Luke 19:1-10

It’s Personal

Do you remember the song about Zacchaeus? The one that begins this way:

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“There was a man in Jericho call Zacchaeus. There was a man in Jericho called Zacchaeus. Now the Hebrews, they were tall, but Zacchaeus, he was small, and the Lord loved Zacchaeus better than them all!”

I don’t know that Jesus loved Zacchaeus MORE than others, but He did make the time to seek Zacchaeus out, sit at his table and through his words and presence brought the tax collector out of death and into life.

Jesus was most at home in the midst of the lowly. He knew they needed Him. He often took aside those shunned by the majority and made example of them.

Every person matters to God. Our relationship with Him is personal. Many of us are searching but do not know what we are looking for, like Zacchaeus. We long for answers, hope and life but often look in all the wrong places. Jesus was the light that guided Zacchaeus out of his darkness. Perhaps a gloom he did not even realize.

As people of God we still fail and begin again. We put our hope in things that do not matter eternally, forgetting that the will of God is what matters.  His will, in His time.

As we journey through this earthly existence, God asks us to seek those who are searching for life in places that can’t give life. May we, like Jesus open our hearts to taking the hand of another and sharing the hope that is within us. Who is your Zacchaeus?

And the ending is...

John 15:11 (NIV) "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." 

This one-liner from Scripture is like the "amen," of every story I read.  No matter what lesson I am learning, nor which story I am reading from the Holy Book, it could be ended with, "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." These words are like final the punctuation marks to every point made.

Every morning when I spend time with God, seeking answers, comfort, direction or simply quiet peace; the words "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete," the words I truly long to hear.  Regardless if my troubles are many and I feel I am drowning, the Words read in the Bible are meant to give joy - that is the reason I turn to scripture.

Joy is so much more than happiness.  Happiness depends on outside sources and is often dependent upon temporary things.  Joy is found inside, deep inside my heart.  I could be crying and struggling with a situation I that has been thrust upon me, but I can still have joy.

What are the words God is sharing with you this day?  Which story in Scripture mirrors your current struggle or hardship?  Before you close the cover, end the lesson with these Words of Jesus and see if it doesn't make a bit more sense.  "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." 

John 15:1-11

There Are No Bad Questions Matthew 11:2-19

I remember the first time I met someone who didn’t believe in God. I was about eleven years old and on summer vacation with my family. I was talking with a couple other vacationing kids about God, when a local boy told me he didn’t believe in God. I remember feeling shocked and saddened that someone actually had no faith in God.

I also remember my own questions after encountering the young atheist. I asked myself why I believed so easily and wondered what if God didn’t exist. My questions didn’t scare me, but they needed answers.

This reminds me of our passage today. John the Baptist is in prison and has sent some of his disciples to make sure that Jesus is The Christ. If John simply asked the questions to himself while sitting alone in a jail cell, he could have been left feeling very alone and afraid. Instead he put action to his questions, and in turn he got answers.

When asked with the heart to find answers, questions can actually make our faith stronger. They only weaken our faith when left hanging. I remember asking my pastor some of the questions I had that summer. He didn’t laugh at me, thinking me young or naïve. He sat with me, opened the Bible and prayed with me. We sought the answers together.

Just as Jesus reassured John though the message he sent back with his disciple, Jesus reassures those who seek answers today through his word, the Holy Spirit and other believers. Do you have faith questions? Go ahead ask.

Read today's passage at Biblegateway Matthew 11:2-19