Take a stand to ensure the house of the Lord remains The House of Prayer...nothing else.

 Mark 11:17

He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

Jesus said this upon reaching the temple and He saw people buying and selling. This made Him upset as people now were focus on stuff to buy and how much they are making, instead of focusing on what they are there for. We know the temple to be a place of praise and worship to God, to honour Him and show gratitude for all He has done and continues to do in our lives. It is indeed a place of prayer, to connect with Him. 

This is what made our Lord upset and yes it should upset us too. Should we find ourselves in the house of the Lord and anything other than what's been alluded to above, take place and getting the attention and glory, we should take a stand and bring an end to it. God has entrusted His power and authority to us, to use it wisely and for the advancement of His kingdom, hence, should churches be used for money-making scheme, we should rise up and do something. Remember the verse shared last week about knowing what is good and you don't do it, which is called a sin (James 4:17)? This would be it as well. We may not know how to approach it, which will be a good idea to take it to the Lord for wisdom and intervention.

This reminds me of when I'm teaching a class at Kids Ministry and some kids causes a disruption, I stop and ask them to remind me why we came to church. This always brings back perspective for everyone on why we are there. Should anyone be stealing that chance of learning and connecting with God because of others, we must address it, because it is precisely "stealing from others", which the verse above refers to. Don't let anything or anyone steal your opportunity of hearing from the Lord!