Author: Nathaniel Colt

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Read: Ephesians 2:8–10

Before Zacchaeus met Jesus, he probably didn’t feel like he was a masterpiece of God. People called him a sinner. But Jesus said salvation came to his house. Because of that moment with Jesus, Zacchaeus became something new. He was a masterpiece who God made new through His love and mercy. Zacchaeus showed others that Jesus had changed him.

New life comes when we’re saved. It’s the gift that these verses in Ephesians talk about. We can’t earn it. It isn’t a reward for things we do for God. Salvation is free, and it’s a gift from God. Because Jesus came to earth and died for our sins, we can be saved.

Read about It

Read: Luke 15:1–7

Some people around Jesus couldn’t understand why He would want to be with sinners. That’s one reason Jesus told this story. In Jesus’ day, sheep were very valuable. The more sheep you had, the richer you were. So when Jesus told a story about someone leaving ninety-nine sheep behind, it would have got people’s attention. And then to say that someone would do it to go after one lost sheep was teaching something important. It showed how important saving someone who is a sinner is to Jesus.

That’s why Jesus spent time with Zacchaeus. Some people thought Zacchaeus was a terrible person. They didn’t understand that Jesus wanted to reach everyone. Jesus came to look for and save those who need Him (Luke 19:10). That means He pursues everyone, including the worst sinners who have made a lot of mistakes.

Do you have a friend or family member who doesn’t know Jesus? Ask Jesus if there is anything you need to do so this person will come to Him.

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Read: Luke 19:6–10

This meeting with Jesus changed Zacchaeus’s life. The changes spilled over on others around him. Even the people who didn’t like Zacchaeus because he was a tax collector could see that he was different after spending time with Jesus. In fact, Zacchaeus promised to give back four times extra if he had cheated anyone in the past.

Every day when we spend time with Jesus, He will change us too. It might not happen all at once. But each time we’re with Jesus, we will slowly change to live and love others more like Him. When we love Jesus, we become more like Him, and that becomes obvious to others. Maybe they will see you caring for someone who’s lonely or sharing your things with someone in need. Those are just a few ways to show others that you care.

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Read: Luke 19:1–5

Stories of Jesus’ healings and miracles spread quickly. So, it’s not surprising that crowds gathered when Jesus came to a town. Everyone was curious about Jesus. But all the people around Him made it challenging to get close to Him. When Zacchaeus heard Jesus was coming to town, he wanted to see Him. We know Zacchaeus was a Jewish tax collector, which meant many people considered him to be a traitor to his own people. He was also pretty short. That made it difficult for Zacchaeus to even get a glimpse of Jesus, but he didn’t give up! He was determined to see Jesus.

There were probably other people who didn’t get close to Jesus that day, let alone spend time with Him. The story of Zacchaeus reminds us that if we desire to draw close to Jesus, we must look for ways to interact with Him every day. When we read our Bible and talk to Jesus in prayer, it’s like climbing a tree to get closer to Jesus.

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Read: James 2:8–13

The word mercy shows up many times in the Bible, so we need to know what it means. Mercy is the kindness we show to others when they do something wrong to us. Mercy means not getting back at people. If someone pushes us down and we don’t push back, we are showing mercy. If someone steals our school supplies and we don’t steal their things, that’s mercy.

Do you know why the Bible talks about mercy so often? It’s because God showed mercy to us—and to everyone on earth! Our Scripture today starts out by telling us one of God’s oldest laws: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8; Leviticus 19:18). That means to treat other people as we wanted to be treated. When someone hurts us and we hurt them back, we’re actually breaking God’s law!

Everybody has broken God’s law. But God showed mercy by offering us another chance at life. He knew that our wrongs deserve punishment, but instead of punishing us right then, Jesus came to our world and died for us! That is the most mercy anyone can ever give. When we show mercy, God rewards us by showing us more mercy. So, let’s show mercy today.

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Read: Romans 14:7–13

God tells us through these verses that what we do matters to Him—and to other people. Have you ever fought with another Christian? God tells us not to do that because it shows that we’ve forgotten that we’re on the same team: we are both following God. If you’re on a sports team, you shouldn’t fight with your teammates, right? It doesn’t help your team if you do that.

Romans 14:10 asks, “Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” Christians are all teammates with God as our Coach. We can’t be the coach in someone else’s life. We must all listen to and obey God. When we don’t, we’ve made a mistake.

Christians can make mistakes. They’re human! Instead of making the mistake of fighting with another Christian, we can ask God to help us both. Romans 14:13 says: “So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.”

We have choices on how we should live our life. We can live our life bringing pain and hurt to others, or we can live our life so that others can experience God’s love and grow in their walk with Him. How we treat others is important. God rewards our good choices with more peace in our relationships and with eternal life with Him.

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Read: Matthew 7:1–5

Have you ever judged anyone before? That means that you think they are wrong or have done something bad. Maybe you judged someone who hurt you or is different from you in the way they look or the way they do things. The Bible tells us that if we judge others, we’ll receive that same kind of judgment back on us. Would we like that? Only if we made a good judgment about that person!

The Bible teaches us that we should treat others the same way that we want to be treated. Even if someone does something wrong, we can respond with love and compassion, just like Jesus looks at our actions. Jesus is patient with you when you sin and teaches you about turning away from sin. And that’s the way you should treat other people. The more we listen to this Bible passage, the more we can show His love to others.