April 14                                                                 Mark 11:12-25

Beware the temple that yields no fruit...

So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (verse 24)

The journey to the temple was obligatory for all Jewish families. There would be sacrifices to atone for sins committed in the past year. It was an atmosphere of exchange. "And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying," Jesus demonstrated his shock that a house of prayer would become a marketplace. The noise and traffic drowning out all reverence and peace. Drowning out prayer. The spiritual battleground seeks a solace for the spirit unmitigated by the needy claws of markets and empire. Jesus continuously walked this line and found only anger when even a simple fig tree had no fruit to slake simple hunger.

We read in the passage that Jesus taught his disciples, "Truly I tell you,...if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe...it will be done for you." We cannot escape the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day needs, but here in this passage, the Lord brings us in to the temple and reminds us that faith is central-it is the house of our life. Remember the Lord.

Ponder and pray today: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:11)