House of Prayer

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 you have made it a den of thieves.
Luke 19:45-46 KJ2000

One of the chief tactics of Satan is to attempt to deny the church either space or time in our lives. From those who insist that a church building would ruin the neighborhood (think of the evil influence it would have on the sales of the nearby adult book store) to those who know the best time to schedule an event is on Sunday (too much competition on Saturday), the world knows it must deprive the Christian of time and place to worship. Satan's objective is to see that you have no place to be with other Christians, and no time to spend with God alone.

We see an earlier version of this here. In all the planet there is one spot—and not all that large—where God has placed his Name. In that spot we find (for the second time in Christ's ministry):

The merchants of religion are working happily—selling "approved" sacrificial animals, changing common money into sacred money. It's quite profitable, and look how convenient it is! Right there in the Temple; one stop shopping.

 

Indeed, the Temple itself has broad plazas. Traffic is thick in old Jerusalem, and this is a convenient shortcut.

They, like so many of us, had forgotten the simple meaning of the phrase, "house of God." It means simply that the Temple is God's own possession, and subject to his command. You can no more lead your donkey cart through it than you could through my house.

Time moves on. Paul tells us that we are God's temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). So it seems fitting to ask if we, as the temple of God, are suffering from the same conditions:

Is our religion for sale? We usually think of this in terms of a money-grubbing TV evangelist, but it applies to all of us. Do you give up the command of Christ to make a buck?

 

Is your temple a shortcut for earthly desires? If the church is nothing but a good place to meet girls, or to make business contacts, then you're leading that donkey through God's house.

Be warned: If you do not make him the sacred center of your life, you are risking the scourge of Christ. He will come to you and drive out all that does not belong. How much better that you should examine yourself, and throw out what does not belong in your temple! Then when your Lord returns, he will come to his temple and, finding it in order, praise the one who kept it that way.