Friday, March 2
Scripture: John 2:13-22
As I approach Thomas Circle and our beautiful church comes into view, it is with great anticipation knowing that I will soon enter this sacred place where I have been worshipping, singing, learning, and serving for many years now. My passion only seems to grow stronger as I even more than ever understand the truth of Psalm 127:1,”Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it.”
Being old enough to remember when most stores and places of business were closed on Sundays, I still wonder why others do not share my passion and fervent desire to put work and shopping aside for awhile and gather with the people of God for a beautiful service of worship. Perhaps some were never exposed to this kind of life and have been blinded by the god of this world, thinking that money and self-exaltation are the only way to happiness. I will probably never understand this completely but I do know what has made the difference for me. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good as Psalm 34:8 describes. My appetite for the things of God was awakened in me at an early age and I never found anything in this world that can compare to having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and his atonement. We emphasize this a lot more in our church during this Lenten season as we approach the Easter celebration that follows. It is a celebration of the gift of eternal life made possible by Jesus Christ.
Knowing what a great gift was given to us and yet taken so lightly must have grieved the heart of Jesus to the point that he turned over the tables. It’s one of the more dramatic examples of Jesus expressing anger that causes me to examine my own heart to see it there are any tables in my life that should be turned over.
Prayer: Dear God, may we never take for granted the place that has been prepared for us. May we revere the house of God and the sacred things we have been blessed with because of our redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
– Paul Heffron