Today's Devotional

November 1, 2002

Subject:  When Jesus Drops By 

Luke 19:7-9 - "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. "

When Jesus drops by, lives are changed.  The blind can then see and the lame can then walk.  The sick are made whole and the poor are made rich.  When Jesus drops by, cold, ruthless hearts become warm sanctuaries of peace and tranquility.  When Jesus drops by, people see their uncleanness.  More than anything, when Jesus drops by, He brings salvation.

You know how it is when that long-time friend from college or high school calls after about 10 years and they say they happened to have been in town and wanted to stop by for a visit.  You immediately scramble to get the place cleaned up.  Well this is what Zacchaeus did in a spiritual sense.  A Jewish tax collector assigned by the Romans was, of course, not well-liked by the Jewish people.  So our man Zach definitely had some moral baggage.  He could raise the taxes just because he wanted to.  Therefore, tax collectors were known in that culture as pretty immoral people; kind of like our lawyers of today.  So it was no small thing when the "miracle worker" thought he'd invite himself to dinner.  However, the resulting discourse out of the lips of the sinner shows exactly what happens in our lives when Jesus drops by.

Guess who's coming to dinner?  Better get your house in order.

Carlen