When Zacchaeus, a tax collector heard that Jesus was passing through Jericho, he wanted to see who Jesus was. But, on account of the crowd and him being a short man, he decided to go up a sycamore tree to get a good view. When Jesus came to where Zacchaeus was, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” All who saw it began to grumble, saying, “Jesus has gone to the house of a sinner.” They were all judging Zacchaeus, but God was getting ready to bless him.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, God knows where we are and who we are. I am sure Zacchaeus was astonished when he heard Jesus calling out to him, and even more confused when He said He was going to be a guest in his house; for he knew that he was a sinner and he acknowledged that to Jesus, who said to him, ‘Today, salvation has come to your house, for the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.’ At the appointed time, Jesus will seek out and save all those who are lost, no matter who you are and where you are. To God be the glory!
“A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, a wonderful Savior to me; He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, where rivers of pleasure I see. He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land. He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand, and covers me there with His hand.” Thank you, Lord!
“A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord; He taketh my burden away. He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved; He giveth me strength for my day. With numberless blessings each moment He crowns, and filled with his fullness divine, I sing in my rapture, “Oh, glory to God,” for such a Redeemer as mine! When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise, to meet Him in clouds of the sky, His perfect salvation, His wonderful love, I’ll shout with the millions on high. For He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand, and covers me there with His hand.” Thank you, Lord!
Those who abide under the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1
And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and when My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.” What more comfort do we need, than to know, that no matter what we are facing that God is with us, and that when danger comes that he will hide us in the cleft of the rock, until the storm passes by? Thank you, Lord, for hiding me in the cleft the rock until the storm passed by.
Surely God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul. Psalm 54:4
Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Psalm 97:10
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him. Nahum 1:7
“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him. The Lord redeems His servants, and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned.”
The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life. Proverbs 16:17
“He who keeps a commandment preserves his soul, but he who is careless in his ways will die. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Look straight ahead therefore and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.”
When Jesus said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, the disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
As we go through life, there will be things that astound us, things that our human eye sees but our minds cannot comprehend. But know that we see the impossible, but God does the impossible. We have all done wrong, but by God’s grace and his grace alone we are saved. We have faced uphill battles, we have been through storms, we have been tested and tried; and when all we could see was the impossible, God did the impossible. We should never be astounded by what our eyes can see but focus instead on what God can do. Let God be praised!
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. Matthew 7:13
My brothers and sisters in Christ, Scripture reminds us that, “Small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.”
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Isaiah 35:5
“The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived. And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.” Is there anything too hard for our God?
“I, the Lord, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prisons, and to release from the dungeons those who sit in darkness.”
I will lead the blind in a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16