The Repentance of Zaccheus

Zaccheus had been overwhelmed, amazed, and silenced, at the love and condescension of Christ in stooping to him, so unworthy. Now love and loyalty to his new-found Master unseal his lips. He will make public his confession and his repentance….

Before Zaccheus had looked upon the face of Christ, he had begun the work that made him manifest as a true penitent. Before being accused by men, he had confessed his sin. He had yielded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and had begun to carry out the teaching of the words written for ancient Israel as well as for ourselves. The Lord had said long before, … “Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God.” These words had been spoken by Christ Himself when He was enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, and the very first response of Zaccheus to the love of Christ was in manifesting compassion toward the poor and suffering…. No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven….

If we have injured others through any unjust business transaction, if we have overreached in trade, … we should confess our wrong, and make restitution as far as lies in our power.—The Desire of Ages, 554-556.
With God at Dawn p. 141
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Meghan who is a young woman with heart problems. Pray that she and her husband will accept Jesus and His truth. M
—-Please pray for my mother who is having health issues. They are doing scans and tests. She is a 2 time cancer survivor. We are afraid it might be cancer again. She has a couple of appointments coming up and she is extremely stressed and having lots of anxiety. Prayers for faith, strength, healing, courage, and peace. Some days are harder than others. Thank you for your prayers. V
—-Please pray for Fran who found out that she needs two or three more years of chemo. Rose
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Dear Friends,
Last week, I had to get a tooth filled. Now we’ve been going to this particular dentist for over twenty years and usually our conversation revolves around how the family is doing. This time, however, we got to talking about the animal video that she has for her patients to watch before the “torture” begins. Soon we were talking about the wild animals we had seen in years past. I told of the wolverine Ronnie Jay and I had seen. She spoke of the moose she had seen while hiking in Colorado when she was young. That brought more moose stories from our experiences. It was a pleasant time of reminiscing.
Someday, we will not have to content ourselves with reminiscing, but we will be able to go right up and pet a moose or a wolverine or even the most ferocious of beasts for they will all be tame. God’s Holy Word gives us a glimpse of this place where all is joy and peace, a place where there is nothing to make us afraid, no sickness, no sorrow, no crying, no death. We read, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. Rev 21:2-4
What a glorious time that will be! Sin and sinners will be no more. All will be the greatest happiness and joy. We will have no fear of any creature for we are told, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.” “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat.” Isa 11:6-8; 65:17-25
Moreover, Isaiah tells us that we “shall see the King in his beauty!” Isa 33:17 We shall behold Him face to face. Think of it! We will be able to sit down with the Great King of the Universe and ask Him why certain things have happened the way they did in our life or in the life of our loved one. We will marvel as He explains the reasons behind every event in our life. Suddenly, our questions and perplexities will vanish away. We will praise Him for His goodness! With hearts overflowing with love, we will worship Him for His guiding hand, for His great love and care!
Paul exclaims, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Cor 2:9 How we are comforted as we meditate upon the Heavenly Kingdom. How our heart longs for our Dear Saviour’s Glorious Home as we imagine the most wonderful blessings, knowing that it will be even grander, even more glorious than our highest thoughts can reach!
Jesus assures us, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3 Praise God! Jesus is coming very soon! Soon He will take us to that beautiful land where we will dwell with Him forevermore!
May we soon dwell in safety in God’s Heavenly Kingdom where we will interact with the animals and have nothing to fear. May we all soon be in that Glorious Land where “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, [where] the lame man [shall] leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” Isa 35:5,6 May we, someday soon, feel our Great Redeemer’s Loving Arm encircle us and with His Mighty Hand gently and lovingly wipe away all our tears is my prayer.
Rose