"Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the merchants from their stalls. He told them, 'The Scriptures declare, "My Temple will be a place of prayer," but you have turned it into a den of thieves.'"
Those words leapt out at me tonight.
What an ironic scene: the Prince of Peace overturning tables and dismantling displays, throwing everyone off guard with his conviction to preserve what God has set apart.
Christ shows his love for the Church and his love for God in this moment.
For the Church, he shows his desire for an unaltered space, sanctified for communication and worship of God, that is not distracted or tainted in any way.
For God, he shows a core reverence that says God is to be the center of all things and His glory is not to be diminished.
It's what Christ does when He enters the Temple now. He overturns all earthly tables that glitter and shine, all unworthy distractions that commit thievery in our hearts to make way for a perfect and holy path to pray to God.
May Jesus enter into our Temples, our bodies, and overturn the distracting merchant tables of earthly investments to clear the way for worship to take shape.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God: this is your spiritual act of worship."
Monday, April 19, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Entry #16: Thoughts and Intents of the Heart
It is a sweet thought indeed: the realization that God knows our hearts.
We, as humans, can only judge what we can see. We are utterly limited to the bindings of appearances.
I once heard that we judge others on their actions and ourselves on our intentions.
Does God judge by either of those standards? or does He judge by criteria we cannot even detect, knowing the full knowledge of the past, present, and future?
Writing in my journal tonight, searching for the words to describe my current circumstances and reflections, I managed to get something out on paper to remember for years to come. Then, I stumbled upon some Oswald Chambers. ...The tears that came!
My thoughts turned to gratitude: God knows that my heart towards Him is no less sincere and passionate and eloquent than any other heart. He sees more than even I see in me.
In this world, there will always be someone better. Your record will be broken. Someone younger, newer, and fresher will replace you at the very thing you are the absolute best at.
Our God, though... Not Him. He does not put me in a category. I don't need to spend x amount more time worshiping Him in song. I don't need to go on x amount of missions trips to impress Him. He wants my heart. He wants me to be righteous, living by faith. And that is how He makes His call.
So be it!
We, as humans, can only judge what we can see. We are utterly limited to the bindings of appearances.
I once heard that we judge others on their actions and ourselves on our intentions.
Does God judge by either of those standards? or does He judge by criteria we cannot even detect, knowing the full knowledge of the past, present, and future?
Writing in my journal tonight, searching for the words to describe my current circumstances and reflections, I managed to get something out on paper to remember for years to come. Then, I stumbled upon some Oswald Chambers. ...The tears that came!
My thoughts turned to gratitude: God knows that my heart towards Him is no less sincere and passionate and eloquent than any other heart. He sees more than even I see in me.
In this world, there will always be someone better. Your record will be broken. Someone younger, newer, and fresher will replace you at the very thing you are the absolute best at.
Our God, though... Not Him. He does not put me in a category. I don't need to spend x amount more time worshiping Him in song. I don't need to go on x amount of missions trips to impress Him. He wants my heart. He wants me to be righteous, living by faith. And that is how He makes His call.
So be it!
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