Daily Devotional - May 12, 2021

💚 Worship: If you'd like to play a song before you begin or while you read, may we recommend "Clean" by Natalie Grant. Why not try asking alexa, siri, or google to play it for you?! 

💜 Daily Verse: So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.
☆ Mark 11:11 NLT

🧡 Let's Talk About It: I don't know about you, but I've missed the significance of this verse on more than one occasion. 

Just four verses after this one, we see Jesus cleansing the temple (v. 15-18). Jesus didn't do it the first time He stepped on to the scene. No, before He corrected, He had to see what was in need of correcting.

He may have also sought the will of the Father. Perhaps a righteous anger welled up within Him upon seeing the temple of God being used as a place of business. Perhaps it saddened Him deeply.

God, The Living God, was being treated as though He were just any other pagan God by His people. His place of worship has been turned into a place of business. Instead of bringing an offering, people were selling offerings.

Today, we as believers are the temple of God. It is in us that God's Holy Spirit dwells. Therefore, it is important to live a Holy life. This cannot be done on our own accord. It is only through submission to God that we learn to walk in His ways, and are provided the means by which to do so.

What we put in our body matters. What we put on our body matters. How we view ourselves matters. How we carry ourselves matters. Whether we move enough matters. How much we sleep/rest matters.

It all matters to God. He wants what is best for us, but He can't force us to do His will. We have to be willing to walk it out. So, friend, what's one area you could begin to work on in order to cleanse your temple? We all have our shortcomings. Ask Jesus what you need to work on, and allow Him to show and help you.

💙 Prayer: Dear God, I am thankful that no matter what happens, I have You to lean on. Jesus, You are all I need. Thank You for helping me realize this, and thank You for showing me how I can be a better steward of myself (Your temple). You are a good God and I am eternally grateful for Your unending mercy and grace. Thank You for never leaving me nor forsaking me. I love You Jesus. Help me to be the best version of me that I can be. I want to shine Your light, Lord, so may Your will be done. In Jesus mighty name I pray, amen.