The House

Mark 11:15-17, “And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.  And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

Since my wife and I have been married we have had the opportunity of attending many Churches.  Some we have joined as members and others we visited due to her singing or playing in a wedding the day before.  Churches are for the most part very different.

I remember one Catholic church in Valparaiso, IN where the governing body of the church would not allow the organ to be unlocked until the day of the wedding.  Nobody except my wife knew the song to which the men were to come out to start the ceremony.  The groom or someone sent a guy over to my wife to tell her she could start playing it; but, she had already played the song through twice and was starting a third trip through it.  I was furious when I found that out; but, I kept my mouth shut, that time.

I remember when my cousin and his wife married.  Their service was like a mini concert for my wife as her name was in the bulletin more than the bride or the groom combined.  That ceremony was such a wonderful ceremony, and not because it was family either.

What I am saying today is that tomorrow as you attend worship services  in your respective Church take notice.  Churches are mostly different.  There are some things that should be present.  They should use the Word of God and not some watered down “version”.  They should teach you that all men need to be saved because of sin.  They should give you the opportunity to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation.  If these key elements are not present in your Church maybe you might pray and ask God where you could go that these vital ingredients are a part of the services.

I am deeply afraid that if Jesus Christ were to come back today and visit most Churches He would “clean house” like He did in our Scripture passage for today.  Be mindful if you are contributing to this in your Church and change your mind and your direction to become more Biblical.  Be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem and don’t be the problem either.

See you at “The House”!  I will see you, right?

Today’s reading:  Psalm 25, 55, 85, 115, 145; Proverbs 25; Mark 11, 12, 13