Cleansing the Temple

John 2:13-15 ESV
“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.”

In the Old Testament times, the Temple was meant to be a place where God dwelt. Now in the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, He came to the Temple because He had a zeal for God’s house. But seeing His Father’s house filled with buying and selling and cheap profits being made at the hand of swindlers, He drove them out of the Temple.

Jesus still comes to the church, but He also comes into the Temple of our hearts. What does He see there? Perhaps worry, anxiety, fear, depression and perhaps the burdens of this life sitting in contempt, pressing out a place for God?

Or perhaps He finds a house swept clean, life’s messes left outside. Perhaps this house is full of praise, glory and honor to God our Father. Praise for Jesus our King and praise for the Holy Spirit for the work that He does in us and through us. That’s what I want Him to see in the Temple of my heart.

Today, let’s make God’s Temple, our hearts, ready for the Master. Let’s get rid of all the clutter and confusion and give Him the welcome, the fanfare, the praise, and adoration that He deserves.

Prayer:
Cleanse our hearts O Lord, make us a vessel of honor for You today and every day. As You enter our hearts today, may You find it clean, full of praise and honor and singing for You. In Your name Lord Jesus, Amen!