Holy Week: Monday

Monday:  Cursing the fig tree and cleansing the temple.  Mk. 11:12-18, Mt. 21:18, 19,

                                                                                                12, 13, Lk. 19:45-48.

The people of God are now the house of God.  We are the church.  We are not a building but a people.  In the cleansing of the Temple, Jesus is saying that we, who are now His Temple, are to be a people of prayer.  Our primary function is to be in relationship with God.  Prayer is spending time with the Lord talking and listening to Him.  When taking stock of your Christian life do not focus on how well you have obeyed God’s laws(Ten Commandments, Church attendance, tithing, helping others etc.), but rather how much quality time do you spend  with Him.  If you have good quiet times with Jesus, your obedience to Him will take care of itself.   Do you take time alone with Him to share your burdens, pray for others, read and meditate on His word, and listen to His still small voice, ask Him to help you, and be refreshed by Him?  Why not make prayer a priority in your life.  Almost all of us can do better in this crucial area of our lives.

With a good strong prayer life we will begin to bear fruit.  Others will see and experience Jesus in us and lives will be changed.  We will find ourselves doing more to bring people to a saving knowledge of Christ.  We do not exist for ourselves.  Our mission is to bring people of “all nations” into the wonderful relationship with God.  Is your priority and understanding that we exist to be with God and that we work to bring others to Him?

Greeks would see Jesus.  Jn. 12:20-50

Jesus had to die and be raised in order for people to recognize Him.  We say that Jesus is the only way to God and that statement is true.  But, speaking of this fact, we must understand that it is the once-crucified Jesus and now-risen Lord that is the only way to the Father.  Jesus said that the Son of Man must go up to Jerusalem, suffer, die and be raised on the third day.  The cross of Christ is an absolute necessity for our salvation!  This is the gospel!  This “good news” must be the center of everything we think, say, or do.  Is it?

This story also reminds us that we must die spiritually and be raised in order to see Jesus as He really is.  There is a cross for you and me also!  Our cross involves our complete surrender of everything to God (our rights, wills, dreams, finances, families, habits, sins, good deeds, etc.) including our lives and our receiving of His resurrection life.  Everything we are and have, the good and the bad, must be placed at the foot of the cross.  And then as we ask Him to fill us with the Holy Spirit, we will see Jesus in a powerful way.   Spend some time meditating on His cross and yours and you may discover a new and fresh understanding of who He