(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)
Worship
By singing praises and hymns, awake your soul, open your heart to the Lord, and prepare yourself to welcome the presence of God and receive the Word of God that will be given to you.
Thanksgiving
Petition with thanksgiving to God for a wonderful day and pray sincerely for a focused Scripture reading time! (Do not rush into reading the Bible without starting with prayers!) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)
Scripture Reading
Get the following items ready in advance: your devotional notebook, paper, pen, and/or electronic devotional articles so that you can easily write down the Bible verses, questions, and thoughts you have noticed! You are encouraged to open your Bible and vocally read out the scriptures (Try to practice this reading method daily or once a week)!
Scripture Reading: Luke Ch. 19 (ESV)
Meditation
Take a moment to quietly reflect on today’s Scriptures. Through such exercises, let God’s Word be gradually written into our hearts and be inscribed to our mind.
Devotional
Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.)
(vv. 1-10) The Jews especially disliked the tax collectors because they collaborated with the Roman government to collect taxes from people. Many of these tax collectors were dishonest and perceived greed. One day in Jericho, there was a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus. He was seeking to see who Jesus was, but because he was small in stature and there was a large crowd, Zacchaeus could not see Jesus. So he climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus. When Jesus came, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” As a result, the unpopular Zacchaeus hurried and came down and received Jesus joyfully. Zacchaeus confessed his sin to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” Jesus stated clearly the reason why He came. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Not only to seek and to save Zacchaeus, Jesus also seeks each and every one who is willing to confession their sins, to repent, and to accept Jesus as their personal savior.
We must agree that Zacchaeus was courageous. He was willing to confess his wrong doing and his sins in front of everyone. He also publicly announced what was in his mind. In comparison to arbitrarily saying, “I will not make that mistake again.” This way of confession is more effective. The sinner is truly repent and will not sin again.
Do you have any wrong doing you need to confess to the Lord or to other people? It is important to verbalize your wrong doing, and carefully think about how to correct it. This is what we can learn from Zacchaeus.
(vv. 11-27) In the parable of a nobleman and his ten servants, we realized that we must use the blessed resources from our God wisely – our talent and our ability. In fact, everything we own is a blessing from God. We must use it wisely in order to be a good and faithful servant.
One of the servants, he clearly understood that his master was a severe man, and said that he was afraid of his master. However, he did not put in any efforts to carry out his master’s assignment. He had no achievements. As a result, he lost even what he was originally given. Can you imagine Jesus being so straight and severe? Do you have the right fear for Jesus? How does this affect your service to glorify God’s Kingdom?
In addition, what kind of servant are you? Usually, people are more lenient toward themselves. When you hear Jesus’ accusation or challenge, will your reaction be, “is this about me? “or does this apply to a certain brother or a certain sister? Definitely it cannot be me!?”
First ask yourself today, am I faithful? Am I kind? Do I serve the Lord with all my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength? I must respond wholeheartedly, am I willing to surrender all?
(vv. 28-48) This last passage talked about Jesus riding the donkey into town. In the process, the crowd cheered and welcomed Jesus, they loudly praised Jesus. This led to the Pharisee’s sarcasms against Jesus. Furthermore, we see that Jesus cried for Jerusalem. Obviously, the Lord knew that disaster would come upon this city. Approximately 70 A.D. Jerusalem was invaded by the Roman troops. She was destroyed. All that Jesus said became true.
Brothers and sisters, let us examine ourselves once again. As we face the omnipotent Jesus, who also loves the world, shouldn’t we make use of every opportunity to sing praises to glorify Him? If we have done so, praise God! If we have not done so, why not? We should not keep our lips tight. We should sing praises to Him joyfully and loudly! Jesus said, “let me tell all of you, although they their lips are tight, these stones will cheer on.” Are we less than the stones?
Pray
Give thanks to God for His enabling us to read the Scriptures and for our response for living out the Word of God today! (e.g., You may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what/where are you going to lead me to today?”)