A den of thieves

As we consider the Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, today I want to focus on the Temple. JESUS entered Jerusalem, triumphantly, while folks were shouting, "Hosanna". Then, He and His disciples journeyed to the Temple, where the sacrificing for sin atonement would be going on. There he found folks taking advantage of others.

In the Temple courtyard, there were folks selling animals to others for sacrificing. People had made the pilgrimage from far and wide for the Passover Feast, and these folks were going to take advantage of them. They were extorting others, probably high-pressure selling others that they needed what they had in order to be right with GOD. And, they were doing it at the Temple.

Today's word is Matthew 21:13, NLT, which reads, "He said to them, 'The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be called a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves.'"

There are "churches" in our world, our society, probably our neighborhood, that will use any means necessary to extort and pressure others into giving more than they ever could afford. Don't get upset, and don't get me wrong, I firmly believe that we are to pay our tithes, not out of obligation but out of want - we want to give back to GOD'S work because of all that He has and will do for us. Again, not that He is going to hurt you if you don't, and not that everything is going to be rosy because you do, but because we should want to be obedient in our giving.

Now, I know that this post has rambled and I am sorry. I just want you to know that GOD knows each individual's heart and each individual's situation. Don't let someone try to tell you that you need to mortgage your house, your children's college fund, your future for their new plan. Many "ministries" have been riddled by controversy stemming from the leader being on the take. Use discernment. Be obedient to GOD. Don't be drawn in by a den of thieves.

Be Blessed,
Mickey T