Tag Archives: Temple

Focus your anger on Goliath, not you or others, June 25, 2018

Today’s Podcast

Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

The question for today? What does anger have to do with fighting your giants?

In fighting Goliath, we’ve seen you need help from God and possibly others. You need to conquer your fear. You need to get over your feelings of rejection. You need to get out of your comfort zone. But what is this about anger?

Well, if you’re like me, every time I’ve worked on a habit I’m trying to change and then that habit pops back up I get angry. Mostly at myself, but sometimes at those around me and even at God.

I don’t know if that has ever happened to you, but if you’ve ever tried to break some habit and failed the first few times, I expect that ugly emotion popped its head up and made its appearance known in some way. Why can’t I just get rid of this thing that hinders me from being the man I want to be, the man God wants me to be? Why can’t I be the perfect husband or father or leader? I think I know what right looks like most of the time, but I just can’t seem to do it sometimes. And so I get angry.

Anger is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s one of those emotions that God put in us. The Bible tells us that even Jesus got angry. Remember the story of Jesus as he entered the temple courtyard and saw the money changers cheating the people who entered? He was not just a little upset at what he saw. He was angry. So angry, in fact, that he overturned the tables where the thieves were sitting. He picked up a whip and drove them out of the temple courtyard. He had some pretty harsh words to say about them and about the leaders that allowed them to carry out their dishonest businesses in the temple. Jesus was beyond man and hit the ceiling of real deep down anger.

So let’s get back to our David and Goliath story. Any anger there? I expect there was a lot of it floating around. Some focused rightly and some not so. If we could put ourselves back into the story, I think we would see Saul’s army angry at Goliath for his taunts, but probably more angry at themselves because they were too cowardly to stand up to him on the battlefield.

Perhaps some of those soldiers were angry with Saul because he had no battle plan to face the Philistines poised across the valley from them. They had fought before and God led them to victory, but here their leader just sat, scared of the forces in front of him. Making them listen to the taunts and blasphemy that spewed from the mouth of this giant. They were angry at their king because they just sat and did nothing.

Maybe the army was angry at God because he didn’t reveal himself to them as he had before. He didn’t come down with any lightning bolts or an earthquake or some other freak sign of nature to destroy their enemies. God just let them be humiliated in the eyes of these pagan warriors that stood across from them.

Then David arrives.

His brothers were angry that he inquired about this giant and why no one dared to fight him. They were angry that he left the sheep in the hands of someone else and shirked his responsibilities at home, leaving their father on his own. They were angry at him because his words made them look a little cowardly. They were angry with him because he dared to recommend actions others wouldn’t take.

Then there is Goliath. He was angry at his enemies. He was angry just because the Israelites were alive and in the land he thought belonged to his people. He was angry because he wanted a fight and none of those cowardly soldiers on the hillside were brave enough to come out and face him. Goliath was angry because his king placed him in the valley as a challenge to the Israelites. He expected to win in a one on one fight, but he could also lose or be injured. As much as he enjoyed killing his enemies, he didn’t relish the thought of another injury in battle. Goliath was angry because once again, the king used his size to intimidate his enemies instead of real battlefield strategies and put him in danger while his fellow soldiers just acted as spectators.

And David. David was angry because his brothers ridiculed him. They tried to belittle the journey he made at his father’s request. David was angry because he felt a little picked on because his brothers had no confidence in him as the youngest in his family. David was angry at the Israelite army because they listened to the taunts of Goliath for 40 days and did nothing to stop his blasphemy. He was especially angry at Goliath because of what he said about his God. He was angry enough to take up his challenge and fight him.

So anger is not always a bad thing as we see from this story. Some of the anger some of these characters reveal is not the right anger. But some is. The soldiers’ anger at Saul for not doing anything is probably justified. Saul needed to listen to God and lead his army to victory against this pagan nation. But he had already lost his connection with God because of his greed and the power he thought he had. Anger focused at Goliath and the Philistines for their blasphemies against God were justified.

Sometimes anger is good. It can get us off our best intentions and get us to take action. It keeps us from accepting things as they are and lets us begin to make things better. But this anger is only good when it is focused on the right thing. If we keep that anger focused on the right things, we can use it to defeat that thing that looks like a giant in our life. We can use that energy and focus to help us get through the apathy that lets that thing keep us discouraged, defeated, trapped in its clutches. We can use the energy that comes with anger to focus our attention on its defeat.

David’s anger at Goliath helped propel that stone with extraordinary strength and accuracy to defeat that giant that stood in his way. David’s anger took the shape of that nine-foot obstacle so he could focus on what his real problem was in that valley. When we can figure out the real problem, not the symptoms, but the problem that is causing us the defeated life we feel, we can focus our anger appropriately.

So as you face the giants in your life, be angry for the right reason. You may be angry at yourself for failing to keep some promise to yourself about some behavior, but remember that if you’re trying to change something, change takes time. It’s usually not instantaneous like most of us would like. Change takes time and effort. Channel anger into constructive activity that will do something about your giant. Use it to give you the energy, passion, impetuous you need to get out of your position of weakness and into a position where you can face those giants from a position of strength.

Let God fight your battles. Recognize that he can help you even with your emotions and can help you focus the energy that comes with anger toward the right things. Anger is one of those emotions we experience from time to time. It is not necessarily unhealthy, as Jesus showed us in the temple. As David showed us as he faced Goliath. But also, we can not let anger rule us or let it get focused on the wrong thing or used as a source of power for revenge or vengeance.

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

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.

God and your calendar, January 29, 2018

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Bible Reading Plan – www.Bible-Reading.com; The Story, Chapter 19; You Version Bible app Engaging God’s Story Reading Plan Days 127 through 133

Since I was a kid I enjoyed art. Off and on, I have tried my hand at various forms of drawing, painting with oils, acrylics, and watercolors. I have a closet full of paper, canvases, brushes, a pretty nice easel, and all the equipment necessary to create masterpieces. Only I’ve never created a masterpiece.

I have several canvases with backgrounds partially finished and some of the subject sketched in, but I’ll have to admit that it has been at least five or six years since I’ve picked up a paint brush. I’m not even sure I know what I was thinking about painting when I first started those projects several years ago. They just sit in the back of the closet gathering dust and waiting for me to pick up the urge to start up my hobby again.

I’ve also purchased just about every cardio piece of equipment that has come out. Stair stepper. Treadmill. Stationary bicycle. Elliptical. I had every intention of starting and keeping up good exercise regimens to stay fit. What I can tell you is that the best coat rack is the stair stepper.

I also have a lot of tools, many of which I really couldn’t put my hands on if you gave me an hour to find them. They are scattered all over the house and garage. I have every intention of organizing them someday because I purchased them to make and fix things. But alas, they have gone the way of many of my hobbies. They were set aside and forgotten.

Unfinished projects. That’s what the prophet Haggai admonished the Israelites for when he wrote to them 2500 years ago. Cyrus let the Israelites go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Isaiah had told them it would happen and even named Cyrus as the benevolent king that would let them do it.

50,000 Israelites set out to do exactly that. They journed over 500 miles to rebuild their temple and reestablish their worship in the house God designed for himself so many centuries earlier. But now sixteen years later, their project stopped. Maybe they got busy on their own houses. Maybe they got busy with their businesses. Maybe they got the sixteen year flu. Whatever the reason, they forgot their mission and quit their work on the temple. Haggai comes on the scene and tells them about their negligence.

The people who returned with Ezra worked well for a few months on the temple but then quit. The temple was still in shambles. The city walls were still down. Those who saw the city looked and wondered why the people didn’t care about their God because they spent their time on their own comforts instead of on worshiping Him. It tells what is important to them. And it wasn’t God.

The same questions can be asked of us. You can look in my closet and know that painting is not really important to me or I would have finished those paintings that are gathering dust. You can look at my tool room and know that making and fixing things really isn’t important to me or my tools would be well organized and well kept. Unfortunately, you can tell exercise isn’t really important to me by putting me on a scale.

But I don’t want the same to be said of me about God. So as we’re about to end this first month of the new year, how do we make sure we keep God first in our lives? What can we do to change our attitude and avoid making God just another project that gets put in the back of the closet this year?

First, we need to remember that God is not a project. God is everything. He is the Creator of all things. He gives us breath and sustenance. He is the one that makes life possible. He gives us the beauty around us and the eyes to see that beauty. God is. And He must be first in our life. He is not a project.

Second, God is not something to be scheduled into our calendar. I think that’s the problem many of us have. We decide we will schedule time for God and try to work Him into our busy schedule. But it can’t work that way. You see that doesn’t let God be the priority in your life. Instead, schedule your busy schedule around God. Make Him the priority in your life. Work your schedule around Him, not the other way around. If He is on your calendar, make other things secondary and push them around, not God. Rearrange their times and dates, not God’s. Let Him be the priority on your calendar.

Third, Remember what Jesus told us, “Seek first, the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things, will be give you as well.” Look for, seek after, long for, race to His finish line, Only when we keep God as our priority can all the rest of life be put in the proper perspective. But when we do, then life prospers. Maybe not in the way the world thinks about prosperity, with gold and silver and shiny beads, but with an intimate relationship with God.

Remember God wants to restore a face-to-face relationship with each of us. He has used His chosen people, the Israelites to show us how to have that intimate relationship. As we look at their history and study their successes and their mistakes, we can see what we must do individually and collectively to find God’s favor in our lives.

God sent Haggai to the ancient nation of Israel to warn them against forgetting their first priority. If we listen to words God gave Haggai and apply them to ourselves, we can avoid the plight of the Israelites. We can remain true to the One, True and Living God. We can be assured a place in the garden He has prepared for us. A place where He will walk with us in the cool of the day to commune with us forever.

What does you calendar look like? Do you work God around your day or do you work your day around God? There is a huge difference in how you approach your calendar and your life as to how you answer that one question. Mull it over to day. Make sure you answer it the way God wants you to answer it.

What should awe us? (Mark 13:2) September 5, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Numbers 13-16

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 13:2
Jesus: Look closely at these magnificent buildings. Someday there won’t be one of these great stones left on another. Everything will be thrown down.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The disciples, like us, grew up in the world. They couldn’t get away from its influences. Just like us. They heard all the talk about the importance of money and material things. They heard it from the businessmen in the marketplace they visited for all the goods they required to survive. They heard it from the boat builders and net makers who vied for better equipment so they could improve their catch. They heard it from the construction workers who offered to build better homes for their families.

The disciples heard about the importance of grandeur and how it showed status in this world. Money and material worlds must be important. Everyone said so. They even heard it from the priests who talked about the money they needed for funding various projects to restore utensils or to gild altars or add extra rooms onto the temple or build a new synagogue somewhere. Everyone talked about money.

It’s no wonder they looked at the massive walls of the temple that towered over the city and marveled at its beauty. This was a masterpiece from the artisans’ hearts who put their souls into its construction. This was the house of God in Jerusalem. They were notably impressed. They gawked at the structure. They’d seen it before, but every time the temple came into site, the gleaming white limestone with its gold ornamentation caught the shine of the sun and created a new stunning view for the pilgrims who journeyed to it.

But we do the same, don’t we? Have you been to New York City lately and just stood in the middle of the business district in Manhattan and looked up at all those sky-rises? Granted, they don’t gleam like the temple did, but they are pretty impressive. When most of the buildings in the world are limited in height to the number of stories its inhabitants are willing to walk up, those hundred story structures take your breath away.

And in all the store windows, the merchants taunt with advertisements that tell you that life will be so much better if you have whatever it is they sell. You just must have the latest which-a-ma-jig. Everyone is getting them and you’ll just not survive without one. In fact, even if you have one, you better get another one because there are sure to be updates to the one they sell and you don’t want to get behind.

The world is very good and trying to teach us the wrong things. It works hard at convincing us that what we see and what we can put our hands on is what’s important in life. The world works really hard at making us think material things are the answer to all of life’s problems. But the world lies. Satan operates here and he is a liar and the father of lies. Just check on the lives of the wealthiest people in the world and see how satisfied they are with their wealth. All of them, almost without exception will tell you it’s not enough. They need more. They need more security, they’re afraid something will happen and they’ll lose what they have. They worry about what will happen to all their assets when they die. What will happen to all those companies and holdings and houses and coffers that store their treasures?

Jesus knows the difficulty all of us have because of the influence we grow up with. He grew up in the middle of it, too. He heard those same stories from the businessmen and merchants and builders. He heard the same stories from the priests and neighbors and all those people who took stock in material things instead of heavenly things. He knows how easy it is to get our eyes off of the heavenly and get awed by the size and splendor of the things men build. But they are just things. They have no permanence. Just think about the seven wonders of the world. Only one of the seven remains, the pyramids in Egypt. But even those have been looted and are crumbling into the sands of the desert. All the others are gone.

The same will happen to all the material things we think we last forever. They won’t. Nothing will last except our eternal soul and the things we store up for ourselves in heaven. And what are those things? The good things we do for other people and the praise we give to God. That’s it. No more. Everything else will be gone. Jesus reminded His disciples and us of the transitory nature of all the marvels the world throws at us to tempt us. As beautiful and magnificent as even the temple, the house of God, it would soon come crashing down. Be awed by the right things. That’s nothing the world has to offer.

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.

What’s happened to prayer? (Mark 11:17) August 29, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Numbers 9-12

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 11:17
Jesus (to those who were listening): Didn’t the prophets write, “My house will be called a house of prayer, for all the people”? But you have made it into a “haven for thieves.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We talked some about this when we talked about Matthew 21:13, but I think these words are worth mentioning again. It seems in many instances the institutions we attend every Sunday have become much more social club than places of worship. Because of my military travels, I’ve been to a lot of churches around the world. More than I can count. Big ones and little ones. Churches with some pretty elaborate facilities and spectacular features and some one room structures that were about to collapse. I’ve been to home churches and outdoor arbors. I’ve meet in tents and under the stars. I’ve been in just about any and every kind of structure you can think of over the last 60 years attending all kinds of church meetings.

Unfortunately, most denominations are suffering the same fate. And most churches within those denominations are suffering the same fate. Churches are becoming places where people gather to talk about what happened to them last week instead of worshiping God. We catch up on the latest politics and school news and work gossip instead of lifting our eyes toward heaven or praying for the lost souls around us.

I’m afraid Jesus could walk into almost any of our churches today and make the same pronouncement He made in the temple court that day and be just as accurate. Our churches are not places or prayers, but we are making them into dens of thieves.

So let’s concentrate on that last part first. Why would I think we are turning our churches into dens of thieves? Most churches don’t have money changers in them. We don’t sell goats and sheep at exorbitant prices for the morning sacrifice. So why would I think we turn our churches into dens of thieves?

I don’t think we do it purposefully any more than those in the court thought they were doing anything wrong purposefully. They were doing business in the courtyard. It had been going on for centuries. The merchants in the court were doing the pilgrims a favor by enabling them to travel without dragging their sacrifice along with them. Probably most of those merchants were honest people. They didn’t think of themselves as thieves. They wanted to make a small profit and this was their livelihood. There was nothing wrong with making a living, right?

So what’s the equivalent in our churches? We don’t have money changers or sheep sellers. But what do we do with all that money that comes into the offering plates? Don’t get me wrong, we should pay our pastors and staff. Paul talks about that in his letters to the various churches, and growing up as a preacher’s kid and serving as a minister, I know the work they do. They earn their salaries. Follow a few good pastors around and you’ll figure that out pretty quickly.

But usually the salaries of the staff are only a small part of the income of the average church. What happens to the rest? Does it stay in the church or does it help others? Do we use it to help ourselves or do we give it to the cause of God? Do we continue to build structures and make things look pretty or do we feed the hungry, visit the prisoners, help the sick and orphaned and widows? What do we do with the income of the church? Does your church tithe? Now that’s an interesting question, isn’t it? Does it give at least 10% of its income back to God by spending its money on others that have no connection to your church?

Are we creating dens of thieves without even thinking about it?

Let’s go back to that first part. How about that house of prayer business? How much time does your church spend in prayer? Most churches I’ve attended lately have a thirty to maybe sixty second opening prayer and a pastoral prayer that lasts about two or three minutes and a closing prayer that will last another thirty seconds to a minute. If the leaders are long winded, you might hear a whole five minutes of prayer in a two hour service. Wow! So much for being a house of prayer.

We live in a pretty sad world. So most of our churches stay locked most of the time because of the fear of burglary. My denomination used to have a Prayer and Fasting meeting every Wednesday night for missions. That prayer and fasting changed to a bible study many years ago because people just couldn’t pray that long and now not very many churches meet at all on Wednesday night. Schedules are just too busy with work, the kids sports practices, homework, pick any distraction you want, it doesn’t matter. Any distraction that keeps you from praying will work. Just don’t pray. That’s the important thing for Satan.

If you go back and look at the habits of the founding fathers of most of the fundamental denominations in existence today, you’ll find they spent several hours a day in prayer. Not bedtime or dinner time prayers, but hours before the day began. Hours during the day. Hours before they went to sleep. They spent a large percentage of their day in prayer. Yet they still found the time to preach, write books, visit their congregation, travel around the world in ships and on horseback. They labored every day in an environment that required hard labor to survive. And still they prayed.

So what’s our excuse? Too busy? With what? What’s more important than talking with the creator of the universe?

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.

The temple will fall (Matthew 24:2) May 29, 2016

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Galatians 1-3

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:2
Jesus: Look around you. All of it will become rubble. I tell you this: not one stone will be left standing.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The temple was a beautiful structure. Herod erected the gleaming white stone structure to create an awe inspiring edifice for the Jews he ruled. He wanted to win their favor and so spent what amounted to millions today to complete this monument to God. Only, it was more a monument to men than to God. Herod wanted the Jews to accept him as their king. Despite his evil, despite his loyalty to Rome rather than God, despite his utter failure in his faith, Herod thought he could win the Jews by buying their devotion with this temple.

And for many, the temple did win their favor. Herod put the priests in place who would allow his extravagances. The put up with him. They failed to call him out on his evil deeds because they enjoyed their privileges and power. They didn’t want to give up the luxuries and position and power the king gave them. Even these leaders and teachers knew where their power came from, they didn’t want to lose it, so they tolerated Herod.

This monument that was supposed to please God didn’t. But none of the temples did, really. If you go back to the first temple, you’ll remember David collected all the materials for it and gave the design to his son, Solomon to build it. God wouldn’t allow David to build it because of the blood on his hands in all the battles he had fought. But God allowed Solomon to build a temple. Solomon dedicated it and made some promises that he failed to keep.

Solomon’s son, Reheboam lost the northern tribes of Israel from the kingdom because of his father’s and his disobedience. The nation continued to falter in their faith and the temple finally was destroyed after it had been ransacked several times in the nation’s history. Ezra came back to lay its foundation four hundred years before Christ came, but it was nothing compared to the splendor of the ancient temple of Solomon or the awe inspiring edifice of Herod’s temple. And through all that time, the people continued to look at the building as the place where God resided.

They put Him in that box and assumed He stayed there. Just like we too often put God in our sanctuaries and assume He stays there. We leave after the worship service and live our lives pretty much the way the Israelites did when they left the temple. We forget God is the God of everyone and everything. That means He is in control of your home, whether you want Him to be or not. He is God in control of your job, whether you like it or not. He is God in control of who sits in the White House, whether the President is in your party affiliation or not. He is God in control of the terrorists, whether we want to think so or not.

We don’t understand why God allows things to happen the way they do, but we are not God and I’m glad for that. We would be terrible at the job. We are not just. Sometimes we are fair, but most of the time, we’re not and we are not just. But God is just. His actions are never unjust. It’s not in His nature to be unjust. He allows evil things to happen sometimes because we collectively made such a mess of His creation. Sometimes He gives us what we asked for. And the result is the world we see around us.

But God is still in control. He will not let His creation go further into an evil path than He desires. He will not let His children suffer beyond the point He chooses. God is beyond our understanding and we may not be able to figure it out with our finite minds, but God is still God. We are not. That’s the basic problem we have had since Adam. He thought he could become as wise as God. He couldn’t.

We think we can put God in a box. We can’t. We somehow get the idea we can confine His influence to the few hours we spend in worship with Him or we can turn Him on or off at our pleasure. We can’t. We think we can get by with our agenda and He’ll just go along with it because He likes us and we’re pretty good people. We’re not and He won’t.

You see, God is God. To really understand the purpose of the temple or the synagogue or the church, you really have to start with getting that one truth straight. God is God. Everything revolves around Him, not us. All those edifices are only temporary facilities for us to gather in community to worship. They have nothing to do with Him except as places for us to gather. He’s everywhere. We can meet with Him anywhere and we should. We can meet with Him anytime and we should. He is God.

So figure out God just wants to be with you. He doesn’t care much about the place. He cares about the relationship. We can’t impress Him with stuff, we only impress ourselves and others around us. They don’t count, only He does. Was Jesus sad that the temple would fall? I’m sure He was. Not because God wouldn’t have a place of worship, but because of all the reasons that caused God to allow its destruction once again. Our failure to listen to His voice.

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.

The children know the truth (Matthew 21:16) May 14, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Luke 3-4

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 21:16
Jesus: Yes. Haven’t you read your own psalter? “From the mouths and souls of infants and toddlers, the most innocent, You have decreed praises for Yourself.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

After Jesus overturned the tables in the temple, He did what He came to do. He worshiped. But while He was there, the same thing happened to Him that happened everywhere He went the Bible tells us. The blind and lame and sick surrounded Him and He healed them. The children circled Him and they began singing and calling Him the Son of David.

I expect this was a little unusual for the leaders of the temple. They were getting ready for their usual Passover crowd, kind of like our pastors get ready for their Easter and Christmas crowd. You know, those folks that pacify themselves by coming to church once or twice a year and think everything’s okay with them. Well, it was a little different with the Jews because their law told them to come to the temple at Passover to remember their deliverance from Egypt. So those that could make the journey, did.

These leaders expected a crowd, but they expected the crowd to participate in the activities they had planned, not flock around this itinerate, uneducated preacher. They didn’t expect children to sing about this carpenter from Nazareth, calling Him the Son of David, the title reserved for their King, their coming Messiah. They didn’t expect someone to disrupt their schedule by drawing hundreds away from their orderly affairs and disrupt their programs.

So the leaders came to Jesus, shocked, indignant, angry, “Do you hear what these children are saying? Aren’t you going to stop them? Don’t you realize they are confused? Shouldn’t you correct their ignorance? Shouldn’t you stop taking the limelight and let us get on with our program?”

Jesus didn’t stop them. Jesus didn’t stop healing the sick. Jesus didn’t stop talking about the love of His Father. Jesus didn’t stop doing the same things He had done throughout His ministry. He showed God’s love and grace and mercy. He demonstrated who God was and how He wanted us to live in community and in peace with our fellow man. He just kept on being Himself. The leaders of the temple just couldn’t stand it.

So we learn from the priests and the scribes who approached Jesus, don’t get in God’s way. Don’t worry about who is in the limelight when God is doing good things. It doesn’t matter if the miracles are happening on the platform or in the back of the crowd. When God is on the scene, stand back and watch Him work. Don’t get in His way. Just get on board.

The second thing we learn from Jesus’ words is that children can be pretty smart. They don’t hold back what they think most of the time. Some time that embarrasses us when they tell the person in front of us in the grocery line that they are fat or they stink, but children usually are pretty preceptive and at a young age, haven’t yet learned to hold their tongue. So they just say what they think.

When the children circled Jesus in the temple courtyard and sang songs of the Son of David, they just expressed what they thought. Unfiltered joy and their belief in who Jesus was. Did they understand the impact of what they said? Probably not. Did they understand the uproar in the city their songs would create? Probably not. Did the children understand the full political and theological depth of their words as they sang? No. We still don’t understand the full depth of their meaning today with our finite minds. But they sang what they believed.

I enjoy listening to children and some of the things they say about people, about nature, about God, about politics, about life in general. It’s interesting to hear their perspective of things. They don’t pull any punches. I have to answer honestly when my granddaughter asks, “Papaw, how come you have a big belly?” The answer, cause I eat more than I should and don’t exercise as much as I should.“ Her response. ”Then come play with me."

Smart kid. I can’t keep up with her, but if I tried, I’m sure I’d lose weight. She has a lot more energy than I do. One of my grandson mentions death and says, “It’s not so bad, you get to be with God all the time then, don’t you?” Another carries on pretty deep conversations about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, His resurrection, and power to forgive sins.

Children can tell you some wonderful things if you will listen to them. They know some pretty incredible things. They know the truth of God’s word. I think sometimes angels whisper in their ear and tell them heavenly things that as adults we have a tendency to ignore. But kids listen intently with their innate curiosity and if we will listen closely to them, we will hear the voice of God reminding us that Jesus is the Son of David, the long awaited Messiah, the Son of God, the One who can rescue us from a life of sin and death.

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.

The house of prayer (Matthew 21:13) May 13, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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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.

It’s tax time! (Matthew 17:25-27) April 22, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Jeremiah 22-26

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 17:25-27
Jesus: Simon, what do you think? When kings collect taxes and duties and tolls, from whom do they collect? Do they levy taxes on their own people or on strangers and foreigners?
Peter: The foreigners, my Lord.
Jesus: Well, then, we children of the King should be exempt from this two-drachma tax. But all in all, it’s better not to make any waves; we’d better go on and pay the tax. So do this: go out to the lake and throw out your line. And when you catch a fish, open its jaws and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take this to the tax collectors, and pay your taxes and Mine.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

While I was serving in the military, we often joked about our paychecks. And we had a lot to laugh about. Those of you who are old enough, might remember those payday lines when the pay officer dealt out cash on the Friday closest to the end of the month. I was one of those pay officers every once in a while as a new lieutenant. I was very happy when the Army said everyone had to receive their pay by check and then by direct deposit. Cash paydays were awful for the pay officer for a lot of reasons.

Counting out thousands of dollars in the right denominations of bills so everyone could get the right amount of cash was the first obstacle. An armed guard stood on each side of me to make sure no one got the bright idea to stage a robbery. Of course, these were soldiers from the same unit as the guys getting paid, so if one of them decided to pull a heist, I’m not sure how quick any of us would be to shoot each other.

But then the paying process! A soldier came into the room and the first sergeant looks him up and down to make sure his uniform is in shape. (No offense to the women in uniform today, but back then I was in an Infantry Battalion and there were no women there, so all the pronouns are masculine.) We already had our inspection for the day, but the first sergeant just wanted to make sure one more time. If there were no ‘gigs’ in his uniform, he reported to me to receive his pay. I checked his LES (leave and earnings statement), counted out the amount he should receive, counted it again on the table in front of him, then had him count it back to me on the table in front of him. Then he picked it up and asked to be dismissed.

But depending on what time of year it was, someone in the chain of command (of course I couldn’t because I was the pay officer that day) would ask if he wanted to join the NCO club if he wasn’t a member, or AUSA, or give to the Army Emergency Relief Fund or some other organization that happened to have its campaign going on that particular month. And it seemed some campaign happened almost every month. Right after the pitch for the campaign stood the clerk with the duty rosters with the first sergeant standing by his side. The same door you came in and the door you hoped to leave by. You looked at the first sergeant, you looked at the duty roster, and understood giving to the campaign of the month meant less duty. So you contributed.

Amazing how almost every unit had 100% contribution to those campaigns back in those days. Those were interesting times. But one of the other things we joked about were the taxes, Social Security, and Medicare fees that came out of our paycheck every month. Didn’t that mean we were paying ourselves? Sounds a little ludicrous, doesn’t it?

Here’s another one of those lessons Jesus gives Peter that helps us understand who He is and what He does for us in this upside down world.

Peter has been confronted by the keepers of the temple safes. Those guys that tried to trap Him in a hundred different ways to finally find some fault they could use to discredit Him in front of the people who thronged to Him. They go to Peter. “Hey, Peter. Doesn’t Jesus pay attention to the requirement to pay the temple tax? Every real male member of the Jewish community pays 2 drachma to the temple each year to support the temple for the administration of the worship of God. Doesn’t He pay attention to the rules? It’s tax day and He hasn’t paid His fair share yet. What’s wrong with Him? Is He rebelling against God and the temple?”

Sounds like a bunch of temple politicians, doesn’t it?

Peter doesn’t know what to say. It slipped his mind, too. So he goes to Jesus. “Pssst. We goofed. The priests say we haven’t paid our temple tax yet. I know I forgot to pay mine. We’ve been so busy. You didn’t by chance pay the 2 drachma tax for any of us did you?”

Jesus makes His point pretty quickly. Peter already declared Him as the Son of the living God, then Satan used Peter as a scapegoat to try to tempt Jesus to take a shortcut to accomplish His mission. Peter learned His lesson about jumping too quickly with his pronouncements, sort of. Except he just told the temple tax collector that Jesus certainly knew the rules and would certainly be paying His tax. And here he stood. So Jesus lets Peter begin to hear more of the truth of this separate kingdom to which they both belonged.

The children of the king didn’t pay taxes. Caesar’s kids didn’t pay taxes. Herod’s kids didn’t pay taxes. So what about the Father’s Son? Should the Son of the living God pay a tax to people who were charged with maintaining His house? That’s kind of what Jesus was asking Peter. But like all those soldiers that pay part of their own wages by paying taxes, Jesus tells Peter to go fishing, watch a miracle happen, then pay both their taxes. He didn’t have to, but He did.

Why? Because He wanted to show us that we are still in this world. He was in this world, but not of it. He didn’t have to pay the tax, nor did Peter. They and we are children of the King. The King’s children don’t pay taxes, but to show the world His support to the King’s house, that He follows the rules laid out by the King for those subject to the laws of this realm, He too followed them. Just like soldiers pay their salary, Jesus and Peter paid for the support of their house, the temple. How do you support your house, the church?

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.

Don’t sacrifice the best by doing good (1 Chronicles 17:1-15), May 3, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 1 Chronicles 17:1-15
Set – 1 Chronicles 17; Matthew 20
Go! – 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17; Psalms 2; Matthew 20

1 Chronicles 17:1-15
¹ Once David had sat in his palace, he made an observation.

David (to Nathan the prophet): I live in a sturdy house made of expensive, imported cedar, but the covenant chest of the Eternal lives in a temporary house made of curtains. This does not seem right.

Nathan: ² If you want to build God a house, then do it. God is with you.

³ Later that night, God came to Nathan and corrected his thinking.

Eternal One: ⁴ Go and tell My servant David the Eternal One says: You may not build a house for Me to live in; ⁵ I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought Israel out of Egypt until today. I have always moved from tent to tent, from one home to another. ⁶ In all these places where I have walked with Israel, did I ever ask any of the judges I commanded to shepherd Israel, “Why have you not built for Me an expensive house of cedar?”

⁷ I, the Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, pledge this: I moved you from the pasture, where you followed behind sheep, to the palace, where you now lead My sheep, Israel. ⁸ I have accompanied you wherever you have gone and have destroyed your enemies from before you. I will exalt your name to the level of the great ones who are on the earth. ⁹ I will select a land for My people Israel; I will plant them so they may live in their own land and not be moved again. The wicked will not exhaust them anymore, as they did from the beginning ¹⁰ and as when I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. I will humble all your enemies. I, the Eternal One, will build a house for you, instead of you building a house for Me. ^.11-12 At the end of your life, when your reign on earth is complete and you have joined your ancestors, I shall select one of your sons in your place, and I shall build his house. In return, he will build a house for Me, a temple where I shall dwell and where your people will worship Me. And I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I shall be his Father, and he will be My son. I shall not take My loyal love from him as I took it from Saul who reigned before you. ¹⁴ I shall establish him in My temple and in My kingdom forever. His throne will last forever.

¹⁵ Nathan told David exactly what the Eternal said through this vision.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

David wanted to do something really good for Me. He wanted to build a permanent house in which My people could worship Me. That’s not a bad thing. It sounded good. It sounded like the right thing to do. His number one prophet and spiritual mentor Nathan thought so too and told him so. Just go do it. You have a good heart. Your motives are right. Go build a house of worship for God.

Big problem. Neither of them asked Me if I wanted David to build a house for Me. I didn’t. It wasn’t David’s place to do so and I let Nathan know in a vision that very night.

Sometimes what seems good isn’t best and people will sacrifice what is best by doing good. Let Me say that one more time so you’re sure to get it. Sometimes people will sacrifice what is best by doing good. It’s not that what you do is bad. Often what you attempt is good and will bring joy to yourself and others, but it might not be the best for you and those around you. It might not be what I want you to do.

The good thing about David during this part of his life was his willingness to listen to Me and follow My leading. So when Nathan came back to him the next day and relay My message to him. He immediately stopped his plans to build the Temple and only drew up plans and began to gather materials. He left the building of the Temple to his son, Solomon as I directed.

The same thing happens today. Sometimes individuals are inspired to give a piece of land to build a church. It’s not that it’s a bad thing, but it’s not the best thing to do. However, often the council or board or whatever governing body runs the congregation accepts the property and begins plans with great celebration…without asking Me first. Sometimes it’s the worst place in the city to put a church. Maybe you wonder why your church sits where it does. Maybe it mirrors the conversation David had with Nathan, but without My conversation with Nathan afterward. The people sacrificed the best by doing good.

Be careful with your good actions. Watch your good intentions. Guard your good efforts. Talk to Me and understand My will for your life. Don’t do what David almost did. Don’t sacrifice the best by doing good. Stay tuned in to Me and I’ll help you make the best choices in life.

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.