Read: Matt 21:12-25:46
Jesus enters the Temple and throws out all that is contrary to the directives that God gave Moses. The leaders of that day had strayed from the original words of the Law and had added their own stuff based on their own agendas. When the King enters His domain, He rightly sets the temple according to what had been instructed in the beginning. His word is Law! “My House” He calls it… “is to be a house of prayer for the nations”. This was God’s intent and design from the start. “Prayer” is the word describing our seeking after God, our passion for God, our pleasure and strength are that found in God. When men came from all over the world they were to find God for whom they were seeking! That purpose had been crowded out by the passion for money, power, and instant success. No longer were the purposes of God accomplished. What must the King do when such is the case? He re-establishes His purpose and overthrows man’s purposes.
When this happened what was the immediate response? “By what authority do you do this? Who are you to dare move our stuff aside?” The question is a clear challenge to Jesus authority and not a question from a searching and sincere heart.
When Christ comes to us He also will begin removing the stuff from our agenda. I encourage you to respond with, “Yes, Lord! Is there anything else we need to remove?” We find ourselves willing and then remorseful that we have so much stuff that hinders Him from ruling our lives. We have truck loads of junk that clutter up His courts where He wants to fill us with joy, and celebration. I say, “Let the trucks come and take away the junk, not to a storage unit but to the dump!” I do not want it temporarily stored but permanently removed.
As we seek Him today, allow Him to remove anything that hinders His rule and leadership. Wherever he starts let Him have the final say. Be so willing that all He needs to do is point and we remove it gladly. The men of Jesus’ day were so unwilling He had to throw the stuff out of the temple. Too bad. Will we need Him to throw our stuff out too? Or can he just point to it and we quickly and gladly get rid of it?
Lord, I am here asking you to search me and show me anything that is unpleasing to you. Whatever you point to I will remove with speed and willingness now and forever.
