Gospel

Gathered In God's Name

by Roland Crim
05/08/17
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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.’” Luke 19:45-46 NIV

In John 2 Jesus also drove sellers out of the temple area and overturned the money changers tables. If there is some sense of chronological order to the events of each of the gospel writers, then these two occurrences are separate events.

God’s temple can be either a church building, or for that matter, any place where we get together with others to worship and praise God. In fact, you can say that we who follow Christ are the church.

Before we judge the actions of those in this passage, we should ask ourselves, “Do I use my time in God’s house properly?” When I am in church, whatever construction it might be, am I there to fulfill a weekly “obligation”? Is my mind focused on things of this world while I am in church? Also, our bodies are the temple of the Lord. Have we filled them with marketplace items, or are our bodies filled with things of God?

Spending time in God’s house is a wonderful opportunity for us to join with other believers in worship, prayer, and song to our God. Often truly good messages are shared by the clergy or congregation folk. Church groups such as bible study and other ministries can also aid us in our endeavors to follow in Christ’s footsteps. We can also directly share instances of How God is working in our lives, which can be an inspiration to others.

Any time spent with God is not to be treated as an “obligation”. We are to give God all of ourselves. What we do for Him we should do with zest and vigor.

God does so much for us. Let us use each opportunity we have, to give to God. Give Him glory and honor, and thank Him for all He does for us. Let us not rob God of our full attention when we gather in His name.