JOHN 2:16-17 JESUS'S ZEAL

Jesus’ Zeal

The Father’s house, God’s temple,

Was supposed to be a house of prayer.

Jesus was righteously angry

When He saw the merchants there.

They were selling sacrificial animals,

Robbing the people with the price.

They were exchanging money unfairly

At high rates instead of what should suffice.

Jesus shocked many people

As He fashioned a whip out of cords.

He drove those robbers out of the court,

And His disciples remembered these words:

“Zeal for your house will consume me,”

The Psalmist, a prophet, had penned.

The temple was built as a house of prayer,

And this purpose Jesus had to defend.

        We don’t often picture an angry Jesus in our minds, but Jesus had had enough! The temple, His Father’s house, was being used as a place of buying and selling, merchandising. The merchants were not thinking of how they could be of service to the worshipers, but were thinking, “How much revenue can I walk away with this Passover when everybody has come in from the countryside to sacrifice?” The people were between a rock and a hard place because the men exchanging Roman coins for temple coins charged an unfair rate, and only temple coins could be used. Outraged, Jesus turned over tables, scattered doves, and used a whip to drive out those thieves!

        God’s house is supposed to be a place of intimate worship, prayer, offerings, and praise. How can we prepare our hearts to reverence God’s house each time we enter?     

LUKE 19:38 PARADE OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE

PARADE OF

THE PRINCE OF PEACE 

Saying, Blessed be the King

that cometh in the name of the Lord:

peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

Luke 19:38 (KJV)

The crowd lauded Jesus as King. They had the expectation that He would conquer the occupying Romans and set up an earthly kingdom immediately. They quoted from Psalm 118:26 which was widely accepted as a Messianic Psalm. The people were praising Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah who would bring peace. However, they did not understand the kind of peace He offered. The angel who announced the Messiah’s arrival to the shepherds when Jesus was born proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14). The angel did not announce an absence of war or strife. He said there would be peace for those who trusted in God. As Jesus rode the colt in His coronation procession, He knew what the peace they were shouting about would cost Him—His death on the cross—in a few short days. The One they thought would raise up an army to conquer Rome, would be nailed naked to a Roman cross and be raised up for the people to see His agony and shame. When they spoke of peace, they had no idea of its price. The peace Jesus purchased as the final, perfect sacrificial Lamb is the ability to be at peace and in an intimate Father/child relationship with the Creator of the universe! Do you have this peace? It is offered to all who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, born of a virgin to live a sinless life on earth, who died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin, and was raised from the grave three days later. Jesus now sits at the right-hand of God the Father in Heaven. You may have the peace and harmony with the Lord that Jesus died for by placing your trust in Him alone.

Father, thank You for saving us by Your grace and giving us the faith to entrust our lives to Jesus. Thank you for the peace we enjoy even when life is creating all types of storms around us, the peace of knowing we are in Your hands, and You will never let us go. 

PROVERBS 17:3 ACCEPTABLE OFFERING

ACCEPTABLE OFFERING

The fining pot is for silver,

and the furnace for gold:

but the Lord trieth the hearts.

Proverbs 17:3 (KJV)

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver,

that they may offer unto the Lord

an offering in righteousness.

Malachi 3:3 (KJV)

We are the offering to the Lord. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). In order to be an acceptable offering we must be purified. Jesus cleanses us from sin when we surrender to Him. However, we still commit sins which affect our daily relationship with the Father. We are saved the moment we receive the gift of God’s grace, but we are also continually being saved, being conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), which is called sanctification. We will be totally freed from sin only in our resurrected bodies. The method the Holy Spirit uses to sanctify us is sometimes as painful as being put in a crucible to have the dross melted away. It is through the various trials we face in life. As we weather the storms of life trusting in Jesus, we are made purer and stronger. As we submit to the Father in all things, we become that acceptable, living sacrifice offered up to Him daily. As the old hymn asks, “Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?”

Father, help us to recognize trials as Your means of conforming us to the image of Your Son. Help us always to seek and obey Your will in the middle of our most trying times. Help us to sacrifice our own wills daily and not try to squirm off of the altar. 

PROVERBS 9:10 AWESOME

AWESOME

Do we fear the Lord? Many say, “Oh that word just means “reverence.” We looked up the Hebrew word for “fear” in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and saw the synonyms listed there are “reverence” and “dreadful.” Those who have not yet trusted Jesus have ample cause to fear and dread the all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present Creator of the universe. It is this fear of the Lord that helps us realize our need of mercy and grace. We water down the words of scripture way too often. The Amplified version above by way of defining reverent fear says we regard God as “truly awesome.” Talk about a watered- down word! People say their spouse is awesome, their pet is awesome, even their purse is awesome! Our favorite dictionary does not list the specific word “awesome” but defines awe as follows:

AWE, noun aw. [Gr. to be astonished.]

1. Fear mingled with admiration or reverence; reverential fear.

Stand in awe and sin not. Psalms 4:4.

2. Fear; dread inspired by something great, or terrific.

AWE, verb transitive To strike with fear and reverence; to influence by fear, terror or respect; as, his majesty awed them into silence.

If “awesome” is inspiring awe, can your purse really be awesome? Can even your spouse be awesome? We think that word is best reserved for describing God and His miraculous works. That fear, reverence, awe of the Lord is where wisdom begins. That awe helps us to realize that we can never raise ourselves to His level, can never be completely obedient to His laws. However, then the marvelous occurs when the Holy Spirit draws us to Him by His kindness and leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). The almighty God opens the eyes of those who fear Him to see that He is not only the all-powerful, righteous Judge, but is also the embodiment of love, mercy, and grace. Now that is truly awesome!

Father, help us to have a healthy fear of You and in light of that fear, a greater appreciation of Your love and grace toward us even when we were sinners (Romans 5:8). May we stand in awe of Your work in and through our lives every day!