Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Church that needs to be cleansed everyday 

Bible Reading:  Mark 11:15-18

Key verse: Vs 17 "My house will be called  a house of prayer for all nations. But you have made it a den of robbers ."


DEVOTION

AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE 

Have you found yourselves in a spiritual environment which has a stench of unholiness all around it? 
Have you found yourselves in the most holy places which exploited the less fortunate and made a profit out of it?
This was the very situation that Jesus found himself at the temple courts in Jerusalem as the Passover was nearing in Mark 11. 
In the book of John there is a cleansing of the temple in John 2. 
In John 2: 16 we read Jesus saying “Get these out of here !  Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
In both the narratives Jesus is cleansing the temple.
There is a big possibility that at a time of festival or feast or any spiritual observance or even at the everyday affairs of a spiritual institution you will find the existence of an UNHOLY alliance. 
It’s an alliance with the holy with the unholy. 
It’s an alliance with seats of justice with the cords of injustice.
It’s an alliance with symbols of sacrifice and profit-making mindset. 
This UNHOLY ALLIANCE is murky, it exists in a grey area, it is not that clear. Sometimes you cannot even point it out. 
But those with the Spirit of Christ will see through it.
How do we carry out Jesus’ command to “Get these out of here.”
Pray and Fast in the Spirit to have the eyes and the discernment to see it. 
Those with the Spirit of Christ will make a whip out of cords and drive away the irreligious elements that exist in the most holy places
How do we carry out Jesus’ command to “Get these out of here.” 
Pray to God to help you RESOLVE like Daniel resolved
Pray to God to guide you to take a stand like the prophets of old took a stand. 
Yes, it will create a scene…. but God didn’t send us to lead a godly life tweaking the truth, having an unholy alliance and calling it spirituality. 
How do we carry out Jesus’ command to “Get these out of here.” 
Pray to God when such disturbance is created, that people will get guidance on what to do next. 
Yes, it will affect someone’s livelihood but that is no excuse to make the house of God a den of robbers. 
How do we carry out Jesus’ command to “Get these out of here.” 
Pray to God that at the end of it His values and presence will be glorified. 
This temple could be a physical institution or our bodies also. 
So, Jesus tells us “Get these out of here…” 
He commands us to restore His house to its original purpose: A place of worship. So Jesus says in the Gospel of Mark 
“Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’ c ? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 
So let’s get those habits or things or attitudes or practices that create an UNHOLY ALLIANCE out of yourselves or your spiritual institutions, lest we make it into a den of robbers. 

PRAYER


O Lord, disciple me not in the way of the world, but disciple me in your way. Help me not to hurry so much that it kills your patience in me. Help me not to worry so much that it kills your peace in me. Help me not to doubt so much that it kills your faith in me. Help me not to be so egoistic that it kills your love in me. Help me to walk the way as you walked. Amen

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

 If we think we are immune to the darkness the darkness will creep into us.


Rev. Abraham Kuruvilla, Vicar, Crossway MTC, Dallas, TX

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