Bible Reading: 1 Kings 1, 2, Luke 19:25-48
Memory Verse: “And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.” LUKE 19:45-46 (KJV)
The church is a place where believers gather together to pray to God, learn more about God, teach others the way of the Lord and win others to Christ. The church is Christ-centered, and so anything contrary to the will of Christ should not be found in the church. That explains the action of the Lord Jesus Christ in the bible in Luke 19:45-46 (KJV), “And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
The location, size or composition of the church does not matter. All churches should be centered on Christ and every activity in the church that may draw people’s attention away from Christ will bring the anger of God. Each church of God should examine itself to find out which of its activities does not glorify Christ and take it out immediately to avoid the wrath of God.
Similarly, the bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (KJV), “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.” You should also be Christ centered and whatever will anger Christ should be far from you because you are Temple of God. And so, you should be a temple of prayer. No wonder 1 Thesalonians 5:17 says you should pray without ceasing. This means that everything that will bring shame to Christ or that will distract you from Christ should be far from you. Because just as selling and buying in the church distracted focus of people from God and caused Jesus Christ to chase them out, similarly all things distracting your focus from God will cause Jesus to be angry with you.
So, you need to identify those things that take your attention from your maker and ensure that you do away with them because your God is a jealous God!
Action Point: Examine yourself and identify all things that distract you from God and do away with them.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero