Daily Bread

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Two Lifestyles--What's the Difference?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

You take your temperature when you think you have a fever; can you take a self-test to see if you are living under the Old Covenant, or under the New? At Mt. Sinai, ancient Israel voluntarily enslaved themselves under Old Covenant darkness that shadowed their history thereafter until finally they destroyed their nation and crucified their Messiah, the world's Redeemer.

What's the difference between the two lifestyles today?

(1) New Covenant living is believing the promises of God, rejoicing in the salvation already achieved for you, saying Thank You to God for saving you from the second death by the sacrifice of Christ's blood. It's realizing consciously that the bread you ate today is stamped with the cross of Christ, that every breath you draw is a gift of His much more abounding grace, that you're infinitely and eternally in debt to Him. It's reading Ephesians 1 and believing that you have been adopted into the family of God, thanks to something the Savior already did and not what you have ever done. It's joyously, willingly, happily, surrendering yourself to follow Him in service today, counting not your life dear unto yourself, gladly consecrating yourself to listen obediently to everything the Holy Spirit says to you--all because your little selfish heart is stretched outsize to "comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the agape-love of Christ, which passeth knowledge," the love that drove Him as far as hell to save you from hell. Yes, it's total obedience motivated by His abounding grace.

(2) Old Covenant living is constantly trying to do everything right, motivated by fear of the judgment, concerned because Christ has not already done all of this for you but is waiting for you first to do something that would make it possible for Him to do all this for you.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 24, 2010.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
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Friday, May 14, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Answer Your "Phone"--Your Heavenly Father Is Calling

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

As you keep up with the media news, is your heart tempted to be afraid?

The more human you are, the more you sense that fear! You can see yourself trying to live in the midst of terrorism, plus all the uncertainties of your normal life aside from the terror elsewhere in the world!

Your heavenly "phone" is ringing--answer it; your heavenly Father is calling you. David heard his "phone" ringing: "When You said, 'Seek My face,' my heart said to You, 'Your face, LORD, I will seek'" (Psalm 27:8). Some twenty times Moses is spoken of as "the servant of the Lord," which means that when the LORD woke Moses in the morning and said, "Seek My face," I have something to tell you, Moses would get out of bed and go and kneel before the Lord, and "listen," no matter how early it was.

It was the same with Jesus when He was a boy, a youth, and in His young manhood. It was fun to sleep late in the mornings, but He answered His "phone" when the Father called Him: "The LORD God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. ... And I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away" (Isa. 50:4, 5).

Your heavenly Father is just as concerned for you as He was for His Son Jesus. Remember the simple but often forgotten biblical truth--that the day BEGINS at sundown. Don't fritter away the evening in watching nonsense so you are physically exhausted when the heavenly Father calls you on your heavenly "phone" "morning by morning." Why impoverish yourself by missing all those private tête-à-têtes with the same Father in heaven who taught His Son Jesus every new morning? Yes, He wants to encourage you, to deliver you from your personal fear; but more than that, "morning by morning" He wants to teach you what to say during this new day to someone else "who is weary."

The same LORD woke the child Samuel in the morning and spoke to him. Ah yes, staying snug and warm in bed is cozy fun; and maybe He is not calling you to be a prophet; but for sure He is calling you to help someone else "who is weary." So answer your "phone." And this is what you say: "Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears" (1 Sam. 3:10).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: Aril 29, 2002.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Dial Daily Bread: Can We Be Truly Happy?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Suppose you have a heavy "burden" to carry--a birth defect, injuries from an accident (you are lame, a paraplegic), a painful divorce thrust upon you, a bereavement, a resented loneliness, or celibacy forced by circumstances: can you be truly happy? Let me add, happy "in Christ"? (Like Moses before the burning bush, I should take my "shoes off" for this is "holy ground"! Lord, save me from offering empty platitudes that can only discourage someone!)

Well, first of all, this is indeed holy ground! Something is happening here behind the scenes that is intensely dear to the heart of the Son of God: an important chapter in the great controversy between Christ and Satan is being written that will help to bring a triumphant close to the cosmic conflict. Heaven's TV cameras are focused on you. While it is abundantly true that you cannot in even an iota save yourself, yet your victory in your personal faith-conflict becomes a needed appendix in the story of the cross of Christ. You are tremendously important! The entire universe is watching to see if the grace of Christ is sufficient to save you from bitterness or vain resentment.

Good people argue incessantly about who are the 144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14 (we won't), but they often forget that there are "144,000" categories of "burdens" that people can bear to the glory of Christ. Each is a soldier holding a certain critically important line in the battle of faith. Christ's victory is wonderful; He "endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2), but that glorious victory must now be appended by the faith-victories of many others who "fill up in [their] flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" (Col. 1:24).

"Paul, what do you mean?! Is there something 'lacking' in the ministry of Christ that we can supply as an appendix in a book?" Peter answers: yes, we are privileged to "partake of Christ's sufferings." And then he adds that such a privilege bestows a special happiness. "Rejoice, ... that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:13). Don't despise "the fellowship of [Christ's] sufferings" (Phil. 3:10).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 24, 2000.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: The ABCs of Love

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

You can only learn to love when you believe yourself to be beloved. That is, when your sense of insecurity has been replaced by the assurance that you are firmly enfolded in the arms of Somebody Important. Only then can you dare to let yourself be vulnerable and exposed by loving someone else.

That's why the Bible is so clear on this controversial issue of salvation--that it's "by grace, through faith," specifically "not of works" (Eph. 2:8, 9). In other words, shocking as it may seem, salvation depends on your BELIEVING that God loves you, because only if you believe that, can it be possible for you to learn how to love. And learning how to love is the one pre-requisite for entering heaven: "He that loveth not knoweth not God. ... He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God" (1 John 4:8, 16). All of our talk about "keeping the commandments" breaks down to nothing if we haven't learned how to love, for "to love, then, is to obey the whole Law" (Rom. 13:10, GNB). If we think that through, we end up realizing that we shall be asked one great question at last: "Have you learned how to love?" All of our great "works" will count for zero.

To glibly quote John 3:16, "God so loved the world" is not enough until your soul can grasp that God has so loved YOU, yes, and so LOVES you now, that He GAVE and HAS GIVEN Something Wonderful for you to BELIEVE, that is, to appreciate the gift that was and is still given for you.

To tell the truth, your soul (and my soul, too) is too small to grasp what's involved. My little cup can't drain the ocean dry. But I can let my little cup be full, little as it is. I can kneel and confess my nakedness of soul, how little I know how to love, how unloving I am by nature, and I can ask God in humility, "Please, Father in heaven, open these blind eyes to SEE Your love for me. Please be merciful to me in my unlovingness, and teach me like a beginner the ABCs of love."

Then comes the answer: Look! Look! "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29). He has been "lifted up" as on a "flagpole" (Num. 21:8, Peterson), so simply look, let your little soul be stretched outsize to "comprehend" what it cost Him to die on His cross. Ask to be permitted to begin to appreciate the grand dimensions of that love, to SEE what He accomplished. Maybe I should add--it's a dangerous prayer to pray because it WILL be answered. It'll mean a new you.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 7, 2002.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: The Good News Promise--"I Will Come Again"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Is Jesus Christ doing anything special now? Or is He doing the same as He has always done since He ascended to heaven nearly two millennia ago?

His work throughout the ages has been preparing people to die--a wonderful work indeed. By His Holy Spirit preparing untold millions to come up in the first resurrection so they can inherit a place in His eternal kingdom. Thus they have prayed in their last hour, "Abide with me, ... the darkness deepens, Lord, with me abide." For those who die, nothing can be more important than to be "counted worthy to attain ... the resurrection from the dead," says Jesus (Luke 20:35).

But must sin continue to plague human life on this planet forever? Must the agony of the Middle East continue generation after generation, on and on? (Jesus Himself feels all this misery, remember! Isa. 63:9.)

The Good News is that He promises, "I will come again" (John 14:3). For His sake, as well as ours! But He can't come the second time until He prepares a people--not to die as have billions--but to be translated without seeing death (see 1 Thess. 4:15-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; Rev. 14:14-16, etc., etc.). What's the difference, if any? This: the final tests!

Who are those people? It's not our job to judge (maybe your next door neighbor). But silently, steadily, the Lord Jesus as our great High Priest in His closing work in the heavenly sanctuary is doing just that--preparing a people to endure the final tests of the mark of the beast, by faith to stand unmoved when the Holy Spirit is withdrawn from the earth, to be loyal--whatever. They "overcome even as [He] overcame" (Rev. 3:21). Listen!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 23, 2002.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

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

Monday, May 10, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Moses and the "Conference" on the Mount

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Who was Moses? How would he fit in with our 21st century world? Could he relate?

These questions are not irrelevant because he is alive, somewhere. “The dead in Christ” are all asleep, awaiting the first resurrection at the second coming of Christ (Rev. 20:6; 1 Thess. 4:14-17; John 5:28, 29). But Moses was granted a special resurrection (Jude 9)! He would doubtless have been granted translation without experiencing death as Enoch (Heb. 11:5), but Moses brought shame and disgrace on the Lord by losing his temper at Kadesh (Num. 20:7-13). In anger he struck the rock twice to bring water to the people rather than speak the word as the Lord had commanded him. In so doing he had given the people the impression that he--not the Lord--was providing their water.

But after he was especially resurrected, one would think that Moses would be lonely in heaven, for human companionship, except for Enoch and Elijah who were translated, for all the others who have believed in the Lord are “asleep.” But surely God would give Moses something meaningful to do to relieve his celestial boredom. And we have a brief glimpse in Matthew 17 of his assigned work; God sent him to minister encouragement to the Savior of the world in the conference on the Mount of Transfiguration (vss. 1-3).

Moses had an experience that enabled him to come close to Christ. His heart had been “enlarged” (cf. Psalm 119:32, KJV) in his appreciation of the sacrifice of Christ. He was qualified to minister to Christ. He and Elijah shared this deeper insight so that the two of them were sent on this unique errand. In his love for God’s people (“the church in the wilderness,” Acts 7:38) Moses asked for his own name to be blotted out of the book of life if thereby he could save Israel (Ex. 32:32, 33). That is a rare love--it’s agape! It motivated Christ.

The love that Moses knew did not precede the love that moved Christ; Moses learned it from Him, for Christ was first. But what’s important is that he did learn it! He opened his heart; he did not resist it. Moses had a point of intimacy with Christ. He was qualified to attend the conference on the Mount and speak words of encouragement to Jesus. Thank God that he did!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 18, 2006.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Dial Daily Bread: Why Elijah Instead of Enoch or Moses?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Bible is clear: there are three people from Old Testament times who are in heaven today: (1) Enoch, who "was translated that he should not see death" (Heb. 11:5) for he had "walked with God" (Gen. 5:24). (2) Moses, who was almost translated but who had to die on Mt. Nebo but was specially resurrected by "Michael, the archangel [Christ]" (Jude 9). (3) Elijah, who was also translated without seeing death (2 Kings 2:11). All the others in Old Testament times who died are "asleep" in their graves awaiting the first or second resurrections. Some were resurrected when Christ was resurrected (Matt. 27:52, 53).

Moses and Elijah were sent on that special mission to converse with Jesus before His crucifixion (Matt. 17:1-5).

But why is Elijah, and not Moses or Enoch, sent to "us" before "the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5, 6)? Ancient Israel was the corporate "body" of Christ in Elijah's day and they had fallen into a grievous apostasy without knowing it; the True Witness" says modern Laodicea (also the corporate "body of Christ") has also unknowingly fallen into a serious state of "you know not" your true condition before God and before the universe--a condition of pitiable "nakedness" of soul (Rev. 3:14-21).

Elijah had had a unique experience of contending with the Baal worship of Ahab's day; it seems obvious that the Lord has sent "the prophet Elijah" to lead out in our struggle today with modern Baal worship. This struggle is unmasked in the message of the three angels of Revelation 14:6-12 that prepare a people to meet the final test of the mark of the beast and the close of probation.

Whether Elijah will direct this struggle personally, we cannot say; the message of John the Baptist accomplished that same work just before the coming of Christ the first time. Now, just before His second coming, the same bold exposure of Baal worship must be proclaimed--"come out of [Babylon], My people," God says. "Elijah" will be loyal to the church, but loyalty also requires fidelity to truth, humbling as it may be. Let's be sure we know the Holy Spirit personally, how to recognize His presence, and how to tell when He is absent.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 2, 2006.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Friday, May 07, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: A Paradigm Shift in Heart Dynamics

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why does a man love a woman? The LORD God created him to do so: she is "an help meet for him" (Gen. 2:18, KJV), a person perfectly complementary to him, but female as he is male. The fact that he loves her has opened the secret of her heart-response in return; now she understands him and appreciates him for what he is. Heaven forbid that it is merely sexual lust on either side, for that is not "agape" and it always "fails" (cf. 1 Cor. 13:8).

And the woman whom the man loves is intellectually challenging to him in her way. He desperately needs her; and he appreciates her. Her judgment is what he needs throughout life. Their love is very deep and lasting.

Any church that Jesus loves as the Bridegroom-to-be is a corporate body of people who "believe in Jesus" in a non-superficial way. That means that their "faith" is not egocentric; they have outgrown their infantile search for a reward for themselves. They have come to the place where they have little time or inclination to dream of their "mansion" in the New Jerusalem. What prompts their thinking now? Is it what Jesus can do for them, or what they can do for Him? Some would say it's a paradigm shift in heart dynamics; they have "come to ... the knowledge of the Son of God, … to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ... no longer children, ... but ... grow[n] up in all things into Him" (Eph. 4:13-15).

This means that as a church body they have outgrown the pagan-papal doctrine of natural immortality, and they are now capable of appreciating the sacrifice of Christ on His cross. The death He died is not our "sleep," nor merely a foray into enduring our human physical pain (which of course He did endure!), but He endured "the curse of God," the darkness of an eternal death, the pangs of hell in His great love for us (cf. Gal. 3:13).

Appreciating that stretches our little human hearts outsize (cf. Psalm 119:32).

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 22, 2006.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Dial Daily Bread: The One Place We Must "Walk Softly"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's the one place where above all else we must "walk softly": the holy Son of God who has become the new Head of the human race, intimately close to us in His humanity yet "in the beginning … God" and forever will be God, He is in love.

In trying to understand, the only analogy we can turn to is our own human experience: a pure youth on the threshold of manhood has discovered a girl who answers to his heart longings. They are human longings but holy, even angels can't know or understand; this youth has been created "in the image of God," which even angels cannot claim to be.

His love for this girl (who is on the threshold of womanhood) is a faint intimation of the plight that Jesus the Son of God finds Himself in: He is in love with a "woman" and He is captive to that love. As true love always does, it possesses Him and drives Him. The old saying is that all the world loves two who are in love; all of God's universe watches the unfolding of this love affair that the Son of God is caught up in.

The church is a human organism, a "body." How can Christ love a church as a man loves a pure young woman, a virgin, who gives herself to him in answer to his love for her?

A hint is in Revelation 3: the sixth church of history, Philadelphia, has responded to Christ's "wooing" in that she has been a "church" that has welcomed every ray of light brought to her by the Holy Spirit regardless of ostracism or persecution to suffer. Christ promises her that He will "make" her persecutors "to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you" in that rarest of heavenly intimacy (vs. 9).

Can the time ever come when that same "woman" resists and condemns "light" that Jesus brings her? More tomorrow.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 20, 2006.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Seminar Invitation--Reno May 21, 22

You Are Cordially Invited
to a Weekend Seminar

GOOD NEWS FOR ADVENTISTS
IN THE 21st CENTURY
Is Righteousness by Faith Relevant Today?

MAY 21-22, 2010
(Friday evening - Saturday night)

RENO SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
7125 West 4th Street, Reno, Nevada

Speakers and Bible Study Leaders

• STE VE McCANDLESS, Pastor
Reno Seventh-day Adventist Church

• PAUL E. PENNO, Pastor
Hayward Seventh-day Adventist Church

• DANIEL PETERS
Certified Addiction Treatment Counselor

• ARLENE HILL
Reno Church Elder and Sabbath School Leader

Meals at the Church
• Friday night: Light supper for visitors
• Sabbath noon: Fellowship dinner • Sabbath evening: Light supper

For meal planning purposes, please let us know how many people to expect:
E-mail: ckawamoto@1888message.org

Lodging
The Internet will be the best source for lodging information.

PROGRAM

Friday, May 21

6:30 p.m. Welcome & Program of Music
Christ Our Covenant Righteousness: Our Covenant Heritage -- Paul E. Penno

Sabbath, May 22

9:30 a.m. Sabbath School -- Arlene Hill

11:00 a.m. Worship Service
Calvary Justifies All in View of the Great Controversy -- Paul E. Penno

Break & Fellowship Dinner

1:30 p.m. One Little Word That Turns the World Upside Down -- Daniel Peters

2:30 p.m. Why the Humanity of Christ Is a Life or Death Issue -- Paul E. Penno

3:45 p.m. What Makes Adventists Unique? -- Paul E. Penno

5:30 p.m. Light Supper

6:30 p.m. Vespers -- Steve McCandless

7:30 p.m. Questions & Answers

Book Sale After Evening Meetings

"One interest will prevail, one subject will swallow up every other,--Christ our righteousness"
--Ellen G. White, The 1888 Materials, p. 765

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Christ's Love for the Lost

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The idea of "in Christ" appears many times in Paul's letters. Sometimes he applies the phrase unmistakably to the personal conversion experience of those who believe. Other times he unmistakably applies it to the entire human race which has been redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ. Both the righteous and the wicked will come up in resurrection because they are all "in Christ" (1 Cor. 15:22).

That does not mean that the wicked have had a conversion experience, far from it; but when Adam sinned and lost the headship of the human race, Christ stepped in to become the second Adam. Paul says he reversed the evil to the race that Adam had done; Christ came to save the world, and He redeemed it. He did more than offer life to "all men," for He GAVE the gift to all men. It's like Esau and his birthright; it was not offered to him, it was given to him. The only reason he failed to reap the blessings of the inheritance was because he despised and sold it (Gen. 25:33, 34).

There was once a lady who believed in Christ whose husband did not. He had firmly, irrevocably fixed his heart against giving himself to the Lord who had died for him. A wise counselor told the wife to be as good to him as she could because her kindnesses to him were the only "heaven" he would ever have. He chose to "perish."

Jesus still loves the world, even the perishing. The Father gave Him and He gave Himself so that whoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life. But if someone chooses not to believe in Him, He still loves that poor perishing soul and wants him/her to enjoy this life as much as he/she can. It's pathetic, but that's how great His love for the lost still is.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 4, 2005.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Dial Daily Bread: Like a Nut With a Sweet Kernel Inside

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

On the surface it appears to be bad news when the Bible text says: "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). It sounds like it's a contradiction of what Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to Me, ... and I will give you rest. ... My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Why take up a cross of self-denial in order to follow Jesus if you have to endure "many tribulations"?

This apparently difficult statement of Paul does not contradict that of Jesus. If you decline to share with Him His cross of self-denial, you can also have "many tribulations," even more. Jesus didn't come from heaven to this earth to excuse us fallen children of Adam from all troubles; He came to share our troubles and give us the comfort of His presence with us.

But those troubles which are the lot of all humanity will be infinitely more difficult to endure if we deprive ourselves of "the fellowship" of Christ in "His sufferings" (Phil. 3:10). Good people and bad people alike suffer accidents, have heart attacks, strokes, break their hips, yes, die. But the person who responds to Christ's invitation and "takes up [his] cross daily and follows Him" enjoys a most precious uplift. He has a conscious fellowship with the one and only Jesus, the Son of God, who endured the horror of our second death on His cross (which we will never have to endure!).

This text of apparently bad news is like a nut that has a sweet kernel inside that awaits our patience in cracking its hard shell.

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 2, 2005.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

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

Monday, May 03, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Better to Stay in School!

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Going to school is something most people want to get out of as soon as possible. Kids love summer vacation; school discipline is onerous; "commencement" is great--class work is finished. But does God have a "class" where school discipline continues?

In Psalm 25 David seven times prays that he may be a student in the Lord's "class": "teach me Your paths," he asks over and over. We probably don't know if he was old or young when he wrote this Psalm, but the inspired picture we get in the Bible is Good News--there is never a graduation out of the Lord's school. You are always a student, a learner, and He never expels you from His "university," but of course you are always free to "quit school" if you wish.

There is always a temptation to "quit" because as our Teacher the Lord exercises discipline, which our carnal hearts don't like. "Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens" (Heb. 12:5, 6). It's not that He is a severe Schoolmaster, but His tuition appears that way to us, for "no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (vs. 11). In fact, if the discipline or chastening has ceased and you think you have clear sailing, one of two things has happened: either you are indeed ready for translation (way ahead of almost everybody else), or you are in real trouble, for "if you are without chastening, ... then you are illegitimate and not sons" (vs. 8).

The writer of Psalm 73 felt at times that the Lord's discipline was too severe. "I have been ... chastened every morning" (vs. 14), waking up each new day to renewed "grief" and "vexation" (vs. 21). It seemed that the Holy Spirit would never get through "convicting" him of sin (which is His "first grade" tuition, John 16:8). Would he as a student in the "school of Christ" never get out of that "first grade"? Other "students" seemed to be spared that "discipline." Life for them was all fun and games. "It was too painful for me--until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end" (Psalm 73:16, 17).

Something special is happening right now in the "sanctuary"--the Day of Atonement. Yes! Better stay in school!

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 28, 2000.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: The Healing in Being Crucified With Christ

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Why was Judas Iscariot lost and Peter saved? Judas was a gentleman; we don't read that he ever lost his temper and cursed and swore like Peter did. We don't read that Jesus ever rebuked him except that one last time when Mary washed Jesus' feet with her tears (Mark 14:4-6). It appears that the disciples all pretty well had Judas sized up to be Prime Minister of the new Kingdom soon to be started. He obviously had executive ability. (When he left the Last Supper they thought he was off to do some legitimate business, John 13:27-29.)

Is there such a big difference between betraying Jesus and denying Him with cursing and swearing that God can forgive one and not the other?

Both are devastating in self-condemnation when you realize what you have done. Some will suggest that Judas's love of money was the unforgivable part of his sin, but that would doom a lot of us because loving money is our common community sin. Both Judas and Peter were in anguish after they realized what they had done (Matt. 26:75; 27:3-5). Both "repented" (Matthew says Judas "repented himself" and with profound regret brought back his money--what more could he have done?) Could not Jesus have forgiven him?

But wait a moment: The "repentance" Judas experienced was sorrow for the consequences of his sin, and the repentance of Peter was sorrow for the sin itself (in the Greek, it's two different words for "repent"). Judas hated himself so badly that he committed suicide--don't ever do that when you realize the enormity of your sin! The right thing to do when you are convicted of your sin is not to end your physical life, but choose to die to self. Let self be "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20). It's painful, but it's healing.

Peter came within a millimeter of losing his soul forever. But he did what Jesus said to do: fall on the rock and be broken (Matt. 21:44). Judas hated the idea of self being crucified with Christ; Peter chose to love the idea. The issue is not how big is our sin; but do we choose to fall on that Rock and be "broken." When "Peter out and wept bitterly," that's what he did. He saw himself as he really was, and did not reject the conviction. God save us all!

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: What Will Make the "Bones" Live?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Talk about vivid, intensely interesting language! The Bible tops all books.

Ezekiel tells how God showed him Israel as a valley filled with dry bones, "bleached by the sun,"--a vast panorama of spiritual death. Then He asked the prophet a simple question: "'Can these bones live?'" I said, 'Master God, only you know that.'" It was a representation of the spiritual state of God's true church then. The primary focus of the vision is not the physical "first resurrection" and the "new earth," although that can be one application. But no one who is spiritually dead now will have a chance of coming up in the "first resurrection." It's NOW that we must experience a living conversion.

According to what Christ says in Revelation 3:14-21 of His true church in these last days, "the valley of dry bones," is disturbing. It's not ancient history.

Ezekiel could have prayed for those "dry bones" 24 hours a day for a century (endless prayer meetings!), and nothing would have happened. (Some churches fast and pray and still nothing happens to change their spiritual death.) Now note: several times in Ezekiel 37:4-10 (Peterson), the Lord told the prophet what to do: "prophesy upon these bones"--and he did. God wasn't about to resurrect them unilaterally; He demanded the prophet's help. Even the final "breath" that entered them was the fruit of Ezekiel's "prophesying." They must have "the everlasting gospel" (vs. 10). The "dry bones" must be fed with the Word.

Is your church "dead"? The children being starved? The youth? Yes--pray; but don't overlook Ezekiel's lesson. Nothing will work except the proclamation of "the everlasting gospel," "the third angel's message in verity," the Word of the cross (Rev. 14:6-15). But will that make the bones "live"? Yes!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Is Salvation a 50/50 "Balance"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Can we talk too much about what Christ has done to save us? Should we talk 50% of what He has done, or is doing, and then talk 50% of what we must do to be saved? That 50/50 balance sounds quite reasonable, doesn't it? Yes, and millions who say they are Christians view the gospel that way. And they are lukewarm in their devotion to Christ!

Paul didn't buy into the 50/50 idea. When he came to Corinth he said, "I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). Wait a moment, Paul! Aren't you unbalanced? Sure, preach the cross--but surely not as "everything"? If you talk too much about what Christ has done to save us, aren't you afraid that your listeners will get lazy and stop keeping the commandments of God?

No, says Paul: "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing; but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ... We preach Christ crucified. ... Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1:18, 23, 24). Then he adds in vs. 29, "No flesh can glory [boast] in God's presence." Now if you are saving yourself 50/50, if you are "trusting" to your "sanctified obedience for salvation," if you believe that "sanctification ... in us ... [is] part of the means of our salvation," you have plenty to boast about. (I am quoting word for word from a publication produced by scholars who tell us how to be saved.)

In contrast, Paul says that Christ saves us 100% and that the believer's part is to LET Him do it, to cooperate with Him, to respond to the constraint of His love, thankful every step of the way that Christ is the one who is his Savior TOTALLY. Paul sees no co-saviors on the believer's horizon. And if we will listen to Paul preach in Corinth about the cross, and believe what we hear him say, our lukewarmness will be finished.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: "Made" or "Constituted" in Romans 5

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Someone had written asking that we make clear what Young's Literal Translation of Romans 5:15-19 means, especially Paul's use of the word "constituted." It's in verses 18, 19, instead of the word "made" as in the King James Version. Here's what Young renders Paul as saying: "So, then, as through one offense to all men it is to condemnation, so also through one declaration of 'Righteous' it is to all men to justification of life; for as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam], the many [all men] were CONSTITUTED sinners: so also through the obedience of the One [Christ], shall the many [the same all men] be CONSTITUTED righteous" (Young's Literal, vss. 18, 19).

The sin of Adam did not MAKE "all men" to be actual sinners--that would be "original sin." Adam's fatherhood has not forced anyone to sin! (It could be that the KJV rendering as "made" has led some to think the Bible does teach original sin; but Young's Literal makes clear that we still have freedom of choice. Thank God!)

But it is true that "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23), except Christ. But He took upon Himself the DNA descent from Adam, yet He proves that inheriting a sinful nature does not force one necessarily to be a sinner in character. Christ was tempted like as we are tempted, but He said "No!" to every temptation (Heb. 4:15; Titus 2:11, 12, NIV). Adam's sin CONSTITUTED "all men" under the legal condemnation of sin. Jesus "took" it upon Himself, so He could die.

Likewise, according to Young's Literal, the cross of Christ did not MAKE the same "all men" to be experientially "righteous." It CONSTITUTED them "righteous" in a legal sense so the Father could send His rain on the just and the unjust alike--so He could treat every person as though he had not sinned. Some call this a "second probation." But God means what He says: no one can keep you out of heaven, except your own perverse choice.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: Only One Thing That We MUST Do

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

This may shock you, but it is true: as you read the New Testament, there is only one thing that we are told we MUST do: and that is "believe." It's clear in John 3:7-16, and in Heb. 11:6, as well as Acts 16:30, 31. And the New Testament does not teach the heresy of what is known as "only-believism," that is, that a mental assent and confession is all that is necessary--without obedience. Romans 10:10 says that "with the heart [we] believe unto righteousness." And if you believe with the heart, there is certainly a change in the life that leads you to obey all of God's commandments.

Put all those texts together and let them speak, and it becomes clear that the Bible meaning of the word "believe" is quite different from the usual idea held by Roman Catholic and Protestant evangelicals. To "believe" is not an exercise of selfishness, like buying a lottery ticket. Every such purchase is an exercise in selfishness, a hope to win a bonanza. But Bible faith is not centered in winning something, even if it is a heavenly fortune instead of an earthly jackpot. Bible faith is a heart-appreciation of the love of the Father in giving His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth should not perish, but have everlasting life. According to Jesus, this is the one thing you MUST do.

But someone says, hey, wait a minute--doesn't He say, "If you love me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15)? Yes, but please notice: the motive is love, not fear, or hope of reward! And Jesus prefaces that remark with this: "believe ... in Me" (vs. 1). He is talking about receiving the atonement, the reconciliation (Rom. 5:9, 10). Paul pleads with us, "Be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20). Why, and how? The next verse answers: because Christ was "made to be sin for us, who knew no sin."

Let your little heart contemplate what happened on that cross; then as David says, your heart will be "enlarged" (Psalm 119:32). In such faith is everlasting life. And the message about it today is the third angel's message in verity.

Dial Daily Bread: The Story of "Pleasant" Turned "Bitter"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Note: For our readers who are studying the Sabbath School lessons on "Health and Healing," you may be interested in a paper by the author of "Dial Daily Bread" entitled: "Healthful Living and the 'Latter Rain.'" You will find it posted on this Website: http://www.1888mpm.org/articles/healthful-living-and-latter-rain

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Let's pay a visit to the lady who repented in sorrow for her husband's Old Covenant unbelief. Naomi's husband (her name means "Pleasant") was fortunate to be born an Israelite, which meant he was heir to all the promises God had made to their father Abraham. Best of all, his inheritance was in the most favored spot of all the twelve tribes--Bethlehem, "the House of Bread." Elimelech should have remembered how Abraham's faith was tested in temporary famine in the "land that [God said] I will shew thee" (Gen. 12:1). Surely, Abraham's God would not permit Elimelech's family to suffer if they hung on by faith in Bethlehem until the economic recession was over!

But no, Elimelech heard there was prosperity in the heathen land of Moab. Let's provide for our children better than we've had for ourselves, he told Naomi; and the dear, sweet "pleasant" lady went along with his plans. Taking their two young sons, Mahlon and Chilion, they packed up and moved. She probably cheerfully told everybody goodbye; no more hard times for us! They would never give up the message, etc., etc., you know.

Well, dear husband died. Terrible blow to her faith. But she still had her two fine young Israelite sons. And then the inevitable: growing up in worldly schools, they fell in love with worldly girls, and married Orpah and Ruth, pagan girls. Oh yes, they were good upright girls, but "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel." The boys had "married out of the truth."

And then they both took sick, and--horror of horrors--they died! Naomi was devastated. All the wealth they had accumulated was now a painful burden to her. She gave herself a new name--Mara, "Bitter." "The Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. ... The Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me" (Ruth 1:20, 21).

But the dear Lord is not harsh. "Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord" says another man who repented bitterly for his people's Old Covenant unbelief (Jeremiah, Lam. 3:40). God had simply been forced to leave Elimelech to have what he had chosen--a pagan culture, and Naomi, one with him, had to suffer.

But read the story in the Book of Ruth to the end, and behold the goodness of the Lord. She "came back to the church," and did the Lord ever receive her!

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

Monday, April 26, 2010

Dial Daily Bread: The Lesson of Isaiah 53

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When one studies Isaiah 53, we cannot help but being impressed that the Son of God has given Himself to die the world's second death, "poured out His soul unto death" as you would turn a bottle upside down to drain the last drop, and yet God's people two millennia ago would not "believe our report" (God sent).

Isaiah's idea is that when the Savior of the world should come, His lowly form would be so unlike His people's proud expectations that they would make Him "despised and rejected of men" (vs. 3). They would interpret the humble birth of Jesus and His gentle demeanor as reason to treat Him with disdain. The rejection and murder of the Son of God by the best people on earth has become the scandal of the ages!

It has been this way always. God sends "messengers," and His people reject them. Jesus complained that His chosen people had always "scourged and persecuted" the "prophets" He had sent them, even killed them and crucified them, and "stonest them which are sent unto thee." He told them straight (Matt. 23:34-37).

True to form, the Jews then proceeded to persecute and kill the apostles whom God sent to them. Often through history, God's prophets have been treated better by the Gentiles than by His own people. Elijah had to find refuge in a Gentile nation from the persecution of the king and queen of Israel, and Jesus called this to the attention of His own people (which they didn't like, and tried to kill Him then, Luke 4:24-27).

"Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" asks Isaiah (53:1). To human eyes, the Sent of God is always misunderstood, "despised and rejected of men." The world's Redeemer and Savior seemed to His own people to be "a root out of a dry ground [with] no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him" (vs. 2).

But must this "unchristlike persecution" go on and on through all centuries right up to the very end of time? Must there never come a repentance on the part of God's people? Must the lessons of history forever be disregarded?

There must and there will come a repentance, for the Bride of Christ will at last "make herself ready" for the "marriage of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:7, 8). The lesson of Isaiah 53 will be learned at last.