“Why
do you spend money for what is not bread, and your
wages for what does not satisfy? Listen diligently
to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul
delight itself in abundance” (Isaiah 55:2)
When I was a boy, we moved from
Portland, Maine, to Long Beach, California, USA, a
distance of several thousand miles. In Long Beach,
we often visited the “Pike,”
a fun zone at the beach. We rode the
merry-go-round, which had an upright hollow tube
next to the “horses.” The horses went up-and-down
within the merry-go-round, but the tube remained
stationary at the side. The upright pipe or tube
contained metal rings and you were expected to grab
one if you could. All of the rings were about the
size of a human ear, but round, and most were metal
colored, though a few of them were brass.
Not many people got one of the
brass rings. A couple of times, I managed to snag
one of the metal-colored ones, but the few that were
brass always eluded me. It’s interesting that NONE
of the rings had any real value, no matter WHAT
their color, which says something true about life.
We exhaust ourselves, going after situations and
things that often have no real value at all, like
that brass ring, except they are somewhat rare and
others want them, and therefore – we WANT them, too!
In many parts of the world,
today is considered to be “Palm
Sunday,” commemorating the time, 2000 years
ago, when Jesus entered Jerusalem and was greeted by
a “great multitude” of people (Matthew 21:1-11). They “cut
down branches from the trees and spread them on the
road” in front of Him (verse 8). They
shouted “Hosanna to the Son
of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord! Hosanna in the highest” (verse 9). But
soon, everyone was denying Him. Just a few days
later, even those in His own inner circle were
uttering words such as, “I
do not know the Man!” (Matthew 26:72).
Jesus’ disciples had been
caught up in the excitement of His entry into
Jerusalem. It was thought that His mission would be
to throw off the hated yoke of the Roman Empire and
at last bring FREEDOM to Israel. The people, the
leaders of the Jews, even Jesus’ own disciples, were
hoping for the “brass ring” for themselves, their
families and their nation, not understanding that
Jesus has something much more in mind than just
personal comfort and short term goals. Yes, He
wants our circumstances to be positive, but much
more He wants to change us inside where it counts –
forever!
Seeing this attitude in
humanity – that we have a strong tendency to mistake
popularity for substance and “brass rings” for
something of real value, God asked this question
through the prophet Isaiah, hundreds of years before
the birth of Jesus: “Why do
you spend money for what is not bread, and your
wages for what does not satisfy? Listen diligently
to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul
delight itself in abundance” (Isaiah 55:2).
It is incredible that often a man or woman in
outwardly poor circumstances will buy alcoholic
beverages or illegal drugs instead of food needed
for the family. Newspaper headlines in Europe
recently spoke of a large group of parents in France
who are being prosecuted because they apparently
prostituted their little children, even babies, in
exchange for items as small and insignificant as a
carton of cigarettes!
Incredible! But if you and I
honestly look back on our lives and then look anew
at the disciples of Jesus, you’ll see embarrassing
instances of superficiality that make you blush, and
you wonder: “How could I have done that?” Am I any
better? Actually all humanity is desperately in
need of God, and we are not unlike those who choose
alcohol over food.
Isaiah the prophet called out
to a people that did not trust in God or reach out
to help others, but instead they wasted what they
had on the whim of the moment. Your “wages,”
your income is God’s gift, no matter how hard you
may think you have worked to earn what you have.
It’s time to “LISTEN
diligently” to God and “eat”
what is good for you in your heart where it counts –
He intends to give you the REAL “soul”
food, His Holy Spirit, who will cause you to
understand “abundance”
for the first time.
They didn’t appreciate what
Jesus was talking about when He said, “I
am the bread of life” (John 6:48). We
typically don’t understand when He offers us “living
water” (John 4:10). Those in the Early
Church were often accused of being “cannibals” by
outsiders because of the Lord’s Supper, where the
pastor would intone words like, “Jesus
said, ‘This is My body…’” and many today have
even less comprehension than they did.
When you attend a “traditional”
church service involving communion, take a look at
what’s happening. The supplicant will go forward
and receive a small piece of bread from the one
officiating at the service, followed by a sip of
wine. At a Passover Seder, all present eat a whole
meal, but the message is the same: We need to
receive the Messiah,
Y'shua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, the Son
of the living God – INSIDE ourselves; because we
have cancer of the soul. It’s called “sin” and only
HE who is holy can heal us! Just as Jesus said to
the religious man in John 3:3, we need to be “born
again,” which He defined as being “born
of the Spirit” (John 3:6). You need HIM,
deep in your heart and life.
Let’s suppose you “catch” the
current “brass ring”
of life – the lottery! Unexpectedly, you can “buy”
pretty much anything or anyone you want. You think
you don’t need to be afraid any longer. You don’t
live in that little apartment anymore, but instead
have a roomy home with a view and a swimming pool.
Your bills are paid. What then?
Years ago, the world watched
the amazing and talented Howard Hughes unravel right
before our eyes. He invented things and flew
airplanes, dated movie stars and made lots of
money. He seemed remarkable, but suddenly the world
saw him as a frightened little old man, with long
fingernails, longer hair, afraid of germs, living in
a confined place of his own choosing, and then – he
was dead! He had (and has) literally nothing at
all!
History is FULL of people who
had much and then lost it. God invented the aging
process and death for just that reason – so we would
see our need of HIM! So we would see that it is
illogical to buy “what is
not bread” when we can have the “Bread
of Life” – forever!
Father, we have been trying to
get the “brass ring”
all our lives, when we should have had faith in
You. Fill us, Bread of Life. We receive You now.
In Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron
Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
Ron@FridayStudy.org PO Box 92131
Long Beach, CA 90809-2131 "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8)
