Prayer Call: Flipping Tables & Bearing Fruit

Good Morning, BFB!

This is a day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Today’s scripture focus: “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered. Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.” - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭21‬:‭12‬, ‭19‬, ‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

t's Holy Week, Passover has been celebrated, Palm Sunday has concluded and it is now Monday. There are some events that take place as Jesus is on His way to the cross. What is happening on this Monday? Why is Jesus flipping tables, cursing trees, and speaking about faith? What is Jesus showing us about spiritual lives today? This Monday, we are reminded:

We need to make room for what matters. We need to clean house. Jesus was being reckless, Jesus was being righteous. The temple that was there was meant to be a house of prayer but it had been turned into a marketplace. The space had been designed to have communion and relationship with God. A place for God to dwell and meet the people, but it had been turned into a place for people's personal gain. This is the physical temple, but I argue that sometimes this is how we treat our own spiritual lives. What things does God need to turn over in our lives? What needs to be cleaned from our spiritual lives? We sometimes allow obstacles and distractions to block out our relationship with God. Before God can dwell within us fully, He has to drive some other things out. As we focus on this Monday, what do we need cleaned out in our lives to make true room for God to dwell within us?

We need to focus on fruit over form. God is looking for substance, He's not looking just for show. The fig tree looked great from the outside but it had no fruit. It was all appearance and no substance. This is a reminder for us, that it's possible to look alive spiritually but still be barren. It's possible to do all the "right" things but still not bear fruit. Religious activity does not equal spiritual vitality. You can give surface level service, show up every Sunday, but if you are not bearing fruit - love, justice, faith, obedience - it's simply for show. Let's take inventory, is our life producing real fruit or are we just presenting the appearance of fruit?
 
We have to speak in faith. Authority flows from a rooted life. A life rooted in Jesus. After Jesus has cleansed the temple, cursed the tree, and now He speaks to His disciples about faith. Not performative faith but true, powerful faith. Faith that can move mountains and change situations. That kind of authority doesn't come from a shallow relationship with God, it comes from being rooted in God's truth. Rooted in God's Word. Rooted in a relationship with Him. When we center ourselves on God and align ourselves with Him, with God's will our words carry weight. Our prayers our effective. With pure hearts and persistent faith, even what seems impossible are things that can become possible. Are we believing God for big things, or settling for what's comfortable for us? Pray that God will increase our faith, that when we speak we realize that we speak with the authority of the One that went to the cross for us - the One who gives us the authority. Nothing is impossible with God.

As we reflect on Holy week, this Monday invites us to take inventory. Jesus cleansed the temple and cursed the fig tree not out of anger, but out of love. I argue that He's doing the same thing for us each day. He's calling us to clean up, bear fruit, and speak in faith. Let this Monday, be a spiritual reset. Don't settle for leaves when God wants fruit. Don't speak in fear when God has given you the authority. As we go about our lives today, let's clean the clutter, cultivate the fruit, and confess with faith so others can see the God's Glory in our lives.


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