Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning
Words of Faith 2-23-2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 11
[15] On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, [16] and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. [17] And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written:
" 'My house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations'?
But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
[18] The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

Jesus had been aware of something that needed to be dealt with. The Temple in Jerusalem, where God had said He would be, was filled with corrupt, greedy businesses and irreverent squalor.
From when Jesus was about 13 until age 33, He made the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem as all observant Jewish men three times a year. At least 60 times, Jesus had passed by the greedy money changers and animal dealers who made it their business to gouge religious pilgrims. He had been there on more occasions than this. The cleansing of this place was long overdue.
Jesus would soon be teaching in the Temple courts. Imagine. The Son of God, the Messiah, the Word made flesh who had been present at creation and breathed the Word into existence, would soon speak the Word of God in the Temple itself… with all this mess? A cleansing was needed.
The most exciting thing is that Jesus still cleanses Temples. Since the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the dwelling place of God has been with His people, not in a Temple made with hands. If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ into your life, then He lives in You by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The question is, what sort of habitation is that?
What sort of Temple have you offered to Him? Are there some things that have crept into your life that He should never have to see? Are there some vendors trading in your courts that do not honor Him? Are there some messy cages that really need to be done away with? Are there some greedy practices that have no place in His presence?
You see, compromise sometimes occurs so slowly that we are almost unaware. The clutter in the courts does not arrive in one large shipment; it builds up gradually. Then, one day, He comes and points out the mess that has accumulated-- the gossip, the covetousness, the malicious thoughts, the impure glances that linger a little longer each time--. Suddenly, there is a need for a good cleaning.
Make no mistake about it, He will help. In fact, He will do all the work because, try as you will, you cannot cleanse your own Temple. It is impossible. With your permission, He will carefully drive out the dark things and scrub the walkways clean. He will scatter the vendors and dispense with the clutter. He will drive away the shadows and clean up the unclean words that had echoed down sacred corridors. He will restore His house to be called a house of prayer for all nations, but only if you ask Him.

Lord, cleanse me. Cleanse me. Make me white as snow. Make my heart a house of prayer for all nations. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.