Saturday is cleaning day at our house, which I take very seriously and never put off. I trust you all have a cleaning day as well.... Isn't it good to get rid of all that dust and dirt and return things to their proper places, bringing order and shine back to your homes? Cleaning day has always been one of my favorite days of the week! Jesus Himself had a cleaning day in the temple which we are going to look at in light of John 2:13-16....
"And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise."
What a great example for cleaning day! When Jesus spotted a mess, He used the strongest solution and got right down to cleaning, amen? When our Savior entered the temple and discovered the activity of buying and selling taking place in God's house, coupled with all of the worldly merchandise temptingly displayed, He got out His trusty scrubber and drove the scum away.... Jesus didn't put up with dirt and ladies, neither should we! He didn't put up with disorder and chaos in the temple, He got straight to organizing without a moment's hesitation....
I want to liken the temple to our hearts today. You know, our hearts get full of "merchandise" too, don't they? It's our own fault, we permit the accumulation to take place! We want, want, want, and lust clutters and clogs our hearts, amen? Through His Word - God's scourge, the Lord scrubs and polishes away our strong desire for earthly things above things eternal and clears the temple of our hearts....
Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Yes through His Word, God overturns and scatters and commands us to "take these things hence" from our temples. Many Christians react just as the Jews did to the action of Christ - we are astonished at His doctrine! We are shocked by the authoritative preaching and teaching of the scriptures, as the strong cleansing odor of the ammonia of the Word stirs our hearts and minds to the reality of what the Lord considers spiritual dirt! He opens our eyes to the accumulation of dirt and then expects us to put sin away from us! It's God's house, amen - and it ought not to be polluted! It's His glory that is dulled by the dust, that is crowded out by the merchandise. Now that you are saved, your temple belongs to the Lord, it isn't yours and you must clean it the way He prefers it to see it shine, and put in order!
1 Cor. 3:16-17, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
When cleaning day is neglected or put off altogether, it usually requires extra effort and extra time to restore cleanliness and order to our homes, amen? So too, in the case of our hearts.... It hurts to scrub away the build-up of dirt and worldly merchandise that has hardened around our hearts over time because it requires more scrubbing than usual to loosen and remove it! Cleaning is a never ending job and as housekeepers, it is an activity we should regularly and routinely engage in, amen? When going for a drive, and having an opportunity to observe the sloppiness and filthiness of many homes we pass by, I often wonder how thankful the owners really are for their houses. I am convinced that certain people actually like to live in the dirt and slop! It would seem to me, however, that if there was truly a thankfulness, there would be special care bestowed upon them and not a neglect of them. Ladies, just as your zeal for your home is revealed in your care of it, so is your zeal for God revealed in the cleansing of your temple, amen? Strive to be a good "temple-keeper" as well as a good housekeeper! What impure habits or practices are taking place in your temple that you need to drive out? Prove your thankfulness for the gift of salvation and keep your spirit clean....
1 Tim. 4:14, "Neglect not the gift that is in thee...."
Once the cleaning has been done, there are many opportunities to glorify God in our lives, amen? Turn with me to Mt. 21:12-15 and let's see what ought to take place after the spiritual filth has been removed....
"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased..."
First of all we find that the Lord wants our love for merchandise to be replaced with a heart for prayer! A desire for prayer has been stolen away from our hearts, wouldn't you agree Christian? We spend so much time trying to gain merchandise that we have no time left to spend with the Lord. We have let the "things" of this world steal our desire for right and godly living so that our hearts are hide-outs for thieves! Our relationship with the Lord is stolen away and we let it happen. We sell ourselves out for more of the world when we compromise the Word of God, amen? Is your heart a den of thieves today dear lady? You know, when our hearts get so full of wrong desires and affections we become blind and lame ourselves! If we're neglectful of our walk with the Lord, we'll soon become neglectful of the blind and lame surrounding us! Instead, the Lord would have us to fill our lives with wonderful things - the promises found in His Word! Open it won't you, and let God's Holy Word scrub the ALL the scum away, not just some of it! Be careful not to have a lazy attitude toward cleaning day ladies, because if you do, you'll also have a lazy attitude toward the Lord's work in general! Our heavenly Father wants us to be busy praying, for this keeps our spirits tidy and our hearts clean for the rest of the work He has called us to do!
2 Cor. 1:7, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
As a Christian, you should want to stand back and find one day that you did a perfect job, not just a so-so job for your heavenly Father, amen? Are you perfecting holiness in your life dear lady? Are you polishing up your act before the Lord returns? How clean is your flesh and spirit today - the inward and the outward? You don't want to be found covered in dirt and dust do you?? There are no excuses for a dirty home and there are no excuses for a dirty heart. "Having therefore these promises...." We have all the cleaning supplies necessary to get cleanse our flesh and spirit - found in the Word of God.... In Luke 19:47, the Bible says that Jesus taught in the temple daily, and guess what ladies? He wants to teach in our temples daily too! You just need to get His promises out and put them to work in your life!
Happy Cleaning Day...
God
Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright
2000 Pamela A. Iannello
