Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

This week let’s see what the Lord will teach us as we work on taxes. Today we’ll start with the valuation of a notorious tax collector.

In today’s scripture, Luke 19:2‭-‬7 (NLT), we read about a notorious tax collector…
There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich…He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd…So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way…When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”…Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy…But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

Consider…
Tax collectors were viewed as scum by the Pharisees. We know this based on Mark 2:16 (NLT), which shares…
But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”

Pairing this scripture with today’s passage, reveals the Lord’s valuation of people.

Jesus says, “come”, to those whom others consider scum. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Like the old treasured hymn says…
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

It’s because of the Pharisees despise, we’re able to realize who Jesus came to save. In Mark 2:17 (NLT) He said…
“Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

You see, while people looked down on those who collected taxes, they didn’t realize those were the type of people Jesus came to collect.

While most of us believers don’t share the Pharisees disdain for tax collectors, we do look down on scum (drug dealers, murderers, abusers, corrupt leaders, etc.) the same way. Yet, those are the ‘other sinners’ Jesus came to save. 🤔

With that, I thought today’s message was simply, don’t look down on others, as admonished in Romans 12:3.

However, the Holy Spirit told me to finish Zacchaeus’ story. Luke 19:8‭-‬10 (NLT) shares…
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”… Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham…For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Then the Holy Spirit emphasized, God wants Zacchaeus’ fellow “scum” to learn from his transformation testimony. It is God’s expectation that, after we respond to Jesus’ call, we change too. That’s emphasized in Ephesians 4:21‭-‬22 (NLT)…
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,…throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception…Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes…Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Lastly, the Holy Spirit explained God expects us to be transformed because, Jesus determined our worth with the price He paid for our new birth. And God expects to get what He paid for. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (AMP) admonishes…
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]?…You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.

Jesus knew a scum tax collectors’ value, and He knew your’s too. The real question is do you? If so, are you living a changed life?

One final thought, a sinner saved by grace is a ‘scum alum’, which means one has graduated from sin to become like Him. If you’re still doing the same things that you used to do, you may need to recheck your BA (blood applied) degree.

Today’s song is…
Changed

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)