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Lent 2009

 

Is There Some Cleaning that Needs to be Done in Your Life?

By John & Richard Martin
Monday, March 2, 2009
Scripture Verses
Matthew 21:12-17

12Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,'[a] but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'[b]"
 
14The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

16"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him.
   "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,
   " 'From the lips of children and infants
      you have ordained praise'[c]?"

 17And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Devotion
These verses have to do with the purity that God wants in His house, and since we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, God wants His temple – us – to be pure. It was righteous anger that Jesus showed as He overturned the tables of the money changers. Jesus does not tolerate sin. In the Old Testament the lame and blind were not allowed in the temple. It is interesting that Jesus healed them inside the temple. This shows that God is interested in everyone and wants all to come to him and be made pure.

It is interesting also that in these six verses, Jesus only talks twice and He refers back to the Old Testament both times. In this Lenten season we need to look back and see what Jesus did for us on the cross. Also His life here on earth was an example of how we are to live. Jesus did the cleaning of the temple and Jesus can and does the cleaning for us. He came to give us life---HIS LIFE.

Prayer
Lord as we read these verses we can see that you do not tolerate sin. Please expose in me where I have let you down. I am your child and desire to be pure. Cleanse me and make me what ever You want. God, thank you for what You did for us by sending your Son.