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Bible Readings: Luke 19:45-48; Psalm 25:8-22

When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.     Luke 19:45-48


Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.    Psalm 25:8-22


Jesus was not without emotion, as sometimes I think we fail to remember.  As Jesus enters the temple in Jerusalem, he is deeply troubled by what he sees – merchants and moneychangers turning the sacred space into a marketplace.  

"My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers." (Luke 19:46)

Just as the physical temple was meant to be a place of worship and prayer, our hearts are intended to be dwelling places for the presence of God. Yet, like the money changers in the temple, we often allow worldly concerns and distractions to crowd out the presence of God in our lives.

Jesus desires to cleanse the temple of our hearts. He invites us to surrender our burdens, worries, and distractions at His feet, allowing His presence to dwell within us. As we open our hearts to Him in prayer and worship, He purifies us from within, transforming us into vessels fit for His use.

However, this process of cleansing is not always easy. It requires humility, repentance, and a willingness to let go of anything that hinders our relationship with God. It may involve confronting our own sinfulness and allowing God to root out those areas of our lives that do not align with His will.

Examine your heart before God. Invite Him to cleanse and renew you from within, that you may become a true temple of His Holy Spirit. And may your life be a testimony to the transforming power of His love and grace.