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."