Dial Daily Bread: The Soul-Winning Work of the Fourth Angel

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

To whom did Jesus preach His Sermon on the Mount--to His disciples or to the multitudes? Many believe that God is not the Father of "all humanity" but only of those who are converted. All the rest are children of the devil. But Matthew 5:1, 2 says that when Jesus saw "the multitudes, He went up on a mountain ... and taught them" about your "Father in heaven," and "in this manner ... pray, Our Father in heaven," etc. (chapter 6).

The Muslim is told that he must make himself pure before he can come to Allah. But Jesus says, Come, and I will make you pure. He became one of us so that He might invite us to regard His Father as our Father. True, there are many who are unconverted; but why? Is it because they have finally, irrevocably, determinedly rejected Christ, or for many is it because they have never understood the gospel? Are they wolves, or could they be lost sheep who haven't been "found" yet?

We know that Jesus said, "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd" (John 10:16). In those words He describes the soul-winning work of that fourth angel who "comes down from heaven, having great power; and the earth [is] lightened with his glory" (Rev. 18:1-4, King James Version). That "voice" will call to those "lost sheep," "Come out of [Babylon], my people, ... lest you receive of her plagues."

A wise writer says that when Jesus was baptized and a Voice was heard from heaven declaring, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" that Voice embraced humanity (Matt. 3:17).

If you have felt like you are an orphan outside the "family," please accept the Good News: The Father has "adopted" you "in Christ" (Eph. 1:5, 6), and He invites you to pray, "Our Father ..." You are as precious as that discouraged woman at Jacob's well when Jesus told her, "True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him" (John 4:23). Yes, He is seeking you! Come!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 6, 1998.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The World's Greatest Days Are Just Ahead

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Our Father in heaven, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has a way of speaking to the world. He knows how to get the world's attention. And He will when the time comes.

We read how in this special "time of the end" He sends three angels ("messengers sent") with three special messages for "every nation, tribe, tongue, and people" (Rev. 14:6-12). Their task is to prepare His people everywhere to be ready to meet the once-crucified Savior of the world when He returns as King of kings and Lord of lords. The message of the "third angel" is augmented by that of a fourth of 18:1-4, whose message "lightens" the whole earth "with ... glory." It's a message of His "much more abounding grace" (Rom. 5:20).

The story of the two covenants is interwoven with what happens in the Middle East. Abraham himself was entangled in the confusion between the two. He is claimed as "father" by Jews, Muslims, and Christians, but the two covenants are viewed differently by them all. Abraham's own story of unbelief (before his subsequent experience of faith) has spawned the bloody conflicts of his descendants.

God intends that the world itself shall have a lesson on the two covenants, and before the end He will see to it that His four "angels" whom He sends (Rev. 14, 18) shall proclaim His message faithfully. There will be great humbling of hearts before God on the part of all who remain faithful to the end.

The message that will "lighten" the earth with "glory" will be the revelation of the good news of the New Covenant. It will be a message of "Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2), and He will be "lifted up" for all the world to see Him clearly (John 12:32). The world's greatest days are just ahead. Don't leave your refuge "in Him" (Psalm 91:1, 2).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 21, 2005.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Atonement--Nothing Mysterious or Complicated

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The world's great Day of Atonement is the most exciting, the most joyous period of all the thousands of years of world history. Millions from past ages would have given anything just to live one day during this period of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary--what's happening right now. It's the time when the great High Priest, humanity's Savior, prepares the body of His people, His church, to be ready for the climax of the ages--His second coming in glory.

It's the time when the Bethlehem song of the angels at the birth of Jesus is finally realized: "good tidings of great joy ... to all people. ... On earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:10-14). The word "atonement" means very simply "at-one-with." There is nothing mysterious or complicated about it. (To attach the word "eschatological" to it bewilders common people.) To be "at-one-with" is to experience the joy of reconciliation, which is sweeter than honey if you have known the pain of alienation.

It's "at-one-ment" first with God, which every human heart in the world craves. We are born in a state of being alienated, separated from Him. "The carnal mind [it's natural!] is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). Imagine the life-long misery of being on the outs with God! You look through the windows into God's house and you see the light, the joy and merriment within and feel yourself thrust into outer darkness. You long to be in on the party, no longer alienated.

The world's Day of Atonement is when the High Priest, the Savior, takes the initiative to bridge that awful gap, to bring you in, to reconcile you. He performed this feat in Himself when on the cross He drank down our bitter cup of alienation, crying, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Finally, on this great Day of Atonement, we learn to appreciate what He accomplished for us. We are at last "one" with Him. Simple! Yet profound.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 15, 2002.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: How Does the Blood of Christ "Cleanse" and "Purify" Those Who Believe In Him?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There is a question in the book of Hebrews that Christians ponder: How does the blood of Christ (mentioned more than twenty times) "cleanse" and "purify" those who believe in Him? Note: it's not how does that blood "cover" their sins, or how does that blood provide a mere pardon. The question is: How does that blood cleanse the soul of sin's defilement? How does it change the heart, purify the very springs of character, provide "a clean heart," "cleanse from secret faults," "wash [us] thoroughly" (Psalm 19:12; 51:1-10)? Not just "cover" us with a white robe over dirty clothes--the insurance policy kind of pardon, or the other metaphor, the Judge pays your fine so you go free.

It's a waste of precious time to answer this question of questions with a pat answer that is essentially egocentric in character. It only postpones for another generation getting ready for the second coming of Jesus. The idea of an "insurance policy coverage" is egocentric in nature. Such "cleansing" is merely cosmetic, therefore deceptive. Self still rules the heart, supreme. How can I be sure I will get to heaven? Oh, yes, Lord, remember my loved ones too. The very essence of self-concern is still there.

The Lord Jesus says to many, "Thou knowest not" because they are so immature in their Christian experience that they can conceive of nothing more important than their own individual, personal salvation (Jer. 33:3, King James Version; Rev. 2:17). The great controversy concern is over their heads.

Why is "blood" so pivotal? One little suggestion: if as an ancient Israelite you brought your lamb to the sanctuary, confessing your sin over its head, and you asked the priest, please take the knife and kill the little creature, I can't do it, I can't stand to see blood, he will hand the knife back to you and tell you, I cannot slay the victim for you; you must do it yourself (Lev. 4:29, 33).

When Revelation speaks twenty-five times of "a Lamb as though it had been slain" (5:6), it's we who did it. Yes, we had the hammer and the spikes in our hands when we nailed Him to His cross. In order for the cleansing and purifying to go further than skin-deep, it seems that the full truth must be realized.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 5, 2003.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Truth Worth Living For

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Samaritans were right when they declared Jesus of Nazareth to be "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). He is not just the Savior of the Jews. They discerned that it is He who "gives life to the world" (John 6:33).

The Father "laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). He has "tasted death for everyone" (Heb. 2:9). He is a cosmic Savior, "the last Adam" who is the true "Father" of the human race, having taken over the lordship of the world from the first Adam (see 1 Cor. 15:21, 22).

Thus Christ has reversed the evil that the first Adam brought on the entire human race (Rom. 5:15-18). The Samaritans at the village Sychar knew nothing of what Romans and Hebrews were later to declare, but they were dead right in their conclusion about who Jesus is.

If the Samaritans were right (and they were!), then Christ also is the world's great "High Priest" that Hebrews talks about so much (2:17, 3:1, 4:14, etc.), not just the high priest of the Jews or of the professing Christians.

And if so (and it is true!), then the great antitypical Day of Atonement is the world's Day of Atonement! The news should be trumpeted everywhere.

According to Revelation 18:1-4, it will be--when the "earth [is] lightened" with the glory of the Good News. The Enemy cannot succeed forever in keeping that truth of the fourth angel's message from the world. The Lord Christ is to be crowned "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev. 19:16) and His "angel" knows how to get the attention of the world.

And all this glorious Good News need not await another century; all the Lord needs is a people who will no longer oppose the message, but whom He will be safe to put on the stage for the intense scrutiny of the world (and of the universe!), a people in whom He and His truth can be glorified, a people who have "grown up" out of their spiritual infancy to become "the Lamb's wife" (Eph. 4:15; Rev. 19:7, 8).

Isn't that a truth worth living for, worth giving your all for?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 29, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: "Evangelize"--A Misunderstood Word

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

In the Book of Acts the early Christians did what the modern term calls "evangelize," that is, they told everybody they met about Jesus. That word is often misunderstood today--it's assumed to mean "get people to join your church, increase the numbers of its membership."

No; the word actually means "tell Good News." And the people already in church often need to hear and understand what the Good News means, just as much as people outside (especially youth and teens). And people outside most of the time won't be interested in joining the church unless you can tell them what the Good News is and why the Lord Jesus ever established a "church."

Is it possible to state briefly what the Good News is? (That's all the space we have here!)

(1) As "our Father which art in heaven," God so loved this lost world that He "gave" His only Son to save the human race from the horror of eternal death (John 3:16).

(2) He came, and He did exactly that!

(3) People began to realize who He is: "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42), "the Savior of all men" (1 Tim. 4:10), the One who "abolished death [the second] and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News" (2 Tim. 1:10).

(4) For every human being He "brought life," that is, the life he or she now has, whether or not that person believes or disbelieves. This present life is the purchase of the sacrifice of that beloved Son of God.

(5) For every one who "believes in Him" He has also "brought ... immortality to light through the Good News."

(6) That Son of God is still ministering those "gifts" to all mankind as a present-tense Savior; by the Holy Spirit (His true Vicar!) He is taking every one of us by the hand, saying, "Come, let's enjoy eternal life" (see Isa. 41:10, 13). He "draws" you with "cords ... of love" (Jer. 31:3; Hosea 11:4).

(7) Finally, that "drawing" is so persistent (up to the moment of your last breath) that it is "hard" to resist it (Acts 26:14).

You don't really want to "crucify Him afresh," do you? Then "yield" to that drawing!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 10, 2000.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: What Does Prayer Tell Us About the Character of God?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why do we pray? Does prayer move the hand of God so that He would do things that otherwise He would not do? What does prayer tell us about the character of God?

The second question is nearly correct, but not quite. If we change the "would" to "could," we get closer to the truth. God wills to do all the good things for us that we ask Him to do when we pray, even long before we pray. He wants to; but our prayers make it possible for God to do things that He wants to do. So it's not a matter of what God would do for us, but what He could do for us.

The question is, "Why?" Well, look at those people in Acts 12 praying all night for Peter to be released from the murderous hand of King Herod Agrippa I. He had been appointed king of Judea and Samaria by the Emperor Caligula of Rome--a legal appointment. Rome was the ruler of the world. That had not been God's plan; in the New Covenant God made with Abraham, Abraham's descendants should rule the world and there would not have been an evil empire of Rome; Israel would have ruled the world under the New Covenant. But Israel had abandoned the New Covenant and embraced the Old Covenant. So God was forced to respect the autonomy of Rome because Adam had sold out to Satan, who is "the ruler of this world," says Jesus (John 14:30).

But Christ legally wrested the sovereignty of this world from Satan by virtue of His sacrifice; therefore He can respond to prayers from His people who pray to Him in the name of Jesus. All the while Peter was in jail, God wanted to deliver him; now when His people seriously asked Him to do so "in the name of Jesus," He was free to act and He did.

Conclusion: our prayers do not "move" God to do what otherwise He would not want to do or is too indifferent to do. They bring us into heart cooperation with God, they put us on the side of God in "the great controversy between Christ and Satan." The problem is, that same "cooperation" may mean much more than the tiny little thing we happen just now to be praying for!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 29, 2000.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Sharing a Kinship of Soul With Paul

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The people immediately knew that this Preacher was different. He locked in to their souls because He let it be known that He knew first-hand what being "despised and rejected" means. At this stage they weren't sure Who He might be, but He grabbed their heart-strings when He said, "Blessed [happy!] are the poor in spirit, ... those who mourn, ... the meek, ... those who are persecuted, ... reviled, ... Rejoice!" (Matt. 5:3-12). He was backwards from every other speaker they had ever listened to!

You are going to meet someone somewhere who scans every face he or she sees, looking for someone who understands, for someone who is that exceedingly rare person who is "pure in heart," for he or she has "seen God." You may not need to say a word when you meet this person; something in your eyes will communicate that you "understand" what long waiting, yearning, and trials of faith mean.

If you will accept the conviction of sin borne in on your soul by the Holy Spirit--the conviction that has shattered your "rich-and-increased-with-goods" complacent pride, if you will let tears of contrition fall, you will be given a key to at least some human hearts. Jesus will condescend to share with you some of His secret riches of soul.

You will also share a kinship of soul with that dear man who morning after morning (probably for years!) begged the Lord to remove his "thorn in the flesh, ... a messenger of Satan" constantly "buffeting" him (2 Cor. 12:7), only to realize that God was refusing to grant his prayer. If any mortal sinner ever deserved an answer to heart-felt prayer, wouldn't it be Paul? He had endured such a lifetime of loving self-denial for Christ (read his immediate context in 2 Cor. 11:23-29)!

But after renewed fasting-and-prayer sessions, probably even "anointings," God told him, No, Paul; I'm not going to say Yes. The thorn in the flesh stays; you've got to live with it; how else can I bless your ministry? How else will you ever know how to reveal My grace to others unless you have tasted continual suffering? "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).

Pretty heavy price Paul paid for what he was able to pass on to us. Was it worth it?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 28, 2001.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Message That Comes Like "A Still Small Voice"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

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

The book of Revelation tells of "another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel [again, good tidings of great joy], to preach to those who dwell on the earth" (14:6, 7). This movement is to come in the last days, and it has come. But be careful--don't wait for the media to plaster this news all over the TV and the Internet. No angel from heaven screams in your ears; the message comes like it came to the humble shepherds, more like "a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:12).

Unless we are careful, this new "angel flying in the midst of heaven" can do his job, fly on, and we never knew what has happened. The work of God was done after Pentecost without great fanfare; it's being done today likewise, in humble ways. But it is being done.

Jesus describes it: "'I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.' This He said, signifying by what death He would die" (John 12:32, 33). In other words, Heaven also has its "media," some kind of organization for getting the word out.

Heaven is determined that the Son of God must not die in vain, in secret; humble instruments are to be moved by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the message of "Christ and Him crucified" worldwide. The great ones of earth are again to be surprised at the humble means that God will employ, no great, arrogant men and women. Only those will be employed in this work who have knelt at the cross of Jesus where self (pride!) is crucified with Him.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 24, 2005.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: There Is No “Do-It-Yourself” Salvation

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Salvation involves more than the forgiveness of sin. If Christ did nothing beyond granting pardon, then we would continue to commit the same sins. But the grace of God involves more than pardon.

When the believer truly receives Christ as his personal Savior, Christ by His creative power makes him into a new person in Himself. He is born again—this time born of God (John 1:12, 13). Christ gives him a new heart (mind).

Filling him with the Holy Spirit, Christ lives in the believer a life of obedience to the commandments of God (Eze. 11:19, 20; Gal. 2:20). Christ makes the believer right with God. And He keeps him right.

The Old Testament unites creation and salvation in one Lord. “Thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine’” (Isa. 43:1; see also 44:24).

Creation and redemption are one in the Lord Jesus for our sure salvation. Christ cannot be divided. Acceptance of Christ as Savior includes accepting Him as Creator.

When Saul of Tarsus encountered Jesus on the Damascus road, he recognized Him as his Savior. But the interlocking truth that Christ, because He is the Creator, is the only Savior, came to him by revelation later on. Then under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he presented it in letters to the young churches.

In his letter to the Colossians, he says that in Christ “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14). Then he cites the reason: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, … All things were created through Him and for Him” (vs. 16).

We are saved by the perfect life of Christ lived on this earth; by His atoning death on the cross; by His resurrection; His ascension; and His intercession as our High Priest in heaven. But unless Jesus was God the Son and Creator in the beginning, none of these could have happened. If Christ had not been God the Son from eternity and the Creator of all in the beginning, He could not be man’s Savior.

Preaching Christ must not omit presenting Him as God the Son from eternity and the Creator of all. To do so would be to build a house without a foundation.

Why have so many who regard Him as the Savior lost sight of this Creator aspect of Christ? Did Christ provide a way for Him to be continually held in view as the Creator-Savior? Has this way been lost sight of by the vast majority? Is there a Heaven-sent message for our day to restore this truth to its rightful place in the gospel? Yes, there is such a message which causes men and women to know Christ as their Savior and Friend. It re-establishes their place as sons and daughters of God.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: The True Sabbath, pp. 16-19 (undated).
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Most Terrifying News in the Entire Bible

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Just when your weary, fearful heart is longing for some refreshing Good News, you bump into the most terrifying, blood-curdling news in the entire Bible: the third angel's message (Rev. 14:9-11). Or so it seems on the surface. Utterly new in world history, it's "the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation," that is, not a shred of mercy mixed in with it. (Always, the wrath of God has been mixed with mercy--a little hope or kindness included.)

Why this unprecedented horror? What human sin will be so bad that it merits such apparent temper on the part of God? And why do "the holy angels" and even "the Lamb" seem apparently to enjoy watching these unfortunate mark-of-the-beast people roast in human agony?

The third angel's message says these lost souls "shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in [their] presence." Understand it as figuratively as you like, it still seems to come through as nothing but Bad News. The worst part: our meek and lowly, precious Jesus seems to enjoy watching this horror "in [His] presence," like the principals in the Spanish Inquisition dressing up in their finest to watch the heretics burn alive in "their presence" in the city square.

And yet a wise writer tells us that "the third angel's message in verity" is the "most precious" Good News ever sounded--a clearer understanding of justification by faith--just what your fearful, weary heart hungers for. And just what the world is dying to hear!

May the Lord give us a look into the Good News that is buried in this strange message. It's there, for sure. We just need New Covenant eyes to see it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 12, 2001.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Developing a Special Oneness With Christ

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Many of us can look back on our "Christian experience" since we were "converted" and lament that often we have done like Peter: denied Christ.

Maybe we have been too cowardly to confess publicly our "peculiar" beliefs. Maybe we have laughed at a crude joke in order to avoid appearing puritanical. Or gone to an unchristlike movie for the same reason, wanting to be part of the social circle. Or voted with the majority to deny Christ.

Yes, we have forgiveness with the Lord, thank Him (Psalm 130:4). But can we overcome this inner cowardice? The Lord is obliged (cf. His promise in Hebrews 12:5-11) to try us again and again, over and over, until we finally "overcome." Remember, He was obliged to "test" Abraham in Genesis 22 (the offering of son Isaac), or He could never have inspired Paul to speak of him over and over as "the father of the faithful" in Romans 4:11-16.

Although God had called Abraham to be the "father" of all who should be faithful, he had failed again and again to be "full of faith." In several successive incidents he had not told the truth about his wife, fearful that the Lord would not protect him. Now when he has become old and weak (120 years even then, old age), Abraham must endure the most trying of all his tests of faith--to offer his "only" son, Isaac; God cannot let Abraham close his life record without proving for all time that he deserves this wonderful title.

It's in mercy to our souls that the Lord gives us opportunity after opportunity to demonstrate that we have overcome our unbelief; hence, our trials! They do not "seem to be joyful [experiences], but grievous" (Heb. 12:11); the Lord knows that. The heavenly angels must watch with deep interest--will we bear the test?

The real issue is far greater than our own personal salvation: we are called and privileged to be key personnel seated "with [Christ] on [His] throne" in the closing up of the great controversy between Christ and Satan (see Rev. 3:21). In the final battles of the "war with the Lamb, ... those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful" (17:14).

The conflict may be intense, but remember that you are "with Him," not alone. Buddies in fierce battles learn to be special friends; often they have saved each other. You are developing a special oneness with Christ that you will treasure through all eternity.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 30, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Jesus' "Lightening Storm" Sermons

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The phenomenal power to reach hearts that Jesus exhibited in His early ministry was not due to some special psychological gimmicks that He knew, nor was it due to a magnetic, mega-Hollywood personality. He was a quiet person (Isa. 42:2), "gentle and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:28-30), very ordinary looking (Isa. 53:2); sad people identified with Him (vs. 3), you would meet Him in the street and never turn your head (vs. 4).

But He understood and proclaimed Gospel Good News! (Mark 1:14). That means He articulated its "truth" of justification by faith--all that Paul proclaimed later in Galatians and Romans Jesus compressed into His sermons in Galilee. The "power" was in His idea of agape that exuded from every thought, word, look, and action. The way Mark tells it we could get the idea that His sermons were what we call dry "doctrine," but they were like a lightning storm compared to the usual "doctrinal" sermons the people were used to hearing (vs. 22; Paul's sermons were a close second).

Jesus was absorbed with the New Covenant promises of Genesis 12:2, 3 and He wanted to connect every Old Covenant-saturated human He met with those "better promises" (Heb. 8:6). "He knew all men [humans], and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man" (John 2:24, 25). In other words, He simply adapted the New Covenant promises to each individual the Father let Him meet or whom He saw briefly in the crowds who came to hear Him. Yes, an enjoyable career! Never a trace of boredom!

Now He invites you to reduplicate that soul enjoyment in your own career. That means getting well acquainted with what is the "doctrine" of Good News in the New Covenant.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 3, 2005.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Read Colossians--and See the Good News There

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever read the Good News that fills Paul's Letter to the Colossians? According to The New English Bible, he addresses it to the "brothers in the faith, incorporate in Christ" (1:1, 2). That idea of being "in Christ" is repeated over and over. Again, in verse 4,* "we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus," and again in verse 8, "your love in the Spirit." Paul has a magnificent idea--the human race has been adopted in Christ. We are no longer orphans! Christ has become the new Adam, the new Head of the human race.

The idea is repeated in verse 13, He has "translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." Again, it is repeated in verse 14--here is something Paul wants us to understand: In Christ "we have redemption through His blood." You must not think that this redemption is kept away from you until you do something first--note, the redemption is accomplished through His blood, that is, the blood that was shed at the cross. It was there that our redemption as the human race was accomplished. Whatever happened at the cross applies to you. Your own personal worthiness or unworthiness has nothing to do with it.

Verses 21 and 22 repeat the thought again, "You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh."

And in chapter 2, verse 7, Paul prays for you that you may be "rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." That expression "the faith" doesn't mean a set of doctrines or a creed. It means a heart-appreciation for what Christ accomplished on His cross--that He redeemed you, set your feet in the path to eternal life, forgave you your sins, elected you to eternal life.

Stop worrying about whether God has accepted you or not. The truth is that He has accepted you in Christ, and now today, this new day, you are to be "rooted and built up in Him, in faith." Yes, please read this letter to the Colossians--and see the Good News that is there.

--Robert J. Wieland           

* The remaining Bible texts are from the King James Version.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: 1994 Phone Message.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Each New Generation Has Had to Face a Cross

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Ever since sin entered in the Garden of Eden, there has been a cross erected. An innocent creature had to be killed, its blood shed, in order for Adam and Eve to have clothing to shield them from the cold and from their newly acquired shame of nakedness. Each new generation of those who feared and reverenced God has had to face a cross whereon self has been crucified.

Abel recognized its principle and proclaimed his faith; what did he get for his sacrifice? Death at the hands of his older brother. But wait--he gets more! "He being dead still speaks" (Heb. 11:4), which means--Abel has been preaching a powerful, soul-winning sermon for all these 6000 years! If you want to talk about "stars in somebody's crown," look at that firmament!

All Isaac did was to be born as "the child of promise," and what does he get? Persecution from his older brother, Ishmael (Gal. 4:29). But there is more: God said, "Cast out the bondwoman and her son" (vs. 30). Isaac gets an eternal inheritance.

Joseph was simply being true to his conscience, and what does he get for that? A taste of the cross: sold by his older brothers into slavery in Egypt. But the story is not ended: he becomes prime minister of Egypt. This is not fiction; it's soul-saving.

David simply defends God's people against their oppressors, the Philistines; and what does he get for it? The constant enmity of "the anointed of the Lord," against whom he will not lift up his hand. But what blessing did David get? The throne? Think more deeply: his understanding of the cross that we can read about in Psalms 22 and 69.

Elijah saves Israel from ruin, is hated by the king and queen; but he is translated.

Jeremiah is called from the womb to serve the Lord, and what did he get? An entire lifetime of rejection and defamation of character at the hands of God's people, with no respite or interlude of peace. But now the Jews regard him as the greatest of the prophets.

"Whoever loses his life for My sake," says Jesus, " will save it" (Luke 9:24). They did!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 30, 2005.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Special Objects of Jesus' Compassion

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are you one of the ninety-nine sheep that never went astray? You had good parents, went to church all your life, never robbed a bank, never been in prison; you've been a good person all your life? And like the Pharisee in the parable in Luke 18:10-14, you are humble enough, grateful enough, good enough, decent enough, upright enough, to thank God that you are not like other people who do get lost, especially like the down-and-outs who have done all sorts of bad things and been alienated from God all or most of their lives?

Yes, I'm mixing up my parables here--but how about another parable, the lost son, the prodigal son? Who are you? Are you the dutiful son who never wasted your life, never had to feed the pigs, never left home?

Now please don't misunderstand me. I am not recommending that you do bad things. But my question is this: do you know how to sympathize (empathize is a better word) with the people who have done all these bad things, who have wasted their lives, lost the joy of fellowship with God and with the saints, and have wandered in darkness in the dark world?

Jesus has special sympathy for people who have wasted their lives and whose hearts are filled with remorse. They are the special objects of His compassion. In fact, they are the ones He came to save. The poor publican who beat upon his breast and wouldn't even lift his eyes to heaven, who prayed, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" is the one who went home justified--straightened out, put right with God.

Why does Jesus have such special sympathy for such people? There is only one possible answer: because He repented on their behalf; He took their nature; He was tempted like they are tempted; He is their High Priest (Heb. 2:14-18). And now He invites you to share His love and sympathy for all the sinners in the world, for all the prodigal sons feeding the pigs, for all the publicans who cry out for mercy. And when you begin to share His compassion, the joy of your own life has only begun.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 10, 1997.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Fear? Those Who Believe in Jesus Won't Know It

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus made a promise that we hang on to: "I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:1-3). World population desperately clings to that as their only hope.

The second coming of Christ is not bad news even to those who say they don't believe in Him, for many, when they finally hear the gospel presented clearly, will believe. They've been waiting for it all their lives. And for those who finally steel their hearts and souls against it, they'll be glad that their hell is now at an end. Christ is always only "good tidings of great joy which will be to all people," as the angels originally said (Luke 2:10).

The coming last days' events have terrorized many who say they long for Christ to come again, but they cannot bear the bad news that has given so many youth their nightmares and frightened them out of the church. The "mark of the beast," for example, enforced by a death penalty as Revelation 13:15 predicts: it's not God's intention that our lives be shadowed by that heavy cloud of apprehension.

Those who have come to understand "the everlasting gospel" of Revelation 14:6, 7, "the third angel's message in verity," walk into that crisis with "the joy of the Lord" on their faces. It will be the greatest soul-winning thrill they have ever known because at last the glorious days Isaiah predicted in chapters 49 and 60 will be happening all around them. (God will never let Isaiah come to nothing!)

Fear? Those who believe in Jesus won't know it, no matter how precarious their situations may seem to be. They have at last learned what the love is that is agape, which "casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). It does it! At long last they have looked at the uplifted cross on which the Son of God died the world's second death; they have "comprehended with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge." Super-astounding as the truth may be, they are "filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:17-19). How could the desperate ranting of a frustrated devil with his empty "mark of the beast" threats disturb their peace now?

They are not enduring these trials "alone"! "Lo, I am with you always" is ringing in their souls' ears. "Yea, though [they] walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [they] will fear no evil; for [the Lord] is with [them]" (Matt. 28:20; Psalm 23:4).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 24, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Do You Share the Joy?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

We must learn about (1) the most oppressive despair humans have ever known and (2) the most explosive joy that followed. We shall never lighten the earth with the glory of a fully developed "everlasting gospel" of Revelation 18 until we taste (2). And no one can ever know that until first he has known (1). The story is all in the last chapter of Luke.

Every hope that humanity is capable of knowing has been fulfilled in Jesus the Nazarene. He has proven Himself to be the Son of God; the Eleven have confessed Him so. They and many other "witnesses" have seen the coming of the Messiah. Even the Samaritans have seen in Him "the Savior of the world." "The hopes and fears of all the years," all 4000 of those years, were "met" in Him. What Abraham and all the prophets had longed to see the Eleven have seen.

"We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel," lamented Cleopas and his friend as they trudged despondingly to Emmaus (Luke 24:21). Like a sudden avalanche, the most horrible things have suddenly happened to the Son of God; He has been murdered by the leaders of the one true church, the "chosen people," Israel. Can you begin to grasp how the followers of Jesus feel? They are "us" in a corporate sense; yes, we are one with them. We identify.

The sun has been blackened out of our sky! Not only is the Messiah dead; He has been humiliated, despised, by the most hateful, Satanic rejection the universe has ever witnessed. No way can this have happened to the Son of God! The horrible thought intrudes on our conscious or unconscious minds--could we have been deceived? Yes, say the leaders of the one true "church" on earth--Israel. The Pharisees, the Sanhedrin Council say, You've been fools to believe this charlatan. (It's easy to learn that you are a sinner; what hurts is to learn you're a fool.) Number (1) is unspeakably painful.

Then this Stranger draws near to the two. Kind, gracious. He gives them a simple Bible study: "Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" [the world's Savior] (vs. 27). "Ought not the [Messiah] to have suffered these things?" (vs. 26). Why, the cross fits perfectly as the crowning demonstration of God's validation of Jesus of Nazareth!

Wisely, the risen Savior doesn't tell them in words who He is; He simply reveals Himself. Then the two race back to tell the Eleven in Jerusalem.

Human hearts virtually explode with joy. All the devils in hell can't stop these "witnesses" from telling the story everywhere. Do you share the joy?

--Robert J Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 11, 2003.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Built-in Power of the Apostles’ Message

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Before Robert Fulton's invention of the steamboat in 1803 and Stephenson's railway engine in 1825, vehicles had to be pulled by horses, mules, oxen, or donkeys--all of which needed to be whipped, kicked, or prodded into action, or shouted at. The world of that day marveled when it came time to see a self-propelled vehicle!

Is the gospel a self-propelled vehicle? Or does its proclamation and propagation depend on church members (and pastors!) constantly being prodded by church leaders into action? "Lay activities" leaders in churches can testify: to get much done it takes constant "promotion" (the polite word for prodding, kicking, or whipping reluctant "livestock" into action). The zealous "promoter" gets some publicity for his enthusiasm, until finally "evangelism fatigue" sets in. Then a new leader must be found, and new programs, methods, and systems must be devised.

The New Testament letters of the apostles reveal a strange lack of such works "promotion." They chronicle amazing activity, but seldom if ever were believers prodded or whipped into action. Their zealous activity was simply assumed, it was natural. Their gospel was a "self-propelled vehicle." Why?

Their message had the power built-in. The motivating force was greater than that of a steam engine, for the power was implicit in the News about the sacrifice of the Son of God. He burst upon everyone's consciousness as "the Lamb of God," a blood-sacrifice offered by God.

Examples: “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2), “God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14), “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), “He … is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2), etc. The power is not magic, certainly not mysteriously impossible for our day. The internal-combustion "engine" was the agape of Christ, which "constrained" them (2 Cor. 5:14, 15).

The Book of Revelation predicts that again such a self-propelling gospel will "lighten the earth with glory" (Rev. 18:1-4). And again the central Character of interest will be "the Lamb of God"--mentioned over and over in the Book of Revelation. Does anybody "hunger and thirst" to understand the News more clearly?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 4, 1999.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: How Can a Hard-hearted Person Become Tender-hearted?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why is unbelief a downright sin, and not merely a weakness of the flesh, or a little fault?

It's extremely serious, for the world is condemned for it (John 3:18), Israel was kept out of the Promised Land because of it (Heb. 3:19), it is sin itself (vs. 12), it keeps people away from salvation (Luke 8:12), and it makes one a fool (Luke 24:25). God has included everyone in unbelief--it's the sin of sins, the one universal sin (Rom. 11:32); it is the ultimate rejection of Christ (John 5:38). Unbelief is the actual love of darkness (John 3:19); it brings the loss of souls (2 Thess. 2:10-12).

Unbelief is the preeminent sin that we should pray to be delivered from (Mark 9:24).

It's hard-heartedness. Men have confessed with anguish that their hearts are just plain hard, they find it impossible to shed even a tear, anytime. Even the story of the cross leaves them cold. Thank God! They have sensed their need! That's tremendous progress.

If you have felt that same anguish, ask Him and He will "restore to [you] the joy of [His] salvation" (Psalm 51:12). But don't let your heart resent the fact that you have become hard-hearted; it's true of many people. Often unwise parents kill the little plant of tenderness in the heart of a child; fathers sometimes want to make "Johnny" become "hard," like they think a "man" should be, forgetting that we read of the greatest Man who ever walked this earth, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).

Even the "cream" of the Twelve apostles, Peter, James, and John, went sound asleep rather than sit up with Jesus and empathize with Him in His awful hour of anguish in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:37-45). They missed an opportunity of the ages!

How can a hard-hearted person become tender-hearted? By learning to feel for Jesus, to sympathize with Him. (That's another word for "faith.")

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 14, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Rediscovering How Close Jesus Is to Humanity

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Something BIG is going on behind the scenes! The great controversy between Christ and Satan is relentlessly moving toward its climax. Our public media of course are unaware of the News behind the news--as always throughout human history.

What's happening is twofold: (1) the intensification of evil (that we can learn easily through watching the media!), and simultaneously, (2) the deeper work of God's grace in human hearts. That we can learn not by human judgment (which is erroneous) but from reading the Bible.

This work of "much more abounding grace" (Rom. 5:20) also involves two developments that the Bible highlights: (a) the preparation of a people from "every nation, tribe, and tongue, and people" (Rev. 14:6) who become so reconciled to Christ and His righteousness that they are prepared to meet Him face to face without personal terror when He returns, and (b) the Bride of Christ "making herself ready for the marriage of the Lamb" (see Rev. 19:6-8).

The latter is becoming a topic of interest as a result of people rediscovering how close Jesus is to humanity. Centuries, even millennia, have been devoted to the idea of His farness from humanity. The result is that many who want to believe in Jesus are alienated in spirit from Him. False teaching about Him has put Him in a confused, mystical realm of isolation in the cathedrals rather than "with us" in the crowded marketplaces where we tread everyday.

People who read the Bible in its simplicity can discover its basic theme--the nearness of the Savior. It's News, and it's Good News. His name is Immanuel, which being interpreted is "God with us," not God with Him only (see Matt. 1:23). The Son of God has become the Son of man, and not only two millennia ago, but He still retains that human nature. He will forever be "with us." He is personal, He is a person, and His glorification has not in the least isolated Him from the closest fellowship with human beings.

Especially the last Book of the Bible is a "Revelation" of the eternal humanness of the Son of God (also His divinity). We see Him there as a Bridegroom disappointed and grieved.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 6, 2002.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The "Shaking"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The "shaking" is a Bible doctrine as certain as the other established doctrines. An early mention of it is when the reformer Nehemiah "shook [his] lap, and said, So God shake out every man ... that performeth not" his vow of "obedience" (Neh. 5:13, King James Version). The reformer wanted to see some "works" that would validate the people's professed faith.

God will "arise to shake the earth mightily" (Isa. 2:19), He "will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger" (13:13). However, this may come as a natural cataclysm, but the basic idea of a "shaking" among God's people is that the Lord is fed up with the hypocrisy of professed faith that is not validated by appropriate works.

The world itself is tottering in rotting immorality, with the collapse of simple, basic decency taking place before our eyes. Before the "shaking" is complete, everything that can be shaken will be shaken. But there will be some truths that will remain unshaken.

And each of us is a microcosm of the world and the church being "shaken." We watch astonished as some we knew who once professed a firm faith in biblical inspiration now cast doubts on it and spew ideas rooted in mysticism, so desperate are they in trying to endure the spiritual famine that is raging in church after church.

Side by side with the "shaking" that comes on the church will be that famine: "Says the Lord God, ... 'I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. ... In that day the fair virgins and strong young men shall faint from thirst'" (Amos 8:11-13).

Someone wisely said that the time will come when we must gather warmth from others' coldness. Yes! That's where we are now.

The warmth of the genuine Holy Spirit is given to us, through the Word (John 14:16, 17); He will not leave one hungry, thirsty soul to perish. So, tell the Lord that you believe (but please help your unbelief!) to receive into your hungry soul those New Covenant promises the Lord made to Abraham (yes, you are Abraham's descendant if you believe the gospel; Gen. 12:2, 3). Then keep on believing what "the Spirit of truth" says, and enjoy your victory.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 14, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Entrusted With an Unusual Gift

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Are you one of God's special "elite"? Has He entrusted you with an unusual gift, which is fellowship with Christ in His sufferings--the most weighty trust and highest honor God can give to a human being?

An example of someone who was so "entrusted" with honor is John the Baptist who perished alone in a dungeon; he now stands higher even than Elijah or Enoch, both of whom were translated without tasting death. If you have been called of God to suffer for Jesus' sake, "rejoice," says Jesus Himself, "for great is your reward in heaven" (Matt. 5:12). This is backward from normal worldly (or even church) thinking, but it is truth illustrated all through the Bible.

Think of Paul the apostle. The Lord told Ananias that "he is a chosen vessel of Mine ... for I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake" (Acts 9:15, 16). Saul became Paul, who details for us his almost endless sufferings for Christ in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. You wonder why the Lord let Paul suffer such an unusually heavy portion of suffering; the reason must be that he had persecuted the church in a most unusual frenzy of hatred.

Someday in the earth made new you will be walking down one of those delightful paths and you will meet him face to face. He will give you a handshake with a smile and tell you who he is and who he was, and he'll recite that list of agonies he endured and then he will ask you, Tell me, what sufferings did you endure for Christ's sake? How happy you will be if you can engage in a genuine conversation with him, and realize your fellowship with Paul!

Then, think of Jeremiah. Before he was "formed in the womb," the Lord "knew" him and "sanctified" him (Jer. 1:5); that is, set him apart for a special life of suffering, chose him to endure a life of tears all the way down to death. Others who have suffered for the Lord, such as Joseph oppressed by his ten brothers or David hunted like a wild beast by King Saul ("the Lord's anointed"!), saw their dreams fulfilled within their lifetimes; but not Jeremiah. The anguish of rejection by the perverse people of the Lord went on and on until the poor man perished alone somewhere in Egypt. He lies in some unmarked grave.

Yet after his death, the Jews began to think, and decided he was "the greatest of the prophets." That's why a sizable group began to wonder if Jesus of Nazareth was Jeremiah come back from the dead (Matt. 16:13, 14). Yet Jesus was only in His early 30s! They recognized in Jesus the "Suffering Servant," a likeness in spirit to the weeping prophet. Whoever you are, whatever your burden, "rejoice."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 11, 2003.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

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

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 © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A "Bulletin" From Heaven's Media Office

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Is it possible that our Enemy, Satan, could be pulling a fast one on us while we are asleep as Christians?

Just as Jeremiah's detractors begged him with the request, "Is there any word from the Lord?" so we would love to get some direct communication from Christ, some fresh, up-to-the-minute "bulletin" from Heaven's media office.

Well, we have it in Luke 21--a message as appropriate now as any could be in this cosmic Day of Atonement: "Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day [of last opportunity to save our souls] come on you unexpectedly" (vs. 34).

It is phenomenal how in a time of pervasive world terror, our temptations to indulge in a life of entertainment are so insistent. The more distressing the news of widespread human misery, the more alluring are the solicitations that appeal to our native-born covetousness. Not only big cities like New York and London have their giant temple-like retail stores, but the "big box" stores have come even to our small towns. The malls [and online shopping] are our new cathedrals of heart-worship.

We have metamorphosed into that "certain rich man" whose "ground yielded plentifully" so that he had to build a "greater [barn to] store all [his] crops and goods" (Luke 12:16-18). One of America's big businesses now is public storage where all the "stuff" we can't crowd into our garage, we "store all [our] goods" there. And we say to ourselves, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry" (vs. 19). That's where we are, and that's who we are.

But wait a moment: we're living in the final period of Christ's ministry in the Most Holy part of the heavenly sanctuary; all Heaven is concerned that a people, a corporate body of saints, be prepared for the close of probation; yet never in 6000 years of human history has the ground of a "certain rich man" [us] "yielded [so] plentifully."

Is there a certain clever master intelligence behind this phenomenon? Maybe you can find some missionary work to do in the grand architecture of the mall; but if not, that's no place to spend hours worshipping. Not since Christ began the last phase of His heavenly ministry.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 9, 2004.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Is the Gospel “Soft” on Works?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

God loves beautiful things, and we can learn to appreciate them, too. We can know some of the thrill of appreciating beauty; but can we feel the greater thrill of appreciating the glory of His message of salvation? Is the gospel a system of abstract theology as impersonal as the science of mathematics or chemistry? If so, we do have to force ourselves to feed on it, for no heart-hunger could then be possible! Is making sure of salvation a cold business-like process of commitment like taking out an insurance policy?

The true gospel is fantastically beautiful, a message that grips the human heart more deeply and more lastingly than any human love could do. Straightforward New Testament truth seems fresh and different to many who hear it. It seems shocking to them to realize that Jesus said there is only one prerequisite to salvation: "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). According to this, our part is to believe. (The Greek word for believe and to have faith is the same.) Thus Jesus taught clearly that salvation is by faith, and since He added nothing else, He obviously meant that salvation is by faith alone.

That makes us draw a deep breath. Isn't it necessary to keep the commandments, to pay tithe, give offerings, keep the Lord's day, and do good works, ad infinitum? Yes, but we have no right to add to John 3:16 words that He did not utter.

Then did Jesus teach the "only believe!" heresy that lulls so many people into a do-nothing-and-love-the-world deception? No; He taught the kind of "faith which works" (Gal. 5:6, King James Version), and which itself produces obedience to all the commandments of God. Such faith makes the believer "zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14) so numerous that they cannot be measured. God has already done the loving, and the giving. Our believing comes by responding to that Good News with the kind of appreciation that is appropriate--the yielding of ourselves and all we have to Him. The ad infinitum works follow such genuine faith as surely as fruit follows seed-planting

It is a tragic mistake to assume that the true gospel message is "soft" on works. Pure righteousness by faith is the only message that can produce anything other than "dead works."

--Robert J. Wieland

From: Powerful Good News, pp. 54, 55 (1989).
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: What the Holy Spirit Did at Pentecost

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

How the Holy Spirit works can best be seen at Pentecost. If Jesus' story had ended at Calvary, His life would have seemed a virtual failure. All His miracles and teachings would merely offer us an impossible ideal. Even on that last night of His life, His disciples were still arguing among themselves as to "which of them should be considered the greatest" (Luke 22:24).

And even after the Lord's Supper and the remarkable display of the Savior's love in washing their feet and serving them, the disciples were such cowards that at Jesus' arrest, trial, and crucifixion, "all the disciples forsook Him and fled" (Matt. 26:56). After the cross, these "brave" men holed up in an upper room with the door tightly bolted "for fear of the Jews" (John 20:19). If the story had ended there, where would Christianity be today?

Even the disciples, who witnessed the crucifixion, didn't understand until the resurrection. Then everything came into focus. Christ was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4). The most amazing reality of time and eternity had transpired before their eyes, and from then on they were constrained to tell what they had seen and heard with their own eyes and ears of the Word of life (see 1 John 1:1). Their pride, ambition, strife for supremacy, love of the world--all were crucified now with Christ.

This mysterious melting of soul was what the Holy Spirit did, setting the apostles free to cooperate with God. Always, when human souls are freed from the tyranny of self, it is as much a miracle as was Pentecost. Hammers and dynamite may blast rocks into slivers, but you can't grow a garden in gravel chips. Something must melt rock into fertile soil. The cross, validated by the resurrection, alone can do it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: Signs of the Times, November 1989.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Truth Always Unites--It Never Divides Honest People

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There are honest-hearted people scattered in all cultures and in all kinds of religious faith who will gladly open their hearts to Jesus when they hear His message clearly. He says, "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one Shepherd" (John 10:16).

That's the grand final ingathering of souls that Revelation 18:1-4 speaks of--when a message lightens the earth with glory, and God's people now in "Babylon" hear the Voice from heaven that says with authority, "Come out of her, My people." That Voice has been nearly silenced through a period of three centuries, but "the Scripture cannot be broken" and God's word must be fulfilled (John 10:35). The Voice will yet be heard. Isaiah describes the Loud Cry ingathering: "'Lift up your eyes, look around and see; all these gather together and come to you. As I live,' says the Lord, 'you shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament. ...'" (Isa. 49:18).

Jesus pleads with His Father that these "other sheep" become one, that is, united (John 17:21). Now they are scattered; some keep the seventh day, many keep the first; what will bring them into "one"?

It will be the cross on which the Lord was crucified; they will understand in unison what He accomplished. Today, they are divided in that vision: some see that the cross was meant only to make an offer to the world, that Christ's sacrifice does us no good unless and until we decide to believe and receive the offer.

Others believe that all the good we have ever known is the purchase of that sacrifice; that it proclaims that Jesus became our "last Adam," reversed the judicial condemnation that the first Adam put on the human race, and by virtue of His sacrifice Christ pronounced on everyone a "judicial ... verdict of acquittal" (Rom. 5:16, The Revised English Bible); that He "might taste death for everyone" (Heb. 2:9); that He earned the title "Savior of the world" (John 4:42); that He gave Himself to "everyone" and will save every soul who will let Him do so and will stop resisting Him.

As time goes on, the Holy Spirit will deepen convictions of truth in people's hearts; and truth always unites--it never divides honest people.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 1, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: We Have a Choice—Live Under the Old Covenant or the New

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

We have a choice: we can live under the Old Covenant (the popular way it has been for millennia), or under the New Covenant. And if we choose to live under the New Covenant, all will go well with us. Right? If we are driving, all the lights will turn green; the boss will give us a raise; our spouse will smile sweetly at us; our investments will prosper. Right?

Jesus surely lived under the New Covenant, but He also died under it; from His boyhood He met constant opposition and turmoil that led Him eventually to the cross. New Covenant living is not a picnic.

As a student in the "school of Christ" you are under serious, loving discipline (Heb. 12:5-10). Some setbacks and disappointments may be good for you in the long run. But the Lord tempers our trials, giving each of us the benefit of infinite wisdom. To each of us is given the "measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3) that makes life where His providence has placed us a thing of quiet, steady joy.

Even Jesus in His incarnation endured discipline. We read that "He learned obedience by the things which He suffered" (Heb. 5:8). You will someday thank the Lord Jesus for permitting certain disappointments to come to you; your present happiness can be greatly enhanced by anticipating this through your confidence in His faithfulness. The joy of the future can become yours in the present through faith.

The first message Jesus gave to the assembled disciples after His resurrection was, "Peace be with you" (John 20:19). This is no vain compliment; peace of heart is what you long for and He gives it to you today. "My peace I give to you," and that is in the midst of tribulation (see 14:27). The peace comes with your believing the New Covenant promises, all seven of them in Genesis 12:2, 3.

You may have to pray the prayer of Mark 9:24: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" A wise writer assures us that we can never perish while we pray that prayer. Every little prayer you pray, making that choice, makes you stronger in the Lord.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 15, 2006.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Core Message of the Bible

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There are times when we all are tempted to discouragement. Just being human exposes us to the onslaughts of Satan. He has a variety of ways of getting through to us, through our relatives, our spouse, our neighbors, our friends, our fellow classmates, sometimes even our church fellowship. Satan's basic temptations are always based on a common denominator: unbelief of God's promises. And the remedy for them, the means to overcome, is always: to believe God's promises.

That's the core message of the Bible, and you can't imagine how zealous Satan is to shake our confidence in what it says. And we humans seem to want to go on believing what Satan says instead of what God says.

Here are the promises, seven of them, that God made to Abraham (when he was still called Abram). By virtue of Christ's sacrifice, you have become a child of Abraham, so the same promises apply to you (they're in Genesis 12:1-3):

(1) "I will make you a great nation"--that is, an important, respected person. (2) "I will bless you" (the word means make you happy). (3) "I will make your name great," in other words, He will make you worthy of people's high respect. (4) "You shall be a blessing," that is, you'll make other people happy. (5) "I will bless those who bless you." God will honor you like someone special. (6) "I will curse him who curses you." Yes, you'll have enemies, probably plenty of them; but God will confound every one of them and will honor you. (7) "In you all families of the earth shall be blessed [made happy forever]"; a promise that Christ would come through Abraham's descendants, but a promise to you that you will share with Christ the joy of telling the world about Him.

How did Abraham, respond? Well, he stumbled and staggered for many years, unable to believe such fantastic Good News. But finally he broke through the clouds: "And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness" (15:6). The sooner you believe like Abraham did, the better!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 20, 1998.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Who Is Christ?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

In the Bible story of the past we see constant tension in the ancient world about who God is. The Gentiles were pagan and worshipped idols. But the one true invisible God revealed Himself to Abraham. God called him to be His missionary, to be a blessing to "all families of the earth" by revealing who He is. The same tension exists today. Even within Christianity there is perplexity--who is Christ? Is He truly what the Bible says, "The Savior of the world," "the Savior of all men" (John 4:42; 1 Tim. 4:10)? Or does He merely want to be?

God has chosen the church today as His "missionary" as verily as He chose Abraham long ago. But before the church can reveal Him to the world, they must understand who He is.

If you think of Him as merely offering to save you if, if you do something first, inevitably you will flounder in the waves. You will think of your salvation as something dependant on your ability to do something right first. And you keep wondering if you can. Yes, Christ has thrown you a life-preserver while you are drowning; yes, He will rescue you if, if you can grab the rope and hang on tight enough. But constantly you wonder if you have enough strength.

Can you stop drinking, swearing, smoking, lying (and the list goes on)? Is the world's Savior telling you He would like to save you if, if? Or is the Holy Spirit telling you that He has done more than throw you a rope--He has already found you and has saved you by virtue of His sacrifice. He has jumped into the water where you are drowning and has become your Life Guard. He has come very close to you and has "condemned sin in [your] flesh" (Rom. 8:3, 4). It's more than something He offers you; it's something He has given you. According to John 3:16 the one contribution you make is to receive, and to believe the truth--He is your Savior. And all the promises He has made in His New Covenant become yours. The "works" that follow are endless--your total heart-dedication is to Him.

The world is yet to be lightened with the glory of this message. Believe it, now. Tell Him a big Thank You, even if you feel like you don't yet know enough to join the kindergarten. The Holy Spirit has planted seed in your heart; now let it grow.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 17, 2003.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."