November 8
"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.’”
Matthew
21:12-13
The church, the place people go to worship God, is a
holy place. But how far it has fallen from holiness! Many of the
churches today are little more than social clubs. Churches draw
people by delighting them with the kind of musical performances that
are only too close to what you'd hear in bar rooms. Lights and
strobes and smoke and all manner of entertainment - this is hideous.
His house is not a house of prayer, it's a house of performances.
God is holy. He's not looking for hearts to be stirred up by
foot-stomping, hand-clapping fun. When one comes before the Lord, he
is looking for two things: 1. reverence before him. And 2. repentant
hearts.
We come to bow before the King of all creation. We
come inviting the Spirit of God to move over us and cleanse us and
bring us to repentance before him. In such a setting, the Holy Spirit
is free to move and minister to the people.
There is a place
for joy in the Lord, beautiful praise and worship before him, but not
for the kind of carnal antics practiced in so many of today's
churches. When people come together to worship the Lord, let them
WORSHIP HIM from a right heart. The focus must move from us to HIM.
We come to adore and magnify the greatness of our God. He calls us to
separate from the world, not to bring the world into his holy place.
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