Word for the Day February 19 Tuesday
By: Pastor
John Hammack
"My devotion to your house, O God, burns within
me like a fire." (John 2:17)
In John chapter 2, we are told that Jesus
found men in the temple courts selling cattle, sheep and doves. He also found men sitting at tables exchanging
money. This infuriated the Lord with a righteous anger. "So He made a whip out of chords and drove all from
the temple area, both sheep and cattle; He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To
those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!""
The selling of sheep, cattle, and doves in the temple courts is really no different than men
selling things in the church today. The animals they were selling were being purchased for offerings made
to the Lord. In some churches today, you can buy books, tapes, compact discs, food, jewelry, starbucks, and many other
things.
If Jesus walked into a church doing these things, He would do the same thing
He did in John 2:15. He would push the cash register onto the floor, unplug the coffee machine, and demand that all
the merchandise be taken out of His Father's house. He would not tollerate any church making His Father's house
a market.
If a church has things that they want to sell, they should do so somewhere else.
God's house should be set apart for worship and praise, and kept holy. The Lord does not want us to treat
what is holy as common.
