Foreigners in the Lord's House

August 27, 2012 Monday Message:

”Foreigners have entered the holy places of the Lord’s house.” Jeremiah 51:51b

As a Christian, it’s easy to know where we stand with religions that worship different gods. For example, Buddhists and Hindus want everyone to get along, which seems good, but their god is not Jesus. New age traditions honor nature, which is a good thing, but they fall short of acknowledging that YHWH is the creator of nature.

Much more difficult to sort out are those who use the name of Jesus or an incorrect translation of the Bible, but aren’t the real thing – foreigners working out of the house of the Lord, wolves in sheep’s clothing.

True Christians, regardless of denomination, share certain beliefs, nonnegotiable principles, foundational truths, as explained in our Bibles. There is one God, the sole creator, who is known to us in the Trinity. Jesus, fully God and fully man, was born of a virgin. Christ paid the penalty for the sins of the world, and this is a gift, by grace, through faith. Jesus rose from the dead, will return in bodily form. The Holy Spirit will sustain us until Jesus returns. The church is the body of Christ, doing his work until he returns.

There are many other practices and traditions on which denominations differ, but those are not redeeming ordinances.

Increasingly, the sin of the world is creeping into some churches, and day by day, they get further off track. The fact that they have a denomination with a “church-like” name makes discernment of these foreigners in God’s house all the more difficult.

It will require a keen eye to separate the sheep from the goats.

Norton Lawellin

Sunday, Sept. 02, Jesus in the City Fellowship worships in the Oliver Ministry building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, 10:30am. Following Jesus’ lead, Pastor Michael will fish for men in Luke 5.

Made in God's Image

August 20, 2012 Monday Message:

Christina at Prince of Peace asked me to retell this story. I first heard it from Billy Graham - 

It was a young man from a successful, wealthy British family who had become a doctor, carrying on the family tradition. In fact, his family owned an entire hospital and several clinics. Now, all men in Great Britain must serve in the military for a time, but because of his medical skill, our young man was allowed to serve the British military as a doctor in Egypt. He was allowed to live off-base, and as he was accustomed, he brought his driver and his beloved Rolls Royce automobile.

Here we need to interject that Rolls Royce has a well-deserved reputation as the finest automobile ever made, known for consummate reliability.

One day our doctor was summoned for medical assistance some distance from his residence, across the desert, and he told his driver to fetch the Rolls. The driver cautioned that perhaps they should take the Land Rover instead, but the doctor wished to travel in comfort, so they took the Rolls Royce. They reached their destination, solved the medical problem, and started the return journey. But a sudden, violent sandstorm allowed tiny particles of silica to permeate the precision gears, and the mighty Rolls began to falter. It ground to a halt in a small town, where our doctor and his driver took a hotel room for the night, phoning Rolls Royce headquarters in Great Britain about the problem.

The next morning, they found the Rolls all clean and shiny; it started right up, and drove perfectly. Obviously, the Rolls Royce company had come to the rescue.

Later, his military service complete, our doctor was back in England at the hospital, and he thought about the Rolls Royce incident. He asked the hospital's accountant about the cost, thinking it must have cost a pretty penny. But the accountant knew nothing about the situation. 

So the doctor asked his butler, who was in charge of household financial matters, if he had paid the bill. But the butler also knew nothing.

Curiosity getting the better of him, the doctor called Rolls Royce and inquired as to the amount that had been paid. Rolls said they had no record of it. 

The doctor persisted, informing them of the exact date, and the extent of the repair - a new transmission; plus an overnight airplane flight for the transmission and two mechanics, plus their hotel, meals, etc. It should have been a sizable bill. Again Rolls said there was no record of it. 

The doctor asked, "No record for such a huge sum?"

And the Rolls Royce spokesman replied: (dry, British humor...) "There's no record of a Rolls Royce automobile ever having been defective."

And that's what Jesus does with our sin. All have sinned, and really don't deserve heaven. But believers will find their names in the Book of Life, and there will be no record of their sin. Jesus doesn't just forgive your sins - your sins are removed; blotted out; made white, as if the incidents never occurred. 

There will be no record of you ever having been defective. That's what the Bible says.

Norton Lawellin

Sunday, Aug. 26, Jesus in the City Fellowship worships in the Oliver Ministry building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, 10:30am. Pastor Michael will wrap up Luke 4 – Jesus casts out demons and heals the sick, but is rejected in his hometown… What’s with that?
 

Norton Lawellin

Sunday, Aug. 26, Jesus in the City Fellowship worships in the Oliver Ministry building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, 10:30am. Pastor Michael will wrap up Luke 4 – Jesus casts out demons and heals the sick, but is rejected in his hometown… What’s with that?

Vision

August 13, 2012 Monday Message:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18a KJV

When God calls you to a new journey, a new ministry, a new direction, the vision is clear. It’s easy, even fun, to communicate the vision to the people. The excitement of something new fuels the project. If the vision is well-communicated, people will eagerly get on board, not wanting to miss any of the action.

Much later, when the goal is in sight and you’re about to win the race, the vision is abundantly clear. After all, we’ve been talking about it, raising money for it, and moving step-by-step closer to the new deal. Everyone will cheer when our team crosses the finish line.

But in the midst of our journey, somewhere between the launch and the victory, the vision can become clouded, confused and lose momentum. The vision is fragile and especially vulnerable in this middle ground. Leaders must be diligent in stating and again re-stating that to which God has called us. It’s said that people don’t remember something until they’ve heard it seven times. One leader told me that he teaches the vision over and over, until he thinks that one more time might make him sick. Then he grits his teeth, and addresses the topic a few more times.

God will not send you on a mission without equipping you for that journey. Pray for God to walk beside you as you take the vision you have been given from “here” to “there.”

Norton Lawellin

Sunday, Aug. 19, Jesus in the City Fellowship worships in the Oliver Ministry building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, 10:30am. I’ll be following the Holy Spirit, Jesus, Satan and Dr. Luke into the wilderness for the test of a lifetime! C U @ church!

Closer to God

August 06, 2012 Monday Message:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!.” 1 John 3:1a TNIV

In the Hebrew tradition, a person’s spiritual walk is described as their position relative to God. If a person is living a wild life of sin, they are said to be “far from God.” But if that person repents, prays and worships, they are thought to be “closer to God.”

Does God love you more when you’re closer than when you’re farther away? No, God calls all followers of Jesus his children, and it’s unconditional, agape love that he has for them. God’s children may sometimes disappoint, but God-the-Father never stops loving.

If you’ve fallen away, become “far from God,” you don’t need to earn back God’s love – it never left! Just repent and return, and the Father who always loves you will welcome you back with open arms.

He may even throw a “welcome home” party in your honor, you prodigal.

Norton Lawellin

Sunday, Aug. 12, Jesus in the City Fellowship worships in the Oliver Ministry building, 27^th Street & Bloomington Avenue, 10:30am. Pastor Michael continues our journey with Dr. Luke.