Real Changes
RISE AND
SHINE FOR JESUS! \O/
By Pam
Iannello (my late mother)
"Real Changes"
Luke
19:1-9 (KJV)
And
Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. [2] And, behold, there was
a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and
he was rich. [3] And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not
for the press, because he was little of stature. [4] And he ran
before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to
pass that way. [5] And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up,
and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down;
for to day I must abide at thy house. [6] And he made haste, and came
down, and received him joyfully. [7] And when they saw it, they all
murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a
sinner. [8] 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. [9] And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to
this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
From
curiosity to conversion – what a story, amen? I find it fascinating
that such great alterations of character can come of one
visit with Jesus! How many dramatic changes have taken place in your
life since you met the Lord, dear lady? Following your salvation, how
has your character altered now that Christ lives in your heart? Some
of you might not be able to testify that anything
about you has significantly changed, which may cause others to wonder
if you’ve ever really been converted… Nevertheless, the first
thing Zacchaeus tackled in his Christian life was restoration.
He knew in his heart that he had wronged quite a few people on
different occasions and by the presence of Christ alone, was
convicted of his heartless actions. Notice in verse 8 that this
little man makes a big confession – he openly admits before the
Lord that it is possible in his sinful condition he may have falsely
accused others of falling short in their taxes in order to make
himself rich. Ladies, if we were as honest as Zacchaeus was after his
conversion, we would also acknowledge the fact that we are prone to
the same type of dishonesty. There are times when we charge others of
falling short in character by way of false accusation, thus robbing
from their credibility to add to dimension to our own name. Sadly,
this is nothing more than a “get rich quick” style of behavior
and it belongs to individuals obsessed with getting “their fair
share”. Very few people are
content with their own stature.
We don’t like feeling smaller in comparison to others; we don’t
like feeling less important; we don’t like someone else prospering
in certain areas where we are scraping to make ends meet, so to
speak. Therefore, formulating false accusations about people we come
in contact with on a regular basis is a fast way to boost our own ego
and social standing. Now mind you, I’m confident that Zacchaeus did
not charge people with large
discrepancies in their taxes, for that would have seemed unbelievable
and would have attracted too much attention to his accusations. No,
he probably charged people of falling short in little
amounts here and there, much like we do when we blame people of
slight character flaws; just enough to benefit us yet still keep our
impure motives from being discovered.
Worth of One Wise Woman - Rise & Shine for Jesus - KJV Ladies Audio Devotional
Ladies,
have you gained social status because of the changes Jesus
has made in your life or because you have made a career out of
falsely accusing prosperous people in your sphere of influence,
thereby subtracting small amounts from their reputation to put on
your own account? How many
things have you taken from other men and women with your underhanded
comments? I guarantee you that
Jesus knows! And that is precisely what Zacchaeus realized when he
formed a plan for proper restoration and submitted it to Christ for
approval. Actually, according to verse 8, he willingly whittled his
own status down to a reasonable level by
restoring more than what he had taken.
This was not self righteousness at work but marvelous evidence of the
sincerity
of his repentance! By adjusting his pride, Zacchaeus finally found
contentment in being small… He stopped
using oppression to gain position; his unjust treatment turned just,
and Zacchaeus determined in his heart to deal generously
with others.
Could it be
that we might need to do the same? Perhaps you have stolen someone’s
peace of mind by increasing their anxiety with unkind remarks or
facial expressions. Maybe you’ve injured a friendship by softly
suggesting that one of the parties can’t be trusted in order to win
the other to yourself. Could it be that you blew the details of a
sticky situation out of proportion to cause the authorities to side
with you in a particular matter? Is it possible you may have
criticized your husband just a
little, in order to heighten
your own self-image in social circles? Whatever the case may be,
women are very creative when it comes to the various ways we deposit
words into the hearts and minds of specific people in order that we
might improve our position in life. In fact, if this is your method
of operation, you are actually short-changing yourself because one
day God will reveal who attained status honestly
- by way of the righteousness of Christ at work in their hearts - and
who came by it shrewdly like Zacchaeus did before his conversion. I
like what Bob Jones Sr. said, “The woman who is prone to believe
everything bad she hears about all other women is fundamentally
crooked.” Ladies, you can steal significance or you can earn it for
yourself in a Christ-like manner. If you haven’t been sincere in
all your dealings, the next time you visit with Jesus, why don’t
you ask Him to help you make some real
changes in your life! What happened to Zacchaeus can happen to you…
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah
60:1&2
Copyright
2005 Pamela A. Iannello
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