Daily Bread

Friday, November 18, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Unhappy France figures large in Bible prophecy. The Revelator John saw “the seven angels who stand before God [to whom] were given seven trumpets” (Rev. 8:2). The successive blowing of those seven trumpets marks seven great epochs in world history since the time of Christ. Thoughtful students of the Bible and history recognize today that we are living in the time of the blowing of the seventh trumpet (11:15-18).

For hundreds of years Protestant scholars have seen that the 5th and 6th trumpets (9:1-12, 12-21) depict the rise and progress of Islam as a divinely permitted scourge of the apostasy, backsliding, and worldliness of professed Christianity (“Babylon is fallen,” 14:8). Under the blowing of the sixth trumpet John traced the blessed work of devoted messengers of God who “prophesied.... clothed in sackcloth” during the 1260 years of the Dark Ages and preserved for our day the truths of the Old and New Testaments (the Bible)—people such as the Waldenses (11:3-6).

As the end of those 1260 years approached, John saw the Reign of Terror that engulfed France which precipitated the rise of militant atheism and Communism. It was the French Revolution which tried to destroy the Bible (vss. 7-10). Even the time for the duration of the Reign of Terror is specified (vs. 11), and the subsequent rise of the British and Foreign, and American, Bible Societies is seen and the resultant age of enlightenment (vss. 11, 12).

When “the seventh trumpet [is] sounded,” all Heaven rejoices (vss. 15-18). Now Daniel is “open” after being sealed for millennia (Dan. 12:4) and the glorious truths of “the everlasting gospel” proclaimed worldwide will prepare a people to “follow the crucified Christ [the Lamb] wherever He goes” and meet Jesus happily when He returns (14:1-15).

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" phone message is available via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Abraham is “the father of all those who believe” (Rom. 4:11), which means: no one will enter the gates of the New Jerusalem except as a child of Abraham. That means in turn that his being justified by faith is the model or pattern of conversion for all who believe in Jesus.

Abraham was a Gentile like everybody else in the world until “the Scripture.... preached the gospel to Abraham” and he believed (Gal. 3:8). When was he “accounted” righteous, or “declared” to be righteous? Not until he believed and his heart was reconciled to God, for we read that his faith “was accounted to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6; Gal. 3:6).

But like every other member of the fallen human race, while Abraham was a Gentile in heart, his “carnal heart” still in a state of “enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7), he was not “accounted” or “declared” to be righteous. But Christ’s sacrifice on His cross enabled the Father to treat Abraham as though he were righteous! Christ being the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8), He was slain for Abraham while he was in his unbelieving state. Because Christ died for Abraham while he was “still a sinner” (Rom. 5:8), the Father was enabled to “make His sun rise” and “send [His] rain” on “still”-unbelieving Abram (Matt. 5:45).

There is a world of difference, yes an eternity of difference, between the Father treating “every man” as though he were righteous and the Father declaring or accounting an individual person to be righteous. The Father can never tell a lie; therefore He cannot declare one to be righteous until that person has chosen to “believe,” “to be reconciled,” to be “crucified with Christ.” But then at that point He “counts” his faith for righteousness even though the faith may be very immature. He knows that genuine faith always “works by love and purifies the soul.” He therefore accepts the faint beginning of personal faith as evidence it will be “complete“ in Christ.”

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Sunday, November 13, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

“The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7). And “the carnal mind” is what every human has who has not subjected his “mind” to the “faith of Jesus.” Disturbing thought: we are all at war with God and with His holy law or we are by choice “crucified with Christ” with “the world.... crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 2:20; 6:14). It’s either/or; no fence to sit on.

And “enmity” has murder automatically wrapped up within it, for “whoever hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15). The ancient Jewish leaders were possessed of that same carnal mind that was “enmity” against Jesus Christ. And indeed, the “nor-indeed-can-be” applied to them. They felt they just had to yield to an ongoing rush of evil emotion that drove them to crucify Him. Their hatred of Him just had to blossom out in His murder!

In the last days (which are just upon us!) that same “enmity against God” will reveal itself in “all who dwell on the earth.... whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). But this time the Son of God is not present physically in person as He was two millennia ago; therefore that pent-up “rage against God” will burst forth against those who are loyal to Christ in the closing scenes of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Jesus told us, “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake..... A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master..... Do not fear them” (Matt. 10:22, 24).

Some wonderful people are tempted to wish they could “sleep” before the coming of “the time of trouble,” and get to heaven escaping this trauma. Be careful! Do you wish yourself “above [your] Teacher,.... above [your] Master”? Happiness is staying close to Him!

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Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

What is the grand climax of the book of Revelation? Not Bad News, but Good News!

True, the terrible fall of “Babylon” and the unthinkable “seven last plagues” figure largely. But they are eclipsed by the glorious triumph of that Lamb of God. He is “Lord of lords and King of kings,” who rides on that “white horse,” and who has “eyes as a flame of fire, and on His head many crowns; and a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself,” whose “vesture is dipped in blood,.... and the armies in heaven follow.... Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”

He wins the great war of eternity in His final battle with the “dragon,” the Enemy who invented sin in heaven when his name was Lucifer, son of the morning, who made himself become “that serpent of old,.... the devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (12:9).

And how does Christ win this final battle?

Revelation 19 discloses His triumph: He wins the heart and the hand of a difficult-to-win “woman.” She finally surrenders her repentant soul to become His Bride. “The marriage of the Lamb” is the occasion for the rejoicing of the inhabitants of heaven, as Heaven has never rejoiced in past eternity. John hears “as it were the voice of a great multitude,.... the Lord God Omnipotent reigns.” Christ is now triumphant! “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give Him glory,” is the lyrics of four grand Hallelujah Choruses that ring through the reaches of infinitude, “for the marriage of the Lamb has come [at last!], and His wife has made herself ready”(vss. 6-9). Invitations to the wedding banquet are right now being accepted, and.... [sadly some] rejected. The celebration is on! Come!

No novel ever written is as thrilling as this love story finally played out to its climax.

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Friday, November 11, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

What is probably the finest English translation of the Song of Songs (Solomon’s Song in the OT) is by Ariel and Chana Bloch (Random House, 1995). When it came into my hands, I eagerly turned to see what they do with 4:7 which Paul quotes in Ephesians 5:27 (“there is no spot in thee,” KJV, the church when she “makes herself ready” for “the marriage of the Lamb,” Rev. 19:7, 8). Yes, this translation makes it clear: “literally, ‘and there is no flaw in you.’”

Then I checked vs. 15 (“a well of living waters,” KJV): yes, “‘a well of water, fresh and gushing from Lebanon.’” This is what Jesus quoted when “on the last day, that great day of the feast [of tabernacles] Jesus stood and cried out,.... ‘He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37, 38). That’s where Jesus confirms that the Song of Songs belongs in the Bible! Perhaps Rabbi Akiba was right when he said that it “is the Holy of Holies” of biblical literature. (Can you find anywhere a more thrilling definition of what it means to “believe” in Jesus? The “he who believes” is you! Is that “river of living water” flowing out of your heart to everyone you meet? Do you have a word of Good News truth for everyone? Does it “live” in you?)

The Blochs fell short when they came to SS 5:1-8; they studied only the Hebrew text. Jesus quotes the Greek version (Septuagint) in Rev. 3:20: “I stand at the door and knock.” The girl, His Bride-to-be, comfy in bed, resents His coming at that hour, and initially refuses Him entrance (that’s the true church, the “one” whom He loves as a Bridegroom loves a bride). His disappointment is beyond description. Finally, she stops thinking of her own comfort and thinks of His need and rises to let Him in—but by then He is gone. Only repentance (“I am lovesick!”) will enable her to find Him again. Read the story as it is!

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Why did the apostle Paul urge us to pray with “supplications” for “kings and all that are in authority” (1 Tim. 2:1, 2)? The “all” must mean of whatever political party our sympathies are enlisted; and yes, of whatever nation, too. It must also include the embattled police who are trying desperately to “hold” the tornado-winds of wild human passion that are blowing in France. If you own a modest-sized French car and you don’t have a fortress-like garage to park it at night, the gangs of demented youth will torch it, as they have thousands.

The “all in authority” means that we should pray for Jacques Chirac, president of France, as well as for the president of the United States. These men are human beings of flesh, blood, and nerves like us all. No matter what political giants they may have been, they are weak protoplasm. Leaders of both political parties in the U. S. believed the falsehoods that led the nation to war in Iraq; they were finite men and women subject to deception. As those who reverence the Bible and its Author, we have a holy duty we must not sinfully neglect—to put ourselves in their place as we pray. To bear the responsibilities of state just now could drive any “rulers” unglued, especially if they are immature. “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child” (Eccl. 10:16, KJV). The Savior has told us that in these last times today leaders’ “hearts [will be] failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth” because “powers” that have always been a solid foundation beneath us “will be shaken” (Luke 21:26).

Now Iran wants to wipe Israel off the earth: this recalls Abraham’s pre-New Covenant conflict between Ishmael and Isaac. We are still enmeshed in that issue! God has promised to send us “Elijah the prophet” (Mal. 4:4, 5) who will proclaim powerful New Covenant gospel truth to the world (cf. Rev. 18:1-4)—a final message of grace and mercy.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

This young man came running up to Jesus almost out of breath: “What good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” A wonderful new-convert-to-be! Jesus caught his word “do,” and proceeded to give him a thoroughly legalist answer: “Keep the commandments,” and He cited the Ten. On the surface, His answer thrills legalists today.

The young man was fishing for more: he told Jesus he had done everything specified since he was a child. “What do I still lack?” What he meant was, he wanted to achieve perfection—the goal of every legalist.

Then Jesus zeroes in on the real thing: “If you want to be perfect, sell what you have and give to the poor.” Don’t think He wanted to discourage the youth: “you will have treasure in heaven.” That should satisfy any acquisitive nature cultivated “from.... youth.” But Jesus couldn’t do any “evangelism” without telling about the cross: “And come, follow Me” (Matt. 19:16-22). The youth could have had first chance at becoming an Apostle Paul!

But the poor fellow had a terrific problem. It was worse than leprosy or being blind. He was rich, “he had great possessions.” So he walked away. Jesus later conceded to the disciples: “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” Then He repeated it with a slight difference—“who trust in riches.... !” (Mark 10:23-25). He appears to contradict what He said in Matthew 11 about His yoke being “easy” and His burden “light” (28-30; again legalists may be delighted for they don’t like that “easy” or “light” idea). If you are rich (and everybody who gets this message is, in some way), you can solve your problem by confessing that you don’t deserve a whit of the “wealth” you possess: what is your right is that second death that Jesus died in your place, and for you.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Sunday, November 06, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The word “gospel” means “good news.” Paul says he is not ashamed of it, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). We don’t want to confuse it with contention and petty arguing!

The Samaritans of the village of Sychar had it straight even before the Twelve understood it clearly, for they grasped the truth that Jesus is “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42), not just of those who believe. The disciples didn’t fully grasp that truth until after the resurrection of Jesus, not until Pentecost. But it’s still a truth that’s beyond the understanding of many, and therefore their ability to win souls to Christ is curtailed. There are empty pews in many churches for this reason. The return of Jesus is delayed because we still haven’t caught up with the Samaritans.

Paul understood, for he said that Christ is “the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:10). Thus there are two aspects of salvation: one applies to “all men,” and the other applies only to those “who believe.” After Adam lost out as the head of the human race, Christ took over as the “last” or second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), and He died for the world, not just for “the elect.” He “tasted death for every man,” not just for those who are baptized (cf. Heb. 2:9). The Father has planned for “all men” to be saved eternally (1 Tim. 2:3, 4). He has not “predestined” anyone to be lost, but all to be saved (Eph. 1:3, 4). Therefore it was before “the foundation of the world” that He has chosen “all men” to be “in Christ” just as surely as He gave “the birthright” to Esau. That gift was in no sense “provisional,” dependent on any good works that Esau might do; it was his by “right.” But he “despised” and “sold” it (Gen. 25:32-34). Now don’t despise and sell what has been given you as your birthright “in Christ.”

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Friday, November 04, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

Is it ever possible to follow Jesus Christ faithfully and not meet with opposition and even persecution? The Wise Man said that “when a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Prov. 16:7); that sounds like if you suffer opposition and persecution your ways don’t “please the Lord.” But Paul said that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). And Jesus said that He sends us all out as “sheep in the midst of wolves,.... and you will be hated by all for My name’s sake” (Matt. 10:16, 22).

That can be a lonesome life, especially if you are enduring by yourself. Therefore Jesus hastens to assure you that in your lonely pain you have His companionship: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master..... Not one [sparrow] falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will..... He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (Matt. 10:16-40). Yes! As you kneel in prayer asking for strength to endure, you will have the assurance that the Lord Jesus is enduring with you. The Holy Spirit will prod you to “endure all things” and to be “faithful unto death” (1 Cor. 13:7; Rev. 2:10).

Just beg the Lord to save you from inviting censure on yourself by cranky ways, by what gives reasonable people the idea that you are extreme or fanatical. A true follower of Jesus Christ will always “love [his] enemies, bless them who curse [him], do good to those who hate [him], and pray for those who spitefully use.... and persecute [him]” (Matt. 5:44). Never think that you are alone; not only is Christ with you through the Holy Spirit. In every struggle where truth contends with error, there are people watching who are honest in heart. Good will come. Gain encouragement from Rosa Parks.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Thursday, November 03, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

When God commands us to do something He always supplies the power or ability to do it. If that were not true, He would not deserve John’s sublime definition, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). He gives the command; our response should immediately be, “Yes, Father in heaven; I choose to do and to be what You command! ‘Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day’” (Psalm 119:97). When the Gospel is understood, the “should” immediately becomes the active form of the verb: to do what He commands becomes now our own free-will, our delight. Miracle of miracles—we are “reconciled to God”! (2 Cor. 5:20). That’s what the “atonement” is—at-one-with God, who is Himself “love.”

One of those commands is, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it” (Eph. 5:25). That word for “love” is the verb for agape, and agape is the love of God—so now we come face to face with a stupendous revelation: sexual love is a gift of the love of God—something pure and holy, in holy marriage. “Husbands” are always married men! That means: fornication and adultery are not “love” that is agape; illicit sex is self-love, which has murder wrapped within it.

Is agape a happy kind of love? If husband believes the Gospel, the answer has to be yes. There is a wisdom in agape that is wiser than all the cleverness of Satan and his evil angels; it’s a love that wins. TIME magazine once published an article by Jacques Levy that openly admitted that fornication is “rebellion against God.” True; it’s “the carnal mind,” “enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7). We all have it; it’s through our sinful nature inherited from the fallen Adam. And John defines “enmity” as murder (1 John 3:15); therefore illicit sex is always the re-crucifixion of Christ. It’s Hebrews 6:6—“crucifying again the Son of God and putting Him to an open shame.” It will all come out in the open in the final judgment, when it will be sadly too late for multitudes. But rejoice that the Holy Spirit can reveal that full truth to us today! There is blessed atonement in it.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

More and more the principle of corporate guilt and corporate responsibility is being recognized by large institutions. Honest-hearted people in the tobacco industry are realizing their corporate responsibility for hastening the suffering and early deaths of large numbers of addicts.

McDonalds and other fast-food industries are feeling the same pinch of conscience. This leader of the industry is planning to be more aggressive in telling their customers the truth about the lethal fat content of their foods.

The Roman Catholic church hierarchy is forced to accept corporate responsibility for priests who molest children sexually. All alert, conscientious Roman Catholics are pained by their own corporate responsibility, however distant, in these crimes. Now the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church wants the church to repent for its 19th century support of slavery.

The leadership of a very prominent Protestant church in Germany and Austria have just published worldwide their confession of corporate guilt in their parents’ lauding of Adolph Hitler and their enthusiastic support of the Nazi regime which took place in a previous generation while the current generation were not involved. All this is the outworking of the divinely rooted principle of corporate guilt that we humans cannot escape (cf Lev. 26:40).

The ultimate involvement in corporate guilt is the rejection and murder of the Son of God when “we” humans in a corporate sense tortured and crucified Him. Resistance of the conviction of guilt which the Holy Spirit brings is seen by Heaven as an “insult” to Him. The ultimate, inevitable end: utter condemnation. Thank God, repentance is still possible!

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Monday, October 31, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

It’s a command of the holy apostle Paul, not a little friendly take-it-or-leave-it advice. He says in Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it” (5:25).

But then to our surprise, the apostle does not “command” wives to “love your husbands,” no; he commands them, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (5:22). Why the difference?

In both instances the command is not an onerous, painful burden for each to bear if they “walk in love [agape], as Christ also has loved us [with agape] and given Himself for us” (vs. 2). The pre-condition for both husband and wife is a heart-appreciation of what it cost the Son of God to save us—His love at His cross whereon He died our second death.

And the implication is clear: if that heart-appreciation of the love of Christ is not there in the heart, he or she will not, cannot, be happy in the kingdom of God. Conjugal love (or its absence) becomes serious if you have solemnly promised before God to cherish it.

Even though wife is not commanded to “love” her husband sexually, what First Corinthians 13 says about agape will control her heart: she will “suffer long” and be “kind,” will not “behave rudely,” will not be “provoked,” will “think no evil,” will “rejoice in the truth,” “bear all things,.... hope all things, endure all things,” will “never fail” (cf vss. 4-8). She will not wound her husband; she will make him happy. Paul, who himself “hopes all things,” seems to believe that if this Christlike compassionate kindness on her part is there in her heart, the miracle of conjugal love will be re-awakened. The submitting commanded will be her greatest joy so long as they both shall live.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Saturday, October 29, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

It’s wrong when we go through life, even into old age, with no understanding of our own ugly sinfulness. If so, Robert Burns’ poem/prayer has never been answered for us that we might see ourselves as “ithers see us.”

Sometimes in courts of law a criminal has been found guilty and is brought in for sentencing. His victims (or if deceased, their relatives) are permitted to denounce him and vent their rage against him. Often, especially when he manifests no remorse, they consign him to an eternally burning hell. But there is no redemption in these bitter diatribes.

Much better for the Holy Spirit to tell us the bad truth about ourselves, for when He “convicts.... of sin” (John 16:8), no matter how deep and horrible it was, there is always Good News in what He says to us. It’s News to be welcomed wholeheartedly.

The greatest tragedy that can come upon one is to finish one’s life span in blissful ignorance of one’s true character before God and before the world. The reason is that we will inexorably come into final judgment when we “appear before the judgment seat of Christ” and look Him straight in the eyes. Even though we have participated in murdering Him “afresh” (Heb. 6:6), He may not say cruel diatribes to condemn us; He may keep still. But the lost will condemn themselves—bitterly (cf Rev. 20:12). There will be no salvation in the sad experience.

This precisely was the purpose in the Day of Atonement once a year in the sanctuary (Lev. 16; 23). It was to symbolize the grand, final Day of Atonement, wherein we live today. God’s final message of love to the world is that deep conviction of sin brought by the loving work of the Holy Spirit. Thank the Father for it! There’s salvation in it.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Thursday, October 27, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

To this day, devout Jews observe the “day of atonement” as we read of it in Leviticus 16 and in 23:24-32. On that one day of the year, they thought of final judgment: “The tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement.... a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord..... Any person who is not afflicted of soul on that same day, he shall be cut off from his people.”

The “afflicting” was not wearing a hair shirt, or self-torture in any way; it was a 24 hour fast, a closing of their shops, a time for deep heart-searching and prayer and humbling of one’s soul before the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, a time to let the Holy Spirit bring the conviction of sin, a time for repentance.

And this happened every year, on the same day.

But it all meant nothing, just as the offering of a lamb for their sins meant nothing, unless the people saw through the ceremonial “works” involved, and discerned that the slain lamb was a type of the Lamb of God slain for our sins on His cross, and that there is a cosmic, antitypical Day of Atonement for the world itself.

We are living in that “Day” now. It’s the time when Jesus says, “Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day [the final judgment] come upon you unexpectedly..... Watch therefore, and pray always” (Luke 21:34, 36).

Not motivated by craven, selfish fear, no; but motivated by heart concern for Jesus that He be glorified by his people before the world and before the universe of God, that He come from the great controversy with Satan triumphant.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

There is an interesting word in the Bible description of the second coming of Jesus: “The kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, and EVERY SLAVE and every free man, hid themselves in the caves.... and said.... ‘Hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne’” (Rev. 6:15, 16).

True, there is still slavery in some parts of the Third World, such as Niger; but is there slavery still in developed, democratic nations? The great Civil War should have put an end to slavery in America! And long before that, in British possessions.

Well, the Lord impressed James to write a scathing rebuke to “rich” people especially in “the last days” where in we live: “Come now, you rich weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!.... You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out..... You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury..... You have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter..... The just.... does not resist you” (5:1-6). The gaps between the incomes of the rich and the poor in the world have widened alarmingly, especially in the developed nations. Electronics has given enterprising teens multi-million dollar wealth. In a post-Christian culture, materialist idolatry has run wild.

I remember hearing a godly minister declare one day long ago that we will have to give an account to God for every dollar that we have wasted on the love of self. (At that time, a dollar was the wage of a laboring man for a day). Each of us should ask God a straight question: in Heaven’s plan of economics, am I expending more than the just portion of this world’s wealth than I deserve? Do the angel economists write me down as someone who is unknowingly oppressing poor people? Am I strengthening what Heaven sees as slavery still continuing, as revealed there in Revelation 6?

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Monday, October 24, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

For our happiness, our Creator and Savior has told us that “six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God” (Ex. 20:9, 10).

Granted, we believe that. We gladly give Him that “seventh day.”

But is there another bit of what may be seen as “holy time”? The remaining “six days” of the week are not an escapade from God; seven days a week we are to “abide” in Christ and we are to invite, to welcome Him to “abide” in us (John 15:4). After the toil of each of “the six working days” the dear Lord “gives His beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2). Thus we awaken each new morning refreshed to “abide” another day in Christ, while we go about our lives. Jesus gave us an example for our encouragement about how to live those “six working days” of the week:

“In the morning, having risen a long time before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place, and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35). This is not an example of deprivation of needed sleep which the Lord “gives His beloved,” no; it’s just a healthy way to live; it was His habit to go to bed early so He could do this (unless someone like Nicodemus would come and keep Him up late, see John 3:2).

In God’s plan, our each new day begins at sundown (Gen 1:5). It was Roman paganism that changed this so it begins at midnight. On this cosmc Day of Atonement, those who follow our great High Priest in His cleansing His sanctuary, choose to “abide” in Him; we jealously guard that morning time when He awakens us (see Isa. 50:4, 5). Guard that evening hour too.

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

October 22, 1844 is a date that will never die in the world’s memory. Scores of thousands of Christians in Europe and the United States had been studying the book of Daniel, thanking God that at last the book which had been sealed up for many centuries (12:4) had now at the end of the Dark Ages of papal persecution and oppression been “opened up” for understanding. It was now “a little book open” in the hands of a “mighty angel” (Rev. 10:1, 2) who was a “messenger,” attracting worldwide attention.

Its message had riveted on Daniel 8:14; serious readers of the Bible were drawn to Daniel’s prophecies. The year-day principle was established so clearly that they saw the 2300 years of that prophecy reaching fulfillment on that date in 1844. “Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” said the word. They borrowed from the commentaries the idea that “the sanctuary” was this earth, and the “cleansing” therefore would be the fire of the last day at the coming of Jesus. But the commentators were wrong; there is a sanctuary in heaven—the real one, and that’s where the world’s great High Priest, Jesus, ministers. The “cleansing” is His great Day of Atonement, His final work of preparing a people to be ready when Jesus comes the second time. They were woefully uninformed about what that preparation entailed! It was to be nothing short of “self” being “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20), and “the world crucified” being to them (6:14). A tremendous work!

The fascinating story of the “Great Disappointment” and its aftermath is told in Revelation chapter 10. Verse 11 describes the worldwide work that must (that will!) be done before Jesus can be happy to come again—every person must have a chance to hear the good news and respond in heart. The angel said. “Thou must prophesy again before” the world! And that’s the work that is going on now all over the world. Listen!

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Saturday, October 22, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

It was one of those rare evenings when we could be home. No meetings to go to, no responsibilities, no speaking appointment anywhere. Just stay home, relax, get some entertainment.

We tried the History Channel. It was on the Holocaust, the horrible speech of Himmel proposing slaughtering the Jewish race, Hitler’s devil possession, the intrigues and cruelty of the Nazis. Painful! So we turned that all off.

Then it was current news, the ongoing curse of Katrina, New Orleans forced to sink deeper into the hell-hole of gambling in order to survive, Iraq, the mindboggling distress of the Pakistan/Kashmir earthquake, the constant political confusion and corruption that’s closer home—it was all wearisome.

Finally we thought, we don’t want to go to sleep with this “hell” on our minds! So we did something often thought impossible—we decided to read the Bible as entertainment, recreation, fun! Not just that little snippet that’s “family worship” duty, but absorbing its message for what it is in the Book—not a video or movie, no,—the Bible! Finding enjoyment reading Matthew in the Today’s English Version, chapter after chapter.

It was a week night, but it became like a holy evening. The ghosts of history, past and current, were excised. Late nights with movies, even “sanctified” ones, are deceptive to young or old. Morning always comes, when the Father would waken Jesus as a youth (or in manhood!) and He always got up when the Father called: “Every morning He makes me eager to hear what He is going to teach Me..... And I have not rebelled or turned away from Him” [like we do when we’ve been up late the night before] (Isa. 50:4, 5, TEV).

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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Friday, October 21, 2005

Dial Daily Bread

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

In Matthew 24, Jesus speaks extensively about the end of the world and of His second coming (see, for example, verses 12-15, 24, 29-31). Of all the books of the Bible, He selected one which He urged us to “read” and “understand”—Daniel (vs. 15). Yet seldom do pastors or teachers study that book. People go to church for years and hear no sermon explaining it.

Daniel’s key prophecy says that “unto 2300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed” (8:14). In Bible prophecy, a day is a year. In the early 19th century Bible-loving Christians awakened as from a centuries-long sleep to realize that those 2300 years would come to their end in 1844, on October 22. The Holy Spirit impressed many with this stupendous conviction; to this day, millions around the world recognize how history and Bible prophecy converge to render that point of time significant in God’s plan for salvation.

We are living in the time for the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary; in simple language that means we are living in the time when Christ as our great High Priest is preparing a people to be ready for His second coming—a greater work than preparing His people to die and come up in the first resurrection, wonderful as that work has been. It means that His people must live on earth during the cataclysmic last days when they will meet head-on the last temptations of Satan, but will “overcome even as [Christ] overcame.” They will honor Him, and share with Him His throne. They will demonstrate His righteousness (Rev. 3:21).

But Revelation also discloses that Christ’s last great struggle is with the blindness and lukewarmness of His own people who can’t seem to grasp the seriousness of the time in which they live (3:15-19). Urgent as never before, He says, “Watch therefore” (Matt. 24:42).

Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.

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