The Ultimate Physician

Luke 19:1-10

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Bee's Thoughts:

What makes a person change from 'bad' to 'good'?

An impulsive change can only last for a short while and one's old self will emerge again when the 'motivating factor' is gone. Example: when a man tries to court a gal, he might have a temporal change in order to impress and 'conquer'. However, once he managed to win her heart his true self would surface.

The change Jesus is talking about here is the transformational change, like the ugly caterpillar being transformed into a beautiful butterfly after going through a process. This change has no reversal effect... it's permanent. Only Jesus can perform such a change in a person.

How can one be transformed?

1. Be in Jesus Christ, accept Him into our life and claim this promise...
   

   "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
   

2. Give ourselves to God, let our mind be renewed, think differently from the worldview...
   

   "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual(reasonable) act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."Romans 12: 1-2
   

3. Stay close to, and be in, Jesus all the time... then we shall see the "fruit" of transformation...
   

   "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4

Yes, I find the above verses working in my life as I learned to claim them as promises from God. If God says so, it must be so! True enough, I see transformation in my life over the years, unknowingly. What I am today is different from what I was before I accepted Jesus Christ into my life.

Thank You, Lord, for transforming my life. I know there are many areas in me that need more polishing till the day I meet you face to face. I long to see you soon. Amen.

....the devotion of Bee