Is The Light On At The House Of Bread?
Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (KJV)
We sing about the little town of Bethlehem and Micah even says that in the sense of earthly importance it is just a small city among thousands. Yet, it and its inhabitants and in a sense its cemetery is mentioned often in Scripture
Look at the dignitaries buried at Bethlehem – Rachel (the favorite wife of Jacob), Ibzan (a judge), Naomi, Obed and Ruth who are in Jesus’ blood line, Asahel – Joab’s brother killed by Abner, Elhanan son of Dodo.
King David was born there and once desired water from one of its wells and used it as a drink offering to God because his men risked their lives to get it. Rehoboam rebuilt the city. Indeed a small city but an important one.
Matt 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, (KJV)
The most important birth of all time took place in this small town and powerful men traveled great distances to bring gifts to Him. Oddly, these men were not Jews. The most Conservative sect of the Jews knew where the Messiah would be born but they had given up looking for Him years ago.
It would seem that many Christians have done the same today. We celebrate the birth of the Lord, but not in the right way and many of us do not seek Him daily in our lives and some have lost hope of His return.
The name Bethlehem means house of bread and it is appropriate that the Bread of Heaven would be born in town with such a name. Manna sustained the life of those in the wilderness for a short time, but this bread would sustain the soul for eternity.
My Senior Pastor, the Head Deacon and his wife love Krispy Kreme® doughnuts. Having alma maters in North Carolina and having lived in South Carolina I am well acquainted with these treats. They are still fairly new in Texas. These new fans of Krispy Kremes® were talking the other night about when the light is on at the bakery that means the batch is fresh from the oven.
Though it was not December 25th, on that night in Bethlehem the Bread of Heaven was freshly prepared for the world and His light was on in and above the house of bread. No earthly bread ever had the advertisement of angels that this heavenly bread had as they gloriously told the shepherds of its availability and its nutritional benefits.
Unlike carnal bread that gets stale and moldy or even the manna that would spoil if someone tried to hoard it this Bread would be fresh every day and served in many ways feeding many different people until the day it was broken for our sins on the Cross. Some would relish the taste of this bread like my Pastor does those doughnuts. Others would be glad to partake of its benefits but would not see anything special in the Bread and thus miss its eternal value only caring about the temporal. Others would disdain the Bread thinking it ill prepared and not even bread at all. They would cast it away to their own damnation thinking they had ripped it to shreds and disposed of it in the trashcan called a tomb not knowing that unleavened though it was that it would rise again to feed men everywhere until the end of time and beyond.
Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. (KJV)
While bread is the mainstay of many cultures, the devil could not tempt Christ with earthly bread. While He was hungry after a forty day fast, He knew what really sustained life and that was the Word of God. How foolish to tempt the Bread of Heaven, the living Word of God with that which is far inferior. Man worries so much about the bread that he eats to live and yet dies but is often starving for he does not eat of the bread that will allow him to live forever. Even those who have partaken of this bread miss the abundant goodness that it would bring to them because they eat it sparingly and inconsistently.
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (KJV)
Brothers and Sisters, we should not be lacking in the nutrition available in the Bread of Heaven. If we are saved, then as Paul tells us we are in Him and He is in us. That means we dwell in the house of bread for Christ is the Bread and we are in Him. We need not be anorexic. We should be robust and full of spiritual health for we have access to the best food in the universe.
As Christ told the disciples that He had meat they knew not of we also have access to that meat. As we feast on the Bread of Life we are to feed on the will of God and be about His business as Christ has been from eternity past and will be throughout all eternity. We are in Him. How can we be starving?
In the natural world, whatever we eat is transformed into our flesh and blood. In the spiritual, we partake of Him and we become like Him. Instead of the bread we eat losing its nature and becoming ours when we eat the Bread of Life we are to lose our nature and take on His. We do this throughout our lives until we are finally transformed completely into His image at the Resurrection. Glory to His Name!!!! What a day that will be when we finally lose all the Adamic nature and we walk solely in the power of His nature.
What a blessing to be living in the House of Bread and to partake of the Bread of life, but look at the rest of the verse. The Bread of Life is in us making us a house of bread as well. As the Bread of Life left Bethlehem to break itself and serve itself to the world we are called on to do the same. We are to allow Christ to break us and serve Himself to the world through our bodies.
Dan 1:15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat. (KJV)
In order for that to happen, we must eat regularly ourselves. Daniel chose to eat the diet that God ordered for him and in only ten days he looked healthier than all those who partook of the worldly diet.
Many Christians eat of the heavenly bread sporadically. They are like picky children that play with their food and will only willing eat certain dishes. Children left to their selves would eat nothing but desserts for all three meals and do great damage to their bodies. They need meat, vegetables and fresh fruit to grow properly and be strong.
God’s children need a balanced diet as well. Too often we only like to read Psalms and Proverbs and maybe select passages in one of the Gospels or Epistles. We stay out of the Law and Prophets for they get a bit too deep and either stay out of Revelation completely or eat until we are bloated and in pain. We need meat and vegetables. We need balance so that we can obtain true spiritual health that may be easily seen.
Exod 34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. (KJV)
We may not even notice what God is doing for us but others will. It is often better that we do not know that God is baking a fresh loaf of bread in our life for we are too easily tempted to think that we are bakers who chose the ingredients and prepared the loaf for the hungry. Then the leaven of pride and independence fills the loaf and ruins it. It becomes unfulfilling for us and those we serve it to making us both weak and feeble.
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. (KJV)
We put a lot of emphasis on education, entertainment and other programs but they are not bread. They have an aroma of bread much like candles that smell like fresh bread or some other food but cannot be eaten. They look like bread but are like the wax or ceramic food that decorates but does not nourish.
What the world needs is to see that we have been with Jesus. They don’t want stale bread of past glories like those who live in the Reformation or the glory years of the 1950’s. They can’t use machinations and matriculations. They want fresh bread that is the result of our daily partaking of Jesus.
2 Cor 2:14-17
14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?
17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. (KJV)
Yes, it is true that even if we are the best houses of bread we can be in this life there will be some who will not partake of what we offer. We must not be discouraged. We rejoice in those who have come to the Bread of Life and have found the sweet aroma of eternal life in the forgiveness He offers them. We can grieve over those who smell that sweet savour and because of sin caused sinusitis turn their nose up at it and pass into death and Hell, but we do not let it stop us from serving the Bread.
Lost friends, the Bread of Life offers itself unto you today. Partake and hunger no more and never die. Let it fill you and give you health and life like you have never known. Don’t pass up this free food that cost so much to prepare.
Brothers and Sisters, are you serving up fresh bread or clinging selfishly to stale molded crumbs? Partake daily that you may have hot fresh bread to serve to the starving souls of this world. May they see the glorious glow of health on your face and in your walk. Is the light on at your house of bread? I pray that it is. Lord, give us this day our daily Bread! Maranatha!
