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And He said, "Cast your burdens upon Me, those who are heavily laden"

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And He said, "Cast your burdens upon Me, those who are heavily laden"

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A song that will make you feel that you are not alone in that burden, for God is with you.

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LIFT UP YOUR HANDS - BASIL VALDEZ with Lyrics(HQ)

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If you are feeling burdened with your life, or feeling sick and tired, or feeling afraid to have your next step, try to pray this and surrender all your burden to our Lord ♥

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"Poverty with Jesus is more valuable than riches without him"

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"Poverty with Jesus is more valuable than riches without him"

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Kindly play the music for a more ecstatic experience ♥

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Zacchaeus, as heard from the Bible, is a very small man that is so big of riches and wealth. But his desire to make people look up to him has turned him into a greedy tax collector. And this obsession made the people despise him rather than looking up to him. And sometimes, I am becoming like Zacchaeus – so much wanting for something that I am becoming blind to the things and people, especially God, who are more important than my desires and wants.

However, God really moves in mysterious ways that ordinary people like us will not and will never understand. Just like the chief tax collector, he is deprived of height. And this lack of height pushed him to climb up the tree to see Jesus. Imagine if he was tall. We will never hear this great story, because Zacchaeus will not climb to see Jesus. But because he is short, he was very eager to call our Savior’s attention. There are times that we are like this. We are questioning “God, why am I like this? Why I am not like the others?”. What if our lives are already complete and perfect? Will we ever care to speak to God? Sometimes, our lack of something will help us become closer to Him. Therefore, we are not lacking. Instead, we are blessed.

When I heard the story about Zacchaeus, what struck me the most was when he surrendered all his wealth to follow Jesus. Because these riches are barriers in following Him. If we want to be His disciples, we should empty ourselves – Kenosis. We should surrender ourselves to God and put away the things that will be a hindrance for us in going with Him. But it is not bad to want or desire for something, like becoming rich, or achieving our goals, or wanting to have our dream car or house. But, the point is that we should not forget Jesus by praying more often and sharing our blessings. Because these blessings are just temporary and let’s acknowledge that we have came from God, and it is God who can put them away from us if we did not use them in good cause.

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We often misunderstand that only those who are pure will be saved by Jesus. We think that some are not worthy because they have done something horrific in this life but the video that was shown to us last Thursday made it clear that our idea is wrong.

Zacchaeus is a man who has done wrong things as a tax collector. He appeared to be greedy of money. He only went to see Christ out of curiosity, but he instantly had a change of heart and decided to be a better people. The people around them were whispering, wondering why would Jesus be with a sinner? They must've thought that He picked someone unworthy, but they failed to realize that He isn't only a God of those who see him, but also of those who are lost. He seeks those who are in the wrong path, and He walks with them is He leads them to the path to eternal life. Jesus is the Christ of all. He doesn't turn a blind eye for those who does not see Him yet.

While watching the movie, I also realized that Zacchaeus and I are alike in some ways. I'm also silent in terms of my profession of faith unlike the blind man, and I know that God knows that I am here even though I don't call Him out loud. I am also a sinner like him. I have committed so much sins at this young age. I just keep it in mind that everyone around me is also a sinner, but not everyone sees their mistakes and recognizes Jesus as a part of their life. What's important is we try to be a better person for Him.

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Watching the video of Zacchaeus gave me a better understanding of how kind and loving Jesus Christ is. Those images of Christ manifested from the presentation resonated and influenced me to become a person like him.

I was very touched by how Jesus Christ sees Zacchaeus as uniquely designed because I know it applies to all of us. I also experienced being disappointed with myself because of my flaws but He made me feel like He is there in times that we cannot appreciate ourselves. Jesus is there for us to make us feel important and realize that we are created beautifully. We just have to come closer and we will receive his salvation. I, personally, felt uplifted by this image of Jesus. I was so happy that I am able to reflect on the video.

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In Times of Hardships, We Just Have to Come Closer

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In Times of Hardships, We Just Have to Come Closer

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Zacchaeus and the blind man were not able to see Jesus because of their lack of sight but they PERSISTED. It gave me a realization that Jesus appreciates and helps everyone who tries to seek him despite the hindrances.

Have you experienced challenges where your faith was almost tested?

We must remember that all of this is part of his challenges. Instead of walking away from him, we MUST come to him, ask for help, and believe.

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I have already heard the story of Zaccheus back when I was in still an elementary student. Even then, I found the story genuinely inspiring because a sinner chose to radically change and willfully follow Christ and His teachings. Additionally, it was a narrative of how loving and amazing Jesus Christ is because His arms are open for everyone.

Like Zaccheus, I am also a sinner. There are times that I feel like I am losing faith in God and I am blinded by worldly things which lead me to commit mistakes that should not do. And so, what struck me the most while watching the clip is that Jesus, who people looked up to the most, 'looked up at the one not looked up to'. He was very welcoming to Zaccheus whom no one embraced.  He sought for him who was lost, who had lost faith. The stated event affected me because I believe that Jesus is doing the same thing for me every day- looking at me and assuring me that no matter how inadequate I and the world think of myself, He still thinks that I am enough, I am good and I can be better. He makes me realize that every day is a day to repent and learn from my past mistakes and every day is a chance to be an improved daughter of God.

Jesus was the  Healer who made Zaccheus scarred faith restored, the Forgiver who overlook at Zaccheus' sins, the Provider who granted Zaccheus'  second chance to become a better Christian and eternal wealth for his soul and most especially,  the Light that made Zaccheus, who was blinded by material prosperity, see His sins and negligence. Jesus is the light that illuminates love in the world and with this Light, we come to see the goodness and uniqueness in everyone even if they do not see it themselves.

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Zacchaeus’ Bible story was a very popular one. I remember hearing it from one of my teachers back in grade school. At that time, I didn’t really understand what it meant but after rereading the story, it touched me. I realized that I am no different from Zacchaeus. I am a sinner but Jesus didn’t see me differently. I make mistakes both willingly and unknowingly. I believe it’s totally human to commit mistakes and sins but those things won’t make up our whole lives. They will not define us. What matters is what we do in order to change them.

The video presented something that caught my attention. They pointed out that Jesus looked at Zacchaeus when he was up in the sycamore tree. Jesus looked at him, literally and figuratively. Though people were being mean, saying that Jesus was looking at a sinner, He didn’t hesitate and even went into Zacchaeus’ home. Everyone was avoiding the sinner yet He looked up to him. I believe Jesus will look at me the way He looked at Zacchaeus even though He knows I have done Him wrong.

I have no other words to describe the image that I saw from Jesus other than forgiving. He is the one that will accept us no matter what and who we are. His eyes are full of hope even when looking at the most hopeless person.