CLEANSING the TEMPLE... The TEMPLE of LIVING STONES !

The 2nd CLEANSING of the TEMPLE
Matthew 21: 10-17

" From His+ eyes went forth rays

which TERRIFIED them and 

put them to flight." 

So reads a marginal note of a 13th century manuscript of the Aurora, by Peter of Riga, The Gospel of the Nazaraeans, footnoted at Matthew 21:12. 

See "Gospel Parallels" by Burton H. Throckmorton, Jr., page 154 ,5th Edition, 1992, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tn. 1992 

[ The AUTHORITY of The MESSIAH+ was very evident in His+ Cleansing of the Temple, even to the religious leaders.]

+  +  +

...and HIS+ eyes were 

as a Flame of Fire;

+  +  +

The first act The LORD JESUS did after His+ Triumphal entry into Jerusalem was to cleanse the Temple.

As a matter of fact, THAT is what HE+ went into Jerusalem TO DO ! 

HE+ drove out the BUYERS as well as the sellers of the livestock and doves and over-turned the tables of the money-changers. 

This was PASSOVER week, and they were going about business as usual. No fear of GOD there. How UN- holy ! 

Jerusalem was swollen with visitors coming for the Passover, to celebrate GOD'S great deliverance of the Hebrews from Pharaoh.  They were supposed to be mindful of GOD, not their pocketbooks. 

Once the un-scrupulous merchants were driven out of the Temple, the little ones, the blind, the lame , the crippled and infirm --- those who could afford nothing --- came to CHRIST JESUS.  HE+ healed them, it is written. 

This was just a few days after HE+ raised Lazarus from the dead !

Prophecies that would identify HIM+ as the true Messiah+ were being fulfilled before their eyes... and the crowd went wild.  All of Jerusalem was in turmoil. 

The heavy hand of the Rule of Rome would soon be lifted, they thought. How glorious ! 

+  +  +

Yes, the "Rule of Rome" would indeed be lifted... from their SOULS.  The people who walked in darkness had seen a GREAT Light, The LIGHT+ of the world. 

That LIGHT+ lifted the "Rule of Rome's"  values from their hearts; they would no longer be slaves to the worldly system that rules the hearts of men from their pocket-books. 

But, they would not. They willed not to be gathered as a hen clucks and gathers her chicks under her wings. 

They did not WANT freedom from sin, but rather, freedom from Roman rule.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.... and JESUS wept.  HE+ could see ahead THEIR coming agony, THEIR thousands of citizens crucified on the hills and roads outside of Jerusalem. 

Yes, the earth-bound Roman rule was cruel and terrible. 

Sin's rule is WORSE. 

Roman rule only lasts 

for a life-time. 

Sins' consequences 

last for ALL Eternity.  

HE+ came to address them, first things first, and one at a time. First the Spiritual. Next will be the earth-bound rulers who pulverize His+ people. 

 Matthew 23: 37-38 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 

thou that killest the prophets, 

and stonest them 

 which are sent unto thee, 

how often 

would I+ have gathered 

thy children together, 

even as a hen

 gathereth her chickens 

under her wings, 

and ye would not!

 Behold, 

your house is left 

unto you 

desolate.

+  +  +

HEAR WHAT THE LORD SAYS: 

O WHOLE House of Israel, I+ have called to you to repent.  I+ have called to you to remove the leaven from your midst, and ye would not. 

What more can I+ do to save you from the sins that snare you ?  

Those very sins will ENTRAP you in the coming evil determined upon this earth. You will not be able to escape because you will not even SEE THE EVIL COMING until it is too late. 

No, I+ will not save America from judgement. I will not keep her from oppression SO THAT you can keep your wealthy life-styles, life-styles that are so far above other peoples of the earth. 

Do you "sit as a Queen and will be no widow?"  Think again.  I have NEVER SPARED my people who ignore my Words. 

I have NEVER SPARED my people who chase the world and call it "serving ME+." 

Those I+ love, I+ rebuke and chasten. 

Turn, turn from your worldly values. Separate from this world. Separate from this Camp of Korah... touch not the unclean money, the unclean flags, the unclean value system of Babylon the Great.

Serve ME+ in purity, with an UN-divided heart.  Then, and only then, shall you see the Salvation of your GOD ... when HE is truly your Master.

Divided loyalties will not be able to stand. You CAN NOT --- are not even ABLE --- to serve GOD   AND   Mammon . 

You will belong to Korah.  

 +  +  +

Revelation 1: 13 -18

¹³ And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the SON+ of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

¹⁴ HIS+ head and HIS+ hairs 

were white like wool, 

as white as snow; 

and HIS+ eyes were 

as a flame of fire;

¹⁵ And HIS+ feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and HIS+ voice as the sound of many waters.

¹⁶ And HE+ had in HIS+ right hand seven stars: and out of HIS+ mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and HIS+ countenance was as the sun shineth in HIS+ strength.

⁷ And when I saw HIM+, I fell at his feet as dead. And HE+ laid HIS+ right hand upon me, saying unto me, 

Fear not; 

I+ am the First 

and the Last:

¹⁸ I+ am HE+ that liveth, 

and was dead; 

and, behold, I+ am alive 

for evermore, 

Amen; 

and have the keys of hell 

and of death

Passover Meditation #23 for the Lenten Season 2012

~  ~  ~ The Door of the Cross ~ ~ ~

Peter said:

And we,

we have believed

and have known that YOU+ are The CHRIST The SON+ of The Living GOD.

John 6:69 Green's Greek Interlinear

And Martha said:

Yea, LORD: I, I believe that

YOU+ are the CHRIST

The SON+ of GOD

which should come

into the world.

John 11:27 Green's Greek Interlinear

And JESUS said:

Truly, truly

I+ say to you,

the one

who hears MY+ Word

and believing

the ONE having sent ME+,

has Everlasting LIFE,

.

and does

not come into judgment,

. 

but has

passed out of death

into LIFE.

John 5:24 Green's Greek Interlinear

We believe The FATHER has sent HIS SON+, JESUS the CHRIST, into the world to give LIFE unto "whosoever will come" to HIM+.

.

We come on His+ terms with a Godly sorrow that:

• leads unto  repentance 
• which leads unto conversion
• through to the sanctified waters of Holy Baptism
• that leads unto our New Birth from above into CHRIST... making us New Creatures in CHRIST.  

Henceforth, we live unto CHRIST and die unto Self, through the means of our cross and through the Power of His+ Cross. 

To those who come on His+ terms, this entity called LIFE totally changes. Not only do we become New but all of LIFE becomes new to us.

We learn to do all sorts of new things:

• love others because HE+ first loved us,
• associate with the Lowly because HE+ associated with us,
• hate evil that we see in ourselves, instead of hating our neighbor.

And when we do these things,which is our part to do, the promise of GOD is this:

• We pass out of JUDGMENT and into Eternal LIFE, like the greatest insurance policy ever written because it is SURE and CERTAIN to occur. 

The vital point, though, is this: GOD knows when we believe unto obedience of heart instead of with our mind only... or because our culture makes us "christian...." or because our church or community membership makes us "christian..." 

No mind only, no culture only, no church only , and no community only constitutes faith in His+ eyes.

HE+ wants your heart.

. 

HE+ will not accept a substitute.

HE+ will allow you to experience everlasting death if you don't offer HIM+ the real thing: your total heart. 

HE+ will not accept a substitute, a decoy, a hollow commitment, a phony , a part of your life; HE+ wants it all... just like HE+ gives all of His+ heart to you. 

And if you try to deceive yourself, pretending you have given HIM+ all of  your heart,  you will receive your part in the Lake of Burning Fire and the Second Death with the devil, the false prophet, the beast, the fallen angels... and all those who love and make a lie, those who reject His+ Lordship over their lives. You cannot deceive HIM+.  

 

...HE+ 

will  not accept

a substitute

for your heart.

An ILLUSION of UNION...

...is not what HE+ wants.

.

Here is a brave letter from a brave heart to the unfaithful heart of the beloved... read on...

.

Dear C...

I am returning this $1,000 you sent. Yes, there are crucial needs, but the greater need is for you to send your heart. I need not your money nor your presence here--- even as desperately lonely as I am without you--- until your heart returns to your home.

.

Without your heart, you see, both your presence and your money are shallow... leaving me more hurt and hollow than before.

.

Indeed, both your presence in the house and your gift of money is simply for you, an illusion to make you feel better about yourself. It is not an offering of real love nor does it meet real needs. I need you, not your gifts.

.

And as far as wanting to drop by to fix the steps and screen door, well, truly they have needed a lot of attention for a while--- but you are not the one to fix them. They will go without repairs until I find a pure-hearted person who does not need to do good deeds to build an illusion about himself.

.

I'll ask someone whose heart simply is available for the chore. Your heart, you see, is not. It is not available to the home you left and it would be illusionary for you to make it seem like it was.

.

Really, it would do more harm than good because a broken step is nothing compared to a broken heart. A torn screen door knows nothing of the pain of a torn and shredded covenant that once bound us together in love.

.

So, I am returning to you these offers of your presence here, your skills, and your money so that there is NO ILLUSION established that your heart is right with me... no illusion in your mind nor in anyone who should see or hear of your activities.

.

All I want is your heart... all of it.

.

Your loving--- but Truthful--- Covenant Spouse

.

+ + +

.

JESUS answered

and said unto them,

"Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites,

as it is written,

'This people honoreth ME with their lips,

but their heart is far from ME. '

Word of The LORD,

recorded by Mark, chapter 7, verse 6.

Also see Isaiah 29:13

.

Nevertheless,

I have somewhat against thee,

because thou hast

left thy first love.

.

Word of The LORD JESUS CHRIST,

Revelation 2:4

+ + +

HOME.... A call to Parents...

Parents, grand-parents, and care givers: teach your beloved little ones what HOME is... in Truth+.

.

Do not allow your children to grow up with an illusionary picture about HOME. It will hurt them.

.

HOME is not a house or belongings, a garden, a farm , nor land. HOME is not a town, a state , nor a country. HOME is not a community of familiar friends, shops, schools, or schedules, either.

.

HOME is where your heart is welcomed. HOME consists of hearts that are open to you and where you are not afraid to have your heart open to others.

.

.

. . . .

.

.

.

Why is this important?

.

Living in comfort is NOT PROMISED by GOD'S Word. At any moment our comfortable level of living can change drastically. Has GOD failed us when that happens? NO. What is promised is that our souls will be kept and our hearts will be secure in JESUS (if we stay with HIM+, that is. ).

.

Recently, we witnessed 4 families leave their homes... built by the labor of their own hands... and their farms and small businesses. They left machinery and harness shops, stocked full of leather goods. They left a shoe-making business and a book-binding business, as well as newly-planted orchard trees, grapevines, and a fruit cellar with shelves and shelves of canned goods for the winter.

.

They left family and friends. They took their grown children and tiny ones alike along on a hundreds-of-miles bus trip to Central America to start anew. They took tents for preliminary shelters.

.

They were following JESUS in this move outside of their native country in order to reach out in an evangelistic effort to give to the unsaved what JESUS had given to them.

.

Yes, they will be able to do an outreach; early reports which filtered back said it had already begun, with good success.

.

But they have done something else: they are teaching their young ones by word AND EXAMPLE that HOME is being with the family, within the Will of GOD.

.

HOME, you see, is not a location. It is a state of the heart. Security comes from doing the will of The LORD.... not from walls and roofs and having a steady income.

.

The little ones along are happy just being with Mother and Father and all the familiar faces of brothers and sisters. Walls mean nothing to them.

.

The older ones not yet married are excited about being allowed to do something for GOD besides attend church meetings. Walls and floors and roofs constitute shackles for them, if that is all they have to look forward to.

.

Mother and Father are happy because the joy of The LORD is resting upon them as they EMBRACE THE SACRIFICE to do the Will of The LORD. HE+ will not forsake them and they know it. They also know they must keep walking in HIS+ Will and not say "NO"... I don't want to give up my comforts, job, security, country, etc., etc., etc.

.

And, they do not practice walking in FEAR. They simply build new walls, floors, and roofs as necessities for their families, but they do not call that HOME.

.

They call HIM+ "HOME"

... because their hearts

are with HIM+.

.

.

. . . .

.

.

.

Where ,

dear Christian friend,

is your HOME?

.

In The Name of The FATHER, Who created thee; and HIS Beloved SON, JESUS CHRIST, Who saves thee; and the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT, Who sanctifies thee. Amen

JOINING WITH CHRIST...

...against the accuser.

.

[ Otherwise entitled:

Practicing Purity of Mind]

Blessed

are the pure in heart;

for they shall see GOD.

Words of Our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,

as recorded by Matthew in chapter 5, verse 8.

.

Did HE+ mean what HE+ said, literally ?

YES !

So... how do we become "pure" in our hearts?

It is OBVIOUS that HIS+ Word here in Matthew 5:8 is given to us... albeit gently... as an INSTRUCTION: that is, it is something concrete for us TO PUT INTO ACTION, it is an activity for us TO DO, a directive from Our LORD JESUS CHRIST for us TO PRACTICE. The Apostles learned from HIM+ and were diligent to teach the Early Church so. Here are their words:

.

The Apostle John said, "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as HE+ is pure." I John 3:3

The Apostle Peter admonishes, " Seeing that ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the SPIRIT unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another with a pure heart fervently: " I Peter 1:22

The Apostle James said, " Draw night to GOD, and HE will draw night to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." James 4:8

This purity and pure heart spoken of here and in many other Scriptures, both Old and New, is not something "given" to us; it is something we must diligently work to attain in order to be pleasing unto HIM+.

So... how do we go about making ourselves "pure?"

.

WE DO ALWAYS THOSE THINGS

WHICH PLEASE HIM+.

.

We know to flee from sin and youthful lusts. We know to abstain from EVERY appearance of evil. We know how be chaste and modest in our dress. We give NO reason for ANYONE to stumble by eyeing our flesh nor to stumble by coveting, on account of how we visibly present ourselves.

.

But, what about the whisperer, the accuser of the brethren?

Are we zealous to purify our thoughts

coming from the accuser against others?

Or, do we contemplate those accusing thoughts

and then AGREE with them ?

Many, many a Christian marriage

and untold numbers of churches

are floundering

because of the work

of the accuser going unchecked , un-stopped,

.

This "work of the accuser" gets a foothold when we get our feelings hurt. If we are ignored or snapped at, if we are blamed or held in disrepute, if our motives or our words are misunderstood... the accuser steps in to help us "discern" the truth.

How can the father of lies

help us discern ANY "truth" ?

Here, then, is where the Holy Scriptures step in to combat those lies, fortify our emotions, and help us INTERVENE against the wicked spirits , the spiritual "bullies" who are afflicting us and our loved ones [ by getting us to accuse each other ].

Thy Word is very pure:

therefore Thy servant loveth it.

Psalm 119:140

In essence, we turn our back on the accusing lies trying to get us to AGREE with them, and we proclaim His+ Word. (Use the Psalms or other Scriptures. One Christian struggling deeply with hurt had to forcefully read 17 Psalms before the accuser quit her presence ).

.

We REFUSE TO AGREE with the accuser, no matter how badly we have been hurt.

Why do Christians refuse to agree with the accuser?

We KNOW it is the evil one who uses unsuspecting flesh to hurt us. The evil one will then lay his evil working to the account of the "unsuspecting flesh". That person who was used to hurt us then has sin laid to his account.

Thus, we learn to "join with CHRIST" to fight the liars from laying siege to the person who brought us hurt or injury. We join with CHRIST to free that person from control of the wicked spirits lying to him/her. Yes, that very person who has done us wrong and is now being accused by our OWN hearts, we fight FOR, not against.

Once the Scriptures are " in the air", in our hearts, in our minds, and IN OUR MOUTHS, the distress and "need" to accuse the person who hurt us, will leave. We will be free and healed from the hurt and the love of CHRIST JESUS will be shed abroad.

With our mouths, we proclaim GOD'S HOLY WORD until His+ Word takes over our emotions.

With our mouths, we list all the RIGHT and GOOD things about the one who hurt us, making ourselves be fair.

With our mouths, we pray for GOD'S richest blessings to come to that person... all those things temporal and spiritual which will lead him to CHRIST or to a deeper walk.

Christians, let's do it!

Let's practice developing

a pure heart,

one that is pleasing unto

The LORD JESUS CHRIST.

+ + +

In the name of The FATHER, Who created us;

HIS Holy SON+ JESUS CHRIST, Who+ saves us'

And their Blessed HOLY SPIRIT, Who+ sanctifies us.

Amen.