Today’s Reading: Esther 9; Esther 10; Luke 19
Scripture: Luke 19:1-9
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
Observation: Zacchaeus was one unpopular person. His fellow Jews regarded him as a traitor and collaborator with the Romans as he had accepted the job to collect taxes for them. (The tax collectors were also notoriously corrupt with bribery and extortion very common.) People hated Zacchaeus. They had written him off. There was nothing good about him and there never could be. But Jesus looked at Zacchaeus and thought differently. He reached out to him and Zacchaeus responded. The people were actually mad at Jesus and began to complain. But Zacchaeus heard and responded with true signs of a changed life. He put his money where his mouth was.
Application: While we might be tempted to look at certain people and write them off as unredeemable, Jesus never does. He sees into the heart and knows that even people with a checkered history have a need for a touch from God. We need to gain this understanding from God and to look at everyone through His eyes. Stop looking only on the outward stuff, and ask God to show you the person's heart. Offer love to people and see who opens up to God.
Prayer: Lord, thank You that You never give up on people. Thank You for not passing Zacchaeus by when everyone thought You should. And thank You for not passing me by. Help me to see people through Your eyes and to reach out to them with Your grace and compassion that many will be saved.
This I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture: Luke 19:1-9
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
Observation: Zacchaeus was one unpopular person. His fellow Jews regarded him as a traitor and collaborator with the Romans as he had accepted the job to collect taxes for them. (The tax collectors were also notoriously corrupt with bribery and extortion very common.) People hated Zacchaeus. They had written him off. There was nothing good about him and there never could be. But Jesus looked at Zacchaeus and thought differently. He reached out to him and Zacchaeus responded. The people were actually mad at Jesus and began to complain. But Zacchaeus heard and responded with true signs of a changed life. He put his money where his mouth was.
Application: While we might be tempted to look at certain people and write them off as unredeemable, Jesus never does. He sees into the heart and knows that even people with a checkered history have a need for a touch from God. We need to gain this understanding from God and to look at everyone through His eyes. Stop looking only on the outward stuff, and ask God to show you the person's heart. Offer love to people and see who opens up to God.
Prayer: Lord, thank You that You never give up on people. Thank You for not passing Zacchaeus by when everyone thought You should. And thank You for not passing me by. Help me to see people through Your eyes and to reach out to them with Your grace and compassion that many will be saved.
This I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
1 comment:
Redeemer is one of my favorite titles for Jesus. If we truly understand all the emplications of that word then we understand that when He redeems us, nothing in our lives is wasted. He uses it all; the good, the bad and the ugly things in our lives are turned to a good purpose for us. It's the ONLY way that the bad and painful experiences and mistakes can be made into something useful and for our good. Without God redeeming our lives, those tings simply harm or destroy us. Redeemer--- Thank God He is that!
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