Luke 19:45-46
Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out those who were selling things, saying to them, "It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves."
When I was a kid, my mom would lay down the law by jumping on my brother and I about cleaning the house. "This place is like a pig sty!!! Get that picked up!!! Why is that out?" and on and on. I'm sure it wasn't that bad, but my kids would tell you that I do the same thing my mom did so many years ago. I get where she was coming from. She and my dad worked hard and made sacrifices to have a home that they could be proud of and that was always inviting when unexpected guests showed up.
Jesus wanted the same thing. He respected his Father's house. He understood the importance of the temple and the sacrifices many people made for the house of worship. But over time, people took it for granted and used it for other purposes. Today's lesson provides us an opportunity to clean up the temple of God in our hearts. God lives in each of us, but is it an inviting home? We all have messy lives and much of that mess is in our sinful habits. Make it a priority today to do a little house cleaning. Start with prayer, maybe read a good spiritual writing and do a little scripture study. Your house will be clean in no time!!!
