“Happy are those whose hearts are pure, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 [The Living Bible]

What does it mean to keep our hearts pure? I don’t know anyone who has seen God, so what does it mean;” they shall see God?”

To keep your heart pure means to keep it free from sin. It means, don’t sin. Even when we try hard to do what is right sometimes we still sin. Then we can go to God and ask Him to forgive us because Jesus died for our sins.

You’re probably thinking, “But how can I see God?”

If you have asked God to forgive all of your sins because Jesus died for your sins, you are now God’s child. And when you die you will go to heaven and be with Jesus; you will be with God. You will see Him then.

I think “they shall see God” also means you will understand the Bible. The Bible is God’s letter to you. When you read the Bible you will understand what God is telling you so you can obey Him and be free from sin, like He is.

Yesterday was Palm Sunday. We remembered how Jesus came like a king into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey’s colt. The people wanted to make Him king. They waved palm branches, singing:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Matthew 21:9
Hosanna means ‘save now’ but the people were saying it to praise Jesus.

Jesus knew He would be dying on the cross by the end of the week. There were still some jobs He needed to do for God, His Father in heaven. One of them was to clean the temple. The temple was the church they worshipped in. He wasn’t going to be the janitor and clean it. He went to clean it from sin; to make it pure.

So after his triumphant kingly entry into Jerusalem Jesus went into the temple. But this time He didn’t go there to worship. This time he drove out all the merchants who sold doves.

In Old Testament Bible times, before Jesus died for us, the people had to bring doves and other animals for an offering to God. So some merchants [store keepers] had set up tables in the temple and made people buy their doves only for offerings. They charged top prices so they made money on the sale, that they kept for themselves.

There were even money changers in the temple. They made the people exchange their money for money with pagan [which means ungodly] symbols on them. This was the only money they could then use to buy the doves and the other animals that they needed for their offerings.

Jesus said this was wrong. This was sin. He said the temple was to be used to worship God, not as a store; especially not a cheating store. He chased out all the storekeepers and even overturned the tables of the money changers.

He told them that the temple should be a place to pray, to worship, but they had made it a den of thieves. Then the blind and the lame people came to Jesus and He healed them there.

The Bible says that our bodies are the temple of God. That’s because when we become God’s child, the Holy Spirit lives in us. Just like God wanted the people then to keep the temple clean from sin, He wants us to keep ourselves free from sin.

But how can we do that? The Bible says,” For as he thinks in his heart, so he is.” Proverbs 23: 7[NKJV] We become what we think.

So we can keep ourselves free from sin by thinking about good things; by thinking thoughts that please God.

”Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8 and 9 [The Living Bible]

Memory Verse for this week:
“Happy are those whose hearts are pure, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 [The Living Bible]

Going deeper as parents:

Do you find it shocking that the meek and mild Jesus came into the temple and drove out the merchants and money changers? This is not how we usually picture Jesus, is it? The people had not seen this part of Jesus before.

But Jesus saw that the temple was being misused. It was to be a place where God’s people could be free to come and worship God as He instructed. The money changers and merchants had hijacked the way of worship. They made the people buy only their doves and use only their money. Besides that they were charging the people a premium for this service so they could make money on it for themselves. No wonder Jesus was passionate about cleaning the temple.

Jesus does not want us to get distracted in our worship. What are we adding that causes a burden in worship? We need to stay true to the gospel message. We have the message that can change the world: God’s love.

Ruth Willms

Author: The Lion Tree
http://ruthwillms.com
ruth.willms@gmail.com

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at http://ruthwillms.com

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