“I am consumed with a fiery passion to keep your house pure!”
John 2:17 (TPT)
There’s a story in the Bible that shows a side of Jesus I always thought was pretty radical and extreme. Jesus got really furious, raged against merchants in the temple, and fiercely drove everyone out!
As [Jesus] went into the temple courtyard, he noticed it was filled with merchants selling oxen, lambs, and doves for exorbitant prices, while others were overcharging as they exchanged currency behind their counters. So Jesus found some rope and made it into a whip. Then he drove out every one of them and their animals from the courtyard of the temple, and he kicked over their tables filled with money, scattering it everywhere! And he shouted at the merchants, “Get these things out of here! Don’t you dare make my Father’s house into a center for merchandise!” That’s when his disciples remembered the Scripture: “I am consumed with a fiery passion to keep your house pure!” (John 2:14-17 TPT)
In this season of the “Stay-At-Home Order” due to COVID-19, I began to understand and appreciate the fiery passion of Jesus in this passage. Government authorities all over the globe have taken extreme measures to make sure we clean up, wipe down, sanitize, sterilize, disinfect, disengage, wear masks, and keep our distance! All to stop the spread of COVID-19 contamination. Jesus exercised His authority and took extreme measures to exterminate dishonor that had spread to defile and contaminate His sacred place of worship and prayer! He was consumed with passion to keep His temple pure and restore its original, holy purpose. Basically, Jesus had to clean house!
As Christians, we are the temple of God, and He wants to keep His temple pure and holy (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The night I came home from work before the Stay-At-Home Order went into effect, my husband greeted me outside and cheerfully said, “Yay! Now we have more time to clean the house!” Actually, I had the same idea! But before I could reply, I heard God say, “Take care of your house first!” I knew what He meant. So, I looked at my husband, pointed to my heart and said, “Ok, but we can’t do anything until I take care of this house first.” So, I began a new adventure of “house-cleaning” – in the house called my heart!
In the midst of this Stay-Home “isolation,” I knew I needed to make the most of my time. God wanted to take me through a process of: Incubation, Saturation, Penetration, Excavation, Consecration, Rededication and Recalibration…that would bring a Transformation! Whew! His love for me and His fiery passion to keep me pure has exposed heart viruses that were infecting and contaminating my marriage, my family, my ministry, my finances, etc., etc. Viruses like stubbornness (ouch), wanting to be right (even if I am, but with the wrong attitude),
impatience with my husband (sorry, Hunny), bucking heads with my “mini-me” daughter (why is that?), over-eating, under-exercising, clutter…and the list goes on, Help Me Jesus! Seriously, He is again Cleaning House! And I am grateful!
In this season of global quarantine, let’s allow Jesus to go through our homes to do extreme House Cleaning! He’s the best sanitizer and sanctifier for our homes, our hearts and our lives!
We don’t want any trace of contamination that dishonors Him or His temple and disqualifies us!
I’m thankful Jesus has the antidote. He is the Antidote! Treatments are daily, prolonged, ongoing surrender in the Secret Place. Then, we daily continue walking out our recovery, redemption and freedom – by fearless faith! Let’s make the most of our time in this “Stay-At-Home” season, so when we come out, we are not the same! He has taken out my stubborn heart and given me a new, tender, responsive heart (Ezekiel 36:26).By God’s grace and to His glory, He helps us to be who He called us to be, so we can do what He called us to do! Virus-free! (Lani Simmons)
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“It’s time to Clean House! In the Secret Place I am purified! In the Secret Place I am transformed! God has taken out my stubborn heart and given me a new, tender, responsive heart! I have a heart that’s healed, fearless and virus-free!”
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.
