Praise the Lord for this day. Praise the Lord for all the days the Lord gives
us on earth to love Him and to serve Him. Every day is a gift full of His
blessings. Best of all He is with us. He goes before us. He goes before as
the pillar of fire and and also He goes before as the pillar of clouds. He is
our daily manna. The Lord reminds not freak out, for He is with is and His
grace is sufficient for every step of the way. The moving vans are coming.
They will moving some of the major furniture. All our daughters and their
families are planning to be here for the weekend. Please pray for them for safe
travels. We are expecting to see you all for the gathering this Saturday at
5:00 PM. Our friends and family are gearing up in preparation for the food and
fellowship. We praise the Lord for every one who is involved in cooking, in
preparing and in making all the arrangements. The menu will include BBB
chicken, South Carolina pulled pork, coleslaw, Indian Curries , two different
Beef Entrees. Lots of desserts, and an ice cream bar.. Lots of vegetables.. We
are blessed and loved. We will meet for our last Wednesday evening gathering
with a very special meal at 6:00 PM followed by Bible Study from the letter of
Paul to the Philippians. The day is going to be sunny and stunning.
I
am planning to continue to post my daily blog. There will be long interruption
because of the move. Once we get all settled in I will resume my daily blog.
Thank you all who have written from around the corner and around the globe
extending your love and grace. We receive your love and kindness with gratitude
and joy. Please continue to pray for us that we might be able to serve Jesus
greater determination and zeal and to finish the race well. The Lord has
blessed us through all of you with so much love and generosity over these years.
We thank you and we thank the Lord from all good and perfect gifts. Praise the
Lord for His generosity. Praise the Lord for His transforming power still at
work in the world. In the midst of the darkness and human delusion the light of
Jesus shines. The grace of Jesus falls afresh every day. The love of the which
has no end surrounds us and beckons us eternally. In all these things we are
more than conquerors in through Him who loved us and who still loves
us.
I
love the amazing and spectacular encounter that took place between Jesus our
Lord and the chief tax collector of Jericho, the oldest city on earth. Jesus
invited Himself to Zacchaeus's house. There are times we have to Invite Jesus
into our hearts and into our homes. There are times Jesus invites Himself and
just shows up. He does not need our permission. He has prior claim on our
lives. Do not be surprised if someday Jesus shows up at your doorstep to take
over, and your life will be transformed for the better
forever.
Jesus
invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ home, and the two went to his house in Jericho,
although we don’t hear one
single word of what Jesus said to Zacchaeus while in the house
together. In a few moments, Zacchaeus
was going to come out of that house a changed man, and we
don’t know what Jesus said to him.
Zaccheus came out of the front door by himself and addressed
the large crowd who finally quiet down.
He said, “I apologize to you folks. I have been cheating you for years
now at the tollbooth. You know it and so
do I. I have taken advantage of my
position. I’ve gotten richer at your
expense. I apologize. To make it right, I will pay back each one of
you from whom I have stolen. I will
repay you back four times the amount I cheated you. Yes, each and every one of you. Also, I am giving half of my goods to the
poor of our city.”
About
that time, Jesus walked out, put his arm around Zacchaeus, and quieted the
crowds. “Today, salvation has come to
Zacchaeus’s house. He has become a true
son of Abraham. I have come to seek and
save the lost. Zacchaeus has been
found.”
Thus
ends one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible, about a short little man
who climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, a story about a man who was
transformed from greedy to generous, from selfish to selfless, from a thieving
heart to a thanksgiving heart.
Jesus
loved Zacchaeus, the biggest sinner in town. Jesus loved him, and in that love,
Zacchaeus was transformed. Zacchaeus was changed, from being greedy to
generous, from selfish to selfless, from a thieving heart to thankful
heart. Short little Zacchaeus wanted to see
Jesus of Nazareth, the religious superstar, but all those people were in his
way. Cleverly, Zacchaeus looked down the Jericho road and climbed a sycamore
tree where he waited, and sure enough, here came Jesus. There
Jesus said: “Zacchaeus...you come
down...for I am coming to your ... heart ... today.” Amen.
In Christ,
Brown
https://youtu.be/PANiveIKVX0
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