Defiling the Temple

When reading the Gospels and observing the actions and hearing the words of Jesus, I am often drawn to His mercy, His grace, His healing and His forgiveness. Yet in Mark 11, I see something that makes our Lord very angry. Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem and entered the temple and observed what was essentially a big flea market. Pigeons instead of praise. Wares instead of worship. In righteous anger, Jesus overturned tables and kicked away the seats of those who were selling goods in the temple and kept others from coming in and doing the same (v. 15-16). Then in verse 17, He reveals what prompted His righteous anger--My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers. The money-changers were defiling the temple.

1 Corinthians 6:19 tells me that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; given to me by God and my body is not my own. So if my Lord was angry at how the money-changers defiled the temple, wouldn’t He likewise be angry at me if I choose to defile my temple—the temple of the Holy Spirit? Jesus called the temple a house of prayer. Doesn’t that same standard apply to my temple? At the very least, I should take care of my body, strive to be healthier, eat better (this is really hard!) and continually view my body as the place where God’s Spirit lives. But there is something more at stake here.

Mark 7:15 says that what defiles me is not what comes in from the outside, but rather what comes out of me. My thoughts. My words. My actions. The things that others observe in me.  I truly need the Holy Spirit living inside of me to help guide what comes out from me. John 15:26 refers to the Holy Spirit as the Helper and boy do I need help!

My ability to defile the temple is great so my desire to rid the temple of things that defile it needs to be as passionate as the Lord’s was. Time to flip some tables and kick some chairs!

The Eyes, Ears and Face of the Lord

I know when I reach out to the Lord in prayer, I want to be heard. I want God to see that I recognize my need for Him and my desire to cast my cares upon Him. I want Him to lift the heavy yoke of my burdens and replace it with His yoke which is light. I want Him to strengthen me, help me and uphold me with His righteous right hand. I want Him to respond with divine resources that only He can provide. I want Him to provide wisdom, clarity and direction as He aligns my thought with His.

1 Peter 3:12 says, For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. I need to have my thoughts, words and deeds on the path of His righteousness to be heard by Him. The verse that I use as the foundation for my writings—Matthew 6:33---says to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. If I want to unlock the vast storehouse of His blessings, I must seek righteousness that only comes from a right relationship with Him.

The flipside is when I do evil—when I sin—His face is turned against me. Not just His eyes and ears. God had to turn his face away from His only begotten Son as he bore the sin of the world because evil cannot co-exist with His goodness. This reminds me that I can’t allow unconfessed sin in my life if I want to experience His presence and the fullness of His blessing. The choice is mine.

Carrying Buckets

A good friend of mine whom I often turn to for godly advice and perspective once said to me, “Rick, God doesn’t need you to carry His bucket.” My dear friend was gently reminding me that God is still God and He doesn’t need my help to do God-sized tasks.

I can certainly look back on my life and point to times where I tried to operate in my own strength when Philippians 4:13 tells me I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Or the times when I bore burdens that Psalm 55:22 told me to cast upon the Lord and He will sustain me. Or more times when I was weary and pressed on when Matthew 11:28-30 told me that He will give me rest for my soul if I take on his easy yoke and learn from Him.

God does call us to do certain things for His honor and glory. The tasks He has called us to do always require strength and sustenance that only he can provide. The tasks also require that we take time to pause and rest. And learn. But God never calls us to do things that He hasn’t equipped us to do. And that includes carrying His buckets.

Venting to God

King David wrote many of the Psalms. He is called a man after God's heart. He loved to sing praises and offer up worship to the Lord. Yet when I read the Psalms, here are some of the themes I see: fear (Psalm 69), disappointment (Psalm 74), longing (Psalm 85), depression (Psalm 88), confusion (Psalm 102), sorrow (Psalm 137) and anger (Psalm 140). This tells me several things about God. One, He is intimately aware of our pain and our struggles. Two, He allows pain and heartaches into our lives to help us see our desperate need for Him. And finally, He desires for us to express our pain and sorrow to Him so that He can pour out his mercy and grace to comfort and heal us.

With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.
(Psalm 142 ESV).

David wrote the Psalm while hiding in a cave from persecution. He cried out to the Lord. He knew he couldn't handle what he was facing without divine assistance. He knew the loneliness and desperation of his situation. He knew he was no match for his oppressors. But he also had rock-solid faith that God would deliver him and he was ready to praise his name. This is what someone who is after God's heart does.

Repressing our feelings keeps us in emotional bondage. Feeling our feelings and turning them over to God brings freedom. Go ahead and vent to God. It's okay. He knows. He cares. He can handle it. And He will.

When God's Wrath Is Your Comfort

A great pearl from John Piper that help us focus on the One who rights the wrongs:

"All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you, probably, have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything sufficient to make it right. And one of the deep hindrances to your letting that hurt and bitterness go is the conviction — the justified conviction — that justice should be done, that the fabric of the universe will unravel if people can just get away with horrible wrongs and deceive everyone. That is one of the hindrances to forgiveness and letting grudges go. It’s not the only one. We have our own sin to deal with. But it is a real one. We feel that just to let it go would be to admit that justice simply won’t be done. And we can’t do it. So we hold on to anger, and play the story over and over again with the feelings: It shouldn’t have happened; it shouldn’t have happened; it was wrong; it was wrong. How can he be so happy now when I am so miserable? It is so wrong. It is so wrong!

This word in Romans 12:19 is given to you today by God to lift that burden from you. “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” What does this mean for you? Laying down the burden of anger, laying down the practice of nursing your hurt with feelings of being wronged — laying that down — does not mean there was no great wrong against you. It does not mean there is no justice. It does not mean you will not be vindicated. It does not mean they just got away with it. No.

It means, when you lay down the burden of vengeance, God will pick it up.

This is not a subtle way of getting revenge. This is a way of giving vengeance to the one to whom it belongs. It is taking a deep breath, perhaps for the first time in decades, and feeling like now at last you may be free to love. I long so much for you to know the freedom to love."

Prophecy For Right Now

Revelation 2 and 3 comprise the letters to the seven churches. In these chapters, we find things the churches were commended for and things for which the Lord rebuked them. We find solutions for the problems they faced and encouragement for their faithfulness.

In the letters to the seven churches, we also find out a great deal about our Savior. Jesus know us personally; he knows our works and he knows the difficulties we have faced (2:2-3). He hates those who spread false doctrine and false prophecy (v.6). He is the One who existed from the beginning and will last until the end; the One who defeated death and came to life (v.8). He promises reward to those who persevere (v.10) He is the One who holds the truth that cuts through the lies of the enemy (v.12). He is patient with sinners, but will ultimately punish the unrepentant (v. 20-23). The Lord also sees through our vain attempts to look spiritual (3:1-3) and is actually even more appalled by lukewarm faith, than no faith at all (v.15-17).

To the faithful, he promises everlasting life and promises to be our advocate to the Father (v.5). He promises the faithful will be spared from future judgment (v.10). He urges us to repent of our sins and he will shape us into his image (v.19). But best of all, our Lord promises that if we respond to him, He will have a personal relationship with us and allow us to share in his Kingdom rule (v.20-21).

Godly Perspective for Hard Times

The trials we go through can be extremely painful, seem never-ending and feel completely overwhelming. Yet, as believers we know that because the Lord is all-powerful and always present that what we go through has passed through his loving hands. Therefore it is crucial that we have the proper godly perspective for the hard times we face or are currently facing. Dr. Charles Stanley offers these truths that we must grab ahold of:

• The Lord controls the timing and intensity of my trial.
• He has a specific purpose for allowing it.
• It may yield something in me that I presently lack,
• If I trust God with a joyful attitude, I'll benefit from adversity.
• Christ wants to demonstrate His ability to sustain me under great pressure.
• He walks with me every step of the way.
• Through the power of the Spirit, I'll come out of this trial victorious.