April 14, 2025 (Nisan 16, 5785)
Grace CANNOT Be Bought!!!
The Monday after His TRiUMPhant entry and before His Passion, Jesus, the King of the Eternal Kingdom came into Jerusalem and entered NOT into the court or palace (as an earthly king would) but instead entered the Temple. (See Matthew 21:12-16).
There, Jesus drove away the merchants who were buying and selling their goods, including sheep and oxen for the Passover slaughter. He also overturned the moneychangers’ tables where they were selling doves.
This is a picture of Law vs. Grace. The animals being sold were a type of Jesus, our True Passover Lamb and Spotless Sacrifice, whom the Father GAVE. The dove represents Holy Spirit poured out for you and me through our Savior’s suffering at the cross.
Hear this: You CANNOT buy Grace. You CANNOT purchase your Salvation. You CANNOT perform for blessings or earn “brownie points” with God.
Grace is a Person. His name is Yeshua which means Salvation. Oh, YOU were bought at a price alright. He purchased YOU and your freedom with His precious blood.
“knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
I Peter 1:18-19 NKJV
But His gift of Forgiveness and Abundant LIFE is just that, a gift! And there is nothing for you to DO except believe and receive it (Him) freely!
Just like with the Pharisees and religious ones, corruption in men’s hearts and in the church multiplies when dead works turn what should’ve been communion with the Father into a business.
Intimacy with God is our very purpose and lifeline. All He wants is a real relationship with us. Our Heavenly Daddy gave up His priceless Son for it.
Jesus said, “the thief, comes to steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). That’s why He declared His dwelling place was to be a “house of prayer not a hangout for thieves” (Matthew 21:13).
Beloved, as a believer, YOU are Jesus’s dwelling place and HE is yours! Prayer is nothing more than uninterrupted connection and communication with God. He gave you His righteousness as a gift to be in His presence forever. It’s all undeserved!
After Jesus purged the prideful and dispersed the ones who misrepresented Him, He brought in the blind and lame; those whose FAITH freely “took” His love and healing. Oh how He loves it when you “take” from Him as you are!
Today, the Lord is doing the same thing. He is “cleaning house” by exposing the fraud in the House of God, uprooting “celebrity Christianity,” returning the wealth of the wicked to the righteous and most importantly, rescuing the children who, like animals, have been sold and mutilated for gain. Woe to those unrepentant who have harmed the little ones. Their time is short.
Matthew Henry, a great Bible commentator of the 1700’s, wrote:
“Great corruptions and abuses come into the church by the practices of those whose gain is godliness, that is, who make worldly gain the end of their godliness, and counterfeit godliness their way to worldly gain (1 Tim. 6:5); from such withdraw thyself.”
Be blessed as you rest throughout this HIStoric Holy Week!
Resting In His Love,
Annalee Reyes
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Jesus has been pursuing you relentlessly all your life. If you’ve never received Jesus Christ as your forgiveness, your Lord and your Savior, you can pray this simple prayer from your heart and become born again, a brand new creation and child of Daddy God, your loving Father:
“Heavenly Father, Thank You for sending your Son for me. I believe He came to earth to be born in the flesh to die my death on the cross. I believe His blood washed my sins away and completely cleansed me. I believe He redeemed me from every curse by becoming my curse and was raised from the dead because I was declared justified and righteous. Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. I am now fully forgiven! I am a child of God, blessed, favored and incomprehensibly loved. In Jesus Name. Amen!”