Daily Bread

Is Everybody in the Laodicean Church Lukewarm?

2012-05-30T05:41:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," Is everybody in the Laodicean Church (the seventh of Revelation 2, and 3:14-21), lukewarm? The actual text, the words of Jesus, do not make exceptions. It's like the ten "virgins” of the parable in Matthew 25; they "allslumbered and slept” (vs. 5; the original has it, they nodded and then they all sacked out in deep sleep). But five had prepared in advance

Rejoice and "Receive" the "Gift"

2012-05-29T05:18:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," Commentaries and scholarly tomes can line our library shelves, but if you want to understand something in the Bible, let the simple text speak. Take that celebrated Romans 5 passage that the apostle wrote: the New English Bible makes it clear, and the Revised English Bible a trifle clearer yet. Note as we read (a), what is the "condemnation" that Adam

A Strange Parable in Luke

2012-05-28T05:50:00.004-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," There is a strange parable in Luke 16:1-13 that has puzzled people for hundreds of years. What do you make of it? Some wise commentators have even suggested that Luke made a mistake in putting it in his gospel--that Jesus could never have said such a thing. And it does appear that Jesus is praising dishonesty! Admittedly, this is a hard nut to crack, but if

Let Him Join You in Your "Walk"

2012-05-26T05:27:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," Behold the compassion of the resurrected Jesus! One might think that in the enthusiasm of His newly resurrected life He is eager to be off on His new assignment in the heavenly sanctuary, but no, His heart is with His disappointed, discouraged ones here. His name is still "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matt. 1:23). Two men who have

That Old Specter Unbelief

2012-05-24T05:04:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," The old tale has been worn out with re-telling: a driver picks up a weary man walking by the roadside; he sits in back of the wagon but still keeps his burden on his back; he is told, "Lay your burden down!" but insists, "It was good enough of you to give me a ride, I don't want you to have to carry my burden too!" Ridiculous! But "Oh what needless

Sometimes Standing Still Is Great Progress

2012-05-22T04:15:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," The great King David had fallen from his dizzy height of honor into the dreadful pit of adultery, and then gone further into sin by a deed of murder to cover it up. He felt that he was lost forever. His nights were filled with tears. He says, "Day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer" (Psalm 32:4). It's

A Grand Deposit to Your Personal Account

2012-05-21T05:07:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," Long ago when we were on furlough from mission service in Africa we had saved up $300 to buy a kerosene refrigerator to take back. But I lent the money to a church friend in my home town in Florida so he could recover his pickup truck, which had been foreclosed on for lack of payment. He was an old friend; I was sure would re-pay me. Meanwhile we went

Walking "Softly" Like Ahab

2012-05-18T04:20:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," Do you ever fall on your knees and cry out to the Lord, "Thank You for saving me from disaster that I deserved!"? There are many who would give anything if they could erase from memory and from their life record some act of willful foolishness or indiscretion. Often it's an act of fornication or adultery, an alluring temptation yielded to, at an

What Does the Name of "Jesus" Mean?

2012-05-17T04:49:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," What does the name of "Jesus" mean? We are told in Acts 4:12 that there is salvation in no other name; Philippians 2:10 says that at last "every knee" shall bow to that name; Acts 3:6 says that name caused the man born lame to walk. Says the poet, "The name of Jesus is so sweet, I love its music to repeat." But isn't it time that we should learn what

The Story of the Cross Will Win Souls

2012-05-16T04:44:00.004-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," In Isaiah 6 we read where the young prophet has this vision in the Temple of seeing "the Lord ... high and lifted up." It seems obvious that his vision was not of materialistic "glory"; it was a vision of the character of the Lord, a heart-humbling appreciation of His glorious self-sacrificing love. The cry of "holy, holy, holy" was a revelation of the cross

Every Wind of Doctrine Is Blowing

2012-05-15T05:07:00.004-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," The conscientious, alert follower of Jesus is in constant tension. Every wind of doctrine is blowing with force. Publications on the Internet and by printing are flooding our mailboxes, both postal and electronic. Voices are clamoring to be heard with new interpretations of key Bible teaching. Some are seriously aberrant but are clothed in appealing language

A Message God Sends, and a Clever Counterfeit

2012-05-14T05:04:00.002-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," How can one tell the difference between a genuine "Elijah" message that God sends, and a clever counterfeit? When God fulfills His promise to send "Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5), there will be very certain evidences: (1) The message will be as unpopular as Elijah's was in his day. The news of

The Greatest Mother of All Time

2012-05-12T04:04:00.004-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," She is the greatest mother of all time--and I don't refer to Eve. She is the mother to whom the angel Gabriel announced, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:28). Most people interpret the "highly favoured" to mean that the virgin Mary was a beautiful Hollywood super-star. But the Bible makes

God's Ideal for His Church

2012-05-11T06:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," There is a connection between 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and Acts 18:1-17. Two outstanding details there are intriguing: (1) the fierce hatred of the Jews who heard Paul preach in Corinth and (2) Paul's plea for the Corinthian church members to be in total, perfect theological harmony. (1) Paul proclaimed Jesus with the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Honest

Where Are You?

2012-05-10T02:23:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," There are Christians who are content with the blessings of life that they believe the Lord has granted them. They appreciate their knowledge of God and of His truth. They love their fellowship in their church. They are thankful for their knowledge of the gospel, the hope they have in this dark world, the meaning that their faith has brought into their lives.

Identifying Closely With "the Lamb"

2012-05-09T04:01:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," For ages, millions have died trusting in Christ as their Substitute. For the most part, their idea of substitution has been "vicarious." Christ stands in place of them, instead of them, as an insurance company stands instead of you, in place of you, when you suffer a loss. Or, as a lawyer who stands before the judge in place of you, instead of you, in a

A Square Meal of Righteousness

2012-05-08T05:02:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," The spiritual blessings you received yesterday are wonderful; but you need a fresh infilling today. We're not a bus running on a tank of fuel; we're the old-fashioned streetcar that ran by a constant touch with the "third rail." Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matt. 6:11). But that's what we forget so easily to make sure we

Wrestling With Controversy

2012-05-07T05:24:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," Going back in history almost all the way to Pentecost, history tells how the true believers in Jesus wrestled with controversy in their midst over what the gospel means. The controversy erupted before the first general conference of the church was called in Jerusalem, in Acts 15:6ff. There were aberrant views advanced by "certain of the sect of the

A Word that Blew People's Minds

2012-05-04T04:07:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," What does the Bible mean when it says that "God is love"? I love strawberries. Is that God? Hollywood has movies that glorify something they call "love," which in reality is "barnyard" morality. Is that what God is? People love someone today, get divorced tomorrow, and hate each other; is that what God is like? Our English language (and every one on

Seminar Invitation

2012-05-04T04:04:00.000-05:00

Seminar Invitation Now on Internet Radio (24/7) cavespringsministries.org Appreciating the THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS Through the 1888 Message Perspective (part 1) (Chapter 1, continued) MAY 19, 2012 Sabbath afternoon (beginning 2:15 p.m. CT, USA) An 1888 message oriented sermon will be delivered duringthe regular Worship Service. CAVE SPRINGS HOME,

A Prayer That WILL Be Answered

2012-05-03T04:08:00.001-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," You can only learn to love when you believe yourself to be beloved. That is, when your sense of insecurity has been replaced by the assurance that you are firmly enfolded in the arms of Somebody Important. Only then can you dare to let yourself be vulnerable and exposed by loving someone else. That's why the Bible is so clear on this controversial issue

Can We Make the Lord Happy--Or Unhappy?

2012-05-01T05:09:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," Can we lowly, unworthy mortals do anything that can have an effect on the Lord, the Ruler of the universe, to make Him happy or unhappy? We read that when King David, the anointed ruler of God's people Israel, had committed a double crime of adultery and then murder to cover it up, but "the thing that David had done displeased the Lord" (2 Sam. 11:27).

A New Motivation That Never Ends

2012-04-30T04:20:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," Have you ever noticed that the Bible spends more time talking about what God has done for the world, than telling what we must do for Him? For example, there's John 3:16: "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." Big, big gift! But it doesn't go on giving a list of things we must now do for Him. It simply says, "that whosoever

A Choice David Himself Had to Make

2012-04-27T05:20:00.004-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," The story of Saul, the first king of Israel, next to that of Judas Iscariot, is the saddest in the Bible. The problem was initially the fault of the people. They had demanded of God that He give them a king like all the nations around them. God selected the best man available in the nation. The prophet Samuel anointed him, and all went well for a time. He

A Magnificent, Life-changing Promise

2012-04-24T05:01:00.002-05:00

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread," When we come to our day's end and we're about to get in bed, we kneel to pray. On our knees, we are quiet, subdued, in the presence of "our heavenly Father.” We think back: have I honored my Savior today? Have I done and said what He would have done and said in my place? Maybe when we gave something to help someone today, now we wish we had been more