Daily Bread

Sunday, March 11, 2012

A 400-year-old Controversy

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Dear, sweet, kind Christian people sometimes want to shy away from controversy within the church. But controversy is not always bad. It stirs people up to think and to study and thus to discover very precious truth that God's people need to appreciate. We are coming close to the second coming of Jesus and the end of the world, and we need truth in order to stand. If you want to run away when controversy arises, let me tell you where is the only place you can go to find none: the cemetery.

Jesus said, "Take heed that no one deceive you" (Matt. 24:4). The only way to be sure not to be deceived is to study the word of God for ourselves, for the Scriptures "testify of Me," said Jesus (John 5:39).

One controversy that has stirred good Christian people for 400 years is between Calvinism and Arminianism. The problem is what the Bible means when it says so clearly that "Christ died for the world," is "the Savior of the world," "gave Himself a ransom for all men," "tasted death for every man," is "the propitiation for the sins of the whole world," "all are being justified freely by His grace," "the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life," etc. Calvinists have always said those texts mean that Christ has accomplished salvation for some people--that is, only those whom God has predestinated to be saved. Arminians say those texts mean that "all men" have a potential for being saved, it's possible for them to be saved, but it is only IF; Christ didn't actually accomplish salvation for anyone UNLESS ... And between these two views a great gulf is fixed.

The story of Esau resolves this controversy of 400 years. It was an accomplished fact that he HAD the "birthright." It was his by birth, no one could take it from him, not even God, for it was his by the oath of God to the firstborn among Abraham's descendants.

But Esau "despised" what was HIS and what had been GIVEN him, and then he "sold" it. And "Esau" is the name of every person who will finally be lost. Christ GAVE salvation to him but he wouldn't have it. He refused to receive the atonement that would have reconciled his alienated heart to God and to God's holy law. He has unfitted himself for heaven. Don't be Esau!

--Robert J. Wieland

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

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.

Friday, March 09, 2012

The Most Perplexing Spiritual Disease of All Time

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

A thoughtful person wrote: please explain the contrast between Calvinism and Arminianism. What practical effect does it have on our daily happiness?

Both were great blessings on the pathway of God's people through the centuries, successive steps out of the 1260 years of papal darkness. Both have been taught up until our present time by dedicated pastors who did the best they could with the ministry of preparing souls for the resurrection.

But in God's agenda for His church, there is growth in grace and in understanding. We "follow" Jesus--never stand still. He is leading His people to get ready for His second coming. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Prov. 4:18). "The everlasting gospel" of Revelation 14:6-15 prepares a people for that time when John saw "a white cloud, and upon the cloud sat like unto the Son of man, ... the harvest of the earth is ripe." The second coming of Christ!

Arminianism tried to correct a misapprehension that grew out of Calvinism. Christ died for everybody and He wants everybody to be saved. Very true! Calvinism had drifted into the idea that some are predestinated to be lost. But Arminianism also said that the sacrifice of Christ does no one any good unless he believes. Sounds good, but "the everlasting gospel" is better news than that. When understood by the church, it delivers from the most perplexing spiritual disease of all time--lukewarmness (Rev. 3:14-21).

On His cross Christ actually redeemed the world, died "every man's" second death, gave him every blessing he has ever had including sunshine and rain and the gift of salvation. None will be lost who does not resist or disbelieve the truth.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 4, 2005.

Thursday, March 08, 2012

"None Other Burden"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Next time you watch a bird fly, think of the amazing love of its Creator: the Lord made its bones hollow, whereas your bones and my bones are solid. Why did the Creator do this for the birds' bones? There is only one answer: to make it easier for the poor things to fly!

The Creator (who by the way is our Savior!) was being kind to these winged creatures to make the burdens they have to carry lighter for them to bear. A good lesson for us: the same Creator who made the birds' wings hollow has made your "burdens" lighter for you to carry!

Instead of weeping and moaning because your burdens seem so heavy for you to carry, stop a moment; remember the birds and the Lord's kindness to them, and make a choice to believe that the same Creator who made the birds made you, and is caring for you today. He has made your burdens to be lighter than they would be without His blessing!

Now, humble your soul, kneel, and thank Him for His mercy!

One of the most precious little scraps of "Good News" is to be found in the Lord's seven messages to His seven churches of history. We can take any bit of Good News and apply it to ourselves. For example, here is the Lord's message to Thyatira (Rev. 2:24)--take it to yourself: "I will put upon you none other burden."

If you were a horse or a donkey, the Lord would not overload you; if you were overloaded, He would reduce the weight of your burden you carry or pull. Now today, that's His message to you: He will put upon you "none other burden" heavier than you can carry!

Make your choice to (1) thank Him for the encouraging news from His word, (2) now BELIEVE that He has already "put none other burden upon you." Ask Him to forgive you for your unbelief in thinking the burden He has laid on you is too heavy for you to carry!

Yes, some will read this little message realizing that they lie on hospital beds facing a heavy trial: be assured, make a choice to believe that the Lord has "put none other burden" on you (that promise is a good one to mark in our Bibles!).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 28, 2009.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Stay Close to Your Bible

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are you ever bewildered by the force of philosophies or theologies that are thrown at you? You are busy at daily practical tasks that you know are your duties; these teachings that are clamoring for your attention seem to be over your head. You are drowning in the unending flow of words.

If some genius is trying to overpower you, don't let him or her entice you away from the simplicity of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Everything that God Himself wants you to understand is simple and clear, so much so that a child can get it. That's what Jesus meant when He said of children, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14).

The Lord told His prophet, "Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance" (Hab. 2:2, Good News Bible). You can't get a lot of words on clay tablets. The correct understanding of justification by faith, of the atonement, of Daniel and the Revelation, must be caught "at a glance."

So, stay close to your Bible. Think of the vast amount of information in Daniel and the Revelation, and in Solomon's Proverbs--all brilliantly simple.

And when that last great angel comes down with the message that will "lighten the earth with glory" it will be a message to go to "every nation, kindred, tongue, and people" with the powerful impact that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount had on the world two millennia ago, because it will all be simple (Rev. 18:1-4; 14:6, 7).

The Lord does not overburden you (Rev. 2:24). But DO study!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 30, 2005.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

You Are Somebody "In Christ"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

How do you think Jesus regards you as an individual? Of course, you believe that He "loves" you for you have read John 3:16 and you believe it. But how does He love you? Do you feel that maybe He loves you like you love your faithful dog--or is His love different? Does He respect you? Does He honor you? Does He actually value your opinion? Does He like to hear what you say? In other words, is He interested in your prayers aside from being merely the Source for your requests--your spiritual "Santa Claus"?

He says something very thought-provoking in Revelation 3:21: "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." You can't imagine that the Father treats His Son as anything less than in full confidence, can you? And you can't imagine that Jesus would invite you merely to "sit" on His throne by His side as only an observer who cannot participate, can you? Just to have your picture taken There for the fun of it? No, of course it's more than that! Jesus is totally sincere; it must mean that when He invites you "to sit with [Him] on His throne," He must honestly share with you executive authority; He must respect you as a friend who has His full confidence. Otherwise, why would He say that?

In fact, if we turn to John 15:15 we find He told "us" through His disciples that He "no longer" calls us "servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." And Ephesians 1 tells us over and over that the Father has "adopted" us as His children "in Christ." Adopted kids have full rights as children in the know! That's what you are.

Hold your head up high! Unworthy as you feel yourself to be, you are "somebody" in Christ!

--Robert J. Wieland

Monday, March 05, 2012

Learning to Believe

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If you ask the Lord to give you some "bread," can you BELIEVE that He will? Or will He double-cross you and give you a serpent or a stone? You say "that's easy," but for some it may be a difficult leap of faith to believe the Lord actually loves them that much. (Jesus says His yoke is "easy" but it may not always be easy to learn to believe! It may take years of listening.)

If you know your pantry is empty and you ask Him to give you bread for your starving guest, will He bother even at an uncomfortable hour to get up and give you what you ask for? Well, you know the answer: you can't be a Christian unless you believe that He is kind, merciful, and loves you too much to disappoint you, even at "midnight." You must believe that He keeps His promises.

That parable in Luke 11 does not say that He will give you enough bread to stock your pantry for years to come, or enough to feed "five thousand" as Jesus fed them in His day; it says specifically, "He will rise and give [you] as many as [you] need" (vss. 5-8). He answers your prayer for understanding of Bible truth, but it will not make you suddenly omniscient, nor wise enough to hold thousands spellbound with your wisdom. But He will give you all the "bread" you need. So be humble; you will need more understanding tomorrow. Don't be proud of the little He graciously gives you today. That is precious enough but not good enough.

And He has promised that you will never lose the Bible study you do today, even if you may be tempted to think it has been boring. "The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26). Many testify that truths they thought they have forgotten pop up even years later. It's like a battery in your computer; if the little battery should die you'd lose all your data; but even a tiny bit of charge keeps all the memory intact. So your continual "hunger and thirst for righteousness" that drives you again and again to the Word keeps that precious memory alive.

Many can give their testimony that when they have asked the Lord to teach them truth, the answer came when they least expected it--a sudden flash of understanding when they needed it the most.

His promise in Matthew 10:19 can apply: "It will be given to you in that hour what you should speak."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 3, 2004.

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.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

What Christ's "Blood" Accomplishes

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Someone asked an intriguing question: "How does the blood of Christ cleanse one from sin?" Is it by a cold-as-ice, dry-as-dust legal substitution of merit, like a bank transferring credit from one account to another? The merits of Christ's perfection applied to the unworthy sinner so he goes scot-free? Like an insurance company's policy? Is that the biblical doctrine of Substitution? Many assume so, and don't wish to be disturbed into realizing that something far more profound is involved.

Let's face it: "the truth of the gospel" in Galatians is controversial, and has always stirred up the fires of persecution. Three (at least) passages in Galatians probe deeply into this idea of substitution and what the "blood" accomplishes:

(1) "I am crucified with Christ" (2:20). I identify with Him, says Paul; my heart is won; my heart is moved; He "loved me, and gave Himself for me." Getting to heaven is no longer my main concern; responding to that love has become "the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God." It's "not I, but Christ." He "lives in me." A legal substitution? Yes, of course; but infinitely more than that.

(2) Paul preached the cross so clearly, vividly, that the people saw themselves crucified with Christ (3:1-5). That is, unfortunately, rare preaching today! It wasn't superficial emotionalism; it was heart-gripping truth as solid as granite.

(3) "The truth of the gospel" produces in cold, selfish, world-loving, addiction-cursed hearts, a new passion: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross" (6:14).

Sometimes I "glory" in a Mozart Andante; it keeps going through my mind, night and day, I can't get it out. Well, without a trace of fanaticism (which cold, persecuting hearts like to attribute to "the truth of the gospel") the sacrifice of the Son of God has gripped the heart so that it has become the "new song" we sing night and day--a holy obsession forever. And here's some Good News: such a new song can be "learned" (Rev. 14:3).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 21, 2000.