“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.’” Luke 10:9,10 NIV
As I turned off my alarm at 3:45 am yesterday morning, climbed out of the warm bed I was in and then stumbled to the coffee maker, I had a brief thought. “Is it really worth it Melissa? For real! Is it really worth getting up this early to be ready to run a 51k for your 51st birthday at 5:00 am when you have the day off and could be sleeping in?” And then I laughed out loud. “Of course it’s worth it!” I said to myself. “Running 31.69 miles with friends by doing laps around a track for at least 6-7 hours is an epic way to spend your birthday and is a great opportunity to talk about Jesus and publicly praise Him for the healing He recently provided that has allowed you to run again!” And let me tell you, it was more than worth the effort!
And you know, when it comes to running and praising Jesus, the Bible tells us the story of Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector who had great reason to publicly praise Christ as well. You see, Zacchaeus was a man who, upon hearing that Jesus was coming through town, ran ahead of His anticipated arrival and climbed into a Sycamore tree so he could see Jesus over the crowd (since he was a short man). Zacchaeus soon realized that his “run” was more than worth the effort he put into it when Jesus ordered him to come down and said, “I must stay at your house today.” And this is where it gets good... Zacchaeus not only welcomed Jesus into his home but repented of his sin and accepted Jesus as his Savior. Is that an amazing story or what?
So as you and I prepare to celebrate Christmas, I pray that we will remember that the “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." He came to save me and He came to save you! Is that amazing or what? But it's not just a story friends! Jesus came in the flesh to bring salvation to all those who were dead in their sin, something that should cause us to praise Him as well.
And you know, when it comes to running and praising Jesus, the Bible tells us the story of Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector who had great reason to publicly praise Christ as well. You see, Zacchaeus was a man who, upon hearing that Jesus was coming through town, ran ahead of His anticipated arrival and climbed into a Sycamore tree so he could see Jesus over the crowd (since he was a short man). Zacchaeus soon realized that his “run” was more than worth the effort he put into it when Jesus ordered him to come down and said, “I must stay at your house today.” And this is where it gets good... Zacchaeus not only welcomed Jesus into his home but repented of his sin and accepted Jesus as his Savior. Is that an amazing story or what?
So as you and I prepare to celebrate Christmas, I pray that we will remember that the “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." He came to save me and He came to save you! Is that amazing or what? But it's not just a story friends! Jesus came in the flesh to bring salvation to all those who were dead in their sin, something that should cause us to praise Him as well.
Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much that You would send your only Son in the flesh to walk among us. But not just to walk among us but to die for us. Jesus came so that we might have eternal life. Help us to realize that this story, the Good News, is too amazing to keep to ourselves. Lord, please give us a boldness to share it with others so that the lost might be saved. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
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