Many important things happened at Bethlehem in the Bible. Bethlehem was the city of Judah. It was the birthplace of David. Most of us will remember that our Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. It is a place where important things happened. Not so long ago it was again the focus point when the Palestinian Authority occupied the Church with hostages for days until the whole thing was stopped and then some people were deported. It always remained an important place. Bethlehem is a Hebrew word and means the following, "Beth" - house and "Lechem" - bread. One of the stories in the Bible, which center around Bethlehem, is the story of Naomi and Ruth. This story really touched my live and changed my life.

Naomi and her family lived on a property close to Bethlehem. There was famine in the land. This was due to sin in the land, which they brought unto themselves. They decided to leave Bethlehem and went to Moab. It had disastrous affects. Naomi's husband died and later her two sons, but she keep her eyes on the Lord. The pagan gods in Moab did not influence her. Ruth learned a lot from Naomi and decided that she wants to return with Naomi to Bethlehem. When Naomi heard the good news that there was no famine anymore the Lord visited His people and GAVE THEM BREAD. This is very significant because the Lord brought bread back to Bethlehem. The Lord brought bread to the house. She wanted to return desperately back to Bethlehem.

This story is typical of many believers. When the church go through difficult times they leave. Some do not even attend church. Some leave and go to other churches because they are not happy. People give many excuses and many people are not in the will of God. Many experience also difficult times. Many believers leave church because there is no bread in the church anymore and they are hungry for real bread. Sometimes we are at fault and wanders from church to church or do church hopping to satisfy their own needs. Many believers just go after events and happenings and are not committed to a church. We need to ask ourselves, do me satisfy our own needs or our spiritual needs?

It is therefore important that churches provide food for their members. It is therefore important that the leaders listen to the Holy Spirit and preach and do what the Holy Spirit is saying. They should obey the Holy Spirit. If this is not the case the church will experience a famine and people will start leaving when they can get spiritual food somewhere else. The story of Naomi and Ruth really touched my life. Consider the following: There are two loaves of bread on a table. The one loaf of bread is fresh and the other one is old. Which one will you choose? Another example. Have you entered a bakery when they just removed the bread from the ovens? The aroma of the fresh baked bread fills the place and you just want to buy that bread even if it was not your intention to buy bread. Many of us tasted fresh, hot bread. I have. I can remember when the bread just came out of the oven and it was cut into slices and I spread some butter and jam on it and the butter melts on the hot bread. It is so tasty. After this experience you do not like old bread and will not old bread anymore. Am I alone or did you also experience this also? You can do whatever you do to old bread, it will never taste the same as fresh hot bread.

The spiritual aspect is also the same. If there is "bread" in the house people will come to get it in the church. If the bread is fresh, hot out of the oven then more people will come and all of them will be blessed and satisfied because their spiritual needs have been attended to. When something is happening at church people start to talk about it and the news spreads fast. Because of our curiosity people will come to look what is happening. Naomi heard that the famine is over and the Lord visited his people and gave them bread. Naomi desperately wanted to return to Bethlehem, to the place where the "bread" is. Our spiritual hunger for this bread should be the same. We need to have something fresh from God.

When Moses was with the people in the wilderness, God supplied to them manna every day and on the day before Sabbath they received double because God did not give them manna on Sabbath. For 40 years God supplied them manna in this way. Jesus taught the people to pray in Matt 6. In a part of the prayer He says: - "Give us this day our daily bread". This is what we need daily. Something fresh from God. In John 6 we read that Jesus said that "He is the bread of life". He said it three times (verse 35, 48, 51). We need to supply bread in the church, not old bread, but fresh bread, fresh out of the oven. Leaders need to feed members from the bread of heaven. But in many churches people live on old sermons (old bread), because the leaders bring old messages.

Many churches experience famine. It is time that the church leaders provide fresh hot bread to its members.

Are you hungry for fresh hot bread? Do you get fresh hot bread directly from the oven in your church?