In Luke 19:1-10, Ephesians 1:20, Romans 12:2, Luke 12:7

Glyn Barrett

Day 1

Although every human on the planet is individual in every way, we also have many things in common. We all have, a heart beat, blood, hair (not all of us), life (again - questionable), a desire to be loved, a need to belong etc etc. One of the overriding factors that we have in common is that we are all looking for change. We are all looking for something different. My wife loves watching 'Extreme Home Makeover'. If you haven't seen it, the producers of the show find a family who endure 'impossible hardships' and decide to do something special for them. They send them to 'Disneyland' (or some other awesome location) for a week, and in that time, they knock down the families old house and build them a palace in exchange.

When the family arrive back 'home', all the neighbours give them a huge welcome back to the street. The family is unable to see the new house because a huge bus is blocking the view. The family step out of the limousine, say 'Hi' to their neighbours, and then they all shout 'Hey bus driver - move that bus!' - and they do! The new house is always stunning; it is a mansion with luxuries that they could only have dreamed of. I have never seen the families cry because they wanted their old 'shack' back. They always hug each other & run to see their new home.

That is a visual demonstration of each of us.

The other day, the news reported that, 'fathers for justice' stormed onto the set of the National lottery and caused a disruption on live television. The 'fathers for justice' team wanted change and the millions of people watching the Live Lottery Draw are hoping their number comes up so they too can have a change!

We all long for something new. We all want something different to happen to us in life. That is why birthdays are such a big deal. We are not only looking for new presents, but also a new experience to embrace for our lives. My wife had her birthday recently. I bought her a tandem skydiving experience. She will jump from 10 000 ft. She will fall 5000ft in 40 seconds & then float to the ground under the parachute for the next 6 minutes. It is something different, it's new and it is exciting!

In Luke 19:1-10, we read the awesome story of Zaccheus (Zach) the tax collector. Why not read the story, collect your own thoughts from it and then tomorrow let's see how Zach changed his life. This is called - 'Short odds on changed life!'

Day 2

In the story from Luke 19:1-10, Zach did three things to get a changed life! The first thing he did was, 'He acted on God-intrigue'.

Zach had heard about Jesus, & that He was coming to town. He heard enough about Jesus to be intrigued. What did He look like? What did He sound like? Maybe He will shake my hand, perhaps I can get an autograph, I wonder if he is wearing this years 'three strap style sandal' or last seasons 'two strap style'. Perhaps He will do that wine miracle thing again and I will get a free drink. All of that is conjecture - we are not sure what it was about Jesus that intrigued him, but he had heard enough to be intrigued.

There comes moments in all our lives when 'God intrigue' kicks in. Moments when we get interested in God and Truth. Different events in our life stir up 'God-intrigue'. When 911 sparked a wave of neo-terrorism, I received a lot of phone calls from people who for the first time in a long time began to think about God, eternity & truth. The birth of babies often stirs up God-intrigue. When you see the 'miracle' of birth, you can't help but question the 'origin of the species'. Death stirs up God intrigue, as does having everything money can buy, but still feeling empty on the inside.

Perhaps as you read these words, something about God is connecting with you and you are beginning to get intrigued (perhaps for the first time OR perhaps something is stirring in your heart again from something God spoke to you about a long time ago.) Zach was not only intrigued, but he also acted on the intrigue. When you act on God-intrigue, you are one step closer to living a changed life.

Day 3

The second thing Zach did to get a changed life was, 'He rose above his obstacles' (literally). In Luke 19:4 it says that Zach, 'Climbed a tree'. Zach was not the most popular man in the city. In fact, he was one of the most despised men around. He was a tax collector. They were known to be men who cheated money out of people so they could live a better lifestyle. They made the poor - poorer & charged extortionate rates out of the middle & upper classes.

On the day Zach met Jesus, he would have had to have braved the crowds of people, ignored their mutterings (v7), paid no attention to their jibes & even then he could not see. So he climbed a tree & literally rose above his obstacles.