What we can learn from a wee little man . . .

Now before I end up with every vertically challenged person in the Blog-o-sphere mad at me – this post is about Zacchaeus. I taught this story this past Sunday evening in LIFE Group. Funny thing about it – this may be the first time I have ever taught this story. As I studied I ran across some really great lessons that I thought that I would pass along.

Who was Zacchaeus?

He is called the chief tax collector. This would have set him up as both a thief and a traitor to his own people. Not exactly the person that you would probably seek out as someone to have supper with.

He is referred to as a son of Abraham. Even though he was a Jew – one of God’s chosen people – heritage and genealogy made no difference. He was still separate from a relationship with God until Jesus changed his life.

Being a little undignified is ok if it leads to a meeting with Jesus. Zacchaeus ran and climbed a tree – something very undignified for a grown man of his place in society.

Although Zacchaeus was seeking a look at Jesus – he was the one that was found. He was the host who became the guest. The party was to be at Zacchaeus’ house but it was Jesus that invited Zacchaeus to join Him. Jesus not only met Zacchaeus but He changed him forever. Zacchaeus demonstrated a change within through an outward action.

Zacchaeus’ name means “righteous one”. He may not have been living up to what his name meant in the beginning, but in the end he is right on the mark.

A lot of great lessons for ten verses about a man that most people did not want around them. Maybe these are the people that we should seek out in our society. These are the ones that Jesus says that He came to seek and to save. Until next time – end your eyes on Jesus and let’s climb a tree.

Desperately seeking silence . . .

Cool title – huh? Ok, so it’s not original. I kind of did a knock off from something I heard once. This post started out named seeking quiet – but I opted for something a little cooler. I am sitting here in my dining room on Saturday morning working on a post that I started Tuesday of this past week. Does that give you any idea how this week has gone?

For those of you that read my Blog semi-regularly – the problem that I had not being able to focus, a couple of weeks ago seem to have worked itself out. Now at times I feel almost hyper-focused – thus the problem with getting my posts done in some semblance of timely fashion. Anyway – back to today’s post. Silence, quiet, being still, stop the world and let me off – anyway you want to look at it – it means clearing away all of the noise so that you can listen instead of just hear.

For quite a few days now, when I wake up, I bask in the quiet of my house. Maybe you don’t feel this way, but when I come home at night I feel like I have so much in my head that needs attention and it is just plain loud. For those of you that have experienced this phenomenon, thank you for understanding. Anyway, when I wake up – all I can hear is quiet and I just want to stay there. Over the last couple of weeks – I have turned off talk radio (what I listen to when I am driving) because it just seemed like so much noise. There have been several nights when the TV was never turned on for more than 20 minutes at our house. A lot of the time I would read some and just listen to the quiet. What I have come to the conclusion about is that I have been listening to God as I worked through want I have been reading. It is a wonderful thing when you can hear His voice and know that He is loveing on you. That is the same feeling I was getting in the mornings – when before there was any noise, I was spending time with my Lord. Just maybe that is what it means to be still and know that He is God (is in charge, is leading the way, is supplying all our needs, loves us, knows everything, sees everything, etc.)

Enough for now – the noise has begun and the quiet is fading. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and find you a quiet spot to just listen to the silence.

The quote . . .

"If you ever become what you became when Jesus saved you;
Then, you must believe that you became what you should become."

The above quote was given to me by the guy who is disciplining me. Since then I have given it to several other people and asked them to chew on it and let me know what they think. It takes a little while of thinking about what it is actually saying for it’s meaning to begin to sink in. The scripture reference that I was given helps in applying this statement. I’ll give you the scripture tomorrow, for now just chew on the quote.

I will give you this much of a clue – it does have something to do with living a grace life. That’s where I want to rest for a minute. Do any of us really understand the grace of God? Do we understand what it means to live under and through that grace? Do we even understand what grace is? Grace is a gift from God that we don’t deserve and we could never work long enough or hard enough to earn. Grace is the love of God that comes to us while we are still un-lovable. Grace is the substance that restores a broken relationship with our heavenly Father. Grace is that which makes us righteous (in right standing) so that we can approach God without fear of rejection. Grace is that person that allows us to live an abundant life. I believe that grace can be a substance or a thing, but it is also a person – Jesus – the pure embodiment of grace.

That’s enough for now. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and chew on that quote – it can change the way you look at life.

I’m Back – I think . . .

Have you ever had one of Monday’s where it just seemed that none of your thoughts would connect into any thing that made sense? That is exactly where I am this morning. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to the blogging world. Work has been crazy and I have not had a spare minute that I could focus on this. I really hate it when I don’t get to post over a length of time. I feel like I am letting myself down as well as those who may take the time to read this blog.

Let me take a minute and tell you where I am in my walk with Christ and where I want to go with posts this week. I have been convicted about my own discipleship ever since our trip to Idaho. Everything they do at Real Life Ministries is about intentional discipleship. While I was there I realized that as much as I enjoy disciplining others – I need someone who is disciplining me. I have asked Rev. Tim Lee to be that person and he has agreed. Tim was the last Pastor I worked with at Reedy River Baptist Church several years ago. We had a great relationship then and I look forward to where our relationship will go in the future.

Tim is challenging me about my thinking on grace. That is also what I taught on last night in our L.I.F.E. Group meeting at mine and Irene’s home. What I have come to realize – is that I really don’t understand as much about grace as I think I do. Oh, sure, I understand the basics of salvation by grace, but I don’t believe that I have fully embraced the concept of a grace life. I question sometimes if I am a grace abuser, now I wonder if sometimes I am a grace blocker also.

All of those last thoughts and a few more are things that I want to deal with for a while, so hang on to your hat. The topic is grace and it begins tomorrow. Until then – keep your eyes on Jesus and remember – grace is more than what you say over your meal – it is truly a way of life.