"Best Day"

Then Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “You and your family have been saved today. You’ve shown that you, too, are one of Abraham’s descendants."

Luke 19:9 

 

Think about the best day you have ever had.  Maybe it was the day you got married.  Perhaps it was the day you got that job you wanted.  It might even be the day that your child was born.  Zaccheus probably hadn't had a best day in his life.  Let's face it, he was small of stature, which meant he was most likely picked on as a child.  As he got older, he became a Collector of Taxes for the Roman Government and was hated for it even though his revenge on those who hated him was the fact he was rich.  Finally, he heard that Jesus was coming, yet no one would let him get close enough to see Him.

 

Finally, he ran ahead and climbed up a tree so he could actually see this man he had heard so much about.  Imagine what went through his mind when Jesus stopped under where Zaccheus was perched, looked up and said, "Come on down, Zaccheus, I need to come to your house today."  Scripture doesn't tell us if Zaccheus climbed down, jumped down or fell out of the tree, but we see that he got down and just as he was getting ready to show Jesus the way to his house, the people who hated Zaccheus started telling Jesus that Zaccheus was a sinner of the worst kind.

 

Do you think Zaccheus was embarrassed by the comments being made to Jesus about him?  Probably.  Do you think Jesus was bothered by the way other people talked about Zaccheus? Not in the least!  In fact, Jesus reprimanded those condemning Zaccheus!  And guess what? THAT was the best day Zaccheus ever had!

 

On that day, Jesus taught US two things:  Be careful when you condemn others because it shows your own black heart; the BEST day is the day Jesus accepted us!

 

Think about it! 

Let's Consider Just How Awesome God Is

For the Lord is the one who shaped the mountains,
    stirs up the winds, and reveals his thoughts to mankind.
He turns the light of dawn into darkness
    and treads on the heights of the earth.
    The Lord God of Heaven’s Armies is his name!

Amos 4:13

I was talking with a friend, yesterday, about how awesome God is and how often we take His awesomeness for granted.  We do, you know.  As we enter into December where we celebrate God's most awesome gifts to us, lets take a look at some of the things about God we take for granted.

Look at what Amos reminds us of...God shaped the mountains!  I couldn't do that, can you?  God's awesome creativity shaped the beautiful mountains.

God stirs the winds...  John 3:8 says, "The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit"  Only God knows where the wind comes from and where it goes because He is the one who stirs it.

God reveals His thoughts to mankind... That is pretty amazing!  If God didn't reveal Himself to us, do you think we could seriously come up with all that He has done, said, and created?

God turns the light of dawn into darkness... Remember when Jesus died? Matthew 27:45 says, "At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock."  Remember in Genesis 1 when God created the day and the night?  Can we do that?  

These are things we take for granted.  God is the God of all creation and He is AWESOME!