January Message

Happy New Year. The calendar has officially changed from 2011 to 2012. We have begun a brand new year. The New Year can serve as a dividing point between past and future. Something new is starting. With the right attitude, the new year can be a time of optimism, hope and positive energy. It could be a time when we choose to start something new or do something different. It could be a time of positive change in our life in which we focus on something significant that we didn't focus on in the past.

When I think of biblical characters who experienced a change, one person who comes to mind is good old Zacchaeus. We know very little about Zacchaeus, but we know that something changed inside him when he met Jesus. Zacchaeus was a little short Jewish man who was a chief tax collector. He was rich and he was despised by his own people, because in his profession he would normally take more taxes from the people than necessary and pocket the extra money for himself. As the story is told, Jesus was coming, so Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he passed. Jesus looked up and saw Zacchaeus and told him that he would stay at his house that day. Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus with great joy and proclaimed, "Listen sir! I will give half of my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much." Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this house today."

Zacchaeus met Jesus and he was a changed man. He turned over a new leaf. He changed his thought process. He changed his way of life. He somehow, someway suddenly learned to live respectfully. He suddenly had a giving spirit.

The story of Zacchaeus is a wonderful short story about change. It is a wonderful story validating Jesus' affect on someone's life. A crooked, dishonest chief tax collector became an honest person with a giving spirit.

How is Jesus going to impact you in 2012? How is our Lord and Savior going to influence your life, your decision making, your actions, your thoughts in this new year? I am happy to say that most of us at Bethlehem don't need a complete transformation. We don't have too many rich, crooked, dishonest tax collectors amongst us. But, we need to be open to Jesus' direction in our lives. We need to be listening to his voice. We need to be allowing Jesus to guide us and lead us into new experiences and new opportunities. We need to be willing to accept Jesus' calling.

I sincerely wish everyone a happy, healthy, Jesus-filled 2012. When we are open to his direction, incredible things happen.

In His Service,

Pastor Paul

The Heart of Bay Ridge

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