As Jesus enters Jerusalem, He knows where He is heading. There is a happy moment at the beginning of the week as the crowds cry out, “Hosanna! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” After this, though, it is largely conflict. Jesus is there to fight for the hearts of His people . . . and win.
But he is no populist leader. He doesn’t want to win the hearts of His people so that they will follow Him. He comes to win the victory over sin and death, claiming our hearts to cleanse them – to cleanse us – from all unrighteousness.
The day after the Triumphal Entry, Jesus comes back to Jerusalem and He entered the temple – the heart of where His people worshipped. There were people there from all over the world to pray, to worship, and to remember God’s salvation. There were also people there to sell animals for sacrifice, exchange currencies from other nations’ to the Temple coinage, and do business. How could a person worship with all that going on?
So Jesus drove them out. The money changers, and those selling animals were driven out so that His people would not be distracted as they worshipped.
1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, and He is present within us. But often when we sit down to focus on God or to do our devotions we are distracted, pulled away and even prevented from worshipping. We’re like that Temple filled with sounds and chatter, coming and going, and we need to be cleansed.
So what do we do? Focus really, really, hard and straighten ourselves up? Do we get our act together and then we can worship? Or do we need our Savior to come and cleanse us?
The last we need first. We start with Jesus’ salvation, and that is sufficient. Yet we continue to need his power to remove the clutter and distractions. Perhaps when we feel like we need to focus harder, or be more committed, or put in more effort what we really need to do is call out to Jesus, “Cleanse me! Create in me a clean heart, O God! Renew a right spirit within me! Mine is all messed up!” And we have this comfort, “when we confess our sin, God is faithful and just and will cleanse us,” from all our sins, even so we can be focused on Him.
Remember, this life is filled with conflict and spiritual warfare. The devil and the world do not want you to have time focused on Jesus, because through His Word Jesus gives salvation and transforms our lives. He strengthens us here to resist temptation and to overcome the world. He also empowers us to bring the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection to others so they, too, can be saved.
Set aside the distractions that you can. Find a quiet place to read and pray. Turn off the T.V. and radio. Leave your planner where you can’t reach it. And when you can’t set aside the distraction, pray, “I need to have these distractions removed, Lord Jesus, so I can focus on You for this time!” And then see what He will do.
But he is no populist leader. He doesn’t want to win the hearts of His people so that they will follow Him. He comes to win the victory over sin and death, claiming our hearts to cleanse them – to cleanse us – from all unrighteousness.
The day after the Triumphal Entry, Jesus comes back to Jerusalem and He entered the temple – the heart of where His people worshipped. There were people there from all over the world to pray, to worship, and to remember God’s salvation. There were also people there to sell animals for sacrifice, exchange currencies from other nations’ to the Temple coinage, and do business. How could a person worship with all that going on?
So Jesus drove them out. The money changers, and those selling animals were driven out so that His people would not be distracted as they worshipped.
1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, and He is present within us. But often when we sit down to focus on God or to do our devotions we are distracted, pulled away and even prevented from worshipping. We’re like that Temple filled with sounds and chatter, coming and going, and we need to be cleansed.
So what do we do? Focus really, really, hard and straighten ourselves up? Do we get our act together and then we can worship? Or do we need our Savior to come and cleanse us?
The last we need first. We start with Jesus’ salvation, and that is sufficient. Yet we continue to need his power to remove the clutter and distractions. Perhaps when we feel like we need to focus harder, or be more committed, or put in more effort what we really need to do is call out to Jesus, “Cleanse me! Create in me a clean heart, O God! Renew a right spirit within me! Mine is all messed up!” And we have this comfort, “when we confess our sin, God is faithful and just and will cleanse us,” from all our sins, even so we can be focused on Him.
Remember, this life is filled with conflict and spiritual warfare. The devil and the world do not want you to have time focused on Jesus, because through His Word Jesus gives salvation and transforms our lives. He strengthens us here to resist temptation and to overcome the world. He also empowers us to bring the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection to others so they, too, can be saved.
Set aside the distractions that you can. Find a quiet place to read and pray. Turn off the T.V. and radio. Leave your planner where you can’t reach it. And when you can’t set aside the distraction, pray, “I need to have these distractions removed, Lord Jesus, so I can focus on You for this time!” And then see what He will do.
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