Saturday December 10th
Jesus said unto them that sold doves: 'Take these things hence; make not My Father's house a house of merchandise'
John 2:16

Buying and selling has its right and proper place in the affairs of men, for it is necessary for the children of men to sell to eat and eat to live. And in the buying and the selling Our life is present where integrity, fairness, and generosity prevail. But in the life of men and women these things are put aside for the deeper things in life; the joys and demands of family life, the enjoyment of leisure pursuits, the development of friendship : in all these things trading and business have no part.

How much more free from such pursuits, honourable in their rightful place, should be the meeting of the children of men with their Heavenly Father! To confuse buying and selling with the worship of the Father confounds the mind and corrupts the soul. And that is why I acted with such forcefulness in the Temple where I found buying and selling with all its accompanying situations.

Those who seek to worship their Heavenly Father must present themselves with a loving heart, a committed mind and will. That is all that is necessary, but it is the totality of the whole person. And The Heavenly Father will bestow more than could ever be imagined upon that child who lives and works and loves in faithfulness.