Luke 19:1-10 ~ seeking to see who Jesus is

 

 

Luke 19:1-10

 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 

2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 

3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 

5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 

6 So he hurried and came down and received Him joyfully. 

7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 

8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 

9 And Jesus said to him, 

“Today salvation has come to this house, 

since he also is a son of Abraham.

 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jericho was the first place the Children of Israel stopped in Israel. Jericho is known to be lush and lovely. A difficult place for the desert dwellers to forgo and continue on to the fight they had avoided for 40 years.

And perhaps, Zaccheaus had been the same. Scriptures repeat many situations. Zaccheaus had been lush with profits and opportunities.  And yet had, within Zacchaeus, the desire to see what Jesus was doing and spy out His Grace.  Longing for liberation, to go with His Promises. To climb down from Jericho.  And to go Joyfully with Jesus.

 For the Son of Man came to seek 

and to save

 the lost.

Titus 3:5 

He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, 

but according to His mercy

Malachi 3:6

For I the LORD do not change; 

therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Hebrews 13:8 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 1:12

And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, 
and they shall be changed: 

but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

Psalm 90:2,4

Before the mountains were brought forth, 
or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, 

even from everlasting to everlasting, 

thou art God

Psalm 102:27,28

Thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end 

Abba, Father,

We come together to pray 

and ask You to be present, 

hear this prayer, please,

in Jesus Christ.

Dwell in me,

Dwell in us,

Dwell in those we Love,

Help us to seek You first.

And we will finish well, in Jesus Christ. 

Help us to find and bring

to become

 more Heaven

to this earth.

Your Plan, Your way,

Your Son is best.

Establish us on your path,

help keep us near You

and on the path.

Your Wonderful Plan.

You Include All in Your Plan.

Encourage us in Love

Encourage us with Your Joy.

Jesus, teach us to follow You

more closely in Your Word.

Correct us in Your Love

to remain with You.

Help us when the path isn't seen

Protect us to remain with You.

Your Love is

where I want to be.

Forgive me for my 

flaws, weakness and sin.

Because You are God of Love

and I need you in my life.

Help us with our needs

today

and You will help us tomorrow as well.

Bless Israel with peace,

Bless families with living, loving hearts,

Reawaken God being first.

Bless this Nation.

Bless the Nations who need You.

In Jesus,

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Lord Jesus our Salvation

Romans 8:26-30 ~ The Spirit Helps

Romans 8:26-30

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 

27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose

. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

We all get to a place where we need a decision. And when we are there, we can bet the Holy Spirit prays with us. I heard someone I admire for their Christian heart, she said, I don't know if I know the Holy Spirit. Of course she does.  When we know Jesus Christ, we know the Holy Spirit.  And really, we all get to a place where we need a decision. And someone to pray for us. But the event, the conversation, the tornado of finances or health - can move pretty quickly.  No time to call out for prayer from someone we love.

Jesus will pray for us. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

Catholics love to say pray and pay the light bill. Absolutely. Pray and do what we can do.

The Larger part is this:
What did the people who had seen Jesus say about, the willingness of God ~ Peter wrote, saying Jesus does not help us under compulsion. The Lord our God helps willingly. When we pray for ourselves and for others.

1 Peter 5:2

Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. 

Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly-

-not for what you will get out of it, 

but because you are eager to serve God.

1 John 3:1

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, 

that we should be called children of God!

 And that is what we are!

Jude 1:2

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

James 1:12

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial,

 because when he has stood the test, 

he will receive the crown of life 

that God has promised to those who love Him.

And the faith of being able to cast our cares upon HIM to sustain us -

New wine - being changed by Jesus, seeing our lives as a gift from God and for God, not just another salmon swimming upstream without hope and going through the daily work. Old wine - what is valued, mellowed, cherished. What is Jesus telling us? We cannot change, cannot save ourselves. We cannot do it ourselves. With God all things are possible. Every day, we take our old wine - the things we value, the things the world expects, old hurts, the things that concern us. And we put them before God - the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Then we see the blessings and we thank Him.

Blessed be God, who creates light out of darkness.

We are new creatures in Christ Jesus, not controlled by the old values, but placing ourselves in front of Father God as His children.

Isaiah 45:

I am the LORD, and there is no other;

apart from me there is no God.

I will strengthen you

Abba, Father,

Weep with those who weep because life has taught us to do that. 

Let us remember, in faith we can laugh at the time to come.

 Our future is Your hands. 

We hope to have Your face, Father God, to shine upon us.

 In Jesus Christ, 

let us put real hope 

in the revealing of His purpose for us. 

Rejoicing in all, 

life is given through Jesus Christ. 

Trusting again. 

We pray Amazon puts back Amazon Smile,

philanthropy is needed today and this program

was wonderful. 

Many will feel the clip if Amazon Smile doesn't

continue. Please Lord.

We are Blessed to seek You First. 

Blessed to be finding the High Way of Your Heaven today. 

Blessed to ask to see more Heaven upon earth. 

Blessed to have You as our Daily Bread. 

Blessed to ask to Live Love, Joy and Peace.

Blessed to pray in expectation of Your Love and Willingness. 

Blessed to say Thank You 

Romans 8:37

In all these things, we are more 

than conquerors through

Him who Loves us

We pray for a good,

healthy sale of my late mother's home.

Buyers who will love

her home.

In Jesus, we Live and ask this for those we Love. 

We pray for our own strength, 

Love and ask Jesus to cover this Nation, those who lead this Nation 

and all other nations in this good fight. 

Bless Israel, as You willingly do.

We ask Your Blessing upon our families

and the peace of the Nations.

The Light of mankind to shine with Jesus Christ

Jesus is the Lord, Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves † 

Thank You Lord Jesus 

Matthew 22:36-40 ~ Love the Lord your God

  

Luke 12:32

Fear not, little flock, 

for it is your Father's good pleasure 

to give you 

the Kingdom.

Matthew 22:36-40

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 

37 And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 

39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Luke 12:32 

 Fear not, little flock,

 for it is your Father's good pleasure

 to give you the kingdom.

When the majority thinks about death, they believe there is truth in the message of Heaven.  And believe when they pray, God hears them. Then they believe, yes, Jesus is the Son of God.

Some blur the lines there, but mostly. And then the difficulty, is blending in human components. 

We need to address how people feel deficient. And let healing come forth, from Jesus Christ.

The reason for the departure from traditional hope. Traditional marriage. Traditional values and the decline of the Church goers. 

The Lord is Gracious

As we begin this Post, let's be clear, there are signs of promise, some of the Pandemic rubber band bounce is calming down.

The Lord will be Gracious.

Romans 5:7–8; 

Ephesians 5:2

7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person

—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 

8 but God shows His love for us 

in that while we were still sinners, 

Christ died for us.

And then we begin, as adults, no one is putting our latest achievement on the refrigerator.  We need, sheets, light bulbs, shoes, work clothes, a car and shelter.  When we are married, this is team work. And increasingly, life has been less gracious. Very few Gift Shops.  Placing the needs of the young, out of the hands of their parents.  And in this need to make necessities occur, the safety net seems thin. 

People want to be independent. When ProLife offers clothing, formula, baby food, maternity clothes to women who want to parent - regardless of income, race, any fact. But in exchange, for Bible Studies, women and men, will do this.  Earned path. Yet, if ProLife offers Morning Prayer or Morning group Bible Study, the clients won't come. It isn't part of a program. This requires a sharing of need, few people want to live. 

37 And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 

39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

When Samuel, Hezekiah and even Hannah, crying, said their family was moving beyond their capacity to help them, we are finding this to be part of our own lives.  The need is too large.

Don't many Churches feel the pain of a congregation diminishing? Their Church family.

When you consider Jacob, who became something so large, Israel, he moved boldly past the harm and into the Way, the Truth and the Life. Blessings. Distribute Blessings. Love them and be honest, even the erring Reuben. Jacob wasn't sugarcoating, he was telling the Truth. Jacob had the capacity to tell the truth about Joseph and Reuben had loved Jacob's Bilhah, mother of Jacob's children, Genesis 35:22.

David moved past the problems and filled his life with Love.  Sometimes too quickly, to the warring detriment of his own children. 

John 14

In my Father's house are many mansions:

 if it were not so, I would have told you. 

I go to prepare a place for you. 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, 

I will come again, 

and receive you unto myself; 

that where I am, there ye may be also

What we feel, in our heart, is the independence from needing something we can't wear on a t-shirt. Without the gracious part of life, we all begin to suffer, in various capacities. Then the hearts become wrapped up in doing what we can, which feels like shrinking. Making hearts feel small and unneeded.

With the make due of life. Parents can't give their children an education, huge wedding, healthcare and house with household. The hearts and lives diverge to make a life. James 3:16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

Proverbs 13:12  

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: 

but when the desire cometh, 

it is a tree of life. 

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, 

but a desire fulfilled 

is a tree of life.

Understanding the gift, but then not fully able to give the gift.

Come they told me, pa rum pa pum pum

A new born King to see,

Our finest gifts to bring, 

To lay before the King, 

Rum pa pum pum,

So to honor Him, 

When we come

Little Baby, 

Well, I am a poor boy too, pa rum pa pum pum

I, well, I have no gift to bring,

That are fit to give a king,

Rum pa pum pum

Luke 12:32

Fear not, little flock, 

for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Proverbs 12:10

A righteous man takes care of his animal, but the wicked?

 Even his compassion is cruel

We need to be the gracious portion of the Blessing of God. Given the opportunity, to do what Jesus said many times, Rise.  Rise to being gracious. And Rise to expect to love ourselves. Jesus didn't just say love someone else, Jesus said stand firm in the Word of God.  There is a definite inclusion of the importance of self, Jesus has Blessed. Without doubt. 

Deuteronomy 25: 4

You shall not muzzle a horse, a cow or an oxen,

 when it is treading out the grain.

God even provided a miracle,

that a mere donkey won't be beaten.

Why would we ignore the circle, included in the Word of Jesus Christ 

to want and expect, respect and affection - for ourselves.

Stand firm in the small verses of God's Word, as well.

Cold direction, use of repeat cold phrases,

derision, old hurts 

or use of false and exaggerated flaws. 

Outrageous expectations!

These are not the flavor of God.

God is not a Bully.

Nor a Pharisee.

There is a huge difference.

Hate is not a motivator of Jesus.

Jesus lifted up the blind, the deaf,

the lame and the women. Many.

Jesus cared for children, in an age

children frequently die

and could be replaced.

Jesus understood the widow

giving her few pennies.

Proverbs 12:2

A good man obtains favor from the Lord, 

but a man of evil devices he condemns.

We see small changes, indicating, people have hope, this whole debacle we have been living, will be within God's Gracious Favor.  We have hope. Ultimately, we rely on the Favor, Grace, Mercy and Power of God to fulfill us, our hopes, our families and this time in history. The Nature of God presented in His Only Son, Jesus.

Matthew 9:36

When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, 

because they fainted, 

and were scattered abroad, 

as sheep having no shepherd.

Isaiah 55:1

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; 

and you without money, come, buy, and eat! 

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! 

Why spend money on that which is not bread, 

and your labor on that which does not satisfy? 

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, 

and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.

Edward and I went through a season in the last few years, when Edward had to retire in necessity, due to his health. Just as the family we had hoped to help, faced old parents with dementia, unable to comprehend.  We had every rational hope of all times working out, but it was fearful to address paying all the bills. Which made large philanthropy impossible.  And in the illness to the right and left, north, south. Even the beloved Husky Dog, Jackson, was dying. A sad time. And with the struggle to be brave, people tired of their situations, bored with the aging, fear of their own futures, made part of the culture wars and Pandemic even worse. There wasn't a reason to be very forthcoming, we were being brave and believing in faith. We all can understand being caught up in repeat trouble, with the wearing out of patience.

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 

for they will be filled.

Matthew 10:8

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,

 drive out demons.

 Freely you have received; freely give.

John 4:14

But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.

 Indeed, the water I give him 

will become in him a fount of water 

springing up to eternal life."

John 7:37

On the last and greatest day of the feast, 

Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, 

"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

38 Whoever believes in Me, 

as the Scripture has said: 

‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’ ”

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Thank You Lord Jesus