March 04, 2018: SOAP #3013: Numbers 34-36; Mark 11

Scripture:  Mark (NIV) 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’.”

Observation:   The temple was a building built with wood and stones, yet the Lord was concerned about how people were respecting “God’s house.”   How much more is He concerned about this house that He lives in with me?  My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit!

What would Jesus say that I have made His house?  A house of gripes or a house of contentment?   A den of despair or a cathedral of glory?  A place of selfishness or a welcoming place for others?

Application:   I should treat my body with respect for it is God’s house here on earth.  God dwells in me.  My body is His temple.  I should treat my body with more respect than the grounds keepers respect the White House in Washington D.C.  The President lives there; God Almighty lives here!

Prayer:    Holy Spirit, it is my great honor to host your presence in my body.  Help me to live every day in a way that brings honor to Jesus my Lord, and that brings joy to the heart of my Heavenly Father.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!