Monday of Holy Week

Yesterday, most Christians probably celebrated Palm Sunday in their worship services. Palm Sunday is usually a day of great celebration. Children sometimes get to march into the worship service waving palms, and you probably sing songs that include the word Hosanna.

Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with His disciples. By Friday, Jesus would be dying a criminal's death on a cross, bearing all of our sin. This week between Palm Sunday and Easter is important for Christians, because without Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, we would have no hope—of glory, of relationship with the Father, of living life to its fullest.

So take some time each day this week to read about the events of Jesus' week in Jerusalem. Read Matthew 21:12-13 today. One of Jesus' first acts after His arrival in Jerusalem was to go to the temple and banish all the things that cheapened the worship. He overturned tables, drove out buyers and sellers, and displayed a righteous anger. God had called His people to be pure and holy, and they weren't. Their sin was greater than the sacrifices they brought (or bought). By the end of the week, Jesus would lay down His own life as the sacrifice, ending the need for the Jewish sacrificial system.

Think about your life today. What do you need to let God clean out of your life? What things need to be overturned and removed? What sins are you holding on to? How has your worship become less than pure? How are you trying to earn God's approval rather than accept His grace?

Other Scripture: Read the other Gospel accounts about Jesus cleansing the temple in Mark 11:15-16 and Luke 19:45.

Take a listen:"Jealous Kind” by Jars of Clay from the album Who We Are Instead. How does it make you feel to realize that God pursues you with a love of a jealous kind?