January 23, 2020
Luke 19:6-10
So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
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.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
New International Version (NIV)
Transformation is the confirmation of salvation.  How do we know we have really become disciples of Jesus?  We are being changed.  Over the years I have seen people change.  The only way I can account for the difference in their lives is the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.  If I never change at all, I may wonder whether I have come to know the transforming power of Christ. 

I heard E. K. Bailey preach a brilliant sermon about Jesus’ trip through Jericho.  Jesus healed the blind man on the way into town.  Then he called Zacchaeus down from the tree and went to his house.  This encounter was not so much a transaction but a transformation.  Zacchaeus changed that day.  Formerly he had been overcharging taxes and stealing from people.  The same day he met Jesus he stopped stealing and began to give money back.  For a reference point, this is a brand new baby Christian, completely changed.

Such is the transforming power of Christ.  He does not leave people the same.  To quote the Psalmist, Jesus passed through deserts and turned them into gardens.  He changed each life he touched.  Good news!  This same Jesus is passing our way today.  I wonder how he will change us.  At the end of this day may we say, “I am still on my way to the person I ought to be, and I thank God I’m not who I used to be.”
Pray with me:       
Spirit of the Living God, mighty wind that made the dry bones live and breathe, breathe on us today.  Change our hearts.  Change our homes.  Change our church.  Change our city.  And use us to change your world.  In Jesus’ name.  amen.   
Join us in memorizing the Word.  Scripture for this week:    
Matthew 5:7-8
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan.  Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG 
We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week.  In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year.  Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.  
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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