Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Jeremiah 37-41
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 21:13
Jesus: It is written, “My house will be a house of prayer for all people,” but you have turned this house of prayer into a den of robbers.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
I wonder what Jesus would say if He went into my church or your church today. Herod’s Temple was certainly an impressive place. It didn’t have the gold in it that Solomon’s Temple had. It didn’t have the Arc of the Covenant that housed the tablets on which God wrote the Ten Commandments or Aaron’s staff that bloomed with fig leaves and figs when the other tribal leaders laid their staffs beside his signifying that Aaron was God’s chosen priest.
But Herod’s Temple was certainly massive and awe inspiring. It towered over the city and visitors came from all over the world just to see it. The Jews came to worship and the massive size and splendor of the temple helped them realize the enormity of their God. Then they came to the outer courts. Vendors made sacrifices easier for them by selling animals at the gates so you didn’t have to bring your own. Of course, the vendors made a good profit on the best of the lambs and bulls and pigeons and doves. After all, God wanted unblemished sacrifices.
And since only the temple coinage could be used inside the temple, someone had to exchange whatever currency the pilgrims brought with them so they could give their offerings to God. And God wouldn’t mind if those moneychangers made a little profit for their trouble, would He? Then there were those who sold food and drinks because after a long journey in the hot sun, people were hungry and thirsty. And the prayer shawls were a big hit. They came from Jerusalem, the city of God, so they would be good souvenirs of the pilgrimage, right?
No wonder Jesus was furious at what He saw. But then let’s move forward a couple thousand years. Some of our churches and cathedrals are pretty impressive. Maybe not on the scale of Herod’s Temple, but then, we didn’t have a king trying to impress a whole nation when those churches and cathedrals were built. Do we make it too easy for people to provide their reasonable sacrifice for God? Do we let people come in and assume that a few dollars in the offering plate is all that is needed to take care of their obligations to God?
And do we then take that money as a church and act as money changers turning it into a profit to add to the magnificence of the edifice instead of reaching out to help others? Do we get more concerned about the place than we do the people around us? I’m not saying it’s not important to take care of the place we worship. God deserves our best. But I think He is more pleased with what we do for others than He is in gaudy palaces built in His name.
God told us He was not as interested in sacrifice as in a contrite heart our willingness to obey Him. So what does that mean as we consider the actions Jesus took at the temple with what we do in our churches. Would He be pleased with what we do there? He called the temple a house of prayer. Do we make sure our churches are houses of prayer? Places where we commune with the Almighty?
What differences would you make in your church if your focus was making your church a house of prayer. The other programs and processes and services you provide are not necessarily unimportant, but what if you made your focus for everything center on your church being a house of prayer. How would that change things around your facilities?
Does your church, like most churches, let itself get caught up in the activities you plan and the programs you put on your calendars until you forget the most important thing about what you are really about? The church, the temple, the synagogue was always the place where Jesus went each week to worship in community with others to renew His strength in worship with others. This was a place of prayer and worship. It was the place where He joined His voice with those with like faith and prayed for the deliverance of Israel from their bondage from evil, not from Rome, but from evil. For Jesus it was a house of prayer.
I’m afraid, too many of us have made the church a place where we meet the friends we haven’t seen for the last week or too often the last month or two. It’s the place we go to play games with Christian friends or sing songs that we like or maybe even have a Bible study or two. It’s the place we go to talk about how we will work to win the lost or start a revival in the community. It’s the place where we make great plans. But is it a house of prayer? Is our focus in our churches the place where we lift our voices together in community to touch the heart of God? Do we come to this place with the purpose of having a conversation with the Creator of the universe?
Jesus called the temple His Father’s home and a house of prayer and the people there turned it into a den of thieves. How would He describe your church? If you choose, you can make it your house of prayer by your individual action as you step in the door by not letting all the other things distract you, but focusing on making it your house of prayer. Try it this week.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.