March 4
Scripture of the day: "The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, 'Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business.'" John 2:13-16
Thought of the day: Jesus is often portrayed in the movies as slight of build ... more southern European than Middle Eastern ... and docile edging up on effeminate. As portrayed, He has clean hair ... spotless, unwrinkled clothing ... and a handsome, unweathered face. Time out! I don't think so! He was a Jew. He was constantly traveling, preaching, and teaching outdoors. He had "nowhere to lay His head" Luke 9:58. And He had "no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him."
Isaiah 53:2.
Challenge of the day: What does your Jesus look like? Would He make a whip ... drive people out of the Temple ... pour out money trays ... and overturn tables? The Jesus of John 2 did. He disapproved of the secularization of His Father's house ... therefore, He cleansed it. The measure of a man is in what makes him angry. Do you share His righteous anger? "Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity." Ephesians 4:26-27.
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