1.04.25 Luke 19:1-10

Prepare 

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple. We seek the Lord our God; with all our heart; with all our soul; with all our mind and with all our strength. Let’s seek him now. 

Read 

19:1-10 

Reflect 

This story has always been present throughout my life. From the classic illustrations from the Good News Bible when I was a child, to Sunday school stories and seeing dramas at church when the smallest man in the congregation gets the role of Zacchaeus! In verse 3 we read that Zacchaeus did everything he could to see this man Jesus. He climbed a tree to get a glimpse of him! Do we do everything we can to spend time with Jesus? 

The challenge, whoever we are, (and remember this little man had some big man issues with his life) is how do we seek Jesus more. Zacchaeus, who could have used his wealth and influence to get the best ticket in the house to see Jesus decided to find the nearest tree to see Jesus.  

Be 

To be in your presence 

to sit at your feet 

when your love surrounds me 

and makes me complete 

To rest in your presence 

not rushing away 

to cherish each moment 

here I would stay 

This is my desire, O Lord 

this is my desire. 

Become 

Let’s spend these next few moments to be still; to breathe slowly, to re-centre our scattered senses upon the presence of God. To make it our desire now to seek his face in the quiet. 

Do  

Holy Spirit, enable us today to spend more time with you. May we have a longing to do whatever it takes to seek you. Allow us to climb that tree to look over the hustle and bustle of our everyday and see you. May this not a distant glance but an up close and personal meeting. 

Practice 

This may be a bit ironic as you may be listening to this on your phone, but why not try and hour without your phone? We are made to be present, but often our phones are the cause of our absence. To be in two places at once means no place at all. Turning off our phones allows us to not only gaze up at each other whether that is of our children, spouse, workers and friends but more importantly enabling us to seek the gaze of Jesus.