Listen to Devotion

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus was not a popular guy. Nobody liked him. He was a Jewish man who collected taxes for the hated Roman government. As such, he was viewed as a traitor to his people. Tax collectors were notorious for overcharging the people so they could pad their own bank accounts. They were despised. On top of this, Zacchaeus was a small man and did not stand out physically in any way. Put that all together, and he would be the last one that anyone would expect Jesus to pick out of a crowd.

What about you? Are you feeling small? Outcast? Unnoticed? Maybe there is that person in your life who just has a way of making you feel like the tiniest person in the room. Perhaps you work so hard, and nobody seems to notice or care. It could be that your recent choices in life have you feeling unworthy of Jesus’ notice. Maybe it was words you spoke in anger, or decisions you made in a moment of passion, or thoughts that linger in your mind. Whatever the case, perhaps you also feel like the last one anyone would expect Jesus to notice.

Surprising as it may be, Jesus wants to be with you, too. Just like he picked Zacchaeus out of that crowd and asked him to climb down out of that tree, Jesus calls out to you through his Word and tells you to follow him. He wants you to know that he loves you and wants nothing more than to spend eternity with you. He wants you to trust him in all things. To prove he is worthy of that trust, Jesus lived and died and rose again from the dead, all to assure you that you could have a place by his side in heaven forever. And now he invites you to spend time with him as you read your Bible. He knows that the more time you spend together, the more your faith will grow and the more you will find peace in this life.

Dear Jesus, thank you for saving me from sin and death and for calling out to me in your Word. Help me to grow in faith as I spend time in your Word. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.