Dial Daily Bread: The "Mosquito" that Causes the Disease

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

For untold generations, malaria wreaked its havoc until finally some scientist discovered that it was caused by the bite of an anopheles mosquito. Then, some relief was found.

For many generations, a mysterious spiritual disease has afflicted the Christian church. It's known as "lukewarmness" (see Rev. 3:14-21). Church leaders have wrestled with the problem. It has often been assumed that putting church members "to work" solves it. But the relief has always been temporary. Huge baptisms or accessions in Third World cultures have been assumed to be free from this First World "Christian" disease. But when economic "rich and increased with goods" improvement comes, the same spiritual disease permeates the huge Third World congregations. It's endemic. What message can fortify "believers" from this alluring materialism?

Meanwhile we are tantalized by the biblical assurance that "the gospel of Christ … is the power of God to salvation" (Rom. 1:16), not the progenitor of lukewarmness. Where is the "mosquito" that causes this disease? Could the deceptive Old Covenant be the problem?

Here's where sacred history comes on-stage. Throughout ancient Israel's centuries, Baal worship kept infiltrating generations of God's true people. Only occasional brief revivals under kings like Hezekiah or Josiah brought temporary relief. The source of the problem? Always, the Old Covenant thinking their fathers embraced at Mount Sinai and bequeathed to their children.

God's plan was that His New Covenant promise to Abraham be embraced so that the Ten Commandments could be seen as ten promises of deliverance from spiritual lukewarmness. Much more abounding grace, through faith, would "work." But Israel embraced their own promises to obey. Result: their Old Testament history. The lukewarmness of today is the equivalent to Baal worship of long ago. Subtle. But there is a remedy.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 21, 2002.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Standing Alone for Truth

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Suppose the whole world (your world!) condemns you for believing what you see in the Bible. Suppose your convictions of truth force you to stand utterly alone. For example, suppose you are convinced in your soul that 2 + 2 = 4, but everybody around you ridicules you and says that it's 5--could you stand firm for what in your soul you believe is right?

Your first prayer to God will be, "Lord, save me from being a fool, a fanatic." If you're the only one who can see something, conventional wisdom insists that you must be wrong. You will walk carefully, humbly, and you will study and persevere in prayer. It's probably easier to stand alone for political convictions in Congress or the Senate than in your church for a religious issue.

If it is really true that you are standing alone for Jesus, you will be patient and entrust your convictions to His leading. You will be sympathetic to those who believe what the Bible says, "In the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Prov. 11:14; 15:22; 24:6).

Even if you find yourself condemned and ridiculed for the truth's sake, you will remain sweet and pleasant in the midst of contention. Why and how? Because you are in fellowship with the One who was "despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isa. 53:3). You will remember that there is no such thing as truth, except in agape(Eph. 4:15).

You can't read the Bible and not see that a time of severe test is coming when the "mark of the beast" will be urged upon everyone. To receive the alternative, "the seal of God," will be immensely unpopular (Rev. 13:11-17).

One of the surest evidences that the Lord loves you is to find yourself even now placed in situations where your conscience forces you to stand alone for truth--if that grace of Christ keeps you sweet and pleasant during your ordeal. The Holy Spirit is preparing you to meet future trials.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 27, 2002.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Can We Make the Good News Too Good?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Lord Jesus commanded us to "go into all the world and preach the Good News to every creature" (Mark 16:15). But can we make it too good? God Himself is a Specialist in devising what is Good News; in fact, it is He who invented it. And it is He who made it Good, like it is.

But can we take a cue from Him and devise a version that is more good (that is, better good news) than He has invented for us? If so, are we in danger of giving people a false hope so that they will someday end up at the Pearly Gates and find they can't get in?

(1) John 3:16 says that the prerequisite for eternal life is to "believe," that is to have or to exercise faith. God has given us no right to tack anything else on.

(2) Therefore we must learn what is faith.

(3) It's "heart-work" as one writer often says (cf. Rom. 10:10). Thus it's the end of arrogance, pride, and love of self.

(4) The miracle can happen only as we lookat Christ on His cross like the Israelites looked at the serpent of brass on Moses' pole. It's to contemplate Him, sense what it cost Him to save this hell-bent world and how He actually went to hell for us rather than see us be lost; it's not a "work" that you do, no list of prerequisites. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whoever believes in Him should not perish" (John 3:14, 15). There it is simple and clear: (a) He is "lifted up," (b) you see Him, (c) you "believe."

(5) "Henceforth" you are "constrained" by the love revealed there (agape) to live not for your own selfish pleasure, not for your lust, but for Him. People use a long word for that--sanctification; but it's simply living for Him as a bride lives for her bridegroom--a new center of reference for one's life.

(6) Jesus says that to resist the "constraint" of that love is "hard," the most difficult life we can live (cf. Acts 26:14; 2 Cor. 5:14-21).

(7) He also says that to let that constraint move you to such a life is the easiest life you can live "henceforth" (cf. Matt. 11:28-30, King James Version).

No need for us to invent a version of "good news" more good than that one! The ticket for entrance into the Pearly Gates is the capacity to enjoy the life that is there forever.

"Come"!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 13, 2007.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Don't Be Fooled Into Thinking This World Is Your Home

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

You don't hear much about it, but it's clearly a part of Bible teaching: God's people who are ready will be translated without seeing death at the second coming of Jesus.

To some, that Bible doctrine sounds too close to fanaticism for comfortable discussion. Actually, it's no more difficult for God to translate His people without their dying than it will be for Him to resurrect the dead ones from their graves--at the second coming. This is the essence of "the blessed hope" that is cherished by those who believe in the second coming (Titus 2:13). Paul makes clear that when Jesus returns there will be a people "who are alive and remain [who] shall be caught up together with [those resurrected from the grave] to meet the Lord in the air [and] ... always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17).

Is this blessed hope something imminent? Or is it no longer so? "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13, King James Version) is a command of Jesus that suggests for many the implication that if we are wise we should be planning for peace and prosperity here on this sin-cursed earth. It's a very sensitive issue. Suppose you have a long retirement ahead of you, a long life to live before Jesus returns the second time. Suppose He further delays His return beyond the current "blessed hopes" of His people. Shouldn't you invest here wisely?

But whatever we do, we remember the experience of Noah. While others were investing and counting this world their home, he kept busy putting all he had into the building of an ark. People thought he was crazy; but actually, building the ark became fun for him; it was a project on which he felt the blessing of the Lord, and when you're doing anything that you know God blesses, you find real happiness.

We remember the words of Jesus applicable to us right now: "Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighted down with ... cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly" as it was in Noah's time (Luke 21:34; 17:26, 27). Don't be fooled into thinking this world is your home.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 2, 2000.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Don't Abandon Your Confidence in the Lord's Great "Day of Atonement"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

We read Psalm 69, and it seems to be the lament of a bad man who deserves to be forsaken of God:

(1) He "sinks in deep mire" (vs. 2).

(2) "The floods overflow him" (vs. 2)

(3) He is "weary with his crying" (vs. 3).

(4) Everybody "hates him" (vs. 4).

(5) He says that the Lord "knows his foolishness" (vs. 5).

(6) He says his "sins are not hidden from" the Lord (vs. 5).

(7) "Shame has covered [his] face" (vs. 7).

(8) He has "become a stranger to [his] brothers" (vs. 8).

(9) He is "the song of the drunkards" (vs. 12).

(10) He expresses the horror of someone about to be punished with everlasting retribution (vss. 13-15).

(11) He knows "reproach, ... shame, ... and dishonor" (vs. 19).

Then suddenly you are shocked: all this is Christ speaking! He is describing how "they gave Me gall for My food, and for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink" (vs. 21). He "pours" out a holy "indignation" on those who have "persecuted" and "put to grief" the Savior of the world (vss. 24-26). The language fits the end of Judas Iscariot and the chief priests (vs. 28). There is a divine justice: those who have committed the crime of the ages, of all eternity, must bear their guilt. "The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your hearts shall live. For the Lord hears the poor, and does not despise His prisoners" (vss. 32, 33).

"God will save" His church, "Zion," and will "[re]build" it (vs. 35). Those who dwell in it forever are those who "love His name" (vs. 36). In other words, don't leave the church; and don't abandon your confidence in the triumph of the Lord's great "Day of Atonement."

In Psalm 69 we witness firsthand how Christ was "made ... who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). "Be reconciled to God" (vs. 20).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 15, 2007.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The "Elijah" Message Is Here--Don't Overlook It!

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

God's promise regarding Baal worship is tremendous Good News because it means He "will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5). Israel was in a terrible condition spiritually when the Lord sent him to King Ahab with his terrible news of drought and famine. But there was no other way to arouse the apostate people of God. Elijah was sent to them in love.

We want to be very careful that we know how to recognize "Elijah" when the Lord sends him again. Every one of us without exception should walk in fear and trembling lest we make the same mistake the Jews did in the days of John the Baptist. Their "Elijah" came and went and they had no idea what had happened! Ancient apostate Israel hated the messenger of the Lord when He sent him--Ahab and Jezebel wanted to kill him, and when the leaders of the Jewish church saw the new "Elijah" in John the Baptist they didn't recognize him. They said, "He has a demon" (Matt. 11:18).

Wouldn't it be terrible if, in these last days, we treated our new "Elijah" that way and didn't know what we were doing? Their "Elijah" was a humble man notably not dressed in "soft garments" as "in kings' houses" (vs. 8). Someone very humble, "despised and rejected by men" as was Jesus (Isa. 53:3), may have "come already, and [we] did not know him but [did] to him whatever [we] wished" (Matt. 17:12). Let's study the story of John the Baptist.

God is faithful. Many people today "sigh and cry over all the abominations" they see in the land (cf. Ezek. 9:4), but let them not yield to sinful despair and "beat" their "fellow servants" in their frustration (cf. Matt. 24:48, 49). The "Elijah" message is here somewhere. Don't misunderstand and overlook it!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 12, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: What Does It Mean to Follow Christ During This Cosmic “Day of Atonement”?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

What does it mean, in practical day-by-day living, to follow Christ during this present, cosmic "Day of Atonement"? It is "the hour of [God's] judgment," indeed (Rev. 14:7), and to the ancient Israelites it was "Yom Kippur," the annual solemn day of fearful preparation lest one be "cut off from his people, ... destroyed" (Lev. 23:29, 30).

Many youth have experienced an "antitypical" fear in this grand Day of Atonement. To them, the pre-Advent judgment has triggered nightmares. But all this fear, anciently and today, has been "Old Covenant."

The word "atonement" means at-one-with, reconciliation. Simple. So today's Day of Atonement is joyous reconciliation with God. Heart-enmity (see Rom. 8:7) is cleansed away! Nightmares are gone when one thinks of the Day of Atonement in New Covenant terms.

For an ancient Israelite who believed the New Covenant gospel (there were some!), the day of atonement was bliss on earth. It meant the same close fellowship with God that Moses experienced. The "one-ness" meant sharing God's love for Israel and for the world; for Moses it even meant his willingness to die forever if only Israel could be saved (Ex. 32:30-32).

For those who "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" today (Rev. 14:4), this cosmic Day of Atonement means just what Jesus says: "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, as I also overcame" (Rev. 3:21).

That one-ness of heart with Jesus is sharing His love for this lost world, cooperating with Him in saving people, sharing with Him executive authority in bringing to an end His great controversy with Satan. Joy? There is none greater.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 8, 2001.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Change in the "Christian Experience"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

As we come nearer to the end, a change comes in the "Christian experience" of God's people. Their deepest heart concern ceases to be that of saving their own souls, to a concern for the glory of Christ in the closing hours of the "great controversy between Christ and Satan." These people of God in the last days turn away from their previous concern for their own salvation to a concern for Another--that He emerge victorious from the "battle" He is in.

This change in "Christian experience" can be described in the terms the Lord Jesus uses in John 15: "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing: but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you" (vs. 15). As we come closer to the end, the concern of these "friends" is for that "battle" that Christ is in, and not for self.

This change in "Christian experience" orientation can also be described as graduating out of the Old Covenant "Christian experience" into the New. It's coming out of the shadows into the bright sunlight of "present truth" (a term used in 2 Peter 1:12). The "present truth" is New Covenant living, not Old.

This change is also passing from Revelation 18 into Revelation 19 where we find those four grand Hallelujah Choruses, each greater than Handel's (vss. 1-17). It can at last be said that "the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready" (19:6, 7). At last!

Although the Lord is "omnipotent," He cannot force the nuptials. It cannot be said that He "reigns" until her nuptial devotion to Him as to a divine Husband is real. Thus there is a "woman" whose marital devotion He can only wait, and wait, to see. The good news that rejoices one's heart is that this change in spiritual growth is actually taking place. Don't be left behind!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 17, 2008.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: “Evangelism” in God’s Design

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Many who study a strange, unlikely book in the Bible, the Song of Solomon, are discovering, for one thing, that it's quoted extensively in the New Testament, especially by Jesus! This removes the lingering doubts that maybe its sexual content slipped into the Bible by mistake. Yes, the book is to be read reverently!

Its alluring glimpses of Paradise are not bad to imagine, because the message gets across unmistakably that it's Jesus Himself who is the Lover yearning to become fully one with His Bride in a "consummation."

Paul cites the Song of Solomon when he speaks of Christ's goal for the church that it be "without spot" (Eph. 5:27; S. S. 4:7; we have a ways to go!).

Jesus quotes the Greek version (the Septuagint) in His message to the leadership of the last of the seven churches when He tells of knocking, knocking, "at the door" (Rev. 3:20). But the source in the Song of Solomon turns out to be a sad vignette. It describes the young woman who is loved so dearly as selfishly snuggling warm in bed on a cold rainy night while her poor Lover is barred at her door, forced to keep knocking while He remains outside, lonely, cold, hungry, wet, and obviously the One whose disappointment is beyond description (S. S. 5:2-5).

But Christ's most delightful quote is in John 7:37, 38 where He frankly identifies the Song of Solomon as "theScripture" and clarifies forever what true "evangelism" means according to His view. "Evangelism" is the accepted name for doing what Jesus commanded when He said "Go into all the world and preach the gospel" (Mark 16:15). It's interesting to see what the Song of Solomon says about that (4:15).

It's something that Jesus didn't just "say" quietly to the Twelve. He "stood and cried out" that everyone attending that "last day, that great day of the feast," could hear a message that was bursting forth from His soul. And it was a quotation from the Song of Solomon.

If you're thirsty, He said, "come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." This is not a mere profession of "accepting Christ" like you enroll in an insurance policy; this is a thirsty soul famishing of inward dryness, eagerly drinking every drop of spiritual moisture in a clearer grasp of gospel truth than he has ever before understood. The dry "gospel" has become life itself.

Thus "believing" is defined: it's not head knowledge, but the yearning in Jesus' soul now transplanted into your soul. You now actually love the Bible with the enthusiasm of your former worldly addictions. You have become a bubbling spring of fresh water of life. Everyone who comes in contact with you in life is refreshed by something you have said about "the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:5, 14). Your heart has become a treasure store of gospel truth. You have become one of those "144,000" whose passion is to "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Rev. 14:4).

This becomes a clearer definition of what it means to "believe." It's self-humbling; you want to pray that although "I believe," yet "help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). You're hesitant now to boast of your so-called "faith." Like Moses, you're not even aware that your face is shining (cf. Ex. 34:29).

This is "evangelism" in God's design. It's ordinary people who bubble over humbly with pure gospel truth that has satisfied their own soul thirst.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 16, 17, 2006.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation Illustrates What Christ Has Done

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

Abraham Lincoln was always opposed to slavery and wanted to set all slaves free. But as President he had to abide by the political system that constituted the government. He himself was not “free.” Therefore his Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 left much to be desired; it applied only to the slaves held within the Confederate States.

Still, the historical reality of that “proclamation” illustrated Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants.”

Christ’s purpose in His sacrifice on His cross was to set free allthe slaves of sin in the earth. Thus Lincoln’s “proclamation” illustrated what Christ had done:

(a) The slaves of sin in the earth did not know they had been set free--they had to hear the good news of the gospel to inform them.

(b) They had to believe the news, otherwise their slavery would be permanent.

(c) They could continue in servitude only through unbelief.

(d) They had to act on the news and walk out into liberty, demanding it as their right and assert it (Psalm 116:16).

Ephesians one is a statement of Christ’s “emancipation proclamation” to us all:

(a) The Father “has blessed us [all] with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (vs. 3). That includes liberty from the cruel bondage of Satan.

(b) The Father has “predestined us [all] to adoption as [children]” (vs. 5; cf. 1 Tim. 2:4).

(c) He “chose us [all] in [Christ] … that we should be holy and without blame” (vs. 4). 

(d) He has “made us accepted in the Beloved” (vs. 6).

(e) When He acknowledged Jesus at His baptism in the Jordan (“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” Matt. 3:17), He was throwing His arms around the entire human race “in Christ.”

(f) As He loved His only Son, so He has loved us.

(g) When He “gave” Him (John 3:16), the Father placed His Son’s value to Himself on a par with our value to Himself. !!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 12, 2005.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Sabbath School Today Extra, Lesson 3

Dear Friends of “Sabbath School Today,”

If you would like a PDF of the first three chapters, and notes on those chapters, of Elder Robert J. Wieland’s book, The Gospel in Revelation: Unlocking the Last Book of the Bible, please reply to this e-mail with “Unlocking the Last Book,” and we will send it to you. The PDF will also be posted on the 1888message.org website.

These chapters are enjoyable and easy to read, and will give you some interesting facts on the subject of lesson 3, the seven churches, with emphasis on the last church, Laodicea.

Sincerely,

The “Sabbath School Today” Staff

Dial Daily Bread: Elijah--A Man of True Love

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Lord has promised to "send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5). Who is the "you"? The entire human race corporately? The entire church corporately?

The answer may be yes. But each of us as individuals can latch on to the promise and ask the Lord to send Elijah to us personally--if we will welcome him. The Lord is serious; He has promised. How would you like to have a personal visit with the man who confronted King Ahab and all Israel? He will tell the truth if you are prepared to hear it. But remember: there is no truth except in love (agape; Eph. 4:15). Elijah is a man of true love. He is not unkind, harsh.

What will Elijah's work be? "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Mal. 4:6). It will be "heart work"! Melting human hearts; reconciling alienated hearts; restoring the ministry of love. As hearts forgive one another in love, some tears will come; hearts that have been dead will be quickened (an old fashioned word that means made alive again); communication between estranged hearts will be opened again; forgiveness will be given one to another; cold relationships will become warm.

Elijah's coming will be Ephesians 4:31, 32 redivivus: "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you."

Elijah will come, that's for sure, because the Lord promised to send him. He will be sent to this generation "if [we] are willing to receive it" (see Matt. 11:14); if not, then he must await a future generation. But the Lord doesn't want to send Elijah if he will have to take refuge again outside of "Israel" at some Brook Cherith or at some widow woman's house in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:9).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 4, 2005.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Light Is Stronger Than Darkness

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Modern inventions are truly marvelous. I can't imagine how computers work, or TVs, or a multitude of other electronic marvels. Even electricity--I don't know what it is and I doubt anybody really knows. That fundamental electric invention of Thomas Edison, the common light bulb, is a blessing to humanity everywhere.

There are also bad inventions, things that degrade and poison and kill. But there is one invention that I am glad no one has ever been able to invent--and that is a light bulb in reverse, a device that would snuff out the light.

In the gospel of John, chapter 1, we read: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (vss. 1-5).

The Word, capital W, is a name for Christ, the Son of God, who has been with the Father ever since the beginning, John says. And His life is the source of our life, and this life has brought light to mankind. What makes me happy is the statement that says, that the darkness has never been able to put out the light. And darkness never will be able to put out light, but light always puts out darkness. Thank God!

What this means is that light is stronger than darkness. Come into a room some midnight that is totally dark, and light one little candle, and the darkness will flee. That means of course that Satan and all his hosts of evil angels will flee at the very mention (in faith and reverence) of the name of Jesus.

Something else that is Good News is that love is stronger than hatred. Do you have to meet up with hatred in your home, your office, your business, among the neighbors? Love is stronger--believe it! And some more Good News--grace is stronger than sin. Stronger than all the allurements to sin that Satan and his devils in hell can invent. You need not be a captive to sin--except for your unbelief.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: 1994 Phone Message.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Great NEWS Behind the News

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What is the top news story today? Every morning you can get a glimpse of what your Internet browser considers the most important or most spectacular news item of the day (or the biggest headline in your morning paper). But back of it all, what does that heavenly Father of us all, the God who says He is "love" (agape), tell us is the great News behind the news? It's the central message of the Book of Revelation, "the everlasting gospel" being proclaimed to every "nation, tribe, tongue, and people" (14:6, 7). And what is the purpose of this most highly acclaimed activity? To prepare people for the most climactic event of all history--the second coming of Jesus (vss. 15, 16).

Is this message getting through to the people of the world, or is it being buried under an overwhelming mass of confusion published by the media, or even by a similar mass of confusion known as "organized religion"?

The answer does not depend on mere human observation, for Jesus said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation" (Luke 17:20). In His day, what served as "the media" tried to ignore the greatest News of all time, but the Holy Spirit was working quietly, surely, in what Jesus was doing. So today, the "everlasting gospel" proclaimed by those three angels of Revelation 14 is getting through in different ways.

The best way to know for sure is to consider the character of God Himself--He is "love" (agape); that is, He will not permit the final, cataclysmic events of earth's history ("the seven last plagues" of Revelation 16) to come, until people have had a reasonable chance to prepare. And that means, they must hear the message of Good News, of His "much more abounding grace." You can't believe that "God is love" (agape) if you think He has gone to sleep. You must recognize that every angel in heaven is intensely active, moving upon the hearts of human beings everywhere.

God's "office" in heaven is the central command post of the vast worldwide war between Christ and Satan, as real as the war between them when Jesus was here on earth 2000 years ago. It will not be recognized "by observation," but it's the most real newsworthy story happening today. Read about it in Revelation 14-19; let the same Holy Spirit that inspired the Book speak to your heart in its pages.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 25, 1999.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Shape of Things to Come

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

The shape of things to come is becoming more sharply focused day by day. Two world movements are aligning themselves for the last great conflict: the “beast” of Revelation 13 (same as the little horn of the fourth beast of Daniel 7), versus the third angel’s message of Revelation 14:6-12.

Those who accept the latter will worship the Lamb, the Christ of the cross who by His sacrifice “tasted death for every man” (Heb. 2:9). And those who worship the beast and his image will worship self. The self-righteousness of the Old Covenant will be the worship of the beast, and the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ will be the worship of the Lamb.

One will be faith in the promises of God, the other will be the “righteousness” of human promises. One will appreciate the “width and length and depth and height” of “the agapeof Christ which passes knowledge” (Eph. 3:14-21), and the other will become a false view of the cross, a counterfeit misrepresentation of the gospel, which will be the worship of a false “christ.” And so clever will the deceptions be that “to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24).

We are told by an inspired prediction that in that final hour “a great proportion” of those who “are supposed to be genuine” will “betray sacred trusts,” and take their side with the avowed enemies of the truth. If this present generation, as many have affirmed, is the last before the second coming of the true Christ, the Holy Spirit must be calling us to sober thinking. Is it really possible that Old Covenant thinking can lead at last to final apostasy? Well, the answer is that it certainly did so for ancient Israel. It led them to crucify their true Messiah.

Could anything be more important than for us to learn now what it means to “worship the Lamb”? To “glory” in nothing “except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14)? How to “survey that wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died ...”? To appreciate what it cost Him to save us? Humble, contrite hearts will worship the Lamb; proud, self-satisfied ones (“rich and increased with goods”) will worship the beast and his image.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the “Dial Daily Bread” Archive: November 3, 1998.
Copyright © 2019 by “Dial Daily Bread.”

Dial Daily Bread: Christ, A Savior FROM Sin

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Someone gets a bright idea, putting 2 + 2 together to come up with what he thinks is 4. First, King David experienced a deep repentance for his sin with Bathsheba--front-page news for the world. It occasioned Psalms 32 and 51, both bringing comfort and encouragement to millions in all lands. Second, David would never have written those valuable psalms if he had not sinned his adultery with Uriah's wife (and its concomitant accessory sin of murder; adultery in some way always in God's sight involves murder).

So, says the one with this bright idea: put those two truths together, and you end up seeing that since such a repentance as David had is a good thing, it's okay to commit the same sin so we can have a similar repentance. There's no other way to experience "big" repentance unless we commit a "big" sin. A little sin means only a little repentance, and that's being "lukewarm," the problem of Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-17).

So, this bright idea says, we can never truly appreciate Psalms 32 and 51 unless we commit the same sin. It's a part of good "Christian education." You learn compassion; so it's really a plus. Only if you have been in the depths of iniquity can you appreciate the heights of righteousness. This doctrine is very attractive and subtle, for it makes sin to be a good thing.

It is based solidly on the egocentric motivation of "conversion": what's most important in the universe is my personal salvation. Crucifying Christ afresh and putting Him to an open shame and dragging His name as Savior through the mud--this is secondary (see Heb. 6:6; Ezek. 36:20, 21). Such sin gives "comfort" and encouragement to other people to go the way that leads to hell (see Ezek. 16:54).

But there is Good News: Christ will have a people gathered from "every nation, tribe, tongue, and people" (Rev. 14:6) who appreciate His sacrifice; and motivated solely by His love they are constrained to honor His name as Savior from sin even at the cost of life (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). They don't need to re-commit David's sin; they learn David's compassion by corporate repentance. That is implicit in righteousness by faith.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 23, 2001.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Hungering for the Word of God More Than You Hunger for Breakfast

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

If you believe in Jesus, that means you have given Him all there is of you, which includes your mind. Your motivation is His love, not fear of punishment. You want to be one with Him just as a bride wants to be one with her husband. She doesn't look upon being one with him as a burden; rather, it's a priceless privilege.

You will want to think the thoughts of the Son of God, not trying to figure out how to get ahead, or to protect yourself during the "time of trouble" that the Bible speaks of. You will be heart and soul wrapped up in what Christ wants to do for the world. You will be obsessed with wanting to help somebody else, just as He has helped you.

In particular, your concern will be to "feed" the world with "the bread of life" that comes through Christ. He says He is "the truth" (John 14:6); and He is also "the bread of life" (6:35). Your personal happiness will be found in your longing for that; it will be your "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matt. 5:6). You will wantto understand the Bible. That may seem like a miracle to you, because at present you may find it boring. But be honest--that's the only way to get to "first base."

It's impossible for us to "love Jesus" any more than we actually love the Bible, for He isthe Word of God. So be careful about parading your "love for Jesus." The point is this! Every new day we are reminded that we need what Jesus told Nicodemus: "You must be born again." It's good news that you will learn to hunger for the Word of God more than you hunger for breakfast (Jer. 15:16), or for the entertainment that the world loves. When that happy time comes (and it can be today!) you will have "passed from death into life" (John 5:24). 

Don't forget, love for the Word of God will include a hunger to understand both Daniel and Revelation. And remember, your Teacher, the Holy Spirit, is full of common sense. He doesn't teach fanatical ideas of those important books!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 6, 2003.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Book of Revelation--Where Christ Exposes His Heart

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Yes, we must study and learn the message of Romans and Galatians--what Christ accomplished for us by His sacrifice on the cross, the Good News of the atonement, what is the New Covenant, how to overcome sin--yes, all that is super-important.

But this is an out-and-out plea that we "read" and "understand" the books of Daniel and the Revelation. "You don't have time? Too much of the world swirling about your feet?" Well, we must face the truth: anybody who wants seriously to live in the new earth and not "perish," must become educated in order to enjoy the privilege (John 3:16; you can't "believe" unless you grasp some truth).

You could never be happy living in the same world where the resurrected Jesus is unless you come to understand Him personally. The new earth won't be big enough to hold both you and Jesus if you are strangers to each other. And you'd be miserable among His people if you have educated yourself only for the things of this world--not the next.

You do have time; drop your obsession with that world swirling about your feet, and "set your mind on things above" (Col. 3:2). The angel told Daniel that "from the first day that you set your heart [mind] to understand, and to humble yourself before your God," he came to help him (10:12). Self-denial is indeed the pathway, but it becomes an easy one once we kneel down and watch the Son of God die on His cross. It's that simple, that easy; "I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:32).

The book of Revelation is "the testimony of Jesus Christ" (1:2). It's where He exposes His heart. Put those two texts together and we have the truth: today around the world Jesus is "drawing" people to study and understand the book of Revelation! And Daniel is the "little book open" that underlies Revelation (Rev. 10:2), which Jesus especially wants us to understand with Revelation (Matt. 24:15). Thank God!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 19, 2004.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: More Abundant Life--The Good News Is He Gives It to You

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

To endure poverty that is thrust upon you unwanted is one thing; you grumble about your circumstances and wish you had more money. But to be content with poverty, actually to enjoy its discipline and privation, is another. And that immediately makes us think of Jesus--a hard-working peasant who in later life said He had nowhere to lay His head. And He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit ..." (Matt. 5:3) meaning, they are the truly happy people.

Wealthy people are seldom happy. It's not poetic fancy but hard truth that "godliness with contentment is great gain."

There's a beautiful hymn by Anna Waring that was in the old Hymnal (1941), but it's been left out of the new one (1985), probably because its sentiment goes too much against the grain of modern American philosophy. She says: "I have a heritage of joy / That yet I must not see; / The hand that bled to make it mine / Is keeping it for me. / There is a certainty of love / That sets my heart at rest; / A calm assurance for today, / That to be poor is best."

Wow! Of course! Such an idea must never be promoted in the richest nation on earth! But it's Bible teaching. No, not that abject, grinding, painful poverty is good--of course not; let's be reasonable. Food and raiment are necessary; and the One who "has nowhere to lay His head" (Luke 9:58) doesn't want you be like that--He wants you to have a roof over your head, yes, that doesn't leak, and a bed to sleep in. And He wants you to have the necessities of life.

The principle is the thing: "One's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he [or she] possesses" (Luke 12:15). "More abundant life" (John 10:10): the Good News is not that Jesus merely offers it to you; He givesit to you. Receive it! Don't resent it!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 4, 1997.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Resolution Is Not the Solution

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There are many good people in the world who want to live and let live, to be a help to their neighbors, they are morally upright, but they live with a serious problem: they are victims of an addiction. It may be the addiction of drugs; or the captivity of alcohol. In some cases (and these too are serious) they are addicted to food and their weight problem is out of control. All kinds of addictions assail us humans; we seek the solution to our problem.

Come January 1, these dear people believe that a New Year's resolution may help them; so they "resolve" in the next twelve months to rise above their addiction and conquer it. They promise themselves and often their family, "I'm going to overcome this problem in this New Year!"

They are utterly sincere, and their hearts are right; they mean well and the Lord pities them. They just need to know the truth and to act on that truth, for Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). The truth is not the value of our own promises to do and to be good; our own promises are like "ropes of sand," they look good and our friends and loved ones hope that they will hold; but they don't.

The problem with making promises to God is that wonderful "I" that makes the promises. "Our beloved brother Paul" sees through the problem; he says that our "carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). The solution: stop relying on that "wonderful I" and begin relying on the Lord's promises.

Making promises to God is not the answer, because our promises are the "Old Covenant" that "gives birth to bondage," says Paul in Galatians 4:24. The New Covenant in contrast is believing God's promises to us.

A prayer to pray may go like this: "Father in heaven, thank You for giving me another New Year; thank You for loving me so much that you gave Your Son to me to be my Savior; yes, I do believe--but 'Lord, ... help my unbelief!'" Those are the words of the distraught father in Mark 9:24 whose son was devil afflicted; Jesus had promised him "all things are possible to him who believes" (vs. 23).

The poor father set the stage for all of us: "Lord, I believe" he responded; but then immediately begged for forgiveness (as must we), for he added, "help my unbelief."

A New Year's resolution is not your solution; a New Year's choice and a New Year's prayer, is.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 1, 2009.
Copyright © 2019 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: How Close Has the Son of God Come to Us?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

How close has the Son of God come to us in our humanity? Bible readers generally for centuries have recognized in Psalm 119 a prophetic revelation of the heart cries of Jesus in His incarnation. David wrote it, as he did Psalms 22 and 69; but he was "searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in [him] was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ" (1 Peter 1:11). We find there a revelation of Christ's human struggle with temptations and "infirmities" "like as we are [tempted and tried], yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15, King James Version).

Read those Psalms, believing as you go, and you will be immensely comforted and encouraged. You will find repeatedly He says things that your heart has been trying to say from its deepest depths, but you have been too uncertain or too shy to say. Jesus dares to pray the prayer you wish you had the boldness to pray!

For example: He tells our Father in heaven, "I am small and despised" (Psalm 119:141). Yes! But don't forget the rest in that same breath: "Yet I do not forget Your precepts." So, don't "forget." There's the tension that Jesus felt in His own soul, like you know--one moment sensing your helplessness, the next remembering you've been adopted into the Father's family.

Jesus accepted discipline from His Father: "I know ... that in faithfulness You have afflicted Me" (vs. 75). Even He wasn't ready for His ministry until He was 30!

Instead of harboring resentment against those who "treated [Him] wrongfully," He turned His attention to Bible truth: "I will meditate on Your precepts" (vs. 78). So must you.

He was human enough to know what it is to long for revenge on those who treated Him unfairly: "When will You execute judgment on those who persecute Me?" (vs. 84). Have you ever noticed the innate desire that children know for fairness?

More than ten times in Psalm 119 Jesus prays (in old English), "quicken Me," which means, "make Me alive again." Before His Great Resurrection on "the third day," He had practiced being "resurrected" many times. It was no slang expression for Him, "I almost died!" He knows what a heart-stopping trauma is like. "They almost made an end of Me on earth," He complains; that's when He prayed to be made alive again (vss. 87, 88).

Yes, He has come intimately close to us.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 23, 2003.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Special Final Message of Heart-Union With Christ

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Discussions about "Elijah the prophet" stir up questions. Who really is "Elijah"? As Jesus says in Matthew chapters 11 and 17, "the coming of Elijah the prophet" is a message. God's promise "I will send you Elijah the prophet" was fulfilled in the message of John the Baptist, which the Jews despised. Now what concerns us is that it's "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord," before the end of the world (Mal. 4:5, 6).

What is "the Elijah message" for today? If you had lived in Jerusalem 2000 years ago wouldn't you have asked, "How can I recognize 'Elijah' when 'he' comes?" And now? There are some things we can know for sure:

(1) When the Lord "sends" a message, it is always "sent" in mercy to His people. He never sends one to hurt us. In fact, whatever message He sends, it's always in great mercy. This is because "God is love."

(2) When the Lord sends the "Elijah message," we can be sure it will be a precious message. In fact, knowing Him as we do, it will be, must be, a most precious one.

(3) Malachi gives us a clue when he says that Elijah's message will be one of reconciliation--fathers' hearts to children and (miracle of miracles!) children's hearts to parents (Mal. 4:6). "Elijah's" message "turns" hearts, changes hearts, heals alienation in hearts, melts hard hearts. That's possible when people kneel together at the cross.

(4) The same verse says that his message prepares fathers and children (that's all of God's people!) for the time when God's Holy Spirit will be withdrawn from the earth--the seven last plagues poured out (Rev. 16). Any message God sends that prepares His people for that time will certainly be "most precious"!

(5) Just as ancient Israel had an annual "day of atonement" in type, so we are today living in the great antitypical Day of Atonement--the cosmic "day" of ultimate, final heart reconciliations. Therefore "Elijah's message" will direct our attention to Christ as our High Priest "sending" a special final message of heart-union with Him.

"Watch," look, listen!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 3, 2002.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Jesus Begs You to Let Him Give You His New Covenant Promises

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's a serious question to ask and very important: are we saved by faith or are we saved by discipline? You ask, "What do you mean?" Let's try again: do you eat because the doctor tells you that you must; or do you eat because you're hungry? If you're never hungry, you've got a problem, and you'd better discipline yourself and force some nourishment down or you'll starve. A healthy person has an appetite that drives him or her to breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Do we discipline ourselves to read the Bible and pray just because of the stern voice of duty? If so, if we sense no "hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matt. 5:6), that means we are in God's hospital in His Intensive Care Unit where we are sustained by intravenous feeding. Yes, if the only reason why you pray or read the Bible is discipline fueled by fear,do it. The Old Covenant kept ancient Israel alive for a time (but oh what a dismal up and down life they had under it).

Let Jesus help you: He says, "Blessed [happy] are those who hunger and thirstfor righteousness, for they shall be filled." He went on to warn against doing good things just because of a selfish motivation: "Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matt. 6:1). Could we read the Bible and pray for a selfish reason? Millions do or at least have done so, for Old Covenant reasons; and they hope to get to heaven. God bless them. (The Old Covenant was better than heathenism; still, it led to crucifying Christ.)

But Jesus begs you to letHim, permitHim, allowHim, grantHim, stop resistingHim, letHim giveyou His New Covenant promises, and then you believethem. He has spent thousands of years trying to teach His people, and still today we can be right back where Israel was when they fastened themselves under the Old Covenant (Exodus 19).

To answer our question, let's let the Bible speak: "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of [discipline], lest anyone should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9; this liberty with the text is correct--that's what self-centered "works" means). You don't have to beg the Lord to give you the gift--He's already done so and keeps trying. Do the only common sense thing possible: repent for resisting so long. The ball's in your court.

P.S.: He is still your Great Physician on duty 24/7 in His Intensive Care Unit, for you alone.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 3, 2004.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Marvelous Passage in Philippians

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

There is a marvelous passage in Philippians 2:5-8 to ponder. The birth of a Baby in Bethlehem made no impact on the world at that time, but the message in this passage did make an impact. Paul was the first one who clearly saw the significance of that birth in the stable! He talks about the "mind" that was in Christ Jesus beforeHe came to this earth as a Baby. And then Paul begs us to "let" that "mind" be in us--to think and to feel as Christ did when He was in the highest place possible--"the form of God."

Take a look at the seven steps that the "mind" of Christ motivated Him to take: (1) to lay aside His equality with God with all its glory; (2) emptied Himself, gave up His reputation (what we usually fight for!); (3) "took" slavery upon Himself [King James Version]; (4) stepped down low so as to be made in the reality of humanity; (5) and then He humbled Himself still further (is there anyone reading this was who was born in a stable with the chickens, cows, goats, and donkeys?); (6) then He "became obedient" to the second death (the only person in all history who has done so!); and finally, (7) endured the death of the cross.

And that was not mere physical pain and social shame. It was the death that involved enduring the "curse of God" (Gal. 3:10). In other words it was the very same hell that Jesus described when He spoke of being cast into "outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 25:30).

Yes, says Paul, ponder this! Let your mind dwell on those seven steps. The Holy Spirit is right now is pleading with you—look! Think about this. He's trying His best to pour into your soul this glorious truth, like you pour a delicious drink into a glass--don't cover the glass with your hand so it can't be poured in! "Let this mind be in you ..." The Holy Spirit will give it to you if you permit Him! That's Good News!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 20, 1997.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Sabbath School Today, Lesson 13, Quarter 4-18

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Oneness in Christ
Lesson 13: Final Restoration of Unity

 

Think of it!--the resplendent KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS coming in the clouds of heaven, surprising His enemies in the very act! He will come to rescue those who are loyal to Him. Then the moment of truth will have come for all earth's inhabitants.

The Book of Revelation pictures that final scene: "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords and King of kings" (Rev. 17:14).

"I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and makes war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no one knew, but He Himself. He was clothed with a [robe] dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. ... Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron" (Rev. 19:11-15).

For centuries, millions have endured--and continue to endure --wars, plagues, crime, grinding poverty, and unending fear. No one can say that God has brought this awful load of suffering on the world--man has done this!

Should not God be "democratic" and allow this planet to go on living in rebellion against His government and His universe? There is a ready answer. He has already done so--He still waits since the fall of man in Eden, hoping for repentance and reconciliation. He cannot and has never abandoned any "remnant" of His people who appreciate His character of love and respond accordingly. They are the ones who rightfully "inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5).

But now in this present day, God looks down upon the earth and sees as plainly as we do that man has nearly ruined this habitat. It is evident that selfishness and sin make human life almost intolerable in many nations on earth.

The Lord tries again and again to save us. He is pleading in the most sublime, compassionate language, saying to every human soul, "'As I live,' saith the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways! For why will ye die?'" (Eze. 33:11). Love could not be more eloquent, or more persistent.

How will the lost feel when at last they actually see the face of Him whom they have persistently resisted and rejected? For those who have urged and supported the mark of the beast, just to look in His eyes will itself be torment "with fire and brimstone" (Rev. 14:9-11). The original language expresses the idea of their beholding in a flash the awful reality of their having rejected the One who suffered hell in order to save them. They can't stand it. The horror of their final realization of guilt tortures every cell of their souls.

The Lord never intended that the sight of His loving face should do that to anyone. While it is true that "our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29), it is only to sin that the revelation of His love is so destructive. If a human being persistently clings to any sin as a vine clings to a tree, the physical sight of Him who is love incarnate must also be instant destruction.

But Jesus promises that "the pure in heart ... shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). They "shall dwell with the devouring fire, ... with everlasting burnings" (Isa. 33:14). As Christ walked in Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace with the three Hebrew youth who believed Him, so He will save those physically who have already permitted Him as Saviour to save them spiritually from sin.

The enemy will capitulate. Even Satan himself at the end of history will openly, publically confess before the inhabitants of earth, and the intensely interested universe, his hopeless rebellion, and welcome the destruction that will mean that the great controversy is finally over: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 'Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever!'" (Rev. 5:13).

The second coming of Christ is not the end of happiness or of our delight in the flora and fauna of earth, but the beginning of a renewal of life without pain and death, both for man and for the planet: "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create. ... The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, ... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," saith the LORD (Isa. 65:17-25).

In the final judgment every human being will see that God could not have been more fair, more patient, more compassionate than He has been: "God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. ... And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light" (John 3:16-19).

Rightly understood, the world has never heard any better good news than the glorious second coming of Christ: "The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good" (Titus 2:11-14, New International Version).

What a bargain for "all men"! This godly grace has already come to you. The hardest thing we have to do is to say "No" to sinful temptation, but this grace actually teaches us to say it.

Believe the powerful good news, and immediately the second coming becomes your "blessed hope." "It … will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay" (Hab. 2:3, NIV). At any time when He comes, the waiting will seem to have been short!

Worldwide, "the grace of God" is working night and day "to purify for Himself a people that are His very own." The nightly TV anchors may not tell us about this, but it is the most important news in the world, and it is good.

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: https://youtu.be/ixPN3qnPZZk

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

Dial Daily Bread: Only Luke Tells the Beautiful Story of the Birth of Jesus

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever noticed how many intimate details of the birth of Jesus that Luke tells? Neither Mark nor John say anything about His birth; yet Luke, a Gentile, gives us a clearer picture than even Matthew. Do you suppose in later years he sought out the Virgin Mary and interviewed her as a reporter would? Thank God she told it all to him! Could it be that Luke wants us Gentiles to feel welcomed into God's family?

Luke alone tells the story of the birth of John the Baptist (1:5-25). And of Gabriel's announcement to Mary—very intimate details (vss. 26-37). He alone tells of Mary's ready faith-response, and of that giant sword of Goliath yet to be thrust through her heart (vs. 38; 2:35). Let your heart be pained in sympathy for her!

Luke alone tells of Mary's almost breathless journey up the hills to Elizabeth's home, so she could confide her gigantic secret with her closest friend (1:39-45).

We thank Luke for sharing her exquisite poem of thanksgiving (vss. 46-55), that seems so like the heartbroken Hannah's psalm of gratitude (1 Sam. 2:1-10). Mary shared some special "humiliation" with Hannah that made them kindred spirits (cf. Luke 1:48; Greek, tapeinosis--compare that word in Acts 8:33). Luke discloses a very literate, sensitive, and polished lady of exceptional abilities.

Only Luke provides us a fitting entrée to the thrilling story behind the birth of the world's Savior. A totally selfless man must prepare His way (Luke 1:57-80, John 3:29, 30); only a selfless people can prepare the way of His second coming (Rev. 14:1-5, 14, 15).

Only Luke tells the beautiful story of the shepherds ready to welcome Him (2:1-18). It humbles our pride just to think about it.

Don't let the din of the Season drown out the precious story. Linger over it.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 22, 2002.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Can We Dwell Too Much on the Sacrifice of Christ?

Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”

At this holiday season, many people around the world are listening to Handel's "Messiah." One of the grandest anthems is "Behold the Lamb of God." Then there is a beautiful section that dwells on the sufferings and the sacrifice of Christ. And the oratorio ends with "Worthy is the Lamb That Was Slain" and the magnificent "Amen" chorus.

Can we dwell too much on the sacrifice of Christ? His high priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary is also important and must not be neglected. But Paul helps us understand the balance: "Every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it is of necessity that this Man [Christ] have somewhat also to offer" (Heb. 8:3, KJV).

The content of that "somewhat" is vitally important, for if one does not appreciate what kind of sacrifice Christ made as "the Lamb of God" he cannot appreciate His High Priestly ministry; and further, Christ cannot serve as High Priest if He does not have an adequate "sacrifice" "to offer." Hence, the cross is essential to His successful High Priestly ministry. It cannot be dwelt upon too much!

Paul said he could "glory" in nothing else (Gal. 6:14). When he came to Corinth, he told the people, "I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). There is a "width and length and depth and height" of the love revealed at the cross that it is our privilege to "comprehend" (Eph. 3:18). What's encouraging is to realize that the vision, the comprehension, of the cross cleanses our human hearts of pride, selfishness, lust, and love of the world. It makes right deep in our hearts what was wrong!

Isaac Watts, a wise man, said, "When I survey the wondrous cross / On which the Prince of glory died, / My richest gain I count but loss, / And pour contempt on all my pride." As the Israelites who were bitten by the poisonous snakes looked to the serpent on the tree, so we look to the cross and we are healed. But this is not magic or superstition; it is life in a look (John 3:14-16).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 11, 1998.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Lord Will Help Us Save Our Children

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Christmas betrays its pagan origin as a holiday in that it inspires materialism never seen throughout the year. It's always what can we buy in order to satisfy our corporate self-centered cravings.

If you had been living in 4 B.C. and you knew (like the wise men from the East) that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, would you bring gifts to Him?Giving gifts for ourselves is foreign to the story of Bethlehem.

But it is universal, and it would not be wise to challenge it for the sake of the children whose disappointment would be almost impossible to relieve; but we can tell them the true story and ask the Lord to help us teach them so they don't grow up egocentric materialists. The Lord will help us save our children.

There is a delightful story in John 4 that we can teach: Jesus has gone on a long journey with His disciples, having taken a short cut to Galilee that goes through Samaria (where Jews feel unwelcome). They have come to a town called Sychar. John tells us that Jesus was hot and tired, and of course, thirsty. (In His incarnation, He was forbidden to create for Himself a drinking fountain.) He sits down at Jacob's famous well, hoping someone will give him a drink. Here He is, the Creator of heaven and earth, helplessly dependent on some human's generosity!

The disciples have gone to the market to buy some food to relieve their hunger, and that of Jesus. A lady comes at this noontime to draw water (but she doesn't want to mingle with the other women; she has had an unfortunate marital problem and wants to come when there is no one else there because of the heat). She bumps into Jesus who humbly asks her for a drink instead of waiting for some Jew to give him a drink; He is not ashamed to request a favor from a Samaritan (despised by the Jews).

The disciples then come back with their groceries, and paint us a delightful little picture: in the King James Version, they "pray a prayer" to Jesus that is in reverse gear from all the prayers we are so wont to pray: instead of asking Him to feed them, they pray "Master [You] eat!" (vs. 31).

It's time we learned to think of the need that Jesus has for Himself. Principally, He longs for His Bride-to-be to repent and give Him her heart--in corporate consecration and repentance.

--Robert J. Wieland

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

Dial Daily Bread: Thank God for the "Religion of the Baby Jesus"

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

A local newspaper carried the story of a little Jewish boy age 6 who was fascinated by a Christmas tree. Not the ordinary ornaments and lights, but the little figurine of the Baby Jesus lying in a manger. He liked it so much that he took it off the tree, stole it if you please. When his mother had him bring it back, she kindly explained to him, "Son, some religions--like ours--are different; they don't have the Baby Jesus." His response: "Then why don't we get the religion that has the Baby Jesus?"

I can only hope that his childish heart will always hunger for the religion that has Him.

"The religion that has the Baby Jesus" believes, understands, appreciates, is thankful, that the Son of God came to earth and began His life here as a Baby, subject to all the trials and heartaches that every human baby grows up to experience, "yet without sin."

Was He tempted from within, as we are tempted from within? Or was He tempted only from without, as the adult sinless Adam was tempted in the Garden of Eden? Thank God, He won ourbattle, not merely Adam's battle. He tells us, Yes, He was tempted from within: "I can of Myself do nothing. ... I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5:30). "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (6:38). "Christ did not please Himself" (Rom. 15:3).

You say that there was no inner conflict, that it was easy for Him to "not seek [His] own will, but" the Father's will for Him? Think of Gethsemane where the lid came off and we can see inside His tortured soul: "O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:39).

Only an outward struggle, not internal? What about the agonized bloody sweat that came with that prayer of self-surrender? He tells us He "took" a self as we have a self to contend with (Heb. 2:11, 14, King James Version); but whereas we have allyielded to self and thus have been selfish, He perfectly denied self all His life--from His manger all the way to His cross. Thank God for "the religion of the Baby Jesus."

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 28, 1998.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Light That Will Blaze Across the World

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The second coming of Jesus is wonderful good news, but there is other good news that must come first--a light that will blaze across the world. It will penetrate into the homes and the markets of both the poor and the rich. Since God is declared to be "love," He cannot leave anyone out of seeing this light of the angel's message who "comes down from heaven, having great power; and the earth [must be] lightened with his glory" (Rev. 18:1,King James Version).

In the Bible, light is always something that comes from heaven. It causes the gospel to shine. This "light" will be a message in which "light" is shining. Therefore it will be truth, for "Your word is a ... light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). That final revelation of light will therefore be the truth of God's word more clearly spread out before the world than ever seen before.

The one spot in world history where the Light of heaven shone most brightly was the cross of Christ, for it was there that a heavenly love (known as agape) was most clearly demonstrated in its "width and length and depth and height," a love "that passes knowledge" (Eph. 3:18, 19).

But how can this ever happen in our modern materialistic, pleasure-loving, godless world? That "light," which will at last shine brightly, will not be a message of terrorism (the terror will come after the light has been rejected, finally); the message will be a "lifting up" of the crucified Savior of the world.

God will not scare people into His kingdom like cattle being gathered for the roundup; the world's moment of truth will finally dawn for all mankind. The love revealed at the cross will corral every honest-hearted soul who will sense the "constraint" that is implicit in that love. A totally new motivation will prevail--not fear for one's personal security, but a new concern newly realized--that which a bride can know for the man whom at last she loves (Rev. 19:7, 8).

Forget thinking about the Gospel as a static set of cold doctrines; it is an ever-growing, heart-moving experience of identity with the Son of God.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 18, 2004.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."