Monday
📖 Matt. 21:18–19,12–13; Mark 11:12–17; Luke 19:45–46
That morning, Jesus was hungry and approached a fig tree full of leaves. But when He got closer, He found no fruit. Then He cursed the tree. This wasn’t just an act of hunger—it was a powerful sign: a life that looks flourishing on the outside, but is empty within. God is not looking for appearances, but for fruit. He calls for true repentance, not just outward spiritual activity. This is a sharp warning for anyone more focused on managing their image than cultivating faithful obedience before God.
After that, Jesus entered the temple. The house of prayer had become a center of transactions. He overturned the tables and drove out the merchants. His anger wasn’t a moment of impulse, but a response born of love for the holiness of God’s house. God does not stay silent when worship is polluted by greed, hypocrisy, or religious systems more concerned with profit than with souls. The temple is not a marketplace—it is the meeting place between the Holy God and His weak people.
Today we are invited to examine ourselves: Are we bearing fruit that truly pleases God? Or are we busy arranging leaves of appearance with no root of obedience? Is the Lord’s house—both in our personal lives and in the gathered church—still a place of true prayer and worship? Let Jesus cleanse our lives—not with destructive wrath, but with His love that refuses to leave us in impurity, and leads us back to holiness and true worship.