What a day, Father! I am glad that You went through it with me. Nothing too crazy just enough crazy to shake my head some! What a blessing to have you by my side.
Luke 19:45-48 (<<click here to read the passage)
This may get me into trouble, but I think the story in today’s passage alludes to a potential problem that all of us in the church must be wary of. Quoting two different passages of Old Testament Scripture (Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11), Jesus proclaimed,
“The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” v46
Jesus drove out the people selling animals for sacrifices from the temple. From past sermons, I have learned that a big part of the problem was that things were rigged to benefit the buyers and not the worshippers. First, there were the money-changers – to buy anything one would have to exchange the money they had for money that would be accepted in the temple. Also, not every sacrifice brought by worshippers was “acceptable”, so if one wanted to offer a sacrifice, they would have to buy one that met the “requirements”. So that’s where the house of prayer became a den of thieves.
Now we no longer offer sacrifices in that Jesus paid the price for our sins once and for all! (Praise His Hoy Name!) But in every church, regardless of music style, regardless of if we abide by a structured order of worship or a very free Spirit-driven one – it makes no difference the components involved. I think that participants have to be wary of becoming thieves.
Don’t we all like getting strokes? We enjoy the praise of our fellow worshippers. Musicians and preachers, even those reading the Scripture or collecting the offerings, can be found guilty of stealing the praise, that only God deserves, for ourselves.
“Pastor, I think that was the best sermon on the Good Samaritan that I have ever heard!”
“Why thank you! I spent all week working on it and searched for just the right illustrations. It was tough but it did turn out pretty well, didn’t it?”
“Your solo today, took my breath away! I wish I could sing like that.”
“I appreciate that. Yeah, I’ve not had the first lesson, just natural talent, I guess. I’ve spent a lot of time for the past month getting it just right. Gotta smile, you know!”
Humility goes a long way and no matter how much time and effort we have put into whatever it is that we offer, all praise should go to the Provider and Sustainer of us all – our awesome Creator God!
Lord Jesus, it makes no difference what our talent may be, inside or outside the church, may we solely be a beacon for You. May our light shine brightly for all to see but may we never stand in the limelight but shine only for Your glory! Amen.
Nov 5th, 2020, Thurs, 4:33 pm
