Day 172 "A fast drop causes fear while a slow descent can quell it."

Day 173 Matthew 21:12-13 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” One of the most irritating and frustrating occurrences for me on our trip to Israel actually happened on the Temple Mount. As we entered the area, we were immediately greeted by the Muslim men who were in charge, and right away it was unpleasant. First, they started by yelling at our wives and the women in the group whose shoulders were not covered sufficiently for them; there was nothing polite about the encounter, nothing Godly; it was simply a very unpleasant experience. As we continued touring and looking over the grounds, we were constantly accosted by men selling postcards. Now, mind you, they were not simply asking, they were coming inside of our tight circles and literally shoving the cards in our faces. As I stood and watched, I thought of this very passage we have just read. I wondered what Jesus must have thought as He entered His house of worship and saw a very similar situation. Men who had made rules in order to profit from the law of God were waiting to accost the people who had come to pray and honor their God. The sanctity of a house of worship is not, I believe, something to be taken lightly. The purpose of a house of worship is exactly that, a place set aside for people to come in peace and without distraction to worship and pray to their God. Far too often, we find that in order to get into the place of worship, we must run the gauntlet of the foyer making our way through those seeking to gather funds for their cause or ministry. And, yes, I will be the first to admit that I, too, have participated in such acts; however, today I am being reminded of the distraction that this can cause to those who are coming to worship. How do we get the word out? How do we inform people? How do we raise funds? Yes, these are very good questions and, quite honestly, I don't have the answers. However, I do know this–God's house is a place of worship and prayer and when that is the focus, God will honor it; when it is not, I doubt that He will, at least not to the same degree. Yes, these people had gone to an extreme and, yes, their hearts were turned to self profit, not service to the people, and by and large, the church of today has not fallen into the same trap; however, it is always good to remember a slow descent is nonetheless a descent. A slow indoctrination and change causes people to continue their descent without fear. I guess our question for today is this: are we being lulled into situations slowly that we would never jump into knowingly? Daily Prayer: Father, I pray for wisdom and understanding every day. I ask You, Lord, to reveal any areas in my life where I am being lulled into a place that could cause my fellowship with You to suffer. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "A fast drop causes fear while a slow descent can quell it." Pastor Gene Burroughs