They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” - Mark 11:27-28

Jesus, when you cleansed the temple on that holy Monday so many years ago, the leaders of visible Israel were enraged. You had upset their little kingdom that they thought was dedicated to your Father but blindly it had been a religious world that had themselves at the center. You knocked them off the throne and they hated it. We always at first hate it when you do that to us. You come into our circumstances and change everything and it makes us cry out for answers. "What gives you authority to run my life instead of me?" Oh, Jesus, I want my life to be a temple dedicated to you and not my own plans and dreams. I know by what authority you have come and changed things for me - it is by the authority of your love. Your love for me drives you to knock me off my feet so you can pick me up and carry me. Lord Jesus, carry me through all of my present struggles and cleanse my temple anytime it needs it. AMEN

"God knocks us down from our self-sufficiency so he can pick us up and carry us."