May 13, 2024

Dear Friend,

God loves every person on planet earth. He has a book in heaven where your life is recorded on each page, from beginning to end, even before you were born!

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
Psalm 139:16 (NLT)

God knows you! He knows your name. God knows what you did and said every day last week and He knows the days you have ahead of you this week. When Jesus was walking on the earth, He stopped and talked to perfect strangers and He even called them by name! Luke 19:1-6 records the day that Jesus was walking through Jericho. As usual, people crowded around Him and the crowd grew larger and larger. One man felt frustrated because he was too short to see Jesus over the heads of the large crowd. He had to climb a tree just to be able to see Jesus. Imagine his surprise when Jesus called him out by name!

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.
Luke 19:5,6 (NLT)

Of course, the crowd around Jesus complained saying, “Look what kind of man Jesus is staying with?” 

It’s true that Zacchaeus was a tax collector and stole money from people. But the Father prompted Jesus to stop at that sycamore tree. That prompting helped everyone develop a right attitude toward Zacchaeus. My friend, when we have an encounter with Jesus, He gives us a new heart, a new attitude and a new outlook on life. 

What’s more, Jesus told Zaccheaus, “Today is the day for this family to be saved from sin.” 

Hallelujah!

Pastor Jo