December 29: Weekly Reading- Zacchaeus; The Transformed & Insight Post by Kim Feld

  -   December 29, 2025

Seeking God’s Kingdom First: Prioritizing God’s will in our lives leads to true fulfillment.

Monday Verse

You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. Deuteronomy 30:20 (NLT)

Monday Questions

How can I make seeking God’s Kingdom a greater priority in my daily life? In what specific ways can I demonstrate my commitment to loving and obeying God, ensuring that my choices align with His will?

Monday Insight Post
by Kim Feld

Jesus caused quite a stir in this story. By acknowledging Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, and inviting Himself to Zacchaeus’ home, Jesus upset those who labeled Zacchaeus a “notorious sinner.” Yet, Jesus made it clear at the end of the story that He came “to seek and save those who are lost,” Zacchaeus included.

What does it mean for us to seek God’s Kingdom? Is it simply attending church, serving, giving, and joining a small group? While these are incredibly valuable, we shouldn’t stop there. Truly seeking God’s Kingdom means valuing what God values.

Micah 6 gives a clear picture of what God values and how His kingdom operates. Consider this passage, where the people of Israel ask God what He requires and receive His response:

⁶What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves?

⁷Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?

⁸No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:6-8 (NLT)

Jesus valued Zacchaeus and demonstrated that even the most notorious sinner is never beyond the reach of God’s love. I’ve heard it said that we will never look into the face of someone Jesus didn’t die for, and I believe that’s true. God loves and values people so deeply that He made a way for us to be reconciled to Him, even when our sin separated us.

We are called to align our hearts and minds with God’s. Doing what is right means embracing what God sees as right. Loving mercy means showing compassion as God does, not as we might define it. Walking humbly with God is choosing His ways over our own. As we step into a new year, I pray that God would give us His eyes and heart to see the world around us—and the courage to enter the messy darkness with love and compassion.

Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach 

New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org