But Zaccharus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything,I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house…”
Luke 19,8f

A lot of Christians wonder why they are not moving forward in their faith. They remain in the same place, or experience fundamentally the same problems. They are simply not able to advance further into the peace and joy that is Jesus.
It may be that we do not take God’s Word seriously. We confess our sins, but only half-heartedly. We regret our sins, but we don’t change anything. Our nerves reach breaking point, but we don’t grasp hold of Jesus’ helping hand. We are freed by Him, but we act as though we are still bound… Often times the Lord has tried to move us, but we refuse; – too lazy, too comfortable, too doubtful. But those aren’t Jesus’ decisions, but our own!
Zacchaeus encountered Jesus and instantly realized what was between him and God: his wealth and his deceit. Immediately he wanted to give away his wealth and compensate all those he had cheated. Jesus took his promise seriously and said: "Today salvation has come to this house … For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost." Zacchaeus had an intense encounter with Jesus, one which thoroughly turned him inside out. Paul also had such an encounter with Jesus, so that he was a different person afterward. We also have encounters with Jesus, but sometimes there are no consequences at all;- we are happy to know Jesus, but carry on living as we did previously.
We read in today’s Bible study: "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him …"
Yes, Jesus, my Lord, I want to follow You! I no longer want to compromise. I no longer want these doubts and lack of faith. I want to experience freedom and joy in You! You are worth more to me than anything else!
Bible study for today: Philippians 3, 1-11