attic.

But the man is so important that people thought that Jesus was Jeremiah (Matt. 16:14). God permitted an avalanche of persecution to fall on him, not just 10 years or so of it such as Joseph and David endured, after which both were exalted to glorious honor. No, poor Jeremiah gets no reprieve from endless physical and spiritual torture.

He was dumped into a deep mud hole and left there to die had not an African gentleman at the court taken pity on him and saved his life (Jer. 38:6-13).

He was locked up in the stocks where common criminals are displayed publicly (20:2, 3). Yet he was God's chosen prophet from his pre-natal experience in his mother's womb (1:5). It seemed as though the God who called him had now abandoned him!

The king himself had contemptuously cut up and burned the book that the Holy Spirit had inspired Jeremiah to write (36:21-23). How can an author be humiliated any more shamefully?

But the most cruel blow the prophet is called to suffer is the "treachery" inflicted by his own personal family who should have been loyal. His brothers knew him, that he was sincere and genuine; but they organized a bitter campaign against him, complete with flattery to his face and a knife in his back (12:6).

But no, it's not dramatic tragedy; Jeremiah is now revered as the greatest of the prophets, and he shares his life story with Jesus. If you are called to suffer, rejoice with Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 14, 2001.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Some Refreshing News in Peter's Sermon

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is some refreshing news in Peter's sermon at Pentecost: "It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh. ... Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:17, 21). That sounds like Good News, but is it too good?

The words "all flesh" surely mean everybody in the world. How can it be true? Note that Peter does not say that everybody will receive the Holy Spirit; he only says that God will give the gift to everybody. Jesus can help us understand. He says that "when He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, ... because they do not believe in Me" (John 16:7-9). The Father "so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (3:16). Christ is "the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world" (1:9).

The ancient Jews wouldn't believe this, for they thought that only they are "lighted." But Gentiles are also included! The Holy Spirit sheds light on every human heart; that person may not receive the light, but in the last great judgment day, no one can accuse God of not letting some light shine upon his pathway, some evidence on which that soul could make a choice. In every human heart the Holy Spirit has brought a conviction of sin, a sense of right and wrong. And blessed are those who respond to that conviction the Holy Spirit gives.

But there's another statement in Peter's sermon that arrests our attention: "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Of course, that must mean, "in sincerity" (Eph. 6:24). God pays attention to "all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours" (1 Cor. 1:2). Here is His "much more abounding grace": "the same Lord ... is rich to all who call upon Him" (Rom. 10:12). David says, "This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles" (Psalm 34:6).

Do you feel sinful and unworthy? Call upon the Lord, and believe that in His mercy He will hear you. Yes, He will convict you of sin; but thank Him for that with all your heart!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 23, 1999.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: When God Says "No"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What do you do when you pray … and pray … and pray … and you don't get an answer? Or at least, you don't get a "Yes" answer? Did you say that you have never had that experience, that all your prayers get a "Yes" answer? If so, you are most unusual. Many people, especially children, are disturbed and confused when they hear stories of other people getting wonderful miraculous answers to prayer, and they don't seem to get them.

Even the apostle Paul had to suffer the disappointment of not getting the "Yes" answer to his prayers. He tells us of his experience in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. He had a painful physical problem, and three times he earnestly prayed, "Lord, take this away--set me free from this." And the Lord said, "No," "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

Paul's response was: "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

We need to understand, and children need to understand, that sometimes the Lord says "No," but if He says "No," it does not mean He does not love us. We know positively that every heart-felt prayer is heard, and even when the Lord cannot say "Yes" because He loves us too much to give us something that would in the long run hurt us, one thing we can know for sure: He will always give us enough grace to endure the trial that we wanted Him to take away from us. And that grace is often much better than having the trial taken away. Why? Because His wonderful power is strongest when you and I are the weakest.

When God says "No" today, it means that in the long run, that "No" was better than the "Yes."  And that's good news to remember.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: 1994 Phone Message.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: It Happened 172 Years Ago!

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

It happened 172 years ago. A group of people joined a New York Baptist farmer, William Miller, in expecting the Lord Jesus Christ to return in fulfillment of His promise, "I will come again" on a certain date, October 22, 1844.

Of course, they were mistaken and their experience became known as the "Great Disappointment," for it was widely publicized. Their belief grew out of the study of Daniel 8:14, "Unto two thousand and three hundred days [which they correctly understood as literal years]; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" (KJV). It was the general assumption in the churches that "the sanctuary" is this earth to be cleansed with fire at the second coming. The assumption was wrong but they had the date right: "the sanctuary" is the heavenly one to be cleansed by the heart preparation of a people ready to meet Jesus when He does return.

Does the genuine Holy Spirit ever permit people to be "disappointed" if they haven't studied? Yes! He permitted the Lord's disciples to suffer a terrible disappointment in His crucifixion, because they misunderstood the event. The true Holy Spirit was working in that 1844 movement for it heralded the beginning of Christ's closing ministry as High Priest in the Most Holy Apartment ministry of the heavenly sanctuary, just as Pentecost heralded the beginning of His ministry in the first apartment.

But the ridicule heaped on William Miller has burgeoned into a dislike to think of anyone living to see Jesus return. "Everybody will die" is freely said repeatedly; but the apostle Paul boldly says the opposite: "Listen! I will unfold a mystery: we shall not all die, but we shall all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet-call. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise immortal, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:50-52, The New English Bible).

Now the question faces us: is the second coming of Christ near? Can we still cherish what Paul also said is the "blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and our Savior Jesus Christ"? (Titus 2:11-14).

In our zeal to ridicule that sincere and godly Baptist minister of long ago let's not sacrifice a fundamental Bible truth for today. Jesus is coming again--soon. And He intends that people now living will see Him come.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 29, 2007.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Lessons From the Book of Job (Part 3)

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Could you be as important a person in God's great universe as Job was? You may say, "I don't want Job's job! Give me an easier witness assignment!" But you may already have that important witnessing assignment. Both Job and Jesus chose to be loyal to God, to hold on to their faith when there seemed to be no hope whatever; and that was wonderful. They both honored God.

But there must be another development in the great controversy between Christ and Satan before the end can come. There must be a people, a corporate body of "saints," who before the world and the universe demonstrate that they "keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Rev. 14:12). The same chapter identifies them as "144,000" who "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (vss. 1-5). They are a distinct group who are new on the stage of the world in view of the universe who have been watching this grand drama unfold, because they "sang as it were a new song … [that] no one could learn … except the 144,000" (vs. 3).

That means that they will have a new experience, because no one in the Bible sings a song carelessly or thoughtlessly; each is sung out of deep experience. And if they sing from a new experience, they must have a new comprehension of what it cost "the Lamb" to save them. They have identified with Him experientially more closely and deeply than any other corporate body of God's people through all time. Revelation says that they will grow up to a maturity that qualifies them for a unique place in the plan of salvation: "the Lamb's wife."

These people must not come from only one culture or language or society; they are expressly said to be from "every nation, tongue," every tribe on earth. Each must demonstrate that the grace of Christ has been "sufficient" for one from the most sinful, depraved culture on earth, who believes, to "overcome even as [Christ] overcame."

If only "143,999" overcome, the line will be broken. That last one must hold the line. He or she is tremendously important. That one is you!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the Archive: January 16, 2001.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Lessons From the Book of Job (Part 3)

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Could you be as important a person in God's great universe as Job was? You may say, "I don't want Job's job! Give me an easier witness assignment!" But you may already have that important witnessing assignment. Both Job and Jesus chose to be loyal to God, to hold on to their faith when there seemed to be no hope whatever; and that was wonderful. They both honored God.

But there must be another development in the great controversy between Christ and Satan before the end can come. There must be a people, a corporate body of "saints," who before the world and the universe demonstrate that they "keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Rev. 14:12). The same chapter identifies them as "144,000" who "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (vss. 1-5). They are a distinct group who are new on the stage of the world in view of the universe who have been watching this grand drama unfold, because they "sang as it were a new song … [that] no one could learn … except the 144,000" (vs. 3).

That means that they will have a new experience, because no one in the Bible sings a song carelessly or thoughtlessly; each is sung out of deep experience. And if they sing from a new experience, they must have a new comprehension of what it cost "the Lamb" to save them. They have identified with Him experientially more closely and deeply than any other corporate body of God's people through all time. Revelation says that they will grow up to a maturity that qualifies them for a unique place in the plan of salvation: "the Lamb's wife."

These people must not come from only one culture or language or society; they are expressly said to be from "every nation, tongue," every tribe on earth. Each must demonstrate that the grace of Christ has been "sufficient" for one from the most sinful, depraved culture on earth, who believes, to "overcome even as [Christ] overcame."

If only "143,999" overcome, the line will be broken. That last one must hold the line. He or she is tremendously important. That one is you!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the Archive: January 16, 2001.
Copyright © 2016 by "Dial Daily Bread."