Tables

 "My house shall be called a house of prayer." Matthew 21:13....."God's house, after the gift of the Spirit, is the heart of the believer....And as His house, we are the house of prayer." Chris Tiegreen

When we read this passage from Matthew 21, I think we tend to think that Jesus' main outrage was directed at the lack of reverence and awe given to the Temple of God. To a degree, there is truth in that, and because of that, we tend to see His "house" as being the buildings we worship in. This has led to us making our church buildings holy places. There's not anything wrong with this. I believe we should show deep reverence for Him whenever we enter into His sanctuary. However, as Tiegreen points out, neither Jesus nor any of the authors of the New Testament, ever refer to a building as being His house. His house is always found in the heart of a believer. How are you and I tending His house? In what kind of condition is it?

Scripture says that "zeal for His Father's house consumed Him." Jesus was offended by the presence of the moneylenders in the Temple, as well as all the other things He saw as obstacles to worshipping the Father. So much so that He overturned their tables and drove them out. They were hindering people's ability to commune with their God. He was determined to rid His house of every hindrance to that communion. He still is. What are the "tables" that He sees in our hearts? Tables that hinder and block our communion and intimacy with God? Do we dare to think that so great is His zeal for our relationship with Him that He will overturn those tables and drive out every blockage in our hearts that comes between Him and us?

Could it be that a lot of the turmoil in our lives that we attribute to the activities of the enemy are instead the result of His "overturning tables" in our hearts? So focused is He on our relationship with Him that He will not hesitate to do so, even when it causes us pain and seeming loss. Overturned tables have no place in our heart, but we can so easily come to cherish them. So deep is His love for us that He will not cease to overturn them all and "drive out" everything that comes between His heart and ours.

What tables might He be overturning right now? What tables are we holding onto that He seeks to overturn? Where is our true treasure found? In Him....or the tables?

Blessings,
Pastor O