House of Prayer

12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 "It is written," he said to them,” 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'"
Matthew 21:12-13



Back in the days of Jesus, the act of worship by the Jews through sacrificial giving and sacrifice of their first fruits became a big business for the church. The focus then of the Jews in the temple became less about honoring God and more about what they could selfishly achieve by being in the temple of God whose original purpose was to be a house of prayer. Does this sound at all familiar with some churches today? What about you? Why do you go to church? Is it about going to achieve some sort of self-righteous reward as a result of your actions or involvement or do you go to truly honor and draw near to the one who loves you so dearly and wants only to be close to you in mind and body and Spirit? Do you serve in the church to earn the respect of others or do you serve out of a heart that can’t help but give away what is overflowing from the inside of your heart of hearts? God’s House of Prayer that can be seen in today’s times through His people who believe and not through a building as in the Old Testament, is here for you to draw near; to be encouraged; and to be challenged, inspired, and restored in an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. This should be the only purpose of God’s church today. So, don’t ever forget to honor God, every minute of every day as you live out your part of His beautiful church which He calls the Kingdom of God.