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"DOES JESUS ABIDE AT YOUR HOUSE?""And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner." (Luke 19:5-7)At the beginning of this chapter, ee find that Jesus enters Jericho and encounters a fella named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector. Zacchaeus climbs a sycamore tree to see Jesus. Jesus calls him down and stays at his house, leading to Zacchaeus' repentance and restitution. Jesus declares, "Today salvation has come to this house." (Luke 19:9)I always enjoy hearing the testimonies of someone's salvation. Whether it be of one raised and influenced in a Christian home or of another lifted from the lowest dregs of habitual sin, my soul is ever blessed to hear how Jesus met and saved them right where they were at.When we leaf through the Gospels, we find recorded some 27 dear souls that were personally converted by the Lord Jesus. No doubt that number increases greatly when we consider John 21:25. Of those 27 that we read about, the conversion of Zacchaeus is the favorite of many.What a happy day it must have been when little ole pee-wee slid down that Sycamore tree into the waiting arms of Jesus Christ. This fella, from the world's viewpoint, had everything going for him. The Bible says, "he was rich." When the Bible says a person is rich, it's not making that statement just to take up space. This guy was rolling in dough but wallowing in emptiness. No doubt he came by his fortune at the expense of others for the passage tells us he was a Publican. He certainly must have been good at it for it says he was, "the chief among the publicans."Now as our Saviour was passing by this tree in Jericho and moving closer to His own tree at Calvary, He looked up and saw Zacchaeus perched in this most unusual pew, and I find a wonderful rarity here that takes place between the two. You will note that everything that Jesus told Zacchaeus to do in verse 5, Zacchaeus did in verses 6 and 7:"Make haste"(v. 5) "And he made haste"(v.6)"Come down"(v.5)."And he came down" (v.6)"I must abide at thy house"(v.5) "Gone to be guest"(v.7)We can only imagine what may have transpired that day in Zacchaeus' household with maybe a Mrs. Zacchaeus and a couple of little Zacchaeus' running about. But when we read the rest of the story, we can see exactly why Zacchaeus did what he did to make things right with his fellow man. Praise God, he had a new heart now!! The Bible tells us here of a change that took place in the heart of a little rich man who met up one day with the One Who possessed all the unsearchable riches of Christ.Did he harden his heart when Jesus spoke to him? Did he say, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian?" Was he anything like another rich young man who, "went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions" (Mathhew 19). No! The Bible plainly tells us in verse 6 how Zacchaeus responded to Jesus' request, "AND RECEIVED HIM JOYFULLY." That same joy at the foot of the tree that day carried over not only in his home, but also in his daily business dealings as well.Friends, has that joy you once knew that day you met Christ carried over inside your homes and your daily practices outside? I trust Jesus abides there always.