Dr H Reflections

Sweet Hour of Prayer ∙

Sweet Hour of Prayer ∙

They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. – Psalms 19:10

Psalms 141:2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

Revelation 5:8 Golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints

Revelation 8:3-4

3 Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.

4 The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.

How many things in our lives are genuinely satisfying and delightful?

William Walford was blind. Called on to preach from time to time in a rural English church, he composed sermons in his head to deliver on Sundays. He memorized a considerable amount of the Bible, which he quoted verbatim in his sermons, and he prayed.

William Walford grasped something that few of us comprehend. He experienced something that few of us ever do. When we enter into the Father’s throne room, something incredible can happen and certainly did for William. As he practiced talking to the Father in prayer and spent time with Him, he experienced a gentle sweetness and contentment. Prayer itself became sweet. It had a delightful fragrance of the Father’s presence.

William Walford wrote of this experience in his hymn written in 1845, “Sweet Hour of Prayer.”

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father’s throne, make all my wants and wishes known.

In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief

And oft escaped the tempter’s snare, by thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! The joys I feel, the bliss I share,

Of those whose anxious spirits burn with strong desires for thy return!

With such, I hasten to the place where God my Savior, shows His face,

And gladly take my station there, and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! Thy wings shall my petition bear.

To Him whose truth and faithfulness engage the waiting soul to bless.

And since He bids me seek His face, believe His Word and trust His grace,

I’ll cast on Him my every care and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Rather than having the vague hope of finding time to pray in our busy lives, we make a personal choice to set aside time to pray (Charles Stanley).

REFLECT & PRAY

The challenge for each of us is to spend quality time talking to the Father and experience the delightful sweetness and fragrance of His presence.

Father allow me to start slowly and then increase the quality time I spend with You in prayer. Now I know just minutes, but perhaps one day – hours.

INSIGHT

Psalms 19:10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

Psalms 119:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

The Psalms highlight the great value of the Word of God. The Psalms speak of the unspeakable joy and delight of those who love the Father’s Word and take comfort and find nourishment from it.

Sweet prayer is of similar value and delight to those who enjoy and practice it. Sweet prayer can be compared to the worth of gold and the pleasure of honey. Gold was the most precious material possession in the Ancient Near East. Sweet prayer is more valuable than gold. Honey was the sweetest substance known in the Ancient Near East. Sweet prayer is more delightful than honey.

Sweet prayer is more to be desired than gold, even fine gold, great wealth, and large quantities of material riches.

In the same way that David loved and delighted in the Word of God, William Walford delighted in sweet prayer. Why is this so? Because both bring us into a closer, more intimate relationship with our Father in heaven. What can be sweeter than sweet, loving proximity with the Father? He holds our hearts close to His. He desires that we draw near to Him.

1 Peter 1:8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

We do not see the Father or Lord Jesus Christ with our physical eyes. But we see them both with the eyes of our hearts. By faith, we see Them. In prayer, sweet prayer, we see Them and experience a glorious, inexpressible joy.

There are no words to describe inexpressible joy adequately. But when you’ve experienced it, you know exactly what it is. Sweet prayer is a conduit that leads the way to inexpressible joy.

But there’s more! Our Father in heaven is perfect in all regards. He lacks nothing. He is eternal, self-sufficient, unchanging, and infinite. However, as a person, the Father also has emotions and expresses them freely. He has chosen to be actively involved with His children and interact with them. He is well aware of what we do. The Father can be pleased or grieved by what His children do.

Psalms 141:2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering.

Revelation 5:8 Golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Our prayers are like incense, a sweet aroma offered to and received by the Father. Could it be that our prayers are pleasant to the Father? When we enter into sweet prayer with Him, do we bring Him pleasure, joy, and satisfaction?

The Father wants us to pray. The enemy does not want us to pray. He does all he can to hinder us. The enemy knows that we can accomplish more through our prayers than through our work. He would rather have us do anything else than pray (anonymous).

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Compassionate provision ∙

Compassionate provision ∙

They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat! Matthew 14:16

John 6:1-13

1 After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee.

2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.

3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him.

5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”

6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.

7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.

9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”

10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.)

11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward, he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.

12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”

13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.

Lost was an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004, to May 23, 2010, over six seasons, with a total of 121 episodes. The show included elements of supernatural and science fiction. It follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial jet airliner flying between Sydney and Los Angeles. They are stranded on a mysterious island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean.

The survivors must work together to survive on this seemingly deserted tropical island. It left many of its viewers dumbfounded and scratching their heads. It was convoluted and had lots of twists and turns. But ultimately, it boiled down to a straightforward plot: it was about people who were lost searching for answers. Upon reflection, that is the background against which the Scriptures are set.

Wherever the Lord Jesus Christ went, large crowds of people thronged Him. As the God-man, His humanity was exactly the same as ours. He grew tired, hungry, weary, and needed alone time with the Father.

In this story, the Lord Jesus Christ retreated by boat to a lonely, desolate place on the sea of Galilee’s northeast shore. But the crowds figured out where He was going and walked quickly around the sea to arrive there first. Time passed, and this large crowd found themselves stranded in a desolate place late in the afternoon without food.

Matthew 14:14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them.

The plight of the multitude pierced the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated as “moved with compassion” or “had compassion” is splagchnizomai. The English word spleen comes from this word. Splagchnizomai literally means “to have one’s inner being (viscera) stirred.” It is a far stronger emotion than sympathy. It means to be deeply affected in one’s innermost being, particularly that area characterized by pity, empathy, or compassion. It could be translated as “His heart was filled with pity,” “His insides were stirred up,” or “He felt very sorry for them” (UBS).

The disciples were very human, just like us. Can you imagine how they might have felt? What an embarrassing quandary. They realized there was not enough food for such a multitude of people. Their thinking was totally earthbound. Their human resources were exhausted. That was all they relied upon, so the response was quite natural. They concluded that there was nothing that could be done. Rather than turn to the Lord Jesus Christ for help and depend upon Him, they asked him to send the crowd away.

But the Lord Jesus Christ had a more excellent and instructive way to handle the situation. He directed the disciples to feed the crowd themselves. They were dumbfounded. Humanly speaking, it was impossible. They had no food among themselves. They had no money to buy food. And even if they did, there was no local, kosher McDonald’s anywhere to be found.

But Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, showing a smidgen of faith and initiative, spoke up. He noticed that there was a young boy with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good would that be with this huge crowd? In all probability, he probably thought that such a small amount of food could barely feed the thirteen of them.

To provide for this multitude would take a miracle. That is precisely what the Lord Jesus Christ intended to do from the beginning. It was a teachable moment. But He wanted His disciples to realize that what is impossible with men, using purely human resources, is possible from the resourceful hands of the living God.

The Lord Jesus Christ prayed for the Father’s provision; He took the five loaves and two fishes and supersized them. Using the creative power of His hands, the Lord Jesus Christ multiplied the meager offering into a superabundance of food.

REFLECT & PRAY

Often, a quick self-inventory of our resources and abilities finds us wanting.

Father thank You that You are indeed the creator God and can do the impossible. We call it a miracle. But for You, it is quick, easy, simple handiwork. It is far better to trust in Your provision than to strive to be sufficient on our own.

INSIGHT

Initially, the disciple’s hands provided nothing. The hands of the Lord Jesus Christ multiplied, broke, and provided what was needed. Imagine for a moment a magician performing on stage. He whips off his hat and pulls out a rabbit – no big deal. Any magician can do that. But then he pulls out another, and another, and another ad infinitum. One after another, loaves and fish were instantaneously created and handed out in a similar fashion. But the supply never diminished.

Starting with practically nothing, the Lord Jesus Christ miraculously produced a great feast of bread and fish using only His own hands. It was not a magician’s trick!

Mark 6:41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves, and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them, and He divided up the two fish among them all.

The Lord Jesus Christ then used the hands of the disciples to do what they could do. The twelve disciples were first assigned to distribute the bountiful provision and later to gather together all of the leftovers into twelve empty baskets. Why twelve baskets? One for each apostle. I can picture each of the disciples toting a large, overflowing basket.

This was intended as a literal “hands-on” object lesson regarding the compassion and miraculous power of the Father to provide for human needs. When the Lord Jesus Christ challenged the disciples to take care of it using their own resources, He wanted them to recognize their utter limitations and inadequacy. Only the Father has adequate resources.

The Lord Jesus Christ has given every child of the King the tremendous task of communicating His gospel message to others. He does not demand more from us than we have. But He does require all that we have.His message is simple and straightforward. “Come to me as you are; however, ill-equipped; bring to me what you have, however little, and I will use it greatly. Little is always much in the hands of Christ (Barclay).

The Father intended the story to teach faith and dependence upon Him. He provides steps of action to take to solve the everyday problems of life. It is pretty straightforward:

Start where you are with what you have.
Give what you have to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do what He asks.
Conserve the results

Sadly, many of us reason that it is never the right place nor the right time for the Father to work. The Father has a totally different perspective.

Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

The Father responds to human need, failure, and suffering with love and compassion. The Father is always moved to shepherd us.

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Declaration of eternal life ∙

Declaration of eternal life ∙

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. – Ephesians 4:30

John 1:4 and In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

John 10:10 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Judy Cashner now wears a T-shirt with the words: I am not dead yet! You would think that the mere fact that she was standing, looking well with a smile on her face, that the shirt was redundant. But this was not the case.

It seems that she was declared dead by Wells Fargo Bank in 2019. She was informed of her demise by a letter received on August 10, 2020, addressed to her estate. It is not clear why Wells Fargo thought she was dead, but as far as they were concerned, she was.

The letter read: “We are sorry for your loss and understand this is a difficult time for you.” Her estate was informed that credit card payments received after her passing would be applied to transactions made after her death. And then concluded with a query: “If this was not your intent, please call us.”

Word of Judy Cashner’s death came as quite a shock to her. At first, she thought it was a joke. When Cashner contacted Wells Fargo to have the situation corrected, she got more bad news about her death. Wells Fargo also had taken it upon itself to tell three credit reporting agencies that she had died. This had severe ramifications for her. She and her husband were in the process of refinancing their home. But their lender could not obtain the information it needed to approve the loan because she was no longer employed. After all, she was deceased.

It was no simple matter for Cashner to demonstrate beyond any reasonable doubt that she was still alive. Ultimately, she had to go to a local Wells Fargo branch, where she presented her driver’s license and signed a form called a “declaration of life.” The situation was finally resolved. Apparently, even those falsely reported as dead are entitled to the same legal protections as anyone else when erroneous information appears in their credit file. But imagine all the havoc did (The Oregonian).

Of course, many people of been declared dead who were not. Mark Twain quipped, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”

Keeping track of living populations is an ancient practice. In the Ancient Near East, governments and families kept records of people. Such records had many practical functions, just as it is in modern times: taxation, military duty, and establishing property ownership. The ancient books or scrolls had to be updated as the actual population changed. When someone was born or moved into a town or region, it was necessary to add that person’s name to the book. When someone dies or moves away, it is essential to remove his or her name from the book. Thus the listing was always a current record of those alive at any given time. They had much in common with modern-day censuses.

In other words, the book that held their names was a “Book of Life.” Only the names of the living were found in it. The names of those who had died were removed, which is blotted out periodically as needed (Stuart).

The nation of Israel had a similar registry of live births. In fact, the Father also keeps a record in heaven (Exodus 32:32). He has a book of life in which every person who would ever be born has their name written. He refers to it as the Book of Life.

Philippians 4:3 They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

REFLECT & PRAY

The Book of Life refers to the Father’s record of those who belong to Him and are part of His forever family.

Father thank You that You have a Book of Life. In eternity past, You put my name in it. When I believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord, You guaranteed that my name would never be blotted out from the Book of Life.

INSIGHT

But the Father’s records are a bit different than human records. Because each person can have two births: one physical and the other spiritual. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve, all people have been born physically alive but spiritually dead. Hence, the Lord Jesus Christ taught that in order to enter the kingdom of God, we must be born again.

John 3:3 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Thus, somewhat of an odd bit of a paradox exists in the Father’s kingdom. Apparently, it works like this. All live births of all people are recorded in the Book of Life before they are ever born. The Father being all-knowing and eternal knows everyone’s name in advance of their earthly existence from eternity past.

His Book of Life is a book of the living, and all who are born initially appear in it. The Father does not arbitrarily put some names in it and not others. However, it is refined over time just as governments and family lists are.

But the criteria are different. It is not merely about life and death but about eternal life and spiritual death.

1 Timothy 2:4 [The Father] wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent.

All people born into the world have the potential for eternal life. The Father fervently desires that each person will be with Him forever. But He allows people to make their own choices. However, throughout the ages, most ignore, reject, disdain, put off, or otherwise forfeit that potential – and so their names are eventually blotted out of the Book of Life (Stuart).

Ultimately, the Father’s Book of Life will contain only the names of those who have eternal life.

That is why the Lord Jesus Christ is so adamant and blunt when speaking with Nicodemus. Entering into heaven requires not one but two births.

John 3:5 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

When a person is born, a certificate of birth is issued. A “declaration of eternal life” is issued when a person is born again. And their name remains forever in the Book of Life. The declaration of eternal life bears no signature but has been sealed forever by the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

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I AM the LORD! ∙

I AM the LORD! ∙

They did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor. – Exodus 6:9

Exodus 6:1-9

1 Then the LORD told Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. When he feels the force of my strong hand, he will let the people go. In fact, he will force them to leave his land!”

2 And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh – ‘the LORD.’”

3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai – “God Almighty” – but I did not reveal my name, Yahweh, to them.

4 And I reaffirmed my covenant with them. Under its terms, I promised to give them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners.

5 You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. And I am well aware of my covenant with them.

6 Therefore, say to the people of Israel: “I am the LORD. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment.”

9 So Moses told the people of Israel what the LORD had said, but they refused to listen anymore. They had become too discouraged by the brutality of their slavery.

Dr. Shane Lopez was a Senior Scientist at Gallup and one of the world’s leading researchers on hope. Dr. Shane taught that hope is contagious. Here are some of his observations. “The tiny ripple of hope you set in motion can change the path of someone’s life. Hope is created moment by moment through our deliberate choices. It happens when we use our thoughts and feelings to temper our aversion to loss and actively pursue what is possible. How we think about the future – how we hope – determines how well we live our lives.”

He believed that hope could be engendered by:

Modeling hope and treating others with the kind of love, compassion and kindness you want for yourself.
Caring enough to support others who are in need of help.
Becoming a Super-Empowered, Hopeful Individual who believes the future can be better than today, and you can make it happen, despite the obstacles in your way (psychologytoday.com).

“The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me’” (Billy Graham).

“Depression begins with disappointment. When disappointment festers in our soul, it leads to discouragement” (Joyce Meyer).

“The most essential factor is persistence – the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come” (James Whitcomb Riley).

When the Father promises to do something, the children of the King can rest assured and trust that it will be done. Frequently, before a promise from the Father can be realized it is preceded by a change in the status quo. The Father makes waves. He has a way of shaking things up. When he appeared at Sinai, the earth shook. In the future, He will shake both the earth and the heavens. His goal is to shake things until all of the things that can be removed, are removed (Hebrews 12:26-27).

In a similar fashion, to a much lesser degree, the Father also shakes His children. We do not desire to be shaken or rattled. His touch is often viewed as an unwelcome intrusion or disturbance. Often things often get worse before they get better.

Upon returning from Mount Sinai, Moses goes to Pharaoh and asks him to let the children of Israel go. Pharaoh rebuffs him. Moses fails and his failure brings sadness and adds misery to his people. He blames himself and questions why the Lord asked him to do it in the first place. It is easy for most of us to identify with the failure of Moses. He starts with great enthusiasm and falls flat on his face. He complains and whines. He wonders if the Father made a mistake in choosing him. He seems so inadequate for his assignment. But that is exactly the point, Moses is adequate for the job. That is why the Father chose him to do the job.

But the gloom and doom of pessimism are often contagious. After 400 years of suffering and servitude making bricks for Pharaoh, what could be worse? Try making bricks without straw. The people were discouraged. They stopped listening to Moses and hoping in God. They did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency (Exodus 6:9).

The Hebrew word translated as broken, despondency, and discouragement is qotser. Qotser means shortness. When used in conjunction with the spirit, it has a sense of impatience and dejectedness. They were beaten down, and their spirits were broken and crushed. They were discouraged and exhausted. They had given up (UBS).

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life.

“When we feel oppressed and our spirit groans, it is difficult for us to believe the good promises of God regarding our welfare” (Stanley). Instead of being long-suffering, they figured they had suffered long enough. They had had enough. All hope was lost.

REFLECT & PRAY

Physical suffering pains our bodies, but emotional suffering and discouragement bring leanness to our souls and ravages our hearts.

Father remind me again and again, and bring to my mind that no matter what my circumstances are or how gloomy and dire my situation seems to be, your answer always begins, “I am the LORD!”

INSIGHT

The irony is that initial failure lays the groundwork for ultimate success. Pessimism and doubt are the fertile soil in which promises are fulfilled.

Matthew 19:26 with God all things are possible.

The Scriptures are replete with examples of the Father doing the impossible after all hope is lost. But a few examples: the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the preserving of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, the miracle of the Red Sea, the angelic hosts guarding Elisha and Gehazi, and the greatest of all, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The problem has never been with the Father. The problem has always been with our discouragement and lack of faith. The Father wants us to know and believe that He is the answer to all of our problems and circumstances. Every aspect of our physical and emotional well-being and eternal salvation depends solely on His character and eternal attributes.

Why did the Father allow Moses to fail at the very beginning of his mission when he went to Pharaoh the first time? Perhaps, if Pharaoh had released the nation of Israel the first time Moses asked, Moses would have been given most of the credit. Instead, his attempt totally backfired. As a result, he had to shoulder all the blame.

The people were convinced that Moses was incapable of leading them to the Promised Land. Only the Father could bring them out of Egypt by His mighty hand (Exodus 32:11). The longer Moses and Pharaoh quarreled and wrangled over the release of Israel from bondage, the clearer it became.

The Father was teaching His people to put all of their trust in Him. In due time, they discovered that when all else failed, the one thing they could count on was the One who said, “I am the LORD” (Ryken and Hughes).

His answer is always the same, “I am the LORD!”

“Exodus is a God-centered book with a God-centered message that teaches us to have a God-centered life. Whatever problems we have, whatever difficulties we face, the most important thing is to know who God is. We are called to place our trust in the One who says, ‘I am the LORD.’ . . . When nothing seems to go right, and it is not certain how things will ever work out – even then he says, ‘I am the LORD’” (Ryken and Hughes).

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Dependable friendship ∙

Dependable friendship ∙

A man with too many friends comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. – Proverbs 18:24

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Psalms 25:8-15

8 The LORD is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray.

9 He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way.

10 The LORD leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.

14 The LORD is a friend to those who fear him. He teaches them his covenant.

15 My eyes are always on the LORD, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.

“There is nothing better than a friend unless it is a friend with chocolate” (Linda Grayson).

When we are young, most of us make friends quickly. When we are old, not so much. And as we age, we get separated from our friends because of distance or their passing.

Who makes a good friend, and how do we recognize it?

“Friendship is love that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing, and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses” (Ann Landers).

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures [Job’s friends], have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing, and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares” (Henri Nouwen).

A friend knows and understands our pain. They love us not despite our pain but because of our pain. In the Bible, friendship is primarily a relationship of mutual trust and congeniality (Harper’s Bible dictionary). It is often marked by an intimate bond, such as that exemplified by David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1).

Psalms 25 describes the Father as a dependable friend. He is a reliable caretaker, listener, and counselor. His advice and counsel are always right. Our friendship rests upon His loving kindness and faithfulness. The Father initiates and sustains it. We rely totally upon His gracious mercy.

Loving kindness and faithfulness are not only characteristics of the Father; they are the driving force behind His actions.

REFLECT & PRAY

The Father is a perfect best friend! Because of His love and friendship, He sent the Lord Jesus Christ to seek out and bring home those who were lost.

Father I am so delighted and amazed that You chose me to be Your friend. Encourage me every day to draw closer to You. You are indeed my BFF.

INSIGHT

Many of us have had the experience of going to the airport to meet friends we have not seen for some time. When their plane lands, we wait eagerly, scanning the disembarking passengers until we finally see them. We move as quickly as possible to greet and hug them as soon as possible. This reunion is a time of great joy. While we are seeking them, they, too, are seeking us. This is what being good friends is all about.

In the story of Zacchaeus, he has come seeking to catch a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he was short in stature, he climbed a sycamore fig tree in the hopes that he could see over the crowd out of curiosity. However, the Lord Jesus Christ has come seeking him (Luke 19:2-10). Zacchaeus was the reason that the Lord Jesus Christ had come to Jericho.

In eternity past, the Father had scheduled a divine appointment for the Lord Jesus Christ to bring salvation to the home of Zacchaeus that particular day and hour. He made innumerable appointments throughout the millennia. Some involved salvation, others miraculous healings, and resurrections: the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), the healing of the man born blind (John 9), and the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11) to name but a few examples. If you are a child of the King, His initial personal appointment with you has already been kept. Perhaps many more are to come.

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

Zacchaeus was a tax collector, and the people considered him a notorious and evil sinner. He made his living by extorting people and overcharging them. He was utterly hated and despised by them. This mattered not to the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, Zacchaeus typified the lost, outcast, guilty sinners that He was seeking to save.

Somehow the simple words of the Lord Jesus Christ were redemptive, transformative, and life-altering. When He looked directly at Zacchaeus, acknowledged, recognized, called him by name, and invited Himself to his home, it totally transformed him. Could it be that Zacchaeus was secretly, in his innermost heart, seeking a way out of his despicable lifestyle?

“Zacchaeus was wealthy, but he was not happy. Inevitably he was lonely, for he had chosen a way that made him an outcast. He had heard of this Jesus who welcomed tax collectors and sinners, and he wondered if he would have any word for him. Despised and hated by all, Zacchaeus was reaching after the love of God” (Barclay).

The interaction between the two was remarkable. Zacchaeus immediately renounced his wicked ways and promised to make reconciliation. He recognized the Lord Jesus Christ as his new BFF. At the same time, as only He was qualified to do, the Savior of the world announced for all to hear that Zacchaeus had accepted His offer of salvation and was saved.

I can only imagine the joyful and tearful exchange and hugs that followed.

Luke 19:8-9

8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.”

“God saves us, not because He thinks we’re smart or worthy of His Son’s work on our behalf, but because of His own nature and goodness. He saves us for His name’s sake and for His glory” (Stanley).

Romans 5:7-8

7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

John 15:13-15

13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

The Father beckons each of us to come to Him and exchange our old manner of life for that which He offers. We exchange our solitary, heavy load and burdens for something far easier to bear: His (Matthew 11:28-30).

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 10-09-2

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