Friday, July 20, 2012

2012 July 21 - Morning Manna

"And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:1-10).
Today's Morsel: I have noticed that many people want to see Jesus, but because of what they do (career of employment), they feel that they will never be accepted by Him. Zacchaeus no doubt had heard about Jesus, but had made no advancement as far as we know to go to Him. He was not like Nicodemus who went to Jesus by night (John 3:1-5). Maybe Zacchaeus was a co-laborer with Matthew, since Matthew was a tax collector, too. Maybe Matthew had shared something about Jesus with Zacchaeus. When I became a born again Christian, many of the people that I worked with began to ask me questions about my new found relationship with Jesus. Many of them seemed somewhat puzzled because they knew my old lifestyle. But as times past, many of them, like Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus for themselves. They didn't get into a tree, but they started to show up at church and like Zacchaeus they begin to repent of their sins and they too became sons of Abraham. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:26-29). Man can only see his sins when light is present. So let Jesus shine through you and sinners will repent.
Sing: Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see; and as the Savior passed that way, He looked up in the tree, and He said, "Zacchaeus , come on down, for I'm going to your house today."

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